I watch Wanda's show, and it picks up as though she never left. It turns out that Sparky died, and the boys are devastated. Then Wanda and Vision are in the kitchen, and they get into a big fight about Westview. Their fight gets so escalated that Vision starts flying, and Wanda flies and pulls out her powers. Then they lower themselves and sit on the couch and talk, and suddenly the doorbell rings. Vision thinks Wanda did it, but Wanda and I know that she didn't. Wanda opens the door, and I see her shocked face.
Then I see a person with their back to the camera. The person has silver hair like Pietro. The camera shows the man's face, and the man says, "Long lost bro get to squeeze his stinkin' sister to death or what?" I realize the man is Pietro. But it's not the real Pietro.
"Pietro?" whispers Wanda. Wanda hugs him, and Pietro says, "Who's the popsicle?" referring to Vision. "She recast Pietro?" says Darcy. I am distraught by this, but then I remember that Wanda didn't make the doorbell ring, so someone else must be doing this.
The next morning I talk to Wanda in our minds, and I say, "Wanda, let me know when I should come." She responds immediately and says, "Anytime works!" "Perfect! Coming now!" I say. Then I tell Monica and Darcy, and I also tell them not to tell Hayward. They tell me good luck, and I teleport to Wanda's front porch.
I ring the doorbell, and Wanda opens the door. She hugs me and calls Tommy and Billy downstairs. They come running downstairs, and she introduces us. "Pietro" is still asleep on the couch.
Wanda and I go upstairs, and Wanda tells me that today is the Halloween episode, so I need a costume. Right now I am in normal clothes. "How about I wear my mission suit? It looks like a superhero costume, and I don't think Tommy and Billy know about the Avengers." I say. "Perfect," says Wanda. "Great! Can I use my powers near Tommy and Billy?" I say. "Sure! They'll love that! Besides, they might develop powers. You can tell them about your weather powers just don't use your weather powers, please. Feel free to use your other powers though! Also, don't mention how you got your powers, that's a conversation I think we both don't want to have." "Okay! I'm gonna play with Tommy and Billy," "Have fun!" says Wanda, and I teleport to the compound, and I change into my suit, and I teleport to Wanda's house's main level.
Tommy hands me a camera, and he tells me to film him and Billy. Then he walks into the kitchen. I film as Billy comes downstairs dressed in a sweatshirt with a red cape and a blue headband. "Halloween's a magical holiday. All about family, friends, and the thrill of getting to be someone else for a day," says Billy as he walks to the kitchen. "Wrong! Halloween's about candy. And scaring people, but mostly candy," says Tommy as he opens the milk and pours some cereal.
Then I stop filming, and Billy asks, "Where's your costume, Tommy?" "This is my costume. I'm the cool twin," says Tommy. I roll my eyes unnoticed by the twins, thank goodness because Wanda would kill me for that. Tommy just said something that the real Pietro would have said.
"What does that make me?" asks Billy. "Hmm. A dorkasaurus rex," says Tommy. "Not a real dinosaur," says Billy. Then the twins and I walk into the living room, and we see Pietro snoring on the couch. "Man. He even snores cool. I'm gonna go wake him up," says Tommy. "Don't!" says Billy putting his hand out to stop Tommy. "You scared?" asks Tommy. "He's our uncle. Why would I be scared?" says Billy. "'Cause, it's four o'clock in the afternoon. You're secretly afraid he's a vampire," says Tommy. "No, I'm not," says Billy. "Yes, you are," says Tommy. Unnoticed by the twins, Pietro gets up from the couch. Then he speeds up to them, and they scream. "Blood is thicker than water! I show you!" says Pietro.
Then he roars and chases Tommy and Billy around the couch. Then he does some weird hands movements, and the twins keep screaming. I am laughing at the scene they are making. "Oh! Somebody better be bleeding, broken, or on fire," says Wanda coming downstairs. "Whoa, Mom. Are you old Red Riding Hood?" asks Billy. Pietro snorts, and Wanda says, "I'm a Sokovian fortune teller." Then Wanda does a weird pose and makes and face to go with it. "Wow, that is so..." starts Pietro. "Rad," says Tommy. "Lame," says Pietro, and Tommy corrects himself and says, "Lame."
"Worse than the costumes mom made us the year we got typhus," says Pietro. The three of us have a flashback. Wanda was wearing a regular outfit with a bug antennae headband, Pietro was wearing a normal outfit with an eye patch, and I was wearing a normal outfit with a headband with two floppy dog ears. We knock on a door, and we say "Trick or Treat," but in Sokovian. An old lady who looks very scary opens the door, and she holds up a fish, and she says, "To share." in Sokovian, she puts it in Pietro's bag. The flashback ends, and Wanda says, "That's not exactly how I remember it." "Same here," I say. "You probably suppressed a lot of the trauma," says Pietro.
Then Wanda smiles weirdly, and she walks away. "What are you supposed to be, Hadley? Let me guess. A police officer?" says Pietro. I roll my eyes and shake my head. "A spy?" asks Pietro. "Close enough," I say. He gets excited he got it right. Well, sort of right, but for this Pietro, it's a win.
The boys are playing a video game on the TV, and I hold the camera again as Billy says, "Mom has been weird since Uncle Pietro got here. I think it's because she hasn't seen him in a long time. And he's what you call "a man child." when Billy says "a man child." he actually does air quotes.
I stop filming, put the camera on the table, and Vision walks downstairs wearing a ridiculous outfit. He looks like a wrestler or something. He has his normal red look underneath his outfit. He could have just gone as his red vibranium self, and no one would have known except us that it's not a costume. "Whoa! Sweet costume, bro-ham-in-law. Let me guess. Uh, traffic light," says Pietro. Vision sighs. "Half shucked corn. A booger!" says Pietro. Vision rolls his eyes and says "Yes." like he's completely out of it. "Yes!" says Pietro, excited that he got it right.
"Well, thank you for humoring me and wearing this ridiculous get-up, honey," says Wanda walking over to Vision. "Well, there were no other clothes in my closet, so... You are incorrigible, darling. I didn't know you have a secret thing for Mexican wrestlers," says Vision. "Mi gusta mucho," says Wanda. "Chili con carne," says Vision. I have no idea what that means. "Ooh!" says Wanda, and she giggles and scrunches up her nose.
"What do you say, boys? Who's ready for that first hit of high fructose corn syrup?" asks Vison. He gets zero replies since the boys, including Pietro, are very focused on their video game. "Yes! Headlock!" says Billy. "Get out of there, get out of there," says Pietro.
"Never told me much about your brother. I had no idea he'd be so..." says Vision as Pietro says "Go!" and He, Tommy, and Billy each bite into the side of a soda can and chug it spilling half of it on themselves. "Great with kids," says Vision holding up a thumbs up. "Yeah. He's just full of surprises," says Wanda shaking her head.
This is definitely not the Pietro I knew and still love. Sure the actual Pietro is competitive be he never left Wanda and I's side when we were together. The real Pietro never talked in slang, and he had a Sokovian accent. Wanda was taught not to use hers by Nat and me being so young when I left Sokovia, only had a minor one. He was also a great role model and never drank soda like that or played video games. Although growing up, we never had the money for video games, and soda was for a very special occasion.
Wanda and I are staring off into space when suddenly Vision says, "Well, you have fun tonight, darling," Vision is making his way towards the door when Wanda says, "What? What do you mean? You're all dressed and ready to go," "I'm undercover. Halloween is a bacchanal for adolescent trouble-makers, and the neighborhood watch is the only thing that stands between the trees and the toilet paper," "No, that's not what you're supposed to..." says Wanda. "What?" asks Vision putting his hands on his hips. "Well... You didn't tell me you had plans," says Wanda crossing her arms. "Well, I'm telling you now," says Vision. I facepalm myself, and I think to myself, Oh boy, here we go.
Then I run over to Billy, and I pick up the camera and film him saying, "Mom and Dad have been, not fighting, just, like, different," says Billy. I stop filming, put the camera down, and I walk toward Wanda and Vision.
Wanda says, "It's their first Halloween. You have to be there," "Vision, this is a milestone in Tommy and Billy's life. You should be there for it. I'm sure the neighborhood watch will understand," "Thank you, Hadley," says Wanda. I nod, and I cross my arms, and Vision says, "I am on watch duty tonight. I can't just not show up."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. What's the big dealio? Big guy has a conflict, twins need a father figure for the night, don't sweat it, sisters. I got the old XY chromosome," says Pietro. Wanda chuckles, and I look a little unsure, "Oh, lighten up Francis!" says Pietro, and he playfully punches my arm. "Uncle P to the rescue, huh?" adds Pietro. "There you go. Problem solved," says Vision, and he hits Pietro on the shoulder playfully. "You have a spooky time tonight, kids," says Vision talking in a ghost voice. Both twins are still preoccupied with their video game, and they don't look away. "Goodnight, Dad!" says Tommy. "Bye Dad," says Billy. "Wanda?" says Vision, and he kisses her cheek. "Be good," says Vision." He looks at me, and I nod to him, and he jumps back in a superhero pose, and he says, "I smell crime," Then he opens the door and walks out, and Wanda locks the door behind him.
Pietro sneaks up behind her and makes a scary face, and Wanda screams and covers her mouth. "Don't do that!" says Wanda, and I laugh. "Where do you keep your water balloons?" asks Pietro. "What? We don't have water balloons," says Wanda. "Where are we gonna put all this shaving cream?" asks Pietro holding up two cans of it. "Oh," says Wanda. Tommy walks up, holding a bag. "It was Billy's idea," says Pietro, and I facepalm myself because he meant Tommy. The twins are fraternal. Is it that hard to get their names right? "I'm Tommy," says Tommy. "And don't you forget it!" says Pietro trying to pass it off as a joke.
Wanda's eyes are wide, then they go to their normal size, and she says, "You don't even have a costume." Pietro scoffs and grabs Tommy's hand, and they Super Speed out the door and return a second later in matching costumes with matching hairstyles. The costumes are blue and silver and have the lightning bolt logo that the real Pietro had branded on his wrist like Wanda had her weird crown and I had my three sparkles.
"Okay, but... Just remember that this is a respectable family. If I see any funny business, I am going to magic you into a pickled herring," says Wanda. Pietro makes a disgusted face.
Then we all go outside. "This is it. Game time" says Tommy. "It's not a competition, Tommy," says Billy. "It is if you're a winner," says Tommy, and he grabs Billy's hand and pulls him to a house. "Unleash hell, demon spawn," says Pietro cupping his hands around his mouth to magnify his voice. "Do you remember when we were at the orphanage after Mom and Dad died? What was the name of that kid who was always trying to steal your boots? You know, he was the one... He had the... He had the skin thing," says Wanda.
I think to myself "Unless after I got separated from them, they went to an orphanage. We were never at an orphanage after Mom and Dad died or ever." Wanda doesn't respond, so she must not be reading my mind.
"You're testing me," says Pietro pointing a finger at Wanda. "Well..." I say. "No, I'm not," says Wanda. "Hey, it's cool. I know I look different," says Pietro. "No kidding!" I say. "Why do you... look different?" asks Wanda. "You tell me. I mean, if I found Shangri-La, I wouldn't want to be reminded of the past either," says Pietro. Normally, I would have found Pietro's funny sayings and things amusing but not right now. I really miss the real Pietro.
"Next house, Mom," says Tommy as he and Billy walk up to us. "Junior entrepreneur, over here. How about you let Uncle P help you maximize your candy acquisition, huh?" says Pietro. "Yeah. Kick-ass!" says Tommy. "Tommy!" I say, astonished at his language.
Pietro grabs Tommy's hand. "I feel the need..." starts Pietro. "For speed," finishes Tommy. They both yelp, and Tommy grabs Billy, and they speed off, and it's just Wanda and me. "Kick-ass," says Wanda. "Pietro," I say. "Yep," says Wanda.
"Oh, hey, Herb," says Wanda, and the two of us walk over to him. Herb is dressed as Frankenstein. "Oh, hey!" says Herb. "How's patrol going?" asks Wanda. "Eh, quiet, so far. Hold up, will you?" says Herb as something comes up on his comms. "Say again. All the candy has disappeared?" says Herb as Wanda and I see Pietro, Tommy, and Billy zooming by taking all of the candy, and kids are looking around wondering where all of their candy went. "And now all of the jack-o'-lanterns have been smashed," says Herb and Wanda, and I see Pietro, Tommy, and Billy smashing all of the jack-o'-lanterns. "And now everyone's covered in silly string?" says Herb as Wanda and I see Pietro, Tommy, and Billy spraying silly string on everyone, including Herb, but he doesn't notice. Wanda makes a face, and I facepalm myself. Hopefully, no one finds out it's Pietro, Tommy, and Billy.
"Sorry, Wanda, I gotta bounce," says Herb. "Well, maybe Vision can help you out," says Wanda. "Vision? Oh, he's not on duty," says Herb. "Oh! I... I thought he..." says Wanda. "Is there something I can do for you, Wanda? Do you want something changed?" asks Herb. "No. It's fine. Never mind," says Wanda. Herb chuckles and says, "All right. Peace." and he walks away with silly string trailing behind him.
"Wanda, do you want me to find Vision and bring him to you?" I ask. "No, Hadley, it's ok. He's doing whatever he's doing. Besides, I want to spend some time with you. I haven't seen you in about a week or more." says Wanda. I smile, and she holds my hand, and we walk and talk for a while.
It's now nighttime, and Wanda, Pietro, Tommy, Billy, and I are walking in the Townsquare. Wanda is making Tommy and Billy return the candy they stole. So the twins are upset about that. "This is so lame. I can't believe you're making them return all the candy," says Pietro. "I can't believe what a bad influence you are," says Wanda. "I agree, Wanda," I say. "Who beefed in your borscht? I'm just trying to do my part, okay? Come to town unexpectedly, create tension with the brother-in-law, stir up trouble with the rugrats, and ultimately give you two grief. I mean, that's what you wanted, isn't it?" says Pietro.
"What happened to your accent?" asks Wanda. "What happened to yours?" Pietro shoots back. Wanda definitely didn't see that coming. "Details are fuzzy, man. I got shot like a chump on the street for no reason at all, and the next thing I know, I heard you calling me. I knew you needed me," says Pietro. "Uncle P, guess what?" says Tommy. "They've got full-size candy bars a few blocks up. Mom, can we go?" asks Billy. Tommy speeds off and comes back with two bars. "Next stop, Cavity Town," says Tommy. Wanda and I smile, knowing he has Super Speed.
"Right on, little dude. Chip off the old Maximoff block. You've got Super Speed!" says Pietro really enthusiastically. "I do?" asks Tommy. "Yeah!" says Pietro, and he gives Tommy a high five, and Wanda says, "It's okay, baby. You can take it slow, and you can..." Tommy speeds off before she finishes. He speeds around the square until Wanda grabs his arm. "If you're gonna break the sound barrier, please just take your brother with you," says Wanda. "Really?" says Billy, excited. "Really?" says Tommy like Eyeore from Winnie the Pooh. "Really. Yeah. And please just remember to..." says Wanda. "Don't go past Ellis Avenue," says the twins together. "We know, Mom. We know," says Tommy then he and Billy hold hands and speed off before Wanda says "Hey! Be careful." "If you want, I can go with them. I have Super Speed too!" I say. "Hadley, thank you. But you should stay here. I think the twins will be okay," says Wanda.
Then we walk a little in the Townsquare. "Holy shmacaroni," says Pietro, and Wanda and I chuckle. "Wow!" says Pietro as we walk into a maze. "Isn't it great?" says Wanda. "Damn it, if Westview, New Jersey isn't charming as hell," says Pietro. Then we exit the maze and Wanda says "Now, I know that you think I have gone full soccer mom," says Wanda. "Yeah," says Pietro. "But it really is nice, right?" says Wanda.
The three of us walk over to a block of hay and we sit down. "I love Westview! I think it's perfect for you Wanda," I say. "Yeah. I think Mom and Dad would've loved it," says Pietro. "Yeah. I think they would have," says Wanda. I am sitting on Wanda's right and Pietro is on Wanda's left.
"Where were you hiding these kids up till now?" asks Pietro. Wanda and I turn our heads to face Pietro and Wanda says "What?" "I assume they were all just sleeping peacefully in their beds. No need to dramatize beyond the occasional holiday episode cameo, right?" says Pietro. "No..." says Wanda. "The kids all live here," I say. "You were always the empathetic twin, Wanda, and Hadley, you were always the loyal and playful little sister," says Pietro. He's not wrong about our descriptions.
"I don't... I didn't..." says Wanda. "Don't get me wrong. You've handled the ethical considerations of this scenario as best you could. Families and couples stay together, most personalities aren't far off from what's underneath, people got better jobs, better haircuts, for sure," says Pietro. "You don't think it's wrong?" asks Wanda. "What, are you kidding? I'm impressed! Seriously. It's a pretty big leap from giving people nightmares and shooting red wiggly-woos out of your hands. How'd you even do all this?" asks Pietro.
Wanda looks away for a second and Pietro says "Hey, I'm not some stranger and I'm not your husband. You can talk to me," says Pietro. It's at that moment I think that someone evil sent this Pietro. The real Pietro would think it's wrong. But, he would understand why Wanda did it. He would definitely not be "impressed." Something is definitely up with this Pietro, but I can't put my finger on it yet.
Wanda thinks for a moment "I don't know how I did it. I... I only remember feeling completely alone. Empty. I just... Endless nothingness." says Wanda and she looks away from Pietro and she looks at me and she blinks away tears. I grab her hand and squeeze it. We look back at Pietro and we both see him with bullet wounds and his skin is gray and lifeless. Wanda and I gasp and look away. We look back and it's the normal version of this Pietro. "Are you two okay?" asks Pietro. "I'm fine," says Wanda. "Same here," I say. "Uh-huh," says Pietro.
A few minutes later I hear screaming in my head and I get a vision. I see Vision on his knees outside of the Hex. I hear Hayward say "He really does want out doesn't he?" I am panting from my vision and Wanda puts her hand on my shoulder and she says "Hadley, are you okay?" "I am, but Vision isn't," I say. "Mom! Mom! Mom! Mom!" says Billy as he and Tommy run over to us. "What? What is it, Billy?" asks Wanda. "I hear Dad in my head. He's in trouble," says Billy. "I saw the same thing!" I say. "I don't understand. What's happening to me?" says Billy. "Where is he? Where's your dad?" asks Wanda. "Hey, don't sweat it, sis. It's not like your dead husband can die twice," says Pietro.
Then Wanda blasts him with her powers. Tommy watches with his eyes wide. "Billy, I need you to focus. You too Hadley," says Wanda. Billy and I close our eyes and we both see soldiers and Vision disintegrating. He is for sure outside of the Hex but Billy doesn't know that. "I can't tell. I see these... soldiers. They think he's dying." says Billy. "Wanda, he's outside of you know where and he's disintegrating fast," I say.
Wanda closes her eyes and her powers form and everyone and everything around us freezes. An insane amount of red light radiates off Wanda and I know what she is doing. She's expanding the Hex to save Vision. Then after a few minutes, Wanda opens her eyes and they turn to their normal green.
Wanda is exhausted after using that much of her powers on top of what she is already using. I teleport her, Tommy, and Billy home. We arrive in the living room and I tell the boys to go to their room and get ready for bed.
Then I teleport Wanda to her room. I close her door and I say "Wanda, do you want me to magic you into PJs?" "No Hads, I'm good as I am. I gonna just go to bed now," says Wanda. Her exhaustion shows in her voice.
She collapses on her bed and I tuck her in and I say "Good night, Wanda. I love you for Infinity no matter what. See you in the morning." "Good night, Hads. I love you lots," says Wanda.
I smile and I walk out of her room and I close the door behind me. Then I knock on the twin's door and they say "Come in!" so I do. I haven't been in their room yet.
"Did you boys have a fun night?" I ask. "Yeah! We got a good amount of candy!" says Tommy. "Yeah! Hadley?" says Billy. "Yeah, Billy?" I say. "What are my powers?" asks Billy. "You have Psionics and Telekinesis! You have the same powers as your Mom!" I say. "Cool! Do you have any powers besides your Teleportation?" says Billy. "Yes! I have lots actually! My powers are Telekinesis, Telepathy, Teleportation, Invisibility, Force Field Generation, Light Manipulation, Air Manipulation, Water Manipulation, Earth Manipulation, Fire Manipulation, Ice Manipulation, Electricity Manipulation, Weather Manipulation, Chaos Magic, Superspeed, Intangibility, and Kinetic Energy Absorption. That's 17 powers!" I say smiling. "Awesome!" says Tommy and Billy together. "Maybe I'll show you tomorrow. Now, good night boys!" I say. The boys say together "Good night Hadley!"
Then I walk out of their room and I close their door behind me. I decide to sleep on the couch rather than teleport to the compound to sleep. I don't want to be there and miss something important. I do teleport to the compound to change into more comfortable clothes. I grab a backpack and fold my suit and I put it in there. I miss Nat and Steve but I can't visit them because on missions we come home when the mission is over unless we need backup or something. I teleport back to Wanda's house and I get comfortable on the couch and I fall asleep.