Episode 88: Back to Reality!
"Whoa!" Thor exclaimed, pointing towards the sky. "Look up there!"
Peter, MJ, Felicia, Monica, Darcy, Liz, and Betty looked at where Thor pointed. In the clouds there were flashes of red and purple.
"That must be Wanda," Peter guessed. "And she's fighting Agatha."
A few moments later, giant symbols appeared on invisible walls around Westview.
"Magic Runes," Thor realized. "The Hex Barrier is covered in them."
"Magic Runes?" MJ repeated.
"They're used by Witches to control the magic used in a given space," Thor explained. "My mother invented them."
"Yeah, but look how big the Hex Barrier is!" Betty said, trying to draw a rough sketch in her notebook. "It's got have partially swallowed Eastview by now, right?"
"Yet the only thing the barrier did take was the SWORD encampment, which was on the outskirts of Eastview," Liz recalled.
"Either way, the barrier will consume Eastview if Wanda doesn't stop it," Darcy said.
Soon they came to the town square, where Wanda's Wikkid and Spedfoal stood looking very confused. A few feet from them lay a black metallic book.
"Hmm, I wonder what that is," Felicia said and walked over to the book with Blaccet in tow.
Kneeling down, she was about to pick up the book when she felt a strong pinch on her shoulder. Felicia looked up and saw Wanda floating over her wearing a red crown.
"Don't think of touching that," Wanda warned, landing on the ground. "The Darkhold is not meant for human eyes."
Behind Wanda floated Witchlet, who was levitating an unconscious Agatha inside a hexagon made of glowing red energy.
"Care to explain what happened up there, or what the Darkhold is?" Monica asked Wanda.
"Momentarily," Wanda answered vaguely. "There are some things I want to take care of first."
As Witchlet lowered Agatha down to the traffic circle in the middle of the town square, Wanda dissipated the red hexagon and looked through the Darkhold book. She found what she was looking for, and muttered strange incoherent words. In a flash, Agatha's blackened fingers became normal and her clothes changed from that of a purple robe to a checkered blazer and black slacks.
"While I plan to relinquish my control over everyone in this town after taking the Hex Barrier down, Agatha will resume her Agnes character as punishment for all the Witches she's killed and tormenting me," Wanda stated. "Her magic powers are stripped, and she has no memory of the centuries she's lived as Agatha."
Señor Scratchy then hopped over to Agatha and licked her nose. This woke Agatha up instantly.
"What's going on, Señor Scratchy?" Agatha said in her cheerful self as Agnes, before looking up at Wanda. "Nice crown, dear! Did Halloween come early this year?"
"No, it's just something I felt like wearing today," Wanda said casually.
"Okee-dokee, neighbor!" Agnes grinned. "See you around!"
Then Agnes carried Señor Scratchy with her away from the town square. Soon after, Wanda's Vistro arrived and reunited with Witchlet. After sharing a tender moment, they joined with their children Wikkid and Spedfoal. Wanda took out a PDB and from it emerged a zebra-like Marémon that was fully grown compared to Spedfoal, who resembled a baby zebra.
"That's Quickze, Pietro's Marémon!" Darcy realized.
"Pietro wasn't who he seemed," Wanda said. "He was actually an actor named Ralph Bohner, who was paid by Agatha to impersonate my dead brother. Not only was he given an enchanted necklace that brainwashed him and made him look like Pietro, but it seemed Agatha gave him a Quickze to make his false identity more convincing. I found Ralph's PDB on a coffee table near the front door after I got out of Agatha's basement where she had taken me, thinking I could use Quickze's Deflection attack, which can repel Magic-based attacks, on Agatha. Though it turns out I didn't need Quickze after all."
Wanda knelt down to the level of Witchlet, Vistro, Wikkid, Quickze, and Spedfoal before hugging them all. The ground suddenly shook as the red walls of the Hex Barrier began to disintegrate around Westview.
"You'll always be in my memories," Wanda said as tears fell down her face. "I'll never forget you guys."
Following the disintegration of the Hex Barrier, Vistro, Wikkid, and Spedfoal disappeared. Also, the buildings changed from a small town similar to Eastview to a European-style town with collapsed buildings and cobblestone streets. Meanwhile, the people standing around looked very confused and startled upon seeing Wanda.
"I'm sorry for what I did to you all," Wanda addressed to the people standing around. "You don't have to forgive me right away, but just know that I didn't mean it."
"A likely story!"
Looking down the street, Wanda and the others saw Director Hayward with his megaphone driving into Sokovia City with a troop of men and black jeeps.
"Let's hold him off," Monica suggested as her eyes glowed blue. "That way, Wanda can have time to escape."
"No, let them come," Wanda said remorsefully. "I'm tired of running away from my problems."
Once Hayward's men arrived, they pulled out their guns telling Peter and the others to stand down. So they did, with the exception of Wanda, Monica, Betty, and Darcy.
"You're not going to get away with this, Hayward!" Betty warned. "My newspaper will tell the world about the terrible things you've done!"
"And I'm going to back her up," Monica said, folding her arms.
"Same!" Darcy added.
"Is this more of your magic at work?" Hayward said, glaring at Wanda.
"They are defending me of their own free will," said Wanda. "I freed everyone in this city from my control, and took down the barrier."
"Then you admit to causing the Anomaly and endangering the lives of many people, including the CEO of Stark Industries?" Hayward asked.
"Yes, I did those things," Wanda replied and walked towards Hayward with her hands out. "I'm willing to be taken into your custody and pay for my crimes."
Hayward exchanged his megaphone for a handgun, which he used to aim at Wanda's head. "Due process is such a chore. I'll just kill you and your friends where you stand, then claim you tried to attack SWORD agents in a blatant act of terrorism."
To be continued…
