We're catching up to the events of 'Payback'!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own 'X-Men' or 'WandaVision', or any of their characters.

WORD COUNT: 1,095


Patsy actually reacts appropriately this time, screaming at the sight of her 'son' being attacked like that, and Raven hopes dearly that Peter is okay. She can see through the hole in the window that there's fighting going down in the street: Wanda versus Agatha, with Monica and Ralph joining the fight on opposite sides. Ralph takes another hit from Monica, this time throwing him into a randomly-placed pile of cardboard boxes on the side of the road. Wanda gets another assist, in the form of a red-faced man in green and yellow coming flying down out of the sky.

Then, things finally take a turn for the better. Wanda, looking like it's killing her to do so, raises her hands, which are glowing red (the same red as the energy that has sporadically appeared throughout this whole clusterfuck), and a similar red energy flashes in the sky overhead, before cascading outward and downward as a scarlet energy-dome dissolves.

As does the red-faced man. Wanda screams in pure grief that reminds Raven so much of Erik in that moment, of someone who has repeatedly lost people over and over, but she continues her work until the dome is gone. Another wave of red rushes in from its outer edges, hitting Raven from behind, and although she's still trapped within herself, she's back to wearing the same clothes she had on before falling under that spell.

Agatha cackles loudly, and says something that Raven can't make out, and then snaps her fingers.

And suddenly, Raven can breathe again.

She drops to her knees in shock, revelling in the sudden return of her ability to control her own body. It's dizzying, and she takes a few seconds to breathe before getting back to her feet.

The battle is still ongoing, with all three women hurling energy blasts and Peter still among the boxes, when the roar of vehicle engines echoes through the streets and a swarm of SUVs and Army green Humvees shows up. The men that pile out are wearing either suits, military gear, or blue jackets with the letters 'FBI' in yellow lettering. Raven recoils, her own experiences with the Army, police, and federal agents other than Moira having left her with a strong aversion to armed enforcers of any kind.

These agents open fire on Agatha, who almost lazily uses her powers to block their bullets, so Raven tentatively decides they're okay for now.

One of the FBI agents runs to Monica's side, followed by a brunette in glasses, while a man in camo barks orders at everyone else. He walks up to Wanda, stopping several feet away when she turns her glowing, red hands in his direction and doesn't put them down right away. They speak, too quietly to be heard from a distance, while Raven stealthily makes her way through the broken window and down off the roof. She circles around, disguising herself to look like one of the soldiers, while trying to get closer to Peter.

Agatha laughs – a full-on witchy cackle – and waves her hands, summoning clouds of dark purple magic around her hands, only for the cloud to split up into pieces and shoot off in all directions. Some hit a crowd of the soldiers, who all turn and aim their weapons at their friends. Seconds later, some regular civilians start coming out of their houses and around the street's corners. Agatha has amassed an army, and that's not all she has.

While Monica, Wanda, and the others are looking around, trying to figure out what to do, the witch waves her hand again, and another, larger cloud of dark purple mist appears and dissipates quickly, revealing two small figures kneeling before her.

Raven's blood boils at the sight. Agatha has two little boys as her prisoners, probably Wanda's children and the same kids Raven heard earlier.

"Billy! Tommy!" Sure enough, Wanda's call to them is full of the agony only a parent with a child in danger – or worse – can muster. Raven's heard it enough times, in the rare moments Erik actually speaks about Nina.

The sight is so distracting, she almost misses the movement coming from that pile of boxes. The sight fills Raven with relief; Peter's okay, and if Raven is free to move around again, then he might be, as well. Then maybe they can get the hell out of there. Perhaps they could rescue the kids, because Raven had zero tolerance for child endangerment, but beyond that, while Agatha had obviously imprisoned them in Peter's attic, all signs pointed to Wanda being behind their imprisoned within their own bodies. As horrifying as her backstory (according to Agatha) might be, Raven didn't want anything to do with her.

Meanwhile, Agatha was still in the 'evil gloating' part of the faceoff. "It's too late, Toots," she taunts Wanda, "I've been siphoning your chaos magic since I first arrived here." Agatha then reveals something in her hand. It's a black crystal, about the size of her palm. The whole thing is surrounded by the same red energy that Wanda has been flinging around. "And you didn't even notice! All I need is these two…" She nods down at the two boys, who appear to be in some sort of pain. "The most powerful examples of your potential – actual living, breathing people, not simulacrums! – and I'll be the most powerful witch on the planet. And I'll be doing a lot more than making breakfast for dinner!"

With that last boast, just as Raven is mere feet away from Peter, Agatha thrusts the crystal towards Billy and Tommy, and twin bolts of dark energy shoot in their direction.

"NOOOOOO!"

Multiple things happen at the same time. Those cardboard boxes go flying, a gunshot sounds, and Raven feels a strong impact on her chest that sends her flying backwards. She lands hard, the sound of an explosion ringing in her ears.

More blasts sound, and the boys cry out "MOM!", but Raven is too busy catching her breath to look up. She does, however, see a flash of red before another, smaller explosion is heard, and a car goes flying overhead.

Once Raven manages to sit up, she sees Peter, back in his X-Men uniform, lining up with Wanda, Monica, and FBI Guy, facing a massive cloud of Agatha's magic down the street (a street that now has a deep furrow in it).

Well, it looks like, whatever Raven was planning, Peter has thrown his lot in with Wanda and her friends in the fight against Agatha.

Great. Just great.


Just one more chapter left!