TGIWanda
Washington D.C.: Then
It was a bright, sunny, warm summer's day in the Maryland suburb where Peggy Carter, Co-Founder and Director of S.H.I.E.L.D, had made a home with her wife Angie, and their daughter Natasha. Peggy stood in the kitchen of that home, leaning on the door frame of the open sliding doors that lead out onto their deck, and watched as Angie laughed her way through a bocce ball lesson with their little girl. Natasha, in all of her prepubescent wisdom, had declared bocce ball an old people's game, which Angie had taken offence too. Her proud Italian American wife argued that bocce was no different than chess and Natasha didn't think chess was for old people. Peggy would have joined her loves in the garden but she was waiting on the first wave of their afternoon guests. She loathed bringing her work home, but this particular meeting needed to be off the books, as clandestine as possible, so she'd agreed when Nicholas had suggested they have it at her home, but only after discussing it with Angie. Discussing it with her wife had only been fair since Peggy was essentially using Angie and Natasha as a cover.
When the doorbell rings Peggy sets her glass of lemonade on the kitchen counter as she passes on her way to answer the door. She is dressed quite casually in a simple floral print summer dress and sandals, and her hair is pulled back and up to keep it off her face and neck. It was something she wore often to social summer gatherings with her closest friends. This also played into the cover that her guests were there for a summer afternoon cookout. Opening the door with a warm and welcoming smile Peggy greeted the familiar face on the other side. "Nicholas." She then made eye contact with Fury's companions. "Welcome, please come inside."
Once in the foyer of Peggy's home with the door closed behind them Fury introduced everyone. "Ma'am," He greets Peggy with a respectful nod of his head. "This is Captain Maria Rambeau, U.S.A.F." He indicates the young woman at his side. She's the reason for this little private confab. Maria had some pretty big ideas and Fury insisted that Peggy was the one person who could help Maria see those ideas come to light. Then Fury's smile brightens as he indicates the little girl standing close to Maria. "And this is her daughter Monica."
"It's nice to meet you both." Peggy says as she shakes Maria's hand and then smiles down at Monica. "You, Miss Rambeau, look to be about the same age as my poppet, give or take a year. Shall we head to the back garden so you can meet her?"
Monica Rambeau blinks at the lady with the strange accent but warm brown eyes and friendly smile. Then she asks with an inquisitive tilt of her head, "What's a poppet?"
Peggy laughs softly before explaining, "It's a term of endearment we English use for our little ones. In this case a poppet is my daughter Natasha."
"Oh," Monica replies. She sticks to her mother's side as they're led through the house and out into the backyard. "It's a nickname, like Auntie Carol calling me Lt. Trouble."
Introductions are once again made, this time between Maria and Monica, and Angie and Natasha. Then Angie, really Peggy has no idea how she managed to get so lucky, quickly occupied the girls attention so that Peggy, Maria, and Fury could slip off to Peggy's study. Over the next few years Peggy would mentor Maria, help guide her as she co-founded what would become the Sentient World Observation and Response Division, or S.W.O.R.D. for short. Together with S.H.I.E.L.D, S.W.O.R.D. would become one of the Earth's main protectors from the threats unimaginable to the everyday human being.
While Peggy mentored Maria, their daughters became friends. Natasha loved exploring the Rambeau's little patch of Louisiana with Monica who was just as adventurous as she was. And when the Rambeaus came to D.C. Natasha always made sure Monica got to go to the aerospace museum because it was her favorite. No matter where they were they would eventually end up outside at night laying in the grass and looking up at the stars. Monica would tell stories of her Auntie Carol, who was up in those stars keeping them safe. Natasha would in turn, tell tales of her uncles, the Howling Commandos, and how they and her Uncle Howard and Captain America had helped her Mum win the war. When they were grown, Natasha actually tried to recruit Monica for S.H.I.E.L.D., but Monica's path lay with another acronym.
Somewhere in New Jersey: Now
The base camp was set up just outside the town limits of Westview, New Jersey under the guise of an FBI operation. They needed to hide in plain sight because no one was supposed to know they were there. This, whatever this was, was S.H.I.E.L.D's territory, maybe even the Avengers', not theirs. But that didn't seem to matter to their commander who wanted inside the anomaly before anyone else so he could get his hands on something he considered a highly valued prize, something he claimed would be a game changer that would propel S.W.O.R.D. to even greater heights than any other organization on the planet.
There were so many emotions flowing through Natasha Carter as she infiltrated the secret S.W.O.R.D. basecamp, that not even giving herself over fully to her Black Widow persona was helping her to remain in check as she listened to Deputy Director Tyler Hayward angrily yelling at his agents and techs. While Natasha was away on a mission with Steve, Clint, and Bucky; Wanda had been lured to a small town in New Jersey. Her magical teacher, Agatha Harkness, a real life Salem witch according to Wong who had sent them to Harkness to ask for her help in teaching Wanda about her powers, had gone with Wanda. So had Vision, who was aways with Wanada when he could be. Shortly after their arrival, Westview seemed to simply disappear, taking with it an FBI witness in hiding who belonged to Special Agent Jimmy Woo. When S.W.O.R.D showed up they did something that revealed that the town wasn't missing but engulfed within an energy barrier that turned red nearly twelve hours ago. The moment Natasha saw it she knew the barrier had something to do with her daughter's powers. What she didn't know, yet, was why S.W.O.R.D was there. Wanda's powers were magical, not extraterrestrial. And just what had they done to Wanda to make her powers flare like this.
"I don't give a rat's ass about the girl!" Tyler Hayward bellowed as he glared angrily at the team he had assembled. "What I care about is the three billion dollar vibranium weapon inside that thing and this being our only chance at getting our hands on it!" He glared at his gathered agents and lowered his voice as he activated his earpiece. "If the only way to the Vision is by taking out the Scarlet Witch, take the shot as soon as it's available."
No one saw the Black Widow move on Hayward until she had him pressed up against a wall with her forearm pressed against his throat, the barrel of her gun pressed into his crotch, and she'd dropped the stealth shielding Shuri had added to her uniform.
Hayward's eyes were wide and starting to bulge slightly from the pressure on his throat. He managed to gasp out, "Get off me, this doesn't concern you."
Natasha's response is to add pressure and watch as Hayward's face turns red and then begins to edge towards purple as he tries to cover his whimpers as she presses more firmly into his testicals with the barral of her Glock.
"Lets say, for interagency cooperation's sake, that we could have maybe overlooked the fact that it seems like you're plotting to kidnap an Avenger." Captain America's voice calls out, which draws all eyes his way. Men whose hands were on their weapons ready to draw or already had their weapons trained on the Black Widow, stopped what they were doing when they saw him enter the room flaked by the White Wolf and Hawkeye. "Any mercy that might have been shown to those involved in this unsanctioned operation just went up in smoke thanks your Deputy Director's callous attitude."
"Man, have you gotten wordy." Bucky grumbles at Steve before saying to the gathering of agents, techs, and scientists, "The girl Hayward's so ready and willing to kill, she ain't just an Avenger, she's the Black Widow's kid, and he knows that." He pauses to let that sink in because there isn't a man or woman in the room who didn't know the legend of the Black Widow. "So, how many of you have the balls to back his play now?"
Weapons were lowered, steps were taken back away from Hayward, the Black Widow, and the other Avengers. Natasha doesn't back down until Hayward is on the cusp of blacking out, then she lets him go, watching with fire in her eyes as he falls to the floor gasping for air.
"Hi, um, hello Avengers." A woman's voice cuts through the intense silence suffocating the room. "I wasn't sure you'd get my message or even take it seriously. I'm so glad you came."
Natasha turns towards the voice to find a woman who was about her height, with dark hair, black framed glasses, and a lipstick so bold it could have come out of her mum's collection. "You must be Dr. Lewis." Natasha softens just a fraction of a bit as she walks over to the other woman while holstering her sidearm.
"Yeap, that's me, Dr. Darcy Lewis." Darcy beams and then blinks in awe. "Whoa, wait, you know who I am?"
"Thor speaks very highly of you. He considers you a worthy friend." Natasha replies with a nod. "And so do I, Dr. Lewis, thank you for protecting Wanda."
Darcy blushed a little. "I just got lucky is all. Apparently no one thought to check my friends list on Facebook, otherwise I don't think they'd have brought in an astrophysicist who gets into meme wars with Thor Odinson."
Behind them Hayward continues to rant in a raspy voice about them not having a right to interfere with his operation. Steve argued back that even as Deputy Director of S.W.O.R.D Hayward had no authority to commandeer a situation that involved Avengers, and that he certainly didn't have the right to kidnap one. Hayward's reply was that the Vision was a sentient weapon not a person with the same kind of rights and privileges as a human being. Then he added, "And by the looks of things, if that red energy really is the Scarlet Witch, she's as much a weapon as the Vision is, and sentient weapons are our purview, Captain."
"I have no intention of stopping the Black Widow from taking action against you, Hayward." Steve replies, his voice cold and laced with anger. "So I'd shut up if I were you."
Natasha doesn't know who she can trust outside of Thor's friend who vouches for Jimmy Woo so she calls in reinforcements. She's fairly certain those who aren't trying to not piss themselves in fear because they're in the presence of the Black Widow and the former Winter Soldier, have enough respect and admiration for Captain America to follow the sudden change in leadership. When Hayward's protests and threats get on her last nerve she has Clint shove him in an empty gear locker after Bucky makes a show of unloading Hayward's side arm before using his vibranium arm to crumple the gun like a piece of paper. With Hayward secured and out of her way Natasha turns to Darcy and Woo. "Bring us up to speed."
Darcy leads them to where she'd been working and explains how she'd found high levels of CMBR, or cosmic waves of radiation. This had allowed her to pick up on a signal being broadcast from inside the anomaly. When she showed the Avengers what that signal was showing them, none of them knew what to make of it. "It's a sitcom," Darcy explains to the confused looking Avengers. "To be specific, it's Sabrina the Teenage WItch, the 90s TGIF version, not the 2018 Chilling Adventures Netflix version, and I guess in this case it's Wanda the Teenage Witch."
For several long moments Natasha just stands there watching her daughter on the screen as she plays out a scene straight from one of the first shows they binge watched together. She can see the memory clearly in her mind, Wanda coming back from training and asking why Tony kept calling her Sabrina, camping out on the sofa under a throw eating bowls of pasta and pints of ice cream as they watched, Wanda wondering out loud what Goose would have to say if he could talk like the cat on the show. "So," Natasha finally says, "You're telling us this anomaly has two Avengers and an ancient sorceress trapped in a sitcom?"
Darcy nods, "Appears that way, although we haven't seen Vision yet."
"We've been able to identify a handful of the locals." Jimmy Woo cuts in and then shows them their case board. "We weren't sure who was playing Wanda's Aunt Agnes, we couldn't find her in any of the databases. We couldn't find an I.D. for the woman playing Dottie either. Wanda seems to interact with them and a boy named Henry the most. We're still working on IDing the boy."
Natasha points to the pinned up picture of 'Aunt Agnes' and says, "That's Agatha Harkness, Wanda's teacher. I don't recognize the other two." Turning her full attention to Darcy again she says, "I need to get in there."
"That's a bad idea." Jimmy informs them. "Everything we've sent in, is transformed into something else. The drones become toy helicopters or RC cars. Hayward sent in an agent, he became a beekeeper and his tether a jump rope."
"Maybe I can help get you inside without you turning into Donna Reed or an actual spider." A strong female voice calls out, causing everyone to turn towards the doorway.
The woman is younger than her mothers but much older than Natasha and even though she's aged since the last time Natasha saw her, she knew who she was. "Colonel Rambeau?"
Maria Rambeau offers a soft smile to Natasha before shifting back into an expression of command. "Director Rambeau, actually."
Natasha blinks. She can feel her anger rising once again and before she can stop herself she closes the distance between herself and the older woman. While she was aware of S.W.O.R.D she'd never really needed to be aware of the finer details surrounding it. "This," She sweeps her arm out to indicate their surroundings and the agents watching them. "This is you?"
"No." Maria replies firmly. "This is a rogue op undertaken by a man I thought I could trust." Anger flashed in her dark eyes as she scanned the room for Hayward before settling her gaze once more on Natasha and the Avengers at her back. "But yes, S.W.O.R.D is mine."
Suddenly all the time her mother spent with this woman made so much more sense. While she had no doubts that Peggy and Maria were friends, Natasha had always sensed there was something different about their friendship, and now she knew that it was because Peggy had been Maria's mentor. "How can you help me get to my daughter?"
"I know a specialist." Maria answers while nodding towards the door, a silent order for Natasha to follow.
Natasha remembers when her mothers broke the news to her. She remembers the heaviness of the moment, and how they tried their best to explain to her that Monica was sick. She remembers the gut punch of fear she felt over the word cancer, because cancer had taken away her Uncle Michael and Aunt Ana. She remembers the anger she felt because Monica was just a kid and a kid getting cancer wasn't fair. She also remembers the triumphant relief she felt when her Mum told her Monica would be alright, that she'd beaten her cancer because she'd gotten very special care. Natasha had always assumed Maria had taken her daughter to someplace like St. Jude, but that wasn't the case. Standing beside the red energy barrier keeping her from her daughter, Natasha listened as the Rambeaus confided in her that Monica's adolescent cancer had been cured by other worldly means thanks to Carol Danvers.
"Carol Danvers got her powers from an Infinity stone, the space stone." Natasha says after it's revealed to her that Monica has powers. "Wanda's from the mind stone. This," She indicates the barrier. "This is Wanda's power. Monica, there's no telling what it'll do to you if you pass through it with me."
"There's no telling what it will do to you either." Monica points out.
"She's my kid." Natasha says firmly. "I'd walk through a wall of fire to protect my kid."
"Agent Carter!" Jimmy Woo's voice cuts through the cool night air. "Black Widow!" He calls again, clearly unsure of what to call her. "Ma'am, you need to see this."
They rush back to the main structure of the base where Darcy's workstation is set up. Steve, Bucky, and Clint are already there, gathering behind Darcy watching her screens. Bucky moves out of the way so Natasha can get in close. Wanda is standing at the door of the house that's meant to be the home she shares with her 'aunt', her eyes are wide and confused, her head slightly tilted in that way Natasha finds adorable.
"What?" A male voice comes from the other side of the door. "Aren't you glad to see me, Sis?"
"Pietro?" Wanda's voice quivers.
When the owner of the voice comes into view Natasha shakes her head hard. "That's not Pietro."
On screen Wanda backs away while shaking her head. "You're not… You're not Pietro."
"Of course I am." The young man replies. "What's the matter Wanda? Didn't you miss me?"
Westview: Before the Hex
The sleepy little town of Westview, New Jersey passed drollfully outside the car's windows as Wanda and her teacher Angatha Harkness drove through town. It's just as it appeared in her nightmares, sad and forgotten. Why, of all the places on earth, was she being drawn here? Surely this place couldn't be important magically like Angetha suspected, there was nothing in this rundown town but depression and regret.
"It reminds me of Storybrooke before the curse was broken." Wanda muses aloud, referencing one of her favorite tv shows, as Agatha parks the car on mainstreet. The pair get out of the car and look around for a moment to take in their surroundings, and then Agatha begins to walk off and Wanda hurries to follow.
"No magical curse here, kiddo." Agatha replies. "Just the good old fashion fall of Americana thanks to the clawing greed of capitalism."
Wanda shivers, but it has nothing to do with anything Agatha has just said. This place feels strange in a way Wanda can't really explain. It's different from the strange way the Sanctum Sanctorum feels to her, though she's only ever been there twice. The Sanctum is a focal point for magic, it feels powerful. This place, this place feels larger than it seems, and dark, really dark.
"What do you sense, Wanda?" Agatha asks as they walk. She's allowing Wanda to lead the way, though she's fairly certain Wanda doesn't realize she's moving towards something.
"I don't like it." Wanda replies, her voice tight, her body even tighter as if she's expecting an attack.
"Not what I asked, kiddo." She watches Wanda closely, taking notice of the way she responds physically first, as if preparing for a physical fight, instead of magically for a fight using her powers. Agatha knows this is from being taken in by the Black Widow and once again she wishes she'd gotten to the girl first. "What is your magic telling you about this place?"
Wanda's quiet for a moment before she replies, "There's something dark here, something, I don't know, something underneath the surface, something we can't see or fully grasp."
"Interesting." Agatha muses. She feels a dark presence but not from their location. There are dark magic users here somewhere, which didn't really surprise her. Agatha had her suspicions regarding Wanda's dreams, her nightmares, and who was causing them. He was an ancient entity named Nightmare, but what he wanted with her student, Agatha had yet to work out.
There's a man in the center of the square who looks out of place. He's broad shouldered with longish brown hair, short trimmed beard and mustache. He wore expensive tailored clothes, the shirt under his tan jacket was unbuttoned enough to show off the muscles of his chest. His eyes were blue until he looked at Wanda and Agatha and smiled at them. As his lips curled into a sinister smile as his eyes turned pitch black. The body was human, but what was inside the body was not, and Agatha knew this. She also knew all too well the woman who stood with the man. She had blonde hair, hazel eyes, and a wicked grin that made Agatha nearly snarl.
Wanda was walking right towards the pair causing Agatha to reach out and grab hold of her, halting the girl before she could get closer. Wanda blinks, a little dazed, and turns towards her teacher questioningly. Agatha's gaze is fixed on the pair in a way that alerts Wanda to the fact they are dangerous. "Agatha?" The girl tried to use the voice she'd been practicing to make herself sound more Avenger like, firm and brave, clear and commanding, like her Momma's or her Gran's. "Who are they?"
"Agents of Mephisto." Agatha answers in a hiss.
That really didn't clear anything up for Wanda so she had to ask, "Who's Mephisto?"
Agatha's jaw is clenched as she says, "He's the king of demons, the devil himself, lord of evil, satan, a manipulative, abusive, nasty son of a bitch who can continue rotting in hellish pieces for all eternity."
"Tell the girl how you really feel about your ex, Aggie." The woman mocks. "I don't think you made it quite clear enough how much you loathe him."
Agatha snarled at the woman, her eyes bright with anger and old betrayals. "Go to hell Abigail."
"You first dear sister." Abigail Harkness hisses back. "It's where you belong after all."
While the women threw verbal barbs at one another the man was focused on Wanda. Darkness engulfed him, polluting the air around him the way body spray clouded around teenage boys. Wanda did her best to be brave as she faced him down. "You don't belong in that body."
The man laughed. "Do not be concerned, little one, I know how people feel about consent these days. Karl gave himself to me willingly."
"Can the same be said of the woman set to testify against him?" Agatha asks as she shifts her heated gaze from Abigail to the demon in a Karl suit. "Cult leader suits you well, Nightmare." She says, calling him out for who he truly was. "What do you want with my pupil?"
"Your pupil, that's funny." Nightmare laughs. "You're a second rate Salem witch, and she's destined to be more powerful than even the Sorcerer Supreme."
Wanda blinks. She's supposed to be more powerful than Dr. Strange? That can't be right, that would mean she had unimaginable power locked up inside her and that terrified her.
Villains loved a good monolog, so Nightmare laid out exactly what he needed from Wanda. He wanted her to find and reunite the shattered pieces of Mephisto's soul that lay scattered throughout the multiverse.
"And once he is whole again, our Master will take you as his new bride, and you will give him sons." Nightmare said with a sinister grin as he finished his monolog.
"Um, yeah, no thank you." Wanda replies, more than a little creeped out. "I'm way too young to marry and have kids, and I'm pretty sure the devil isn't getting my Momma's consent."
When the threats came, threats against her family, the innocent people of Westview and beyond, Nightmare must not have taken into account that even though Wanda was merely a teenager, she was also an Avenger. She was an Avenger who didn't know what to do other than to protect and to bide herself some time until she could figure things out. So drawing on her emotions, her desire to protect, her fears of people getting hurt, her family getting hurt, Wanda cast the most powerful spell she has ever cast.
Outside Westview: Just Before the Hex
They'd been tracking the weapon's vibranium signature for a while waiting for the right moment to acquire the asset, but it was hardly ever alone. Their luck seemed to be turning towards the good kind that morning when the Vision appeared to be flying solo so the agent followed, calling in the waiting acquisition team in hopes of finally having their chance. They followed the Vision to New Jersey. It was perfect, they could take him out just outside of some no name doesn't matter forgotten town and no one would be the wiser. The lead agent gave the order, smiling as he thought about the promotion and raise he was going to get from Hayward for finally nailing the man's long coveted prize. He watches as the Vision is hit by the neutralizing weapon and begins to fall. He's about to call it in to tell Hayward he was about to get Christmas early, but he doesn't get the chance because a wave of red energy explodes outward from the center of the no name town. The agent stands there, anger and disbelief bubbling up, as he realizes the town, and the Vision are gone. He spends ten minutes cursing before he discovers the barrier, and then he calls in it. The Vision was still theirs for the taking, they just needed to get inside to get it.
Inside the Hex: Time is Starge Here
Wanda stood there staring at the boy as if he were a stranger, because he was, wasn't he? She was so confused. Just this afternoon at lunch, Wanda and her friend Henry Higgins, who she may or may not have a crush on, had been talking about their brothers. Henry talked about how much he missed his brother, and how he would do anything, absolutely anything, to get him back. Wanda had felt this pain in her chest as Henry spoke and it must have shown on her face because Henry asked what was wrong, saying she suddenly looked very sad, and she admitted to having a brother too. "Pietro," She had whispered his name so softly it almost sounded like a prayer. "He was my twin."
Only she didn't have a brother. Wanda Carter was the daughter of a famous prima ballerina who was always away touring the world with her famous ballet company. Wanda lived with her Aunt Agnes so she could go to high school like a normal kid, and have friends like a normal kid. Though she wasn't really a normal kid. Wanda was a witch, and so was her aunt, who was teaching her all the witchy things she needed to know.
"Wanda?" The boy at the door says with a questioning look. "Can't a bro get a hug from his favorite little sister?"
This isn't right, deep down she knows that, but it's been so very long since she'd been able to hug Pietro. Wanda moves forward, despite the tiny voice deep down inside screaming at her that this wasn't real. "You're only a few minutes older, Pietro."
"Peter." He corrects her, and for a moment he's the one who looks confused. Then he's grinning again and adds, "We're Americans now, remember."
Peter, that name does seem to hold meaning for her, but it doesn't fit this person. Peter, Pietro, her brother, her brothers, they were different people. Weren't they? But she didn't have brothers. Wanda was so confused.
"Wanda dear," Aunt Agnes's voice calls out down the stairs moments before the woman herself appears. "Who's at the door?"
Wanda steps away from Pietro as she says, "Look Auntie, Pietro's home."
Agatha raises an eyebrow. Interesting, clearly not necromancy, the boy looked nothing like the pictures Wanda has shown her, and she doesn't sense any magic involved in his form. For Wanda's sake she plays the role of Aunt Agnes, but Agatha is fully aware they're in the midst of a spell. Wanda was trying to protect innocents from evil and the only way the girl could come up with to do that was to trap the evil inside this spell, only she'd trapped them and the town along with it. If she was unaffected by the spell, thanks to her broach, Nightmare must be as well. Did he send this fake Pietro to try and manipulate Wanda? She couldn't take that chance, so with a wave of her hand she turned the boy into a rabbit.
Wanda gasped, "Auntie! Why did you do that?"
"He wasn't who he seemed, dear." Agatha replies as she picks the rabbit up and begins to pet it. If the forces working against them were going to use Wanda's past against her, perhaps she could use the girl's present to help protect her. "You know he wasn't your Peter."
The overall spell is Wanda's, Agatha can't manipulate it, can't break it. So she has to subtly manipulate Wanda instead, getting the girl to unknowingly use powers she hasn't officially unlocked just yet. Tendrils of purple magic swirl around Wanda's head as Agatha's fingers make the right signs to cast the spell. She has to be careful, Wanda's instinct to protect her loved ones was stronger than her instinct to protect herself. The last time she tried to get Wanda to bring someone inside the spell, namely her mother, a crown of scarlet colored magic formed around Wanda's head just before her power burst out, sending Agatha flying into a wall. "There now my dear," Agatha whispers when Wanda's head tilts down as if she's about to fall asleep. "If you crave the company of a brother let's stick to the one that's actually alive."
New York: Avengers Compound
Peter didn't want to be here. He wanted to be with Natasha, he wanted to be helping her rescue Wanda. He should have gone with Wanda when she'd said she needed to go look into something, but she'd insisted that her teacher would be enough backup because whatever it was they were looking for it was magical. Peter should have insisted on tagging along anyway because he'd known Wanda had been a bit off lately. Even Aunt May had been concerned, but Ms. Harkness had reassured her that this magical mission would be good for Wanda. But it wasn't good for Wanda because now she was trapped in some small town in Jersey, and from what he was hearing thanks to his little spybot spider hiding near the command center, some douchey government guy was trying to kidnap Vision and was willing to hurt Wanda to do it.
"Hey," May says softly as she approaches her nephew. She offers him a reassuring smile as she steps up beside him. Peter had been standing at the picture window overlooking the grounds for over an hour now and she had decided it was time to check in. She points to the earpiece in his ear and asks, "Whatcha listening' too?"
Peter didn't think any of his adults would take kindly to the truth, which was he was eavesdropping on Grandma Peggy as she spoke to Natasha and then a woman named Rambeau. Thinking quickly Peter replied, "Marvin Gaye." When May raised an inquisitive eyebrow at his response he rushed to add, "You know how Mr. Wilson is always telling everyone to listen to Trouble Man, I thought I should, ya know, before the next family night."
May smiles as she brushes Peter's hair from his forehead. "I think that'll make Sam happy. He's still mad at Bucky for saying he liked Big Band better."
She's trying to ease his concerns but Peter can see May is just as worried about Wanda as he is. "It'll be ok Aunt May, Auntie Nat is there now, she'll bring Wanda home."
She'd been second guessing her decision to let Wanda go off with just Harkness since being told something had gone wrong, despite the fact that May knew Wanda was safe with the woman. Natasha would never have allowed Harkness access to Wanda if the woman couldn't be trusted. Raising teenagers was hard, raising teenagers with powers was even harder. May's about to reply to Peter's reassurance but stops when she notices an odd look across his face. "Peter?"
A dot of red energy appears a few feet away and grows quickly in size until it's a swirling vortex that's moving towards them faster than Peter can react. He tries to shove May out of the way but the energy expands and washes over them both.
Basecamp Outside Westview: Now
Natasha struggles with what she's seeing on the screen. How were May and Peter with Wanda? She had spoken with them on her way here, they'd been at the compound safe and sound and under the protective eye of her mother. So how could they now be inside the anomaly with Wanda? Stepping back from the others because she needed space, her chest was feeling tight, her heartbeat too quick, she needed a moment to take in a full breath, Natasha raised her left arm to activate the kimoyo beads in her gauntlet. May's wedding band, Peter's Starkwatch, and the Sokovian pendant Natasha gave Wanda for Christmas all had vibranium in them. Natasha could use that to pinpoint their locations. "Fuck."
"Nat?" Clint looks over at her with a concerned look.
"It's really May and Peter inside that thing." Natasha tells him.
"How?" He asks in reply. "They weren't there ten minutes ago."
"Can Wanda or Harkness do the spinny portal thing Strange does?" Bucky asks.
Natasha shakes her head and shrugs her shoulders. "Not that I know of, but Angatha's always on about Wanda not using her full potential."
"Why is it different?" Steve asks, his eyes still on the screen. "It doesn't seem like the same set up as before."
"Different show, not sure which one yet, I'm getting Disney Channel vibes." Darcy explains. "Sabrina didn't have siblings and she lived with her aunts, so the show had to change to include a step-brother and a step-mom."
"Looks like May and Peter have taken on characters just like the others." Monica points out.
Darcy nods. "When you go into the hex you become a part of it."
That sets off a debate about the safety of having anyone else go in. What if Natasha and Monica went in and got trapped just like everyone else. Steve was talking plans, someone mentioned Strange again, Natasha thinks she hears Thor's name, people more equipped to handle magic then they were. But magic or not, her family was inside that barrier and Natasha needed to get to them. So she slipped away almost unnoticed, Bucky saw her but he didn't say anything. Making her way down to the barrier again, Natasha pressed her hand to it. It was warm to the touch and it buzzed softly with power. Everyone else who'd tried touching it had been blasted by a surge of that power, but Natasha wasn't just anyone else. She was Wanda's momma. "Wanda." She said softly as she closed her blue-green eyes. "Love, I know this is your magic and I know you can sense me through it. Let me in baby, please, let momma in."
Back in the command tent Darcy was trying to get everyone's attention. "Um, guys, hey, hello." She sighs and raises her voice. "Avengers shut up and look!"
Turning towards Darcy, who was pointing at her bank of televisions and other equipment, the Avengers and agents all watched as Natasha walked into the sitcom house with a smile while declaring, "Honey, I'm home!"
"Damnit Nat." Steve grumbles.
Inside the Hex:
Something deep inside of her knew this wasn't right but Natasha couldn't seem to really hold on to that instinctive feeling for more than an intake of air or a blink of her eyes. When Natasha woke up that morning the life she was waking up to was one where she was the widowed mother of twins, Wanda and Pietro, and had just married her new wife May who brought with her her own son, Peter. They lived in a nice home in a lovely neighborhood in Westview New Jersey with a dog and their housekeeper Agnes. It was Agnes who had said something, what Natasha couldn't recall, that had given her that strange fleeting feeling. Wanda's voice quickly chased away the feeling, and when Natasha looked over at her daughter to see her dressed for hwe date with Henry she couldn't help but smile.
"You look lovely, sweetheart." Natasha coos. She had reservations about this boy, but as May had pointed out she would have had issues with any one her baby girl brought home.
Agatha had been impressed. When Wanda reset the spell to include her adoptive mother she had undone Agatha's spell on the Not-Pietro and had included him in the fantasy. While Wanda's power continued to impress her, this whole situation was really starting to piss her off. She understood Wanda was trying to protect people from the threat of Nightmare and Agatha's own duplicitous sister, but they couldn't simply continue hiding in this sitcom world she'd created. The Black Widow was the key here, if she could just get through to Natasha, but every time she thought she'd triggered the woman's true self, Wanda was there to snip the line Agatha was pulling on. With Wanda fighting against her inside the spell, Agatha would have to depend on those outside to try and break through to one of the spider heroes she was currently playing Brady Bunch with. Goddess, Agatha hated that show.
Basecamp outside the Hex
"Someone," Boomed a voice that demanded respect and projected command. "In this bloody tent better be able to explain this ongoing cock up!"
"Director Carter." Monica manages in a calm voice as she turns to see the woman standing in the doorway with her arms across over her chest.
"Now Peggy…" Maria starts.
Peggy eyes Maria and points a finger at her. "Don't you 'now Peggy' me Director Rambeau." She paused, eyed everyone else in the room, and then ordered, "Everyone but my team, the Rambeaus, Dr. Lewis, and Agent Woo, clear the room."
There wasn't a single person who hesitated because even among S.W.O.R.D. agents the legend of Peggy Carter loomed large.
"Holy crap." Darcy says with wide eyes that stared at the foraminal woman. "You're Peggy freakin' Carter! And you know who I am!"
Peggy spares the young woman a soft look and warm smile before turning back to Maria and the others. "This situation has gone from your man ordering your agents to take out my granddaughter in order to kidnap an Avenger, to my daughter's entire family being caught up in that magical bubble. You all better have solutions to this or so help me..."
"Hey Peg," Bucky calls out before Peggy can threaten everyone in the room with painful retributions. "Since when does Pete wear hearing aids?"
"He doesn't." Peggy replies as she moves over to stand beside Bucky. He points to Peter on the screen and she scuritzes him for a moment before raising an eyebrow and smirking. Turning back to the others she asks Maria, "These two," She indicates Darcy and Woo, "sign the proper paperwork?"
Maria nods. "NDAs so tight they're life-ruining."
Peggy nods approval and then begins to speak. "Because of his powers Peter's senses are super heightened. He would have no need for a hearing aid. I've read the reports on what happens to tech that goes past the barrier, if he were wearing something like earpods or an earwig when he was taken into the hex."
Darcy feels those sharp brown eyes on her and she nearly yelps before filling in the information Peggy was demanding. "They would have changed into something that fit the aesthetic of the sitcom."
"If we could somehow tap into the device Peter has on." Monica tosses out. "Maybe we could get through to him?"
Pulling a small robotic spider from her pocket, Peggy tosses it to Darcy who is standing with Monica. "I'm fairly certain that is what Peter was using when he got pulled into the hex."
"What is it?" Darcy asks as she turns it over in her hand to examine it.
"One of Peter's spiderbots." Peggy explains. "That one," the spiderbot was small and delicate, "is the one he and Natasha developed for spying."
"Holy crap!" Darcy exclaims once again. "Peter Parker is Spiderman!"
Using Peter's spiderbot and Monica's abilities to see things humans simply shouldn't be able to see, they were able to come up with a way to pass signals into the hex.
Inside the Hex:
There had been a weird clicking in Peter's hearing aid that turned into a strange and annoying humming buzz sound. He should have probably told his mothers about it but Peter was the no fuss kid in their trio of teenagers. Pietro was boisterous and carefree, he lived like he had all the time in the world and yet not a moment to lose all at the same time. Wanda, while cheerful and kind hearted, the first to admit her favorite thing to do was just hang out with her brothers, had started dating. Something about Henry didn't sit right with Peter, he couldn't explain it, but the guy made his nervous system buzz in a way he could only compare to licking a battery. Momma Nat must have felt it too because she'd been in a prickly mood ever since meeting him when he came over to talk to Wanda on the porch not wanting to come inside where the family was.
Peter's hearing aid was state of the art and despite not wanting to give his mothers something else to worry about, he really should have told them it was on the fritz. Although, as it turns out, it wasn't on the fritz because it wasn't a hearing aid. At first Peter quietly freaked out when he heard a woman's accented voice calling out his name in his ear, but the voice on top of the humming buzz clicked something on in Peter's mind and suddenly he felt as if he'd stepped out of a fog of dentist gas. Ducking into the garage and closing the door behind him, Peter raised his hand to his ear and replied to the voice. "Gran?"
There was a soft sigh of relief on the other end as Peggy replied, "Yes, Peter, darling, it's Gran. Are you alright?"
"I think so." Peter replied, taking stock of himself. "Um, Gran, what's going on? Where am I?"
Peggy explains. Peter will always love Wanda, but he wasn't sure how he was feeling about magic by the end of their adoptive grandmother's briefing. She gave him a mission, he needed to wake the others, especially Natasha, from the spell and he needed to do it without alerting Wanda. He thought about it and figured the best way to do this would be the same way the spell had been broken for him. A sound wave at a frequency that neutralized the spell's effects on the brain. Peter also figured the best way to do this without making Wanda aware of what he was doing was to do it all at once so Natasha could stop Wanda from resetting the spell. Peter linked the kitchen radio with his earwig, a hint of a smile on his lips as he recalled Peggy's, "You and I will need to discuss your eavesdropping spiderbots, Peter, and who you are eavesdropping on, my boy." It wasn't that he found getting scolded by his Gran amusing, but under her disapproval Peter heard pride, and that made him smile.
The radio played the Top 40 of the decade in the background of the family's morning routine, but under the rhythms and catchy hooks of the songs there was a consistent humming buzz at a frequency Captain Rambeau helped Peter fine tune. Peter played his part, touched that in Wanda's perfect fantasy of a happy life she had made him her brother.
Slowly the family came out of the spell and sure enough when Wanda awoke and realized what was happening she tried to reset the spell, only to have Natasha grab her wrists. "No, baby, we can't keep hiding from whatever you have trapped in here. We need to fight it, Wanda, it's not fair or right to keep the people in this town trapped along with whatever evil is lurking in the shadows."
"It's a demon from Hell, Momma!" Wanda argued. "You can't exactly shoot or thigh hold your way out of this one!"
"Well, you could shoot his human host." Agatha points out. "But Wanda's right, the only ones who can deal with Nightmare and Abigail are she and I, and she isn't ready."
Natasha glared at the other woman. "Then get her ready, that is your job after all, teacher."
"Who the hell are you people?" The stranger in the room asks. "Where the hell am I?"
"It's alright," May is quick to sooth the boy, hands held up in a way that said she was safe, not a threat.
Agatha isn't as good with children. "We're the ones who should be asking who the hell are you and why Nightmare set you here to impersonate Pietro Maximoff."
"I am Pietro, augh, Peter Maximoff!" The boy argues. "No one's called me Pietro since Mom and I came to America when I was three."
Natasha shoots Agatha a look before softening to look at the boy. "What's the last thing you remember, Peter?"
"Hangin' in my room at the school, ridin' a chill moment listenin' to my music, when I thought..." He looks confused. "I thought I heard my little sister calling out for me, she sounded like she was in trouble." His confusion turns to concern and fear. "Wanda? Where's Wanda?" He uses his speed to pin Natasha to a wall, clearly having pegged her as the biggest threat. "Where's my sister?"
Wanda blinks, swallows against a dry throat, and then says softly. "I'm Wanda."
Peter turns to look at her, still pinning Natasha who didn't struggle. "What?"
"I'm Wanda Maximoff." Wanda tells him.
"That's impossible." Peter says. "Wanda's only a little girl, you, you're my age at least."
"My Pietro and I were twins." Wanda explains, staring at the boy in a way that was heartbreaking. She knew this wasn't her Pietro, and yet, she was just as sure that he was Pietro.
Natasha gently disentangles herself from the boy as she demands, "What the hell is going on?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Agatha replies. She'd been standing there, one arm across her abdomen, the opposite elbow resting on it, as she tapped her fingers against her chin while thinking. When she spoke she waved those twitching fingers towards the boy and Wanda. "Our little witch opened a fissure in the multiverse."
"The multiverse is real?" Peter asked, his curious eyes wide. "Wow, does Mr. Stark know?"
"What science thinks of as theory, magic has known as fact since time began." Agatha replies.
"While this is all very interesting," May cuts in. "Isn't there a demon and evil witch out there that needs your attention?"
Natasha nods.
"We also need to find Vision." Peter cuts in. "Gran says he's in here, but no one has seen him. She's sending us help."
Natasha doles out orders after that. The Peters and May will herd the people of Westview to the edge of the barrier, which Wanda will then shrink, keeping heroes and villains inside and the innocents outside the battlefield. Monica, who could pass through the barrier because of her powers, would help Natasha look for Vision, once they had him they would back up their witches. Agatha was looking forward to putting her earent sister in her place, while Wanda wasn't sure she could do this at all. Natasha reassures her daughter, telling her how much she believes in her, and how proud she is of her. This gave Wanda the strength to trust Agatha who showed her the truth, the Mind stone didn't give Wanda her powers, she'd been born with them. The stone simply amplified what was there, bringing Wanda's natural abilities out sooner than expected, and made them stronger than they should have been without nurturing them.
"This is still only a small fraction of your potential, Wanda." Agatha tells her, hand on the girl's shoulder as she looks into her frightened eyes. "You will be the next Sorcerer Supreme, more powerful than Strange could ever be. Scary thought, huh, kiddo? But you have something he doesn't, a support system, a family to keep you grounded, and me."
Wanda Maximoff, the Scarlet Witch, was a Carter and a Carter embraced their fears and got on with it anyway. They faced down the ills of the world, planted themself firmly in the way, and said, "Not today you evil bastards." The skies above Westview lit up in fiery ruins that Wanda activated just when Nightmare thought he'd won, sending the demon back to hell, and prolonging his master's return. Agatha defeats her sister, locking Abigail in a spell copied from Wanda's, where the other woman would live out a normal powerless life as Dottie in this sad little town. Vision is found. Turns out a couple of Hayward's rouge S.W.O.R.D agents had been trapped in the spell and had Vision in an old broadcast tower. It had been Vision broadcasting Wanda's sitcom spell as a sort of S.O.S. Jimmy Woo got his witness back, though without Nightmare puppeting his body, Woo's perp was left in a coma. Henry Higgins turned out to be a kid named Simon Williams who was the one working for Nightmare, not Peter like Agatha had thought. Simon's brother had gotten mixed up with some dark company and Simon was trying to get his brother's soul back.
The last string that needed to be tied up was Peter Maximoff. Wanda had no idea how to get him home, she hadn't knowingly brought him here. "I'm so sorry, Peter, I just don't know how to get you back to your Wanda."
"It's ok." Peter said, even though it clearly wasn't. "My sisters will watch out for each other so I won't have to worry about them."
"Sisters?" Wanda questioned as they stood in the aftermath of the fight.
"Lorna and Wanda." Peter says, his heart breaking over the thought he would never see them again.
"I wish I could send you home to them." Wanda says as she hugs him.
"While I believe it best you do not know this magic for now, Ms. Maximoff-Carter," A voice calls out from above. Wanda lets Peter go to look in it's direction and watches as Stephen Strange floats down to the ground. "I will allow its use, with my assistance, this one time."
"Now you show up?" Natasha demands of Dr. Strange. "Where the hell have you been?"
"Busy." Strange replies. "But I kept an eye on things here. Everything played out just as it needed too." Then he turns back to Wanda to help her send Peter back to his universe.
"I'm sorry about your Pietro." Peter says softly to Wanda before he leaves. "I'm sorry I'm not him."
Wanda smiles sadly. "It's ok, it kind of helps knowing there's a Wanda out there who still has you."
Peter hugs her tightly. "If you ever need me again, I'll be here."
Natasha watches until the portal closes and then walks over and pulls her daughter into her arms and holds her tight. "You did good, little witch, I'm proud of you Wanda."
Wanda moans with exhaustion as she melts into her mother's embrace. "Who's gonna tell Sam?"
"Tell Sam what?" Natasha asks, confused as hell.
"That his big three, aliens, androids, and wizards," Wanda replies. "Now includes demons."
Natasha laughs. "Well let Aunt Sharon break it to him." She kisses her daughter's forehead as she continues to hold her tight. "Let's go home, poppy."
Wanda nods. She's more than ready to head home with her family. Once upon a time in another life this could have all unfolded differently, but here, in this universe, Wanda was a happy kid. She didn't need to hide in the make-believe world of a sitcom, because she had a loving, and supportive family, and it was real.