A scarlet rose in the witches garden

Chapter 5

It's their fourth day of traveling together.
They open their eyes to find themselves on a boardwalk. The sun shines brightly and a nice warm breeze blows. The smell of French fries wafts in the air along with the salty smell of the ocean. People walk all around them carrying towels and big baskets.
Looking over to their side they see a huge white beach. There's people in the distance surfing and plenty of multicolored umbrellas scattered about the beach. A few people play volleyball and theres a bunch of kids tormenting seagulls.
Wanda doesn't understand, it appears that there is nothing different from this universe to their home one. 
"Woah..." Roman says.
"What?" Wanda asks.
"I've never seen the ocean before."
Just then Wanda remembers Roman's past, it saddens her.
"Would you like to go down there?"
He looks up at her and smiles.
"Hell yeah!"
Together they walk down the stairs of the boardwalk into the sand.
Roman looks around with amazement.
He reaches down and grabs a handful of sand, feeling it between his fingers.
"Can we go down to the water?" He asks
"Sure, if you want." She smiles; she finds it amusing how he's asking her for permission.
Roman starts walking towards the water, however he quickly breaks into a run.
When he reaches the water and runs in to about ankle deep, he stands still for a moment, taking in everything around him.
The warm breeze on his face, the sun on his skin, the smell of the sea, the cold water on his feet, and Wanda watching him fondly from the shore.
A week ago he was hungry and shivering while sleeping  in a cell. He had experienced so much in this week he's been out. None of which he ever would have experienced if he hadn't left the facility.
He bends over and cups his hands to get a handful of water. He throws the water on his face, and runs his wet hands through his hair.
He sits down in the water and dunks his head under. When he comes back up he laughs. So this is what being alive feels like.
Wanda sits in the sand, watching Roman experience life for the first time with a smile on her face.
Roman stands up and runs out of the water and up to Wanda.
"You are sopping wet." She says leaning away from him.
"That was awesome!"
"Yeah?"
"Yeah! I had no idea anything like this could like, ever exist! I've never felt like this, it's fantastic!"
Wanda gives him a fond look.
"I'm glad."
Roman is about to say something else but something catches his eye behind Wanda.
His smile turns into a look of intrigue.
He walks past Wanda, she looks in the direction he's going.
His eyes are set on a woman and a toddler sitting in the sand.
Wanda stands up and walks up to Roman, following behind him.
The woman doesn't seem to notice Roman and Wanda approaching her and her child.
When Roman reaches them he stands in front of the pair and just looks at them, his eyebrows furrowed.
The woman in front of them plays with the child, grinning ear to ear. Sand toys are scattered around them, empty sandwich bags and an empty juice box in a little pile beside them.
Wanda doesn't understand why Roman is so fixated on them.
The toddler looks up at Roman. He has tan skin with freckles across his face. His hair is a light brown and his eyes are bright green.
Thats when it hits Wanda.
Her eyes land on the sand toys, and every one of them has "Roman C." Written in sharpie on them.
"Oh my god..." Wanda whispers to herself.
Roman is looking at himself.
A tan, clean, well kept, younger version of himself.
The woman beside the child is his mother.
The one who left him at the facility when he was only a baby.
Roman's face is completely pale. Wanda's eyes flip between Roman and the toddler with his mother.
"In this universe..." Roman stares blankly ahead. He points at the woman "she didn't ditch me..."
Wanda is filled with sadness and anger when she realizes just what this universe means. You had parents who didn't dump you in the hands of evil scientists to be experimented on.
Roman looks from the mother to the child.
A fresh haircut and a brand new swimsuit. Sunscreen sheen on his skin. Loved.
"I could have been him...if SHE hadn't abandoned me!"
Wanda's heart twists for him. She can tell this is bringing up intense feelings of pain and rage in him. How he could have had a normal life, with loving parents who cared for him like this version of him.
She carefully approaches him and places a hand on his shoulder.
"Honey, calm down..."
Roots start crawling out from the sand, Romans veins glowing green beneath his skin.
"You abandoned me to be a fucking lab rat! I got poison, injected into my veins! And when it almost killed me they shocked me back to life and left me in a cold, damp cell for the night! And they did it the next day, and the day after that! And every. Single. Time I wished they'd just let me die. And it's YOUR fault!" He yells at the woman, who still doesn't react.
The roots burst from the ground and wrap around the woman's arms and legs, threatening to tear them from her body, however she acts indifferent.
Wanda tries to remain as calm as she can over the way Roman was going into a furious breakdown. But the moment the roots wrap around the unbothered woman panic rises in her chest. She grabs his arm
"Hey, hey! Stop this!"
"I'm going to fucking kill you!" Roman growls, his voice slightly shaky. His eyes glow green and he puts out his arms.
Wanda holds his arm tighter, trying to stop him from doing anything else. Seeing him enraged and losing control chilled her to her core. Every aching part of her made her feel the need to keep him from hurting anyone, especially the seemingly innocent woman with her child in front of her on the beach.
He throws his arms out and the roots tear the woman's arms and legs from her body. But instead of blood spurting from her, sand does. In an instant her whole body dissolves into a pile of sand. As does the toddlers- and every other body on the beach.
None of them were real.
Wanda's jaw drops as she sees the woman's body dissolve into literal sand. But a wave of relief washes over her at the realization no actual harm was done. But her heart still aches at the look of pure anger and sadness in Roman's eyes.
"Oh...honey."
She releases his arm and moves to cup his face gently.
Before she can say anything portals open in a circle around them and men and women in robes step out.
This was a trap.
It dawns on them that this was a trap to get their guards down.
Wanda moves in front of Roman protectively, despite just seeing the extent of his powers. She stands in front of him like a mother bear protecting her cub, her eyes darting around trying to find a way out of this situation.
"Wanda Maximoff, Roman Cain, we are here to arrest you for the crimes you've committed across the multiverse." One of the sorcerers steps forward.
"Over my dead body." Wanda growls, her eyes immediately flicking to red with her magic. She has no intention of letting any of the sorcerers get close to either of them. As soon as one tries to move closer she sends them flying backwards with a flick of her wrist.
Roman's veins glow green beneath his skin as he sends roots shooting out of the ground and sends them towards the sorcerer she sent flying back and wrap around him. The roots constrict him until he falls limp.
Wanda gazes at Roman for a moment, proud as he releases the roots from the "unconscious" body. She grins and moves out from in front of him and puts her back against his with her hands out glowing with red magic and keeps her eyes out for the other sorcerers.
As soon as another sorcerer tries to approach them or use their magic Roman sends his defense their way. Roots, vines, thorns, the whole shebang.
Wanda watches him from the corner of her eye as she takes out the other sorcerers with her magic. She takes note of every new attack Roman uses, pride welling up in her chest along with a wave of protectiveness.
Finally, when all that's left of the sorcerers is a beach of dead bodies Roman lets out a breath and his shoulders sag. He starts to wobble on his feet and his eyes start to droop. Wanda turns around and catches him just in time before he falls.
"Oh my gosh, sweetheart, are you okay?"
Her eyes fill with concern as she looks over him, looking for injuries. Seeing the exhaustion on his face from all of the magic he's expelled she sighs.
"Oh honey...come here. Let's get you out of here, okay?"
"Okay mom..." and he promptly passes out.
Wanda's heart clenches and simultaneously melts away the way he calls her mom. She can tell how tired and exhausted he is and her motherly nature takes over as she pulls him closer. She carefully scoops him up in her arms and holds him more securely against her.
"Come here sweetheart, come to mommy." She whispers, looking down at his unconscious face, the green fading from his veins. Her mind reals as she tries to think of where to go next as she starts walking.
As he sleeps his dreams run ramped. He dreams about his childhood in the facility as usual, but after seeing his mother on the beach, or the illusion of her, she also plagues his dreams. Oh how his life could have been.
Wanda watches as he twitches and his face contorts as the nightmare progresses. She can tell how seeing his mother has affected him.
After a while she sits down under a palm tree and lays him down in the sand. She considers entering his dream to pull him out of it, but she waits.
His dream takes an unexpected turn. From being in the facility on a cold metal table, Roman is suddenly in someone's living room on a sofa.
He's wearing new clothes and his hair is cut short. Looking down at his hands he sees how his manicure is perfect and there is zero dirt on him. He can even see much better than usual. He looks around the room. There's a TV, and a coffee table, there's a plush rug and a loveseat with a matching armchair. There's a fireplace too. And on tops of the fireplace is a portrait. Three boys. Two younger ones and a taller one between them. The taller one has tan skin, freckles, light brown hair and green eyes. He's wearing glasses and has braces across his smile. The three of them look so happy.
Roman hears tittle footsteps thudding deeper in the house. A little boy runs into the room, probably about 10.
"Roman! Tommy's chasing me!" He pants.
Another boy runs into the room, looking very similar to the first one. Who Roman assumes to be Tommy jumps on the first boy.
"Give it back Billy!"
"No it's mine!" The boys grapple for something "Billy" is holding.
"Boys, what did I say about running in the house?" A woman's voice calls from the other room.
Roman recognizes the voice, but can't place whose it is.
Wanda opens her eyes into Roman's dream.
Looking around she sees that it's just a plain old house, nothing scary.
She looks over to the side to see Roman sitting on the couch. He looks so much different from the Roman she knows. He's actually has some meat on his bones, and he's more tan. The glasses frame his green eyes perfectly and his hair is combed and styled rather than a long tangled mess. He looks cared for.
Her breath catches in her throat as she takes in the scene.
It's her boys. Billy and Tommy, right there in front of her.
"But Billy took my action figure!"
"No, it's mine!"
"Roman, will you tell your brothers to stop fighting?"
The two boys look at Roman. His...brothers
Wanda's eyes widen as she recognizes the woman's voice, and her boys...Roman's...brothers.
A red haired woman walks into the room, Roman is unable to make out her face but he knows he knows her.
Wanda recognizes the woman immediately, it's her.
Her expression eases as she continues watching his dream- sees how happy Roman is here. She knows that it isn't real, that he's only dreaming of her and her family. But her heart aches seeing the way he seems to thrive where she and her sons are his family.
Roman realizes who the woman is. It's Wanda. The realization hits him like a load of bricks.
She's his mom. And her sons, the ones the mission is about, are his brothers. And he's...happy.
"Um...stop arguing. Mom says so. Apologize...I guess."
Billy and Tommy took at each other with pouty faces.
"Sorry." They both grumble at the same time.
"Thank you honey." Dream Wanda comes up to him and kisses the top of his head. "Alright, now all of you get into the kitchen, I made pb&j's.
Billy and Tommy's faces light up and they run into the other room.
Roman stays put.
"What's wrong honey?" Dream Wanda asks.
"Nothing. Nothing at all." He smiles and stands up, following where the boys went.
And that's when his dream fades to black and he slips into a dreamless slumber.
Real Wanda cradles him as he sleeps, comforted by his relaxed face. A mixture of pain and hope is present on her face. Her heart still aches at the thought the he was dreaming of her being his mother and her sons being his brothers; but it also aches with that same old pain of yearning for the life she could have had with her children.
After a few hours Roman stirs. His body stiff.
Wanda's expression softens as she sees him waking up.
Her fingers card through his hair as she speaks.

"Hey sleepy head, how are you feeling sweetheart?"

(As to not make too long of a chapter I'm going to cut it off here, the next chapter will contain the very awkward conversation that is likely to occur)