SELCOUTH | 5.1
"THAT ISN'T NORA IN THERE"
Westview, New Jersey | Present Day
MONICA AND DARCY STARE AT THE TV SCREEN. Monica's mouth was slightly ajar, her eyes wide with surprise. Darcy, though surprised, was not as surprised as Monica was. She'd talked to Athena, learned a boy of the backstory between Wanda and Athena. Monica, however, had missed out on all of that.
"Am I missing something?" Monica asks, "I've done my research on the Avengers and nothing ever came up about Wanda and Athena being in a relationship."
"I hate to tell you this, but your research is faulty," Darcy states, "Athena and Wanda were close."
Monica looks over at the scientist, brows knitting together, "How close?"
"Close enough that Athena would do something as stupid as entering Westview to save Wanda," Darcy says as she looks over at Monica, gauging her reaction to Wanda and Athena's relationship.
"They were in love," Monica states.
"They still are in love," Darcy corrects, "I mean why else would Wanda include Athena in all of this? Because she's too afraid to address her real feelings. Why would Athena go through a dangerous force field? Because she would do anything for Wanda."
Monica is silent as she stares at the TV. Darcy wonders if she's said too much when Monica suddenly looks at her in thought.
"I was there when Wanda gave birth to the twins. I mean essentially they're only physically tied to Wanda so, in order for them to be Athena's kids, Wanda has to be rewriting the story!"
"Huh?" Darcy asks.
"Wanda, she has to know that Nora is actually Athena and if she doesn't, she's bound to figure it out soon. She's rewriting the story so that Nora/Athena is her main love interest. Alternatively, we're about to witness the craziest love affair in history," Monica exclaims excitedly.
"You seem oddly excited about this," Darcy notes and Monica glances away bashfully and Darcy finds it to be the cutest thing that she's ever seen in her life. The big and bad agent Monica Rambeau was getting excited over the love story of two Avengers.
"I mean I obviously want to help stop all of this. Wanda, she's truly grieving for the first time in her life. But it's kind of cool. We get to watch Wanda and Athena fall in love all over again."
Darcy stares at Monica, a small smile growing on her lips, "You're an optimist, aren't you?"
Monica laughs, "I guess so. Maybe it's not one of my best traits-"
"No, it is," Darcy tells her, "It's admirable. Really."
Monica smiles at her, a breath-taking sight and Darcy grows flustered as she clears her throat and looks back over at the TV, "Um hey look it's back at the house, maybe we'll get to see how Nora/Athena reacts to all of this."
"Yeah okay," Monica says, still smiling.
Darcy tries to focus her attention on the TV but can't help as she sneaks glances at Monica who was staring at the TV eagerly. She can't help but smile as she looks back at the TV. This was so much better than storm chasing with Jane.
___
"Mom, what do you think about the name Sparky?" Tommy asks Athena. The Asgardian looks over at Wanda who seemed equally confused about the entire situation.
"It's a great name," Athena answers and a wide grin spreads across Tommy's lips.
"Awesome!" he exclaims, "Billy, come on let's go take Sparky for a walk."
"Bye moms!" Billy exclaims before following his twin brother outside.
Agnes shakes her head, "Kids, you gotta love them. Anyway, Ralph is gonna be surprising me with dinner so I should get going! Happy parenting, you two!"
Athena watches as Agnes leaves, closing the front door behind her. A lot about this situation didn't make sense. She looked at Wanda who seemed equally as confused as she was.
"Um you wouldn't happen to know what that was about, would you?" Athena asks and Wanda shakes her head, confirming what Athena already thought. Was Wanda even aware of what she'd done?
"I – I don't know what any of that was about," Wanda says, "I'm really sorry."
"You don't have to apologize," Athena tells her with a small smile, "I've learned that Westview is a strange little town."
Wanda stares at her, shaking her head, "You're a little too good with weird."
"Would you believe me if I told you that I'm a bit weird myself?" Athena asks.
"Are you?"
Athena smiles as she nods toward the kitchen. Wanda stares at her skeptically but follows. This could either go one of two ways. Either Wanda would figure out that she's not Nora and things would get really bad, or Wanda would simply be impressed, and they'd blissfully continue whatever it was that was happening between them.
She turns on the kitchen sink and looks at Wanda, "You might get a little wet."
Athena manipulates the water as it comes out of the faucet, summoning it to her in tiny drops. She looks over at Wanda, raising an eyebrow and smirking when she notices Wanda's impressed face.
"You can manipulate water?" Wanda asks.
"Yep," Athena says as she looks at the droplets, blending them all together to make a giant sphere, "So do I fit in with all this weirdness?"
Wanda bites her lip as she looks at Athena, stopping herself from smiling too wide, "Definitely."
Athena smiles as she sends the water ball toward the sink, dropping it with a splash. She goes to turn the sink off, but the knob turns, and Athena looks back at Wanda to see her hands glowing red.
"Now would you look at that," Athena states, "You're weird too."
"Let's get out of here," Wanda suggests suddenly and Athena laughs.
"And go where?" Athena asks, "Westview isn't exactly a big town."
Wanda shrugs, "How about the park?"
"Lead the way," Athena tells her.
___
Jimmy rushes into the room with a tray of three coffees, "What did I miss?"
"The twins are ten," Darcy says as she accepts a coffee from Jimmy, smiling at the cup before she takes a sip.
"Holy Christmas. At this rate they'll be empty nesters by dinner," Jimmy jokes.
"That's not even the best part," Darcy tells him, "The twins think Athena's their mom, and Wanda and Athena are very much in love."
Jimmy's eyebrows knit together, "What?"
"Yeah, but it makes total sense," Monica says as she looks away from the whiteboard, "I mean Wanda and Athena. They joined the team at the same time, they were on the run together, but something happened. We need to figure out what."
Jimmy looks at Darcy she simply nods her head, "She's invested."
"I think Athena is the key to solving this," Monica states, "I'm sure that Wanda and Vision had a very special relationship, but Athena was her true love. Something went wrong and we need to use that to appeal to Wanda."
"Except Athena wouldn't tell me anything," Darcy states looking at Monica, "All she said was that she and Wanda were close but now that I think about it she was a little bitter when it came to Wanda and Vision."
"Did Wanda cheat on her?" Monica asks, "I mean this all seems like a way that she can rewrite reality. Rewrite whatever went wrong in their relationship."
"Does this mean that Wanda's in Athena's head too now?" Darcy asks, "She seemed to go along with the twins calling her mom."
"But she seemed confused and so did Wanda," Monica says tapping her chin with the expo marker.
"Could Wanda be doing this without even knowing it?" Jimmy suggests, "I mean she has so much power. This is exceeding anything she's displayed in the past."
"She could have taken out Thanos on her own if he hadn't initiated a blitz. Nobody else came close," Monica argues.
"Well, I'd argue that Captain Marvel came close," Jimmy states.
Darcy notices the way that Monica's jaw tenses at the mention of Captain Marvel and wonders what's the story there.
"Her powers came from an Infinity Stone too, right?" Darcy asks.
"We are not talking about her," Monica says, as she walks over to the wall covered in photos, "We are talking about Wanda and Athena."
She takes one down and looks at it curiously, "Wanda changes thing as they enter the Hex. I went in and she gave me a different identity. We sent in a drone and it became a toy helicopter."
"What about Athena?" Darcy asks, "She went in and she became Nora."
"No," Monica says shaking her head, "Athena is still Athena. But it gives me an idea. What if we sent in something that didn't require change?"
"What are you saying?" Jimmy asks.
"It's the '80s. Let's send in tech from the '80s."
___
It was broad daylight in Westview and all of the neighbors simply smiled and waved at them. Athena blinked in confusion at how no one seemed to care that Wanda and Athena were holding hands and walking together despite the fact that Wanda was married to Vision.
When they reached the park, Wanda makes a beeline for the swings and Athena smiles at how carefree Wanda appeared. Athena took a seat on the swing beside Wanda and glanced over at her.
"What are you thinking about?" Wanda asks her as she rests her cheek on the swing chain.
"How cool you are," Athena says, earning a laugh out of Wanda.
"I'm not that cool," Wanda says, looking out at the rest of the park, "Honestly, I'm a mess."
"Can be honest?" Athena asks and Wanda silently nods her head, "I've noticed."
"And you haven't gone running."
Athena smiles, "No, it's something that I'm growing to like about you."
Wanda laughs, shaking her head, "I don't get it."
"Get what?"
"Why you're single," Wanda says. Athena laughs and Wanda reaches over, hitting her, "Hey, I'm serious! You're beautiful and funny and you're smart and-"
"There's more?" Athena teases.
"Shut up," Wanda says with a smile.
"The truth is that I was in love once. It was very serious," Athena says, looking down, "She was beautiful and funny and smart and compassionate. She could be a bit of a grump in the morning, but she was perfect."
"What happened?" Wanda asks her curiously.
"A lot of things," Athena says with a laugh, "I proposed. She said no. I ran."
Athena sighs as she thinks back to that moment, "I was an idiot."
"She was an idiot," Wanda voices, "She should have never said no."
Athena looks up and wonders if Wanda knows. There's no way that she didn't know. Did she remember their conversation in Wakanda?
"Frankly I don't blame her," Athena says with a sheepish smile, "I was a little impulsive when I was younger."
Wanda looks at her intensely, "If you could say anything to her, what would you tell her?"
"That I'm sorry I ran that night. That I'm sorry I broke our promise," Athena looks into Wanda's eyes, "Most of all I'd tell her that not a day goes by where I don't think about how much I love her."
Wanda stares at her and Athena's sure that there are tears in her eyes, but she doesn't get the chance to confirm her suspicions as Wanda looks away from her quickly. Athena glances at the ground, shaking her head.
She had wanted to operate undercover as Nora, but here she was, showing Wanda what she was capable of doing and pouring her heart out about a failed love, which happened to be Wanda.
"Do you hear that?" Wanda asks, standing up from the swing. Athena looks up and notices the drone in the sky. She knew it was a S.W.O.R.D drone based on the emblem on the side. She looked over at Wanda to see that she was already looking at her.
"I'll handle it," Wanda tells her.
"I could help?" Athena suggests, not wanting Wanda to go further along with the villain narrative that she already knew that they were making.
"Actually, could you make sure the boys are safe?" Wanda asks her.
"Yeah," Athena says, "Just be careful, please?"
Wanda smiles at her, "I always am."
Athena nods her head as she takes off back toward Wanda's house. She finds the boys outside playing with Sparky and smiles, but it wavers. This could have been her life, Wanda, the kids, a dog. If they were normal, it could have been their life, but they weren't.
"Hey, mom!" Billy exclaims, "We taught Sparky a trick. Show her Tommy."
Tommy grins as he bends down in front of Sparky, "Roll over!"
Sparky does as commanded and rolls over, barking happily at Tommy as he feeds him a treat. Athena smiles and applauds them.
"Nice! Have you guys taught him anything else?"
"He sits," Tommy says with a shrug, "What else could we teach him?"
Athena walks over and holds her hand out. Tommy gets the hint and places a treat in the palm of her hand. Athena bends over in front of Sparky and holds out her empty hand in front of him.
"Shake?" Sparky tilts his head at her, and Billy and Tommy laugh from beside her. Athena playfully glares at the boys, silencing their laughter as she tries again, this time a little firmer, "Shake."
This time Sparky places his paw in Athena's hand.
"Ha!" she exclaims as she feeds Sparky the treat. She looks over at the boys, "Sparky now knows how to shake."
"Now Sparky knows two tricks," Billy says, looking at Athena, "Got any more tricks?"
"Maybe," Athena says with a shrug, "But it's gonna cost you."
Tommy and Billy share a look, "Cost us what?"
___
"I know that this is tech from the '80s, but can we sharpen the visuals?" Hayward asks.
"Working on it," Monica says as she steers the drone. Wanda comes into view on the camera and Monica smiles, "Maximoff located."
"Well done," Hayward tells her.
Darcy looks at the broadcast, but the shot isn't even on Wanda but is instead focused on the twins and Athena.
"The drone isn't in the broadcast. Wanda isn't even on the broadcast," Jimmy tells everyone.
"Wanda decides what makes it onto her show and what doesn't," Darcy states, looking back at the TV, "We certainly did not make the cut."
Hayward taps Monica on the shoulder, "You're up."
Monica presses a button before speaking into the headset, "Wanda this is Captain Monica Rambeau. I just want to talk. That's it."
Even with the bad visuals from the camera, it can still be seen as Wanda's eyes glow red, indicating the use of her powers.
"No joy," Hayward mutters.
"Uh wait my controls aren't working," Monica says, "Reconnect patch."
"Disregard," Hayward states, "Take the shot."
"What?" Monica asks, "No. The drone isn't armed."
"Take the shot," Hayward orders again.
Monica looks down at the other screen, noticing as the guy obeys Hayward's command before the drone loses a signal and all the screens are filled with static. Monica rips of her headset and stands up.
"What did you do?" she questions Hayward as alarms begin to sound, indicating that something had exited from the boundary.
"Sir there's been a breach!"
Everyone rushes outside, but Monica hesitates as she looks at the screen. She sighs as she grabs her jacket and rushes outside along with everyone else. There were trucks lined up outside with several guns aimed at the boundary.
The boundary lit up with red as Wanda walked through it, dragging something behind her. Monica stared at it and then at Wanda. Her clothes were different than the ones she had been wearing in the broadcast.
"Is this yours?" Wanda asked as she tossed the object at Hayward's feet.
"The missile was just a precaution," Hayward states, "You can hardly blame us, Wanda."
"Oh, I think I can," Wanda says, not bothered in the slightest at the green lasers pointed at her chest, "This will be your only warning. Stay out of my home You don't bother me. I won't bother you."
"I wish it could be that simple," Hayward tells her, "You've taken an entire town hostage."
"Well, I'm not the one with the guns, Director," Wanda states looking around.
"But you are the one in control," Monica says stepping forward.
Wanda's hand glow red as she tilts her head, "You're still here."
Monica holds her hands up, showing that she means no harm, "Wanda, I didn't know the drones were armed. But you know that, don't you? A town full of civilians and you, a telepath brought a S.W.O.R.D agent into your home. You trusted me to help deliver your babies. On some level, Wanda, you know I am an ally. I want to help you."
"How?" Wanda asks, "What could you possibly have to offer me?"
"What do you want?" Monica asks softly.
"I have what I want, and no one will ever take it from me again," Wanda says as she turns and flicks her hand, all guns suddenly aiming at Hayward.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Hayward shouts, "Stand down!"
"Wanda!" Monica shouts after her retreating figure, "Athena Choi!"
Wanda stops walking at the mention of Athena, but she doesn't turn around, "That isn't Nora in there. That's Athena. Your Athena."
Wanda doesn't say anything as she makes her way back through the boundary.
___
"So, you guys seriously think I'm your mom?" Athena asks as she looks at the twins.
"For the hundredth time you are our mom," Billy says.
Tommy rests a hand on her shoulder, "Is the old age getting to you?"
"Ha," Athena says unamused, "Alright you two are free to go."
Tommy and Billy look down and frown. Athena looks down as well to see that Sparky was no longer laying down in the grass where they had left him.
"Where's Sparky?" Tommy asks.
Wanda jogs over to them, "My mom senses were tingling, what's wrong?"
"Sparky's missing," Billy tells her and Wanda frowns.
"Is he? Then we better start looking for him," Wanda tells her boys. She looks at Athena, "You up to searching for Sparky?"
"Sure," Athena answers.
"Sparky!" Tommy shouts as they begin walking the neighborhood.
"Hey, what's the trouble, little dude?" the mailman asks.
"We can't find our dog," Billy tells him.
"Ah don't worry. He's sure to turn up. Your moms won't let him get far," He tips his hat toward them, "Ma'am. Ma'am."
Athena stares at the mailman's retreating figure. So, it wasn't just the twins.
"I don't know where he could've gone," Wanda states as she looks around, clearly not concerned with the mailman calling Athena the boys' mom.
"Here, boy," Tommy said clapping his hands together.
A bush rustles and Athena watches as the boys' faces light up.
"Sparky!" they both exclaim.
However, it isn't Sparky. Agnes appears from behind the bush, bundling a blanket close to her, and Athena sighs closing her eyes, knowing that Sparky was now dead.
"I didn't want to come until I'd wrapped him up," Agnes says as she walks toward them.
"What happened?" Wanda asks.
"Found him in my azalea bushes. Don't know how many leaves he ate. I didn't find him until it was too late. Tommy, Billy, I'm so sorry."
Athena could have sworn that they took their eyes off of Sparky for only a few minutes. There was no way he could have consumed that many azalea leaves. There was something off-putting about Agnes. She didn't know what it was, but she didn't trust her, especially not around Wanda.
"Wait. Don't," Wanda says as she kneels before the twins.
"Don't what?" Tommy asks.
"Don't age yourselves up. The urge to run from this feeling is powerful. I know," Wanda says as she gently rubs the boy's shoulder.
"It's too sad," Billy says.
"You can fix anything, Mom. Fix the dead," Tommy says.
"What? No," Wanda states.
"You can do that?" Agnes asks and Wanda looks at her, confusion on her face. Athena had to bail Wanda out.
"Hey guys," Athena says, and the boys look at her, "You guys have the coolest mom on in the entire universe and I know you guys think she can do anything, and she can, but she can't change this. And I know that it sucks, and it hurts, and I wish I could take your pain. I really do. But a little pain means that it'll be that much better when something really good happens."
She looks at Wanda to find her staring at her. Athena offers her a small smile.
"But family is forever, and Sparky is family," Billy says.
"Bring him back mom," Tommy says.
"Bring who back?"
Athena looks up to see Vision standing there. The boys didn't say anything as they allowed Vision to pull them into a hug. Athena was now thoroughly confused.
She places her hand on Wanda's shoulder, "I'm going to head home."
"I'll come over later," Wanda tells her, and Athena nods her head. She pats Billy and Tommy on the shoulder before heading back over to her house. When she closes the door, she leans against it, taking a deep breath.
Wanda was not behind all of this and if she was then she wasn't aware of it. Wanda seemed caught off guard just as much as she was. Things didn't add up, especially when it came to Agnes. She seemed to pop up everywhere. It happened too much for it to be a coincidence.
She wondered what happened when she went to deal with the drone. She wondered what would happen now that Vision was home. Did the kids believe that they had three parents? What was going on and why did Athena think that she could solve it by herself?
She headed over to the couch and took a seat. She knew that if Natasha were around, she'd bash Athena's head against the table for not telling the truth. She probably would have smacked some sense into Athena a long time ago.
She missed them. She tried her best not to think about them but watching the boys with Sparky had only reminded her of what she'd lost. Tony and Natasha had been the two to ground her. She wished they could be here now.
Athena's thoughts distract her and she doesn't even notice as the sun slips below the horizon. Only when she hears a knock at the door does her brain stop working in overdrive. She goes to open it, knowing that it's Wanda.
"Hey," she greets, stepping aside, "How are the boys?"
"They're fine," Wanda says as she steps inside. Athena closes the door and looks at Wanda to find her simply staring at her. Athena frowns wondering if she'd done something wrong.
"Did I do something?" she asks.
Wanda doesn't answer her question, instead, she walks toward her and Athena walks backward, not sure what was currently going through Wanda's mind.
Her back bumps into something and she realizes it's a wall. Her hand braces herself against it as she stares back at Wanda. She noticed the way Wanda's eyes dropped before quickly flickering back up to look at Athena's own.
Athena was good at reading social cues, she knew that Wanda wanted to kiss her, but she wasn't going to initiate the kiss.
"Do it," Athena says softly. Wanda's eyes flicker down again as she bites her lip. Wanda knew what she wanted, so why wouldn't she just take it?
Athena was growing impatient, so she surged forward and pressed her lips against Wanda's, kissing her hungrily. She rested her hands on Wanda's waist, holding her as close as humanly possible to her.
Athena felt her skin heat up as Wanda pressed herself flush against Athena, attempting to tug her closer as her arms snaked their way around Athena's neck. Her mind went blank as Wanda's lips began to kiss a trail across her jaw down to her neck.
Wanda pulled away from her, breathing heavily as she made quick work of the button on Athena's shirt, tugging it over her arms and throwing it somewhere in the room.
Athena pulled the suspender straps down Wanda's arms and untucked her shirt. She quickly unbuttoned Wanda's shirt, pulling it off and dropping it on the floor. She traced her fingers over Wanda's exposed collarbone. She had dreamt of the moment when she would be able to hold Wanda again.
Six years. It had been six years since Athena had kissed Wanda. Six years since she'd last touched her.
She leaned again to capture Wanda's lips in her own, this time kissing her softer, hoping to pour all of her longing into one soft kiss. Wanda pulled away from the kiss first, but she didn't go far. She brought her hand up to rub Athena's cheek.
"It is you," Wanda says breathlessly, her chest rising and falling rapidly.
"It's been six years since you kissed me like that," Athena says with a small smile.
Wanda's hand slips from her cheek and she takes a step back from Athena. She bends down and grabs her shirt, putting it back on. Athena leaned her head back against the wall, squeezing her eyes shut. She'd made a mistake.
"That shouldn't have happened. I am married and I have kids-"
"Wanda," Athena says opening her eyes, "We need to talk about all of this."
"I can't. My kids, their dog just died and I have a husband and you're not even supposed to be here!"
"Me?" Athena asks, "You put me here!"
"No, I didn't!" Wanda says, pulling her suspenders back up.
"Nora Odinsdottir. That is the name my mother wanted to give me. That is the name you gave the woman across the street. Who also happens to be studying behavioral science. Real original Wanda."
Wanda shakes her head waving her hand dismissively as she heads toward the door, "I can't deal with this right now."
Athena moves quickly, pressing her back against the door so that Wanda can't open it, "You have to deal with this right now. All you and I do is run from our feelings. That ends right now."
"No," Wanda tells her, "Now move before I move you."
She stared into Wanda's eyes, realizing that any kind of affection that she had for her earlier was gone. She sighs and opens the door, allowing Wanda an out. Wanda spares her one last glance before walking out of the house.