SCARLET WITCH #2
By:Jeremy Las Dulce
Wanda and Kurt sit together on the couch located in the living room of Kurt's apartment as the unconscious Hellfire lies on the ground.
Wanda: Last I heard you had sacrificed yourself to save Hope Summers
Kurt: That's what I hear.
Wanda: What do you mean you hear?
Kurt: Your Kurt may have sacrificed himself but I didn't.
Wanda: Wait if you're not my Kurt then who are you?
Kurt: I am Kurt Darkholme and I came here from another dimension. It is a pleasure to be of service.
Wanda: Well then. That explains a lot but then again it's not the first time an X-Men has come back from the dead.
Kurt: Was that a jab at Jean Grey? I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
Hellfire begins to regain consciousness and looks up at Wanda and Kurt.
Hellfire: Where am I?
Wanda: You're safe. Kurt get her some water
Kurt: Why? I imagine the little fire bug doesn't like water very much.
Wanda: Kurt. Do as I asked you.
Kurt then teleports into the kitchen before quickly returns with a glass of lukewarm tap water.
Kurt: Here you go Hellfire
Hellfire: Thank you but please don't call me that. My name is Esmeralda.
Kurt: Alright Esmeralda I think you owe us some answers.
Esmeralda: Okay what do you want to know?
Wanda: Why don't you go ahead and start from the beginning.
Esmeralda drinks some of the water from the glass and clears her throat which is dry from the heat of the flames.
Esmeralda: Well when I was twelve my powers began to manifest and I grew these horns. My parents were disgusted by the sight of me, they told me I was a demon and tried to have me exorcised. I ran away from home and ended up living on the streets for a while. I eventually heard of District X, it was supposed to be a safe haven for mutants but I was wrong. With no money or skills to speak of I was rejected here as well. That and the fact that I couldn't control my powers drew the attention of the Purifiers. One night they came and tried to kill me. I would have died too…if it wasn't for Nomi. Nomi used her powers to shield me and we escaped. Nomi taught me how to control my powers, even though I burned her more than once. I fell in love with her and she loved me…..We were together for years and as we got older she became more power hungry. She made Nation M and began a gang war to establish dominance. She started calling herself Polarity and ever since then she has just gotten worse. Today I told her that I had enough and tried to leave but it just started a fight which drew the attention of the Purifiers and…well you know the rest.
Kurt: Well aren't you just the saddest thing. Like a puppy in the rain.
Wanda: Stop it Kurt!
Kurt: Oh I'm sorry would you like me to get the world smallest violin?
Wanda: That's enough. Esmeralda pay him no mind, he isn't from our dimension.
Kurt: So how exactly does Nation M plan on defeating these other gangs?
Esmeralda: By the only way that Nomi knows how, by force.
Then a thunderous charge is heard from the hallway and Kurt's door explodes into room as an eight foot tall humanoid snapping turtle is standing in the doorway snarling.
Kurt: You could have just knocked
The unknown mutant then charged Kurt who teleported away causing the charging mutant to crash through the wall into the next room.
Kurt: I'll handle Michelangelo here and you handle the other one.
Wanda: What other one?
Another man steps into the room wearing a high collared leather duster and dull red baseball hat. He looks up at Wanda revealing his solid white eyes and a toothpick in his mouth. He then opens and close his mouth allowing his teeth to clank.
Esmeralda: Move!
Wanda instinctively rolls into the adjacent kitchen just as the area around her disappears into thin air leaving a large hole in the floor, the back of the couch missing, and a series of open pipes and broken electrical cables.
Wanda: What the hell just happened?
Esmeralda: He can teleport entire areas away. They call him Carnivore
Kurt shouts from the back of the apartment.
Kurt: Yeah and what do they call gorgeous here.
Esmeralda: Snapper.
Kurt: Alright Snapper it's time to become road kill.
Kurt teleports to the hole created, rips free a jagged piece of piping, and then teleports one end of the pipe into Snappers chest cavity causing him to fall to the ground. Kurt then walks away from the room.
Kurt: That was too easy
Snapper then stood back up and pulled the pipe from his chest as it quickly healed. Snapper then charged Kurt and slammed him through the floor. Kurt was able to save himself by teleporting again before final impact.
Kurt: Okay so maybe a little too easy then huh pretty boy.
Wanda then countered Carnivores attack with a series of energy blast but Carnivore dodged them with inhuman reflex and accuracy. He then clanked his teeth again and Wanda jumped down to were Kurt and Snapper where fighting. The area where Wanda's head would have been disappeared; along with a portion of the wall and cabinets. Carnivore then jumped down after her.
Wanda: Kurt these guys are something else.
Kurt: Ehh.. they are only slightly above normal.
It was then that a loud smashing sound could be heard breaking through the wall adjacent to Wanda and Kurt and a large bird-like humanoid came and swooped Snapper up and then promptly flew straight up through the building; breaking through the two floors above them and the roof. Then through the hole that was created came what appeared to a black winged angel. He landed in front of Kurt and Wanda and looked at Carnivore who was petrified in fear.
Carnivore: Azrael
Azrael: You have three seconds to leave my sight. One, two,…
As Azrael reach the number three the area around him begin to corrode and warp. The effect quickly spread towards Carnivore who jumped out a window at the end of the hallway and scaled down the side of the building.
Azrael: This makes two times I've had to save you Kurt.
Kurt: Oh great one group of assholes are trying to kill us. Another group of assholes saved us and won't let us forget that they saved us. Oh praise the Lord, the Angels are here.
Wanda: You know them?
Kurt: Yeah this is Azrael, leader of the "Archangels" and this giant hawk woman you see flying back through the MASSIVE HOLE IN THE BUILDING is called Roc.
Roc descends into the room and just as described she appears to be an eight foot tall humanoid hawk with large wings and highly muscular yet oddly feminine body.
Roc: I seismic tossed Snapper into a dry ravine. He shouldn't be awake for at least an hour.
Azrael: Good.
Azrael looks pass Kurt at Wanda
Azrael: You would be wise not to make enemies of Nation M. They are more deadly than you may realize.
Wanda: I'm not trying to make enemies but I could use a few friends.
Wanda reaches out her hand to Azrael but Azrael simply fly's away with Roc following close behind.
Kurt: I think he thinks you're cute.
Wanda: Shut up Kurt.
Esmeralda: Um guys…I think the building is collapsing
As Esmeralda calls out to them they can hear the creaking and snapping of what little supports the building has left.
Wanda: Oh shit.
Wanda then began using her magic to repair the damage to the building. Once she was done they returned to Kurt's living room to find Esmeralda standing before them.
Esmeralda: I am going to stop this.
Wanda: How?
Esmeralda: I'm going to fight. I'm going to fight fire with fire.
Wanda: That's how people get burned.
Esmeralda: I can't be burned.
Esmeralda leaves Kurt's apartment and closes the door behind her
Kurt: You want me to get her back
Wanda: No she is going to do whatever she wants at this point. Let's just hope it doesn't devolve into a full outright war.
Kurt: Wouldn't that be interesting.
Wanda Maximoff has survived her first day in District X, San Diego, California. In that one day she was attacked by thugs of a local mutant gangs, saved by rivals of another mutant gang, and saved her apartment building from battle damages. If that's what one day is like it's going to one hell of a ride. Make sure to read The Scarlet Witch #3.