Bella MacLeod's Twilight Fanfiction

The Witch and the Widows

By BetterInTexas

Chapter 65:

Thanos’s throne room

Thanos looked down on his shattered throne. His anger was greater than it had ever been in his existence. He not only had two of the Infinity Stones in his grasp, he also had the one living being that could defeat him in his own ship surrounded by his soldiers. Their maneuver was brilliant and he never imagined it could happen but once he realized what was going on, he saw a perfect opportunity to kill them or herd them to his ship.

He was successful but he still lost. She had beaten him! He had the Power Stone and she gave up the Mind Stone and still beat him!

He had no idea she could physically be anywhere she wished. She had evolved past astral projection. Her grasp of magic was staggering. She had thrown him into some alternate reality with ease despite being exhausted. She blocked the Power Stone. Not only that but she struck back.

He had sacrificed his fleet for nothing. The death toll was unbelievable. She had taken over the minds of thousands of sentient creatures and bent them to her will. Her body was small yet when he hit her the chaos magic instinctively protected her.

He had lost two of his Black Guard to her comrades. She had one on her side who commanded the Ten Rings. Another skilled warrior he had underestimated.

Right now his fleet was gone and he didn’t have the ability to balance a single planet. He couldn’t defeat her with just the Power Stone and he had no idea what had happened to the Space Stone since Asgard was gone. He had no clue to where the Reality Stone was nor did he know where the Soul Stone was.

His dream of saving the universe was being thwarted by the Scarlet Witch. She truly was destined to destroy the universe by preventing his glorious mission from succeeding.

“Great One, I bring news.” Ebony Maw quietly told him. He was the only one brave enough to speak to Thanos at a time like this.

“You dare approach me? You coward. The Scarlet Witch was here and where were you when I called?”

“I was blinded. I tried to use my power over your enemies but even from a distance the Mind Stone’s presence was too much for my magic to touch. I was stricken down.”

Thanos turned on the man and grabbed him by the throat. “Coward. You were afraid of the Scarlet Witch. She defeated you with ease in her astral form and you had no wish to face her in her physical form. I should kill you. I have no patience or need for a coward on my mission.

“Please my Lord.” he wheezed. “I tried to be by your side. I have never failed you before and I won’t again. The Mind Stone’s power will not affect me next time. I will become stronger! I will not fail you!”

Thanos threw him down in disgust. “Weak, sniveling and pathetic. Humans proved to be superior this day. Two of the vaunted Black Guard killed so easily. What news do you bring?”

Ebony Maw scrambled to his feet. “The ship is in no danger of life support failing. We still have ten thousand seven hundred and fourteen warriors.”

“We had over one hundred thousand!”

“I do bring welcome news. We have picked up energy from the Space Stone.”

Thanos smiled for the first time that day.

“So it is floating in space.”

“No, Great One. We tracked its energy signature to a ship. It appears that some Asgardians escaped the destruction of Asgard and have the Tesseract holding the stone. If they are Asgardians it is likely one or more know here the Reality Stone is. I can take the knowledge from their mind. We could soon possess two of the stones.”

Thanos nodded. “Fine. We find the stones, go to Titan to repair this ship and prepare others and then I unleash hell on Earth. The Scarlet Witch and I have not had our last encounter. Next time, I will control reality. I will be able to teleport at will and I will have the combined might of at least three stones. When I find my daughter, I will have four. Continue searching for Gamora and make course for the Asgardian ship.”

Ebony Maw walked out and Thanos felt his anger subside a bit. He was still humiliated by his defeat but his goal was attainable. He would be prepared when he faced her again. His pride would not let him underestimate her again.

He retired to his chambers and drifted off to sleep, dreaming of making the Scarlet Witch watch him restore order to the Universe before torturing and killing her. His quest to restore balance to the universe had never been personal. He had seen it as a necessary and regretful action that must take place for the greater good. He took no pleasure in killing despite what the witch had said.

When he defeated her he would take great pleasure in killing. This had become very personal.

Wakanda, Shuri’s Lab

Wanda lay flat in the MRI like machine with her eyes closed. She had long grown tired of the constant lights scanning over her body. The room was chilly and she considered conjuring her regular comfortable clothes rather than the hospital gown she didn’t feel was necessary but Shuri insisted on it.

She wasn’t sure how long she had been there. Shuri had stopped the machine and placed some sort of metal device that wrapped around her head like a large collar, then minutes later removed it and attached leads all over her body. She never spoke to Wanda. Shuri appeared to be in deep concentration and her usual good natured humor was not present which put Wanda on edge.

The MRI like cocoon opened after what felt like months and Shuri removed the leads from her body then helped her up. Wanda instantly conjured her jeans and sweatshirt back on her body and had a seat across from Shuri.

“So, any idea how to stop the migraines from distracting me when I am killing Thanos and his gang?”

Shuri said nothing for a moment, only frowning but did slowly meet her eyes. Wanda did not like what she saw in her eyes.

“I’m going to need a lot of Ibuprofen, right?”

Shuri took a deep breath and braved herself to deliver bad news.

“Wanda, you channeled the power of the Mind Stone to take control of hundreds of living beings. You used the Mind Stone to counter the energy of the Power Stone. The stones are attracted to something else in you to allow this. I suspect it is the chaos magic you possess.”

Wanda disagreed. “I’m a witch. I use chaos magic, I bend it to my will but it is not part of me. It is part of the universe.”

Shuri shook her head. “Perhaps it was until you came along. The Mind Stone energy you absorbed while at HYDRA should have killed you and your brother like the other subjects. Instead you and your brother lived. Chaos magic was inside you before you came into contact with the stone. It saved you, then you likely saved your brother. Your powers magnified in Germany when you absorbed more energy from the Mind Stone. The stone unlocked barriers in yourself but the magic wasn’t multiplied, it was set loose.”

Wanda wasn’t sure how it worked and neither her nor Agatha were experts on chaos magic. No one alive was.

“No offense, Shuri but you have no idea how magic works despite reading the same books I have. I still have no absolutely clear idea how it works but we cannot…”

Wanda paused. Shuri did know, maybe more than Wanda. She had read the books and her mind was like no other on Earth.

“What did you find inside me just now?” Wanda asked.

“Beside a storm of unknown energy floating inside and around you that is equal in power output to the infinity stone I have studied. Chaos magic isn’t around you. It isn’t a cosmic force outside of you. It is inside of you, covers you, protects you. But when you used the Mind Stone, you went into power overload. Your power matched a source of equal strength and you channeled both of them simultaneously. You are only human, Wanda. Using that much power might kill you. A brain aneurysm is a very real possibility.”

Wanda sat perfectly still, her face showing no reaction but her mind running. This wasn’t possible. She needed the Mind Stone and chaos magic to hold off Thanos. She unleashed everything she had on him and he still fought back with the Power Stone. She fully intended to use the power of the Mind Stone, the Time Stone and the Reality Stone to counter his one stone. That plan gave her confidence. He had no hope against her.

“My power is… infinite. “Wanda argued but was mostly trying to convince herself. “After I received the power boost from Vision I astral projected to many places, even alternate universes. One of my alternate selves had accidentally killed all life in the Universe. Another… she made thousands of superpowered beings disappear by saying two words. She didn’t have any stones either. If she could handle that much power… I’m not there yet but surely I could handle three stones to boost my power and still live.”

Shuri raised her hand. “Wanda, did any of those alternate selves seem particularly sane or of sound mind? You just admitted they did not have any stones.”

Wanda shrugged but she knew the answer. She hadn’t been there long enough but the emotions she saw on their faces were utter devastation and loss. Something had been broken in those women and the image of her monstrous form corrupted by the Darkhold still invaded her thoughts at times.

“I managed the power of the Time and Mind Stone in training.” Wanda argued. “When everyone attacked me I used both the stones and chaos magic, even the Ten Rings and… and…”

Shuri nodded. “I was there. Your voice was hard to miss. It became deeper, easily heard for miles likely. Your eyes stayed completely red and a crown appeared on your head. Not the normal tiara but a big demonic crown. You lost yourself in a bloodlust and only snapped out of it when you saw Agatha injured. The entire incident lasted no more than two minutes. If it had lasted longer you would have burned out, like a star going supernova. You may well have killed everyone there. It isn’t a critiscm. Wenwu put you in that position and everyone went along with it. I just want you to understand what I saw. I saw a human body transmitting an incredible amount of power that a carbon based life form shouldn’t have been able to transmit. Nose bleeds, headaches, those are signs your body and brain is giving you to back off. Prolonged use of that much power will kill you. Unless you can kill Thanos in two minutes or less while taking no damage from the Power Stone, you will not be able to safely harness the power of those three stones.

Wanda shivered.

“I need to use those stones. I can’t defeat him without the stones. I can’t defeat his remaining army without those stones. If I can’t use them what chance do I have?”

“I understand you were about to start a fight with a demon in hell using the power you already possess. I do talk to several widows on a daily, sometimes hourly basis. Sasha has me in the group text.

“Wanda, you can use them.” Shuri told her. “You can use them long enough to kill Thanos if you think you have no other choice. Be aware of the consequences. Using two can be fatal. Using more, channeling that much power will kill you. Get the Reality Stone, keep the stones away from everything and everyone, especially him and you. Fight him on your own, use your magic. Warp reality. Without the Reality Stone he can’t counter your magic. Put him in a hex, cast a probability spell to make it unlikely he will succeed in battle. Do what you have to but do not use the stones please.”

“My magic isn’t enough! Not yet! He is powerful, Shuri. Saying he is powerful is an understatement. You didn’t fight him. You didn’t feel that raw power, the pure strength he has. I struck him with blasts of chaos magic that would have disintegrated cities. They hurt him but they didn’t stop him. I can use magic tricks all day. I can make the ground swallow him up, send dragons and other creatures from other dimensions to fight him, affect probabilities, but those will only distract him. It took everything I had in me to block the energy of the Power Stone and it still hurt. I need to have those stones and I have to use them or I will never be rid of him!”

“Then your daughters won’t have a mother.” Shuri told her bluntly. “Bucky won’t have a wife and Yelena will never recover. You have people who need you. You must find another way to beat him, with only magic and your current powers. Try to control his mind, hit him with that red energy that can disintegrate cities and keep hitting him until he dies. Do not have the stones on you.

“It isn’t about you being willing to die to defeat him. It’s about the people that will be devastated because they were left behind.” Shuri told her. “They may have a body on life support for years to visit if you are unlucky enough to live, but it won’t be you. It will be a used up vessel that channeled to much power at once. Sokovia won’t have its protector, the widows won’t have their hero, your girls won’t have a mother. You and Yelena are the soul of the Red Widows. You of all people know what happens when a soul is torn in half.”

“I get it!” Wanda shouted. “I get it.” she said, quieter this time. “You realize if I can’t beat him, half the universe will lose their loved ones. It could be you or your brother or both. It could be Nadeja or Nela, Claudia or Tanya, Yelena, Bucky, Aino or Staci, my sisters… this is war. Shuri. Lives have to be risked in war. Is their no safe way to use the stones? Some devices? Thanos kept the Power Stone on a very big glove. Maybe you could come up with something like that so I can use the stones without channeling the power through my body.”

Shuri’s face fell as she recognized the stubborn tone in Wanda’s voice.

“I won’t stop trying to find a way, Wanda. You know that. I have been running thousands of scenarios on my systems. I think about it all day and night. I won’t stop. Just understand… if you use a Stone directly, your body will burn out. Those vessels that popped causing your nose bleed could be vessels in your brain next time. You asked me to examine you. That is the result of my examination.”

“Strange carries the Time Stone on him always. He…”

“Isn’t walking around changing time on a daily basis.” Shuri interrupted.” He uses magical spells to activate the stone, magical forces that are outside of his body that he manipulates. He isn’t the magical powerhouse that you are, Wanda. He isn’t the literal personification of magic like you are the personification of chaos magic. Focus on magic and screw the stones.”

Wanda sadly shook her head. “The stones can be focused easier. Chaos magic is literal chaos. It takes all my will power to keep it under control. I am getting better but facing off against the stones Thanos could potentially possess, I could easily wipe out all life in the Universe myself. Thank you for the information, Shuri. I appreciate you very much. We appreciate all of Wakanda. I hope you know that.”

Shuri finally smiled. “Of course we do, Wanda. We are allies. More importantly we are friends. You don’t have to thank me and I won’t stop looking. We will win and we are going to win without you dying. Have faith.”

Wanda stood from her seat, hugged Shuri and opened a gateway into her bedroom at the Widow Compound. Before she stepped through she turned back to Shuri.

“I won’t say a word to anyone. It will stay between us.” Shuri assured her, knowing what she was going to ask.

Wanda smiled and walked away.

Inside the compound in Yelena’s room, her and Kate were making up for lost time. Rather than losing themselves in passion, Yelena was telling her the events of the months they had been apart, doing her best to ensure there were no secrets between them any longer. She had been struggling without Kate and now that they were in each other’s arms, Yelena realized it was worse than a struggle. She had been living a half-life. Kate was right. They were too intertwined with each other to ever completely break apart.

“Then Nadeja stabbed Naomi over and over. Agatha barely arrived to save Naomi. The youngest ran and Wanda had to talk them back into the Mansion. They were afraid of us. We made the ones who needed our protection the most, afraid of us. If not for Wanda speaking to everyone we would have broken apart.”

Kate fought back tears. Though Yelena had caught her up on most of the comings and goings since they had been apart, she also told her the things she kept from her while they were together.

“Yelena, why didn’t you tell me?”

“I was ashamed. You saw me as someone who I wanted to be. Someone I tried to be but usually just pretended to be. If you found out about my failings, you would not see me as that anymore and I did not want that.”

“You mean if I saw you as a person that isn’t perfect, that makes mistakes or good decisions that backfire? You are right. I did hold you to a high standard. In my mind you were perfect. It wasn’t fair to you.”

Yelena felt better hearing those words.

“And I saw you as a princess that always needed saving, whether it was from sadness or just the ugly truth of the world. I thought you weren’t tough enough to handle the truth. I made a mistake. I should have had more faith in you. I should have told you, no matter what Eleanor wanted. I will never make that mistake again.”

The two held each other for the next hour with their eyes closed, relaxed on the bed, neither saying a word.

Then there was a knock on the door.

“What?!” Yelena called out.

Sasha opened the door.

“This better be good.” Yelena grumbled.

The widow shrugged. “Not as good as make up sex but pretty good. You up to visit another planet? Wanda doesn’t think it will be a fight this time. No Thanos, just an Infinity Stone pick up. Apparently Strange has used his cosmos bowl to get an exact fix on some severed rock head with miners living on it and a museum holding the Reality Stone. It’s the place Thor told them about probably. Wanda is going to link her magic with his somehow and open up a doorway exactly where we need to be. No chances taken.”

Yelena sighed. “Thank you, Sasha. I will talk to my co leader witch about unexpected travel plans to a severed head floating in space. Please ask her to come to my room.”

Sasha frowned. “Why don’t you? You do have a phone.”

“It is way over there on my desk and I don’t want to get up until I must. Still woozy from head injury.”

Sasha shook her head. “You are so full of shit. I’ll call her for you, boss. I’m not your secretary though.”

Yelena chuckled after she left. “She loves phone but doesn’t like being asked to use it. She is so strange.”

Kate didn’t laugh. She was incredibly tense.

“A severed head?” she finally asked.

“Severed rock head of a giant celestial being from thousands of years ago, floating in space and inhabited by miners who take brain matter. Very disgusting. There is a museum there that Thor left an Infinity Stone at. Why take a powerful artifact and give it to a space museum? I have no idea. It made sense in his head I suppose. You have a stone that needs to be hidden so instead of hiding it in the vast universe you give it to someone who will put it on display.”

Kate shook her head. “You can’t go. Your head is woozy. You just said so.”

Yelena waved off her concern. “It was something I told her because I did not want to leave your warm arms. I feel better than I have in very long time.”

Wanda entered without knocking. “Yelena, Kate. Sorry to disturb your make up sex but we have a mission. I expect no resistance but I think a show of force would ensure no resistance. If you want to stay here, this shouldn’t take long. I would like to take fifty widows. I thought we could have a drawing. Perhaps Ava could lead them and…”

“I am Red 1.” Yelena cut her off. “I am leading them.”

Wanda grimaced. “You took a shot to the head that literally knocked you off your feet and landed you on your back only days ago. It would have made a great Tik Tok video. It is so safe even Bucky has agreed to stay back with the girls. The girls aren’t crying because I assured them there was no danger and I wouldn’t lie to my girls.”

Yelena slowly unwrapped herself from Kate’s tight grip and stood up. “Then if it so simple, there is no need to worry about me going or taking fifty widows. Call the girls together in gym. We really need a bigger meeting space. We are going to need to expand the underground bunker area next.”

Thirty minutes later the widows were in the bunker along with an unhappy set of twins and a grumpy husband as Yelena addressed the group.

“There will be a random drawing for team leads.” Yelena explained. “Each team lead will bring their team. We stay suited up, arms at the ready but do not take an offensive stance. Be ready for anything though. We are going to a very different place at the edge of the Universe according to our sorcerer. I did not know the Universe had an edge but what do I know. I’m no physicist. The names will pop up on screens. Ten teams, five team members each plus my team.”

The names appeared on the largest monitor one by one.

“Ingrid, Rox, Ava, Gabby, Dani, Chloe, Helena, Rowan, Antonia and Madison. Gather your teams, suit up and be ready to go in thirty minutes.” Yelena ordered.

Wanda looked across the room to Staci and Aino who were hugging each other while also jumping awkwardly in joy. The widows had many more teams because original widows had been assigned groups of four girls to help acclimate them. They worked together and though they weren’t mission proven, they were familiar with each other. The only non-original widows that had teams were Gabby and Rox who already had girls in the past they were used to working with. Not all the original widows had been given teams. Staci and Aino were two of those. Despite Staci turning sixteen two weeks ago and enjoying a huge party, and Aino turning sixteen in another three weeks, Yelena and Wanda felt Aino wasn’t ready and Staci wasn’t… ready emotionally. They were placed with Madison, despite having seniority over Madison in the ranks.

“You have to let them go.” Yelena told her, reading her mind. “You cannot keep asking them to stay back.”

“I let them fight the Hand.”

“And you kept them by your side. You limited their involvement yet they were the two who saved us when we were pinned down. If you keep asking them to stay back they will doubt themselves and that could get them killed when they are forced to fight.”

“They are children.” Wanda argued.

“We are all children and yet we are not. That is part of what makes us what we are. As you said, this shouldn’t be dangerous.”

“We are going to the edge of the Universe. We have no idea what we could be facing.” Wanda said quietly.

“Of course, I know this. You think I like it? I am taking the newest member of my team and I have no idea if she is ready. I do know if her mother finds out that I took her to outer space when we were supposed to be hanging out on Saturday afternoon catching up on our lives, I will be very afraid for my own life.”

Wanda wasn’t sure what she was talking about, refusing to believe it until she could come up with no other explanation.

“No!”

“Yep.” Kate said, walking up from behind Wanda and clapping her on the shoulder. “Looks like I am going to become an astronaut. Pretty cool, right?”

Wanda turned angrily towards her. “There is no way in hell… what are you going to do? I know we do not have extra widow suits. Each one is designed to each girl’s body by Shuri. You don’t even have your preferred weapons. You left your arrows and bow on the ground outside a burned out auto shop, remember?”

Kate nodded. “Hard to forget that night. I’ve kept up my training. The girls saved my suit and my bow and arrows are ready. I’m going, Wanda.”

Wanda looked back at Yelena who seemed resigned if not enthusiastic.

“A word?”

Wanda walked quickly away from Kate and Yelena reluctantly followed.

“What the hell, Yelena?”

Yelena shrugged. “She wants to come with us. She fought the Ten Rings with me in Paris. She held herself well, even killed a few and finally admits that the bad guys likely didn’t walk away from the fiery SUVs.”

“That is very different than going to where we are going! I know it isn’t supposed to be dangerous but we have no idea who will be there.” Wanda argued. “Stephen believes the atmosphere will be fine but he is a sorcerer, not a physicist or science person. It could be freezing and we will have to return quickly.”

Yelena knew this but wouldn’t change her mind. “I can’t keep babying her. She trained with us for a very long time. She is tougher than we give her credit for.”

Wanda stared at Yelena for an uncomfortable amount of time in the blonde’s opinion.

“Is this some part of getting back together? Did she list terms and conditions? What else is she going to do? Are we going to let her cut some slaver’s throats or maybe fire a few arrows at Thanos? Where does it end, Yelena?”

Yelena was not surprised by Wanda’s frustration.

“I’ll keep her safe. Her suit is strong. If we get in trouble, we could use the help.”

“She is on you. If I get asked, I knew nothing about this until she was already there.”

“Eleanor won’t find out.” Yelena assured her. “She has no reason to ask as long as you don’t call and mention this little side trip to the edge of the Universe to pick up an artifact of significant power. Maybe you should let me worry about Kate and take care of your own.”

Wanda raised an eyebrow. “What are you talking about?”

“While you chastise poor Yelena, your girls look like someone kicked their kittens and puppy and your husband looks like someone kicked Steve Rogers. Maybe go assure them it is so safe even Kate Bishop is coming along.”

The two walked back to Kate. Wanda poked a finger in her chest, still not happy. “If your mother finds out, it is on you. I’m telling her you snuck in wearing a widow suit and we didn’t notice until it was too late.”

“Even if she does find out later on, it isn’t like she has worried about keeping secrets from me for a very long time for my own good. She doesn’t need to worry about this.” Kate pointed out.

Wanda glared at her for a moment and to her credit, Kate didn’t flinch or look away.

“It is your life, try not to die.”” she told the archer and walked away.

“She took that better than I thought she would.” Kate admitted.

Yelena shook her head slightly. “Just stay directly behind me and watch my back. Do not leave me.”

Kate grinned. “Of course not. A Hawkeye would never leave her Widow, black, red or any other color.”

Wanda approached her husband and daughters.

“You three going to be okay without me for a couple hours, right? I won’t be gone long. You can show me the new words you are learning. Maybe we can read together tonight. Papa and I will use funny voices.”

Nadeja sighed. “If it is so safe, why can we not come with you? We want to go to another planet.”

Wanda knelt in front of her. “From what I have been told by Dr. Stephen, this isn’t a very pretty planet. It sounds like the streets in Sokovia I grew up in. I understand how places like that work but it is not very pretty.”

“Is that why you are dressed like you are?” Nela asked. “I haven’t seen you dress like this in a long time.”

Wanda shook her head and smiled. Stephen had given her a rundown on what he could tell about this place from what he saw in the Cauldron and while it didn’t seem like a warzone, it also didn’t seem to be the nicest place. It reminded her of the streets of Novi Grad after the bombings.

She decided it was time to dress as she once did, in leather pants, combat boots and a bustier covered by her red jacket. It was a universal fact that nothing would distract a heterosexual man like cleavage. Even a few seconds distraction was all it took to gain an advantage.

“I haven’t worn them in a while. I don’t want to get my nice clothes dirty. Listen, one day, when this is all over I will try to find a beautiful planet and we can all go visit. I want to take you both so many places and you have so much to see on Earth too. I want to give you everything but I have to take care of this right now.”

“Because you are a hero.” Nadeja told her.

Wanda shook her head. “Because I have to protect you all.”

Nadeja shook her head and hugged Wanda. “You are a superhero. You are the best. You will win. You can’t be beat. Hurry so we can read. I can show you what I have learned.”

Wanda stood and met her husband’s unhappy eyes.

“If you get in trouble, open a door.”

“I will.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.” Wanda assure him then kissed him softly.

Knowhere

The inhabitants of Nowhere were no strangers to unusual things. They had come to the edge of the universe for many reasons. Some needed money, some wanted a good time and many others were hiding from something or someone. There were people of all species, wandering the severed head of an ancient celestial being.

Seeing a slash of red light appear in the middle of a street at least seven foot high was new. At first some of those present thought someone fired a gun from above straight into the ground but the light was frozen in place.

Then it began to split and red energy followed the two lines as they spread wide.

The entire area quieted. Gambling had stopped, music had been turned off and no one said a word as a sexy red head walked out of the light and was followed by many, many beings in solid black outfits that covered their heads who carried very big rifles in their hands.

They appeared to be female based on their figures and one of them beside the red head was defintely female.

The only one dressed differently was a long haired brunette in a tight purple and black outfit with some sort of weapon on her back and the bottom portion of her face covered by some hard mask.

Wanda took a look around and was not surprised. Her and Stephen’s tracking spell had worked as well as she expected and they were in an open area not immediately surrounded by multiple aliens.

“Looks like we made it.” Wanda said, relief evident.

“Surrounded by alien thugs who are all watching us.” Yelena added.

After a few more minutes of awkward silence the music turned back on and the alien residents lost interest and returned to their games, dancing and drinking.

Wanda was immensely relieved. Apparently appearing out of thin air wasn’t so unusual in a place like this.

“I have never seen you before. Welcome to Knowhere. I am Cosmo, head of security for the mining facility. Who are you and what species are you?”

Wanda and Yelena stared at the Labrador retriever that sat before them and has just asked their species. There was a collar around her neck that glowed with every word spoken. The voice was speaking English with a definite Russian accent.

“Wanda, when I first saw you fly I thought that would be the strangest thing I would ever see. Then we met the Ancient One and entered library straight out of Harry Potter with floating books. I told myself, Yelena, it could not get stranger than this. Then we fought robots, then more robots in a German Airport while you fought a vibranium robot stalker with a magic rock and I said this is it, I have seen everything.”

“I know.” Wanda admitted.

“Then we fight billionaire super soldier in armored Halloween costume flying around on a sled and thought, eh, I have seen weirder things. Then a demon using your brother’s form crawls out of a black hole in a women’s chest and I say to myself, this is it. Nothing can top this.”

“I didn’t think so either.” Wanda agreed.

“Then I find myself on spaceships, starting battles like we are in Star Wars, jumping to and from, getting hit by lasers and knocked off my feet and I say this is it. I have seen it all and I am not even 18.”

“I understand.”

“Now we stand on a severed head in space surrounded by questionable aliens from many different planets before a talking Russian dog asking what species we are. What next, Wanda? Just tell me. What next are we going to see?”

Wanda shrugged. “Maybe… I have no idea.”

“I am waiting for an answer. It is rude to talk about me as if I am not here.” The dog told them.

Kate squealed. “She is so cute!”

“Not now, Kate.” Yelena told her and Kate closed her mouth.

Wanda cleared her throat. “You speak English? Every alien we encounter speaks English. Is the whole damn universe American?”

The dog growled. “No. America, Soviet Union, blah. I had thought they would have killed each other by now. Cold War they called it. It was cold when they shot me off into space and left me to die!”

The dog shook her head. “I apologize. The mining colony is equipped with a universal transmitter and many have translation implants. You hear in the most common language you understand. You are Terran. The translator has recognized the planet and most commonly spoke language on a planet at any given time. I suppose the Soviet Union has not conquered Earth.”

Wanda looked at Yelena and shrugged. “I’ve tried to read the minds of animals. They don’t form speech like we do. This collar…”

“Excuse me! I have asked why you are here? You are obviously Terrans from Earth but Earth has no technology that would allow them to reach the edge of the Universe. Who are you and what to you want?”

“Snippy little thing, isn’t she?” Yelena mumbled. “I am Yelena Belova and this is Wanda Maximoff. These ladies are our family. We want to speak to a man named the Collector. He has something we would like to see. Thor told us we could find it here.”

The dog’s ears pinned back. “You do not show up unannounced and expect to speak to the Collector without an appointment. I can schedule you for three of your Earth months from now. If you would follow me to my office I can take your contact information.”

“Of course. Or perhaps you could just take him a message. Tell him the Scarlet Witch is here to warn him about Thanos invading this rock. If we are not taken to him immediately, I will destroy this place before Thanos has an opportunity to do so.”

The music and conversation stopped around them once again and a heavy silence descended.

“The Scarlet Witch?” Cosmo repeated.

Wanda raised an eyebrow and balls of red energy formed in her hands.

“You are not supposed to be real.”

“Neither are talking dogs but here we are.” Wanda pointed out.

The dog nodded. “Follow me.”

The trip was short and the rock was exactly what she thought it would be. A post apocalypse Las Vegas mixed with a coal mining feel as workers moved back and forth and the parties eventually began to pick back up.

They saw their destination before they were even close, a citadel type building with a glowing purple roof. More importantly, the closer Wanda got, the greater the Reality Stone called out to her. She could feel what felt like a slow vibration in her soul that strangely felt like joy. The Reality Stone wanted her. It had called to her for so long and now she was so close. The Mind Stone may have given her power but the Reality Stone was destined to be with her. Shuri was wrong. If she could channel any Stone for an extended amount of time, it would be this one.

The widows marched into what Cosmo told them was the Vault. As they made their way to wherever the Collector was the group struggled to maintain discipline and not be distracted by the unbelievable amount of display cases of all sizes holding strange objects. They couldn’t identify most of them.

“Damn it.” A new voice said. “Hye red head, you are smoking. Careful. He might try to put you in a display case. I was stuck in one for a while. These girls fill out these black suits like you fill out leather, Red. Any chance those masks can come off an I can see the whole display?”

“Wanda.” Yelena called quietly, looking at the floor shaking her head.

“I know.”

“I had to say it, didn’t I?”

Wanda nodded.

“Are we looking at a talking duck?”

“We are looking at a misogynistic talking duck with a drink in its… hand?”

Yelena sighed. “Now I have seen…”

“Don’t say it!” Wanda cut her off quickly.

The dog nudged the duck with her nose. “Go away Howard. This is the Scarlet Witch.”

Howard’s eyes widened. “Now you are even hotter. How bout a drink? You know that they say. You are out of luck until you go duck.”

Suddenly without any effort on Wanda’s part, the talking duck was blasted away. Cosmo looked at the women.

“Sorry. He’s an ass but no one will give him a ride off the colony. We kept him in a display case because it was the only way to shut him up.”

Yelena nodded. “The dog has telekinesis and attacked the asshole duck. Makes sense I suppose.”

“Yelena…”

“Stay strong, Kate.”

“Can we get a couple of those collars for Lucky and Fanny and maybe Storm?” she asked, rather than sounding freaked out.

The dog answered. “Terran dogs would not be understood. They would have to be abandoned in space and bombarded with alien radiation to develop my abilities. Here we are. Please show the proper respect. Taneleer Tivan awaits you.”

The large door opened and the large gathering walked inside.

“Stay by the doors and secure the room.” Yelena ordered the widows. “Kate stay directly behind me.”

The trio walked to a… man in the center of the room. He was very blonde with thick hair that reached upward. His blonde eyebrows and the strange scar that ran from his top lip just past his bottom lip gave him a sinister feel but he carried a smile that made him creepier rather than welcoming. His clothes were outlandish, a bright assortment of colors and a fur cape of some sort.

“The Scarlet Witch and… friends. I have to admit, you are not as I imagined the Scarlet Witch would appear but I approve. Assuming you are the Scarlet Witch.”

“Would you like me to prove it?”

He stared at her for a moment and then shook his head. “I saw you arrive. No other Terran could travel in that manner. Using magic to tear a rift in the universe and step from one place to another so easily. I have read the histories of magic, have quite a few rare tomes of magical grimoires from different planets and heard of such possibilities but only the Scarlet Witch could perform such a feat. Have you brought me something to keep safe, Wanda Maximoff?”

Wanda walked closer to him. As she suspected, his eyes roamed his body and his focus was divided, hardly noting Yelena separating from her by a few feet and palming a knife. Just like the Sokovian streets. He may have been an alien but he was not very different than other slum lords and street bosses her and Pietro had dealt with.

“I am here to provide you with a favor. Thanos is on his way here. He has been searching for the Infinity Stones. He already has the Power Stone. He decimated a planet to acquire it. He will not hesitate to destroy this place and kill everyone in it.”

She could tell her words had an effect on the man. His eyes were no longer traveling up and down her body and his pale skin paled even more.

“Thanos? He has never had cause to come here. No one knows the Reality Stone is here. Not even the residents of Knowhere are aware I have it.”

“He can track the energy.” Wanda told him. “He will find it and he will kill you and everyone he encounters. If you have heard of him and have the reaction I have just seen you know I am not lying.”

The Collector grimaced. “You are here to protect the Reality Stone?”

“I am here to take it away so it isn’t tracked here. I don’t have to tell you about the repercussions for not only this place and you but the entire universe should Thanos get his hands on that stone.”

The man began laughing.

“You think I will just give up the Reality Stone? You tell me you are going to take my most prized possession as a favor to me. I am not defenseless and Thanos is not all powerful. I am searching for the other stones myself. I have quite the reward out for it. I once had the Power Stone in my grasp and it will be again. If you tell me he has it and he is coming that is even better.”

Yelena chuckled and retracted her helmet. “He has a giant army that will overrun your… whatever this place is. What will you do? Fight him off with talking dogs and asshole ducks? I recognize those people outside this building. They are not loyal citizens. They are here for money or to hide or both. It is no different on our Earth. The slightest hint of trouble and they will run.”

“Then you will defend me, Scarlet Witch. You have just mentioned the repercussions of Thanos getting the Stone. The Stone is well protected here. Not even you will take it. It is locked and bound to my vault by cosmic forces no Terran can hope to understand, even a young Scarlet Witch.”

Wanda wasn’t surprised by his arrogance. As she had thought before, people like him were the same on any planet. They were bullies with inflated egos and only respected more power.

“I did not come here to fight for your mining colony. I cam here to save you from annihilation. I can feel the Reality Stone. It can feel me. Nothing will keep me from it. This is me being reasonable. I am about to become very unreasonable.”

The Collector began to laugh until his knee collapsed in from Yelena’s kick as she had gotten behind him. He dropped to one knee and she had a blade at his throat.

“Take them!” he yelled.

From between the cases, black clad security officers of some sort rushed in, holding rifles.

“Fire!” Yelena yelled and cut the Collector’s throat.

Unfortunately his throat was not cut by the vibranium blade and his knee was not crushed as would an ordinary human’s be. He stood up and swung back, catching Yelena in the chest and sending her flying back. Wanda wrapped him in red energy and began crushing him in it as she screamed. She was hit by some bolt in her back and hit the ground, sending him flying.

The widows circled Wanda and returned fired, their suits holding up to the shots they were taking if not the force to their bodies.

Then some of the widows began floating in the air. They looked to the door and saw the dog again. Kate remembered the dog had telekinesis and saw Ava about to shoot the pooch.

“Don’t Ava!” Kate yelled and fired an arrow towards the dog. Cosmo had been focused on lifting the widows she couldn’t stop the arrow that buried itself in her shoulder, nor the drug that knocked her out.

Ava shook her head.

“She was too cute! You can’t kill a dog!” Kate explained and ran in front of Wanda, taking a knee next to her body and began firing with the rest of the widows hitting her targets with precision.

Wanda looked up from the ground and yelled in frustration at being taken out from behind. She threw a ball of energy into the air and streams of red light reached out towards all the guards. They stopped firing and placed the rifles under their own chins. Some killed themselves and the widows killed the rest.

She got to her feet and began marching towards the Collector. As her clothes transformed and her eyes glowed he showed true fear for the first time. As he focused on Wanda, Yelena stunned him in the back of the head with a widow bite at full power. He hit the ground and Wanda kicked him in the face. She lifted him in the air and reached out, invading his mind.

She ripped his memories from his head, his past, the knowledge he had of the universe and every other aspect of his life. She tried to rip his sense of self out, trap him in nothing but nightmares but the usual method she used on humans to turn them into drooling bodies trapped in their own minds wasn’t working. His brain was different, tougher in some ways and much stranger than others. If she could play with him all day, she was certain she could leave him catatonic. She didn’t have all day. She knew more were coming.

She slammed him to the ground and Yelena pushed her blade into his ear, hoping that would do the trick if cutting his skin hadn’t.

Wanda shook her head and Yelena hesitated. Wanda lifted his chin and made him focus on her.

“Call them off before more of them have to die. I came to take the Reality Stone and save these people. Stop making them die for you. We fought Thanos’s army and killed two members of the Black Guard with much less widows. You cannot beat us.” Wanda told him.

He nodded and reached inside his robe. He then moved his hand from under it. The hand was empty.

“I have stopped the alarm. What… what did you do to me?”

“Not what I could have.” Wanda told him. “Yelena could you hold him down while I retrieve Reality Stone?”

“Widows, secure perimeter. Fire at any hostiles, including talking dogs and asshole ducks and any other animals that speak.” Yelena ordered. “Move funny man and I will shove this blade through your ear into your brain.”

Kate followed Wanda with her bow in her hand and an arrow drawn.

“I took out a few that could have shot you. Did you see?”

Wanda frowned. “No.”

“That’s because you forgot to protect your back and took a blaster bolt to the spine. Knocked you on your face. I was on one knee in front of you, protecting your body with mine, taking out targets who were locked onto you.”

“I am sure you were very impressive.” Wanda grumbled.

“Good thing I was there. I also took out the telekinetic dog. See I knew Yelena would be okay because she wore a vibranium suit but since you were dressed like you just stepped out of Hot Topic I knew you were vulnerable. There is no need to thank me.”

“Good because I wasn’t.” Wanda told her, not sounding happy.

“Its just funny because if you had gotten your way, you would have taken a few more shots and being unconscious and not covered by your wiggly woo aura, you would likely be dead. You didn’t even want me here. Worried about my safety but I was the one who saved you. I wonder if there is video of it. I slid into a one knee position and fired in a split second, electric arrows and one regular arrow into this one guy’s gun barrel. It exploded in his face when he fired. It was so cool. I wish you could have seen it, but I wouldn’t have had to do it if you hadn’t gotten knocked right on your face. How is your nose? It seems like you hit the ground face first and the nose is always the first to take…”

“Thank you, Kate! Thank you! Okay? Thank you!” Wanda shouted, turning towards her.

Kate looked at her innocently. “Thanks for what?”

Wanda took a deep breath and clenched her fists. “Thank you for watching my back while I was momentarily stunned.”

Kate patted Wanda on the shoulder. “You don’t have to thank me. Teamwork, right? When you fall I pick up your slack.”

Wanda stared at her for a moment. She thought of bringing up all the times she had saved Kate but let it go. Kate could have her moment. Wanda had work to do.

“Seriously though, is your nose all right? That was a pretty bad fall. I thought you were dead for a second but then you threw that weirdo away before you passed out… I’m pushing it, aren’t I?”

“You think so?” Wanda asked, walking faster.

“This was supposed to be easy. I explained what was going on, offered to take the problem off his hand and he would understand he was out of his league and give it to me. Maybe he would want something in trade and I could conjure one of Tony’s old Iron Man suits for him to have. No, he had to be a typical pawn shop owner. His tendons don’t break, his throat can’t be cut. Who stands up to a vibranium blade to the throat?”

“He did obviously.” Kate answered.

“I was speaking to myself. Watch my back.”

“I always do. It’s a good thing I came. Face it, you need me.”

Wanda didn’t respond because she found what she was looking for. The Collector hadn’t been lying. It was protected by several cosmic barriers and alien magic she hadn’t bene familiar with. Thanks to her trip inside his head she knew the incantation to free it and spoke it quickly.

The display case shattered and the Stone floated to her hand. She felt a rush of euphoria when she grabbed it and closed her eyes. When she opened them, she was in her apartment in Sokovia.

Her mother was calling her from the kitchen to come and eat.

“This isn’t the time for hexes, Wanda.” Kate told her.

In all the hexes she had ever created she could never bring the dead back to life. Here they were. On the other side of that door was her mother. She knew it. Maybe not her mother but as close to reality… or was it a reality… could it be a reality…

“You promised you would read to your twins tonight and you and Bucky would use the funny voices.” Kate reminded her.

Wanda took in the scene and understood.

“Kate, you don’t understand.” Wanda told her, looking up. “In ten minutes, Papa is going to come through the door. We will sit… this time I can stop the bombs from ever falling. I was so afraid to change reality with chaos magic but this stone is a guide. It makes me complete. It understands me in a way the Mind Stone never did.”

“Yelena is a slave right now. Nadeja and Nela are abused children.” Kate reminded her.

“Not in this reality. Not here. I can do anything.”

“Then you wouldn’t be you. Remember when I asked you to take away my memories of the attack? You told me you couldn’t because our experiences make us who we are. What happened is part of you. It is part of them all. You could have the twins here but they wouldn’t be the same ones you love. Yelena wouldn’t be the same. Maybe she would be happier but who can say that? Maybe she dies in a car accident or drowns. Maybe something worse happens. Wanda, you taught me a lesson. As much as I hated the nightmares and still do, you were right. Don’t make the same mistake I wanted to make.”

Wanda blinked and shook her head.

Kate was right. She could have this reality but it would always be wrong. Changing reality was as dangerous as changing time and in this case she would need to do both.

She wanted to hold her girls.

The hex was gone.

Wanda wiped a tear from her cheek.

“Thanks.” she said quietly, too embarrassed to look at Kate and walked off.

Ten minutes later a doorway opened up into the bunker. The widows and Kate walked out with Wanda taking the rear and sealing the door as soon as they were all safely inside.

The entire group was inside the facility, making it very crowded. Stephen was in front with a small case in his hands. He opened it and Wanda placed the stone inside it.

“Any trouble?”

Wanda shook her head. “He was grateful we took the danger from him. No problem at all.”

Yelena gave a thumbs up.

Kate looked at them in disbelief. “Are you freaking kidding me?! We had a fight against aliens with lasers in a space museum and met a talking dog who could float things with its mind and a talking duck who was a sexist asshole and liked to drink alcohol! I shot like six aliens while Wanda was flat on her face and Yelena had gotten thrown by the weird collector guy after she couldn’t cut his throat! It was the most amazing time ever!”

Wanda closed her eyes and briefly thought of a reality where Kate was mute.

She found it was impossible to imagine.