Maya Stark

Chapter 145: The Scarlett Witch

When Strange said he knew where Wanda was, I wasn't expecting him to take us to a field of trees and flowers in the middle of nowhere. When I stepped through the portal, the smell of something sweet was immediate. It was beautiful and green, and my heart ached. Wanda has been here the entire time. She's been living in a paradise like this, away from the madness of New York. Away from me. Out of reach and out of contact. It was beautiful, but it hurt.

'Let's go,' Strange said as he walked through the portal.

I take one last look around before I follow Strange in the direction he seems to think is the right one. A shock rolls down my spine and I stop for a split second, but the only thing that moved was the wind. I start to follow Strange again, pushing the feeling aside.

When I see Wanda, she's clipping some of the branches off of a tree. Her hair is braided, something Nat taught the both of us to do, and I smile slightly when I see her. She's still Wanda. And damn did I miss her.

'Apples, right?' Strange said when we reached her.

Wanda is taken by surprise before she turns toward Strange. 'Eventually.'

Then Wanda saw me, and a new look came over her face. Something I couldn't place.She quickly smiled. The same smile she gave me during the battle with Thanos. I smile back. The same smile I gave her back then. Wanda hands Strange the branch she had in her hand, and he smelled the flower.

'Smells—'

'Sweet,' Wanda nods.

'I was gonna say real.'

'It's all very real. Thanks. I put the magic behind me.'

'So, I can see,' Strange nods, looking around.

'Well, I knew sooner or later you'd show up, wanting to discuss what happened at Westview. I made mistakes and people were hurt.'

'But you put things right in the end and that was never in doubt,' I said, smiling. 'We aren't here to talk about Westview.'

'Then what are you here for?'

'We need your help,' Strange said, suddenly changing the atmosphere to serious.

Wanda sighs and takes the branch from Strange and moves to pick up the others. 'With what?'

'What do you know about the Multiverse?'

'The Multiverse,' Wanda said, throwing the branches into a crate as we kept walking. 'Vis had his theories. He believed it was real. And, dangerous.'

'Well, he was right about both. We found a girl who can somehow travel across it but she's being pursued.'

'Pursued by who?'

'Some kind of demon. One that covets her power for itself. Now we've taken her to Kamar-Taj and... We've got our defense, but... We could use an Avenger.'

'You have an Avenger,' Wanda said, nodding to me.

'Wanda,' I say, 'we both know I work better with a team. I'm not as strong as you are. Too human. This kid could use more help.'

'There are other Avengers,' Wanda then said.

'Yeah, but given the choice between the archer with a mohawk, and several bug-themed crimefighters, or... one of the most powerful magic wielders on the planet, it's an easy call. Come to Kamar-Taj. We'll get you back on a lunch box.'

I let out a low laugh at that.

'What of you brought America here?' Wanda said.

'Here?' Strange said.

Oh. This isn't good.

It was immediate for me. The tingle shooting down my spine, screaming at me with blasting sirens. Strange didn't say her name. How did she know America?

'Yeah,' Wanda continued. 'I know what it's like. To be on your own, hunted for abilities you never wanted. I can protect her.'

When Strange stopped walking, I knew he noticed too. I tried to refuse to believe Wanda was chasing a child to kill them. But Strange glanced at me, his eyes crinkled. He gave me an apologetic look and that's when I knew for sure. This wasn't really Wanda. This was some demon who had taken hold of Wanda. And things just got a lot more serious.

'You never told me her name, did you?'

'No,' Strange shook his head. 'No, I didn't.'

'You know, the Hex was the easy part. The Lying, not so much.'

Wanda lifts her hand, swirling with red flames. Suddenly everything is red – the trees are dead, and the sweet smell disappears. Wanda was no longer Wanda, and a red book appeared in front of her. This, however, was a Wanda and I could never beat her.

'The Darkhold,' Strange whispers, staring at the book with pure terror.

'You've heard of the Darkhold?'

What the hell is a Darkhold? Strange looks petrified. Wanda looks fascinated. And I'm just fucking confused. I wish I was at home with Morgan and Pep. I should never have come.

'I know it's the Book of the Damned. And that it corrupts everything and everyone that it touches. I wonder what it's done to you.'

'The Darkhold only showed me the truth. Everything I lost... can be mine again.'

'What do you want with America?' Strange asked. 'What do you want with the multiverse?'

'I'm going to leave this reality and go to one where I can be with my children,' Wanda said.

I feel my stomach drop at the thought of losing someone else. Losing Wanda. Everyone from the Avengers keeps leaving. I can't handle it.

'Wanda, your children aren't real. You created them using magic.'

'That's what every mother does,' Wanda said, shrugging. 'If you knew... there was a universe, where you were happy, would you wanna go?'

Wanda looks at me but Strange answers before I can even think about what she was really saying. I didn't know she had children.

'I am happy.'

'I know better than most of what self-deception looks like.'

'What you're doing is a flagrant violation of every natural law. If you take that child's power, she won't survive.'

'I don't relish hurting anyone, Stephen. But she's not a child. She's a supernatural being. Such raw power could wreak havoc on this, and other worlds. Her sacrifice would be for the greater good.'

I couldn't wrap my mind around what she was saying. She didn't sound like Wanda anymore.

'Well, you can kiss the lunchbox goodbye because that's the kind of justification our enemies use.'

'Is it the one you used? When you gave Thanos the Time Stone?'

'That was war, and I did what I had to do.'

'You break the rules and become a hero. I do it and I become the enemy. That doesn't seem fair.'

'He did that to save me, Wanda,' I jump in, finally snapping out of my own head. 'I was being tortured and he saved me. America is just like us. She didn't ask for what she was given. Would you kill me if it meant you could leave?'

'You don't know anything of your power,' Wanda snapped. 'Our destinies are intertwined, Maya. You know better than most that when you lose enough, you lose your mind.'

'What happens now?' Strange asks Wanda.

'Return to Kamar-Taj and prepare to hand over America Chavez by sundown. Peacefully. After that... you'll never see me again and this will all be over'

'And if we don't?' I ask.

Wanda's eyes harden when she turns to me. 'Then it won't be Wanda who comes for her. It will be the Scarlet Witch.'

Wanda walks away, the book trailing behind her.

'I have got to start saying no,' I turn to Strange.