Wong and Wanda walked out of a portal and onto a snowy mountain. The Darkhold Castle was on top of Mount Wundagore.
The Avengers shuddered at seeing Mount Wundagore.
"That castle even looks evil," said Scott.
"It's Chthon's castle so, of course, it is," said Stephen.
Wanda still couldn't believe Chthon was involved in this. She thought she had a hang of her magic and was much more knowledgeable about it, but it turns out she still didn't know as much as she thought.
"You couldn't portal us up there?" Wanda asked. Wong said the Masters of the Mystic Arts weren't meant to tread upon the forbidden grounds of Wundagore.
"It's forbidden for a reason," said Wong. He had an empty feeling in his stomach at seeing all of this.
"I can see why if a super evil demon transcribed the Darkhold's spells into the walls of the Castle," said Sam.
Wanda flew towards the Darkhold Castle with Wong and landed in the castle. Wong explained that the first demon, Chthon, carved his dark magic into this tomb, and these spells were later transcribed into the Darkhold.
Loki listened to Wong's explanation with interest. Earth's sorcery and witchcraft were very different from Asgard's.
"Nothing good can come out of this," said Vision.
Wanda and Wong whirled around as they heard stone crumble, but didn't see anyone.
Everyone froze, especially Wong, Stephen, Clea, and Wanda.
"That castle continues to get creepier and creepier," said Kate.
"That castle literally has evil spells carved into its walls," Peter pointed out.
"There's no telling what soulless monstrosities lie within," Wong said, looking at a statue of Chthon.
Wong, Stephen, Clea, and Wanda looked at Chthon's statue in fear.
"This whole thing is a monstrosity," said Carol.
"Including those dreamwalking spells," Loki hissed.
"Who decides to go to the Darkhold Castle and willingly seeks out spells that Chthon himself has transcribed?" Wong said.
"Someone whose mind has been shattered by love," Stephen said, quoting O'Bengh. Strange Supreme would've done the same thing if it meant he could get Christine back.
Wanda's eyes softened.
The Darkhold Castle Guards roared as they surrounded Wong and Wanda, who cast defensive spells. The guards kneeled towards the Scarlet Witch.
There was a pause as everyone was taken aback.
"They're kneeling?" Wanda said, extremely confused.
Vision was firmly a technological man considering he was quite literally made from technology, but his and Wanda's relationship was a marriage of technology and magic. Sometimes he couldn't comprehend Wanda's world.
"They've been waiting for me," Wanda realized. She saw a giant statue of the Scarlet Witch. "This isn't a tomb. It's a throne."
Their eyes widened.
"This is a castle for...me?" Wanda said, astonished.
"Which makes sense since Chthon was the one who prophesied the existence of the Scarlet Witch," said Clea. She knew what it was like to deal with powerful entities since her uncle was called a Cosmic Conqueror and the Destroyer of Worlds.
"I still can't believe that all of this is happening and you had no idea you were a witch," said Steve.
"Believe me, sometimes I can't believe it myself. I don't think I wouldn't have completely understood it either if it wasn't explained to me," Wanda said.
"You need formally learn witchcraft without studying Darkhold. You have so much power," Clea said. "Stephen, Wong, and Loki can't fully help you, and I would teach you if I could, but you need to learn from a witch."
"Even if I have the potential to be the Scarlet Witch?" Wanda said warily.
Clea shrugged. "I'm a Faltine, Wanda. You haven't seen my Faltine form yet, but I know what it's like to deal with immense power. I have my entire life. The Faltine are renowned through many worlds for their rapaciousness and their thirst for conquest. I have warlord blood in my veins, but I'm not a conqueror."
Stephen and Wong's brows furrowed in confusion. Warlord? Just who was Clea's family?
"I draw power from the Dark Dimension, which some may consider...forbidden, and I'm centuries older than most of you. You do what you have to," Clea said.
"You don't have a prophecy about you."
"The prophecy will only come true if you let it. If you don't want to rule or destroy the multiverse, then don't. Your powers aren't inherently bad."
Wanda bit the inside of her cheek. Clea had given her a lot to think about.
"And have you forgotten about Strange Supreme? I, of all people, know what it's like to see yourself make the most horrible mistakes, and know the potential of destruction that I'm capable of," said Stephen.
Wanda's lips quirked up in a smile. There was a desire in her to do better, a desire she knew that Stephen also had. "I'm going to find a witch. A witch that's not Agatha," she said firmly. Even though 616 Agatha had been corrupted by the Darkhold the entire time she knew her, Agatha was heavily obsessed with power and killed her own mother for it. How could Wanda trust her? It would've been so much easier if Clea had been a witch. She liked Clea.
Meanwhile, Stephen was being escorted by Ultron sentries through the Illuminati headquarters in Earth-838.
The Avengers scowled at seeing the Ultron sentries.
"Ultron always ruins everything," Natasha grumbled. She never liked Ultron, but that hatred multiplied by a hundred after seeing Infinity Ultron's universe.
"I don't care if Ultron has worked out the way it's supposed to in this universe, but any organization that has Ultron sentries escorting their prisoners isn't going to be good," said Clint.
"I have no clue how Ultron became successful," said Tony. "If I knew, I would've done it myself."
"Stephen Strange, you are now called before the Illuminati. I, Baron Karl Mordo, the Sorcerer Supreme, do hereby..." "Karl?" Stephen interrupted, astonished.
So did 727 Stephen. "His name is Karl?!"
"Yes, you didn't know?" Wong questioned.
"No!"
"Mordo's the Sorcerer Supreme on Earth-838? No wonder that universe is awful," said Steve.
"Mordo as Sorcerer Supreme? What a nightmare," said Stephen.
A shield was thrown near Stephen, bounced towards the wall, and Captain Carter caught it. "Captain Carter. The first Avenger," Mordo introduced.
Steve's eyes lit up. "Captain Carter!" He took back every bad thing he said about Earth-838 and the Illuminati. They couldn't be horrible if Peggy was on the team.
"Huh, so I'm assuming that 838 Captain Carter follows the same sequence of events as the Guardians of the Multiverse variant," said Tony.
"I bet even 838 Steve decided to fly around in the HYDRA Stomper suit and got himself stuck into cryo for decades too," Bucky grumbled.
"Blackagar Boltagon. Keeper of the Terrigen Mists, the Inhuman king."
Everyone's brows shot up.
"I probably understood three words out of that entire sentence," said Rhodey.
"Earth-838 is different than ours because I don't know what the Inhuman King and Terrigen Mists are," Thor said.
"Our universe doesn't have invasive memory buttons laying on the sidewalk," T'Challa pointed out.
"And people in our universe understand the concept of color," said Kate.
"Blackagar Boltagard? Huh. Hidigy hid it here," Stephen said.
The team snorted.
"Captain Marvel. Defender of the cosmos," Mordo said, gesturing to Maria Rambeau.
Carol blinked in surprise and then grinned widely. "Maria?"
"Monica's mother?" Wanda asked.
"Yes. Maria and I must've switched places—oh," Carol froze as she realized what 838 Maria would've gone through to become Captain Marvel. Assuming Maria was the one who flew the plane that day, not her, Maria would've been kidnapped by the Kree, had her memory erased, and used as a weapon. It would also mean that Monica would've been left without a mother for five years; essentially becoming an orphan for a brief period. Was the Kree blood transfusion why Maria was alive in 2025, and hadn't died in 2020?
Carol knew Maria would do a fantastic job at defending the cosmos, but she didn't want her to go through all that pain.
"And the smartest man alive, Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four." Reed appeared through a Time Platform. "Hello, Stephen," he greeted warmly.
Tony scoffed. "Smartest man alive? Yeah, right. I've never even heard of this guy."
"And he seems to know 616 Stephen pretty well?" Stephen said, tilting his head in curiosity.
"I understand Peggy Carter and Maria Rambeau because they're basically Captain America and Captain Marvel variants, and even Mordo because he's the Sorcerer Supreme, but it's the others I'm confused about," said Natasha. "Is Fantastic Four and Inhuman King supposed to mean something?"
"Put Blackagar Boltagon and Reed Richards on the list of people to look into in our universe," said Sam.
"That list is getting a little long since it also includes Otto Octavius, Norman Osborn, Harry Osborn, Max Dillon, Curt Connors, Flint Marko, Eddie Brock, Gwen Stacy, and Miles Morales," said Peter.
Loki narrowed his eyes at Reed. "Richards' portal looks a little too familiar to a TVA Timedoor, doesn't it?"
"Like a rudimentary version," Bruce agreed.
"But what connection does Reed Richards have with He Who Remains?" Scott questioned.
"He Who Remains is from the 31st century," Thor said, eying Reed with suspicion. "There can be a lot of things in between that can connect them."
"Fantastic Four. Didn't you guys chart in the '60s?" Stephen said defensively.
"How do you remember that?" Bucky asked.
"I have a photographic memory," Stephen replied. He also used to make it a habit of learning information about music.
Maria asked if this was a joke to him, and Stephen pointed out that there was a guy with a fork on his head.
"The Illuminati kinda does seem like a joke," said Scott.
Carol and Steve frowned.
"This is a waste of time. 616 Stephen needs to get out, grab America, and find 838 Wong or even 838 Peter so they can find the Book of Vishanti," said Stephen.
"Peggy can help them!" said Steve.
"So can Maria!" Carol insisted.
"Maria Rambeau doesn't seem to be inclined to help them," Vision said. He was quite fond of Monica Rambeau, though.
"Stephen just needs to tell them what danger they're in, and Maria will help," Carol said.
"Be grateful Black Bolt doesn't engage you in conversation," Peggy said.
The Avengers looked at Black Bolt in curiosity.
"What's up with him? I mean, Stephen's right, Black Bolt has a fork on his head," said Clint.
"Why? Does he have bad breath?" Stephen asked. "This Strange is even more arrogant than ours," Peggy said, talking to Maria.
"Considering 838 Stephen is dead, I think 616 Stephen is doing pretty well," said Stephen.
"The Illuminati need to hurry it up. Every second they waste, it's a second America is in danger," said Natasha.
"And there's a possibility an incursion will be triggered too," Clea added.
"The multiverse gets worse and worse every time," Loki grumbled.
Steve looked at Peggy strangely. "But Stephen and Peggy are supposed to be friends?" The Guardians of the Multiverse variants of Stephen and Peggy had been friends and yet, it was so different on Earth-838. The other Peggy had been familiar, but 838 Peggy was different. She was...colder.
"No, just more alive," said Stephen. "For now," Maria said, letting out a tiny smirk.
The Avengers eyed Maria in distaste, and Carol was taken aback.
"Are they going to kill Stephen and America?" Peter said, outraged.
"I don't trust the Illuminati," said T'Challa. He had a bad feeling about all of this. "I understand Peggy Carter and Maria Rambeau are your loved ones," he told Steve and Carol, "But something's not right with the Illuminati, or Earth-838 as a whole. I respected the Guardians of the Multiverse variant of Captain Carter, but 838 Captain Carter is—"
"—Different," Steve finished with a lump in his throat. "I know."
"Stephen, your arrival here confuses and destabilizes reality. The larger the footprint you leave behind, the greater the risk of an incursion," Reed said.
Everyone was weighed down by dread.
"He's right. 616 Stephen and America need to get the Book of Vishanti and get out of Earth-838," Clea said.
Reed explained that an incursion occurred when the boundary between two universes eroded and they collided, destroying one or both entirely.
"What 616 Wanda wants is never going to work," said Bruce. "Say she does get what she wants after killing 838 Wanda and a child; she's going to cause an incursion by staying in that universe, eventually killing the twins through the destruction of an entire universe. And even if she does manage to stop the incursion, the problem won't fully go away until 616 Wanda gets out of Earth-838."
"We already saw this once with Strange Supreme, and Wanda's doing the same thing. They're going down the same path. The two of you really are two sides of the same coin," said Carol.
Wanda realized that just like Strange Supreme, 616 Wanda was so lost in her grief that she wasn't realizing that was hurting the people around her like America and the sorcerers.
"Your alternate self created the Illuminati to make difficult decisions that no one else could," said Peggy.
"That's basically what Fury said about the Avengers," said Clint.
"838 Stephen created the Illuminati? I knew I wouldn't like him," Stephen grumbled.
"What the Illuminati have created isn't an entirely bad idea," said Tony. "They have a team representing different aspects—an Avenger, a sorcerer, and someone who represents space. I don't know what Black Bolt and Richards are supposed to represent, though."
"That's sort of what the Avengers are shaping up to be with all of our newer members—wait, who's even leading the team now? Steve and Tony are both retired," Sam asked.
A pause as the Avengers looked at each other.
"I think Nat would be a good idea," Steve suggested. "616 Natasha led the team during the Blip, coordinating with our members in space as well. And she represented us at Congress during the HYDRA mess and was involved with the UN during the Accords. I think she would be the best for the job—our Natasha never got the chance to lead yet. And, well, I don't think it's a coincidence that Natasha dies and none of the Avengers are talking to each other. She was always the glue holding us together."
Bucky beamed. Natasha was a fantastic choice.
"Christ, Nat's going to be a terrifying leader," said Clint. The rest of the Avengers looked at Natasha, extremely proud.
Natasha looked at Steve, touched. "I can't do it alone, there are too many threats and a lot more members to handle now. But Tony's right, even though the Illuminati don't seem like the best people, they have the right idea by having someone from different areas working together on a team, which is why I'm putting Sam in charge of Earth, Carol in charge of space, and Stephen in charge of magic. They have Captain Marvel, Doctor Strange, and Captain America—or their version of Captain America—on their team too. I'm not familiar with the Fantastic Four or the Inhumans so I don't think we need them at the moment."
"Are you sure?" Stephen said. "All of us saw what happened to Strange Supreme."
"Wong is too busy with his Sorcerer Supreme duties. I'm not choosing Loki for obvious reasons and I don't know if he'll even be allowed on Earth. Wanda's mostly retired once she has the twins, and while Clea's great, I don't know her as well as I know you and she's from an entirely different dimension. Besides, I'm not going to judge people on their worst mistakes."
Natasha wasn't judging Wanda on her worst mistakes either, but she didn't think Wanda would be interested in leading the team anyway. 838 Wanda seemed happy with her family; she wanted 727 Wanda to have the same happiness.
Stephen hesitated. "Alright."
"I won't be able to visit Earth very often, a lot of my responsibilities are in space," Carol warned.
"That's fine, I need you in space anyway. We'll just hold regular meetings through the holograms," said Natasha. "As my first official rule as the leader of the Avengers, I'm making everyone go to therapy," she announced.
"As co-leader, I second this," said Sam.
Everyone else chuckled.
"After everything we've seen, I'm not going to disagree," said Stephen.
"Today, we're here to determine what to do with you and the child," said Peggy.
"Help them, obviously," Steve answered looking at Peggy in confusion. "Why is that something that needs to be debated upon?"
Bucky decided he liked the Guardians of the Multiverse version of Captain Carter a lot more than 838 Captain Carter.
Maria told him to speak if he had anything serious to say. Stephen asked if they seriously thought he was a bigger threat than the Scarlet Witch.
"If 616 Stephen was as powerful as Strange Supreme then, yeah, maybe, but he's not," said Tony.
"What's their problem with Stephen? Yeah, he can be a bit of an asshole at times but he's always worked well with us," said Sam.
"Looking at my history with variants, 838 Stephen is probably even worse than I am," Stephen said.
"They're too arrogant," T'Challa noted.
"If America is harmed because the Illuminati took too much debating about what to do, her blood is on their hands," Kate spat.
Steve and Carol's stomachs twisted. How could Peggy and Maria do this?
"Oh, we can handle your little witch if she decides to dreamwalk," said Maria.
Everyone's brows shot up, Carol frowned, and Wanda looked at Maria in amusement.
Steve scowled. He had no idea why Peggy was on that team. The Peggy he knew would've dropped everything to protect America.
T'Challa's face soured. "They have no idea who they're dealing with. They can't be arrogant enough to think they can deal with the Scarlet Witch?"
"I know 838 Wanda isn't as powerful as 616 Wanda, but she's still powerful. She's been insanely powerful since the day we met her," said Bruce.
"Mordo is the Sorcerer Supreme on Earth-838, he should know exactly how dangerous the Scarlet Witch can be," said Wong.
Stephen snorted. "That would require Mordo to be a good Sorcerer Supreme, and we both know that's not happening."
"I thought what the Illuminati have created is a good idea in theory, but it's clearly not working since they have their heads up their asses. Mordo isn't even telling them who exactly they're dealing with," said Tony.
"No, you cannot. Not unless you give me the Book of Vishanti."
"Stephen needs to get out of there, steal the Book of Vishanti, grab America, and leave," said Peter.
"It's going to be a little hard to do that when Stephen's magic has been suppressed through those goddamn cuffs, and Captain Marvel is in the room with him and she doesn't seem to want to listen to 616 Stephen," said Tony.
Reed said they didn't fear the Scarlet Witch. "From our experience, the greatest danger to the multiverse, it turns out, is Doctor Strange," he said.
Vision thought it was nice that at least someone didn't fear the Scarlet Witch, even though they probably should.
"What?" Stephen said, baffled. He paused. "Well, he's not wrong considering what Strange Supreme did, but this is the Scarlet Witch we're talking about!"
"They don't fear the Scarlet Witch? What a bunch of idiots," said Rhodey. "Mordo should've known better."
"...I thought 838 Stephen defeated Thanos? How is he the greatest danger to the multiverse?" Clint said.
"If they think Doctor Strange is the greatest danger to the multiverse, they clearly haven't met Infinity Ultron and He Who Remains' psycho variants," said Thor.
Based on what Clea had heard and seen, Strange Supreme, Defender Strange, and 616 Stephen made a lot of mistakes, but Stephen was also the person who sacrificed himself again and again so his reality could be saved, and made Dormammu his prisoner. She had never seen someone sacrifice themself so selflessly before, and it eventually inspired her to lead the rebellion against Dormammu.
Wanda looked away. Stephen didn't have a prophecy about how he was destined to destroy the world; she had a burden that he never would, but she thought it was a burden she needed to become better, otherwise, she would end up just like 616 Wanda.
Stephen was confused as he thought 838 Stephen was Earth's mightiest hero who died defeating Thanos.
"Exactly! Why the hell is there a statue?" Stephen asked.
"The Illuminati are covering up something about 838 Stephen's death," Clea said. She just wanted Stephen and America out of the Illuminati headquarters.
"We should tell him the truth," Charles Xavier said, entering on his yellow hoverchair. "Our final member, Professor Charles Xavier," Mordo introduced.
"We don't know Xavier either," said Sam.
"We have to add him to the list too," said Carol.
"Who is he supposed to represent?" Wanda questioned.
"What truth?" "That's not how our Strange died."
"How did he die?" Stephen asked warily.
"We should've known that the Illuminati were keeping secrets. They seem like the type of people to do so," said T'Challa.
Meanwhile, Wanda was looking at a statue of Wiccan at the Darkhold Castle on Earth-616.
Wanda and Vision's eyes bugged out and the rest of the Avengers were lost for words.
"...Is that Billy?" Vision said, flabbergasted. "Is he a part of a prophecy too?"
"Any prophecy I know is about the Scarlet Witch, not Billy Maximoff," Wong said, equally confused.
"What does Chthon want with him?" Wanda growled.
"The clothes Billy's wearing in the statue sort of look like his Halloween costume in the Hex," said Peter.
"I didn't understand Billy's Halloween costume," said Scott.
"Wanda was clearly wearing a cheap version of the Scarlet Witch outfit for Halloween. The tiara basically looked identical!" said Clint.
"Vision dressed up as a cheap version of himself too. I don't know what he was trying to do by passing it as a wrestler," said Rhodey.
"Vision didn't even choose the outfit. Wanda chose it for him. There wasn't anything else in his closet," said Bucky.
"Is this some weird Hex stuff again?" Tony asked.
Wong wondered why Wanda would take America's power for her own when she could force her to send her to any universe she wanted. "You know it would kill her," he said.
"Exactly!" said Kate.
"And I bet America would want to do it too if it means she doesn't have to see Wanda again," said Bruce.
"What about causing an incursion?" Thor asked.
Loki chuckled darkly. "The multiverse is breaking apart no matter what."
"For Billy and Tommy, to protect them. What if they get sick? In the infinite multiverse, there's a cure for every illness. A solution to every problem. I won't lose them again," Wanda said.
"I get it, but isn't Wanda powerful enough to come up with a solution herself? She has Chaos Magic," said Scott.
"And whatever Wanda's saying doesn't justify taking America's power. She'll die," said Stephen. His body went cold at the thought.
Wanda was glad that Scott had suggested that she could use a sperm donor so the twins could exist outside of the Hex. Vision didn't exist on Earth-838, and there wasn't any evidence that anyone else was Other Billy and Tommy's father. Maybe Other Wanda used a sperm donor too?
"Wanda, you cannot control everything," Wong said.
Stephen stilled. Everything Wanda was going through was so familiar. He had a control issue, and so did Wanda. "Strange Supreme tried to control everything and look what happened."
Wanda buried her face in her hands while Vision rubbed her back. "616 Wanda is going down the exact same path as Strange Supreme," she said.
"But I can. Look around you. It's carved in stone. I was meant to rule everything, but that's not what I want. I just want my boys," said Wanda.
"Destined to rule or destroy the world," Wong muttered.
"But 616 Wanda will also be depriving 838 Wanda of the boys," Vision said. He just wanted Wanda to be happy, but she had to stop. She was harming too many people, including herself.
"At the cost of a child's life? Is there no peace in knowing that even though you can't be with the ones you love, there are worlds where you are together? Is that not enough?" Wong asked.
"Exactly!" said Wong.
"The boys are happy. They're loved and happy," Wanda whispered.
"No," Wanda said as she pushed Wong off the Darkhold Castle.
There was a collective gasp as Wanda and Wong blanched, and Vision closed his eyes in disappointment.
Stephen's face hardened as fury twisted inside of him. He had been sympathetic towards 616 Wanda, but she had officially gone too far. "Wanda killed Wong," he said, breathless with anger.
"She just killed the Sorcerer Supreme," Clea said faintly.
"Which is just another casualty in the very long list of people Wanda's killed," said Bucky.
"The twins wouldn't want this. I wouldn't want this either," Vision said.
Steve shook his head sadly. "What is it going to take for Wanda to snap out of the Darkhold's influence?"
"Considering she's at the Darkhold Castle—a place that was made for her—it'll take a lot," Wong answered, still pale at seeing his death. He was an awful Sorcerer Supreme. His primary duty was to protect Earth from mystical threats and the multiverse, as well as protect the Masters of the Mystic Arts. He had seen himself fail at both.
Later, 616 Wanda dreamwalked into 838 Wanda.
"If 616 Wanda continues to dreamwalk, she's going to cause irreparable damage to both 616 and 838 Wanda's universe," said Clea. "She's putting the 838 Billy and Tommy in danger too, as well as America, who shouldn't have gone through any of this."
Wanda walked out of the house and flew into the air.
"America's going to die if the Illuminati don't come to their senses," Peter said.
Cut to the Illuminati HQ. "Our Strange did not die defeating Thanos. While the rest of us banded together to try to stop Thanos, Stephen, as always, chose to go it alone," Xavier explained.
"Like walking away to use the Time Stone to look into possible outcomes of the coming conflict instead of working with the rest of the team who were trying to create a plan to take down Thanos," said Tony. He used to think that he worked better alone but in hindsight, it was a hilariously laughable idea after looking at the threats they faced.
Stephen grimaced. That, unfortunately, was true.
"He turned to the Darkhold and began dreamwalking in hopes that our salvation might lie in the multiverse," Mordo added.
Everyone's hearts skipped a beat and Stephen's face turned an unhealthy shade of grey. "D-Dreamwalking?" he said, shaken. He wasn't surprised that 838 Stephen would use the Darkhold, though.
"Dreamwalking?" Clea and Wanda yelped.
"He had the Darkhold?" Vision said, his hatred for the Darkhold increasing every minute.
"Dreamwalking is a bit of a hasty decision. The 616 Avengers defeated Thanos without the Darkhold," said Sam. "Surely the Illuminati would be able to do the same?"
"And wouldn't dreamwalking trigger an incursion? How is that going to help anyone? 838 Stephen could've accidentally destroyed all of Earth-838 instead of Thanos killing half of it," said Thor.
"And guess what? It didn't. But he kept doing it anyway," Maria said.
Stephen clenched his jaw. Every version of Stephen Strange was completely awful. It said a lot when Strange Supreme, of all people, was the variant he tolerated the most.
"Well, yes, 838 Stephen became corrupted. Look at what happened to 616 Wanda. She didn't stop even after the Darkhold was destroyed," Loki said.
"Mordo did say that dreamwalking was corrosive to the soul," Peter pointed out.
"There are so many options before resorting to the Darkhold," said Bruce.
"Where were the rest of us during this?" Rhodey asked.
"I'm assuming most of us have retired since Ultron was successful, and we know Clint's been trying to retire for years, but I would've thought that the Illuminati would at least call us because it's Thanos," said Tony. Even though there was a large change 838 Tony was dead, he hoped that 838 Tony had retired after successfully creating Ultron and was living a peaceful life with Pepper and Morgan. A life similar to 838 Wanda's.
Reed explained that 838 Stephen had confessed that he had been dreamwalking and that things had gotten out of hand.
Stephen ran a hand down his face. "Of course, it did! It's the Darkhold and dreamwalking!"
"Things are getting out of hand with Wanda doing the same thing too," said Bucky.
"I'm destroying both the Darkhold book and the Darkhold Castle. I don't care what prophecy Billy and I are a part of, I'm not getting involved in any of it," Wanda said. She was going to live a nice, peaceful life with Vision and the twins, attend her magic study group with her magic friends, and help out the Avengers if they needed it.
Vision nodded firmly. "Billy is going to grow up without any of that."
Reed said that 838 Stephen had inadvertently triggered an incursion and caused the annihilation of another universe. "Everyone in that reality died," Maria added.
The Avengers looked at each other, horrified. Stephen's stomach dropped, Wanda had a lump in her throat, and Wong's face hardened.
"He caused an incursion? They couldn't fix it?" Clea said, fear creeping up her spine.
"And it's something 616 Wanda is going to end up doing if she doesn't stop," said Thor. He had already lost his home once; he couldn't see the universe get destroyed too.
"This is the second time a Stephen Strange had caused the annihilation of a universe," Loki stated.
"You may not have caused the destruction of a universe, but you're the reason my dad's dead so I wouldn't talk," Kate spat.
Loki winced while Clint shot him a dirty look. "...Sorry," Loki said awkwardly, causing Kate to glare at him harder.
"Stephen renounced the Darkhold's evil and helped us find the Book of Vishanti, a weapon we did use together to defeat Thanos. But one final threat remained," Xavier said.
Wong narrowed his eyes at Xavier. He knew Stephen was capable of many things, but he was still someone who he cared about very much—not that he would ever say that out loud. What did they do to 838 Stephen?
"What threat?" Clea asked warily.
"They used the Book of Vishanti to defeat Thanos? It's too bad 616 Stephen thought the Book of Vishanti was a myth before this," said Carol.
"I don't think there was enough time to find it either. Everything happened so fast," Steve said.
"If 838 Stephen renounced the Darkhold then maybe 616 Wanda can renounce it too?" Vision said hopefully.
Wanda let out a watery smile. "I hope so."
Xavier showed Stephen his memory using his telepathic abilities.
They blinked in surprise.
"What kind of telepathic abilities does Xavier have?" Rhodey asked.
The Illuminati were on Titan.
Tony, Peter, and Stephen's lips thinned at seeing Titan again.
"Of course, this had to happen on Titan. Nothing good ever happens on that planet," Tony spat.
Thanos' corpse was lying on the side with his sword stabbed through his chest. The Infinity Gauntlet had four Infinity Stones.
There was a loud silence as everyone stared at Thanos' corpse in utter disbelief.
"What the fuck am I looking at?!" Bucky exclaimed.
"They defeated Thanos when he had four Infinity Stones?" Clint said, astonished.
"Thanos hasn't been stabbed in the head," Thor noted.
"I know it's a different universe and they had the Book of Vishanti, but what the hell is this?" Sam said.
"The Illuminati are only six people and they defeated Thanos? 616 Avengers and Guardians couldn't beat him the first time," Stephen said, astounded.
"They also have different players. I bet having Reed 'the smartest man alive' Richards there would change things," Carol said.
"So? We have Tony, Bruce, and Peter. Princess Shuri also helped," Scott said.
"But who knows what else he, Black Bolt, and Xavier can do? We already know Xavier has telepathic abilities," said Tony.
"And they also had Captain Marvel with them at the time. Carol arrived after Thanos snapped," said Natasha.
838 Stephen was kneeling on the ground. His face was streaked with tears and blood, and his fingertips were tinged black.
Everyone's hearts twisted seeing 838 Stephen in this state. Wong, Stephen, Clea, and Wanda's eyes immediately dropped to 838 Stephen's blackened fingertips and felt sick. What had the Darkhold done to him?
Reed was holding 838 Stephen's blue Cloak of Levitation.
"The Cloak is blue in that universe," Stephen noted.
"I think Richards and 838 Stephen used to be close friends," said Bruce.
"Reed Richards needs to be looked into. His portal is too similar to a TVA Timedoor for my liking," said Thor.
"I shall miss you, my friend," Xavier said. "I'm ready," 838 Stephen said.
All of them stiffened.
"Miss him? What are they going to do to him?" Clea said, narrowing his eyes at the Illuminati.
Black Bolt stepped forward. "I'm sorry," he spoke. There was a high-pitched trill as an echo permeated, and 838 Stephen dissolved.
There was a collective intake of breath. Wong was cold with fury, Wanda and Clea bit back their anger, terror streaked through Peter, and Stephen couldn't wrap his mind around what he had seen.
"They killed him?" Peter said, outraged. "There are so many options before killing someone!"
"If we executed everyone who made awful decisions, we wouldn't have very many people on the team," said Natasha.
"So that's what Black Bolt can do? No wonder he doesn't talk," Wong said. His face hardened at the sight of the Illuminati executing 838 Stephen.
"But 838 Stephen renounced the Darkhold," Sam said. "I understand that he caused an incursion and is responsible for the deaths of trillions, and the Illuminati should be rightfully angry, but he renounced it and they still executed him!" He hoped Wanda would do the same thing and renounce the Darkhold. No one was even thinking about executing her.
"And 838 Stephen just accepted his death," Tony said, his anger spiking. "He was the one who created the Illuminati and they're the ones who killed him."
Because 838 Stephen felt guilty for what he had done, Stephen thought, having mixed feelings. Even though 838 Stephen had been corrupted by the Darkhold, he was still responsible for the destruction of an entire universe. 838 Stephen chose to dreamwalk, knowing that he could've caused an incursion. He might have understood if there was no other choice, but they had already seen Thanos die on Earth-616 without using the Darkhold. There was another choice, 838 Stephen just hadn't taken it.
"Strange Supreme basically did the same thing as 838 Stephen and he went on to protect the multiverse," said Natasha. "The multiverse would not be standing if it wasn't for Strange Supreme and what he did against Infinity Ultron. Wanda can still make up for what she's done too."
Wanda nodded. That was the only reason she had hope that 616 Wanda still had the potential to help people, instead of harming them.
"Peggy stood by and did nothing? The Peggy I knew would never do that!" Steve said, crossing his arms. "The Guardians of the Multiverse version of Captain Carter worked with Strange Supreme even though he basically did the same thing because he wanted to become better. They were friends!"
Stephen found it odd how his variants' experiences with Peggy Carter were different throughout the multiverse. He had never met her and never would since she was dead, but if the Peggy in their universe had been anything like the Guardians of the Multiverse version, he would've liked to.
"Maria wouldn't either. She would've helped him!" Carol exclaimed.
"Well, both of them didn't," said Rhodey.
The memory ended, and 616 Stephen was shaken at what he'd seen.
So were the rest of the Avengers, especially Stephen.
"Did you tell Christine?" Stephen asked. "Yes," Reed replied.
"What about Wong? Does 838 Stephen even know Peter? Were 838 Stephen and 838 Wanda friends?" Stephen asked.
Stephen asked about the statue.
T'Challa didn't like how the Illuminati hid their activities from the rest of the world.
"The world needs heroes. We made the difficult choice because we knew what our Strange was capable of. What, perhaps, every Doctor Strange is capable of," said Peggy.
Stephen swallowed thickly. He was very aware of what every Doctor Strange was capable of.
Wanda's heart jumped into her throat. What is every Wanda Maximoff capable of? She currently wasn't the Scarlet Witch, but the prophecy of the Scarlet Witch existed in every universe. Was there a possibility she could become the Scarlet Witch and not harm anyone? Clea believed she could and she was the only powerful female magic user Wanda knew besides Agatha, and Agatha hadn't made the best life choices either.
"What every Doctor Strange is capable of? I don't think they're entirely wrong because Strange Supreme kinda did the same thing," said Rhodey.
"Even if 838 Stephen was responsible for an incursion, they didn't have to kill him after he had renounced the Darkhold. We would never do that with our Stephen or Wanda," Natasha said, a sour look on her face. The Avengers were going to change a lot under her leadership. They had to.
"I can even understand their distrust toward 616 Stephen after what 838 Stephen did, but that doesn't mean America needs to be caught up in all of this or why they can't help her," said Clint. "Can't they first help America and then do all of this? They're wasting time."
"They think America is a threat too," T'Challa said.
"America is a kid!"
An alarm blared. "The building's been breached," Reed said. "No shit, genius," Stephen said in thinly veiled annoyance.
Tony rolled his eyes. "So much for 'smartest man alive.'"
"This is the perfect distraction for Stephen to get out and help America escape," said Kate.
"That's right. America shouldn't be anywhere near the Illuminati," Peter said.
Stephen, Clea, and Wong nodded firmly. "America's safety is the highest priority and they need to get out of that universe," said Clea.
Peggy asked for a status report on the sentries, and holograms of 838 Wanda's body fighting the Ultron sentries appeared.
A small part of Wanda couldn't help but be satisfied at seeing herself fight the Ultron sentries.
"Wanda's there for America," Stephen said, extremely frightened. 616 Wanda had already killed Wong, she couldn't kill America too.
"She's heading for the child," said Maria.
"That child has a name and it's America!" Stephen snapped, glaring at Maria.
Peggy said they would vote on their return. The Illuminati left, leaving only Mordo and Xavier.
"I don't understand why they need to have a vote. Helping a child should be a no-brainer," said Scott.
"The Illuminati seemed like the type of people to do what they did to 838 Stephen to both 616 Stephen and America," said T'Challa.
Steve and Carol's throats tightened. They hoped the Illuminati wasn't like that, but it sounded like something they do. 838 Peggy and Maria were very different to the versions they were used to.
"Stephen, should you manage to escape this chamber, you must guide America Chavez. Save the girl and get to the Book of Vishanti," said Xavier.
Everyone's eyes lit up.
"They have the Book of Vishanti there?" Wanda said, elated.
"What does Xavier mean by 'should you manage to escape this chamber?' Just let Stephen out!" Wong said.
Guiding America Chavez is exactly what Stephen had in mind. He was certain that landing on Earth-838 wasn't a coincidence if they had the Book of Vishanti.
Xavier said 838 Stephen built a waypoint.
"838 Stephen did something good for once," said Stephen.
"If he finds the waypoint, he can use the Book of Vishanti to stop Wanda," Clint said hopefully.
"But it's not going to end until the Darkhold Castle is destroyed," said Clea.
"Use the Book of Vishanti to stop Wanda and destroy the castle," said Vision.
"And make sure America stays far away from Wanda," Kate added.
Mordo was outraged. "Charles, we cannot trust him."
"Mordo needs to shut the fuck up," said Tony. "America's about to die."
"I believe we can. Just because someone stumbles and loses their way doesn't mean they're lost forever. We will see what kind of Doctor Strange you are."
The Avengers let out a small smile, especially Stephen and Wanda. Stephen hoped he wasn't lost forever as there was nothing like seeing all the mistakes his variants have made to have a strong desire to become better.
Wanda let out a watery smile. "I hope not."
"Xavier's right. Half of us have stumbled and lost our way," Natasha said.
"Xavier is suddenly my favorite member of the Illuminati, but that's not a hard choice when you look at all the other members," said Bruce.
Steve and Carol frowned.
Meanwhile, the Ultron sentries were running toward Wanda.
"Destroy all of them," Tony snarled. It wasn't as if the sentries would provide any sort of defense against the Scarlet Witch.
"That's something I think 616 Wanda will do happily," said Wanda.
Christine ran towards the computer to override the lock on the computer to release America.
After all of the changes in the variants Stephen had seen throughout the multiverse, he was glad that Christine wasn't extremely different and was still protecting America.
Meanwhile, an Ultron head was thrown out as Wanda walked out of the fog with motor oil down her body. Wanda crushed the Ultron head as she walked past it.
"Oh, that's so satisfying to see," said Wanda.
"Wanda looks terrifying with motor oil down her body," said Scott.
"She was already terrifying," said Kate.
Clint wished that Kate's first interaction with Wanda wasn't with watching her slaughter innocent sorcerers and try to kill a kid.
Christine tried to let America out, but Wanda's magic was interfering.
Everyone's hearts dropped to their stomachs.
"No!" Wanda and Stephen cried, horrified.
Peggy flew down and blocked Wanda's way. Wanda looked at her in slight recognition.
"838 Peggy has a jetpack? The other Captain Carter didn't have a jetpack," Steve said. "And 616 Wanda recognized her," Steve noted.
"She's important to you. I know you're not very happy with 838 Captain Carter, but you still care about her," Wanda said.
Steve nodded stiffly.
Black Bolt, Captain Marvel, and Mister Fantastic assembled in front of Wanda. Reed stretched into the frame.
"...Did Richards' arm just stretch very unnaturally? Like he's bendy," said Sam.
Everyone else nodded.
"Weird."
"Shouldn't one of them at least try to help America get out?" Peter asked. "None of them are going to be able to stop Wanda—well, Captain Marvel might."
Stephen scoffed. "Like they care about America."
"Wanda, stop. You've possessed an innocent woman, but you can still do the right thing. Let her go," said Reed.
"Yes, please let her go," Vision begged.
"Poor 838 Wanda didn't stand a chance against the Scarlet Witch," said Thor.
Wanda's heart jumped into her throat. "What if one of my variants dreamwalks into me? What if 616 Wanda dreamwalks into me?"
Bucky found it a little ironic that someone who had no regard for taking over people's minds was now worried about her own mind being taken over.
"Oh no. My variants can do the same thing. In fact, 838 Stephen did do that," Stephen said.
"We'll figure out a spell to protect ourselves from dreamwalking," said Wong. However, he didn't even know if it would work considering dreamwalking was magic from the Darkhold.
"What Richards is saying is nice and all, but he and the Illuminati weren't planning on doing the right thing by not helping America, an innocent girl!" Clea insisted. It was incredibly frustrating knowing that America was in danger and she couldn't do anything about it.
"I have children of my own. I understand your pain." "Is their mother still alive?" "Yes." "Good. There will be someone left to raise them."
Everyone's eyes bugged out and their jaws dropped. Vision and Wanda let out a strangled noise.
Clint's brows shot up. Losing children changed a person and wasn't something someone could ever recover from, but Wanda was ready to inflict a similar pain onto others that she had gone through herself.
"That's messed up. So messed up," Kate said, crossing her arms. She had lost her dad and her mom turned out to be working for the mob, so she was basically going to lose her too.
"You've got to be joking," Peter said, shaking with fury. "I've lost parent after parent my entire life, and I was supposed to lose two more within a year. I was supposed to lose everyone I've ever loved. Wanda needs to stop."
Tears stung in Wanda's eyes. She didn't want Peter to face the future he was supposed to because of all the pain he would've gone through, but he was right—it was the same pain that 616 Wanda wasn't hesitating to inflict on other people for her selfish reasons. She just hoped 616 Wanda would wake up and stop.
"She's ready to kill Richards even though she knows she'll leave his kids without a father?" Scott said faintly. He understood that Wanda was grieving the loss of her children, and he would be the same way if he ever lost Cassie, but this was too far.
Stephen clenched his jaw. "Yeah, well, she already killed Wong." 616 Wanda needed to stay far away from America.
"And slaughtered the sorcerers and is actively trying to kill a child," Wong added.
"And I've lost my own parents too! How can 616 Wanda inflict that pain on someone else when she knows how much it hurt us," said Wanda.
"What has Wanda become? What did the Darkhold and losing her family do to her?" Steve whispered.
Reed's face hardened. "Wanda, Black Bolt could destroy you with one whisper from his mouth."
"He already did that to 838 Stephen," said Clea.
"What mouth?" Wanda said. Black Bolt touched his face to realize he didn't have a mouth.
There was a loud gasp as they looked at Black Bolt in shock. Wanda and Vision felt sick.
"Oh my God! Wanda removed his mouth!" Scott exclaimed.
"What the hell is she doing!" Rhodey yelled.
"How is Stephen supposed to protect America from someone who can do that?" said Tony, his stomach twisting.
The color drained from Stephen's face. Tony was right, how was 616 Stephen supposed to protect America against 616 Wanda?
An ache pushed against Natasha's heart. In all the time she had known Wanda, she was always grieving someone, but she was hurting too many people.
Black Bolt began to panic and tried to omit a sonic scream, only for it to reverberate and blast back into his head, killing him. His head exploded and he collapsed onto the floor.
There was a long silence as the Avengers stared at Black Bolt's corpse, completely disturbed. Wanda's heart lurched and Vision had a haunted look in his eyes.
"The way Black Bolt died..." Bucky said faintly.
"Someone needs to stop her," Bruce said, panic surging within him.
"There's no stopping the Scarlet Witch," said Wong.
"None of the Illuminati are getting out alive," Rhodey stated.
Steve and Carol stiffened. What about Peggy and Maria?
Reed stretched his arm to restrain Wanda, who tore his body apart, ripping him into strings. Reed screamed in agony before Wanda burst his head.
They looked at Reed, horrified. Tears of frustration blurred Wanda's vision.
"He was a father, he had kids!" Vision said, swallowing his frustration.
"She's making people go through the same exact pain that she went through," said Thor. "I've lost nearly everyone too—the only family member I have left is Loki, and I was supposed to lose him too."
"616 Wanda, herself, is a widow and she's making other people widows too," said Tony. "We all saw Wanda go up against Thanos after Vision died and nearly kill him. What do you think Richards' wife is going to do?" Wanda disliked him because of his indirect role in her parents' deaths and wanted to kill him for it, but then she decided to go around and directly murder other people's parents, inflicting the same pain onto someone else.
"May died and you all saw what 616 Peter nearly did to the Goblin. 616 Wanda better watch out for Richards' wife and kids," Peter said.
"And I don't blame them. I lost my dad and as soon as I get my hands on a bow and arrow, I'm going to fire an arrow at Loki," said Kate, glaring at Loki. Peter mentioned that he had also lost multiple parental figures so was losing parents supposed to be a prerequisite for becoming a superhero?
"Katie..." Clint said slowly.
"Not a lethal one, but a non-lethal one just to make him hurt a little. And not through the eye or anywhere important. I think I deserve that much. And don't call me Katie."
Loki sighed.
Captain Carter and Captain Marvel burst into action. Maria sent a photon blast at Wanda, and Peggy threw her shield at her. Wanda slammed the shield into the wall.
Steve and Carol's lips thinned. They hoped Peggy and Maria would get away before Wanda could harm them, but they weren't the type of people to do so.
Maria distracted Wanda with another photon blast, allowing Peggy to grab her shield. Maria was in binary mode as she kept shooting photon blasts at Wanda, who launched the statue at her and threw her back.
Wanda didn't dare look at Carol. 616 Wanda owed a lot to Monica, and she hoped she wouldn't do anything to Maria.
"A statue isn't going to do anything against me, so it isn't going to do anything against Maria either," Carol said. Dread gnawed at her insides; Wanda was too powerful and would stop at nothing to get America. She didn't hesitate to kill Reed Richards and Black Bolt because they were in their way, what was she going to do against Maria?
Cut to Stephen trying to convince Mordo to take him to the Book of Vishanti so they could fight Wanda together.
Stephen and Wong rolled their eyes. "That's never going to happen. Mordo's more likely to kill Stephen rather than work with him," Wong said.
"True," Stephen agreed.
"Why couldn't Xavier just tell Stephen where it was and let him out of the cuffs? Earth-838 just has to make everything unnecessarily difficult," said T'Challa.
"You are in no position to give orders. My vote will conclude these proceedings when they return," said Mordo.
Everyone scoffed.
"What vote? Richards and Black Bolt are dead," said Bucky.
No one wanted to say that the other members were on their way to their deaths since Steve and Carol were there with them.
Peggy tackled Wanda. "Haven't you had enough?" Wanda asked.
Fear clawed up Steve's throat at seeing Peggy near Wanda. It wasn't a feeling he was familiar with because Wanda was his friend and someone he trusted, but she was also the same person who hadn't hesitated to kill Reed Richards knowing that he had a family.
Peggy spat out blood. "Oh, I could do this all day."
Steve burst into a large grin. "That's right!" That was one of the first Peggy-like things he had heard 838 Peggy say.
Peggy threw the shield at Wanda, who took control of it and threw it at Peggy's torso, slicing her in half. The shield was embedded in the wall with blood dripping down it.
There was a collective gasp while the color drained out of Wanda's face as her eyes flickered to Steve, who was frozen in his seat.
"Wanda murdered Peggy," Bucky said breathlessly.
"Steve...I—" Wanda started to say before Steve interrupted.
"—Don't!" he exclaimed, blind with rage. Tears blurred his vision and his breathing was shallow and ragged. "Nothing 616 Wanda says now is going to justify what she's just done. She can control minds; she could've easily gotten them out of her way, but she chose to murder Peggy. 616 Wanda knew what she meant to me and still decided to kill her," he said, furiously. Tony had once described Wanda as a weapon of mass destruction. Maybe he had been right.
"Steve, you're my friend. I wouldn't ever want to do this to you," Wanda whispered.
"616 Wanda was also friends 616 Me," Steve spat. "Stephen needs to stop her. Whatever it takes," he said, his voice thick with tears.
Wanda flinched and closed her eyes painfully.
Captain Marvel burst through the statue and shot energy blasts at Wanda, who blocked it.
Carol was frozen with fear at seeing Maria face Wanda.
"Maria Rambeau will be able to stop Wanda, right? She's Captain Marvel. Carol's pretty powerful," said Scott.
Maria and Wanda were lifted into the air as Wanda siphoned Maria's power and blasted her with a huge wave of energy, sending her flying across the room and de-powering her. Wanda used her magic to slam a statue on Maria, crushing her to death.
A sob rose in Wanda's throat as she saw 616 Wanda ruthlessly murder someone once again and this time it was the mother of someone who had done nothing but try to help her.
The Avengers' mouths went dry. Carol cried out in anger and tears streamed down her face while Wanda looked at her hesitantly.
"After everything Monica did for her, this is how 616 Wanda repays her? By killing a variant of her mother," Carol said with pain in her voice. Her head whirled towards Wanda. "They're my family. I can't lose them. Maria already has cancer and is going to die," her breath caught. She had lost Monica and Maria once and she hadn't even known it when the Kree erased her memories. She couldn't lose them again.
Tears rose in Wanda's eyes again and looked away. Vision squeezed her hand in comfort.
"After everything Monica said about wanting to bring her mother back and trying to connect to 616 Wanda about it, she goes ahead and kills another version of Maria Rambeau," Bruce said.
"838 Monica is going to be pissed as well," said Rhodey.
"Wanda slaughtered all of them," Vision said in a weak voice.
"She's going to do the same thing to America!" Stephen snapped. What Wanda did to the Illuminati was horrible, but 616 Stephen warned them and they decided not to listen to him. All he could think about was wanting 616 Wanda away from America. She could not be harmed.
Cut to Stephen and Mordo. "They're not coming back. And you just cast your vote now to kill your friends," said Stephen.
A fresh swell of rage rose in both Steve and Carol. The 838 versions of Peggy and Maria were different from the versions they knew and they should've listened to Stephen instead of being overconfident. If it wasn't Wanda who killed them, it would've been someone else with that attitude. However, it wasn't going to stop them from being angry about their deaths.
"Mordo and Xavier are the only ones left from the Illuminati," said Scott.
Stephen stilled as he got an idea. "Not that that ever bothered you before. You know, you hated me where I came from. And I bet secretly, my brother, you hated me here."
They made a sound of realization.
"616 Stephen has to get out of those goddamn cuffs and help America escape somehow," said Stephen.
Stephen accused Mordo of being jealous and thrilled when he heard that 838 Stephen had been corrupted. "Hell, you probably gave me the Darkhold to begin with..." "You know nothing of this universe!"
"Apparently, 616 Stephen knows a lot about this universe if Mordo gets touchy like that," said Natasha.
"I wouldn't put it past Mordo to do that," said Wong. "Once I never would've thought he was possible of doing it, but we saw what happened to former students of the Mystic Arts."
"I know that killing Stephen Strange was your ticket to getting the Sanctum, to becoming Sorcerer Supreme, and to joining your little circus of clowns, the Illuminati."
"Circus of clowns is right," Clint muttered.
"There aren't many members of the circus left. There's only two left," Sam said, causing Steve and Carol to clench their fists.
"I'm ready...to cast my vote now," Mordo roared, bringing out his sword.
They looked at Mordo, unimpressed.
"Mordo's a headache, honestly," said Clea.
"Cast what vote? The rest of the Illuminati are dead, and Xavier already told Stephen to go find the Book of Vishanti," said Bruce.
"None of them even tried to help America and they were too busy arguing with Stephen instead. Xavier's the only one who somewhat had America's well-being in mind," Tony said.
"Every second Mordo keeps Stephen there, it's a step closer to Wanda getting America," said Kate.
"America seriously needs to learn how to protect herself," Peter said.
"As if anything she learns is going to help her against the Scarlet Witch. The only way all of this is going to end is if Wanda, herself, stops or through the Book of Vishanti," Stephen said.
Whatever it takes, Steve and Carol thought.
Stephen took a deep breath and moved aside when Mordo attacked him.
Stephen let out a suffering sigh. "Very predictable, but helpful in this case."
The two started to fight with Stephen trying to get his handcuffs destroyed by Mordo's sword.
Everyone hoped the cuffs would get destroyed for America's sake.
Mordo used the Vaulting Boots of Valtorr to slam Stephen into the wall.
Stephen scowled. "I always hated those boots."
One of Stephen's cuffs had become undone. Stephen quickly handcuffed Mordo, suppressing his magic.
The Avengers smiled widely.
"Finally!" Stephen cried.
Stephen elbowed Mordo, causing the two to dangle over a ledge, snapping the handcuffs in half.
"You're not using your hands," Clea noted.
Stephen held up his hands, showing her his scars and a slight tremor. "It's a bit hard to."
Clea's eyes softened.
The two fought until Stephen kicked Mordo down and used him to jump up to the council room. "I think I'm beginning to understand why your Mordo didn't like you very much!" Mordo exclaimed as Stephen ran out of the room.
"What a pathetic Sorcerer Supreme," Loki commented.
"Maybe the Illuminati could've been better prepared if Mordo had been a better Sorcerer Supreme," said Thor.
"If they could've gotten over their egos," Rhodey said.
"At least Stephen got out so he can help America now," Scott said, trying to look on the bright side.
Meanwhile, Christine tried to get America out of the cell, but it was sealed shut.
The color drained from their faces.
"Oh no," Peter and Kate said, their faces ashen.
Stephen's body felt numb. "How is America supposed to get out?!"
"Did America watch Wanda murder the Illuminati? She didn't need to see any of that!" Clea exclaimed.
"America is going to need some serious help after all of this," said Wong.
Wanda walked towards them and America whimpered in fear.
The Avengers looked at America sadly while Wanda buried her face in her hands.
"Look at what Wanda's doing to America. She's traumatizing her," said Scott.
"I would be like that too if I had the Scarlet Witch after me," said Kate.
Christine attempted to break the glass with a metal container but was unsuccessful. America punched the glass out of frustration, creating a large star-shaped dent. "Whoa," America said.
Everyone blinked in surprise while Stephen, Clea, and Wong smiled proudly.
"America's stronger than she thinks she is," said Clea.
"She has the power to travel the multiverse. She's incredibly powerful," said Loki.
Kate's heart fluttered. America was very powerful and she probably had a tiny crush on her, but she was completely out of her league. There was also the slight problem of only one America existing in the multiverse. There was a large chance their paths wouldn't cross. Get over it, Bishop, she told herself.
Wanda reached the room but was stopped by Xavier, who used his telepathic abilities to enter Wanda's mind. It was completely white with a door that had rubble around it.
They were startled at what they were seeing.
Wanda frowned. The rubble was like how her home in Sokovia looked after the bomb hit.
"Xavier's powerful," Sam noted.
"Which is a good thing! I don't think Xavier can beat Wanda, but hopefully, he can delay her and give America enough time to punch her way out of the cell," said Peter.
"I don't understand what mind games are going on, but America needs to be safe," said Carol. 616 Wanda was the one person who she didn't mind having their mind messed with. After all, 616 Wanda showed no mercy for anyone else.
Xavier walked through the door to find a mountain of rubble. There was a TV next to it playing WandaVision.
"Is WandaVision playing on the TV?" Vision asked.
"This is 616 Wanda's mind," Thor reminded.
"WandaVision should be an Emmy-awarding winning show considering Wanda was the lead actor, director, writer, showrunner, producer, and editor," said Rhodey. "She was even in charge of production design, costume design, and makeup and hairstyling."
"It had some pretty catchy theme songs too," said Clint.
A hand shot out of the rubble, revealing 838 Wanda. She begged Xavier to help her.
There was a collective intake of breaths and Wanda blanched. The rubble was exactly how her parents died. What kind of mind games was Xavier playing?
Peter's mouth went dry. He had been trapped under rubble before and he didn't recommend it.
"Poor 838 Wanda, I can't imagine what it would be like to be trapped in her own mind like that," said Scott.
Wanda and Stephen shuddered. After seeing the effects of dreamwalking and what it can do, they had no desire to dreamwalk into their variants but were extremely concerned about variants dreamwalking into them.
"Grab my hand. Perhaps, if I can pull you from under the rubble, the spell will break," Xavier told 838 Wanda.
The Avengers looked at Xavier hopefully.
"Please break the spell," Vision pleaded.
"Even if the spell is broken, 616 Wanda will just dreamwalk into 838 Wanda again," said Wanda, her eyes still red-rimmed.
Steve and Carol scowled deeply.
The white landscape had red fog barreling towards Xavier and 838 Wanda.
Fear crept up their spines.
"Oh no..." Clea said.
"What is Wanda going to do in her own mind? She can't hurt them, right?" T'Challa asked.
Stephen just hoped America had punched her way out of the cell, and that she and Christine had gotten away.
838 Wanda disappeared back into the rubble.
There was a loud groan of frustration.
"None of you guys should be allowed to meet your variants if you're going to stuff like this," said Peter.
The Scarlet Witch burst from the mist and ripped off the upper half of Xavier's head, looking demonic. In the real 838 universe, Xavier felt his neck being snapped and slumped over, dead in his chair.
Half of them shrieked in terror while the other half froze with horror. Vision's face was set in resigned sad lines while Wanda's chest clenched.
"Wanda ripped off Xavier's head," Bucky said in a faint voice.
"Mordo's the only one left from the Illuminati," Sam said, dazed.
"Because Wanda murdered the rest," Steve spat.
Wanda glanced at the cell to see America and Christine were gone. The cell was broken by a giant star-shaped hole.
Everyone's heart soared.
"Yes!" Stephen, Clea, and Wong cheered.
"America did it!" Kate said.
Wanda was over the moon that America was able to get away because she wouldn't be able to handle seeing 616 Wanda murder a child in cold blood. She hoped that Stephen and America would find the Book of Vishanti.
Cut to Christine and America running through the hallway. They froze as they saw a shadow getting closer, but it was only Stephen.
There was a collective sigh of relief.
"Great, all three of them have found each other, so now they need to find the Book of Vishanti!" Thor said.
America ran towards Stephen and hugged him. "You all right?" he asked her as he awkwardly patted her on the back.
Everyone's eyes softened and Clea's heart fluttered at seeing Stephen and America. Seeing him caring for a child made him even more attractive.
Kate was glad that America had her own grumpy adult who had a large heart to count on. She didn't think she could've gone through knowing that her mom was working for the mob if she didn't know she could rely on Clint, and Doctor Strange was pretty cool.
Clint and Tony laughed loudly. "Welcome to the club," said Clint.
"I never thought I would see the day," Wong chuckled, amazed.
"Congratulations, it's a girl," Tony said wryly. "And you said that you didn't want kids," he told Stephen.
Stephen let out a bitter smile. "But there's only one America." It was weird—he had never personally met her, but he already cared so much about her. Is this what 616 Wanda was going through? Not being able to be with her children?
Clint and Tony's smiles fell off their faces.
"Oh shit," said Tony.
"But America's portals brought Peter Two and Three to the theatre," said Peter.
Stephen froze. Peter was right, so either America was working with Uatu or someone else got her powers. He didn't want to think about either option because why would America be working with Uatu?
The newly-repaired Cloak of Levitation flew toward Stephen. It was patched with 838 Stephen's blue Cloak of Levitation.
They beamed at seeing the Cloak fixed and alright.
"Oh, the Cloak was patched with 838 Stephen's Cloak of Levitation," Stephen noted.
"I'm just glad the Cloak's okay," said Bruce.
Stephen asked Christine to take them to the waypoint, but Christine didn't trust him. Stephen apologized for what 838 Stephen did and told her that the Book of Vishanti was the only way.
The Avengers grimaced at Stephen's wording.
Tony rubbed his temples. "I told you that something bad always happens every time you say 'this is the only way,'" he told Stephen.
"But this time it's truly the only way!" Stephen exclaimed. "What other option is there besides finding the Book of Vishanti? America doesn't know how to fully control her powers—I'm sure she could if there was time but there isn't—and 616 Wanda's so powerful that no one can stop her. America needs to stay safe."
"That's true. I can't think of any options and Stephen's right, America's safety is the priority," Clea said. Stephen's heart soared.
"Yeah. Your way. You sound a lot like my Stephen right now. He had to be the one holding the knife, and then that knife killed a trillion people," said Christine.
There was an awkward silence.
Stephen's heart twisted. "Believe me, my problems have been made loud and clear to me by seeing Strange Supreme, Defender Strange, and 838 Stephen. There's nothing like seeing your variants' worst mistakes and realizing that you have to change or you'll end up on the same path."
Wanda chuckled bitterly and nodded.
"Variants always ruin our reputations," Loki grumbled.
Peter shook his head. "Not true."
"You're clearly an exception," said Wanda.
"This Stephen is different," said America. "He is. It doesn't matter about all the other Stephens. You're not like them," she told him.
Stephen's heart warmed at hearing America say that. He just wished he could've met her.
"She's very adorable," Clea said.
"America's probably the best one out of the three of them," Sam said, glancing at Peter and Kate.
"She's my favorite. They're not menaces like the other two," Bucky said.
"Stephen got the nicest one while Clint and Tony got the gremlins."
Peter and Kate rolled their eyes. "Big talk coming from someone who got their ass kicked by a fourteen-year-old," said Peter.
Sam and Bucky scowled. "See? This is why America's better," said Bucky.
"Old men," Kate grumbled, causing Peter to snicker.
"I'm so glad you're here, Kate. Dealing with them has been awful," Peter said, gesturing to Sam and Bucky.
Kate grinned widely. She wished America was with them, though.
"And we know America is Stephen's favorite too," said Clint.
Stephen didn't deny it, causing Peter to squawk in protest and shot him a betrayed look.
"Don't look at me like that, America isn't the one hanging people over the Grand Canyon for twelve hours."
"Okay, good point."
"And it doesn't matter about all the other Wandas either," said Vision. Wanda was the love of (his very short three-year) life, and it broke his heart at seeing what 616 Wanda going through and what she was doing to other people.
Wanda's eyes were dull with sadness. "I hope it doesn't." But what if it did? She and 616 Wanda were capable of doing the same exact things. She didn't want to be like 616 Wanda, but the prophecy of the Scarlet Witch said otherwise.
"Smart kid," Stephen said.
"They both are," Stephen said, smiling at Peter and America.
Christine heard the rumblings from outside and sighed. She removed the cuffs, "Do not make me regret this." "I won't," Stephen said.
"I think Stephen will do whatever's best for America," Tony said.
"Which is what he should be doing, and what's best for America is getting the Book of Vishanti and leaving that universe," Clint said. Stephen nodded firmly.
There was another blast and the three ran.
All of them hoped Stephen, America, and Christine would find the Book of Vishanti and finally be able to stop Wanda. If it was the Darkhold's antithesis, then it had to work, right?