Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Wanda was standing in a dark cave barefoot. She looked around; there was no one else.

“You are magnificent,” a voice whispered.

“Who’s there?” Wanda asked.

“I have been watching you for some time.” The voice laughed eerily. “We will do great things together. Just wait.”

Wanda woke up. She was back in her apartment in New York. 

There was movement next to her. Peter opened his eyes and sat up in bed.

“Hey. You ok?”

“No. I had this weird dream,” said Wanda. “It’s been happening for the past few months. I’m not sure what it means.”

“Is there someone in it? Me hopefully?”

Wanda gave a small laugh, enjoying Peter’s light humor, before she turned serious. “It’s this creepy voice. I’m in some cave, I don’t know where. The voice is saying it’s been watching me, like it wants something.”

“Probably a side effect of that adventure we had with Dr. Strange,” said Peter. “He did say we might be hearing voices for a while after taking a detour through the Dark Dimension. That shit really messes you up.” 

Wanda sighed. “You know what? We need a holiday. This superhero stuff can get tiring after you’ve been in it for a while.” 

The time heist and subsequent battle against an alternate version of Thanos from a different timeline had left everyone drained. As such the Avengers disbanded and went their separate ways. After Strange and the other sorcerers of Kamar-Taj healed his life threatening wounds from using all six Infinity Stones to kill Thanos and his army, Tony retired from being Iron Man to enjoy family life with Pepper and Morgan. Steve had settled down with Sharon, giving up the Captain America name and donating his shield to the Smithsonian while Strange returned the Infinity Stones to their own times, in the process bringing back an alternate version of Natasha who decided to go looking for Yelena.

During this time Peter and Wanda started a relationship and worked to defend New York City as Spider-Man and the Scarlet Witch, occasionally teaming up with other street-level heroes like Daredevil and Jessica Jones. 

“How about Peru?” suggested Peter. “I’ve always wanted to go visit Machu Picchu.”

Wanda smiled. “That sounds wonderful.”

“Watch your step,” the tour guide warned.

Peter and Wanda followed him and the other tourists through the cave. 

Wanda felt something and turned toward Peter. “You go on ahead. I want to check out this part more.”

“Ok,” Peter said as he headed along with the rest of the group. 

Wanda watched them turn the corner before she continued examining the area. She spotted an opening near the back and saw it had stairs leading down into darkness.  

She went down the stairs and found herself in another cavern. There were skulls on the ground as well as a number of sinister objects, one of which was a small figurine. 

Wanda did not know why but she was drawn to the figure. She picked it up and broke the head off. Smoke poured from the figure and formed a copy of Wanda but dirty with markings on her body and dressed in a black bikini with a crescent crown on her head. 

Wanda stared in horror and shock at the wispy clone. The figure came closer toward her. It touched her lips before dissipating into smoke and entering her mouth.

Wanda’s eyes glowed gold and she fell down. For a moment she lay there before she got up and dusted herself off. She checked her appearance; nothing seemed out of the ordinary. There was no sign of the shadowy version of herself.

Wanda took another look at the broken figure before she retraced her steps and found her way back to the group.

“You all right?” asked Peter.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” said Wanda.

Chapter Text

It had been three weeks since they returned to New York. Wanda did not say anything to Peter about the mysterious figure nor did he suspect any trouble.

They had just come back from buying groceries and were about to enter their apartment when Peter stopped.

“Something’s not right. I can feel it.”

He opened the door slowly and stepped in. Wanda followed him and they put down their bags. For a moment there was nothing. Then they felt dizzy and fell unconscious. 

Peter opened his eyes. He was no longer in his home but now in a briefing room and restrained to a chair with cuffs on the armrests.

A woman with a stern, cold face stood in front of him. “Hello, Mr. Parker. I trust you had a lovely nap.”

Peter glared at the woman. “Where am I? Who are you?”

“My name is Amanda Waller. I am the director of ARGUS, an agency for this nation’s government. You and your girlfriend will be with us for however long as I deem fit.”

“Where is Wanda? What did you do to her?”

“You think you know her so well. You don’t. When you went for your little trip to Peru, Miss Maximoff’s body was taken over by a being from another dimension, a sorceress to put it plainly.” Taking in Peter’s surprised face, Waller continued. “She didn’t tell you. I am not surprised.” 

Waller hit a button releasing Peter from his restraints. He stood and began to approach her threateningly.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you, Spider-Man.”

“How do you know?”

“I have many resources at my disposal. Do not make me use them against you. If you will follow me, I will take you to Miss Maximoff. And just so you know, your equipment has been transferred.”

Peter followed Waller to a car. They were driven to a hotel.

Waller opened the room door and Peter saw Wanda inside. They rushed to embrace each other.

“Careful your reunion does not spawn the Antichrist,” mocked Waller.

Peter’s dislike for this woman was starting to grow. Her behavior reminded him of Nick Fury. He began to wonder if they knew each other.

Waller closed the door and left Peter and Wanda alone.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Peter asked.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t want to worry you.” Wanda started to cry and held onto him.

Peter rubbed her back soothingly. “We could have gone to Dr. Strange and asked him to help you.”

“Maybe, but we’re in Washington DC and my magic is not strong enough to get us away.” 

“Don’t worry. I’ll find a way to free you. I promise.”

Chapter Text

The next day Peter was watching footage of Waller and Wanda in the Pentagon. They had gone on a little errand where Waller pitched her special team to government officials.

“With the Sokovia Accords abolished, what can we do to make sure these enhanced people won’t go off fighting their battles however they please without supervision or authorization?”

“I believe I have a solution, General.” Waller answered. “Like it or not, the Avengers were a fighting force to protect Earth. The next war will be fought with men in technologically advanced armor, killers and assassins, and metahumans. We need to be ready for whatever comes. Miss Maximoff?” 

Wanda stood up and walked toward Waller. She turned to face the officials.

“Enchantress,” whispered Wanda.

The room went dark for a moment then the nightmarish entity inhabiting the Sokovian revealed herself.

“Meet the Enchantress. She’s been on this earth longer than any of you and will continue to be long after we are all dead.” Waller took in the others’ disturbed faces. “Task Force X is our answer. I want to build a team of some very bad people who I think can do some good.”

Waller turned to face Enchantress. “Go get it girl.”

Enchantress glared at Waller before she disappeared in black smoke and shortly reappeared with a file, dropping it in front of the surprised committee.

“Here’s something from the nuclear arsenal inventory in Iran,” said Waller.

“We’ve been trying to get this for months,” one official gasped, flipping through the pages.

Another official spoke, “I move to authorize Amanda Waller to establish Task Force X under the ARGUS program.”

“All right,” a third official said.

“Thank you, Mr. Chairman,” said Waller.

The video ended and Peter stared at the black screen in shock. What sort of messed up idea was this?

The room door unlocked and Wanda stepped in. 

“Hi.”

Peter looked over. “Hi.”

Wanda approached him. “What are you up to?”

“Thinking of how we can get out of this mess.”

Peter reviewed the files Waller gave him, remembering her words. “You want your witch freed, you do as I say,” she said.

Peter made comments as he flipped through the pages. “Deadshot, guy that shoots people. Killer Croc. He’s a crocodile man who eats people. El Diablo burns people, Captain Boomerang throws boomerangs. You’re possessed by a witch.” Peter lingered on the image of Harley Quinn. “And she’s just crazy.”

Wanda looked worried. “I think Waller’s planning something terrible. I don’t know what.”

That night they went and bought some Chinese takeout.

“I think I prefer the General Tso’s chicken from that restaurant in Staten Island, I forgot the name,” said Wanda.

“Yeah, that one’s tastier,” said Peter. “I know which one you’re thinking about.”

After eating they decided to watch some TV. Wanda fell asleep within an hour.

Peter was engrossed in the soap opera he did not hear Wanda whispering “Enchantress.”

A rush of black mist at the corner of his eye caught Peter’s attention. He stared at his transformed girlfriend in horror. 

Enchantress gave him a ruthless glare before Peter saw nothing but darkness. He looked around and saw he was riding in an ambulance with Wanda on a gurney.

“Patient’s heart rate is dropping. We’re losing her!” a medic shouted.

“Wanda? Wanda!” Peter yelled frantically.

The nightmare ended and Peter was back in the hotel room with no sign of Enchantress.

Peter grabbed the phone he was given and called Waller several times. There was no answer.

Then he got a text: “Await further instructions.”

Peter threw the phone down and cursed Waller.

Chapter Text

Peter was woken up the next morning by a knock on the door. He looked through the peephole before opening it.

A woman in a white tube top and black jacket with a sword sheathed by her side stood outside his room. She wore a mask bearing the Japanese flag.

“It’s time to go,” she said. 

“Give me a minute. I’ll be out,” said Peter.

The woman nodded and Peter closed the door and got changed into his Spider-Man costume. After the battle against Thanos he decided to leave the Iron Spider armor aside for future alien invasions or heavy threats and go back to wearing his traditional suit.

Peter exited the room to find the woman waiting for him in the hallway. He held out his hand.

“Spider-Man.”

She reached out and shook hands with him. “Katana. Colonel Flag is waiting with the team. We should not delay.”

They left the hotel and were driven to an airport runway. Spider-Man followed Katana to one of two helicopters. Inside he could see a man with short blond hair in a military uniform with several soldiers, and a bunch of odd looking people he recognized from Waller’s files.

“You’re late,” said Flag.

“I was busy,” Katana replied in Japanese.

Flag turned to the members of Task Force X and yelled over the sound of the rotating helicopter blades, “This is Katana! She’s got my back! She can cut all you in half with one sword stroke just like mowing the lawn! I would advise not getting killed by her! Her sword traps the souls of its victims!”

Spider-Man was confused by how much that sounded like bland cheap exposition.

Harley stuck out her hand joyfully. “Harley Quinn. Nice to meet ya. Love your perfume. What is that? The stench of death?”

“Should I kill them?” Katana asked Flag.

“No, just relax and enjoy the flight,” replied Flag. “You too, Spider-Man.”

“What?” said Harley. 

“Uh, that’s me. Hi everyone.” Spider-Man gave them a small wave and sat down with Flag and Katana.

The doors closed and the helicopters took off toward their destination Midway City.

“So,” began Spider-Man, “how’s everyone doing?”

Killer Croc snarled at the webslinger in response. Deadshot and Captain Boomerang stared blankly at Spider-Man while Slipknot and El Diablo gave polite nods.

“You’re far from New York,” said Deadshot.

“Yeah,” said Spider-Man. “And you’re a long way from Gotham.”

“Heh.”

Shortly into the flight Deadshot and Flag started butting heads. Spider-Man tried to ignore them and focused on the others. Killer Croc was tough and mean looking. Captain Boomerang had a sleazy vibe. El Diablo looked like someone who had been to hell and back and Slipknot, well there wasn’t much to say about him. As for Harley, she was a wacko and the Joker’s girlfriend.

Harley stared out the window and oohed. “Look at the pretty lights.”

Spider-Man followed her eyes and was drawn to the dark beams of energy coming from a site. He had a feeling Enchantress was responsible. He remembered his promise to Wanda and took a deep breath.

Suddenly both helicopters were rocked by a blast.

“Hang tight, people! We’re going down!” yelled Flag.

Everyone held on as the helicopter crash landed in the middle of the city. 

Spider-Man and the others carefully climbed out of the wrecked aircraft. 

“What a ride!” yipped Harley.

Chapter Text

Flag checked with the other soldiers before addressing the team.

“All right. We’re going toward that building: John F. Ostrander Federal,” he said, pointing at a prominent structure in the distance. “We retrieve HVT1 and then we’re done.”

“What about that weird glowing shit we just saw?” asked Deadshot.

“Stop asking questions,” Flag snapped. “Now move out and follow my lead.”

They started heading toward their destination. Spider-Man felt his spider sense tingle. Something was wrong. He didn’t know what it was but he knew it was coming.

Just then behind him he heard a scuffle and turned to see what was going on. Captain Boomerang and Slipknot were trying to escape!

Katana quickly subdued Captain Boomerang while Slipknot attempted a speedy getaway using his ropes and grappling hooks.

Flag pushed a button on a mobile device strapped to his wrist and Slipknot’s head exploded while he was in midair.

Spider-Man and the team were shocked.

“Now that’s a killer app!” grinned Harley.

Flag turned to Deadshot. “You next?”

“I’m sorry. Did you just threaten me?” the assassin fired back.

“You cut and run, I’ll blow your head off,” Flag coldly responded. He motioned everyone to get back in line while Spider-Man thought about what he just witnessed. The files Waller gave him never mentioned anything about bombs implanted in criminals’ heads.

They soon arrived at an open street. Flag and other military personnel used binoculars to check out something in the distance: a group of unknown beings.

Spider-Man, relying on his enhanced sight, got a better look at them. They were covered in black blotchy eyeballs from head to toe and looked inhuman. They also carried weapons like knives, hammers, and guns.

One of these things turned in the team’s direction and growled threateningly.

“Shit they spotted us,” whispered Flag. He yelled, “Open fire!”

The soldiers began shooting at the monsters as they charged toward them like a horde of mindless zombies. 

Spider-Man used his super strength to knock the creatures out. Harley whacked them with her baseball bat and shot them with her revolver. Killer Croc slammed his fists into them and ripped them apart. Katana sliced them up with her sword. Deadshot fired at them with his guns and Captain Boomerang slashed them with boomerangs. Only El Diablo stayed out of the fight, keeping to himself in a far corner.

Several creatures surrounded Flag. “Get away from me!” he yelled, trying to fight off the monsters.

Harley chuckled. “Good riddance.”

“Harley! He dies, we die!” yelled Deadshot.

Harley growled and ran over to save Flag as did Deadshot and Spider-Man.

“Thank you,” Flag said with relief.

“Shut up!” yelled Harley.

Deadshot jumped on top of a smashed car and took care of the remaining monsters with his perfect aim. He leapt down and walked back to Flag.

“That’s how I cut and run.” Deadshot examined the corpses. “What the hell are these things?”

“That’s none of your business,” said Flag.

Spider-Man looked at the remains of one monster. It was nothing at all like the aliens Captain Marvel told him about during her trips back to Earth. That left the possibility of Enchantress being behind these fiendish creations.

They continued forward and shortly reached the John F. Ostrander Federal Building. 

“Top floor is where we need to go,” said Flag.

They got in the lobby and were slowly making their way across the area when Harley out of nowhere got in the elevator and started heading up on her own, giving them a cheery wave.

“Goddamnit Harley,” Flag quietly cursed. He directed the military personnel to take one flight of stairs and head for the rooftop to make sure they could be extracted safely while Spider-Man and the “Suicide Squad” as Deadshot had taken to calling the team followed Flag up another set of stairs.

They reached a level when the elevator doors opened and Harley hopped out.

“Hey guys,” she grinned.

They were crossing another floor over a railing when more of those monsters from earlier appeared on the other side and began shooting at them with their guns.

Deadshot and the soldiers fired back at the enemies while Spider-Man shot webs at them and pulled them over the railing.

Deadshot reloaded his guns and noticed El Diablo staying in a corner again.

“You serious? Stop being such a pussy and fight!” Deadshot shouted. He walked over and started poking and prodding him.

“Stop that!” yelled El Diablo. “You’re making me angry!”

“Angry is good! Let it out!” 

“Oh you wanna see something?”

“Yeah I wanna see something!”

“Aargh!” El Diablo pushed Deadshot out of the way and moved toward the fighting. He held his hands out and flames shot from them burning the monsters in a furious display of power.

Spider-Man and the others were stunned seeing his ability. 

Deadshot approached El Diablo who looked surprised and almost ashamed at what he just did.

“Hey, uh, no hard feelings right?” said Deadshot. “We cool?”

El Diablo took a deep breath calming himself. “Yeah.”

Chapter Text

They got to the top floor where Flag told them to wait for him. He opened a door and went down a set of stairs. Deadshot followed him, unconvinced and skeptical.

Harley sat on a sofa. Spider-Man joined her. 

“I noticed your accent,” said Harley. “What part of New York are you from?”

Spider-Man decided to indulge her despite the risk of her possibly figuring out his secret identity. “Queens.”

“Brooklyn. But my folks and I moved to Gotham when I was about two.”

The door opened and Flag emerged with Deadshot and a very familiar face.

“No way,” murmured Harley.

Spider-Man could not believe it. Their mission this whole time was to rescue Amanda Waller. 

“Let’s go home,” said Flag.

“Yeah, let’s go home,” mocked Captain Boomerang. “That sounds good. You guys wanna go home? Or do you wanna go back to prison?”

“I’m not going back to prison,” hissed Harley.

“What I’m saying is we kill the pair of them now before they kill us.”

Katana was about to draw her sword when Waller stopped her.

“I got this. You’ve made it this far.” She held out a tablet showing the detonators to the bombs implanted in their heads. “Don’t get high spirited on me and ruin a good thing.”

She walked past them with her head high.

“I like her,” growled Croc.

Spider-Man’s spider sense went off again as they headed to the rooftop to await extraction. Shortly a chopper appeared.

“Savior One-Zero do you copy?” said one of the soldiers. “No response, sir,” he told Flag.

“Our bird’s been jacked,” Flag muttered. “Light it up!” 

As the soldiers aimed their guns at the chopper, they and everyone else quickly ducked for cover to avoid gunfire from a chain gun.

Spider-Man saw a few soldiers get hit and heard the sound of a maniacal cackle. He took a quick peek and saw a man in a tuxedo with chalk white skin, green hair and a sinister grin firing a machine gun wildly. He heard whispers about this individual among street thugs saying how they fled Gotham to get away from him. Based on the current situation they were all right to do so: the Joker had arrived. 

“Harley!” Deadshot yelled trying to stop her from returning to her psycho lover.

Harley ignored Deadshot and gleefully walked to the helicopter amidst the gunfire. 

“Kill her!” cried Waller.

“Her nanite’s disarmed!” Flag shouted.

Harley ran and leapt toward the rope dangling from the helicopter. She grabbed on as it moved away from the rooftop and the heavy gunfire ceased.

Everyone got up.

“Deadshot! Shoot that woman right now!” ordered Waller.

“She didn’t do shit to me,” said Deadshot.

“You’re a hitman, right? I got a contract. Kill Harley Quinn. Do it for your freedom and your kid.”

Deadshot lightly chuckled. “Now she dead.” He aimed his sniper rifle at Harley and fired. Spider-Man using his enhanced sight saw Harley fall limp before she dropped the act and cackled.

Deadshot turned back toward Waller. “I missed.”

Waller was not pleased. She took out a walkie talkie and ordered the helicopter destroyed.

Everyone watched as the aircraft exploded in the distance.

“Good job,” said Waller. “Ready a chopper for me. The rest of you wait with Flag for yours.”

She soon boarded another helicopter and they watched it take off. Shortly after it did it was brought down and everyone hurried back outside the building. 

They saw Harley sitting on top of a fallen car. She grinned though Spider-Man detected a hint of masked sorrow in her face. “Hey guys, I’m back. I missed you all so much.”

“We’re glad you could make it,” said Deadshot.

Spider-Man helped Harley down while Captain Boomerang threw Harley her baseball bat which she had dropped in her haste to reunite with the Joker.

Deadshot walked toward Waller’s crashed chopper out of curiosity. He found something and returned to the team. He threw down a folder in front of Flag.

“You are gonna tell everyone what is going on or you and me go at it right now!”

Chapter Text

Flag looked at everyone’s confused and angry faces. He began, “Last night a woman named Wanda Maximoff, better known as the Scarlet Witch, was overtaken by an entity called the Enchantress. Enchantress stole the soul of her brother Incubus from Waller and released him into a subway station. Now the two are wreaking havoc in Midway City. I should have told you all this from the start. I was wrong.”

The team took in his words. Then they slowly turned away from him to enter the bar nearby.

Spider-Man was the last one remaining. “I hope you’re happy,” he whispered before joining the others.

The bar was quiet and empty. Harley acted as bartender taking everyone’s orders.

Deadshot raised his glass. “Here’s to honor among thieves.”

“I’m not a thief,” said Katana.

“Me neither,” added Spider-Man.

“Ok,” said Deadshot with a shrug. “We almost pulled it off despite everything. They’re gonna blame us for all this shit. We’re the patsies. Don’t forget, we’re the bad guys.”

“There’s something you should know,” said Spider-Man. “I’m dating the Scarlet Witch.” 

Deadshot whistled. “Really? That’s damn smooth. I ain’t ever been with a witch before. What’s that like?”

“Ehh, probably not how you would picture it.” 

Deadshot laughed. 

“You enjoy the life of a rogue now, Floyd,” said El Diablo, “but soon at some point you lose track of who you’re supposed to be. I was born with the devil’s gift.” El Diablo conjured a small flame in his hand. “I used to flaunt my power. Then the missus wanted to take off with our little ones. I moved to stop her. Things got out of control.”

“Tell me you didn’t…” said Captain Boomerang.

“He killed them…” whispered Harley in realization.

El Diablo hung his head in shame. “I spent years looking back on that night. I swore I would never light a spark again. For them.”

“You need to own that shit!” Harley yelled. “What'd you think was gonna happen? Huh? What, you were just thinking you can have a happy family and coach little leagues, and make car payments? Normal's a setting on the dryer. People like us, we don't get normal!"

Captain Boomerang was fed up with Harley. “Why is it always a knife fight every single time you open your mouth? You know, outside you're amazing. But inside, you're ugly.”

“We all are,” said Harley. “We all are!” She noticed Spider-Man. “Wait, sorry, you, I have no idea ’cuz of the whole mask thing.” She drew her focus to Killer Croc. “And then that guy right there. He’s ugly on the outside too.”

Croc shook his head. “Not me, shorty. I’m beautiful.”

Harley grinned. “Yeah you are.”

Flag walked into the bar. He broke his detonator to the team’s bombs. “You’re free to go.” 

Captain Boomerang grabbed his beer can and dashed out. The others stayed to observe Flag. 

He opened his coat and took out a handful of envelopes. “Your daughter writes to you. Every day.”

Deadshot took the letters and went through them. 

“I was gonna save these for you after we got back to Blackgate,” explained Flag. “I figured now would be a good time instead.”

Deadshot held the letters to his chest as if they embodied his daughter. He then looked up at Flag and everyone else. “Listen up y’all. We are going out there and we will take down that crazy magic bitch. It’s gonna be like a chapter from the Bible and my little girl is gonna realize her daddy is not some piece of shit. Let’s go kick some ass, people.”

Chapter Text

They walked down the streets following the path of the swirling ring of death in the sky as Deadshot called it until they found Enchantress powering up her superweapon. Near her was Incubus.

“We need a plan of attack,” said Flag. “Her heart is her weak spot like everyone. We get it out, she’s done for.”

“I’ve been waiting for you all night, step out of the shadows, I won’t bite.” Enchantress’s voice was soft but held a strong hint of arrogance. “Why are you here? Because the soldier sent you? I can give you anything you want.”

Spider-Man saw a bright light then he was elsewhere. He was with Wanda in their home. She was holding a positive pregnancy test and they were beaming with joy.

“I can’t wait,” cried Wanda, leaning in to kiss Peter.

Peter kissed Wanda back before realizing the truth.

“I want this as much as you,” he said, “but now is not the time.”

He closed his eyes and reopened them to find himself back in reality.

“He married me,” whispered Harley.

“I killed the Bat,” murmured Deadshot.

“It’s not real,” said El Diablo. “None of it’s real! Snap out of it!”

Harley pouted in disappointment.

Deadshot peered around the corner. “There’s Waller.”

Spider-Man followed his gaze to see her unconscious near Enchantress with a black tendril attached to her forehead and another linking it to Enchantress.

“Come on,” said Deadshot. They strode out to meet her.

“So, you think you are a match for me?” Enchantress said. “How pitiful. Once my machine is complete I shall rule this world as I did ages prior. Nothing can stop me, not even you.”

“Lady, you are evil!” yelled Deadshot.

“Incubus, kill them,” said Enchantress in her native language.

“Yes, sister,” boomed Incubus in response.

The towering being stomped forward to challenge the team.

“Ok how are we gonna fight that thing?” asked Captain Boomerang.

El Diablo smiled. “Time to show you guys what I really am.” He breathed in and roared as his form grew taller and fire surrounded him. He turned into a giant flaming skeleton. 

“It’s on bitch!” El Diablo yelled in Spanish.

Incubus roared and the two began fighting in a fantastical spectacle. Everyone watched as fire and energy lit up the dark battlefield.

El Diablo managed to pin down Incubus. As his enemy struggled he turned to Katana who understood. She ran over and slashed off Incubus’s head with her sword. 

As Enchantress screamed in rage, Katana said, “His soul is in my blade. He can no longer harm anyone.”

Deadshot grinned while the others sighed in relief and El Diablo reverted to his human form.

Enchantress sent out a wave of energy scattering the Suicide Squad. She leapt out and drew a sword made from Wanda’s chaos magic. 

Spider-Man turned to Katana. “Hey, you mind if I borrow that?”

She gave him a doubtful look. “Leave it to me. Focus on destroying her machine.”

Spider-Man sighed before giving Katana the go-ahead. She began dueling Enchantress while Flag got some explosives set. 

“Ready?” Flag yelled.

“Ready,” Croc growled. He threw the charges at the machine as Deadshot fired at them. 

The explosion distracted Enchantress, allowing Katana an opening to cut out her heart. Enchantress fell to the ground defeated.

Chapter Text

Katana threw the heart to Flag. After some consideration he gave it to Spider-Man.

Croc ran to grab Waller. She started to regain consciousness in his grip.

“Put me down,” Waller ordered.

“Easy, lady,” said Croc.

Spider-Man held the heart high out of Enchantress’s reach. 

“Bring Wanda back or I’ll crush this.”

“Go ahead. She’s already gone. You’ll never see her again.”

Spider-Man glared at Enchantress. He crushed her heart and let out a cry of rage and despair. He did not know what he was gonna do without Wanda. 

Enchantress shriveled up and turned motionless. Her soul was banished back to where it came from.

Spider-Man looked down at Enchantress’s body for a few moments before turning to rejoin the Suicide Squad and Waller.

Then he heard something behind him and turned. The corpse was moving. Everyone watched as Wanda Maximoff tore Enchantress’s decayed skin off her and began coughing.

Spider-Man began muttering thank yous as Wanda threw herself at him and they embraced passionately.

“Aw, what a happy ending,” Harley squeed. 

Waller cleared her throat and they turned to face her.

“Come on,” said Deadshot in disbelief.

“We just saved the world! A thank you would be nice!” said Harley.

“Thank you,” said Waller, her face remaining neutral.

Harley smiled brightly. “You’re welcome.”

“So that’s it? We just go back to our cells and act like everything’s hunky-dory?” said Deadshot.

“Ten years off your prison sentence as promised,” said Waller.

“No, that’s not enough. I’m seeing my daughter,” countered Deadshot.

“That can be arranged. Any other requests?”

“Ooh, an espresso machine!” said Harley.

Captain Boomerang was not having it. “Ten years off a triple life sentence? Darling I'm walking out of here a free man or we're gonna start having some real fun."

Waller was not amused. “Why don’t we have some fun?”

While the super criminals were taken back to Blackgate, Peter and Wanda were free to go. About two weeks later they came home from a date to find someone waiting for them.

“Katana told me about you,” said Batman. “Good job, Spider-Man.”  

Peter could not believe it. “Whoa, no way!”

Batman allowed a light smile to grace his face. “Yeah, I get that a lot. Waller won’t bother you anymore. I’ve made sure of that.”

“Why are you here?” asked Wanda.

“The Avengers are no longer active. And I sense there will be more dangers coming. Take this.” Batman handed Peter a comms device. “I’ll be in touch.”

Peter looked over the communicator. Of course it was shaped like a bat. He and Wanda turned to each other. 

“Is he recruiting us for something?” whispered Peter.

“I don’t know, let’s ask him,” said Wanda.

They turned back to see no one there.

“How does he do that?” wondered Peter.