ᑕᕼᗩᑭTEᖇ ᖴIᐯE:
˜"*°•.˜"*°• ᗰᗩGIᑕ ᗩᑕT •°*"˜.•°*"˜
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ᑭᖇEᐯIOᑌSᒪY:
The blood that crept from her skin was a bright, red colour. Natalya's eyes widened as she stood, a gasp leaving the throats of both Dottie and Wanda. Wanda moved away to get some ice while Natalya gently took Dottie's hand. Something inside Dottie clicked and her eyes flashed red. She looked at Natalya, wide eyed.
"Please help me, Natalya," Dottie whispered, "Please let my daughter out of her room. I just want to hold her, please. Please-."
Natalya removed her hands from Dottie and the woman acted as if nothing happened as Wanda came over.
The pair exchanged some words as Natalya looked at her hands with wide eyes.
What did she just do?
She wasn't given much time to ponder of the possibilities, since Wanda snapped her out of her daze.
"Come on Natalya, we've got to get ready for the talent show."
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"Mom, calm down, he'll be here soon," Natalya soothed her mother, who was pacing around backstage.
"Glad I don't have to follow this guy," Geraldine said with a grin, peeking through the curtain. Natalya sent her a look.
"Not helping, Geraldine."
Wanda turned to face Geraldine and Geraldine tried to fix her mistake, "Oh, but you're going to do great!"
Wanda paced the length of the backstage area before turning to Geraldine, "What time is it?"
Geraldine checked her watch, "Hmm, two minutes after the last time you asked."
Wanda paced again, a worried expression on her face, "I don't know where he could be!"
"Uh, he said he was going to the public library this morning," Natalya tried. She was actually trying to be supportive, even though she thought the whole thing was pretty dumb, "Once dad gets here, I'm going to sit in the crowd and watch, ok?"
"Wanda nodded, bringing her hand to her mouth nervously. She moved back to where they were moments before, letting Natalya see the blond man stumbling over.
"Oh my goodness," Natalya laughed, seeing her father struggle.
"It looks like he's got a little hitch in his giddyup," Geraldine observed as Vision tried to climb the stairs. Natalya took it back. This was going to be hilarious.
He made it up the stairs as Geraldine moved away, "Wanda, my little cabbage, you look smashing," He slurred.
"Vis?" Wanda asked and Vision gave a 'hmm' in response. "Where have you been?"
"Oh!" Vision's eyebrows furrowed as he tried to remember, "Uh, well, me and the boys were playing a rather thrilling game of horses with shoes. No, that's not it. Shoe horses!"
"You mean horse shoes," Natalya corrected, leaning against the railing. Vision grinned at her, "Natalya, my baby cabbage! You look... like a boy with long hair."
Natalya rolled her eyes. She'd heard that one before.
"Listen, something strange happened with Dottie. Well, something strange before that too. It's hard to explain," Wanda tried.
"Mom, don't. He doesn't understand in this state," Natalya told her mother.
A person in a horse costume walked by and Vision pointed at them "I was just playing with his shoes!"
"What is going on?" Wanda exclaimed. Geraldine looked over, "You are!"
"Come on mom, dad," Natalya encourage, walking down the steps backwards, "Go knock their socks off!"
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Natalya sat in a seat near Agnes, as per her mother's request. Dottie came on stage.
"I would like to thank you all for coming out," She began, "to support Westview Elementary. For the children."
Everyone repeated after her, "For the children."
"And for our final act, I give you, Wanda and Vision." With that, Dottie left the stage.
Wanda came on stage and scanned over the audience with her eyes before landing on Natalya, who shot her a nervous smile and thumbs up. Wanda gestured for Vision to enter, but no one did.
Vision came from behind the curtains at last, "Hello Westview! Good afternoon! It's so lovely to be here- I'm so sorry. Excuse me." He apologized to the railing when he bumped into it.
He introduced their names wrong, which Wanda had to correct. "I am Glamour and he's Illusion."
Vision thought for a second before continuing, "Yeah, what she said. Today, we will lie to you and yet you will believe our little deceptions because human beings are easily fooled due to their limited understanding of the inner workings of the universe. Flourish!"
Wanda mumbled something to Vision and Natalya groaned, leaning her head on the table. When she looked up, she could've sworn she saw a flash of purple near Agnes' hands, but it was probably her mind playing tricks on her.
Natalya saw Vision flying and made eye-contact with Wanda. The teen knew immediately what Wanda was wanting to do, so she gave a subtle nod. A rope attached to Vision came into view and Wanda began moving him in the air that way. Natalya gave her nod of approval.
"Ha! See there? He's using a rope!" Norm shouted to everyone, pointing at it. Natalya rolled her eyes, agreeing to what Vision had said.
Wanda lowered him down to the ground. Vision mumbled something and went over to the piano, lifting it with one arm. Natalya made eye contact with Wanda again and this time Natalya clicked her fingers. Wanda lifted it herself, accidentally showing the back, showing it was 2D.
"That was my grandmother's piano," Phil said as he watched the piano be carried off by Wanda.
"Oh, Sherbert!" Vision called, going down to a table, "Yeah, this is my old mate, Sherbert. Stand up Sherbert. Say hello to the crowd."
"It's Herbert, Herb," Herb corrected him quietly as Natalya groaned again, seeing another flash of purple from the corner of her eye. When she looked over at Agnes, Agnes just smiled and had her hands crossed in front of her.
"Pipe down, Sherbie and pick a card. Any card," Vision instructed, showing a deck of cards and turning around, "Yeah, put it back in the deck. I'm not looking. Alright. Watch this." He turned back around to face Herb. He gave the deck a small shuffle and picked a random card, the king of diamonds, "Is this your card?" He asked smugly.
"Uh, no."
"I beg to differ," Vision said, earning a head shake from Herb, "Really?" He pulled out another card and began throwing and choosing cards using his android speed.
"Is this your card?"
"Is this your card?"
"Is this your card?"
"Is this your card?"
"Is this your card?"
"Is this your card?"
Vision held the last card of the deck, "Is this your card?"
Herb smiled, "Oh it is!"
King of Spades.
"It is what?" Vision spat.
"It's my card," Herb elaborated.
Vision huffed and rolled his eyes, "Well, pardon me, Herb. Have it back." He shoved it onto the man's chest. Herb grabbed the card, "Oh, no you did the trick right!"
"Well, of course I did the trick right, I'm Illusion!" Vision retaliated. Natalya decided her father was much more fun when he wasn't... him. "Flourish! And now, for my next trick- Oh! Who stole my hat?"
A rabbit ran across the stage, coming from Vision's hat. The android demanded the rabbit to stop. Natalya let her forehead drop onto the table.
"Oh, come on, Natalya, head up," Agnes laughed quietly from next to her, "The crowd is loving them. If anything, they'll get a comedy award. Señor Scratchy has real star quality, don't you think?"
"I think it's evil," Natalya deadpanned, a shiver dancing down her spine and not from the cold. Wanda took Señor Scratchy backstage and Vision pushed the hat through himself. Seeing as no one else was there to explain it, Natalya snapped her fingers and caused the back curtains to swing open, revealing mirrors she had put there with her powers.
"Is that how mirrors work?" Beverly asked from next to Dottie.
"Shut up, Bev."
The crowd erupted in cheers as Vision continued, "And now, ladies and gentlemen, for our grand finale. I bring you, the Magnet of Crysteries!"
"The Cabinet of Mysteries," Wanda corrected from where she was behind the cabinet, pushing it on stage.
"Yeah, yeah, what she said," Vision told the crowd, "I will now make my wife...disappear."
He closed the door before Wanda could enter, making it awkward for Wanda. She and Natalya locked eyes, Natalya being the first to break it with a roll of hers.
"Are you sure you don't want an audience volunteer named 'My husband Ralph'?" Agnes called out, earning laughter from the people surrounding her.
Vision laughed, "No. Abracadabra!" He made a flourish with the wand and hit it against the cabinet.
Vision seemed to have noticed his mistake when Wanda brought his attention over to herself, while skillfully keeping character.
"What's in the box?" Herb began to chant and Natalya groaned out loud. This was becoming too much a headache for her without coffee. Norm joined him, followed by Dottie, Phil and Bev, until all of the audience was chanting 'What's in the box'.
Natalya rested her forehead on the table and laid one hand limply against the back of her neck. The fingers on the hidden hand under the table snapped together.
"Yeah, what's in the box?" Natalya heard Vision ask Wanda.
"What's in the box?"
"What's in the box?"
The crowd cheered as the couple opened the cabinet door and Natalya raised her head, a small grin making its way on her lips when she saw Geraldine in the box. She wasn't sure if it was going to work.
Vision, Geraldine and Wanda bowed, the couple hurrying off, as Natalya got up quickly to go backstage but Agnes stopped her.
"Where are you going?" Agnes inquired with a small smile on her face. Natalya gave her an uneasy one in return.
"To go check on my parents," She half-lied. She wanted to talk to her mother, since they had the same powers, about what she'd been able to do that day.
"Ok dear. Just don't fall!" Agnes joked and Natalya gave her an uneasy smile, before going around to the back of the stage.
Vision was holding a bit of gum in between his forefinger and thumb, "That really gummed up my works, didn't it?" He didn't get a reaction from his wife in front of him, "I'm not as funny without it, am I?"
"Nope," Natalya agreed, popping the 'p' slightly. She recognized that she'd been developing an accent of some sorts when she spoke, causing her to roll her r's a little bit. But she tried keeping her voice as normal as possible for her mother's sake.
"Well, you're back to yourself and that's all I care about," Wanda told him as Natalya repositioned herself against the railing, "Now, let's get out of here before Dottie and the planning committee string us up for ruining the show."
Wanda grabbed Vision's hand and pulled him with her, using her other hand to tilt her hat so it covered her face. They walked briskly down the sidewalk. Natalya was trailing a little behind, itching to use her powers and see what she could do.
"You two! Stop right there!" Dottie called, causing all three people walking the sidewalk to freeze in their tracks, ready for an embarrassing scolding, "Nothing like what you just did up here has happened in the history of our talent show."
"Dottie we are so-"
"Hilarious!" Dottie cut Wanda off with a smile on her face. Natalya tilted her head in confusion. Their performance was so close to telling the people of Westview about their powers. Dottie continued, "That was the most hilarious act we've ever seen. Wouldn't you all agree?"
The crowd began clapping and looking at the trio, causing Natalya to tilt her head away from view in embarrassment. She really didn't enjoy the spotlight.
"You two, come on up," Dottie motioned for them to come on the stage. Both adults looked at Natalya, who nodded with a sheepish grin playing on her lips, before taking each other by the hand and going onto the stage.
When they got on stage, Dottie held a small trophy, "On behalf of the planning committee, I would like to award you with the inaugural Comedy Performance of the Year."
It was only August. Why would they get comedy performance of the year if there are other acts people might do? Natalya wondered silently, keeping a smile on her face and slow clapping as her parents accepted the award.
They motioned for Geraldine to join them on stage and took a bow. Wanda knew her daughter was responsible for covering up a lot of Vision's mistakes and wanted to give her a chance in the spotlight, but people might question as to why she was up there.
It slipped her mind that her daughter hated attention and being at the center of it.
"For the children!" Norm called and everyone repeated him whilst clapping.
"For the children!"
Once again, Natalya was left looking around and wondering, where are the children?, which Agnes let a smirk fall on her lips as she noticed.
Maybe the teen wasn't fully under.
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"You were tremendous, Glamour," Vision complimented, now in his android form, as he dipped Wanda as they entered the house. Natalya pushed through, making a beeping noise.
"Let's keep it PG in here ok?" She asked but suddenly was confused. Where did that phrase 'let's keep it PG' come from? She hadn't heard it before.
Natalya sat on an armchair, not listening to her parent's conversation, once again lost in thought. She stared at her hands, unsure what she had done to Dottie earlier on. For the sake of her parents, she had pushed the thought to the back of her mind, but now all her questions were coming flooding back.
Was she cursed?
"Well, I think the children might need some popcorn," This sentence from Wanda dragged Natalya from her thoughts and she gasped as she saw Wanda.
"Uhm mom?" Natalya called, getting up. Wanda turned to her and Natalya's grin grew, "I'm going to be a big sister! Oh, the things I'll be able to teach them!"
Wanda's eyes grew as she glanced down, gasping as she saw her stomach bulging under the fabric of her shirt. She chuckled lightly at Natalya, thinking she had gotten the teen to show softness, only for her to turn it cunning.
Vision went up to Wanda as Natalya sat back down, suddenly glum, yet again finding herself staring at her hands. What if her new power hurt the baby? What if it caused the babies to freak out like Dottie did?
Vision and Wanda leaned in for a kiss, when a loud bang outside interrupted them and Natalya's thoughts. Vision opened the door angrily, muttering something about pulling a tree out by its roots. Wanda and Natalya trailed after him, both eager to see what had happened outside.
They went out to the street, just outside their fenceline. Natalya looked up and down the street, freezing when she saw a grate in the road moving. Wanda gripped her daughter's wrist and pulled her back next to her gently.
"What is that?" Vision asked, coming up behind Wanda and Natalya, putting his arms protectively around Wanda's middle.
"Your guess is as good as mine, dad," Natalya told him, fear and curiosity mixed in with her tone and a little bit of an accent creeping into the words.
A person in all white emerged from the sewers, turning 360 degrees to face the family. Vision tightened his grip a little around Wanda.
"No," Was all Wanda muttered before Natalya's vision was overcome with a mix of black and red.
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Suddenly, Natalya found herself back on the sofa she was on moments before, her parents re-discovering Wanda was pregnant.
"Mom, who was that man outside?" Natalya asked before they could kiss. Wanda turned to her daughter in confusion.
"What man?"
"Nevermind- golly!" Natalya exclaimed, seeing her skin changing colour. She stood in shock, glancing at her parents. Vision's skin had become a dark maroon with silver for his robot parts on his head and a yellow stone embedded in his forehead.
A red hue trailed over the walls, floors and ceilings, bright colours leaving in its wake. Out of shock of the sudden change, Natalya's mind pushed back all recent thoughts.
Wanda's clothing became red, her hair a lovely light shade of orange.
Natalya looked down at herself. Her pants were dark blue and her sweater was yellow with white cuffs. She took a piece of her hair in between her fingers, seeing her hair the same tone as Wanda's.
The family embraced each other in a hug.
"Goodnight," Natalya said as she climbed the stairs to go to her room.
When Natalya entered her room and changed into light yellow pajamas, a thought came into her mind. She looked at her hands.
Why hadn't Vision or Wanda reacted to her powers?
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ᗯOᖇᗪS: 2853 ᗪᗩTE: 28.9.2021