Marvel one-shots

66. The Scarlet Witch - Part 2

I stood there uncertainly. It was definitely my mom... right?

"Is that really you?" I asked as she came forward.

"Of course it is sweetheart..."

I saw that my mom had bags under her eyes and her hair and clothes were dirty. It had only been a couple of weeks since the incident, but it felt like too long.

"H-how are you alive?" I asked, suddenly unsure of all my calculations and probabilities.

"One's magic always protects its holder," mom repeated Agatha's words.

By now, she was only a foot away from me.

"You look looked-after," she commented. "Where have you been?"

I looked at my feet. I doubted my mother wanted to hear the name 'Stephen Strange'.

"Just a friend's house," I lied.

Mom put a finger under my chin and lifted my head up.

"Baby I'm so sorry," she began to apologise and I saw her eyes begin to glaze over.

"No, it's okay," I replied. "You had the Darkhold."

"No, it's not. I should've prioritised my real daughter over my sons who only existed in a hex."

I bit my lip and didn't reply. Mom put her hand on my shoulder and said, "Come on, let's go inside. It's warmer in there."

Confused, I followed as she led me through the rubble. She re-entered the darkness and I hesitantly followed. Inside the ruins of Mount Wundagore was a small cavern that had been formed by the collapsed rock. There was a fire lit in the corner and I noticed that my mom had been surviving on almost nothing.

"How are you surviving here?" I questioned, stunned by the lack of... well, anything.

"Oh, I fly to various places to get food and water," she replied. "I didn't expect you, or I would've saved something."

"It's fine," I replied, sitting on a rock near the fire.

"How did you get here?" mom asked, sitting beside me.

She took my cold hands and wrapped them in a piece of fabric before rubbing them. I honestly missed this. Being taken care of properly.

"Teleported," I replied. "There's no way in hell I could climb this mountain."

Mom smiled.

"I always knew your teleportation was better than mine."

"Yeah, but I don't have telekinesis," I replied with a wry smile.

"You're better at using your powers to get around."

Suddenly, an idea struck me.

"I could take us back in time!" I suggested. "Take us back to before Thanos. Knowing what we now know, we could get the stone from Vision's head and even stop Strange from giving Thanos the time stone."

"Strange," mom spat his name bitterly.

With a rejected sigh, she admitted, "No Y/n. I need to accept what I've done."

"But if we go back far enough, we could save half the world! Save Vision - and Nat and Tony!"

Mom shook her head firmly.

"I know you want to make this right," she started.

"And you don't?" I demanded.

"Of course I do. But I have to do this the right way."