MHA # 11 | Sunday Night

[scarlet_chaos]

The second attempt to send a demon to get America for her went just about as well as the first. Actually, it had gone worse, considering Stephen was still alive at the end of it.

Wanda knew Stephen and Wong weren't stupid; they would be able to figure out the demon had been made from witchcraft. As far as she knew, she was the only witch around. So a visit from everyone's favorite sorcerer wasn't unexpected shortly after her demon had been defeated.

It at least gave her the chance to put an overlay on her apartment, making it seem like she hadn't been messing around with dark magic over the last few months and totally ignoring any upkeep.

Dr. Stephen Strange	This was a cute little island. It wasn't Stephen's idea of a fun place, but he could see why Wanda would stay here. Peaceful, quiet, with a cool castle for some odd reason. Did he know Maryland had castles? He'd think on it later, right now he had a girl to protect. He knocked on the door to Wanda's apartment, hoping this would be less awkward than he anticipated it to be. It's not like they were close.
Wanda Maximoff	Wanda was no great actress, but she liked to think she pulled off looking surprised when she opened the door and saw a totally expected Dr. Stephen Strange standing in front of her. "Stephen," Wanda said, eyebrows lifting. "What are you doing here? I mean--come in first, then tell me why you're here, sorry..."
Dr. Stephen Strange	Stephen smiled, walking into the small but tidy apartment. He felt super out of place, considering his own home had more of a Dracula's castle vibe to it. "Nice little place you've got here." Something about it felt off, but he couldn't quite pinpoint what it was.
Wanda Maximoff	Could it be the fact that it was covered in magic? That probably was it. She had made sure the placed had runes all over it. Thanks for that, Agatha. "Thanks," Wanda said, closing the door behind her. "Can I get you something? Coffee? Really crappy tea?" Look at her, being all normal. She could do this.
Dr. Stephen Strange	"No, thank you," Stephen said. "I'm sure you've already guessed this isn't a casual visit from a friend."
Wanda Maximoff	Well, outside from the obvious, they weren't really friends at all, so yeah, Wanda would have been on her guard either way. "I knew sooner or later you'd show up." If not for one thing, then another. "To discuss what happened at Westview. I made mistakes. People were hurt."
Dr. Stephen Strange	Stephen gave her a sympathetic look. "But you put things right in the end and that was never in doubt. I'm not here to talk about Westview." Besides, he was barely an Avenger, he had no power to chide Wanda over that. Maybe Carol did? But not him.
Wanda Maximoff	Well, shit. She had really hoped he was visiting to yell at her over Westview. "Then what are you here for?" she asked, like she didn't already damn well know.
Dr. Stephen Strange	"We need your help." We sounded better than I, and let's not pretend that you weren't just as confused as he was, Wong.
Wanda Maximoff	Oh. So he hadn't quite figured it out yet. Maybe Wanda could get away with this without having to do something drastic after all. "With what?"
Dr. Stephen Strange	"What do you know about the multiverse?" Stephen asked, hoping she knew more than he did. Because he basically knew jack shit.
Wanda Maximoff	"Vis had his theories," Wanda said with a casual shrug. "He believed it was real. And dangerous." Dangerous to those who didn't know what they were doing. Wanda clearly did, obviously.
Dr. Stephen Strange	Stephen let out a sarcastic laugh, shaking his head. "Well, he was right about both. We found a girl who can somehow travel across it, but she's being pursued."
Wanda Maximoff	"Pursued by whom?" Wanda asked, innocently as can be.
Dr. Stephen Strange	"Some kind of demon," he said, lifting his hand up in an 'I don't even know' gesture. "We've taken her to Kamar-Taj--" He'd regret revealing that information in a bit. "--and we've got our defenses, but...we could use an Avenger."
Wanda Maximoff	Wanda smiled, though it could easily be mistaken for Strange asking for an Avenger rather than her amusement and relief and being told where America was just like that. "There are other Avengers." Ones who would actually not be a detriment to the situation.
Dr. Stephen Strange	"Yeah, but given the choice between the archer with a mohawk, several bug-themed crimefighters--" Sorry, Scott. "--and one of the most powerful magic wielders on the planet, it's an easy call." "Come to Kamar-Taj," Stephen pleaded. "We'll get you back on the lunchbox."
Wanda Maximoff	As if anyone would let her back on the lunchbox after Westview. She wasn't stupid. Besides, being an Avenger was so at the bottom of her list of priorities right now. "What if you brought America here?" she suggested. "This town is safe--safer than you know. I can protect her."
Dr. Stephen Strange	Stephen froze, immediately catching what was wrong with that sentence. He was such an idiot. "Here?" he asked vaguely, trying to figure out what to do.
Wanda Maximoff	Wanda immediately caught the tone change, but it took her a second to figure out why it had happened. "You didn't tell me her name, did you?" Well, fuck.
Dr. Stephen Strange	"No," Stephen murmured. "No, I didn't." This was the worst case scenario. This right here. Did he not just say she was one of the most powerful magic wielders on the planet?
The Scarlet Witch	Wanda sighed, lifting her hand and causing her illusion to drop. Her apartment had seen better days; it was messy, and there were runes etched on the walls emitting a red glow. The plant Steven had gotten her seemed to be loving the red light therapy, though. "You know, the hex was the easy part." She shifted into her Scarlet Witch uniform, and summoned the Darkhold into being. "The lying, not so much."
Dr. Stephen Strange	Stephen had known he was kind of screwed, but when the book made its appearance that's when he knew he was really screwed. "The Darkhold."
The Scarlet Witch	Wanda lifted an eyebrow. "You've heard of the Darkhold?" How had no one missed it while it had been in her and Agatha's possession all this time?
Dr. Stephen Strange	"I know it's the Book of the Damned." So that wasn't a great nickname. "And I know it corrupts everything and everyone that it touches." Even standing in its presence, he could feel the power coming off of it, calling to him. "I wonder what it's done to you." Aside from the hardcore makeup game.
The Scarlet Witch	"The Darkhold only showed me the truth," Wanda said. "Everything I lost can be mine again."
Dr. Stephen Strange	What the hell did that mean? "What do you want with America?" he asked. "What do you want with the multiverse?"
The Scarlet Witch	"I'm going to leave this reality," Wanda said. "And go to one where I can be with my children." Bring them back here, to the island, where they could be safe. It felt like every superhero on the planet was living on this island, where else could they be safer?
Dr. Stephen Strange	"Wanda, your children aren't real," Stephen said bluntly. "You created them with magic."
The Scarlet Witch	Wanda smiled. "That's what every mother does." Which was sweet. In a way. "If you knew there was a universe where you would be happy, wouldn't you want to go there?"
Dr. Stephen Strange	"I am happy." God, even to his ears that didn't sound super encouraging.
The Scarlet Witch	"I know better than most what self-deception looks like." That first year she had been on the island, where she thought she could be happy running a little store, being alone day in and day out...that had been a big lie to herself. She thought she could surround herself with friends--Annie, Bucky, Steve--and be okay. But she hadn't been. She would always be missing something if she didn't have her family with her.
Dr. Stephen Strange	"What you're doing is a flagrant violation of every natural law," he snapped. He recognized the runes; he wouldn't be able to use his power in here, so he'd have to try to talk some sense into her. "If you take that child's power she won't survive."
The Scarlet Witch	"I don't relish hurting anyone, Stephen," Wanda said. "But she's not a child. She's a supernatural being." Unfortunate that the supernatural being looked like a child, but them's the breaks. "Such raw power could wreak havoc on this, and other worlds. Her sacrifice would be for the greater good." Your other you agreed with her, Stephen!
Dr. Stephen Strange	Christ, he couldn't believe he was hearing this from Wanda of all people. Any Avenger, really. "Well you can kiss that lunchbox goodbye, because that's the kind of justification our enemies use."
The Scarlet Witch	"Is it the one you used?" Wanda asked. "When you gave Thanos the Time Stone?" You know, when you essentially forced Wanda to kill off the one person she had left that was keeping her already fragile psyche together? Remember that?
Dr. Stephen Strange	"That was war," Stephen said. "I did what I had to do."
The Scarlet Witch	"You break the rules and become a hero," Wanda said bitterly. "I do it, and I become the enemy. That doesn't seem fair." Why was she always the one that had to make sacrifices? Why didn't she get to retire with her family on some stupid farm?
Dr. Stephen Strange	Stephen frowned, realizing that there was nothing he could do here. "What happens now?"
The Scarlet Witch	"Return to Kamar-Taj, and be prepared to hand over America Chavez tomorrow," Wanda said. "Peacefully. After that, you'll never hear from me again." She felt like that was more than a fair deal.
Dr. Stephen Strange	"And if we don't?" Because, come on now, obviously he wasn't just going to hand over a child for her to kill. He may have been kind of a jerk but he wasn't that much of a jerk.
The Scarlet Witch	"Then it won't be Wanda that comes for her," she replied. "It will be the Scarlet Witch."

[NFI, NFB but OOC is fine. Preplayed with myself (Strange on island with permission!) and taken from Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness]

Comments

[hasaknightjob]

(aww the plant)

[imafuturist]