Bella MacLeod's Twilight Fanfiction

The Witch and the Widows

By BetterInTexas

Chapter 68:

Yelena and Bucky stood side by side looking out over the large field in front of them.

They saw nothing but grass. Moments ago, Wanda, Tyrone and Tandy had entered a doorway to another planet to face the second most powerful being in the universe and his army. They knew the plan. They knew the danger and they knew it would take time.

If Wanda saw anything she didn’t like, she would open a doorway back immediately.

Yelena had surmised Thanos’s sorcerer might use runes against her. The sorcerer had to die. That was where Tandy came into play. Once the sorcerer was dead, Wanda would either open a small gate and retreat or a large gate and the entire army would rush through and fight for the fate of the universe.

This was too important to freeze them out. Wanda would not try to fight Thanos alone unless she had no way of letting them in.

Everything relied on Tyrone and Tandy killing the sorcerer. If they failed, Wanda would be stranded on another planet with Thanos and his army as well as the three stone Thanos did not have.

She had ten minutes. If nothing happened in ten minutes, the sorcerers of Earth would attempt to open large scale portals onto the planet. However, if Wanda couldn’t open a doorway, it was unlikely Strange could open a portal no matter how many mystics he had on his side.

“We should ask Strange to try and open the portal.” Yelena mumbled, growing more nervous by the second.

Bucky said nothing. Everything in him wanted to rush to her but she needed time. This was the plan and he had to stick to it.

At ten minutes and one second, he would put a knife to Strange’s throat and make him open a damn portal.

Steve came up beside him.

“You okay?”

Bucky looked at him and his disbelief was clear.

Steve dropped his head a bit. “Dumb question. You got your head on straight?”

Bucky nodded. “Worry about your vigilantes. Why in the hell did Murdock wear a mask? Everyone here knows who he is.”

Steve shrugged. “Sable’s soldiers don’t.”

Bucky looked toward the silver and black clad army. The soldiers were focused but most had not seen true war, and none had seen the monsters they would be fighting other than in Wanda’s hexes.

“I think they are focused on the mission rather than caring who the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen is.”

Steve could tell Bucky was about to explode. It was why he had approached him.

“When we were kids if you had told me we would be over a hundred years old and married to hot redheads, one of whom isn’t old enough to drink in the U.S. I would have laughed at you. Here we are though, and we didn’t need to be billionaires to pull it off.”

Bucky didn’t laugh at his attempt at humor. He knew what Steve was doing and while he appreciated it, this was not the time. Steve sensed it and his forced smile faded.

“I can’t do it, Steve. I can’t go back to my little girls and tell them their mother isn’t coming home. If I must cut that purple bastard piece by piece a slice at a time I will. The last time I saw him Wanda threw me back to Earth to protect me. I can’t let that happen again. I can’t lose her. I can’t let her down. I can’t let my girls down.”

The desperation in his best friend’s voice cut Steve deeply.

“Take it from someone who has been against her. She doesn’t lose. She took out the Avengers more thoroughly than Ultron and her brother did. She sent us running and she has become much more powerful since then. She is tough and knows how to fight. Have patience. That big scary red garage door is going to open any minute.

Bucky continued to stare at the long flat grass field. What if Wanda was attacked right away and she had opened a door in a panic. What if the doorway was opened in the Sahara Desert or the middle of the Atlantic.

“She was always there.” Bucky said quietly. “Ever since she freed me, we lived each other’s lives… now I look back on my best and worst memories and it is like she was there with me. I remember feeling her holding my hand at Rebecca’s funeral. She was with me when I fell from the train. She was there on every birthday I ever celebrated. Every happy and sad moment when I look back, I remember feeling Wanda by my side. She is the reason I can sleep without nightmares, and it has nothing to do with her powers. She is imprinted in me, Steve. She is a part of my soul. I can’t lose her. I never deserved her though. All the hurt I have caused in this world, and I never did anything to deserve her. I wake up every morning and see three girls who make me complete and think life can’t get any better. What if the universe figured out I don’t deserve them? What if it makes me live without her as punishment for my sins?”

Steve patted him in the back but said nothing. There was nothing to say. He felt the same about Nat. He loved her deeply but the two had never been inside each other’s heads like Bucky and Wanda had. He couldn’t imagine what it would be like if he lost Nat. He had become accustomed to so much so quickly. He woke up with her in his arms, he made coffee and waited for a bright eyed Stannic with bed head to come downstairs and hug him every morning. He would make breakfast while Stannic took care of her horses. Nat would come down and they would talk about whatever home improvement project they would start and be horrible at completing. It was a perfect life, one that he never thought he could have. He planned to ask Nat to marry him as soon as this fight was over.

A part of him wondered what he would do if he never got to ask. He had waited too long with Peggy. Had he waited too long again?

He patted Bucky on the shoulder. “I don’t think the universe works like that. Stay focused, trust her, and don’t do anything stupid.”

Yelena looked towards the man. “How can he? You are taking the stupid with you.”

Steve’s eyes widened and he looked accusingly at Bucky. “You are letting her and Wanda use our lines now? Traitor!”

“If you don’t like me using your so-called lines, go back to your group. After all, I can do this all day.” Yelena told him.

Steve smiled. “Belova… just don’t. “

He began to walk back to his section of vigilantes and SHIELD agents. Ross and Carter were staying with the Widows, but Coulson, May, and the rest of their crew along with the Inhumans were under Steve’s section command. He also had Nat, Sam, and Clint with him. Daisy and Black Bolt would be in front with Scott and Tony and the kid had their own mission. Silver would be field general calling the battle from the middle and directing her army, while Wenwu led his Ten Rings and Wong led the Masters of the Mystic Arts, freeing Strange to help Wanda and defend Tyrone who would hopefully still be alive and have the stones.

Yelena nudged Bucky. He took his gaze from the field and met her eyes.

“She has this. We all do. We will get her out of this alive. Me and you, Bucky. We will keep her alive.”

“Yelena if she doesn’t open this damn gate, we may never see her again and won’t have anything to say about it.”

Yelena shrugged. “You must have faith. I always have faith in my Wanda. She makes miracles happen. When I have thought all hope was lost before Wanda showed me it wasn’t. Prepare yourself. Any second now.”

“How do you…” Bucky’s question died off as a slash of red energy cut across the sky and opened wide.

“Lucky guess.” he mumbled and ran, moving faster than the widows who were doing their best to keep up with him.

When they reached the alien planet the landscape change was stark and disorienting. The sky was duller, the air somehow heavier and smelt of an unidentifiable scent that was unpleasant. It was not Earth.

Wanda was standing in front of Thanos who was rising from the ground. A large army of monsters and Chitauri stood behind him, roaring in a blood lust. Thanos’s large ship hovered not far off the ground. Yelena knew that ship would need to be disabled. Thanos would not hesitate to have it fire on his own army if it meant killing theirs.

That was Stark’s problem.

She was focused on Wanda.

Bucky reached Wanda and ran past her. Yelena feared he was going for Thanos but instead rushed past him and struck the largest monster heading for Wanda and began stabbing it over and over. Yelena and the widows held off using their Chitauri rifles, instead using their rifles. Each one formed up behind Wanda then split into sections, to either side of her Wanda and Thanos, blasting anything that tried to get to her. Then forcing their way into a circle to cut the combatants off.

The widow teams began moving in patterns trying to keep the army herded and spread out.

Scott Lang took out the two metal dragons from the sky, grabbing them and tossing them away from the field. The landscape shook as Daisy Johnson and Black Bolt let out wave after wave of destructive power, annihilating living creatures in front of them.

Tony Stark flew towards the control ship with Spiderman attached to him by a web. He had a job to do. He needed to take that ship and he hoped if the Chitauri were linked to some life support system though it wasn’t likely they would need it here, he could perhaps use it to kill them in some other way. He only hoped the ship was mostly empty. His first job was to take out those guns. The second job was unlikely to happen but he had to try.

For her part, Wanda felt the sudden onset of life forces, lost concentration and stumbled back. She had been attacking Thanos with every offensive spell possible, including throwing probability hexes at the Stones hoping they would avoid her.

Nothing was working. The Power Stone was in a battle with her own power, each one trying to overtake the other. The distraction caused her to take a blast close to her body, throwing her back, her power barely shielding her. She hit the ground and felt her arm break.

She tried to control her breathing through the pain. The onset of life and power was not something for which she had prepared. She felt Scott Lang’s massive presence. She felt the vibrations in the air from Daisy Johnson’s massive quakes she was tearing the Chitauri apart with. She could feel the wind splitting from the sound of Black Bolt’s voice directed at the enemy. She could feel so many life forces she was familiar with. Bucky was there and had just passed her. She felt Yelena the strongest but the other widows she had lived with for so long were there. They were afraid but brave. Anxious but excited. They were ready for a fight and Wanda had just been injured. The pain in her arm was searing and she chanced a glance and saw her forearm was bent at an unnatural angle.

Thanos moved closer and raised his gauntlet.

A bullet hit him in the eye, and he flinched. Yelena was by Wanda’s side.

“Heal!” she ordered.

More bullets hit Thanos. They hadn’t caused damage, but Agatha’s enchanted bullets were defintely causing him to take notice.

Yelena snapped Wanda’s arm back into place and Wanda placed her own hand over it, mending the two haves of the broken bone together.

“Thanks!” Wanda shouted over the roar of the battle.

“Kill him and let’s go home. We have your back.” Yelena told her.

Wanda stood and faced him down. The bullets had stopped, and he was no longer squinting from the accurate shots that struck his eyeballs. Shots only a dozen Red Widows were skilled enough to make. He lifted the Power Stone and struck again but Wanda was ready. She blocked and the two began a standoff again. Red energy versus purple energy, fighting for control.

In the back as Sable’s army began to attack, Agatha appeared next to a white clad female soldier. The soldier looked at her in shock. Agatha rolled her eyes and blasted the girl with her own magic.

Kate Bishop was in her uniform, purple and black with her full complement of Wakandan arrows and a Chitauri rifle on her back and a bow in her hand.

“You are lucky I brought this. You look like an idiot in white and silver.”

“How did you know I was here?”

“Where else would you be? Hold on.”

Agatha grabbed her and the two teleported to the right side of Thanos and Wanda fifty meters away. Agatha pulled an arrow from Kate’s quiver and mumbled an incantation over it.

“I can’t get close enough and my magic won’t help. Hit the purple stone on his glove.” Agatha told her. “Hit it perfectly between the glove and the stone. Knock it loose. Then get beside your sisters and fight where you belong.”

Kate didn’t argue. Despite the chaos surrounding her, despite the gunfire and power being thrown around, she raised her bow, calmed her breathing, and aimed.

In between heartbeats Kate fired.

The arrow struck the side knuckle of the gauntlet perfectly. In an ordinary fight she would have been impressed with herself and celebrated. This was no ordinary fight. Kate Bishop stepped next to Yelena and began firing the arrows she had. She would grab an alien gun when she was out but right now, she vowed she would not leave this planet with an arrow in her quiver.

Yelena noticed Kate beside her immediately.

“I’m sorry, Yelena, but this is where I belong.” Kate told her, not sorry in the least.

Yelena shook her head. She shouldn’t have been surprised and a large part of her wasn’t.

“It is where you belong. I love you, my archer.” she told her, continuing to fire at the oncoming enemies. “Remember whatever happens, I will love you forever.”

The energy explosion that occurred when the stone was forcefully separated from the gauntlet caused Thanos to fall back. Wanda took advantage and poured her energy into him. He began to stand when Agatha landed behind Wanda and transferred her power into the Scarlet Witch. Wanda felt the influx and released more energy than she ever had. Thanos raised the gauntlet still powered by two infinity stones and formed a shield.

“Tyrone, now!” Wanda shouted into her short-wave com, hoping it would work.

Ty appeared and she reached for the Power Stone, levitating it, and opening the case Ty held where the three stones resided. She placed the stone inside while maintaining the assault on Thanos.

Once the Power Stone was secured, Ty disappeared. He knew his job. When Wana had all the stones, if she needed them, he would be by her side, stones at the ready.

Wanda could feel Agatha getting weaker and she couldn’t have it.

“Agatha protect my girls! I’ve got this!”

Agatha flew off, only to be replaced by Doctor Strange and Wenwu. Strange sent magic to grab Thanos’s wrist and Wenwu wrapped the rings around Thanos’s other arm, pulling them apart and opening his chest to attack. Wanda took advantage, unleashing all her power into his torso, hoping to break through to his heart.

Thanos was raised into the air, in obvious pain. Wanda began squeezing the armor on his body and could tell he was being crushed. He may not need to breathe in space but the feeling of one’s torso being crushed was not pleasant and without a heart all creatures eventually died.

“Rain fire!” he yelled.

Wanda looked toward the sky where his giant ship floated like a storm cloud over the battlefield. She waited for the guns to fire over the field, killing everyone.

Her faith in Tony Stark was rewarded once again. Rather than firing, the guns exploded.

“Stark!” Thanos shouted in pain and rage, knowing exactly who was responsible.

“Careful how you speak his name. He is one of my closest friends.” Wanda told him and pushed her magic, keeping him in a vice grip that was slowly closing.

Thanos rage gave him a new determination and he slammed his arms together, sending Strange and Wenwu into each other. The two colliding broke Wanda’s concentration and she let go of her magic so they wouldn’t be killed by her. Thanos hit the ground and rushed towards her, pulling his double-bladed staff from his back. Seeing her moment of hesitation, he jumped towards her and slammed it into her.

The blade went straight through Wanda’s chest and struck the ground behind her, effectively pinning her.

Thanos smiled, seeing her impaled body and knew the fight was over. He could catch the teleporter and end this.

His smile disappeared when Wanda’s body disappeared and he felt her power from behind.

Wanda floated behind him and placed her fingers near his temples. Red waves of magic flowed into his mind, opening him up to her control.

In his head he was on a beautiful planet and stood helplessly by as it disintegrated. He was kept in one place, unable to move as Wanda rooted around his head, pulling his deepest fear to the surface. She made him see Gamora die over and over. She made him face her ghost, her twisted, broken body.

His mind was unlike others though. He was stronger. Before Strange could pry a stone away from his Gauntlet, the man awoke. Wanda fell back and Strange barely raised a shield in time to protect him from Thanos’s strike.

Wanda stood and cone again fired on Thanos. Tony Stark landed next to her and began firing once more.

The two stood side by side once again, the girl who spent half her life hating him and the man who spent half his life hating himself, now pouring everything they had into trying to kill a creature from the Universe’s nightmare.

Thanos disappeared. Wanda and Tony stopped the energy blasts immediately.

“Space Stone.” Wanda told him. “Help the others. I will find him.”

Tony didn’t argue. He flew off into the fray. Thanos’s army had encircled the warriors of Earth. Scott Lang had fallen and regained his regular size. His girlfriend Hope Pym was defending him. Daisy Johnson and Black Bolt were still on the front lines, but they were being overwhelmed and running low on power. Sable’s army tried to hold the far line but were slowly being overcome and pushed back to the middle of the fray. Steve Rogers led his vigilante squad towards the Sable army, identifying them as the weakest point and shoring up the defense.

Wanda looked around desperately for Thanos. She closed her eyes during battle and reached out for the energy emitted by the Power Stones.

She found him near Tyrone at the edge of the battle. Tandy was throwing blades of light into him that were having no effect. Ty grabbed her and the two teleported away before Thanos could reach them.

Wanda appeared in front of Thanos.

“Where are you going? Two stones aren’t enough?” Wanda challenged him.

Thanos raised his blade again and brought them down on Wanda. This time Wanda stopped it with her red glowing hands and held tight, trying to push back against the deadly blades wanting to rip her in two.

Yelena searched the battlefield for Wanda and saw her red glow far away.

“Widows, we will cut though. Form a spear and follow me!”

Before they could form their position a grenade flew into the middle of Yelena’s group, right next to Aino.

“Move!” Yelena screamed and moved towards the greandade, knowing it would do no good. The blasts they were taking were having an effect, even if they weren’t being punctured. Nat had talked about these grenades. Steve Rogers had fallen on one with his shield and it still blasted him out of a building.

Now Aino was right next to it.

Before Yelena could rush to the girl and jump on the grenade Antha had jumped on top of the grenade and covered it with her vibranium clad body.

Yelena’s eyes widened. The world moved in slow motion. They felt a pressure wave, but it did not knock them off their feet. She saw Antha’s body lift from the ground a few inches, just enough to know there was light underneath it.

Rushing over to Antha, Yelena retracted her helmet as Oksana and Charlize arrived.

Antha’s eyes were wide open. She wasn’t breathing. Her chest had been crushed by the force of the blow but the grenade was still tightly clutched in her hand from pushing it deep into her body to minimize the blast radius.

“Antha?” Aino whimpered, kneeling next to her and retracted her helmet.

Yelena looked at Oksana who shook her head. Antha was gone. Yelena activated Antha’s helmet to protect her body and knew she had to move.

“Form a spear formation!” Yelena yelled and the widows obeyed. They could cry later. Now they had a war to win and a witch to get to.

Bucky raced past the widows cutting through the battlefield and leading the way with a vibranium sword in one arm and a Chitauri rifle in the other. The widows formed behind him, watching flanks, and rushed into the swarm of heroes and enemies in front of them.

Wanda herself was nearly cut in two. She had felt Antha’s death. Despair and then anger raged inside her. She stood taller and then swung, cracking Thanos’s blade in half. She tossed one end into his body. The blade buried itself in his chest, but he pulled it out, blood spilling after him but showed no signs of slowing down.

Another pain. Another Widow had gone down. She knew they were coming closer, and Bucky was leading the way. Yelena was by his side. Yelena was still alive, and she felt… Kate! Kate was here!

Another fallen. Monsters screams, breaking bones, life forces, souls, snuffed out in a second.

Wanda began throwing balls of chaos magic towards Thanos, backing him. She looked to the ground he stood, and it turned to water, causing him to drop and take a blast to the head.

“I’m going to kill you! I’m going to make it last! You will suffer!” Wanda screamed.

She didn’t see Antonia step in front of a shot meant to kill Bea. She did feel Antonia’s head twist around and snapped her neck when the shot hit her head. She felt Antonia die.

The pain of Antonia’s death took her to her knees, and she screamed.

Thanos took a broken end of his weapon and brought it down on Wanda attempting to stab her once again from above.

Bucky stopped his arm. The two were in a standoff and Thanos was finding the super soldier’s strength challenging his. It shouldn’t have been possible but at this moment, Bucky Barnes was holding him off.

Then Yelena jumped on his back and shoved a vibranium dagger into his ear. He stumbled back and Bucky fell on top of him, taking the dagger Yelena tossed him and stabbing the monster over and over. The blade went in but was having little effect. He tossed the blade back to Yelena and struck him over and over with his left vibranium fist.

Yelena grabbed the gauntlet and stuck the blade in between the blue stone and the glove. She leaned back, trying to wedge it free. Agatha added her energy to blade and the stone came free. Yelena grabbed it and stepped away calling Ty. Ty and Tandy appeared, and the stone was secured.

One stone left. Before she could return to it, Thanos had stood and tossed Bucky off. He moved to attack but Wanda was up once more and unleashing hell into him. He was blasted away, and she flew after him. Stephen and three more sorcerers landed to protect the Widows’ flank.

It was on what could be called the western front that Ava pulled her team back from the end of the spear formation and covered their retreat towards Wanda’s location.

Ava stayed behind, protecting her girls. She saw the beast coming.

It was larger than any monster she had seen yet and was trampling everything in its path. Ten Ring soldiers were being crushed by it and Ava knew it would be running over her team in seconds.

She stood tall, firing shot after shot. Many struck its eyes, but it did not slow, and she braced herself for the impact. Her suit would not protect her from this but she was not afraid.

A portal opened behind her, and a hand grabbed her from behind and threw her into it. Rather than following, Wong turned and sliced the legs off the creature.

Ava found herself near Wanda and watched Wong as if it were in slow motion. He had sliced the creature’s legs off with a magic whip of some sort. He had saved her and her team from being trampled.

He couldn’t stop the monster’s head with its long protruding horn from falling onto him and stabbing his torso.

Ava stood motionless, trying to understand. It must have been an illusion. She waited for him to get up.

He wasn’t getting up. His eyes were open and that damn black horn was inside him.

When the blood poured from his mouth she screamed.

“Let’s go!” Michiko shouted.

Ava stood in place and Michiko slapped her vibranium covered head with her hand. “Move! Your team needs you! He saved your life! Make it count!”

Ava swallowed, put her emotions behind a box and closed it tight. She dropped her rifle, pulled the Chitauri spear from her back and ran for her team and Wanda. She felt numb but numb was better than devastated and hopeless. Numb she could work with.

Across the battlefield heroes fought and died. Matt Murdock barely had time to push Jessica Jones away from a spear coming for her back but had no time to get himself out of the way. He took the spear through his heart. Jessica broke the weapon and shoved the end of it into the Chitauri soldier’s head, but it was too late for Matt. He had turned down the Wakandan offer of vibranium weave, complaining it would slow him down. It made no sense to Jessica, but now in the middle of all this death and destruction she wondered if he knew exactly what he was doing. She could ponder on it later. Jessica didn’t have many friends and one of them had just died for her.

Jessica picked up an alien rifle from the ground and continued the battle.

Widows surrounded Thanos and Wanda once again. The monsters they were picking off were becoming more numerous as the Earth’s warriors perished. Black Bolt had been overrun and was dead. The less powerful Inhumans were falling.

Daisy had nearly collapsed and pulled back by Coulson and May. They were stuck in the middle of the battle with Sable’s soldiers and Sable herself. The Wild Pack was with them, but they were surrounded, and the gap was closing.

Captain America and Natasha Romanoff fought back-to-back, both covered in black alien blood over their black outfits. Rogers triangular sharp shield was dripping in blood. The Wakandans were to the right of them. T’Challa and Shuri stood in the middle of the group, taking on those who slipped by the outer defenses. Clint Barnes covered them with a spear and Sam fired an alien weapon into the oncoming hoards. Their area was becoming smaller and soon they would be fighting hand to hand. Not even Steve could survive that for long.

Danny Rand was slaughtered by the talon of one of the beasts.

Wenwu fought with his men but kept an eye on Wanda. Should she fall, he knew he would be the last and only chance they would have but he was tiring as well. This had to end quickly. Ten Thousand enemies had been cut down to around five thousand but that was still a force to be reckoned with as their own numbers fell.

Wanda had Thanos on his heels. With only one stone he was not as powerful as he had been. For the first time she began to believe she could beat him without all the stones. She could make it out of this alive.

Then he lifted his gauntlet and the Soul Stone glowed.

Wanda paused, ready to form a defense but nothing happened.

Thanos was smiling and looked to the battlefield to the right of them.

The dead of Thanos’s army were rising. The Soul Stone was bringing them back to life.

“No.” Wanda whispered.

Yelena stood by her side and cursed in Russian. Off all the stones she had feared, the Soul Stone was the least.

Now it would doom them all.

Unless Wanda took it but even then, she would have to use it… use them all…

Wanda’s thoughts were the same as Yelena’s. The battle had only lasted thirty minutes at most but already the forces of Earth were depleted. Even if she could kill Thanos without the stones, to stop all of them she would have to change reality and forever damage the natural order, tear the universe apart if she didn’t concentrate enough.

There was another way. She could end it with a thought and a snap of her fingers. She had been trying to get the remaining stones the entire battle and had almost succeeded. The one stone he still had would doom them. She needed that stone.

Thanos grinned. “You should have taken the Stone when I offered it. Two lives would have saved all these. I am not without mercy. Surrender, give me the stones and only half will die. If not, I will kill them all and take the stones after my army rips you and your friends apart. How many are dead? How many of your precious widows lay dead on the field?”

Sixteen. Wanda had felt each one of them die. Several were injured and would die if this weren’t finished quickly.

Wanda eyes turned so red Thanos tore his eyes away from her and lifted his hand to shield himself.

Wanda let more chaos magic flow into her than ever before. A crown appeared on her head, and she raised her hands. She became the personification of chaos.

Five stones flew from the case in Ty’s hands and embedded themselves into the crown on her head. She reached out and the gauntlet on Thanos’s hand shattered. The final stone was free and attached itself to her crown.

For the first time, Thanos felt fear. She had shown that she wasn’t willing to do what it took to win when she allowed him to have the Soul Stone. Now she was showing him another side. This wasn’t a twenty-year-old human female facing him.

This was the true Scarlet Witch.

“You will die if you use them.” he told her, his voice trembling, knowing his end was near. She had the conviction he accused her of not having. She may not have been willing to sacrifice her children, but she would not hesitate to sacrifice herself. She had slowly taken his stone and had finally succeeded.

Different strands of colors lit up Wanda’s body. Her face became luminescent and the power in her veins was shining through. She looked him in the eyes and smiled, then…

She snapped her fingers.

The monsters on the battlefield were turned to dust, gone in the blink of an eye.

The humans looked toward Wanda whose glowing form was now face to face with Thanos who had dropped to his knees in disbelief and despair.

She placed her glowing hand on his head, and he began to burn. His body was slowly engulfed in fire, and he screamed in agony as his body turned to ash.

Then he was gone and there was silence on the field.

The ones still living looked at her in awe. She was a goddess in that moment, the power of the universe coursing through her veins.

Then the power was gone. The stones flew from her crown off into the universe and she was left a twenty-year-old girl in a black tattered dress and old combat boots. Her face and arms were burned and she collapsed. Her husband and Yelena caught her before her head could hit the ground.

She was barely breathing. One eye was burnt to a cinder and the other was dimming. She tried to talk but couldn’t.

Then she took a last breath and stopped moving.

---

Yelena cried out in pain, a sharp sound of agony that tore through the hearts of the ones left on the battlefield.

Then the only sound was the flames of armored cars on the battlefield.

Agatha flew to Wanda’s side.

She pushed a devastated Yelena aside and took a knife from her skirt. She pulled out a small bundle of branches from the same pocket, then cut a lock of hair from Wanda and one of her own, wrapping it around the branches. She cut her hand and cut Wanda’s as well soaking the talisman hair with both their blood.

“What are you doing?” Yelena asked.

Agatha winked at her. “You take care of our girls. I’ll be watching over you, always. I’m going to take care of the ones who crossed over. Her story isn’t done here. The universe needs the Scarlet Witch, and the widows need their leaders. Her daughters need their mother. All three of her daughters.”

Agatha began to chant and the wind on the alien plant picked up. Purple magic engulfed her and Wanda and those on the field covered their eyes from the sudden gusts.

The purple energy surrounding Wanda and Agatha turned red.

The burns on Wanda’s face and body began to heal. Her eyes glowed red as Agatha’s turned purple.

As Wanda healed, Agatha worsened.

Yelena understood. This was a spell that there was no coming back from. She held Agatha from behind and the widows gathered around her, as many as possible touching Agatha with a hand, kneeling by their beloved aunt’s side and surrounding her with their love.

Agatha smiled as her eye burned, her skin was covered in scars and her breathing became labored.

She took a final breath.

Wanda’s last sight was of Yelena and Bucky’s tearful faces. She tried to tell them she was sorry, that she loved them, to tell the twins she was sorry, but she couldn’t speak.

Then she was here. She stood in ankle deep water wearing a white dress. In front of her was a waterfall and beside her were many familiar faces. The wild around them was a paradise. The temperature was perfect, the breeze gentle and the glow behind the waterfall called to her.

“Where are we?” a familiar voice asked.

Wanda saw Antha standing beside her. Other widows were with her as well. Wanda understood. They were all dead.

Antha was more radiant than Wanda had ever seen her. Antonia was there as well. She looked sad as well but also happy.

Ana.

Ana was smiling so serenely. She looked to the waterfall. “My parents are on the other side. I can feel them.” She turned to Wanda. “My heart doesn’t hurt anymore. I love you. I will always love you. Thank you for giving me the life I had.”

She then ran into the waterfall and disappeared.

So many of the widows they had only recently rescued were here. They hadn’t any time to enjoy their new lives but rushed into the cascading water discovering what was beyond.

“Antonia?” Wanda asked, seeking out one of her closets sisters who had been with her the longest.

She hugged Wanda.

“My head doesn’t hurt anymore.” she told Wanda, emotion thick in her voice. “It will be all right, Wanda. My mother is waiting for me. I can feel her. Thank Lerato for loving me. She was the best thing that ever happened in my life. Take care of her.”

“You will all be alright, Antonia. All of you will be. You have love waiting for you.” A new voice but one very familiar to Wanda spoke up.

Pietro walked out of the waterfall.

Wanda didn’t doubt for one second that it was him. She could feel the man she shared a soul with for so long.

“Pietro.”

Wanda threw herself into his arms and cried when she felt how solid he was.

“You came for me.” she whispered gratefully. “I knew you wouldn’t leave me.”

Pietro pulled back.

“No, sister. I have come for them. They have people waiting for them. They have earned paradise. I found you don’t have to be so good to get in. I got in. I didn’t have to sneak in or anything. Now I have come to take your sisters home.”

Wanda felt her eyes welling up with tears.

“Where am I to go?” Wanda asked, feeling dread invading her peace.

Pietro kissed her on the forehead. “It still isn’t your time no matter how much you seem to ask for it you crazy girl. I’ll see you again one day, sister. We will walk through that door together. You did good. I love you, Wanda. I love you so much. We will all be waiting for you. Take your time. I bet you never thought you would hear me say that. Tell your girls Uncle Pietro loves them.”

Pietro walked into the waterfall and the remaining girls followed him, smiling at her before they stepped into the cascading water. They all looked so peaceful it broke Wanda’s heart not to join them. She longed to hold her girls once again. She longed to cuddle with Yelena and wake up with Bucky, but the light was so tempting and powerful, she took a step in that direction.

“Sorry Sabrina, but not today.”

Wanda slowly turned around.

Agatha was there.

“What are you doing here?” Wanda asked.

“Taking your ticket on today’s ride to the great beyond. I could use a vacation and paradise sounded nice. I admit I wasn’t sure where I would wind up when the reaper caught up to me. I never thought I would make it here.”

Wanda took that in. “Taking my ticket”

“Yep you are going to catch another ride one day but not today. I gave my life force to jumpstart yours. You aren’t the only one who read the Book of Vishanti. Don’t worry. It won’t make you immortal, but it did heal you. You are about to wake up, but I wanted to talk to you first. Say goodbye.”

Wanda shook her head. “No… no! Not you! You can’t do this! Take it back! I’ll reverse it when I wake up.”

Agatha chuckled. “So stubborn. You can’t reverse it. I know how to cover my tracks especially from a witch I taught. You couldn’t even if you could break my spell. It isn’t just you who would die. You have another life depending on you, just like the twins.”

Agatha looked at Wanda’s midsection. Wanda followed her gaze and saw a small glowing light inside her.

“What is that… that’s impossible.”

“That’s a tough kid. She is gonna be a beauty. She is also going to have a hell of a lot of power and will need her mama to help keep it under control. It’s a testament to her strength that she has survived this battle. She is going to need you and her papa and her sisters and her crazy Aunt Yelena and Aunt Kate.”

Wanda felt the life in her, but she didn’t understand. “This shouldn’t be possible. How could it happen?”

Agatha sighed. “You see when a very old super soldier and a junior witch love each other very much… do I have to continue? Your mother covered this with you, right? If not, Eleanor can explain it. Trust me, you do not want me to give you the sex talk.”

“I haven’t had… I thought I was barren.”

“You are the personification of chaos. The only sure thing about you my girl, is nothing is impossible.”

Wanda took a moment then looked at the paradise around her. This didn’t feel right. So many had died, and she was getting a second chance.

Agatha placed a hand on her shoulder.

“This isn’t right, Agatha. When we first met, you said the Ancient One told you I would save your life.”

Agatha smiled fondly.

“You did, kid. I never knew what it was like to be loved until I met you and the girls. I never felt needed. I never knew what it was like to love someone else or even myself. I was dead until I met you, Wanda. Kid I would die for you a thousand times. You didn’t just save my life, you gave me one. You and my girls are the one thing I am proud of during my whole time on Earth.”

“The girls… how can I look them in the eyes… so many died but I lived.” Wanda whispered.

“You look them in the eyes because they need you to. They need you, Wanda. You are the glue that holds them all together. You always have been. You rescued Yelena, you brought them together, you comfort them so they can sleep, you hold them, you laugh and cry with them. We knew going in that lives would be lost. Everyone knew that. The ones left behind are going to need you.”

Agatha hugged her tightly then began walking towards the waterfall.

“Where are the others who died?” Wanda asked her.

“They all have their own paradises. We all have our own paths and ours will cross again. Thank you for loving me, Wanda. Thank you for letting me love you.”

Agatha turned from her and walked towards the waterfall. Before she stepped inside, she turned and made a request.

“Please don’t name her after me. No kid in today’s world should have to be called Agatha.”

Agatha walked through the water and was gone.

Wanda screamed when she woke, being held tightly in Bucky’s arms.

She saw dozens of widows surrounding her. All of them had tears in their eyes. She looked to Yelena on her right, holding Agatha’s body.

“No.” Wanda cried, knowing what she would find but not prepared for it.

“She knew what she was doing, Wanda.” Yelena told her.

Wanda reached over and caressed Agatha’s ruined face and then kissed her forehead.

“Thank you.” she whispered.

Wanda stood and looked out over the battlefield littered with bodies.

“Who?” she asked Steve as he approached.

“You are alive.” He said with obvious relief in his voice. “From over there it looked like you…”

Steve saw Agatha’s body and crossed himself.

“Who?” Wanda asked again.

“About three hundred of Sables soldiers. Danny Rand and Matt Murdock. I’m not sure about the other groups. I know many of the Inhumans fell. Everybody took losses.”

Wanda looked at Yelena.

“I saw Antonia, Antha and Ana.” she told her sister.

“You saw them die?”

“I felt them die. I saw them just now… there were others. Hayden, Beth…”

“We took our hits.” Yelena stopped her. “We lost sisters. We knew we would. It could have been worse.” Yelena said in a subdued voice.

Wanda saw Kate next to her. Her face was covered in black blood, making it obvious she had been fighting up close with an enemy and she had won. Kate didn’t look like a bubbly teen playing superhero today. Today she was a warrior.

Despite her anguish, Wanda felt proud of her.

A strong spike of grief hurt her soul. She saw Lerato on her knees, being held by her sisters. She was holding Antonia’s wedding ring in her hand.

Wanda kissed her forehead and then found a new source of pain.

Ava was on her knees with Sable at her side next to a body.

Wong.

Wong was dead.

Wanda rushed to him and fell beside Ava.

“He died saving me. He saved me but he couldn’t save himself. He died for me.” Ava told Wanda.

Sonia and Wanda wrapped Ava up in their arms and pulled her to her feet.

Wanda took in the destruction and calmed herself.

“Triage. Sorcerers can begin taking our fallen home. I will heal those who shouldn’t be moved yet. It is time to leave this Hell.”

It took Wanda four hours to heal all those she could. She was exhausted and grieving. Despite her protests, Bucky and Yelena would not leave her side. The three finally walked off into her doorway behind the last stretcher carrying a healed soldier was gone. No one was left behind.

Wanda took a last look of the desolate planet and then stepped onto Earth. She would see this planet again in her nightmares but she would never step foot on its soil again.

She tried to tell herself it could be worse but could only focus on the ones who came back in body bags despite knowing they had found peace.

At least until her twins ran onto the field. They had escaped their watchers and rushed into Wanda’s arms. She held them tighter than she ever had. The three girls broke down in tears while Bucky held them all.

Yelena watched the scene with Kate from a distance.

“Does your mother know?”

“I called her an hour ago. She knew what I was going to do. She told me she suspected but knew she couldn’t stop me so she just prayed for the first time in years. She just wants me home. She wants all of us home.”

“You scared me.” Yelena told her.

“I couldn’t stay out of it, Yelena.”

Yelena nodded. “I know. It is one reason why I love you so much. You shot an Infinity Stone out of a monster’s gauntlet with an enchanted arrow, and you haven’t turned seventeen yet. You are setting the bar high for the rest of your life.”

“As long as I have you in it, I’m good. I love you so much. I know we are young but I swear I am never letting you go.”

“I’m never going to let you go either. You are my heart, Kate. You are my equal. Maybe you are a little more badass than me. I could not have made that shot, but one day I will take up archery. I will have a good teacher.”

Twenty-four hours later, the widows were back in their mansion. The dead were being prepared in Sokovia to be laid to rest in the widows’ sacred ground. With Agatha gone, Wanda would lead the ceremony to honor the fallen.

The house was full of tears and grief. The grief was suffocating. Imi and her fellow counselors were working all hours of the day.

The twins refused to leave Wanda’s side and followed her from room to room as she checked on the girls constantly.

Wanda expected to be blamed. She expected Ava and Lerato to hate her.

She was surprised they didn’t but Wanda still blamed herself. If only she had gotten the stones from Thanos sooner, been more powerful and ripped the ones he had on his gauntlet away from him at once, no one would have died. She had tried but she should have tried harder, channeled more power, done something.

No one else saw it that way. They saw Wanda die. They knew she did the best she could.

The next few days were full of funerals. Not only would the lost widows be laid to rest, but they would be attending funerals for Sable’s fallen soldiers, Wong’s funeral at Kamar Taj, several funerals of Wakandans and Wenwu had invited them to honor those of his who had fallen. The funerals would be staggered considering many of the same people would be attending the same funerals.

The funerals of the widows were the most devasting. Wanda had told Lerato what Antonia had told her and she hoped it gave the widowed girl some comfort. Stacy tried to sing at the funerals but she broke down and couldn’t continue. Instead, the widows began singing for her.

There was one pressing issue that raised its head when Wanda vomited the morning after Antha’s funeral. She had yet to tell Bucky or anyone, afraid that the baby would not live due to the damage she sustained during the battle. The baby was telling her it was time her father and aunt knew.

She had called Shuri and asked her to come to the Mansion. Now she lay in the med bay of the bunker, being hand scanned by Shuri and having Oksana run her blood through some box like device Shuri had brought. Yelena, Bucky, and the twins were there giving her silent support. Wanda had told Bucky and Yelena of the conversation she had with Agatha when they were both between life and death and while they weren’t happy she kept it a secret for so long, they understood why.

“You are pregnant.” Shuri announced, smiling for the first time in days. “It looks as if you are ten weeks along.”

Wanda asked the question she had wondered and dreaded and knew Bucky wanted to know but would never ask.

“Is the baby… because of magic?”

Shuri looked at the result on the screen atop the box where her blood had gone into.

“If you want to call Sergeant Barnes magic, then yes, it is magic. The babies DNA is a mix of yours and his. The only magic involved in making this baby was between the sheets.”

Wanda couldn’t understand. “How did the baby… I died. How…”

“I don’t know.” Shuri admitted. “I don’t understand a lot of what happened Wanda. I don’t know how the Infinity Stones work despite studying the Mind Stone for months. Maybe they protected the baby as long as possible, maybe your magic did. What I do know is from my scans and the blood work, the two of you will be having a healthy baby. If you were told it was a girl by Agatha, I have no reason to doubt it.”

“We are going to have a little sister to take care of?” Nadeja asked.

“Yeah, Angel. Her name will be Rebecca Antonia Barnes. You two okay with that?”

Nadeja nodded excitedly. “We will take care of her. So will Storm. If she has magic like you, she will need help. We will have rules for her like no leaving her body.”

“She also can’t float without a pillow underneath her. No magic without Mama there. No flying by herself. We are also going to need bigger rooms.” Nela added. “Maybe we can build our own house. I know the perfect spot. I run there all the time.”

“I’m not changing diapers.” Nadeja told her. “I have to take Storm on walks already and Nela has to change litter box.:

“Can we call her Becca?” Nela asked.

“We are becoming very good at reading and numbers. We will be able to teach her. Erik will have a friend his own size. This is very good.” Nadeja added.

“We can teach her to tilt her head and make her eyes glow!” Nela said excitedly. “I can make her flower tiaras!”

Wanda smiled at their exuberance. She had been worried about their reaction but it seemed her worries were unfounded.

Bucky kissed her.

“Thank you.” he whispered.”

The next month was still as difficult but getting better.

At first Ava had withdrawn into herself and spent much time at her home but was starting to regain some of her spirit. Stephen had given her the ring Wong had bought but never had the chance to give her. She wore it on a chain around her neck. She began spending more time with her teams and the others and had girls’ nights in her room at her compound. Her and Sable had grown closer. Wanda still visited her at night to help her sleep, but it was becoming less needed. Lerato was beginning to sleep on her own as well.

Aino and Staci had moved to New Zealand with Aino’s parents in a new three-bedroom house. Despite the extra bedroom the two girls still insisted on sharing a room. Wanda put a doorway into their closet so they could walk into the mansion at any time, but she hoped they wouldn’t use it often. The Andersons were their ticket to something resembling a normal life. They would still attend therapy but had also decided to go to school for a while. It was agreeing with Stannic and perhaps they would like it. Maybe they would choose a life without violence.

Two months later, Wanda and Yelena each sat on a deck chair by the pool. They were watching the widows enjoy a game of pool volleyball.

Wanda was showing and had even begun glowing now that the morning sickness had gone for the most part. The house was getting to some semblance of new order. Relationships between new widows were growing and though the house was changed forever by the loss of Ana, Antha, and Antonia, it bonded the original widows closer, and they made it more of a point to show love to the new girls who stayed..

“Kate is graduating early.” Yelena said.

“That is good?”

Yelena nodded. “After everything she has gone through, she would have never fit into high school. She will spend summer with us then maybe take a year before going to college. I will need you to open permanent door from our room to an apartment in Boston when she does. She has decided on Harvard. I believe I will take some classes as well. Mika will set me up with documents. A little hair color, a pair of glasses and shorter hair no one will know me as Yelena Belova. I will be Jane Nobody and attend classes with my girlfriend.”

Wanda doubted that would happen. Yelena would need a veil to cover her identity. Two weeks after the battle, Scott Lang and Hope Van Dyne announced to the media what had happened and showed video to the world even writing a tell all book. Tony Stark had confirmed the story after it came out and given video evidence as well. A list of the dead was also given to the media so the world could honor the fallen.

Tony had asked her and Yelena before he confirmed the story, and they agreed that the world would know what these people gave up ensuring they would not have war brought to their planet. She just asked her name to be kept out of it.

So of course, the story of Wanda Maximoff and the Red Widows became more popular than ever because of the story of Wanda and the widows battle against Thanos. The widow’s death, Wanda dying but being saved by a hero named Agatha Harkness, the death of the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen and Danny Rand and a sorcerer the world was not aware of named Wong. Stories of Yelena Belova and Bucky Barnes attacking Thanos with blades made the two even more widely known, and Bucky’s reputation as a formerly mind controlled assassin and Wanda Maximoff’s husband was giving way to that of a superhero, like his friend Captain America who had assembled the Avengers once again for the epic battle against the aliens that attacked New York.

Not much had changed for Wanda. She was still revered by the world as a hero and feared by governments who were not friends with Sokovia.

Next month would be the wedding of Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanoff. The clouds were beginning to dissipate, and the sun was slowly starting to shine on the widows’ lives once again.

Wanda felt guilty for how happy she already was. Feeling her child growing inside her, knowing her two daughters were as excited as she was, and Bucky’s warm and loving presence was the greatest feeling she had in a very long time. Though grief crowded the moments, it couldn’t completely cover the wonder she felt when she looked in the mirror or ran her hand over her swelling stomach. She would remember the looks of peace and joy of her sisters before they walked through the waterfall to the love beyond.

Nela and Nadeja would sleep on either side of her, keeping a hand on her stomach, determined they wanted to feel the first time the baby kicked.

“You are going to need a better disguise. Kate Bishop’s name was left out of Scott Lang’s fabulous tell all, but she is well known, and it wouldn’t take much to connect her to the female archer also known as Hawkeye that fought with the Red Widows at the battle.”

Yelena shrugged. “The world should know. When she is ready it will be known. She will be my wife one day so it will be known regardless. She deserves to be honored.

“Sasha is going to put all this in a book one day, I am sure that Kate will figure prominently. Sasha is a born writer. You know her Red Widow welcome manual is over five hundred thousand words now. She is starting another volume now that Thanos is dead. We will see what is next. I think it may be a happy story. No skinning knives or toolboxes involved.

The two sat in silence for a while, enjoying the laughter of the girls around them.

“Did you ever imagine it would be like this?” Yelena asked. “We wanted to free the widows. Now we have saved the universe. I have parents and little brother crawling around and strong woman I love so much. We have huge home and sisters everywhere. You have little twins and a baby on the way. Stannic has family. We have a ten-year-old girl running around the house. Did you ever dream this?”

“No.” Wanda admitted. “Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine this. I wish the others could be here, but I saw them when they went to the other side. They were happy, Yelena. I know they would have stayed but I feel better knowing it’s not the end.”

“It is only our beginning.” Yelena said, taking Wanda’s hand. “I love you, sister.”

“I love you, sister. Till the end of the line, right?”

Yelena chuckled. “Yes, till the end of the line. Steve and Bucky will be jealous if we keep stealing their lines.”

Before Wanda could respond the intercom went off and Rachel spoke.

“Attention Widows, Team Alpha, you are up. Secret Agent Man has confirmed intel of the Sansom Group planning a shipment out of London in five hours. Suit up ladies. Reaper 1 is ready. This could be the lead we need to their big customer. Tech team is needed to prep drones for preflight. Time to save some scared kids and track these assholes to their headquarters.”

Yelena stood.

“Time for Red 1 to do her job, lead my team to glorious victory and be big damn heroes.”

“You are calling Kate?” Wanda guessed.

“Yes. I need my Hawkeye watching my back. I did put her on my team. I’ll watch out for her.”

Wanda smirked. “She really has you whipped, doesn’t she?”

“You have no idea.”

Yelena walked off leaving Wanda alone.

It was hard to take in. She never imagined anything close to this. At best she pictured a couple hundred girls living in a concrete bunker somewhere, getting by on canned food and filtered water.

The cost had been high. Pain and death had been part of their journey both given and received. They were still here though. They were still the Red Widows. She was still Wanda Maximoff, but they were also something more. Something different. She wasn’t sure what that was yet, but she couldn’t wait to find out.

She felt the kick and her eyes widened.

“Nadeja, Nela! Come quickly but don’t run!”

The two girls jumped out of the hot tub and speed walked towards their Mama. She placed their hands on her belly and watched their eyes widen.

“Go tell Papa.” Wanda told them.

The girls walked quickly off to the library in search of their father. As the widows exited the pool and gathered round to watch her baby kick, Wanda caught a glimpse of the water. It shimmered for a moment and for the briefest second, she saw Agatha in its reflection winking at her.

The crowd broke free as Yelena and Bucky came in, placing hands on her stomach.

It was one of the best moments of her life. The perfect end to the Red Widow’s Welcome Manual.