A/N: And here's another chapter, probably the last one I can stitch together from multiple pieces for now! Have fun reading!
The Wanda from Earth-838 stepped back into the Illuminati Headquarters, looking around in confusion. The last thing she remembered was that she was at home with her sons, sleeping in the couch. How did she get here?
With a chill, she remembered Charles in her mind, trying to pull her out from under the rubble. The same rubble of her childhood home, which that demon and the variant of her put her under. Yet her alternate self was somehow trapped too. Why?
Xavier tried to pull her out, but the demon was too strong. She slipped from his grasp before she saw what happened. Is he alright? Or is he…
Wanda's eyes widened in horror, as she felt a chill go up her spine.
Oh. Oh, no…
Wanda raced back up the tunnel and towards the main hall, but stopped in her tracks once she saw the destruction in her wake. The destruction that she caused.
In the center of the room was a body of a man in a black suit, the lower half of his head splattered across the floor in a red paste.
"Blackagar…"
Just a few feet away was a pile of blue and black… strings? Strips, which were covered in blood? But then some of their strips appeared more… flesh-like… and there was blood, and pieces of what looked like vital organs and bone amongst the shreds…
"No… Reed?" Wanda whispered, covering her mouth.
On the other side of the hall was another body, which appeared female, wearing a red white and blue suit, but was completely split in half from top to bottom. Laying at the body's feet was a shield with the Union Jack in the middle.
"Peggy."
Wanda turned her eyes towards the final body, which laid at the feet of a stone statue. The body itself was more of a red smear compared to the others, but the skin appeared old, decrepit. Like a rotted corpse. The black and silver clad form sported a face- or what was left of one- that was twisted in horror, as it's features appeared withered and decayed, like it's very soul was sucked out.
"Maria… I'm sorry."
Maximoff's eyes turned glassy, until she saw pieces of shattered glass off on the far side of the hall, where the holding cells would be. Hoping, praying, that someone was still alive, she ran as fast as she could, into the cell room, and…
"Charles!"
Her old friend, Charles Xavier, was slumped forward in his hoverchair, eyes closed, mouth ajar.
"Charles, please." she whimpered, trying to reach out and feel his consciousness, but… she just… couldn't.
"No." Wanda sunk to her knees, beginning to cry, when she noticed another pool of blood. She followed the trail, seeing another corpse: a man in a black security uniform, but his face was mangled to the point of nearly being unrecognizable. But to her, that telltale beard and slicked back hair gave it away.
"B… Billy?"
Wanda crept closer, seeing the body was indeed, Billy Russo. One of her closest friends. Hell, she'd consider him a brother at times. And now…
"I'm sorry. God, I'm so, so sorry…"
She began to cry, and that's when she she saw the final body a few feet away from Russo, her hair matted with blood, and a bullet hole in the side of her head.
"Amy… no…"
She couldn't believe it. All her friends, gone, because of her. Russo was like an uncle to her children, and Amy… Amy babysat Tommy and Billy when they were little.
Through her weeping, she noticed Amy's pistol on the ground next to his arm. She must've tried to use it against her, when she… killed her…
Well. Maybe she'll help her finish the job.
Slowly, with shaking hands, Maximoff's fingers closed around the pistol, bringing it up to her head. Once it was close enough, Wanda opened her mouth, slipping the barrel inside, and placing her finger in the trigger well.
She wanted to do this. She had to, to deliver justice to her friends… her family…
Family…
Family?
Wanda's eyes widened, thinking of her family. Or more accurately, her boys. Her sons. Her husband…
Her husband. He had a right to know. And he had a right to know it from her.
Almost as quick as she thought it, Wanda took the gun out of her mouth and cast it aside, before standing up. It still hurt like hell, but she had to get home. She had to be strong for her boys.
Frank fell out of the portal, quickly tucking into a ball in midair, eventually landing on the ground and rolling, getting up to be relatively unharmed.
"Goddamn…" Castle muttered, looking around. "Where the hell am I now…"
Everywhere he looked, Frank saw nothing but wasteland. Partially destroyed buildings stood by themselves. Heaps of junk that were once vehicles littered the broken, blistering ground. The sun baked the atmosphere, already making him sweat.
Did Chthon send him to a world that was just… gone?
As he wondered this, Frank thought he heard the sound of an engine in the distance, and he turned around, seeing a battered car driving towards him. The closer it got, the more he realized it looked like the car Beth and Kassie tried to drive. The same one that the girl's older brother Danny nearly hit them with in their world. Was it the same one?
Eventually, the car stopped several feet away from Frank, and the doors opened, revealing two figures. One of them was the form of a young woman, except that her torso was outfitted with cybernetics. The other was a man wearing a faded sherpa jacket, with black hair and white edges.
"Well, who do we have here?" the man nonchalantly asked, walking up to Frank. Before the Punisher could do anything, the man punched him square in the face, making up stumble back.
"The fuck…"
Castle growled, before delivering a punch of his own, knocking the man flat on his ass.
"Sire!" the woman cried out, taking a rifle from the car and pointing it at Frank. "Sire, are you alright?"
"I'm fine, Lexx." the man rubbed his jaw. "Hey, at least we know he's not a deadite."
Frank's blood froze, as the man got up.
"You said deadites?"
"Yeah, deadites! The things that have been roaming the world for the last few decades…" the man raised an eyebrow. "What, did you take a freeze dried hibernation like I did?"
Castle glared at the man, shrugging.
"Not exactly. I'm not from around here…"
"Ah, are you from another universe?" Lexx asked.
"You know about that?" Frank asked in confusion.
"Yes, the Knights of Sumeria theorized it." Lexx nodded. Castle looked between the two individuals, his confusion increasing.
"Who are you people?"
The man grinned, sticking out his hand.
"Name's Ash Williams, formerly working in housewares." he cheekily said. "How nice of you to meet me."
"I am Lexx, one of the Knights." the woman announced.
"And she's got one hell of an ass." Ash whispered to Frank, who responded by giving him the side eye. "But what's your name, stranger?"
"Frank Castle." the Punisher grunted. Williams smirked, before going back to the car.
"Well come on Frank! No use standing here, we gotta go!"
"Go?" Castle repeated. "What are you gonna do?"
"We've found the Dark Ones, the authors of the Necronomicon, and the creator of the deadites." Lexx declared. "It is our duty to destroy them once and for all!"
"Right." Frank muttered, climbing into the car after the other two. "How'd all this happen?"
"Oh, the Dark Ones summoned some huge demon onto Earth, I killed it, then was put on ice for a few decades, meanwhile they took over the world." Ash said casually. "And now there's barely any beer, no weed, but hey, I got a brand new hand, so it evened out!"
Castle grumbled, staring out the window.
"Where is… where was this?"
"Elk Grove, Michigan." Lexx answered. "It's where the savior is from."
"That's me, buddy." Williams smirked.
"Michigan…" Frank looked on in confusion. "Ever been to Los Angeles?"
"Nah, I don't think the big wigs in Hollywood would've liked me." Ash snorted. "I doubt I got the face for it."
"Not what I meant." Frank muttered. "You ever see the Necronomicon there?"
"No?" Ash looked at Castle in concern. "Far as I know, it's never been there."
"Perhaps not the one you possessed, sire." Lexx told him. "There are three volumes."
"That right?" Frank raised an eyebrow. That would most likely explain how Beth's family got tangled up in that mess…
"Yes. Legend says that the books are able to traverse throughout space and time." Lexx continued.
"Sounds about right." Frank sighed, turning back towards the window. As they continued driving, Castle began to think. If the books could travel throughout space…
"You think the Necronomicon can bust open a new universe?"
"I don't see why not." Ash shrugged. "I mean, I've traveled through time more than once with that thing! Hold on, why do you want to, aside from the obvious?"
"I ain't from here." Frank said repeated. "And I need to get back to my world to help a friend out."
The moment he and Christine arrived at this new world, Stephen knew something was off. Everything, all around them, appeared to be covered in snow… or ash.
"Oh no." Strange murmured, walking into a street and seeing… buildings were crumbling, floating around as if there was no gravity, but above all, were melting into each other.
"It's like…" Palmer gasped. "It's like this reality collapsed in on itself."
"Yeah." Stephen widened his eyes realizing that they were in a universe that was wrecked by an incursion. "Or two realities collided with each other."
The pair sidestepped a floating chrysler, walking down a snow covered street, and ducked under a bike that was spinning around.
"Come on. America doesn't have long, and depending on where he ended up, I doubt Frank does either."
"But where are we going?" Christine asked, as they passed a rotating oldsmobile.
"Well, if the Sanctum is still here, there might be another version of me." Strange explained. "That's our best shot of getting back to her."
Stephen made his way through the flooded streets, Christine following after him, as they got closer to the Sanctum, seeing the ground littered with bones.
"Holy shit." Palmer gasped, covering her mouth. Strange said nothing, as the doors opened on themselves, revealing a staircase, and… that's it.
"Wait here." Stephen told her. "I'll go in… alone."
Earth-838
Director Frank Castle had just finished speaking to the World Security Council, when one of his most trusted agents, John Pilgrim, approached him with a pale face.
"Director- Director Castle, you need to see this."
Frank was about to correct him, saying he should be comfortable with referring him by his first name. For Christ's sake, his kids were like cousins to Castle's own boys. But the look on Pilgrim's face made him give a nod instead, as he was lead to his personal monitor. On the screen was video surveillance of the Illuminati's headquarters, and it depicted the Ultron sentries fighting… fighting…
"Wanda." Frank murmured, while John looked at him in alarm. "How… how long ago was this?"
"About an hour ago, sir." Pilgrim told him.
"What… why would she attack them?"
"That's the thing, I don't think it was her."
John sped up the footage, until they arrived at the security footage of the holding cells, where a man looking like Frank himself was in one of those glass boxes. In another cell was a young girl, and next to them was Doctor Palmer and Russo. Approaching the cells was Wanda.
"Wanda, stop!" the variant of Frank yelled in the cell, beating his fists against the glass. "You don't gotta do this!"
Wanda turned to look at the prisoner, and the next thing Director Castle heard chilled him to the bone.
"Wanda's not here right now, Frank. You should know that."
Castle shuddered, hearing a demonic voice come out of his wife's mouth. Having been friends with Doctor Strange before he… died… Frank knew a thing or two about possession, but what could be possessing her? And why?
"Director Castle."
Frank pretended not to hear John, as the footage froze.
"Frank! What are your orders?"
Castle finally looked at Pilgrim, swallowing hard.
"I'm going to the Illuminati. Get some answers." Frank told him.
"Roger. I'll set up a strike team-"
"No." Frank shook his head. "I'm going. Alone."
"Frank… are you sure about this?" John asked.
"No." Castle looked at the footage. "But I have to."
Ash continued driving the car, which he called the Delta, through the apocalyptic wasteland, passing through ruined neighborhoods and destroyed skyscrapers.
"How'd the deadites take over?" Frank murmured, looking out the window.
"Well… there was this rift." Williams started. "It was like a tear in space and time that was like the bridge between the world and Hell. The Dark Ones were able to get through, and they bonded the missing pages back to the book. Then they summoned this big godzilla sized deadite called Kandar, which was killed by yours truly, but I got put in some cryo-sleep thingy-"
"Cryo-stasis, sire." Lexx interrupted.
"Right… that." Ash muttered. "I wake up and found out that while I was napping, the Dark Ones unleashed the deadites onto the rest of the world. And the bitch of it all, really… is that I have no one left."
"Come again?" Frank murmured. Ash sighed, staring out the front window.
"I've lost everyone. My sister. My dad. Kelly, Pablo… I lost my daughter." Williams mumbled. "I wake up, and everyone I know is dead."
Frank's heart dropped, looking at the older man. Maybe they weren't that different, now that he thought about it…
Out of the corner of his eye, Frank noticed four hooded figures appear a ways in front of them, guarding a book that floated between them. The Necronomicon, most likely.
"Those the Dark Ones?" Frank nodded towards the creatures.
"Yep." Ash growled, flooring the gas pedal.
"Sire, the glove box."
"Oh yeah." Williams blinked. "Hey Frank, you mind opening up the box and grabbing the present?"
Frank squinted in confusion, but did what Ash asked, opening the glovebox to reveal an interesting looking knife with a handle made of bone.
"The fuck is this?"
"Kandarian Dagger, the only thing that'll fuck these demons up!" Ash said quickly, just as the Dark Ones conjured a fireball and threw it right at the Delta. Williams tried to swerve, but the projectile directly hit their side, causing the car to topple over.
"Dammit! Lexx!"
The android immediately started firing, but another fireball was sent her way. With only a few precious seconds, Lexx used her robotic strength to pull Ash and Frank out of the ruined car, pushing them away, just as the demonic energy hit her in the back, tearing her body apart.
"Shit!" Frank cursed, as Ash ran back to the car and searched for the dagger.
"Come on, come on… got it!"
The savior held up the dagger proudly, smiling at the Dark Ones.
"Got the dagger bitches!" Williams gloated, flipping off the demons.
"Williams, stop fucking around-"
All four of the Dark Ones slammed their arms into the ground, knocking both men backwards and slamming into the overturned Delta, making Ash drop the Kandarian Dagger. Frank groaned, looking up to see the Dark Ones raise their arms, as energy seemed to pour from the Necronomicon, creating cracks in the ground. Realizing that the book was giving them power, Frank scrambled for the dagger, grabbing the weapon, and throwing it straight at the Necronomicon. If he could somehow destroy it..
A few pages began to turn on its own, and the dagger sliced through them, before harmlessly clattering to the dirt. Castle grit his teeth, realizing that he and Ash were now, for lack of a better term, fucked, until lightning flashed from the book, creating a portal.
"What the hell?" Frank narrowed his eyes, as the portal took a bluish swirled shape, like a whirlpool, that suddenly began to suck the Dark Ones, the Kandarian Dagger, the Necronomicon, and the torn pages all in. And it wasn't done.
"No!" Ash yelled, as he felt himself levitate. "Not again!"
Frank felt his body began to float, and he grabbed onto the Delta behind him- then widened his eyes, as he realized the portal was sucking that in too. With no other choice, Castle, Williams, and the car flew straight into the gateway, where Frank's vision was overtaken by white.
In a distant, more younger universe, Mia Allen walked into a chamber, finding John Constantine waiting for her.
"Ready to train?" the demonologist asked. Allen smirked, looking down at her knew hand, which glowed red and morphed into the shape of a chainsaw.
"Born ready."
John waved his hands, creating orbs of mystical energy, which zoomed towards Mia. The girl ducked, using her unusual appendage to slice through the projectiles, until a portal suddenly opened up out of nowhere.
"John?" Mia asked in alarm, feeling her feet slide towards the whirlpool of energy. "Are you doing this?"
"Not me, love." Constantine murmured, slowly making his way towards her. Unfortunately, he was too late, as Allen was suddenly swept off her feet, flying straight towards the portal.
"Constantine!" Mia screamed. "What the fuck is going on!"
"Mia!" John shouted, as the Necronomicon- the copy he took from Doctor Strange, flew out of his trench coat, and zoomed towards the portal, which closed up seconds later.
"Bollocks."
Earth-838
When she finally reached her house, the Wanda of Earth-838 realized that she was exhausted. Or, to put it better, she felt like her life was in shambles. Her body was just used by not only a version of herself, but also by this otherworldly demon. The mere thought made her feel so… violated. Defiled. Like someone had taken her, used her body how they wished. Not unlike years ago…
God, it made her feel ill, and she wanted nothing more than to throw up. But she was home now. She had to be strong for her boys.
Wanda took a couple deep breathes, before hobbling up the steps to her door, using her magic to quietly let herself in. She peeked into the living room, noticing that her sons were passed out on the couch. Good. Maximoff smiled to herself, as she slowly dragged herself across the floor, placing her hand on the railing, and began to climb the stairs-
"Mom?"
Wanda tensed, slowly turning around, to see that Tommy and Billy staring at her with wide eyes. Guess they weren't asleep like she thought. Or did she wake them?
"Mom, are you okay?" Billy asked. The mother forced a smile, nodding her head.
"Yes, honey. I'm alright."
Billy frowned, as he and Tommy got up and approached her. She must've looked like a deer caught in the headlights, the way they looked her up and down.
"Mom, what happened to your leg?!"
"Is that blood?!"
"Mom-"
Wanda began backing up the stairs, feeling her hands shake.
"Boys, I…"
The dam broke, and the boys' mother felt as if she was going to cry right in front of them, as she began to realize the full weight of what just happened. Why she found herself in the Gap Junction under the Illuminati's headquarters.
"I need to get cleaned up." she squeaked out. Not necessarily a lie, but it also sounded like a poor excuse. Nevertheless, seeing how distraught she was, Tommy and Billy didn't press the matter, and simply watched her slowly walk up the stairs, heading towards the bathroom.
After what felt like an eternity to her, Wanda reached the bathroom door, turning the knob and entering the small space, before flipping on a light. She took off her clothes, barely registering that they were covered in blood and oil alike, discarding them on the floor, and climbed into the shower on her left.
The water, though initially cold when she turned it on, quickly warmed up, and Wanda sank to her knees, leaning her head against the tile wall. As the water poured on her face, she finally began to let the tears fall, beginning to sob uncontrollably.
Once the Quinjet touched down in front of the Illuminati Headquarters, Director Castle bolted towards the building, slamming through the doors. He barely even registered the dozens of Ultron sentries that were now scrap, but he skidded to a halt when he saw the gory remains of the Illuminati themselves.
"Holy shit…"
Black Bolt's head was missing his jaw and part of his throat. Captain Carter was in two pieces. Reed… he was torn apart like he went through a shredder. Maria… she was barely recognizable, now a red paste. And that was just the foyer. Frank noticed shattered glass, and he made his way towards the holding cells, seeing…
Castle fell to his knees, seeing the mutilated bodies were his closest friends. Russo, with so much glass in his face, he almost did a double take to confirm it was him. Amy, with a bullet in her head.
Wanda, she couldn't… she couldn't have done this… could she?
Frank breathed deeply, looking back up… only to see Charles' body slumped over his hoverchair. He's killed enough people to know that the professor's neck had snapped.
"Director Castle."
Frank's head swiveled to the side, seeing Mordo slowly walk into the facility. From the direction he was coming from, it looked like he had arrived from the council chamber. A dark thought crossed his mind…
"Out of all the Illuminati killed, you survived." Castle muttered, slowly standing up. "Why is that?"
"I…" Mordo fumbled his words. "I was incapacitated in the pit. A variant of Doctor Strange trapped me there, then put this on me."
The baron held up his arm, showing a cuff- the kind Christine Palmer created to negate magic- wrapped around his wrist.
"Strange…" Frank repeated. "Why was the variant here?"
"He showed up with a girl who can open portals to other universes, a variant of yourself, and two other women." Mordo told him. "Knowing how dangerous our Stephen was, I took the initiative to capture them all to pass judgment-"
"Stop that." Frank interrupted. "Just stop, alright? I know that you gave Strange the Darkhold, knowing it would corrupt him. I know all of it."
Mordo shifted uncomfortably, because they both knew it was true. The variant that told him off earlier guessed right: Karl did give his Strange the Darkhold, hoping it would corrupt him, and pave the way for the baron to become the Sorcerer Supreme.
Karl pushed that memory back down, as he looked Frank in the eye.
"We need to let the families of the Illuminati know about this." Mordo announced, walking over to one of the lab's computers. "They need to know who did this-"
"Don't you fucking dare." Frank suddenly growled, stepping into Mordo's way. "It wasn't Wanda. Some demon possessed her."
"I care not that a variant of hers was dreamwalking." Mordo sneered, placing his hand on Castle's shoulder. "Stand aside-"
Frank slapped Karl's arm away, before grabbing him and throwing him at one of the destroyed cells, causing his body to break even more glass.
"You think you can blame this on her?" Castle seethed, pulling out a pistol. "Gonna set everyone out to get her?"
Mordo strained to get up, but Frank planted his boot on his chest, raising the gun.
"You're only protecting her because she's your wife-"
Bang bang!
Karl's body slumped, two bullets in his head.
"Goddamn right." Frank muttered, turning around… only to see a blonde woman in a blue suit standing in the foyer. Next to her was a blonde man in a similar suit, both having an emblem of the number four on their chests. He knew who they were.
"Sue… Johnny…"
Sue Storm opened her mouth to speak, her eyes glancing to Reed's remains. Her husband's.
"Is it true?" she whispered. "Did she… did she kill them?"
Frank sighed, walking over to a computer, and replayed a segment of security footage from earlier- before the Illuminati were massacred.
"Wanda, please. I don't want to fight you. The Wanda you've possessed is my friend. I just saw her husband an hour ago. I understand where you're coming from, I do. I have children of my own."
Sue and Johnny watched, as Wanda walked towards Reed in the footage.
"Is their mother still alive?"
"Yes."
"Good."
Sue felt a shiver go up her spine, as Maximoff's turned black.
"Then I will find her and make them orphans."
Frank quickly shut off the video, before anything could happen. Sue's already seen the corpses. She didn't need to see her husband's final moments too.
"I'm sorry." Castle murmured. "It wasn't her. She was possessed by something."
Frank began walking away, only for Sue to reach out and grab his arm.
"We'll send the footage out to the X-Men and the Royal Family, so that no one will retaliate." Storm told him. "But what are you going to do?"
Frank felt a knot twist in his gut, as he looked back at the foyer.
"I'm gonna have a talk with my wife."
Frank woke up with a pounding in his skull, as he slowly stood up, finding himself in a dark forest.
Where was he now?
Castle groaned, seeing in the distance a small wooden bridge, surrounded by metal cages. With nothing else in the immediate vicinity, the Punisher began walking over there, hearing nothing but the wind blowing softly. That, and the snapping of twigs…
Which weren't his own feet.
Frank spun around, just in time to see a large bearded man in flannel grab him by the throat and throw him to the ground, growling at him.
"I smell someone with a fresh soul!" the man laughed in a garbled voice, and that's when Frank realized his eyes were a blank white.
A deadite.
"Ah fuck…"
Ash adjusted his eyes, finding himself in a familiar looking forest.
"What… god fucking dammit!" the older man ranted. "I'm back at the cabin… again!"
As Williams began to walk through the forest, he heard a soft growling behind him, causing him to run.
"Shit, you're not getting me again!" the savior shouted, sprinting towards the trees. Unfortunately, he tripped over a root, and as he twisted his body to see the creature behind him, a deadite leapt up at him.
"Oh fuck!" Ash yelled, punching the deadite in the face. The monster howled, rolling along the ground, but before it could get back up, a foot planted itself on its chest. Before Ash's eyes, a chainsaw stabbed down, decapitating the deadite.
"Well, how about that…" Williams smirked, standing up to see the person holding the saw. Said person was a young woman with short black hair, wearing a dark blue dress, and her right hand was wrapped in duct tape as a crude bandage.
"You okay?" she asked.
"Yeah, thanks for the assist." Ash grinned. "Name's Ash. Housewares."
The woman looked at him curiously, slinging the chainsaw over her shoulder.
"My name is Beth Hack."
Mia slowly stood up on shaking legs, rubbing her head, as she looked around the forest. Dammit. Why did it look so much like the one she and David… went too…
Allen suddenly heard shouting, and she looked up, seeing a man in a light blue shirt fly straight towards her, barrelling into her like a human cannonball.
"Hey!" Mia shouted, grabbing the young man and shaking him. "What's the big idea?!"
"Sorry." he grumbled. "I just got here…"
He looked around, seeing a cabin in the distance.
"I didn't leave here? Shit!"
Mia felt her skin crawl, hearing a soft growling coming towards them.
"Come on." she muttered, walking towards the cabin. "We have to get in there."
"Wait." the man grabbed her arm. "You don't want to go in there."
"You're right, but it's better than staying out here." Mia shrugged off his arm, and continued walking. The man gulped, looking back just in time to see the wind blow some of the shorter trees down, and immediately began to run, moving past the girl.
"Come on, it's coming!" the man shouted, sprinting into the cabin. Upon hearing that, Mia instantly picked up the pace, running straight into the cabin as well, slamming the door shut behind her.
"Fuck, that was close." the man panted. "I don't think I ever got your name."
"Mia." Allen sighed. "My name, is Mia."
The man nodded, holding his hand out.
"I'm Ash. Ash Williams."
Earth-838
Frank-838 arrived at his house, parking haphazardly in the driveway and walked with a purpose towards the door, quickly opening it to find two boys sitting on the couch with nervous expressions.
"Dad!" Billy cried out, being the first to jump up. "There's something wrong with Mom!"
"What?" Frank asked, getting down on one knee, as the two boys ran over and hugged him.
"We think she got hurt. There was blood on her clothes!" Tommy explained. Castle swallowed painfully, realizing the security footage he saw was real.
"Where is she?" Frank asked.
"She said she had to clean herself up." Billy told him. "But the shower's been on forever!"
The Director of SHIELD felt his mouth go dry, as he slowly nodded, and stood up.
"Hey. I gotta talk with your mom, okay?" Frank asked, walking over to the tv and placing in a movie. "You boys be good and stay here, yeah?"
The boys slowly nodded, and Frank made his way upstairs, walking towards the bathroom. When he finally reached the door, he tried the knob, but quickly realized it wouldn't yield.
Locked. Damn.
Frank leaned his head against the door, hearing the steady rushing of shower water, accompanied by… sobbing? Wanda was crying?
"Hey." Castle murmured, just loud enough for Maximoff to hear. "Hey, Wanda. Open the door, yeah?"
The crying stopped, but only for a minute, before it resumed. Frank tried the door again, but it remained unlocked.
"Wanda, please. You can't be alone right now." Frank told her, as he began sinking to the floor. The door still wouldn't open. Castle felt his heart sink with him, as he pressed his back against the wood frame.
"Please… let me in."
That seemed to do the trick, as he noticed a faint red glow above him, and he looked up, seeing a scarlet swirl wrap itself around the doorknob and twist. Frank got up just in time for the door to open, and he peered through, seeing Wanda was still in the shower, and crying profusely.
"Hey Wanda." Frank repeated, approaching the shower and kneeling next to the ceramic barrier. He reached out to her, but she pressed herself more against the tile wall, as if his touch would burn her. Maybe it could.
"I'm sorry." Wanda whimpered, burying her face in her arms.
"Why?"
"They're dead." Maximoff sobbed. "Charles. Reed. Peggy. Maria. Blackagar. Billy. Amy. They were our friends, and I… I killed them."
Frank shook his head. He didn't believe that. Couldn't believe that. She wouldn't have killed all the members of the Illuminati- they're friends- and be bawling her eyes out. Christ, the way she was almost curled into a ball, the way she was trying to hide her face, it was almost like…
Castle's blood ran cold. She looked almost exactly like when he found her in that HYDRA base, years ago.
"What happened?"
Wanda looked up, the pain and fear radiating in her eyes, but she forced herself to speak.
"I was… imprisoned, in my own head. By another version of me."
"A variant." Frank realized. Mordo had mentioned that before Castle killed him. Back when Strange was part of the Illuminati, he tried to access the multiverse- through the Darkhold that Mordo gave him- to fight against Thanos. Apparently, he caused the destruction of another Earth, and it was that reason that the Illuminati killed him. Not that the public knew of what happened. It was Peggy's idea to concoct a story that he died in battle, so that the citizens of the world would never know the truth. The only ones who did know, outside of the Illuminati themselves, were himself, Wanda, and Stark, who was only told because of Reed.
Maximoff timidly nodded, but tears still shone in her eyes.
"She… she trapped me underneath my family's home. It was like waiting for that bomb to go off all over again, but…"
Wanda paused, biting her lip.
"There were moments, where she would be in there with me. The last time, when Charles tried to free me- us- a… a monster took him by surprise and murdered him."
Frank's eyes trailed to the floor, wondering what that could mean. A monster? Who? Or what? Was it that demon who spoke during that security footage?
"If I fought her… if I could have taken control…" Wanda continued, shuddering. "Maybe… maybe then, they would all still be alive."
Wanda tried to choke down a sob, failing miserably, and Frank quickly reached out, resting his hand on her shoulder.
"It wasn't your fault, yeah?" Frank assured her. "It was on the other you, and… whatever that thing was, alright?"
"But I… I wasn't strong enough-"
"Don't say that." Frank told her, cupping her face. He averted his eyes for a moment, before clearing his throat.
"Do, uh… do you remember when I found you?"
Wanda looked at him in the eyes, staring at him in confusion.
"What?"
"Do you remember the day we met?" Frank asked. "When I found you in that HYDRA cell?"
Sokovia
2014
Frank and Billy quietly but quickly made their way through the HYDRA base, silently picking off any soldiers they saw. If Schoonover's map was right, they were getting near the holding cells, and Castle turned a corner, seeing one of the agents open up a cell door. He would've pulled out his pistol, if Frank hadn't shot him in the head.
"Bill, I think there's someone in there." Castle told his partner. "Cover me."
"Got it Frankie." Russo nodded. Frank inched closer to the door, tilted his head and looked in, and ended up seeing a woman with red hair curled up in a corner, hugging her knees to her chest, and wore what looked like a shock collar around her neck.
"Jesus." Castle murmured, doing a quick once over to see that she was covered in cuts and bruises. "Russo, did that guard have a key or anything on him?"
Billy quickly scavenged the agent's dead body, eventually finding a key that was hopefully to the collar. He threw the small object, which Frank caught, and approached the woman. The prisoner flinched, tried to back up into the wall, even as Frank knelt down to her level.
"Hey, it's alright." Castle told her. "I'm not gonna hurt you, yeah? I'm gonna help you."
Gingerly, Frank reached out with the key, slowly inserting it into the collar, and unlocked the contraption. Unfortunately, the moment he removed the collar, the woman lashed out, as he suddenly felt his body seize up and levitate. He looked down, seeing his body engulfed in a red mist-like energy, and he stared into the woman's eyes, seeing them glow the same hue.
"Wait, wait!" Castle shouted. "I'm not gonna hurt you, alright?"
Behind him, he could hear Russo scramble to lock and load his rifle, and he did his best to turn his head.
"Stand down, Bill."
"What?!" Russo yelled. "Frank, look at her-"
"STAND THE FUCK DOWN!" Castle barked, before looking back to the woman.
"Listen, We're not with them, alright? We're not HYDRA."
The prisoner tilted her head, as she stood up and walked forward, lowering Frank down slightly. When they were at eye level, she reached out, touching the side of his head, and he began seeing flashes of his wife and children, back at home, but with a red tint around them. Was this what she was seeing?
Eventually, the flashes stopped, and the woman dropped him back to the floor of the cell, making him stumble back a bit.
"I'm… I'm sorry." she croaked. "I thought… I thought you were-"
"Hey, it's okay." Frank assured her. "You, uh… you got a name?"
The woman looked up, slowly nodding.
"Wanda."
"Okay. Alright Wanda. My name's-"
"Frank." the prisoner blurted out, but suddenly widened her eyes. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean-"
"Hey, it's okay." Frank repeated. "It's okay. I'm Frank, and my friend is Billy, alright?"
Wanda nodded again, while Castle took her shoulder and gently led her out of the cell.
"We gotta go, okay?" Frank told her.
"Wait!" Wanda suddenly exclaimed. "I have a brother. Pietro, he… he should be in the cell next to mine."
"I see it." Russo murmured, walking to the next cell door. "Holy…"
"What?" Wanda asked in an alarmed voice. "What is it? Is he alright?"
Billy turned back to Frank and Wanda, his face paling.
"You don't want to go in there."
That only set off more alarm bells in her head, and the woman quickly pushed past Russo and into her brother's cell, where she was greeted to a grisly sight.
Laying on the floor was the body of a man with silver hair, but when Wanda turned him over, she screamed. His face was all bloody, and he appeared to be beaten.
"No." Wanda whispered, nudging his shoulder. "Pietro, wake up. Please, wake up."
The body remained unresponsive, making Wanda shake him harder.
"Wake up! Wake up, Pietro, please! Wake up-"
"Easy." Frank called out, resting a hand on her shoulder. When she looked out, he murmured a quiet, "I'm sorry". The words made Wanda burst into tears, and she began to cradle his brother's body.
"We… we had no one. Ever since we lost our parents." she sniffed. "Then those HYDRA bastards found us, took us away from our home, and forced us to… do things for them. They turned us into monsters."
Frank opened his mouth to speak, but upon realizing he had no idea what to say, he shut it. What could he say? How could he say anything comforting to that?
While Frank was thinking, Wanda wiped away her tears, looking between the two men.
"Where's the doctor?"
"Doctor? You mean List?" Castle frowned. "We're still looking for him. Him and Strucker."
Wanda grimly nodded, and Frank and Billy could see fire in her eyes.
"I'll help you."
Frank nodded as well, before nudging his head down the hallway.
"Okay. But our priority is to get you safe, yeah?"
If Wanda listened, she didn't show it, instead running down the halls.
"This way!" She called out. "I know where his lab is!"
Frank and Billy raced after her, turning a few corners, until they arrived in an open area with several operating tables. At the back was a white haired man in a lab coat, shoving stacks of papers into a briefcase. The arrival of the three visitors made him pause, but when he looked at who was watching with him, he paled.
"No."
The man tried to run, but Wanda engulfed one of the tables with her powers and threw it towards him, slamming into his side and pinning him to a nearby wall.
"Wanda, please-" the man cried out. "I only wanted to help you and your brother-"
"Is that why you experimented on us like we were sick dogs, Doctor List?" Wanda snarled, stepping closer while conjuring an orb of scarlet energy in her hands. "Why you let your men take their turns with Pietro and me? Why you let my brother die?!"
"No. No, I wouldn't-" List pleaded, but Wanda was suddenly upon him, and she slammed her hand against his mouth- the one that held the crimson sphere.
"Yes. You did." the woman whispered. "And now, you'll join him."
From where Frank stood, he could see List's neck suddenly bulge, with a red light revealing itself under the skin. The light traveled further down, stopping when it reached the man's chest, and violently pushed outward, ripping a hole through List's rib cage from the inside.
"Jesus!" Russo shouted, while blood splattered all over Wanda. The doctor's body slumped to the ground, and despite what Frank just saw, he still approached Wanda.
"We still gotta go, right?"
The woman silently nodded, and the three left the lab, continuing through the halls.
"Castle, what's your situation?" Frank heard someone ask through comms.
"The head doctor's dead. And we found a prisoner. Female. Possibly used in HYDRA's experiments." Frank reported. "We're bringing her with us up top."
"Copy that. The rest of the team needs help one floor above you."
"On our way!" Frank answered, ushering Billy and Wanda towards a stairwell. It only took them halfway up to hear gunfire, making them run faster. By the time they reached the top, the gunfire had increased, and out of the corner of Frank's eye, he saw several men wearing identical uniforms and gear to his own.
"Curt!" Frank called out, running towards a dark skinned man with a name tape reading Hoyle. "Curt, how you doing?"
"What's it look like Frankie?" Curt shot back. "We're pinned down here! These fuckers keep on coming!"
Frank and Russo joined in on shooting with Hoyle and two other men, while Wanda peered around the corner. Her eyes narrowed, seeing half a dozen HYDRA agents, led by a bald man in wearing a monocle.
Baron Strucker. The man in charge of this base, who kidnapped Wanda and Pietro years ago. The sight of him made her blood boil, and she turned to Frank, tugging his arm.
"What is it?" the soldier asked in confusion, but noticed her eyes beginning to glow crimson like before.
"Let me go out there." Wanda told him. "Let me help you."
Frank had a feeling she wasn't going to take no for an answer, and with great reluctance, nodded his head. The woman slowly moved past him and the other soldiers, walking in the center of the hallway to face the HYDRA agents, and conjured a scarlet energy barrier, blocking the blasts of the enemy's weapons.
"Shit, she's out!" Strucker yelled. "They must have let her loose!"
While the agents continued firing, one of the soldiers in the front suddenly jolted, clutching his head. His body spasmed, while his face began to bulge and turn red, until his head spontaneously exploded, splattering his blood and brains across the walls. The agents all looked on in horror, before firing towards Wanda again, but she used her powers to slam two more agents into the walls, caving the skulls instantly from the blunt force. An orb materialized in her hand, which produced tendrils that wrapped around a fourth agent and lifted him into the air, before pulling him limb from limb. The fifth soldier tried to make a run for it, but Wanda engulfed him in a layer of scarlet energy, squeezing him and crushing his body until the bones poked out of the skin.
"Get me out of here, you imbecile!" Strucker commanded the final agent, but it was too late. A wave of red energy enveloped the soldier and dragged him across the floor, causing him to let out a blood curdling scream. He tried grasping at the concrete floor to stop his body, but all that did was rip through the gloves and pull the fingernails apart, creating bloody streaks. The agent ended up being dragged into the darkness, where his screams became more distant, until a torrent of blood suddenly shot out, coating the floor in vermillion.
Strucker backed away with a terrified face, as Wanda approached him.
"Please." the Baron pleaded. "We were trying to unlock your full potential Miss Maximoff-"
Wanda's leg lashed out and struck his knee, bending it backwards and split the bone through the skin, making Strucker scream. He looked up, seeing Wanda directly above him, tilting her head in a cold manner.
"Is that what you were doing?" Wanda hissed, grabbing his arm and slamming her fist at the elbow, creating a loud snapping noise. The man screamed again, but another punch smashed into his face, shattering his jaw, as well as destroyed the monocle and sent glass in his eye.
"Is that why you let Pietro die?!" Wanda seethed, peering into his mind and seeing the HYDRA leader shaking hands with a bald man in a gray beard. Behind them was a bomb labeled Stark Industries- the same bomb that had been waiting right outside her and Pietro's destroyed home for two days. The realization made Wanda see red, and she began to pummel Strucker, causing him to spit out blood. With his limbs bent at odd angles, and his jaw completely broken, the baron could only moan, as Maximoff's fists rained down upon him. His vision began to ooze red, most likely because of the blood that was being spilt, while Wanda's face was now completely covered in it. He tried to lift a hand to stop her, but she grabbed his fingers and twisted, nearly breaking them off, but still elicited a painful howl.
Strucker gagged and choked, feeling his blood begin to suffocate him from the inside, but Wanda didn't stop, continuing to beat him to death. She didn't even stop when his body ceased movement, or when the face looked like an animal had eaten through it. No, she only stopped beating him when a hand rested on her shoulder, and she looked up, seeing Frank look at her with… pity.
"It's okay. He's done now."
Wanda looked back at Strucker, seeing his body looking barely human. Hell, his head was almost completely gone. Her eyes trailed down to her hands, seeing her knuckles completely torn and oozing blood, mixing in with Strucker's.
She found no joy in the fact that she killed her lifelong tormentor. Not even slight satisfaction that she avenged her brother, and received some sort of justice. No, all she felt now was… emptiness.
Frank and Billy had watched the macabre sight, when the former had gingerly approached Wanda. He wasn't gonna lie that he wasn't spooked at the sight, but then again, these HYDRA fucks deserved it.
"Hey." Frank murmured, hand still resting on Maximoff's shoulder. "You good?"
Wanda slowly turned towards him, breathing heavily, and nodded.
"Okay." Frank told her. "We're gonna get you out of here. You still wanna come with us?"
Maximoff nodded again, and Frank began to lead them out, much to Billy's nervousness.
"Frank, why are we bringing her? You saw what she did!"
"Come on Bill, they were HYDRA." Frank shrugged. "The assholes had it coming."
His partner sighed, before calling back to Curtis.
"What's the evac?" Russo asked.
"Chopper's just ahead." Curt answered. "These pricks were just holding us up."
Frank, Billy, Wanda, Curt, and the rest of the squad made their way down the hallway and outside, seeing a helicopter waiting for them. Inside the chopper was a man with white hair, who looked confused at the woman with them.
"Who's this?"
"Her name's Wanda Maximoff. She and her brother were experimented on by HYDRA." Frank answered.
"So where's he?" the older man asked.
"He didn't make it." Wanda whispered, as they all boarded the helo.
"And the Chitauri scepter?"
"Give it a rest, Schoonover." Russo told him. "We couldn't find it."
"But does she know-"
"Ray, enough." Frank muttered, even though Wanda looked up at the other soldier.
"It was there, in the base." she revealed. "But Strucker had it moved to a more secure location."
"Where?" Schoonover asked.
"I believe he mentioned Latveria."
"Christ." Frank muttered. "We'll have to call the Avengers in for this."
Schoonover nodded, activating his radio to call in command, while the rest of the squad sat back in the helo. Wanda found herself sitting next to Frank, and soon enough, she felt her eyes grow tired, and her head leaned into his shoulder…
Westview
Present Day
"You're stronger than you think, Wanda." Frank said softly. "Fuck, you're stronger than me."
Maximoff smiled slightly, but still tried to bury her head in her arms, despite what Castle said.
"Okay." Frank murmured, standing up… and stepped into the shower, sitting right next to Wanda.
"What… what are you doing?" Wanda asked, looking up at him.
"You can't be alone right now." Castle told her. "So I'm staying."
"But… you'll get your clothes all wet." she said feebly.
"Yep." Frank shrugged, folding his arms over his knees. Wanda did her best to glare at him, but it didn't last, and the look turned into a playful smile.
"You're such an asshole."
"You still married me." Frank shrugged, as Wanda used her magic to twist the handle to turn the water off. "Why don't we dry off though, yeah?"
"Okay." Wanda murmured, still sounding frail, like a gust of wind could knock her down.
"Okay." Frank repeated, as he stood up and helped his wife out. "Get dressed. I'll go down, wait with the boys. Order a pizza, right?"
Wanda smiled and nodded, before leaning forward and kissing her husband.
"I love you Frank."
Castle grinned, wrapping his wife in a hug.
"I love you too Wanda… it's gonna be okay. You gotta trust me on that."
In the collapsed universe, Doctor Strange stepped inside the ruined Sanctum, going up the stairs, when he heard the doors slam shut. Slightly unnerved, Strange walked up, until he reached a room with many relics. The place he knew would be his chambers in his own world.
"Hello?" a voice sounding similar to his own asked. "Who are you? What are you?"
"I'm one of our variants. From another universe." Strange answered, looking up at the balcony. A pale hand grabbed the top of the banister, making its way down to reveal a Strange that looked similar to himself, but different. His head was a messy mop of hair, his goatee was longer than his own. His skin, like his hand, was pale as a bone, and he wore all black.
"Prove it." the other Strange said. Stephen sighed, taking a deep breath.
"We had a sister. Donna." Strange murmured, remembering the vision Wanda forced him to endure. "We were out playing on a frozen lake, and she fell through the ice. Because we- I- couldn't save her."
"No… we couldn't." the other Stephen whispered. "And we don't talk about that much, do we?"
"No." Stephen admitted, looking out and seeing what looked like a swirling vortex. "What happened here?"
The alternate Strange shook his head, looking out the window. When he turned, the prime Strange noticed a familiar looking book clipped to his waist.
"The Darkhold." the sorcerer in red gasped. "You guard the Darkhold in this universe?"
"Yes." the black clad man let out a weak smile, placing a hand on the book, which emitted chaos magic. "And for good reason."
"I could use that to get back to my own world." Strange suggested, getting an idea and reaching for the book. "Or at least communicate with someone who could bring me back-"
"Careful." the black cloaked Stephen stepped back. "The Darkhold accosts a hefty toll."
The red cloaked sorcerer stared curiously at his doppelganger, raising an eyebrow.
"I'm assuming you mean more than just on reality."
The alternate Strange nodded, walking towards the giant window, widening his eyes when he saw Christine waiting outside.
"Are you happy, Stephen?" he suddenly asked, turning around. "That's what she said to me at her wedding. Christine. Are you happy?"
Strange took another step back, realizing that their worlds were a lot more similar than he thought.
"So I said of course I am! I have the power of gods, and one of the most powerful sorcerers that ever lived! Why wouldn't I be happy?" the other Strange smiled whimsically. "But then when I came back here, to this… haunted house. I sat and wondered, why did I lie?"
The Strange in the red cloak had a sick feeling to his stomach, as his literal pale imitation stepped forward.
"I never meant for any of this to happen. I just wanted to find a world where we would be happy, with Christine." the Stephen with the goatee murmured. "But instead, I found more of us. The multiverse's twisted sense of humor. So I did us a favor."
Strange clenched his fists, having an idea what he was going to say.
"You ever have those dreams where you're falling to your death? That was me." the other Strange smirked, as a third eye suddenly grew out of his forehead.
"Shit." Doctor Strange muttered, because he has had those dreams before. Many times, and very recently too.
"Like I said." this… Sinister Strange repeated. "The Darkhold exacts a heavy toll."
"Then all the more reason to let me have it." Strange suggested, holding his hands out.
"I'll make a deal with you." Sinister Strange told him. "I'll give you the book, if you give me Christine."
Stephen looked at his evil counterpart, as his hands conjured magical shields.
"No deal."
Strange sent the shields flying towards Sinister Strange, while simultaneously, creating a magical whip that grasped onto the book. The dark sorcerer simply blocked the discs with his hands, then grabbed the magical rope and corrupted it, turning it purple and shocking Strange, he fell back into a wall. Doctor Strange got up, morphing his fingers into snakes that slithered towards his sinister twin, which began to wrap him up and bite at him. With Sinister Strange incapacitated, Stephen conjured a fireball and sent it right at the Darkhold, breaking the lock around his twin's waist and pulled it towards him.
Seeing this, Sinister Strange let loose a violet shockwave, destroying the snakes and throwing his 'brother' to the ground. He created a mighty ball of energy, hurling it at Strange, who quickly held up his hands, temporarily turning it orange. As the two sorcerers struggled in their magical tug of war, Stephen realized he was beginning to lose. Unfortunately, Sinister Strange noticed too, and began applying pressure.
With no other options, Stephen remembered the trick that one of his variants taught him, and rotated his hand quickly. A portal opened up right above him, and he let go of his hold on the magical sphere, allowing it to fall through. Before Sinister Strange could do anything, another portal opened up directly in front of him, and the orb smashed through him, exploding with such power that it sent him flying completely flying out the window. The evil sorcerer screamed, barely having any time to register he was falling, when he suddenly landed on the fence outside, the metal spikes penetrating his throat, stomach, and heart.
Frank felt himself get tossed by the burly deadite, landing several feet away. It was almost like… like facing the Russian back in Murdock's apartment months ago. Only difference was this adversary felt much stronger. The demon cackled, lumbering over towards Castle, but just before it could grab him, a hand suddenly wrapped around its throat from behind. Another limb revealed itself, pulling out a knife, and stabbed it through the deadite's head.
Wait. Frank squinted, as the knife was used as a fulcrum to rip the head clean off.
Where had he seen that before?
The headless body fell to the ground, revealing a young woman with short black hair, wearing all black with a leather jacket to match, and was now sheathing the knife- which Frank now realized was the one he lost. Well, technically he didn't lose it. He gave it to someone…
"Hey Frank!" the woman smiled happily, extending her hand. Castle looked at her wrist, seeing a silver bracelet dangling from it.
And then Auntie Beth gave me this! She said it was for badass rock chicks!
Of course. How come he didn't notice it before?
"Kassie?" Frank asked in bewilderment, grabbing her hand and standing up.
"I'm surprised you remember me!" Kassie Hack's grin widened, retaining her grip on his hand and leaned closer to clap him on the shoulder. "It's been eight years!"
"For you." Frank muttered. "Me, it's been…"
Castle frowned, thinking for a moment. How long has it been since he, Strange, and Chavez visited the Hacks' apartment on that one Earth with no heroes? Hours? Days? Hopping from universe to universe definitely screwed time up for him.
"Well, it looks like you haven't aged one bit." Kassie chuckled, letting go of his hand and placing her hands on her hips. "Have any idea where we are?"
"Not a fucking clue." Frank said grimly, looking around the forest. "So you just… appeared here?"
"Yeah, I was actually in the middle of fighting a horde of deadites before I woke up here. You?"
Frank narrowed his eyes, looking at Kassie in scrutiny.
"There's still deadites in your world?"
The girl chewed her lip, looking down at the ground.
"Yeah." she mumbled. "That sorcerer we met, Mordo, had us sent back to our universe. Then Beth and I heard about a triple murder at a cabin not too far away from Los Angeles. Guess we never actually killed it."
"So you've been spending years trying to." Frank realized. "I'm sorry."
Kassie ran a hand over her face, wiping away a tear, before looking back up.
"And you?"
Frank sighed, staring off in the distance.
"I found myself in another world with deadites, and this guy who reminded me of your aunt found me. Used a chainsaw too."
Kassie softly laughed, while Frank continued.
"We were gonna fight these assholes called the Dark Ones, the ones who wrote that book and created the deadites, but I stopped them from casting some spell, and I woke up here. And I'm starting to think the same thing happened to you."
Kassie slowly nodded, as she looked around the woods as well.
"You think they're here?"
"Maybe." Frank shrugged. "But we gotta find shelter, yeah?"
"Yeah." Kassie agreed, as the two began walking through the forest. Unbeknownst to them, something was watching their every move…
Earth-199999
At the bottom of Mount Wundagore, Wong lay on a small ledge, his hand somehow still wrapped around the magical rope with the spearhead at the end. As the metal kept clanging against stone, his eyes fluttered open, before he realized where he was.
"Oh god." the Sorcerer Supreme gasped, looking up. With his arms aching, Wong threw the magical band directly up, somehow snagging onto a stone. With the rope attached tight, the sorcerer began grappling up, intent on stopping Wanda… or who he thought was Wanda.
Meanwhile at the top of mountain, Chthon looked out, seeing a crimson colored moon emerge. A blood moon.
"The hour is nigh." the demon grinned, looking down at America's incapacitated form. The altar lit up in crimson energy, highlighting the runes.
"My destruction of the multiverse begins now!"
Chthon held out his hands, and America's life force slowly began to get sucked out of her. The girl screamed, but that only made the demon laugh in pleasure, relishing in her pain.
A/N: Okay, there was a lot of parts where this chapter might have felt a little disjointed, but that was kind of the point, since I was hopping from universe to universe. Hell, I thought about cutting back to Amy and the spider people for a bit, but then a realized there's really no point, since Madani can't find Wanda (I am thinking on explaining that it's because Mount Wundagore is shrouded by dark magic. If the Master of the Mystic Arts can't get there with sling rings, how can anyone use surveillance to find it?). I really wanted to show the reactions of Wanda-838 and their version of Frank to all of these events, since I'd imagine that the Illuminati were their friends. Also, I wanted to cut back to show what the main version of Strange and Frank were up to, although Doctor Strange's straight forward storyline from the movie is relatively short, so he's not being shown too much. As for Frank, his segments in here are partially inspired by the Evil Dead video game, which is what the next chapter will mostly be taking from, except a lot more characters throughout the franchise will show up, instead of just the ones from the game. Also, instead of just going back to the cabin, there will be locations that will take cues from Castle Kandar from the Army of Darkness movie, as well as Elk Grove from the tv series. Think of it like because Frank disrupted the Dark One's spell, bits and pieces that were connected to the deadites and the Kandarian Demon were sucked in throughout time and space and mismatched all together. Or, for die hard Marvel fans, it's basically an Evil Dead version of Battleworld from Secret Wars.
Speaking of, I heard about plans for a Scarlet Witch movie, and I'm not sure if I'll do an adaptation of it when it comes out. I'm planning on a definitive ending for Frank and Wanda's characters, with the door opening for a lot of other characters at the end, but unless I have a good reason for it that won't fuck up their arcs, I won't touch the Scarlet Witch movie when it comes out. Same for the Doomsday and Secret Wars movies, or if I do, Wanda and Frank probably won't be the main characters.
But that's it for now. I'm gonna be replaying the Evil Dead game to get an idea what all I want to write for the next chapter. Bye now!