A/N: I apologize for not updating in a while, I've had a few snags both with my stories and in real life. I'll explain those at the end of the chapter, but for now, enjoy seeing some familiar faces from my previous entry!
Frank fell through the hole of the multiverse, holding onto America as if she was his own child, while Strange flew right next to him. Knowing they were hurtling like a comet, Castle tucked in and rolled in midair, before eventually stopping when they were right side up, so that their descent was at least controlled.
As they sped past the different worlds, Frank was able to catch a glimpse, just barely seeing what looked like a painted on landscape. Just below them, a figure in a red and blue costume swung from building to building.
Spider-Man? But why did he look like he was in a cartoon?
Castle looked down at his hand, seeing that his arm appeared cartoonish as well, as did America and Doctor Strange. Before he could contemplate the sudden change however, a new portal opened, and they all fell into a dimension that appeared desolate and barren, with silver and gray corpses. Frank squinted his eyes, just barely making out the details of robotic features on the faces, reminding him of-
"Ultron." the Punisher muttered, before the trio crashed into another portal. For a moment, it felt like they froze in midair, with Frank looking at Stephen and America.
"What the-"
Frank stopped, seeing a giant white bubble form next to his mouth, as the trio suddenly were flung forward a few feet in the air.
"What the $#%-"
Another bubble appeared, connecting to the first one, just as they all felt themselves fly a few feet forward again, with a small star appearing.
"What's going on?" Frank yelled, creating a third bubble. At the same time, the trio moved again, while the portal got bigger, all within a second.
"I don't know!" America shouted, her own white bubble forming. "It's like we're trapped in a comic book!"
Oh… ^&*%.
At least that's what Frank thought, but yet another bubble formed above his head, connected by two smaller white dots. As if his thoughts could now be heard.
Before he could put two and two together, the portal opened, and the three of them fell through, just barely seeing the word Crash above the portal, and they suddenly felt themselves falling at normal speed again. The portals got faster, leaving Frank only seconds to register what he was witnessing.
A SHIELD helicarrier being attacked by what looked like Loki and Asguardians, being defended only by Captain America and Captain Marvel.
Another world that appeared to be having a massive rave or party, with a younger version of the Norse god Thor drinking heavily with another Loki, who was now enormous in size, with his signature horned helmet being made of ice atop his blue skinned form.
A universe that looked like New York had been sent back to the 1600's, where a group that seemed to be the Avengers wore pre-colonial attire and were fighting a hulking purple monster.
Finally, one last portal opened up, and the trio fell through… and kept falling, as they were hundreds of feet up in the air.
"Shit!" Castle yelled, holding onto America. "You didn't think about portalling to the ground?!"
"No!" Chavez retorted, as Strange looked out and saw the Empire State Building. "I wasn't thinking of anything! Wanda scared the shit out of me!"
"We'll worry about that later!" Stephen yelled, rotating his hands and began to create his own portal below them. "I'll try to get us closer to street level-"
Twip!
A red and blue blur suddenly grabbed onto Strange in midair, swinging by. Luckily, both Frank and America knew who it was.
"S… Spider-Man?" Chavez asked hopefully.
"Glad to have fans!" the Spider-Man of this world called back.
Frank arched an eyebrow, realizing this variant's voice was very… familiar…
Just then, Castle felt his and America's fall break, when something wrapped around them. Frank looked around, seeing that a large metallic tentacle was wrapped around them, with the end being attached to a man in a brown coat and glasses. Protruding out of his back were three other tentacles to match.
"Octavious?"
Otto Octavious nodded, as the tentacle pulled them closer, setting them onto a roof.
"Hello, Mister Castle." Otto smiled, looking from the Punisher to Chavez. At the same time, Spider-Man landed right beside them, setting down Strange safely.
"Doctor Strange."
"Doctor Octavious." Stephen nodded respectfully, turning to Spider-Man. "Peter."
"HEY, PETER!"
Everyone looked up, seeing a man wearing dark green green and black armor and riding onto a jet propelled hoverboard, flying towards them, while a man in a green wingsuit flew after him.
"If you're done socializing, I could use your guys' help!"
Frank sighed, pulling out his shotgun.
"Toomes' variant, right?"
"Yep." Spider-Man nodded, before firing a web at the hoverboard and swinging up towards the two figures in the sky.
"Hang on Harry, I'm coming!"
Spider-Man swung towards the figure in the wingsuit, but the man simply cackled, swerving in the air, before kicking the vigilante away. Frank followed by shooting at Toomes, who weaved around the bullets, before proceeding to pick a grenade from his belt and chuck it onto the rooftop.
"Get back!" Octavious shouted, as one of his tentacles grabbed the bomb and threw it back. The Vulture brought his wings toward his face, but it was too late, and the grenade exploded, damaging the suit.
"No!" the Vulture screeched, beginning to fall towards the ground below. "Damn you, Spider-Man!"
"Damn me?" Spider-Man asked, swinging down and firing a web that latched onto Vulture. "I'm not the one who threw the grenade, you silly bird!"
Once the wallcrawler finished webbing the villain to the side of the building, he jumped back onto the roof, just as Harry touched down as well, his mask retracting.
"I didn't think we'd see you two again." Harry murmured, nodding to Frank and Strange.
"Again?" America raised an eyebrow. "You've all met before?"
"Remember when I told you we had a multiversal incident involving Spider-Man?" Strange told her. "We met them as a result."
"What happened?"
"Long story." Frank folded his arms. "The kid wanted everyone to forget who he was, but he fucked up the spell Strange cast. Instead, everyone who knew his identity came crawling into our world."
"So then how did you end up here?" Spider-Man asked. "Did you guys mess up another spell?"
"Not exactly." Stephen grumbled. "We're being hunted across the multiverse. Or more importantly, the kid is."
"Why?" Doctor Octavious questioned. "What's special about her?"
"She can open up portals to different universes." Strange explained. "It's how we got here in the first place.
"Is she a mutant?" Harry interjected.
"What?" Frank frowned.
"A mutant." Harry repeated. "There's a lot of those in our universe, like the X-Men."
"No… at least, I don't think so." America shook her head.
"Hmm." Spider-Man placed his hands on his hips. "Well, you guys can come with us for now. At least until we can figure out how to get you back."
"Where are we going?" Doctor Strange asked, placing his hands out in front of him.
"Oscorp Tower." Harry told him.
"Thanks." Stephen nodded, before rotating his hands.
"Give me a minute. I'm still struggling without a sling ring."
Wanda looked around, seeing dunes of sand all around her against a blackened night. Her ears were ringing, as she heard explosions both close and far from her. While she felt a hand clamp on her shoulder.
"Wanda, let's go!"
Maximoff whipped her head around, seeing the face of her brother staring back at her. Only he looked different, wearing a military helmet with the uniform to match. With a sickening feeling, she looked down at herself, seeing that she was wearing the same thing. Was this Frank's memories again? Or was it one of her variants?
"If those mortars zero in, we'll all be dead!" Pietro shouted, raising his arms and firing a rifle. Wanda began to look around frantically, seeing a compound in the distance… with what looked like a landing pad.
"There!" Wanda shouted. "I'm gonna clear a path!"
"You're crazy!" Pietro shouted back.
"You wanna die, P? You wanna die like a rat in a jar?" Maximoff growled, firing her own rifle. "I gotta get home to Viz."
"Then I'm going with you-"
"No!" Wanda shouted. "I need you to stay and take care of everyone else! I got this!"
Pietro was about to argue, but Wanda cut him off.
"I gotta get home to Vis." she murmured, looking towards the compound.
"Okay." her brother nodded. "I'll divert their attention."
"Thanks."
Wanda crawled her way across the ground, reaching their CO. The man's name was Strucker, and moments ago, he lost his right arm to a grenade.
"How you doing, sir?"
Despite the pain he was in, Strucker smirked grimly, looking up.
"You reap what you sow, eh Maximoff?"
"Yeah, I'm gonna do some reaping of my own." she replied, before looking back up.
"Don't bleed out on me, I'm gonna get us home!"
Maximoff stood up, glaring at the building in the distance.
"COVER!"
Her only response was the deafening gunfire from her squadmates, before she tore through the desert, firing off a shot here or there at an insurgent, until one of them picked up an RPG and fired at her direction. She only had a few seconds to dive to the ground and cover her head, when the missile exploded a few feet away from her.
Then everything went white.
Wanda blinked, finding herself inside what looked like a metal cage, surrounded by men and women cheering, chanting to see blood. Opposite of her was a hulking man in a black undershirt, his long hair trickling down his shoulders, and a scraggly beard that looked like it hadn't been washed in a while. Maximoff looked down at her hands, seeing they were covered in boxing tape, while she wore a similar getup.
"In the right corner, we have the champion of the cage, Bonesaw McGraw! He might've been outclassed from the official ring twenty years ago, but he can still pack one hell of a punch!" the announcer bellowed over an intercom. "And in the left corner is the rising star, the fiery haired woman who can kick the shit out of a man twice her size, Wanda Maximoff!"
Oh yeah, now she remembered why she was here. This was her usual evening activities, one of many, that she used to keep her skills sharp.
Not only that, but she was also punishing herself.
"AND FIGHT!"
Bonesaw charged straight at Wanda, giving her just a few seconds to roll out of the way, sending him crashing into the metal bars. Unfortunately, he skidded to a halt a few inches before slamming into the metal, and his reached out, grabbing Maximoff by the arm and throwing her right into the cage wall. The crowd groaned uncomfortably, while Wanda licked her lip and tasted blood. Her insides were on fire, and she struggled to get up, as her opponent stomped towards her.
"Shit." Maximoff groaned, as the wrestler grabbed her by the shoulders and threw her across to the other side of the cage. The woman ragdolled across the ground, rolling until she landed on her back, while Bonesaw lumbered toward her grinning cruelly.
"I thought you'd put up more fight, bitch!" the hulk of a man laughed. Hearing the taunt suddenly made something snap inside Wanda, and as Bonesaw leaned down, she spat blood in his face, blinding him momentarily. That gave her enough time to quickly roll away from him and stand up, balling her hands into fists. Bonesaw began swinging around wildly, leaving an opening for Wanda to punch him in the face, then kicked his knee to force him to the ground, before finally leaping behind him and wrapping her arm into a headlock, cutting off the oxygen and pulling him towards the ground. The wrestler flailed his hands, trying desperately to hit Wanda from behind, but she held on, until he frantically began tapping her arm.
"I don't believe it!" the announcer exclaimed. "The great Bonesaw has been taken down! We have a new reigning champion!"
Maximoff let go of Bonesaw and stood up, breathing heavily. The crowd cheered at the display, while the young woman cracked her neck, turning towards the cage's exit to see it begin open.
Round over.
Once she shook off the effects of the missile, Wanda quickly scrambled back up and dashed towards the compound, ignoring the insurgents that were firing at her. Hopefully her squad could take care of them.
Hopefully.
No time to think of that now, as she jumped through the doorway, firing at shadows that moved. With a flick of her flashlight, the area was illuminated, and she took cover behind a pillar, firing at more insurgents coming from a hallway.
"Damn." Wanda grit her teeth, dropping her rifle and pulled out her pistol, balancing the side arm in one hand, the light in another, as she aimed carefully at the enemy's heads. An explosion rocked the compound, sending Maximoff to the ground, and she was forced to remove her helmet. It was becoming restrictive for her to see, even worse to move.
Unfortunately, the moment she removed it, a bullet grazed the side of her head, and she stayed down, her ears ringing. In a moment, an insurgent was on top of her, pointing his gun at her. In a split second decision, Wanda kicked his legs out from under him, but as he let go of his weapon, his body pinned her down, and he wrapped his hands around her throat. The woman's breath hitched, as she frantically reached for her kabar.
Almost… almost…
Her hand closed around the hilt, and she swiftly took the knife from its holster, slamming it into the man's neck. As he coughed and sputtered, Wanda reversed their positions, straddling his chest, and continued to stab into his flesh, tearing at his insides. At one point, he feebly began to reach up, as if to stop her, but she slapped his hand away, stabbing the blade into him again and again, as her vision became blurry with a scarlet hue…
Wanda shook her head of the memory, blinking once, twice, to find herself at her locker. She stared at the mirror inside, as she absently touched the side of her head where the bullet hit her. The scar never fully healed.
"Hey, Maximoff!"
The woman slowly looked to her left, seeing Bonesaw smiling at her.
"You were good today. A worthy opponent!"
"Thanks McGraw. You too." Maximoff returned the gesture, before looking back at her mirror- and seeing her reflection, but something was… off. She seemed to be wearing a dark red crown, with a collar to match, and her eyes…
The eyes were glowing crimson, or… scarlet.
The mirror image suddenly lunged at her, and she felt her vision go red, and she felt herself falling. It was like… slipping into unconsciousness…
Wanda's eyes suddenly snapped open, flickering red for a moment, before slowly closing the locker. She took a deep breath, turned towards the locker room exit, when a bald man in a plaid shirt stomp into the room, glaring at her.
"Hey, bitch!" the man roared, marching up to her. "You owe me money!"
"Shut it!" Bonesaw suddenly called out. "She beat me fair and square!"
"Fuck you, McGraw!" the man shouted. "I had five thousand on your ass to beat this worthless whore! If I'm not gonna get my money back, I'll fuck her up myself!"
Maximoff narrowed her eyes, lifting her hand. Already she was getting tired of hearing this asshole, and she raised her hand, preparing to conjure an orb of her magic and hurl it at him.
There was only one problem. As hard as she concentrated, her magic wouldn't work.
"What?" Wanda asked in confusion, looking at her hand. In the process, the man had closed the distance and backhanded her, making her stumble back. The Scarlet Witch looked up in alarm, as the bald man pushed her to the floor, raising his fists. Had this been ten years ago, she probably would've cowered, waiting for the beating to stop. Oddly enough, it made her think of the nightmares she had been having the previous few nights, the ones of the HYDRA agents taking her and Pietro's innocence.
Thankfully, Frank Castle taught her to fight dirty.
So when the man knelt down lower, Wanda kicked him in the crotch, sending him into a fetal position, followed by a powerful kick to the face, knocking him away. She slowly stood back up, but the man grabbed her ankle, feebling attempting to stop her.
"I'm… not done… bitch…"
Before she could do anything, she saw a foot kick him into unconsciousness, startling her. Maximoff looked up, seeing it was Bonesaw that knocked the man out.
"You alright?" McGraw asked. Wanda swallowed, nodding twice.
"Thank- thank you." Wanda murmured, slowly walking out of the locker room. Her eyes became hazy, as she swayed a bit, but eventually left the underground fighting ring, walking up to ground level to find herself in the busy streets of New York. Maximoff sighed, leaning against a wall in an alley, and looked at her hands.
"Why can't I use my magic?"
Because the variant of this world doesn't have powers.
Wanda suddenly looked up, hearing Chthon's voice.
You only have access to the powers your variants have. The demon continued. However, if you let me assist you…
"Not yet." Wanda snapped, looking across the skyline. "I can find them myself."
Maximoff looked across the various buildings, trying to find a landmark that would be similar to her world. The Sanctum Sanctorum, maybe. Or Avengers tower. Or…
Wanda stopped, seeing a billboard with three familiar faces. One of which had four metallic arms protruding from his back. And the name under them all:
Oscorp Industries.
The Scarlet Witch smirked, about to step out of the alley, when she suddenly felt a sharp pain in her head, and she closed her eyes.
"Dammit Chthon, I said I could handle this-"
Wanda looked up, seeing herself- the variant she was currently possessing- looking at her in confusion.
"Who the fuck are you?" the variant asked.
"Um… I'm you." Wanda told her. "But from a different Earth. Or universe."
"That right?" the other woman narrowed her eyes. "And why are you invading my mind?"
"I'm… looking for someone." Scarlet Witch revealed. "But I can't get to her without taking your body first."
The other Wanda- she supposed she could call Wanda-2- clenched her fists, as an image floated in the background, showing America.
"This her?"
The Scarlet Witch felt her face pale, and Wanda-2 strode forward.
"Yeah that's what I thought. Get the fuck out of my head-"
Chthon suddenly appeared out of the void, restraining the variant and keeping a hand out of her mouth.
"No. You will not interfere."
The demon looked back up at Wanda-1, a cold grin playing on his lips.
"It's time for you to wake up, Wanda."
That's exactly what happened, as Wanda opened her eyes, and she found herself in that alley again.
"Oscorp, huh?" Maximoff looked up at the tower. Time to revisit some old friends.
Inside Oscorp's labs, Norman Osborn stared at a giant monitor of the city of New York, when he heard familiar sparks behind him. He looked over his shoulder, partially surprised at the source, but more surprised at who just entered the lab, with his son and friends to boot.
"Ah, hello again." Osborn smiled. "It's Strange, isn't it?"
Doctor Strange curtly nodded, as he, Frank, America, and the natives from this Earth stepped out of the portal.
"I wasn't sure we'd cross paths with you two again." Norman cleared his throat. "How's… how's your Peter?"
"He's good, Osborn." Frank grunted. "He and Amy are a thing now. Not sure when that happened, but it's good for him, since he had to leave everything behind."
The older man solemnly nodded his head, looking down.
"I'm so, so sorry… for all I did…"
Norman shook his head, looking back up.
"Who's your new friend?"
America gulped, stepping forward.
"I'm America Chavez."
Osborn's smile returned, as he reached out and shook her hand.
"Pleasure."
The old CEO of Oscorp turned towards Otto, Harry, and Peter, the latter two took off their masks.
"I wish I could say I was surprised Toomes returned. I know him enough to hold a grudge."
"Mister Osborn." Strange announced, gaining everyone's attention. "We need help getting back to our own universe. Our younger friend America can open gateways to different worlds, but she hasn't been able to master that power yet."
"I see." Norman murmured, rubbing his chin. "We haven't perfected interdimensional travel yet, but perhaps some of our friends from the Baxter Foundation can help us out."
"Perfected?" America widened her eyes. "You've been working on traveling to other universes?"
"Yes, we've tried it for a while." Harry answered. "Ever since we were sent back to our own universe, Otto came to us with an energy source we've never seen before."
"The Arc Reactor that Electro had…" Frank looked over at Octavious.
"Since then, we were able to reverse engineer the technology to give New York near limitless energy." Norman continued. "Our latest project has been to find a way to return to your world, in case we need your help, or vise versa."
"That might not be a good idea." Frank drawled. "From what we've seen, and the last time you've all crossed over to our world, things didn't go so smoothly."
Osborn's face fell, as he looked down.
"If you're referring to what the Goblin… what I did… I am truly sorry." the old man murmured. "But I assure you, that side of me is gone now."
Just then, Strange grasped his head, taking a step back.
"Strange?" America asked, looking at the sorcerer. "You good?"
"I'm fine." Stephen said quickly. "I just… I need to get my bearings."
"There's some bunks in the other room." Harry offered. "Not like we can do much except wait for Dad and Otto to contact the Fantastic Four."
"Who?" Frank raised an eyebrow.
"Our friends at the Baxter Building." Spider-Man explained. "They know more about interdimensional travel than anyone."
"Well, in the meantime… do you have some kind of training area?" America asked hopefully. "Frank's been teaching me how to shoot."
"Actually, we do." Harry smirked. "Pete and I use it for target practice, and to spar with Daredevil and other vigilantes that live in New York."
"Right." Frank nodded. "Lead the way."
While Peter-2 led Strange towards the lab's bunks, Harry walked down the hall, Frank and America following closely behind. As they passed different lab areas, Castle noticed there were multiple exoskeleton suits, as well as different variations of the Goblin's Glider he saw at the Statue Of Liberty.
"I thought your father put the Goblin behind him." Frank muttered.
"He did." Harry said reassuringly. "These are mostly for me. And if we need backup, he'll sometimes go out into the field, but without the Goblin serum."
"Right." Frank nodded, as they entered through a security door, coming to an open arena, with holographic targets in the back.
"You want to use the regular circle targets, or holograms of bad guys?" Harry asked America, going over to a control panel.
"You guys have solograms?" America raised an eyebrow.
"What?" Frank looked at the girl.
"Sorry. Solid holograms." Chavez explained. "I saw them in an alternate Earth one time."
"Uh… sure." Osborn told her, flipping a switch. "Something like that."
The circle targets in the distance faded, being replaced by figures made of blue light, that slowly began to morph into persons that Frank recognized. One of the figures took the form of a man wearing a black and green shirt with brown pants, while the figure next to him darkened into a black body and grew fangs. The final hologram appeared as a figure wearing an emerald colored suit with a purple cape, as well as had a sphere for a head.
"Who are these guys?" America whispered.
"Some villains Pete and I fought." Harry answered, going down the line. "The normal looking guy was called the 'Sandman' by the news. The freak next to him called himself Venom, and the last guy is Mysterio."
"Okay." Frank shrugged, cracking his knuckles. "You wanna get all three, kid, or just one?"
America smiled, holding up her pistol.
"I'll take Venom. Can't have all the fun, can I?"
"That's the spirit." Castle grunted. "I'll get Marko."
"Great. I'll keep Mysterio busy." Harry nodded, summoning his glider from the hall and flying up above the arena. The hologram of Mysterio followed after, as Venom leapt towards Chavez, while Frank let out a battle cry and charged toward the Sandman's figure. The villain instantly turned his hands into giant hammers, swinging them toward the Punisher, but he rolled into a crouch, letting the weaponized arms smash above him. Frank glanced to his right, seeing America slide along the floor, barely dodging Venom, who turned around and screeched at her. Unfortunately, the Sandman hologram used that distraction to his advantage, as his fist became enlarged, and he punched Castle, knocking him a few feet away.
"Dammit!" Frank cursed, looking up at the New Goblin. "I thought these were holograms!"
"Solograms!" Harry corrected, dodging an energy blast from Mysterio. "They can still touch you!"
Castle shook his head in annoyance, before diving to the side, narrowly missing Sandman rolling into him, having turned himself into a giant ball.
"Kid, look out!"
America looked over to Frank, just in time to see the ball of sand collide into her and Venom, knocking them both to the ground.
"Okay…" Castle muttered, pulling out his pistol and emptying the magazine into Sandman. Once the bullets crashed into the holographic villain, Flint Marko disintegrated into digital pixels, making Frank tilt his head in curiosity.
"Huh."
Luckily, America noticed this too, and when Venom straddled her, she pointed her gun up at the monster's chin.
"Bang." the girl grinned, squeezing the trigger. Just like with Sandman, the sologram became pixelated, before vanishing.
"Kid, you good?" Frank asked, walking over and helping her up.
"Yeah." Chavez smiled, looking up to see Harry take out his sword and slash through Mysterio. "That was kinda fun."
"That was a good start." Osborn corrected, flying down towards the computer. "Wanna go another round?"
Frank and America looked at each other, knowing each other's answer.
"Come on." Castle racked the slide on his gun. "Let's do it."
Doctor Strange sat on the floor of the bunk's cell, crossing his legs and levitating a foot. The Eye of Agamotto opened up, surrounding him in a field of mystical energy, much to Peter-2's curiosity.
"Wow, I don't remember this world's Strange being able to do that… what are you doing?"
Stephen opened an eye, looking up.
"I'm trying to access the knowledge of the multiverse through the Eye." Strange explained. "There is a demon chasing us, whom wants America Chavez's powers for himself. Hopefully I can communicate with alternate versions of myself to find a way to stop him."
"Oh." Peter-2 widened his eyes, as Strange shut his and began to meditate. Using the Eye, he began to see through different universes through his variants' eyes, as if he was dreaming.
"Come on…" Stephen murmured, diving deeper. Unfortunately, his vision began to get clouded, as the images showed himself falling from a great height, until he eventually splattered on the ground.
What the hell?
Strange tried to look to another universe, but the next variant he saw yielded the same result- falling to their death, without a cloak.
Feeling desperation sink in, Stephen upped the frequency of looking throughout the multiverse, but no matter what universe he tried to see, it seemed that most of his variants were dying from great heights. But how? And why?
Strange gasped, opening his eyes and falling to the floor, as Peter-2 ran towards him and helped him up.
"Are you okay?" Spider-Man asked. "What happened?"
"I saw… so many versions of me…" Stephen mumbled. "But they all leapt to their deaths…"
Before Peter-2 could question what he was saying, Norman entered the room, a grim expression on his face.
"I got in touch with Reed. He needs to speak with you now." Osborn told the sorcerer. Doctor Strange grit his teeth, as Norman and Peter-2 led him back to the lab's command monitor, where a man in a blue suit with the number four stared at them in the screen. Behind him were two individuals playing ping pong, one of which wore a similar suit, while the other appeared as a mass of orange stone for skin.
"Doctor Reed Richards, leader of the Fantastic Four." Norman introduced. "Reed, this is an alternate variant of Doctor Strange."
"A variant?" Richards raised an eyebrow. "Why is he here?"
"I've been traveling through the multiverse with my Earth's Frank Castle, and a girl named America Chavez." Strange revealed. "We are being chased by the Scarlet Witch and her master Chthon."
Reed visibly stiffened on the screen, crossing his arms.
"In all my time researching universes, I have never heard of this 'Scarlet Witch' or Chthon." the scientist told them. "But you need to leave our world."
"And why is that?" Strange raised an eyebrow.
"Because the longer you stay here, you're putting our universe in potential danger." Reed explained. "You need to take your variant of Mister Castle, the girl, and go home as soon as possible."
"I can't." Doctor Strange sighed. "The girl is the one with the power to travel different universes, but she can't control it."
"Then find a way to teach her." Richards said harshly. "That's the best advice I can give you. Until then, I have to consider what's best for my universe."
Before Strange could argue, the monitor shut off, and Norman looked at him sympathetically.
"I'm sorry."
"No, I am." Stephen muttered. "I didn't know the consequences of hopping from one universe to the next. I need to get Frank and America."
"Hang on." Peter-2 raised a hand. "With great power comes great responsibility is kinda my thing. Your Peter wanted to help my villains, and his plan worked. Norman and Otto are alive, and Oscorp is thriving."
Doctor Strange gave Spider-Man the side eye, even as he rested a hand on his shoulder.
"Come on. Let us help you."
Wanda continued walking towards Oscorp Tower, seeing the building get closer and closer, when she suddenly felt the temperature around her spike. Before she knew it, a ring of fire erupted all around her, making Maximoff frantically look around, seeing the fire was created by a motorcycle… with flames for wheels? And what was even stranger was the fact that the rider had a skull for a head… that was on fire?
"You… guilty."
This… demon jumped off his bike, as another motorcycle drove through the flames, stopping when its rider- an African American man wearing a leather jacket and shades- got off, pulling a sword off his back.
"This is the one?" the man asked.
"Yes…" the flame-headed demon sneered. "This woman is possessed by the demon who created your kind, Daywalker."
The man in leather paused, tightening his grip on his sword.
"She don't look that harmless."
"Looks can be deceiving." Wanda challenged, balling up her fists and getting in a fighting stance.
Wanda… they are powerful adversaries. I can easily dispatch them-
I got it. Wanda thought. What did they mean by you created their kind.
Chthon chuckled inside her mind, distracting her momentarily.
I am the father of all demons and creatures of the night. One such race that feeds off the blood of man. Or in your human legends, vampires.
And the other? The skeleton whose head is on fire?
The Ghost Rider. Not my creation. Chthon grumbled, and Wanda swore she could hear his disdain. The demon didn't say anything else, as Maximoff snapped out of the conversation when she realized both the vampire and the Rider were coming towards her. Wanda narrowed her eyes, let out a rage filled yell, and charged at them, while the vampire called the Daywalker did the same.
"Blade, wait!" Ghost Rider warned. The man named Blade didn't listen, jumping up and delivering a kick towards Wanda. The Witch quickly slid to the ground, while the Daywalker landed in front of her and pulled out his sword, swinging at her. Maximoff ducked and dodged, trying to punch him in the ribs, but unfortunately, she only hit the body armor he wore.
"Get back!"
Wanda drew her arm back, but suddenly felt something wrap around her limb, causing her to look back and see that the Ghost Rider has ensnared her with his chain.
Wanda… let me in…
The Rider held onto the chain, as it suddenly began to burn up from his end, traveling towards her. Maximoff closed her eyes, speaking to Chthon.
Okay.
Just as the flames reached her, Wanda opened her eyes, glaring at the demonic Rider with black orbs.
"Shit." Ghost Rider loosened his grip a little. Chthon smiled, grabbing the chain, and the flames suddenly turned black, racing back towards the Rider. The demonic hero let go of the chain like it was scalding and backed away, as the possessed woman turned toward Blade and backhanded him so hard, the Daywalker flew back several feet.
"Not so fun when it's a fair fight, is it Rider?" Chthon taunted.
Doctor Strange walked down the same hallway he saw Frank and America go through, glancing at the different weapons and tech in the labs, until they reached the door leading to the sparring arena. As they got closer, Stephen could hear angered yells, followed by shooting.
"Sounds like we're missing out on the fun." Spidey joked, as the doors opened, revealing their friends inside, fighting against holographic images of familiar foes.
Harry, masked up as the New Goblin, flew around on his glider, being chased after the Green Goblin. Frank traded shots with the bald man with a target on his head, Bullseye, while America evaded the projection of the big Russian, portrayed with white hair and a red and white striped shirt. It actually seemed… like they were fighting as a team, evidenced when America shot at the Green Goblin, while Harry threw a bomb in front of Bullseye. With the Goblin distracted, Frank sprayed lead at the Russian, dissolving the hologram, just as the bomb exploded and made Bullseye disappear. With Chavez distracting the Goblin, Harry took out his sword and slashing through the projection, making it vanish as well.
"That was fun!" America exclaimed. "Can we go again…"
Her voice trailed off, seeing Strange, Norman, and Peter-2 approaching them.
"Hate to interrupt, but we need to go. Now." Stephen announced. "The longer we stay here, the more we risk this world being in danger."
"Risk?" Frank murmured, as Harry flew back down. "What're you talking about?"
"We're talking about incursions." Norman stated. "The longer you all stay here, you could be damaging our world- and yours."
"Remember when Peter, our Peter, botched that spell last year?" Strange reminded Frank. "People from other universes that knew you two were beginning to come into our world. Granted, the spell tried to brute force its way through the fabric of reality, but this is just as bad."
"Because this time, both our worlds could die." Norman added. "I'm sorry, but you need to go home."
"Norman, wait." Peter-2 frowned, taking off his mask. "When we were all on their Earth, Peter-1 helped us change our fates."
"That's because we had time." Doctor Strange murmured. "But even then, the fact that there were three Spider-Men on one Earth could have been catastrophic."
Frank sighed, looking over to America.
"Think you can open another portal?"
Chavez widened her eyes, looking at her hands.
"I… I only really practiced it once…" the girl murmured. "And I can only do it when I get scared."
As if on cue, a security alarm flashed, causing Harry to press his gauntlet, pulling up holographic footage. Norman looked at the image, seeing the lobby of Oscorp, with an individual with a flaming skull being thrown across the room.
"Ghost Rider?" Frank raised an eyebrow. "You have one of those on this Earth?"
Peter-2 nodded, as a woman walked into view, looking up at the security camera. Her eyes were black as night, and her smile was so wide, everyone was surprised the head hadn't fallen off.
"Chthon." Strange mumbled.
"Friend of yours?" Harry asked.
"Not exactly." Castle muttered, looking at America. "Looks like you're about to get scared plenty."
"We can hold her off." Peter-2 offered, putting his mask back on.
"Peter, Chthon is unlike anything you have ever faced." Doctor Strange told him. "You won't stand a chance."
Spider-Man looked at Strange for a moment, before shrugging.
"That's what heroes do."
Peter-2 began to make his way towards the elevator, with Harry following closely behind.
"Otto?"
Octavious slowly nodded, turning to Norman.
"You should stay up here, just in case."
"Right." Osborn said quietly. "Just in case."
Otto, Spider-Man, and Harry walked towards the elevator, but when they were about to reach it, the floor exploded, and the Wanda-possessed Chthon rose up, grinning maniacally at them all.
"Give me the child. And I may spare you." the demon ordered.
"Kid…" Frank looked at America. "Time to go."
Chavez simply stared at Chthon in fear, as Otto sprang into action, launching himself at the demon and wrapping his tentacles around the vessel.
"America!" Castle shouted, gaining the girl's attention. "We gotta go now!"
Snapping out of it, America held out her hand in concentration, as Octavious smashed Chthon around the room, while Spider-Man shot webs to tie up his hands and feet.
"Do you really think you can stop me?" Chthon grinned, as dark red magic burned away the webs, before forcing the metallic arms to let go.
"No. My arms!" Octavious yelled, as the tentacles writhed uncontrollably. Spider-Man widened his eyes, noticing the lights in the middle of the claws change from white, to a dark red that matched Chthon's power, to finally a deep black.
"What are you doing? Listen to me!"
The arms eventually stopped their frenetic movement, only to coil towards Octavious, hissing menacingly.
"Otto!" Harry yelled, just as the tentacles lunged at their master, trapping his head in their claws and squeezing with a vise like grip. It was over before it started, as blood and viscera leaked out from the tentacles, a single crunch echoing. There wasn't even time for him to scream.
"Shit…" Frank's eyes widened, as he pulled out his pistols. The mechanical arms turned towards America, crawling towards her, but Peter-2 fired webs to pull it back, while Harry took out his sword and began swinging at the tentacles. All the while Chthon cackled at the sight, as he slowly advanced towards the girl.
"America, hurry." Doctor Strange all but ordered, conjuring his shields and getting in front of Norman.
"We'll need a miracle." Osborn mumbled, watching the tentacles grab Spider-Man and Harry and throw them into a wall.
In the recesses of the white void that was her mind, Scarlet Witch looked around, seeing the variant of her a few feet away, glaring at her.
"What have you done?" Wanda-2 asked, striding toward her. "Why are you doing this?"
"I have to." Wanda-1 told her. "I must get my children back."
"So you're going to kill another child? Is that who you are?" Wanda-2 seethed, marching towards her variant until they were inches apart.
"Her sacrifice… is for the greater good." Scarlet Witch stammered, making Wanda-2 almost shake in rage.
"Get out of my head. Now."
Wanda-1 widened her eyes, seeing a look of pure fury on her doppelgänger's face, and she backed up a bit in fear. Was this what other people felt, when she glared at them with her crimson eyes?
"I… I can't."
Wanda-2 shrugged, as the void began to darken, almost looking like… smoke?
"Your funeral."
The Witch was about to ask what she meant, when her vision suddenly flashed to an explosion of light, followed by gunfire and blood. She gasped, backing away, only to trip and fall. The Scarlet Witch looked around frantically, trying to see what caused her to lose her balance, only to find…
"P…Pietro?"
A body. She tripped over a body… the body of her own brother.
"Why? Why did you do this?" Wanda-1 asked. "Is this what happened to your brother?"
"Not exactly." Wanda-2 asked, walking over and getting down on one knee to look at her variant in the eye.
"Had enough?"
Wanda-1 slightly shook her head.
"I can't leave without the girl."
"Okay."
Wanda-2 stood up, just as more bodies began to fall on top of Wanda, filling her nose with the stench of the dead.
"You just sit there then until you're ready to leave, yeah?"
The Witch's vision became blurry, as she tried to force herself to see something, anything, but the bodies kept piling up, forcing her to see nothing back black-
"Okay, stop!" Wanda-1 shouted. "I'll leave! I'll go!"
The bodies suddenly vanished, leaving Wanda-2 to glare at her.
"Get after it then."
Scarlet Witch nodded, beginning to concentrate, closing her eyes…
Chthon stared down the heroes, when he suddenly felt his grip on the vessel ebb away.
"What… is… this…"
The demon threw his head back and screamed in an ancient language, as the variant's eyes changed from black to their normal hue, before the body collapsed on the ground. At the same time, the tentacles occupying Octavious' decapitated body crumbled, falling as if they were puppets with the strings cut.
Strange and Frank stepped forward, their weapons still raised, as the woman's eyes opened, looking between them.
"Wanda?" Castle asked. "That you?"
The variant frowned, getting up and brushing herself off.
"Yeah, that's right." Wanda said roughly. "Do I know you?"
"Uh, Miss Maximoff…" Spider-Man started. "This is Frank Castle and Doctor Strange-"
"Strange is dead." Wanda snapped. "And the Frank I know is a lot older."
"We're from a different universe." Stephen explained.
"That right?" Wanda snorted. "Guess that story my Frank told me wasn't just bullshit."
"You know the Frank Castle of this Earth?" Strange raised an eyebrow.
"We prefer to say 'variants'." Peter-2 said helpfully.
"Yeah, I know him." Wanda stuck her chin out. "He taught me everything I know."
Frank furrowed his brow, scrutinizing Maximoff.
"Are we… I mean you two…"
"Fuck no." Wanda looked at Castle in confusion. "He's like a father to me."
"Right." Frank slowly nodded, just as America's eyes opened, sparkling blue. In an instant, a familiar star shaped portal opened up, revealing the multiverse.
"Got it." Chavez smiled.
"You were able to open a portal through that?" Stephen asked, feeling the corners of his mouth tug into a smile.
"Well, you guys were distracting me a bit, but I tried concentrating like you guys said."
"Good job, kid." Frank told the girl, before looking at Otto's headless corpse.
"I'm… sorry."
Wanda looked at the body as well, pursing her lips in a tight line.
"I'm sorry too." the woman murmured. Peter-2, Norman, and Harry all stared awkwardly at the multiversal visitors, before Spider-Man sighed.
"You should go. The longer you stay here, the more of a danger you are to the multiverse."
"Yeah." Castle nodded, turning towards the portal. "C'mon Strange."
"I was waiting on you." Stephen told him, before he jumped in. Frank took one last look at the variants, before placing a hand on America's shoulder, and the two jumped through the portal, ignoring the urge to look back.
Back on Mount Wundagore, Wanda's body strained, as Chthon's magic enveloped her in a scarlet and black mist.
We were close, child… but you let your emotions for your children and your brother get in the way.
I'm sorry. Wanda whimpered, looking around to see herself trapped under the rubble of her family's home once again. In front of her was that damned Stark made bomb, it's red light blinking away… like a timer…
Beep… Beep… Beep…
I won't let it happen-
No. Chthon growled, as a black smoke began to cloud her vision. From now on, I shall be in control the moment we are in danger.
The smoke completely covered her sight, and all Wanda could do was scream.
A/N: Yeah, I decided not to have any music for this because honestly, it's becoming a pain to look up soundtracks to correspond with every scene. Not sure if I'll bring that back eventually, but if I don't, there's the reason.
I also wanted to include another Earth in this chapter, but after I realized how long it already was, I cut it off after they left the Raimiverse Spiderman characters. And I was going to have Chthon kill more people, but I think just Octavious was horrific enough. No need to kill off more of them.
Unfortunately, that kind of brings me to what I've been talking about in the above note. I originally had a lot of spinoffs planned for both this story once I'm finished, as well as other stories that took place in my Punisher/The Boys crossover series. Hell, I even wanted to do a complete rewrite of Suicide Squad Kill The Justice League with Batman as the main character, but my motivation has completely dropped recently, in a lot more than just this. Currently I only have three stories planned out; this one, a sort of epilogue to my Vengeance And Punishment series featuring Batman and Cassandra Dimitrescu, and a prequel that partially adapts Halloween 2018 and Halloween Kills. And that's only because I have huge portions already written out. As of right now, I'm still working on this story, and will finish it eventually, but after that, I am going to take a break, so the other two stories might not come out for a while.
Sorry for the downer note everyone, but I hope to see you all soon.