Vision anxiously awaited his weekly date with Wanda. When a circle of light appeared in the living room and she stepped out of it, he was torn between elation at seeing her and nervousness for what he wanted to talk to her about.

"Hello, Wanda."

"Hello, my love." She kissed him, and he kissed her back, but in a moment she pulled away. "Is everything alright? You seem distracted."

"Yes, everything is alright. But there are some matters I would like to discuss." There were 3 matters, specifically, but they were so interconnected he wasn't sure which one to begin with.

"How is Tommy?" she asked with concern.

"He's fine. I plan on looking for a more settled place for him. I need to get him back in school. He's had a very difficult and unsettled life, and I want to give him a measure of stability."

"That's great."

"I would like your help with that, actually. Rather..." He sighed. That was not quite the right word to convey the truth of the situation. "My needs coincide with a favor Jimmy has asked me to do for him, one that I would need your help with, though if you declined we would both understand.

"What favor?" she asked suspiciously.

"It's relating to a case that was referred to his department..."

"A Sokovia Accords case?" she asked even more suspiciously.

"Possibly. Two weeks ago, there was an incidence of intimate partner violence at a clothing store in Newark. The attacker was stopped by a young man who seemed to have superhuman strength. When police officers arrived minutes later, they were not able to locate him, but security cameras didn't show him leaving."

"A shapeshifter?" Wanda suggested.

"Have you heard of anyone with such a power?"

"Yes, but not here. Peter's Earth. But how does Agent Woo expect us to find them?"

"He doesn't," Vision explained. "Because of the good samaritan's apparent youth and the fact the incident occurred shortly after many high schools in the area let out for the day, investigators compared his image from security footage to high school yearbook photos. They tentatively identified him as Theodore Altman. He and his mother were questioned, but they both insisted they were at home during the time of the incident. If it weren't for the display of unusual strength and the disappearing act, it would have ended there."

"So what does he want from us?"

"Jimmy hasn't questioned the boy or his mother, but he is concerned the young Mr. Altman may be the subject of illegal experimentation, in which case he believes his mother would have known about it. He asked me to essentially go undercover and get an impression of her character, whether she's the sort to let her son be subjected to such experiments. Obviously, that's something you would be much better at than me."

Wanda frowned, considering. He imagined she would be torn between not wanting to possibly expose a teenage boy with powers, and not wanting to leave him in danger if he were being exploited.

"His mother, Mary-Jo Altman, is a real estate agent," Vision added.

"So your plan is to go to her to find a place for you and Tommy, and use that meeting to feel her out?"

"Yes. Which brings me to another matter: your property in Westview..."

"Our property in Westview," she corrected him. While legal cases involving inheritance were still hopelessly backlogged after the Blip, Wanda had refused to liquidate any of the assets she'd inherited in Vision's will, insisting over his objection that they all rightfully belonged to him.

"I think it's time to sell it. To cut all ties with that town and start new elsewhere."

She hesitated for just a second before saying, "Agreed."

"That gives us a legitimate reason to meet Ms. Altman. And, I was thinking, we could simplify the legal difficulties of the inheritance if..." He cut himself off, realizing that was not at all how he wanted to broach the third matter.

"If what? Please tell me, because I would really like for my life to be legally simpler."

He winced. That was a disasterous start, but he couldn't see a graceful way to backtrack. "Wanda, it isn't the legal considerations. I don't want you to think that matters of convenience prompted this line of thought. It didn't." He sighed in frustration again.

He thought back to walking down a dark street in Edinburgh, his hand in hers, and shyly proposing that he miss all the trains that would take him away from her. All he could hope for or offer her then was that they disappear together, a proposal that would be legally binding only in that it would make him her co-conspirator.

Wanda looked confused at his inarticulate floundering. She shook her head. "Vis, what is it? What were you thinking about?"

He sat down on the couch and looked at his hand like he was suddenly fascinated that his fingers could move independently. "It is just an idea, just a suggestion. I know this is a strange time, and that it would be fair for you to think of yourself as recently widowed, that our reconnection is quite new, and that our entire situation is already complicated enough that we might not want to add any developments, but I was wondering if, sometime, you would contemplate thinking about the possibility of marriage?" As he concluded his question, he lifted his eyes to her face, though he dreaded what he might find there.

Her expression began as stunned, but then her eyebrows lifted into mildly amused incredulity. "You know, I think I've got a bit of free time Monday afternoon. I'll put 'think about the possibility of marriage' on my calendar." He couldn't quite tell whether she was being serious or sarcastic. She cleared it up by quickly adding, with undisguised earnestness, "Vision, you are the best thing that has ever happened to me. I don't know how I deserve you. Building a life with you is something I want so much I almost destroyed a town for it. But is that really what you want?"

He had given what he wanted a great deal of thought since she'd come back into his life, knowing that their time apart might have permanently altered the nature of their relationship, but every time he thought it through, he found he couldn't imagine his life without her. He never felt as accepted and as human as he did when he was with her.

"Yes," he stated simply.

"Then that's my answer." Before the meaning could fully sink in, some doubt shifted her face to a troubled frown. "Wait..."

"What?" he asked quickly, the fear he heard in his own voice making him aware of it.

She huffed a sigh. "It's not just us we have to think about. You're looking for a place for Tommy. He needs you. He...he might not accept me as that much a part of his life."

She had a point, one Vision hadn't considered. Tommy knew once Vision found a place for him to live and go to school, the two of them would be moving in together. Whether Tommy ever came to look on him as a father or not, he would take care of him and support him, and see him into an adulthood where he had more options for what to do with his life than use his super speed to steal. If he tried to make Tommy accept a more traditional family structure by Wanda moving in with them, Tommy might be scared off.

Wanda watched his consideration and disappointed acceptance of that fact play out on his face.

"I'm right, aren't I," she stated sadly.

"It's a...confounding factor," he admitted. It hurt to come so close to having Wanda accept his proposal only to realize it might not work out, but their children had to come first. "Once—if—Tommy becomes comfortable in his new circumstances, I will take it up with him. Otherwise...he may leave for college in a few years, after which..."

"You'll be an empty-nester," Wanda said with a distantly sad smile.

"Yes."

"Then, can we consider this the beginning of what might be a very long engagement?" she suggested.

He chuckled breathily. "That's an acceptable compromise."

"Then yes. My answer's yes." She kissed him unexpectedly but sincerely, like her doubts had been a barrier keeping her from him that suddenly broke. They kissed for a minute before she broke away, leaning her forehead on his. "When do you want to go see the real estate agent?"

Mary-Jo Altman's office was in an unassuming row of businesses on the western outskirts of Newark. Wanda followed Vision into the lobby, which was empty, though at the ding of the electronic bell on the door, a cheery call of, "Be with you in a minute," came from the back room.

Wanda had mixed feelings about participating in this investigation. She didn't want to bring any enhanced individual to the attention of the Sokovia Accords Committee, even if Jimmy had never done anything to indicate he'd purposely put someone in danger or lock them up without trial. On the other hand, if someone was experimenting on children, she would stop them.

It almost felt like she was being sucked back into being an Avenger, but that idea didn't bother her as much as it would have a few months ago.

The building was old, and the office had an impression of being dusty even though there was no trace of actual dust. The decor consisted of framed posters of houses and a rack displaying real estate books, magazines, and fliers. There were also a few overgrown potted plants in the corners.

Everything about it seemed straightforward, explicable, and entirely forgettable.

As if it were purposely trying to be unsuspicious.

A bubbly, middle-aged blond woman entered from the back. "Sorry to keep you waiting," she said, even though it had been not even two minutes.

Nothing about her seemed off so far. Wanda picked up a friendly professionalism from her mind.

"It's perfectly alright, Ms. Altman."

"Please call me Mary-Jo. You must be Victor Shade."

"Yes. And this is my fiancée, Scarlet."

Wanda's heart fluttered at hearing Vision refer to her as his fiancée for the first time. She couldn't believe Vision had asked her to marry him. It didn't seem real. It seemed too good to be something that would happen to her.

The elation didn't last long. The moment Mary-Jo turned her full attention to her, her mind burst in a frenzy of fear, nearly panic.

She recognized her. Not only that, but there was no trace of surprise. She'd been expecting someone to come. Maybe not an Avenger, but it would make sense for it to be an Avenger.

Her fear didn't show on her face as she maintained her pleasant smile and extended her hand. "Scarlet? What a pretty name."

Wanda gave no indication she'd picked up on that fear. It seemed the woman had already decided on a course of continuing to feign ignorance. Wanda would play along until she got a better read.

Mary-Jo took a seat behind her desk and opened her computer. She maintained her smile, but looked at Vision a little more closely, like she was trying to figure out who he really was. "How long have you two been together?"

"That's rather complicated, actually," Vision said.

"We spent a lot of time as just friends, then we did the long-distance thing for a while. And then I was Blipped," Wanda explained.

"And you waited for her for five years?" Mary-Jo asked Vision, acting impressed, but really trying to figure out if they were telling the truth.

"Not exactly," Vision replied, drawing the words out long enough to imply far more than actually happened. "But once Wa... Once we made our way back to each other, I realized I never wanted to lose her from my life again." He turned his eyes to Wanda as he said this, and his voice trembled slightly at the end. Forgetting for a moment where they were and why, Wanda reached across the space between their chairs and took his hand.

The daze his words and touch put her under was broken by a swirl of confusion, surprise, and curiosity from Mary-Jo's mind. She glanced over to see the woman was still examining Vision's face. She'd just figured out who he was, an Avenger who was supposed to be dead, and wasn't supposed to look so human. Wanda often wondered why no one ever seemed to recognize Vision, but so few people knew about his ability to phase into a disguise that it just seemed to not occur to them. There was something different about this woman, though. The curiosity in her mind was unexpected, like she was burning to question Vision. But then, if her own son was a shapeshifter, she might be especially interested to talk to someone else who had that ability.

"Well," Mary-Jo forced her smile back into place, "let's get to finding you your dream home to start your new life together. In your email you said you were looking for something with two bedrooms in New Brunswick. That's a nice town."

"Ideally, somewhere close to South New Brunswick High School," Wanda said. "And somewhere that allows dogs."

"South New Brunswick High? That's thinking ahead. Most newlyweds haven't even started looking for kindergartens."

"We will be taking in a young man in difficult circumstances," Vision explained.

"A teen boy," Wanda said. "And I have been mentoring a student at South New Brunswick High. They have a lot in common, and I think it would be good for them to be friends. You have a son, don't you, Mary-Jo?"

Vision glanced at Wanda curiously. Being so direct could risk their covers. "Dear?"

"She's already made, us, Vision."

He looked back to Mary-Jo for confirmation.

She was stunned for a second, then said, "Like I told the police, Teddy hasn't done anything wrong."

Wanda felt the surge of fierce protectiveness when she said her son's name. She knew that feeling well. "I know you want to protect your son. I know you'd do anything to protect him. And I personally promise that as long as he's safe with you, no one will take him away from you. But we do need to settle the question of if he's safe with you. Your son is different from other people, isn't he?"

Mary-Jo looked at her steadily. Wanda was impressed by her fortitude; an ordinary person willing to face off against two Avengers. "There is nothing wrong with Teddy."

"We know that. But if he isn't like other people—if he's enhanced, as some people call it—we need to know what happened to make him that way."

Though the firm lines of Mary-Jo's face didn't waver, Wanda could follow a swirl of feelings in her mind: indecision, vulnerability, fear, pride, and resolve. "However he is...whatever strengths and talents he has, he was born with."

"He wasn't the result of any kind of experimentation?" Vision asked.

"No," Mary-Jo replied. But though her voice was firm, Wanda picked up a quavering in her mind. She didn't think it was a lie, exactly, but it felt like the truth was more complicated.

"Then what was he a result of?" she inquired.

Mary-Jo narrowed her eyes. "What are you insinuating?"

Wanda frowned. She hadn't been insinuating anything, just trying to get more information. Mary-Jo's sudden defensiveness was not what she was expecting.

"Ms. Altman," Vision said hesitantly, "forgive me if this is too personal a question, but do you mind if I ask the identity of Teddy's father?"

"That is too personal a question, and yes, I do mind," she replied.

Wanda picked up on calculations clicking in Mary-Jo's head, weighing her chances of escape. Her attention flickered to something concealed beneath her desk. Maybe an emergency alarm, a smoke bomb, or a weapon. Wanda had no way to know. Mary-Jo's intent didn't seem to be violent, but there was an edge of desperation to her thoughts that could make her try something rash.

Which was the last thing they wanted or intended. "The boys we told you about," Wanda said quickly and quietly, the tone of confiding a secret, "the one who will be staying with Vision and the one I'm mentoring, they're like your son. They're different. I would do anything to protect them, just like you would do anything to protect Teddy. I know what he's going through, I know how alone it feels, how terrifying it is. He should know he's not alone in the world."

"He used his strength to protect someone in danger, even knowing it could potentially expose him," Vision added. "That tells us much about the kind of person he is. We want to make sure no one attempts to exploit his powers to harm others or for their personal gain."

"I won't let that happen," Mary-Jo insisted.

"What do you want for your son?" Vision inquired.

"To protect him. To keep him safe. And to give him as good a childhood as I can."

Vision glanced at Wanda questioningly.

"She means it," Wanda confirmed.

Mary-Jo looked back at her. "Are you reading my mind?" The tone of her voice was one of outrage, but her thoughts were a burst of terror.

That was strange. What was she so afraid Wanda might see?

But the fact she was so genuinely terrified of a mind reader, and she was unable to hide that fact, meant everything else Wanda had picked up on was genuine.

"Not really," she assured her. "I can pick up on strong emotions and states of mind, but I can't hear your thoughts or see your memories or anything like that."

Relief replaced the terror at that news, though it was tempered with a new guardedness. "That seems awfully invasive," she complained.

"It's not something I would choose to do, but I can't really stop, so my choices are stay away from other people for the rest of my life, wear a sign around my neck warning people to guard their minds around me, or use it to try to protect people. Now I know for sure that Teddy isn't being experimented on, and you're not using him."

"Now that you have the answers you came for, are we done here?" Mary-Jo asked.

"Not quite yet. We actually did come here about a house," Vision stated apologetically.