Despite the events of the night prior, Wanda still wakes up in her own bed.
She's not alone, but it's not her husband who lays beside her.
Lauren and Wanda lay side by side with disheveled hair in their costumes from last night before.
Wanda groans as her eyes open. They take in their surroundings, then glance over to the right to see the sleeping woman.
The twins eventually make their way into their mother's bedroom, confused and a little scared.
Wanda, after a little longer in bed, pushes the covers off and stands up with a sigh. She puts on a robe and puts her hair into a low bun. Before she leaves the room, she glances over at Lauren and feels... happy. In her dream, Lauren sees Steve. Her husband. Wanda watches the dream for a moment. She feels how much love Lauren had and still has for the Captain. Wanda takes a deep breath and bites the inside of her cheek. The mother leaves to go down the stairs, leaving Lauren all by herself in the big bed.
In her slumber, Lauren lives through the moments she shared with her one true love. The real ones. From when they met up until the day he died.
But, as with everything, her dream comes to a bitter end. She awakens with a gasp, for she believed, if only for a moment, that it was real. With a sigh, she escapes from the bed. She changes her clothes and goes down the stairs, only to find Wanda surrounded by furniture that does not match this decade. Wanda uses her powers to bring everything back to what it's supposed to be. Lauren makes direct eye contact with what would be the camera, then turns her attention back to Wanda. Wanda looks back at her and gives a nervous chuckle.
" I'm fine. I'm fine," Wanda says.
" Yeah, because your complete lack of control was a dead give away," Lauren says with a raised eyebrow.
Wanda keeps her nervous smile as goes back to her cereal. Lauren sighs once more as she looks down at the floor.
SNAP
All it takes. A simple snap. And with it, Westview goes on pause. Everything and everyone. Including Wanda.
Lauren steps forward to the red head. Lauren positions herself behind the couch and slowly brings her hands up. She cups her hands around Wanda's head and seeps into her mind. Eyes closed, she's brought into another dream.
Wanda's.
Except, it's everything but a dream. It's a nightmare.
She sees Wanda pleading with S.W.O.R.D. to give her Vision's body. She sees the android corpse laying on an operating table and Wanda cries over him. She sees Wanda walking around the foundation of their home with a paper in her hands. She sees Wanda break. She sees Wanda, in her grief, let her powers escape her body and create everything they see around them. She sees Wanda create the Westview Hex.
Lauren pulls back with a gasp and opens her eyes as tears well up. She looks at the red head in front of her with a gleam in her eyes.
And now, she understands.
Lauren understands why Wanda so desperately clings to this false reality... it's because she has nothing left.
And Lauren went through the exact same thing.
Two broken women with the ability to manipulate reality can accomplish great things, but they only wanted more time with their loved ones. It was never their intention to hurt anyone.
However, that's exactly what Westview is doing. All these people are trapped. Trapped in minds that are not their own. And as much as she understands, Lauren knows that the people don't deserve to be puppet's in Wanda's theater.
Lauren snaps once more, and Westview along with all its residents goes back to how it was before.
Wanda looks at her friend, of whom which looks as she feels on the inside, and tilts her head.
" Everything okay?" Wanda asks.
Lauren gives to response. She gives a fake smile and a nod. She instantly turns around and goes to the front door to escape the house of horrors. No powers, just her. Lauren begins her walk through Westview, and she intends to explore every inch of it.
And she has no idea what happens while she's gone. And its oh so much.
She doesn't know that Monica comes back into town, and that Wanda thinks of herself as a villain. She doesn't know that Agnes intervenes, nor that Wanda explores her basement. She doesn't know that Agnes traps Wanda and makes her relive her darkest moments. Her moments of loss. Her moments of pain. Her moments of grief.
It's only when the boarder of the Hex itself begin to separate does Lauren come out of her daze. She looks up at the sky and finds two androids, one purple, and one white. She tilts her head in confusion, but sighs in frustration.
" Here we go again," She mutters to herself.
Lauren flies up into the sky and gets closer to the android with white skin. It turns around to face her and tilts its head. It flies closer to her, then uppercuts her in the jaw. Lauren gets sent flying back down and down until she lands in the middle of town. She lets out a huff and stands up as she brushes off her clothes. She looks up to see Wanda crying and immediately rushes to her side. Lauren cups her face in her hands and looks her in the eyes to make sure she's okay.
" Ah, how sweet. A new lover, perhaps?" Agatha asks, " That's sure to make an interesting twist for this season."
Lauren's jaw tightens as she turns around to face the witch.
" Agatha, enough games," She says, " I can't let you do this."
" Oh, I'm not doing a single thing, " That's all Wanda."
Wanda's embraced by her family and they all make sure the other is alright. Agatha blasts her magic towards them, but Wanda puts up a forcefield just in time, but some of her powers get taken by Agatha.
Lauren tilts her head as she looks up at the purple witch. The other android and S.W.O.R.D. soon appear and surround them all. The two Visions' go off to fight, leaving Wanda and Lauren with the twins. With guns aimed, Agatha lifts up the soldiers with her magic, as if to show how weak they are.
" Same story, different century. There will always be torches and pitchforks for ladies like us," Agatha smirks.
She goes to drop them dozens of feet from the ground, but Wanda acts quickly and catches them, then lets them down gently. Lauren prepares to fly up once more, but Wanda puts a hand on her shoulder before she can. The women lock eyes in a moment of solace.
" Go. I can handle this," Wanda says.
" Wanda--" Lauren starts.
" I wasn't asking," Wanda says, then turns to her children, " Boys, handle the military. Mommy will be right back."
The red headed witch flies up to fight the purple witch, and Lauren lets out a heavy sigh. She's used to being the most powerful, and being put on the sidelines is definitely a new feeling.
The battle rages on, and the intensity is shown by the clouds in the sky. Agatha and Wanda continue on, neither willing to back down.
" I'm not a witch, I don't cast spells, nobody taught me magic!"
Words that might have rung true at one point, but not anymore. Soon, Wanda embraces it. She uses Agatha's own words against her, and just when Agatha thinks she has won, Wanda embraces her true colors.
" In a given space, only the witch who casts the runes can use her magic. Thanks for the lesson. But I don't need you to tell me who I am."
And with that, Wanda embraces it all. All of her powers. Everything. She takes everything that Agatha had taken and it all swirls together in scarlet chaos as Wanda truly embraces the Scarlet Witch.
Along with a costume change, Wanda dawns a new presence, one she knows very little about. She and Agatha go back to the ground, where Wanda makes a call that nobody really expected from her.
" I'll give you the role you chose... the nosey neighbor."
Agatha attempts to argue, but Wanda touches her and puts her under the Hex once more. Lauren looks at her surprisingly, but says nothing of it, for Wanda's children and husband share a loving embrace. Wanda looks back at her, but Lauren just gives her a smile.
" Go be with your family," Lauren says, " I'll be right here waiting for you."
Wanda gives her a sad smile, for they both know what comes next. The boarders of Westview begin to shrink as everything begins to fade back to normal. Inch by inch. Brick by brick, Westview goes from a fantasy to a cold reality.
Once it fades, everything feels... different. The feeling of being watched fades away.
Moments later, Wanda walks back into town and is greeted by the stares of all the residents. She keeps her head down as she walks to her friend. Lauren greets her friend with a smile.
" How are you feeling?" She asks.
" I thought I would feel empty... but I feel them... right here," Wanda says as she pats her heart.
Lauren gives her another smile as she takes a step closer.
" I'm so sorry... for everything," She says, " I would've been there for you... it's just..."
" You don't need to apologize," Wanda says, " You lost someone... just like I did."
Lauren takes yet another step forward and places her hands on both of Wanda's shoulders.
" If you need anything... I'm here, " She says, " You don't have to go through this alone."
Wanda smiles, then brings her hands up to cup Lauren's face. She looks her in the eyes, and despite everything she just went through, feels a ping in her heart. A ping of desire as she looks into the eyes of a woman who's just a friend. She thinks she hides the feeling... but Lauren picks up on it just as easily. She smiles down at the red head, but thinks nothing of it. It's not the time, nor the place.
" Thank you," Wanda whispers.
The woman then wrap their arms around one another and share an embrace. They sigh into each other's hair, then pull away with sad smiles.
Wanda changes her clothes with a flick of her wrist and then flies off into the gloomy New Jersey sky. Everybody watches her fly off, but one S.W.O.R.D. agent in particular looks back at the widow.
" What are you going to do now?" Monica asks.
Lauren considers the question for a moment, and avails no answer. She looks back at Monica, and with a smile on her face, gives an answer that she's truly content to give.
" I have no idea."