Chapter Text
The plan had failed. When America had opened the portal to Earth-838 so she could give the Scarlet Witch what she needed to see, instead of her maybe scaring her children and giving up like they'd hoped, she'd immediately thrown other Wanda into the ceiling, ignoring the screaming children entirely. They'd run over to defend their mother, and the witch had done nothing more than wave her hand over her shoulder before they were harmlessly falling to the ground, completely unconscious. And then, she'd turned back to Wanda, America watching in horror as she then threw the couch back at the other woman, who barely managed to block it with her own power, still on her knees on the ground. It flipped over her shield and smashed into the kitchen table behind her, splinters flying into the air.
The woman then stepped forward and yanked the mother into the air, then pushing her arm back, where she slammed into the kitchen cabinets behind her, crying out loudly as she fell to the ground. The Scarlet Witch then carelessly shoved away the couch that was blocking her from her twin, raising her hand again. The other woman just lay on the floor, breathing heavily as she winced in obvious pain.
"Stop! No!" America shouted, throwing out a hand to close the glowing star just as Wanda threw a bolt at her brunette twin. The universe disappeared, leaving the three strangers behind, the magic that Wanda had thrown flying harmlessly off into the distance of the cold wonderland beyond. Seeing that, she growled in frustration and then spun around to glare at the girl, stalking forward.
"I've had enough of you interfering," she muttered deeply, reaching for her.
"Wanda, please!" Mummy-Strange called from behind them, still crippled on the ground. He would've done anything more to help, but he was still recovering from before, when the woman had used her magic to cause him pain from numerous other realities through the zombie body he'd inhabited. America, full of fear, couldn't move as she grabbed her arm and yanked her around, taking her by the hair, and then activating her magic. The exact position she'd had her in when she'd caught up to Strange, Christine, and her as they were reaching for the Book of the Vishanti. Instantly, she began struggling as she knew what was happening, but it was too late. Wanda's magic wormed its way into her mind and she froze, watching in terror as a glowing star opened in front of them, revealing Dr Strange and Christine in another universe, Strange floating in the air above a circle of candles and the woman beside him wielding what looked like a giant vase. Christina looked over, her eyes wide with fear, and the artifact she'd been holding dropped to the ground as she spun to look at the floating man, crying out his name.
Mummy-Strange behind them gasped, but there was nothing he could do as Wanda lifted her free hand and then twisted her fingers to the side. America gasped, her knees buckling at the sight of the Scarlet Witch using her horrid magic to twist Dr. Strange's head all the way around. His body fell to the ground, blowing out and knocking away candles as it went, and Christine screamed, stumbling away. Wanda paused and then stepped forward, reaching a hand out.
Wait- no.
She'd seen the Darkhold that Dr. Strange had been using in the other universe.
"Please," America whispered from her side, the witch ignoring her in favor of putting out a hand. The book, like it understood, disintegrated into air, the leftover pieces flying over to Wanda's hand. She'd taken possession of another Darkhold. America could only sob at her feet.
Wanda, done with her evil deed, shoved the child to the side by her hair, watching with a smirk as the portal closed. Christine's screams faded from their ears as she realized her fate; now trapped in a dying dimension with a headless sorcerer and no one to save her. Chest heaving, the woman slowly looked down to look at America, who was still on the floor staring up at her. Part of her hoped that Strange was still possessing the zombie, but alas, his eyes were wide open and blank, even more so than before Strange had inhibited the body.
And now it was just her and the woman with the pale skin and dark circles around her eyes that had the power to do whatever she wanted, and still felt the need to just play with her.
"Strange!" Wong's voice came from the cliff of the mountain as he appeared, pulling himself over the edge and onto the tomb's floor, breathing heavily.
"Wong! Strange is dead," America cried, feigning the strength to push herself onto her hands and knees to crawl over to him. It was up to him and America now. Sure, the prophecy said that Wanda was more powerful than the Sorcerer Supreme- Wong- but if they worked together, they could beat her for sure. The good guys always win in the end- right?
America hadn't noticed that the man had frozen at her words, looking over at the zombie body against the wall with vacant eyes of his own. He stared at Strange, all hope immediately leaving his body at the newly-dead man. America, not wasting a second, got onto her feet and ran over to the sorcerer, grabbing at his shoulders, even as he continued to ignore her efforts, breath pausing as his eyes shakily moved to hers.
"Strange was supposed to be the best of us," Wong whispered to himself as he eyes flickered up to meet hers, his eyebrows arching upwards as he contemplated their reality. That now, there was no hope. Wong had only become Sorcerer Supreme because the ex-doctor had disappeared from the snap for five years- he'd never actually earned the right to do that. And now, he was paying the price for it.
"Wong! Wong! Get up, we have to-" America was cut off by the man being slammed against the temple wall behind him, a grunt leaving his mouth as Wanda proceeded to pick up him up and hold him in the air, disgusting squelching sounds coming from him as the witch ripped all of the limbs from his body, saving his head for last. His arms fell uselessly to the ground, Wong letting out screeches of pain as he convulsed in midair, not being able to do anything but glare heavily at the woman in red as she jerked her hand downward at the wrist, smirking slightly as both of his legs were also discarded. It had happened so suddenly that the younger girl didn't know what to do. What could she do? She'd thrown punch after punch at her earlier and they'd done nothing but piss the witch off. She couldn't make other Wanda fight her either; she had kids to protect and she was already banged up, there was no way that she'd win.
America could only watch Wong panted, head falling against his shoulder. Wanda just stood, one hand holding him up, the other idly dancing through the air as she let Wong speak for the last time. His head turned to the younger girl, who felt tears immediately roll down her face at the sight of the once-powerful man, now reduced to nothing but a limbless body; a plaything for the Scarlet Witch.
"Wong. Wong, please. Do something. Don't leave me here alone like my parents did. Like Strange. Please!" she shrieked the last word desperately, even though she knew that this was the end for him. Wong wasn't listening to her, focusing on breathing and staying conscious long enough for his blurry eyes to find the form of the jean-jacket girl in front of him.
"Am-America," he panted, wincing from the numbing pain spreading throughout his body that signaled that he was inching closer and closer to death. "Don't let her win. It's up to you now. The fate of the multiverse rests on your shoulders. I'm sorry." And then, said girl saw Wanda's curled hand pulse slightly from out of the corner of her eye. And she had the pleasure of watching as Wong's eyeballs popped out of his head, blood running from every open hole available. But that wasn't enough, because then, the redhead twisted her hand to the side and the appendage exploded like a compressed plastic bag.
And suddenly, there was blood everywhere.
It sprayed all over remaining two women, dousing them in crimson. America screamed and tried wiping the liquid off, but only succeeded in smearing it over her clothes and face. The metallic smell invaded her senses and she gagged, her mouth opening as she tried to avoid throwing up. Instead, she tasted it and jolted at the feeling of her hair standing up on end.
"Stop resisting, America. There's no one left to save you," Wanda spoke suddenly, ignoring the blood that continued to run down her face and even into her mouth, staining her tongue and teeth as she talked to the child, eyes glowing eerily. Keeping her eyes on her, she lifted a hand and made a thumbs-up motion with her hand, running the flat top of her tongue up the side of her bloody thumb. America swallowed back bile and shook her head. She got a sudden flashback to the series of events that had just happened; other Wanda being dreamwalked into, her covered in oil as she limped after her, destroying metal doors with just a flick of her hand. She wanted that woman back- sure, Wanda was terrifying in all forms, but at least in that universe she wasn't the destroyer of the cosmos. But she couldn't give Wanda what she wanted.
Wong was right; it was up to America to make sure that that damn witch didn't get her powers. Sons or not, the idea of ruling the world had already been presented to Wanda and she was free to fulfill it at any time she wanted. What if she decided she wanted to rule over everything to make sure that nothing ever happened to her boys again? Be in control of everything just like Westview- only universal? No; America couldn't allow it.
"I'd rather die than let you have my power!" she shrieked, dodging around the woman to run further into the temple to buy herself time. She heard no movement behind her, so she stuck a quick look and saw that the woman hadn't moved. She continued to face the freezing cold of the open wall in front of her, hands down at her sides. Then, she heard a sigh as she leapt onto the slab of stone that she'd been magically held above earlier, the woman sucking the power straight from her soul. For a second, she wondered why she hadn't done it then.
"You'll die anyways," Wanda said as she spun around, lifting her blackened hands. Screaming, America threw a fist out at the statue of Wanda on the back wall without a single thought in mind. She knew she wouldn't be fast enough to jump in without the witch following her, but she couldn't stay in the cold, desolate land with that woman either. No plan, no help, no power. It would mean her death- and Wanda's victory- for sure. So, as she jumped into the glowing, blue star, she closed her eyes and prayed that there would be strong enough to beat her in another universe.
Wanda barely made it inside the portal behind America before it closed behind her, the hum cutting off as the blue star closed in on itself and disappeared. She stumbled forward and landed on her hands and knees, matted and bloodied hair falling into her eyes. Screaming suddenly erupted from all around her as she pushed herself back to sit on her legs, flicking hair away impatiently. Letting out a heavy sigh from between her lips, she checked herself over- suit, headpiece, blackened fingers, red hair, red everything actually- and then looked around. She seemed to be in a city now; tall skyscrapers towering around her, cars and buses taking up space, although now, there was an obvious gap as those things- and the people- backed away from her and ran. She honestly couldn't blame them for the way she looked.
Wait. Through the crowd of people that were now running away, Wanda glanced around, turning this way and that.
America was gone; nowhere to be seen. Shit.
She grunted out impatiently and then pursed her lips, closing her eyes. Extending her senses, she searched the area for the child, sifting through people's minds around her for a glimpse of the girl in the bloody jean jacket. Wait.
Someone had just seen her a block away- Wanda turned her head in that direction and tilted her head slightly, eyes still closed as she searched. Red, white, brown, pink, black- bingo. America was hiding in a building two blocks away- a small corner store. The owner had run out to see the commotion and ran into a pole; he was out on the street, dreaming of his dog back home. The woman let her power die out and opened her eyes, scarlet fading from her irises.
She quickly rose to her feet and glanced once more at the now-empty street around her, and then started forward, still set entirely on getting the girl's power. Now, she had no choice. She'd thoughtlessly followed the girl into an alternate universe and had no way back without her- or her power. Here and now; she needed to succeed.
For her children.
"Stop!" She paused, eying the person that had suddenly appeared in front of her. It was a man made of- wood? He was wearing a blue suit, but Wanda was ninety percent sure that the man was either made of wood, or covered in it. Where the hell had America sent them?
"Who are you?" She stayed silent at the question. She really didn't want to fight anymore; she was tired of it. She just wanted to take America's powers and get home to her children. Plus, she knew what she looked like at the moment. Dark suit that was obviously not one a hero that was also covered in blood, and blackened fingers. If she had to guess, this guy was a hero of some sort, come to stop her after the civilians called someone when she'd first arrived.
She sighed inwardly; she really didn't want to fight. But if it came down to it, she would.
"You know, it's rude to not answer someone when they're talking to you," the man said again as he stepped forward, raising a hand.
"I'm looking for someone; a girl. She has a dangerous power that can destroy the world I come from. I'm the only hero that she hasn't killed yet, so it's my job to stop her," Wanda lied, raising her hands in mock-surrender. The word "hero" left a sour taste in her mouth, and she pursed her lips at the false truth that she spewed. The man didn't falter in his defense and instead held his hands out as he walked forward. Wanda eyed them; were his hands where his power came from? Whatever power he had.
Raising her eyes, she met his gaze and started worming her way into his mind, stopping abruptly when there was a scream from behind him.
"No!" The man had turned around to look at the girl, but at that, he spun back to look at Wanda, who lit her hands up from where they were still raised. Eyes widening at the red in her eyes, the man flinched back, but it was too late. Wanda flicked her wrist back, getting deja vu back to when she'd killed the stretchy guy back in other Wanda's body. Except this time, she had mercy. Well, more mercy. Instead of killing him, she instead just threw him into a building, disregarding the fact that he flew through a window, glass shattering everywhere as even more screaming erupted from inside the place he'd just entered.
The sound of magic died out and America's head snapped up to look at Wanda. She noted that the witch looked weirdly sad as she gazed at the building that she'd just thrown the newcomer through.
"Why are you upset? You didn't bat an eye when you killed men you fought in a war with!" she screeched, stumbling backwards to get away from her. Wanda shook her head and started forward, looking just as powerful as ever, even with the disheartened look on her face.
"I've said this before, America. I don't want to hurt anyone; I'm not trying to be a monster. What is so wrong about me wanting to be with my boys?"
"You're killing innocent people to get to them! Can you honestly say that you'll be able to look yourself in the eyes when you kill their mother? How will you sleep at night?" Wanda smiled slightly.
"Like a baby. And now, there's no one left for you to run to."
"Wrong." Wanda spun around, coming face-to-face with another person. She sighed heavily and turned to look over her shoulder. America was being guarded by a woman in a white suit with purple horns. The witch pursed her lips and turned back to face the woman that had spoken, looking her up and down. She was wearing an oddly revealing outfit; nothing like she'd ever seen before. A purple bodysuit with a long-sleeve undersuit and a whip of sorts. The woman had long purple hair and piercing blue eyes that looked Wanda up and down. Powerful as she was, she wanted to shudder under the gaze.
"So, you're a villain then? We heard your little speech, lady. This is the end of the line." Without another word, she reached for her sleeve and ripped it from her arm, creating a tear in the fabric. Wanda reeled back as the air was suddenly doused in purple fumes that had come from the woman's skin itself. Coughing as the smoke surrounded her, she dropped to one knee as the sickly sweet smell invaded her senses, cutting off her eyesight and giving her a numbing feeling that made her eyes want to close on their own.
She gritted her teeth when she realized what it was the woman was trying to do; she had some kind of power that put others to sleep. Taking in a shaky breath and trying to calm herself, it only took a second before she realized that it wasn't working- she was going to kill everyone before she even considered calming down- so she gritted her teeth before lighting up and throwing her hands into the sky, standing as she did so. The reaction was instantaneous; the smoke was blown upwards in only seconds, dispersing with the ease of someone batting away a fly. The woman gasped and stepped away, looking down at her skin.
"How is that possible? You should have fallen asleep!" she cried out before grunting in frustration, reaching for the whip at her side. Unraveling it with a snap of her wrist, she thrust it out. It wrapped around Wanda's wrist and she yanked back, pulling the woman forward. Or, Wanda would've been yanked forward if she hadn't took hold of the whip herself. Instead, when the raven-haired woman pulled, the whip didn't move- like it had melded into the air itself. She furrowed her eyebrows and looked up at Wanda, who just smirked. She pulled again and then reached for her other sleeve, the witch not giving her a chance to do anything. The whip dropped to the ground as the red around it dissipated and the woman across from her was hit from a blast of red as Wanda threw out an arm. She landed heavily on the street several feet away, America still hollering in the background.
Still boiling with hatred, Wanda used her telekinesis to drag the purple-haired woman back over to her by the neck, latching her own black fingers around the woman's throat when she became close enough. Tauntingly, she spun around and grinned at America and the baffled blonde woman beside her that had yet to move, aside from stepping away slightly.
"America!" Wanda shouted, shaking the human in her grasp. "I'll kill this woman right here, right now. I'll kill whoever I have to to get my children back; why don't you understand that? You're not getting away from me!"
"Woman is a redhead wearing a red suit and black pants with a cape around the waist. She has a red crown and black fingers; power level seven! She blew Midnight's quirk away like nothing and is now holding her hostage with some kind of telekinesis quirk. Kamui Woods is down-" With a scoff, Wanda stole the device to her with a glow of red. It was yanked from the blonde's grasp and pulled into the witch's, who looked down at it.
"Mt. Lady? Hello?" An urgent voice called from the small block, static moving through the voice. Wanda glanced up at the woman, who flinched back.
"H-hey. Give that back," she said loudly, voice shaking with faux bravery. Wanda tutted, holding the box up to her mouth. With her index, she made the "shh" sign and then pressed a button, speaking to whoever was on the other end.
"Are you the police?" she questioned, laughing slightly at the question. The person on the other end was silent for a minute, but when he spoke, his voice was strong and confident.
"Yes," he said in a low tone. Wanda hummed in acknowledgement and pressed the button again, gripping the woman's head harder as she struggled slightly in her grasp, a line of blood running down her forehead.
"Send the morgue. I'll have a couple of bodies that will need to be retrieved when I'm done here."
"Your quirk is telekinesis, correct? Who's to say that we don't have a way to counter that? Many of our fighters have been trained for someone of your caliber, so they will succeed in beating you." Wanda laughed and shared a look with America, who was considerably less joyous than the woman in front of her, although she knew that the girl wouldn't have anything to say about her when it came to power level.
"Telekinesis is just the beginning, Naomasa Tsukauchi," Wanda said, a gasp coming through the device just before she tossed it into the air, the black box crumbling like a paper ball before it had the chance to hit the ground.
"You won't win. We won't let you take her," the woman- Mt. Lady- said from where she was still holding America close to her. The younger girl looked more resigned, like she was actually considering Wanda's "proposal". Or maybe just accepting the fact that she was going to die, purely because Wanda wanted her to. And Wanda always got what she wanted. She smirked, taking a step forward.
"You don't need to."
And then, she lifted a steadily-blackening hand. Mt. Lady, with a cry, shoved America away and started running towards Wanda, who dropped "Midnight" to the ground to defend herself. Immediately after, a burst of purple entered the air and Wanda gasped as her feet were swept out from under her. She stumbled back, lifting her arms as Mt. Lady leapt on top of her, throwing a punch at her head.
"Midnight, run!" she screamed as she grabbed the woman's arms to hold her in place. Wanda struggled slightly, and then her eyes widened as she felt something around her throat. Wait. Her eyes jerked upward to see that the woman- Midnight- was kneeling above her head, holding the whip from earlier around her throat. She choked slightly, struggling harder. Twitching her fingers, she watched as Mt. Lady's eyes bled from a pinkish-purple into the crimson that she knew so well.
And then, the woman let go of Wanda's arms, looked up at Midnight, and pounced. Instantly, the weight over her entire body was gone, and she sat up, gasping as the two woman grappled behind her.
"Yu! Snap out of it!" Midnight screamed as she grabbed at the other woman, who was now trying to strangle her. Wanda shakily got to her feet and turned around to look at the two. Eyes darting between them, she was suddenly struck from behind.
"I know you're not from here, but that doesn't mean that we won't do our best to defeat you!" The man from before was back, and he had swung in from above, slamming his feet into the woman's back. Her body cracked against the concrete and she cried out in pain, the mental control she had on Mt. Lady breaking. Instantly, the two women were breaking apart, struggling to their feet to circle the witch, along with the man, who gestured America closer. She shook her head, still trembling, and stumbling into an alleyway to her right to watch from around the corner. The man watched and then sighed as he turned back to the woman, who was groaning as she tenderly pressed against her head.
"Poor kid," he muttered.
"What have you done to the girl?" Midnight demanded strongly, letting a steam of purple cloud from the torn fabric of her leg to hopefully slow the woman down. She coughed, struggling- and failing- to get to her feet.
"Nothing yet," she finally said, the man grunting with anger at her words.
"And you won't do anything to her at all!" he said, Wanda turning herself over to look at him from where she was now sat on the ground. Breathing heavily, she looked around and then sighed, closing her eyes.
"What are you looking for? Her? She's hidden, far away from you," Mt. Lady fibbed loudly. The redhead just shook her head.
"Not America. The morgue." And then, arching one hand over her head, she took control of the blonde without looking, and then quickly pulled her hand back over her head, dropping it at her side. The woman, with a scream, flew over her head, colliding with the wooden man in front of her. The two went down in a heap and Midnight gasped. And then, without blinking, she pulled the man into the air, and, lifting her hands like she were using a bow and arrow, she pushed her right arm forward and he shot forward, charging through the air like a limp doll that had been thrown from a canon. He plowed into a bus a block away, knocking the vehicle itself back with his momentum, and then slammed onto a car, where he lay still.
Mt. Lady was tossed carelessly through the air, where she cracked her head against the sidewalk and fell silent.
"You-" Midnight didn't even have a chance to speak, because her entire body was now coated in red. She was lifted into the air and forced to watch as Wanda casually stood, shaking herself off and even shifting her shoulders like she was stretching.
"It's so exhausting pretending to be weak, but I guess that's something only I seem to suffer from," she said to herself as she pursed her lips to the side, slowly turning to face the purple-haired woman, who was still in the air.
"Do whatever you want to me- or them. They'll send better heroes. Stronger heroes; ones that can beat you in seconds. Let's see if you're still so confident after facing them," Midnight spit- literally. A glob of red landed at the woman's feet. She ignored it in favor of looking at the quirk-user with a blankly uninterested face, her right hand raised and the sound of her power floating through the air.
"Are you going to kill me? Because if you are, you better do it fast, because I'll do worst if I get free," Midnight finally got the courage to say, struggling slightly. That seemed to snap the woman out of her reverie, because she smiled and flexed her fingers, the red around Nemuri's waist feeling like it was starting to burn. She winced inwardly, but didn't let the scowl leave her face, even as Wanda met her gaze, eyes burning the scarlet that matched the rest of her entire body.
"Not yet. You'll just wish you were."
And then, blinding, ear-splitting pain ran through her blood, painting it the same color as the Scarlet Witch's eyes.