Scarlet Lights & Golden Shields Chapter 2
Pairing: Ikaris x Male Reader
A/N: Chapter 2 is here. Spoiler if you haven’t seen Multiverse of Madness
Y/N, Ikaris, and Stephen made it to the balcony, where other people were chatting about the commotion down below in the streets as others began to take pictures and recorded it with their phones. There were screams and honking of car horns as people ran crazy in the streets. Stephen took one final sip of his drink before placing it on a tray behind him. “Thank you.” He magically pulled the Cloak of Levitation out of thin air as he spun and jumped off the building towards the ground below. People ran to the edge to see Stephen change his fancy suit into his Doctor Strange costume as he flew towards the commotion.
Y/N looked at Ikaris with a smirk on his face. “You know, I always wanted to do this.” Y/N ripped the front of his dress shirt open (Superman style) to reveal his Eternal costume underneath it.
Ikaris stared at his husband in shock. “You had that underneath your clothes this whole time?”
“Yup.”
Y/N snapped his fingers and his suit completely materialized over his clothes, and so did Ikaris’s. “Let’s go.” The two of them flew after Stephen as a car was flipped fast and chasing after a woman and her baby. Stephen conjured a portal with his magic as a giant hairless cat head jumped out of the portal and grabbed the car with its mouth and safety stopped it as Stephen, Y/N, and Ikaris landed in the panicked streets of New York.
People were running and turned over cars were being flung to the side by themselves. How strange. Y/N frowned as a young girl ran inside a bus. The bus was lifted into the air, but there was no one lifting it up that was visible. Maybe that was the point.
“Cloaking spell?” Y/N asked as they all got closer.
“Possibly,” Stephen said as he moved his fingers to the side and undid the cloaking spell to reveal a giant green cephalopod with one giant eye. It's gigantic for sure. Not terribly big, but big enough to toss and tip over automobiles like its nothing. It had several tentacles, with spikes on its body. The octopus had its tentacles wrapped around the bus that the girl ran inside in. Stephen uses his powers and breaks the bus up into several pieces that float in the air. The young girl is hanging onto a yellow pole as the creature reaches for her.
“Oh, no, you don't,” Ikaris uses his optical blasts and blasts the creature’s tentacle as it pulls back in pain and roars fiercely. It knocks one of the floating bus pieces down as the young girl holding onto the bar lets go as she falls towards the ground. Y/N’s hands glow as he uses his telekinesis to slow her descent to the ground and brings her safety towards them as he puts her down next to them. Stephen uses his magic to put the bus back together again, trapping one of the octopus’s tentacles inside as he waves his hands and slams the bus on top of its head.
Before any of them can question the girl, she points to the front of them. “Look out!” The cephalopod throws the bus at them as Doctor Strange creates a giant saw blade and cuts the bus in two. It sails harmlessly to the side as the sorcerer and heroes turn to the young girl. She had brown skin, black hair, and eyes. She wore a Jean jacket with red horizontal lines on the front of her shoulders, with an LGBTQ pin on the left side breast pocket.
Stephen frowns. He knows this girl, he’s sure of it, but where? “Do I know you?” The girl looks at Stephen in a way that tells Y/N that they had met before. She seemed so shocked and surprised with a look of realization on her face, but that was impossible, right? There was a flash and Stephen remembered the dream he had earlier today. How he dreamed of another version of himself with her. With this girl. Unfortunately, the moment was ruined as Y/N’a voice called out.
“Stephen, look out!”
The creature swiped Doctor Strange to the side, and into a nearby Jonas & James, successfully knocking him out cold. The octopus set its sights on the girl, as Y/N stood in front of her, protectively. “Iceberg, protect her. I’ll handle our friend Squidward over here.” With a burst of speed, Y/N flew towards the creature and slammed into it, as he began to punch it away from Ikaris and the girl.
The young girl looked at the Eternal. “Are you sure he can handle this?”
Ikaris looked at her. “Let's hope so, but just in case, let's get you somewhere safe so I can help him.”
Y/N gave one final punch and sent the creature crashing towards the ground. Its big eye was swimming as it took a moment to regain its sight back, before looking at Y/N and grumbling something in another language that probably isn’t ‘happy birthday.’ It shot out all of its appendages as Y/N stopped them in midair with his magic. It was pretty obvious that the creature was strong as Y/N struggled to hold back the tentacles. The question is, why was it after this girl? Where did it come from?
An Interdimensional portal opened up behind the Avenger as Wong stepped through it. He surveyed the situation of turned over cars and wrecked property as he saw the giant cephalopod creature. “Need some assistance?” Wong asked Y/N.
“Yeah, I think I might.”
Wong summoned an Eldritch whip and tied it around the monster’s tentacles and pulled back as Y/N continued to hold the appendages. Ikaris came floating down next to Wong and noticed his struggle to pull the larger octopus. He grabbed onto the magical whip. “Here, allow me.” The Eternal gave a tug, and the cephalopod came flying towards them as Ikaris slammed a fist into the creature and sent it flying back. It crashed into the streets and broke the asphalt.
Y/N came down next to them. “Now, you’re just showing off.”
Ikaris flexed his muscles. “What can I say? These are dangerous weapons.”
“Y/N? Where’s Strange?” Wong asked.
“Out cold inside a Jonas & James building,” Y/N said. “What is this thing? Where did it come from?”
“I sensed a disturbance in the mystical forces. A dark presence. I came as soon as I could,” Wong said.
“So, it’s possible that this thing found its way into our dimension?” Ikaris asked.
“Or maybe it was summoned.”
“Whatever the case. We must stop–”
Wong was cut off from finishing his sentence as a tentacle grabbed him and lifted him high into the air. Another appendage slammed into Y/N and trapped him between a brick wall. Ikaris flew to help Y/N, but the octopus swiped the Eternal into a nearby building. Y/N glared at the monster. “This is why I don't eat Calamari.”
Meanwhile, the Cloak of Levitation was busy slapping Stephen awake. The sorcerer was roused from his unconsciousness as he stood up and noticed Y/N and Ikaris were gone. And so were the girl and the creature. He got up and stood on top of the taxi cab as he noticed Wong in the octopus’s tentacles and Y/N was pinned to a wall. He created some magical axes and threw them at the appendages and cut through them, successfully freeing Y/N and Wong. Stephen walked up to them. “You're welcome.”
“You know it's ancient custom to bow in the presence of the Sorcerer Supreme?” Wong asked.
“Yeah, I'm aware of the customs.” Stephen and Wong create magic chains and wrap them around the monster as they pull it back. Ikaris flies out of the building he was knocked into and settles next to Y/N. “You alright, Iceberg?”
“Just fine, Duckling.”
“I have a crazy idea about how to stop this monster.” Y/N turned to Ikaris, a glint in his eyes.
“What’s that?” Ikaris asked.
“You ever hit a piñata?”
Ikaris got the hint and flew towards Wong and Strange as he grabbed their magical chains from them and flew high above a building, taking the monster with him. The cephalopod was dangled upside down as it thrashed, trying to escape. Its giant eye was pointed down towards the ground. Stephen and Wong looked at Y/N curiously.
“What are you up to, Y/N?”
“Getting a bullseye,” Y/N smiled. His hands glowed green and gold as he levitated a nearby light pole and sent it flying at the cephalopod, whose giant eye widened in surprise as the flying object struck it dead in the center as it pushed the creature back into the building. Y/N pulled back as the eyeball came loose and fell to the ground below. “You can let go now, Ikaris,” Y/N said. The Eternal let the chains go as the dead octopus’s body crashed to the street.
Y/N sighed with relief as Stephen patted him on the back. “Well, that’s one way to kill a giant octopus.”
Y/N looked at Ikaris as he came floating down. “Iceberg, where’s the girl?”
“I left her behind in a nearby alley way.” They followed the Scottish sounding Eternal to the alley that he mentioned as they saw the girl who was being chased, a frightened look on her face.
“Who's this?” Wong asked.
“Yeah, I was gonna ask the same question.” The girl tried to run, but Stephen grabbed her wrist. “Hey, kid! What did that creature want with you?”
“Where are your parents?” Stephen let go of her as he turned to create a portal, unaware that the young girl had run away. “Take her back to the Sanct…” Stephen paused mid sentence as he noticed his portal slingy was missing from his fingers. The girl must have swiped it. “She took my slingy.”
“She took your slingy.”
“Well, we’ve got to find her. She seems so scared,” Y/N said as he super speeded in the direction the girl went.
The young girl ran and hid behind a nearby building as she glanced to make sure they hadn’t followed her. Once she was sure the coast was clear; she turned to run, but stopped when she noticed Y/N, Ikaris, Stephen, and Wong standing in front of her. She gasped in surprise as Stephen held out his left hand, and Wong showed her his portal sling. “We're not gonna kill you, kid. We just busted our asses trying to save your life, remember?”
“Stephen,” Y/N scolded. He turned to the girl. “It’s okay, we won’t hurt you. Are you alright?”
The girl nodded her head as she gave Stephen his sling back. “Giant monsters, I can clearly handle. But what bothers me is that last night, you were in my dream.”
“That wasn't a dream,” the girl said. “It was another universe.” Stephen frowned as he looked at Wong, Y/N, and Ikaris.
“Maybe this isn’t the best place to talk about this,” Y/N said. The young Avenger turned to the young girl. “Do you like pizza?”
…
“How much experience do you guys have with the Multiverse?”
“We have experience with the Multiverse. Most recently, there was an incident with Spider-Man…” Stephen began.
“Spider-Man?” the girl asked, surprised. “The one who looks like Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, or Tom Holland? The last universe I was in had a Spider-Man that looked like Tobey Maguire.”
“All three actually,” Y/N smiled. “My friend Peter looks like Tom Holland. Minus the accent.”
“Who's Peter?” Stephen asked Y/N.
“Spider-Man. You just don’t remember him because you cast a spell on the entire planet to make people forget that Peter Parker is Spider-Man. It was the only way to keep other worlds from coming into our own.”
“How is it that you remember him, and everyone else doesn’t?” Wong asked.
“Chaos Magic.”
The girl took a big bite of pizza as Stephen frowned at her. “You're gonna get a stomachache.”
“I'm from another universe. How do you know my stomach works the same as yours?”
“I don't. I don't even know if you're from another universe,” Stephen said. “Which is why I'm still sitting here waiting for you to enlighten us.”
The girl frowns. “Francamente, de los dos Doctor Strange que he conocido. No eres mi favorito.”
“Which means?” Stephen asks her.
Ikaris smirks. “She said of the two versions of you that she’s met, you’re not her favorite.”
The girl looks at Ikaris. “Este wey no habla español?”
“Ni siquiera sé si habla su propio idioma,” Wong said.
“Todos lo detienen,” Y/N said.
“So, everyone but me can speak Spanish?” Stephen said.
“Sí,” they all said.
“Look, I left a very nice wedding to save a smartass kid from getting eaten by an octopus,” Stephen said.
Wong frowned. “Whose wedding? Tell me."
“Christine's.”
“You went?”
“Holy shit! You married Christine?”
“No, he married Tony Stark.”
“What?”
“Do you mind?” a woman with her phone asked. She wanted a picture.
“Yes, I do. No, I didn't. Yes. You need to explain to me what's going on,” Stephen said all at once. “Why was that octopus trying to eat you?”
“That thing was trying to kidnap me. It's like a henchman who works for a demon. All we knew is that they wanted to take my power for themselves,” the girl said.
“What power?” Y/N asked.
“I can travel the Multiverse.”
“What?”
“You can physically move from one universe to another? How?” Ikaris asked.
“That's the problem. I don't know how. I can't control it. Only happens when I'm really, really afraid.”
“Okay. Did the other me know how to defeat this demon?” Stephen asks her.
“Well, you just knew of this magical book of pure good that gives a sorcerer whatever they need to defeat their enemy,” the girl says.
“The Book of Vishanti? It's real?” Y/N asked. He had been studying sorcerer scrolls that Stephen let him borrow, and they all talked about such a great book of light magic. The polar opposite of the Darkhold.
“No, Y/N, it's not real. It's a fairy tale that doesn't exist,” Stephen said.
“Actually, it does. I found out in the secret book you get when you become Sorcerer Supreme,” Wong said. “And some of those scrolls you gave Y/N.”
“Unbelievable.”
You're not the Sorcerer Supreme?
“No, I am not the Sorcerer Supreme.”
“Other you was Sorcerer Supreme in his universe.” the girl shrugged.
“Although it does exist, the Book of Vishanti is said to be unreachable,” Wong said.
“It is, except... we reached it. Then the demon caught up with us. I thought you'd protect me, but…” the young girl looked down, sad. Something happened between her and the other Stephen. “You didn't.”
“That was the fight in my dream,” Stephen told her.
“That wasn't a dream.”
“Prove it.”
And she had. The young girl took them to the spot she had landed on when she fell into this dimension. She pointed to a white tarp as Ikaris pulled it back to reveal the dead body of Stephen Strange, but from another universe. He had cuts on his face as Stephen kneeled closer to his dead doppelgänger. This was impossible. “It wasn't a dream.”
“That means... Dreams are windows into the lives of our Multiversal selves,” Y/N realized. So, his recurring dreams of Icarus, Tommy, and Billy weren't just sweet dreams, after all. They were real and out there somewhere in the Multiverse.
“That was his theory,” the girl gestured to the dead Strange.
“So that recurring nightmare where I'm running naked from a clown…” Wong said.
“Somewhere out there, it's real.”
“Somewhere out there, I had a ponytail,” Stephen said.
“I bet Tony would love that,” Ikaris teased.
“There could be more creatures coming for her,” Wong said.
“That power is dangerous enough in the hands of a kid. Imagine if a real threat acquired it,” Stephen said.
The girl flinched slightly and backed away from them, just a bit, which didn't go unnoticed by Y/N. She was scared. Not of them, but of Doctor Strange. What happened? Did he try to hurt her?
“It occurs to me, young one, we don't know your name,” Ikaris held his hands up, slowly to not frighten the young girl.
“America Chavez.”
“Hi, America, my name is Y/N Maximoff. This is my husband, Ikaris, and our friends Wong and Stephen Stark.”
“Miss Chavez, will you come with us to Kamar-Taj? You'll be safe there,” Wong assured her.
“How do I know you won't betray me like he did?” America asked Stephen as she pointed to his dead counterpart.
“Because he's not like this Strange,” Y/N said. “I can promise you, America, that we will do everything we can to protect you.”
America's gaze softens at that.
“What do we do with him?”
Stephen waves his hands and opens the ground below and levitates his dead counterpart’s body into the open space and closes it back up again once it's buried underneath.
“That's gotta violate an ordinance,” Ikaris said.
“I've buried worse,” Stephen said.
“The creature that killed him, did... Did it have the same markings as the octopus?” Wong asked Stephen.
“Runes.”
“This isn't sorcery.”
“It's witchcraft,” Y/N realized. "Just like Agatha Harkness.”
“That’s impossible, Duckling. Wanda locked her up in Westview, remember?” Ikaris said.
“Maybe she escaped?”
“Maybe. If she truly has escaped or if it’s someone—something else — then we’re going to need all the help we can get,” Stephen said.
“And I know just who to ask for help,” Y/N smiled.
….
Wanda smiled to herself as she awoke from her sleep, having the same dream that she always did. She was dreaming of her children, Billy and Tommy. Every dream was different, but it always ended happily for them. Just like it should be. Wanda got up quickly as she realized that it was only just a dream. Her kids were gone, Vision was gone, and she was all alone.
She shook herself of those sad realizations as she got up and started her morning routine. She showered, dressed and began her day with a book and some nice hot tea, before heading outside to tend to her soon to be apple trees. She cut a nearby branch and looked down at the white flower petals on it, when someone’s voice rang behind her. “Apples, right?” Wanda turned to see her brother, Y/N, Stephen Stark, and Y/N’s husband, Ikaris, standing there.
“Eventually.” Wanda smiled as she hugged her baby brother. She hadn’t seen him in almost two years. She ruffled his hair. “Good to see you, Y/N.”
“You too, sis,” Y/N smiled as Wanda noticed the ring on his finger. “So, Pietro was telling me the truth when he called me on Christmas. You two really did tie the knot.”
“Yeah, I guess we did,” Ikaris said as he hugged Wanda. “Does that mean I get to call you my sister-in-law now?”
“Don’t push your luck, Tinman.” Wanda teased. She handed Stephen the branch as he smelled it. “Smells…”
“Sweet.”
“I was gonna say real.”
“It's all very real. Thanks. I put the magic behind me.”
“So I can see.”
“Well, I knew sooner or later you'd show up, wanting to discuss what happened at Westview,” Wanda sighed. “I made mistakes, and people were hurt.”
“But you put things right in the end and that was never in doubt,” Ikaris said.
“We’re not here to talk about Westview, sis,” Y/N said.
“Then what are you here for?” Wanda asks.
“We need your help,” Stephen says.
“With what?”
“What do you know about the Multiverse?”
“The Multiverse. Vis had his theories. He believed it was real. And, dangerous,” Wanda said.
“Well, he was right about both,” Ikaris said as Wanda and Stephen began to walk further into the trees. He was about to follow them, but stopped when he saw Y/N staring at the tree. “Something wrong, Duckling?”
Y/N turned to Ikaris. “What? No, nothing’s wrong, Iceberg. It’s just… I have never seen a tree like that one before.” Ikaris followed his husband’s gaze and noticed that he was indeed right. This tree was very strange. He’s seen many trees on this planet, and knew all different kinds, but the one in front of him baffled him. “You’re right, it is strange, but I’m sure it’s nothing.”
Y/N nodded his head. “Sure, let’s catch up with the others.” They began to talk towards Wanda and Stephen. “We found a girl who can somehow travel across it, but she's being pursued.”
“Pursued by who?”
“Some kind of demon. One that covets her power for itself,” Stephen said. “Now we've taken her to Kamar-Taj, and... We've got our defenses, but... We could use an Avenger.”
“Wow, Stephen, I’m not offended in the slightest,” Y/N said.
“I just mean more Avengers.”
“There are other Avengers,” Wanda said. Your husband is one of them.”
“Yeah, but given a choice between my husband’s safety, the Archer with a mohawk, and several bug-themed crime fighters, or... One of the most powerful magic wielders on the planet, it's an easy call,” Stephen smiled. “Come to Kamar-Taj. We'll get you back and a lunch box.”
“What if you brought America here?” Wanda asked.
“Here?”
“Yeah. I know what it's like. To be on your own, hunted for abilities you never wanted. I can protect her.”
“Wait, Wanda. How did you know America’s name? We never told you it,” Ikaris said suspiciously.
“And this place isn’t real, is it?” Y/N asked. He could feel that something wasn’t right here. Something dark and evil.
Wanda smiled and looked down at her feet. “You know, you both really are too prescriptive for your own good.”
Stephen frowned. “Wanda, what’s going on?”
“You know, the hex was the easy part. The lying, not so much.” Wanda raised her right hand as a giant red mist surrounded the whole area, changing the beautiful trees with white flowers into a desolate wasteland. The clear sunny sky turned a dark red as they stood in what was really behind the curtain of the hex. It was like something out of a horror movie. A few feet away from them is the Darkhold. It was glowing red instead of purple as Y/N could faintly hear whispers coming from it.
“The Darkhold,” Stephen said.
“You’re familiar with the Darkhold?” Wanda asked.
“I know it's the Book of the Damned. And that it corrupts everything and everyone that it touches. I wonder what it's done to you.”
“Wanda, you promised me you got rid of the Darkhold,” Y/N said. “We agreed it was too dangerous to use.”
“I’m sorry, Y/N. I truly am,” Wanda said as she looked at her brother. “The Darkhold only showed me the truth. Everything I lost... can be mine again.”
“What do you want with America? What do you want with the Multiverse?” Ikaris asked.
“I'm going to leave this reality, and go to one where I can be with my children,” Wanda told them.
“Wanda, your children aren't real. You created them using magic,” Stephen protested.
“Oh, really? Tell that to Y/N. His son, Icarus, was pretty real, right?” Wanda turned to her brother, a slight smile on her face as Y/N frowned at her. “That's what every mother does. Creates her child with her own love and magic. It’s actually quite beautiful, really.” Wanda begins to walk around the three heroes. “If you knew... there was a universe where you were happy, wouldn't you wanna go there?”
“I am happy,” Stephen said.
“I figured you might be miserable with Stark. Looks like I was wrong.”
“What you're doing is a flagrant violation of every natural law. If you take that child's power, she won't survive,” Ikaris said.
“I don't relish hurting anyone, Ikaris, but she's not a child. She's a supernatural being,” Wanda said. “Such raw power could wreak havoc on this, and other worlds. Her sacrifice would be for the greater good.”
“Well, you can kiss the lunchbox goodbye because that's the kind of justification our enemies use,” Stephen said.
“You sound like Thanos, Wanda. The villain who took Vision from you,” Y/N said.
Wanda glared as she looked from Stephen to Y/N to Ikaris. “Is it the one you use? When you gave Thanos the Time Stone? Or when you two killed Tiamut?”
“That was at war, and I did what I had to do,” Stephen said.
Y/N swallowed hard. “That’s not fair, Wanda.”
“You wanna know what’s really not fair, Y/N?” Wanda said. “You break the rules and become a hero. I do it and I become the enemy. That doesn't seem fair.”
“What happens now, Wanda?” Ikaris asked.
“Return to Kamar-Taj, and prepare to hand over America Chavez by sundown… peacefully,” Wanda instructed. “After that... You'll never see me again.” She smiled as she began to walk away, hand glowing as she made the Book of the Damned disappear.
Stephen licked his lips as he asked. “And if we don't?”
Wanda slowly turned around as the next words that came out of her mouth she said with such seriousness and certainty that Y/N knew she meant every word she said. “Then it won't be Wanda who comes for her. It will be the Scarlet Witch.” She turned to leave again as her brother called out to her. “Wanda!” The elder Maximoff sibling turned her head towards her baby brother as he had a defiant look in his eyes.
“I know that you’re still in there somewhere. A part of you knows what you’re doing is wrong and I will do everything that I can to help free you, but know this. You’ve made your vows, now I make mine.” A phantom shape of a red crown began to form on Y/N’s head as his eyes flickered a golden–scarlet.
“If you do intend to take America Chavez, then you should know it won’t be your brother, Y/N Maximoff that’s protecting her. Nor will it be the Avenger, Prometheus either.” Y/N strolled up to Wanda as he looked her in the eyes. “It will be the Scarlet Warlock.”
Wanda smiled widely as she turned to leave. “We shall see…” She disappeared in a cloud of red and black smoke.
Y/N sighed as he turned to Stephen and Ikaris, a shocked look on his face. What the hell just happened?
….
“Scarlet Witch?” Wong asked in disbelief.
“Wanda's gone. She's got the Darkhold, and the Darkhold has her,” Stephen said. The other masters of the mystical arts look uneasy at the information that they have just received.
“The Scarlet Witch is a being of unfathomable magic. She can rewrite reality as she chooses, and is prophesied to either rule, or annihilate the cosmos,” Wong said.
“The Scarlet Witch is not born. She is forged. She has no coven or need for an incantation. Your power exceeds that of the Sorcerer Supreme. It's your destiny to destroy the world,” Y/N recited Agatha’s words. He would never forget them.
“She took over a whole town and controlled us using her mind. If she gets America's power... she could enslave the entire multiverse,” Ikaris said.
“So the person you went to ask for help, and told exactly where I am, your sister.” She looked at Y/N. “Is the person that's trying to kill me?”
“She won’t get you, America. I promise,” Y/N said.
“How can you promise me that?”
“Suspend teaching at once. And arm the students. Kamar-Taj must now become a fortress, Wong said as he walked away. Everyone one at Kamar-Taj was preparing for battle. A gong was sounded as students grabbed spears, swords, bows and arrows as they all rushed to the front gates of the temple. People stood on top of the building, ready for anything, as portals opened up and the Masters of the Hong Kong and London Sanctum stepped through to help.
“Honored to face death again by your side.”
“The honor is ours.”
“Whatever the Sorcerer Supreme asks of us, it shall be done.”
They all bowed to Wong as he looked at Strange. “It's an ancient custom.”
A few feet away, Y/N and Ikaris watched everyone get ready to defend Kamar-Taj from a threat. The threat being Y/N’s sister. Y/N let out a frustrated sigh. “I can’t believe that this is happening. This whole place is getting ready to fight my sister, and I am just standing here, still shocked at how Wanda is acting. She’s gone crazy.”
“It’s going to be alright, Duckling. We just have to make Wanda listen to reason,” Ikaris said.
“And if we can’t?” Y/N asked the Eternal.
“Do you really want me to answer that question?”
“No, I suppose not.” Y/N looked behind at the entrance inside, then back at Ikaris. “You should head inside to protect America. I'll stay on the front lines.”
“You know, I can't do that,” Ikaris said. "You know, I won't leave your side.”
“I don't want you to get hurt, Iceberg,” Y/N said.
“She can't hurt me, Y/N. I'm an Eternal.”
“Yeah, but she has magic that's as ancient as you.”
“Are you calling me old, Duckling?” Ikaris smiled. Y/N tried not to laugh. “This is a serious situation and you're making jokes?”
“It's how I deal with stressful situations. Besides, I have been in enough battles to know that we will come out the other side,” Ikaris said.
“Are you willing to bet our lives on that?”
“Are you willing not to?”
Before Y/N can respond, a dark fog begins to roll in overhead. All the sorcerers watch with nervous anticipation as it consumes Kamar-Taj in its grasp. It kind of reminds Y/N of the Wizard of Oz, when the Wicked Witch came into town. Oh, the irony. The fog made a moaning wail sound as a red light peeked through the fog as it parted to reveal Wanda floating just outside the gates of the wizard temple. Y/N and Ikaris walked to Stephen’s side as Wong said, “Choose your words wisely. The fate of the Multiverse may depend on it.”
“Got it. No pressure, then,” Stephen joked. He sighed as he, Y/N, and Ikaris floated towards Wanda. She had a grave look on her face. “All this for a child you met yesterday?” She gestured towards the sorcerers below them.
“Wanda, you are justifiably angry. You had to make terrible sacrifices,” Stephen said.
“I blew a hole through the head of the man I loved. And it meant nothing,” Wanda said, without batting an eye. “Do not speak to me of sacrifice, Stephen Strange. None of you know the pain that I have had to endure.” Wanda floated closer to them, as she whispered. “If you give me what I want... I'll send you all to a world where you can have everything you ever wanted.”
“I have what I want, and no one is taking him from me,” Y/N said.
“The full might of Kamar-Taj stands against you,” Stephen says, as he backs away from Wanda. Down below, Wong orders all the sorcerers to get ready. “Defensive positions. Now!” They raised their weapons and shields.
“Do not dare to enter these sacred grounds.”
“You have... no idea just how reasonable I have been,” Wanda says.
“Yeah. Book of the Damned, calling yourself a Witch, conjuring creatures to abduct a kid... I don't exactly call that being reasonable,” Ikaris tells her.
“Sending those creatures after her instead of myself was mercy. And in spite of your hypocrisies... and insults, I have begged you to safely get out of my way. But you heroes are all so full of hubris, that you just won't listen,” Wanda glares at Y/N, her eyes a little watery as she says. “You have exhausted my patience. But I do hope you understand... that even now... what's about to happen... This is me, being... reasonable.” She sent a hex bolt at them as a shield appeared and blocked the attack.
The shields from the sorcerers were protecting them, protecting Kamar-Taj and America from the Scarlet Witch. “Hold! Hold!” Wanda realizes she can't get inside. Y/N gives her a disappointed stare and floats away with Ikaris and Stephen as they land next to Wong. “Nailed it!” Stephen sarcastically says.
Wanda has a pissed-off look on her face as she charges forward and tries to look for a way in. “Reinforce the shield!” Wong says as other magic users put up shields all around the temple as Wanda blasts at it with her power, but it's no good. It's too strong for her to break. Then again, she may not have to break it, but let someone else do that for her. She uses her powers and begins to scan the minds of all the sorcerers, looking for anyone less adept than her own.
Ikaris immediately knows what she's doing. Centuries of watching Druig do the exact same thing. “She's trying to get in their heads.”
“Sorcerers! Fortify your mind!” Wong commands them.
But it's too late, as Wanda locks onto the mind of a young wizard with curly hair and a mustache. Wanda focuses and pushes with her mind, as Ikaris does the same. He may not be as strong as Druig, but he could look into the minds of others as well. Ikaris in his astral mind form, looks at Wanda as she turns to him, and smiles.
“Wanda don't, I beg you,” Ikaris pleads.
Wanda brings her lips to the young man's ear as she whispers one simple word. “Run.” She removes herself from his mind and so does Ikaris, as the young sorcerer’s shield begins to fade. Wanda tilts her head and smiles at him, as he whimpers in fear, and turns and runs away from his position, breaking several others of their concentration as the shield weakens heavily.
Wanda charges up another energy blast, sending it down and knocking several sorcerers off their feet. Stephen puts up a giant shield to protect them from the falling debris. The shield officially comes down as Wanda flies inside as the sorcerers begin to fire magical arrows and cannons at her. “Fire!” There's a loud boom as the magical cannonball speeds towards Wanda and knocks her back in mid-air.
“Yes!”
Wanda is angry as another cannon is loaded up, but she uses her powers to levitate the people and sends them flying away as she crumbles the building and moves the heavy metal cannon to the people, who shot her with the first cannon. “Take cover!” They are all knocked off their feet and out cold as the cannon smash into the other one, creating a small explosion.
“Fire at will!” The archers shoot their magical arrows at Wanda as she weaves her way through, and keeps blasting below her. The sorcerers shoot again while she's distracted, but she quickly stops them and sends them back as they pierce the archers and they fall off the building. Wanda just keeps firing one blast after another, laying waste to Kamar-Taj.
Y/N watches in horror at what Wanda is doing. How could his sister be capable of such evil and destruction? “Fall back!” Stephen says. “Wong! Get out of here!”
Y/N walks forward, but Ikaris grabs his arm. “No, Duckling, it's too late, and she's too dangerous.”
“Iceberg, I have to try to stop her,” Y/N frees his arm from the Eternal. “Protect America no matter what.”
“Y/N, no!”
Y/N flies up and towards Wanda, fist raised. Maybe if he can knock her out long enough, then they can either send America somewhere else, or contain Wanda. Hopefully, both. Just before his fist connects with her, Wanda turns and grabs her brother by the throat. Her eyes are glowing red as she speaks. “Did you really think your brawn would be enough to stop my chaos magic? How sad.” Wanda, with her other hand, sent an energy blast at Y/N as it pushed him to the floor below. Y/N felt himself absorb the energy as he got back up and returned the attack back to Wanda. The Scarlet Witch dodged the attack as she sent another blast as Y/N telekinetically moved a nearby rock to block the attack and sent the broken shards back at Wanda who turned the shards into bubbles.
Y/N put on a burst of speed as he flew towards his sister as she tried to blast him, but he weaved his way through and slammed into her as he pushed her towards a nearby building. Wanda groaned as Y/N held her hands up, so she couldn't use them. He leaned forward and harshly said, “Wanda, stop! You’re going to kill all of these people!”
Wanda smiled at him. She was like someone that Y/N didn’t recognize. “That’s the idea, Y/N.” And just like that, Wanda was gone. The only trace of her was a red cloud of smoke. She teleported. Y/N searched around for her, but she was gone. She was going after her prize. After America. Y/N flew back towards the gates of the temple, and prayed he wasn’t too late.
Love this so much 😭 omg
