Wanda

Spring was arriving with baby birds in the nests and flowers poking out of the dirt.

I welcomed it with open arms and made myself busy tending to the old orchards near my house.

Technically, I didn't own the property. But there was no title or land deed to it, so no one else did either.

It was an old farm that had been around since the American Colonial days.

I heard that it had been passed down through multiple generations, then sold a few times, and the last owner abandoned the place during the Great Depression.

The house was completely dilapidated when I arrived here in Vermont last year, but I restored it using my powers and I made a home out of it.

There was a small town about an hour away from here, but I only went there a few times to get supplies. Other than that, I kept to myself.

After a light breakfast this morning, I started trimming the apple trees. The area had become so overgrown that the trees didn't grow a lot of apples.

I could've just turned the orchard back to its former glory with a wave of my hand, but I enjoyed the manual labor. And using my powers would remind me too much of all that had happened.

As I walked down the row of trees, I enjoyed the peace and quiet of the countryside.

This farm was so isolated that nobody ever came here. And I preferred it that way. Most of the world was afraid of me in one way or another. They could hurt me and I could hurt them. This was better for everyone.

I had hidden myself so well, I doubted anybody knew I lived here.

But the two human presences that I suddenly sensed proved me wrong.

"Wanda," a voice said.

I turned around, bracing myself for some kind of fight. But all I saw was a teenage boy with a backpack on one shoulder and an older man, whom I recognized as Doctor Strange.

Great. The wizard came to chastise, punish, or arrest me.

I sighed.

"Oh, I knew sooner or later you would show up."

I took a few steps towards them.

I didn't want to hurt either of them. But if Doctor Strange was looking for a fight, then he would get one. But for now, I would be polite.

"I know I made mistakes and that people were hurt."

The teenager gave a sympathetic smile.

"Ms. Maximoff, Lagos wasn't your fault."

I wasn't even referring to Lagos. Lately, I had been dwelling on what I did to the people of Westview. Now someone had to remind me what I did years ago.

"Not Lagos."

"Westview." Doctor Strange corrected him.

The kid looked confused. He was out of the loop.

"We're not here to talk about Westview." Doctor Strange said.

My defensive look died down a little. So he didn't come to battle me. Maybe I could trust him. But after all I'd experienced, my trust was very difficult to earn.

"Then what are you here for?"

"We need your help." the teenager said.

I didn't know who he was, but he used 'we', so he must've been working with the Avengers.

I didn't want to stand around awkwardly, so I made my way down the row of trees. They followed.

"With what?" I asked.

"What do you know about the multiverse?" Doctor Strange asked.

I stared down at her feet.

"Viz had his theories. He believed it was dangerous."

Vision enjoyed studying quantum mechanics and the multiverse theory. Sometimes he would tell me about his research and what he had learned. It was hard to follow, but I enjoyed listening to him talk about it.

"He wasn't wrong." the teenager said.

It was difficult to read this boy's mind, but I sensed that he spoke from experience.

"I'm sorry. Who are you?" I asked.

"This is Spider-Man." Doctor Strange introduced.

This was Spider-Man? He couldn't have graduated high school yet. Then again, I was pretty young when I joined Hydra.

"He's just a kid." I said.

Spider-Man smiled and nodded.

"Yeah. I get that a lot."

"I remember you from Germany. How old were you then?"

That had been about eight years ago. Did he really start that young? If Stark was still alive, I would hit him over the head for dragging a middle schooler into the Sokovia Accords.

"Fourteen and a half. I'm seventeen now."

I gave a grim smile.

"And why do a former neurosurgeon and a high schooler need me again? After all the trouble I've caused?"

Doctor Strange explained that he and Spider-Man had been having dreams about the multiverse coming undone. There was destruction and chaos that they couldn't pinpoint the source to. He told me that I was in these dreams and that they needed my help to try to stop them from becoming a reality. Figures that they needed my help.

"I'm still trying to undo my mistakes from Westview." Wanda said. "There are other Avengers, you know."

"Not every Avenger can almost defeat Thanos by themselves." Spider-Man said.

"Plus, you could get back on the lunchbox." Doctor Strange added.

I smiled wryly.

"I was never on the lunchbox."

It was usually the original six Avengers, War Machine, and Falcon who were featured on t-shirts and kids' items.

"Yeah and all of my merchandise is unofficial stuff." Spider-Man added.

I measured my next words carefully. I didn't want to insult anyone. But I also needed to get my point across.

"I'm sure you understand the events of the battle of Wakanda."

"Yes." Doctor Strange said.

"And you also know what I did in Westview."

The kid spoke up.

"Uh, what did she do in West-"

"Not now." Strange interrupted.

I continued on.

"I'm still grieving with what happened and what I've done. Now's not a good time for me. I'm not…stable enough."

It was more than that. I was afraid that whatever was happening, I would make it worse.

I needed more time to understand my power. I couldn't just go out like this and potentially wreck havoc.

"Well, the multiverse is even more unstable." Doctor Strange pointed out.

"Maybe we could use some of that instability." Spider-Man said.

I studied them carefully. It was hard to tell if they just needed my power or they really did need me. I sensed sincerity coming from both of them.

They believed in me.

I gestured to the house that was a ways off. I was guessing that this mission required more than just a simple chat outside.

"We can talk about the details there. I'll make you both tea."

So I lead the two of them into the house to discuss the fate of the multiverse over mint tea.

And that ends chapter 5! In this story, Wanda won't be a villain like in Multiverse of Madness. I'm looking forward to writing a character dynamic with her and other characters that wasn't in the movies. Constructive feedback is appreciated!

Thanks for reading!