#idk man i got sad thinking about shadow and maria

[crows-home]

guess who wrote 2k words about shadow and associating certain colors with the people he cares about :D

(read on ao3)

Maria wears blue. A lot. Her dress is blue. So is her headband. So are her eyes. the walls of her room on the ARK are painted a pleasing sky blue.

You ask her why, one day. You two are in the middle of playing a game. The doctor bought it for her, and everything she has, she has always been more than happy to share with you. Shes about to put her piece down, when she stops to look at you.

‘its my favorite color,’ she says.

You frown, confused. ‘but, why?’

‘it makes me happy when I look at it,’ she says.

It still does not make sense. Preferring one color over all others is entirely illogical. It serves no purpose. You go to ask her to explain further, but then she coughs. You start to go to her, but she waves you off with an attempted smile. The cough worsens, however, and she ends hunched over the game board, her frail body quivering with the force of them.

‘you are not well,’ you tell her.

She smiles up at you again. ‘what else is new?’

You usher her back to her bed with an unamused face. she goes without any more resistance.

.

You try your best to find out what she means about colors. You look at different ones. the yellow of the stars, the whites of the clouds on the planet below, even the different fruits that make it aboard the ship. Your favorite fruits are apples and pomegranates. They are both warm colors, but you don’t think that’s why you like them.

It’s because you like sharing them with her.

Maria asks the doctor for a book on color theory, and you two skim through the pages together.

You are nestled on her lap while she lays in bed. Her blanket, blue and warm and soft, covers her legs.

‘here-‘ she reaches a page full of different shades of purple. ‘these are nice, aren’t they?’

You hum.

‘oh come on,’ she pokes you. ‘you’re not even a little fond of purple? Not even the pastel one? You enjoy the lavender soap we have.’

‘it is the one that least offends my nostrils.’ You say.

‘sure it is,’ you don’t see it, but you can tell she’s rolling her eyes at you. it makes you smile, almost. Because it means she is feeling good today. Well, as good as she can be, anyway. you love these days, when her voice is not heavy with exhaustion and her eyes are not clouded and weary.

You will make her better. You and the doctor. You will help him in whatever research he requires, train as hard as you can, so that she can be well and you can explore the world alongside her.

‘how about reds, Shadow? Any emotions when you see red?’

You close your eyes and grunt. ‘my quills are red,’ you say. ‘it is a color I am accustomed to. If I had an opinion on them, either positive or negative, I would either be vain or self-loathing. And I am neither of those things-‘

‘yeah, yeah, alright. No red then.’ She flips the page and scratches behind your ear. Suddenly, she closes the book. You open your eyes and look up at her curiously. ‘how about this, tell me the first thing that comes to your mind when I tell you a color. It’s almost like a game.’

‘alright,’ you do not move to sit up.

She covers your eyes with both of her hands. ‘no peaking.’ There is a smile in her voice, and you smile as well.

‘green.’ She begins.

‘fauna,’ you answer.

‘but does it make you happy? When you think about fauna?’

You frown. You want to say, not particularly, as I have never seen many of them up close. But she is doing this for you. she has been patient, so you should try harder. After a few moments, you speak. ‘I feel…impatient. I want to see it all up close already, and not just see them in your books.’

Maria rubs your quills. ‘I feel the same,’ she says sadly.

And it continues.

‘red.’

‘I think of myself. I feel bored because I have seen it so many times.’

‘orange?’

‘it is a bright color. It reminds me of the sun. I don’t think I would like to look at it for too long…’

Maria laughs. She has stopped covering your eyes, but you keep them closed. ‘I’m assuming yellow is the same.’ You nod. ‘I figured. How about brown?’

‘I think of the grain they serve aboard the ship. I think of dirt.’ You consider your words. ‘it is not unpleasant…but I don’t think I would prefer it.’

She goes through a list. Purple makes you think of lavender soap. You enjoy the smell. You think you might enjoy it. White is the color of the clouds and paper and stars, sometimes. You think it is fine, if a bit too bright and bland. Grey is the color of the metal of the ship. Of needles and harsh floors. You do not like grey. Maria yawns, and you find yourself wanting to do the same.

‘and blue?’ she murmurs.

Blue. The ocean. On earth, apparently, the sky is blue. Maria has shown him pictures before. But also, these walls. The blanket underneath your head. Maria’s favorite dress, which she says is her favorite because it is her favorite color and a gift from her mother and very comfortable. Maria’s headband, a gift from the doctor. Her eyes-

‘you,’ you say, as sleeps consumes you. ‘I think of you.’ and finally. ‘it’s nice.’

.

Blue is maria’s color. It is the way her eyes shine when they speak of traveling the world. With the hope of long lives for the people on earth. It’s the color you seek when you’ve come back from a particularly difficult round of testing. Blue means comfort and quiet talks and someone who touches you without pain.

‘maybe it’s too soon for you to choose one,’ maria says. you’re both standing by the largest window on the ARK, looking over the earth. ‘you haven’t experienced much of anything yet.’

You turn to her. She is watching the world, but she is distant. ‘when you are free from here, when you go below and live your life, I hope you can choose a color that makes you as happy as ever.’

You hate when she speaks like this. She speaks like she will not get to see it all with you. she speaks like she won’t be around long enough to see it.

Stop it, you want to say. Because the thought of losing the only person as close to family as you will ever have will nearly drive you insane. It does drive you insane, some nights. To realize how alone you are with the only comfort being in your sister’s arms.

‘You’ll be healthy and happy and maybe your favorite color will be green. When you touch it and feel it for yourself. Or maybe you’ll get to feel the warmth of sunshine and it will be yellow. Or maybe even-‘

‘Blue,’ you interrupt. She stops and stares at you.

‘I have decided,’ you say. ‘The color I most prefer is blue.’

She stares at you and for a few long moments, says nothing. You almost regret it. You do not sweat, so why are your palms so warm?

Finally, she smiles. It is bright and warm and releases the pressure building in your chest.

Yes, blue is your favorite color because it is the color of her. Her kindness and patience and mercy. And for her, you would do anything.

.

Blue was the color of maria. Of her dress, now more red than blue, from a bullet wound that you can’t pinpoint. It was the color of her headband, slipped off her hair as you two ran for your lives.

Blue was the color of her eyes when she said goodbye, slumped over the panel to sending you down, down, down. You bang on the glass, begging and pleading.

Blue is the color of the ocean you hurtle towards.

Blue was the color of maria.

.

Blue was your favorite color. And now you have come down here and experienced the world and all that color has given you is pain and grief.

.

That goddamn hedgehog. He’s the fastest, apparently. Their hero. But he looks at you with a fire and rage that almost match your own. You run, and he catches up to you. you would be impressed if you weren’t so hellbent on ending his life.

Just looking at him fills you with rage. He stares you down, unflinching, and fights you head-on. When you fight in the jungle, he is a remarkably easy target. His blue quills catch your eyes without much thinking.

Blue. If it wasn’t enough that he goes on and on about wanting to save and protect this plant (a planet that does not deserve to be saved. A planet with people in power who kill children for no reason- no reason. They don’t deserve it. They don’t deserve the mercy that she was never shown. The mercy she so freely handed out, just like this goddamn blue hedgehog-) if that wasn’t enough, he has to go and be her color.

He is not worthy, and you will damn well make sure he knows it.

.

‘she wouldn’t want this, shadow.’

And you have to stop yourself from screaming.

 Don’t tell me what she would want. Don’t speak as if you knew her or cared about her at all. Don’t speak like you understand what its like to lose everything. The world is unfair, I’ll make sure everyone understands.

That’s what she would have wanted, you think.

.

Why is everyone here so loud? Sonic and his friends, even the bat, Rouge that you have slightly acquainted yourself with. They laugh and tease each other and risk everything so the person they care about remains unharmed.

Its pathetic.

Were you this pathetic, once? Are you still?

Is it pathetic of your heart to jump at the sight of a blue blur, because where you once thought of warmth and tenderness, you now think of challenge? He challenges you in a way few have ever. You are excited, is all. Excited to watch him fall. Excited to give the color back to her, because she was the only one fit to wear it.

.

Blue was the color of maria. You knew. Somewhere inside you, you always knew. But now you remember. You remember mercy, and kindness, and patience, and laughter and god-

How could you forget?

Blue is forgiveness. Blue is compassion and understanding and encouragement, and isn’t it fitting that Sonic would share these things with her?

and if they are all like her, don’t they deserve a chance at life?

You decide. You will keep your promise, your true promise. It’s what she would have wanted. Its what you want too.

.

Gold is the color of your rings. It’s the color of you and Sonic, when you save the world.

It’s the color you see when he reaches for you, desperately, stupidly, mercifully, trying to save your life. And you shove him away, content with this being your end. How fitting, for another creature who wears blue to be your saving grace, and your demise. You’ve kept your promise to her and ensured they would have a decent chance for a future. They deserve it, just like she did.

You fall again, and this time you shut your eyes, and think of blue.

.

 ‘when you are free from here, when you go below and live your life, I hope you can choose a color that makes you as happy as ever.’

And you lived, and you will keep living.

Pink is the color or Amy Rose, sweet-faced and kind, but also remarkably dangerous (you really need to ask her about the rings she wears so similar to your own). Orange is the color of Tails, soaring by you, never far from Sonic’s side. A good kid, worth a good amount of respect. Purple reminds you of Rouge and the dishes she lets pile up, but also of the movies she drags you to and the times she makes you help her apply eyeshadow. Red is blood and fire, but also Omega and his unwavering stability. also Knuckles the echidna that you love to rile up.

But blue will always be special to you. for the memories, and the emotions it brings up. Because in the middle of battle, you catch a glimpse of blue out of the corner of your eye and feel your strength increase. When you go for a run and he runs by you, cocky grin on his face. your heart leaps at the challenge, every time. Blue is annoyance, respect, compassion, and so much more. Blue is a throbbing in your heart that you cant explain, after everything you two have been through.

Blue is one of your favorite colors. (you have many, not that anyone needs to know)

Blue was the color of maria. And blue is the color of Sonic.

[retvenkos]

ohmygod i just saw the new west side story and let me just fangirl for a second without being critical because !!!!!!!! i have thoughts: (spoilers under the cut but like,,,,, yeah. you knew that.)

SO MANY THINGS TO LOVE OMG I LITERALLY JUST GOT OUT OF THE THEATRE TEN MINUTES AGO LET ME SEE IF I CAN REMEMBER THEM ALL.

MIKE. FAIST. giving the people what they want sIR!!!!!!!!!!!!! he did such a good job and made riff sO. compelling. and i love that for him. man really said he’s gonna give it his aLL. and he dID. god bless you mike faist,,,,,, i understand now why i suddenly saw an uptick in riff fics in the wss tag, asdfghjkjhgfds. he dID THAT. love you sir!!!!!!!!!!!

and not to be a Ben Cook Stan on main but ben cook doing officer krupke???? making me enjoy the song that was generally ~meh~?????? GOOD FOR HIM. it’s what he dESERVES.

and that honestly brings me to my next point but!!!!!!!!!!! they let the jets be kids!!!!!!!!!!!! there were so many scenes that made them kids and it literally makes the entire story that much more of a gut punch because they’re just children! it doesn’t excuse it no sir but it makes it tragic and just,,,,,, amazing. that scene where they were playing with the gun?? or the whole officer krupke scene? or even the playfulness of i feel pretty or maria putting on lipstick only after bernardo has left and can’t chastise her for it????? asdfghjhgfdfghjhgfd. beautiful story telling right there. 

(i kinda still wish we got to see more of the sharks in general, and more of the sharks just being kids, but it’s fine it’s fine.)

BUT SPEAKING OF THE SHARKS LET ME JUST TALK ABOUT THE SONG AMERICA REAL QUICK BECAUSE!!!!!!!!!! they’re dancing through the streets!!!!!!!!!! not just on that rooftop!!!!!!!!! they’re not confined to one small space but are able to claim the streets for themselves!!!!!! idk, i just,,,,, loved that we got to see them out. there. not confined to hiding in the shadows or the rooftops or the dark. i kinda still wish we had a rooftop scene, simply because i like the aesthetic of a rooftop, but DANCING THROUGH THE STREETS. it’s what they deserve.

and while we’re on the topic of the dancing!!!!!!!! can i just say i love that they did long takes???? that they let them dance and show off their skills????? so glad we had some good choreo that could be showed off properly. i aDORE IT.

and aNITA!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ARIANA DEBOSE WAS GIVING ME EVERYTHING AND I ADORE HER FOR IT!!!!!!!!!!!! the most engaging character, quote me on that, she stole eVERY scene and it’s what she deserves. asdfghjhgfdsdfghjhgfd her humor!!!!! her dancing!!!!!! her gRACE!!!!!! her anger and her sadness and her disgust overflowing at the end!!!!!!!!! ariana debose did that and i don’t think this movie would have been as good as it was without her. give ariana debose all my money and all my love. she probably doesn’t need it but it belongs to her regardless.

and how could i forget bernardo????? i love his side story of being a boxer (kinda wish he got to beat up on tony a bit more since his fighting prowess was really built up to but eh.) and i love his relationship with anita. give me more of tHEM, thank you. david alvarez was honestly giving me so much, making my love for bernardo so much more valid. he had so much depth and was going oFF in so many scenes. he was giving the camera his everything.

also!!!!!! the choice of having maria and tony ~go behind the bleachers~ for their first meeting was doing so much for bernardo’s righteous anger. wonderful choice that really Heightened The Stakes. love that sm.

also,,,, while we’re here, i might as well mention ansel elgort. he did good! i don’t like him, personally, but he gave a very solid performance. i like the backstory they gave for tony. it really added to his complexity as a character (and moved it away from a romeo & juliet story line, but honestly that’s a concept for a different day) and gave his motivations reasoning. i have Many Thoughts on how they changed up the song Cool just because it’s one of my favorite numbers, but what they did with it was so eye catching! so fun! so creative! so amazing! thank you for that rendition of cool, because riff got another song and the whole Gun plot was really well done imo. it shows up already smoking and very clearly has Relevancy and thematic meaning and then the way they fight over it in cool? A Concept™ let me tell you. a fully certified, ~bon appetit~ meal. i was fed.

(but also, like,,,, when i listened to the soundtrack a few months earlier, i couldn’t help but feel like ansel elgort, in his solo songs - like maria and something’s coming - was just a little behind tempo. or maybe he just didn’t have the Up And At ‘Em i wanted. watching the show, it’s not so noticeable, and the dancing and choreo during something’s coming really helped, but,,,,,,, just,,,, jump the gun a little, tony (no pun intended). have some pizazz. some life. think that something is coming.)

and okay!!!!! i have held my silence for far too long!!!! rachel zegler was hERE. and she did so much?????? girl gave maria so much agency, and if you weren’t a strong maria fan now, i think you will be because while, yes, they girlbossed maria just a little bit, it makes sense, it feels in character, it was really just a magnification of opinions the other maria already had, and honestly,,,,, zegler pulls it off so well it doesn’t even feel like that’s what they did. idk it just felt like they amplified her character. they didn’t ~Modernize~ her because it was still maria, with just a tad bit more spine. idk idk. maybe i’m just in love with rachel zegler’s performance, who knows? the only time you could argue they took it too far was when she kisses tony behind the bleachers but also???? that tracks???? she was sO. READY. to dance with boys and wear red and go to the dance and experience things! it makes sense imo.

(one critique i have, though, is that her big moment after tony dies and she takes the gun from chino felt a little........ tame? maybe it’s just because i was a Changed Woman when i watched natalie wood’s maria (i know i know but sTILL) go feral. after tony’s death, and i wanted something closer to that. i wanted her to scream at chino and the alley and everyone else!!!!!! i wanted the death of tony to be when she contextualizes the death of bernardo and is filled with hate and gutted of everything else!!!!! because when bernardo died, she just shifted all of her love and hope onto tony and couldn’t lose him and was willing to give it aLL up, but then she loses tony and it’s like she’s lost everything all over again!!!!! because she has!!!!!! and she screams at everyone around ‘you murderer’ because they aLL murdered bernardo and tony and riff and she takes the gun and it’s shaking in her grasp, and she points it at eVERYONE. not just chino and then she says ‘how many can i kill and still have one left for me?????’ and i just!!!!!!! so many eMOTIONS happen in that scene and like,,,,,, i wanted more of them from this version. it felt like the height of the conflict was riff and bernardo and anita, and maria and tony were sidelined in the final 10 minutes of the film. idk idk. i also just wanted her to hold onto him just a little longer. make it feel like it was a big a deal as it was.)

AND WAIT THE BLOCKING FOR THE TONIGHT SCENE!!!!!!!!! how they’re literally separated through so much of it!!!!!!!! how it gave me the ~romeo climbing to reach juliet~ vibes!!!!!! how maria still keeps distance between them with the ladder once he makes it onto the balcony, only to then reach him!!!!!!!!!!!

I also loved how the singing was a little like,,,, in universe? like, sometimes with movie musicals they break into song and no one like,,, remarks on it? it’s loudness? it’s sometimes over the top nature? and it’s fine in a stage production because ~suspension of disbelief~ and whatnot but in film it can sometimes feel.... idk, clunky? but they remark on it sometimes and it just made it feel more a part of the story telling. idk idk.

and the one hand/one heart was actually so good??? how they included the conflicted dialogue in the middle??? the way it was in both english and spanish??? okay, then. just make me love their love i guess.

i liked how they addressed anybody’s a bit more. anybody’s was definitely a character will potential, and this version knew it. i like how anybody’s and tony had a bit more of a friendship in this one - with the brief scene at the dance, and anybody’s claiming tony believes in his ability to be a jet - i wish a little bit, though, that the movie capitalized on that when anybody’s goes to take tony to hide somewhere. but also like,,,,, the movie was getting a bit too long. i know i know. there was already a lot there, i get it.

i loved how somewhere wasn’t sung by tony and maria (i know, shocker!) but it comes at such a tricky time in the narrative, i’m glad that it was more a ~theme~ than a conversation? i also like how they showed that a somewhere could happen. not without its faults, and not without its hardships -  like the idealistic tony and maria hoped - but it did in fact, exist. i also think it leaves maria’s acceptance of tony a little more ambiguous, which is nice since a lot of people’s main problem with maria is sLeEpInG wItH tHe GuY wHo JuSt KiLlEd YoUr BrOtHeR. and like,,,, yeah. big issue. it’s not great. it still happens. it bothers me too, but also, like,,,, don’t use that as a crutch to dislike maria? it’s a fair argument, but i hate that it’s the only one i hear. give me a better reason to dislike maria!!!!! be creative with your criticism!!!! this way, how it all went down is a little ambiguous. we’re not sure how maria exactly feels, and that’s how it should be!

i love love lOVED the inclusion of rita moreno!!!!!!!!!!! she has aLWAYS given me everything and coming back?????? doing the movie?????? giving such deep moments with somewhere, the ‘maria is dead, tony’ scene, and the whole ‘i’ve watched you grow up and this is what you’ve become’ part?????? give her my everything. my heart and soul. rita moreno!!!!!!!!!!! what an absolute star.

oh!!!!!!!!!!! the moment where the somewhere theme started to play and it’s cut off by the train before tony and maria’s date!!!!!!!!!!!! obsessed.

maria wearing a blue dress at the end when she rushes toward tony!!!!!!!!! because tony (and the jets) have been washed in blue and bernardo (and the sharks) in reds and browns and she’s effectively chosen!!!!!! she goes from white, with a splash of red - really just for show more than anything else - to a full on blue ensemble! many thoughts. it reminds me of how, in the 2010 revival, maria sings in spanish almost exclusively, but in A Boy Like That/I Have A Love she switches to english halfway through the song because she’s chosen tony!!!!!! i love little things like that!!!!!! stating her position thematically!!!!!!!

also,,,,,,, hehe dresses go ~swish~ when they dance pretty.

the whole ‘you’re so tall’ bit when maria and tony met behind the bleachers was giving me eVERYTHING. wow, i actually loved them and adored that.

i’m sorry but everything about anita and bernardo made me go absolutely unhinged and!!!!! the flirting through the hanging fabric!!!! the kissing behind the fabric!!!! the whole ‘in english’ tease!!!!! they’re in love your honor, and it always makes me gasp, then, when maria says to anita “you were in love, or so you said” because how very dare you???? how dare you imply anita did not love him????? can you not see it???????? is it not right there before you, maria?????? stOP comparing you and tony to them pLEASE. and the way ariana debose breaks down at that line!!!!!! girl UNDERSTOOD THE ASSIGNMENT and i’m on all levels except physical sOBBING on the floor of this chilis.

did i mention that picking out newsies cast members was so much fun? my mom literally asked me “how many of them do you know?” and i had to laugh.

the cinematography was decadent. so!!!!!!! pretty!!!!!!! so!!!!!!!!! admirable!!!!!!!!!!!

everyone’s already mentioned it, but the impending doom of the entire neighborhood being torn down anyway was honestly a really interesting theme of the story, and i’m glad it got it’s screen time here. i mean, i remember in the 1961 version, you saw some parts of the neighborhood already bulldozed or marked for it, and the fact that it was brought up was really compelling! i think it honestly helped shed so much tragic light on riff’s character, specifically, because for him, the entire conflict is about turf only. whereas with the sharks it’s less so about that and more about,,,,, not being harrassed and stolen from and cheated and killed, so to see that all of the fighting would truthfully mean nothing at all - and to know that going in - really does something for riff that the 1961 version doesn’t. he’s so desperate here, and for what? he even remarks on it! he says he doesn’t know why! damn....... this movie really did that.

and cHINO????????? it’s actually kinda funny how little plot relevancy he’s had in the past, for being the one to shoot tony in the end (although, the argument could be made that there’s strength in tony’s death having very little rhyme or reason to it) but this version gave him something and !!!!!!! how did they know to choose the shy one in the funky glasses???? how did they know he’s always my favorite????? how did they come into my home, decide what would specifically make me engage with chino, and execute it so well???? i’m glad chino had something to give to the story, but i’m sad he had to be the shy one in the funky glasses. i’m sad he had to be my favorite tropes. why did they have to massacre my boy?

(also.... uhh...... side note, but were any side character’s names used frequently enough to be remembered? baby john was always given more relevancy than the others, so it’s fine i knew his name so soon, but i honest to god didn’t know who ice was until like,,,,, 5 minutes to finishing. and why are the sharks still not given as many names as the jets? i just...... i want to know who action is. who juano is. who indio is. even who a-rab is (pLEASE tell me they renamed him though. i thought maybe he was ben cook but did cook’s character even have a discernible name? i’m bad at remembering without subtitles.) or what about maria’s friends? consuelo? or what about rosalia? i know i’ve watched the 1961 movie and read the script more times than others so i probably learned these names from sheer exposure alone, but i need to know their names. maybe when it comes to disney+ i’ll finally know bc subtitles......)

and the costumes!!!!!!! the dresses!!!!!! the cut off shirt for riff!!!!!! and bernardo’s entire color scheme that was just,,,, *chef’s kiss*. i kinda miss the purple suit from the 1961 version, but his red tank top????? thank you, sir. 

that’s all for now, but when i think of more things later, i will add them.

[another-sonic-blog]

@maishemicalromans​

(Sorry for posting this like this but Tumblr won't let me answer your ask properly, idk it's acting weird)

Alright, so I was going to post first the Silver character analyzation and writing tips but I’ll love to answer your question first since I think I need to put this out before the Silver post.

I want to first say that I am not doing this to talk negatively about the current writer of Sonic IDW’s comic. This is merely my opinion. An opinion of a fan, who although does not master the art of writing, I am still allowed to express it. However, I still believe that every opinion should be backed up with evidence and that’s what I am going to do. Sorry, if the answer is too long but I think what I am about to write is necessary.

I haven’t read the Archie comics because I heard that was a mess until Ian Flynn showed up, I read he wrote pretty good things. However, because of the whole mess with Archie Comics, SEGA implemented rules as to how people should write Sonic and friends. I don’t know how strict these rules are and if that’s the reason why Flynn is writing a very ‘unlikeable’ Sonic (In my opinion)

I am not here to talk about that but just putting that out there. I am not criticizing Flynn nor SEGA (If we had to blame someone it’ll probably be Ken Penders and SEGA but we don’t talk about that guy in here) but just the writing.

Alright, now that we have that out of the way I am going to say that there are 2 things that I STRONGLY DISLIKE about Sonic’s character in IDW.

1. Sonic manipulating Shadow

I don’t have words to express just how wrong it is to bring up someone’s past mistakes, use that against them and manipulate them. Yes, this is manipulation. Sonic is using Shadow’s insecurities to benefit him. How does even Sonic DARE to compare Shadow to Eggman? Eggman who has tried to conquer planets, destroy worlds, kidnap innocents, tortured him, tries to kill him (and friends) and started wars? Eggman does all of these when he is CONCIOUS, he does all of those things because he WANTS to. Shadow in the other hand, in SA2 he doesn’t want to destroy Earth but he is doing it because he CARED too much for Maria and the ‘promise’ he made to her. He did everything because of a PROMISE he made to a little girl, a sister, the person who cared for him. The person who sacrificed their life in order to protect him. How does that even compare to Eggman? Who only seeks destruction for his own benefit? Not only that but Shadow redeem himself. He helped save the planet and Shadow continues to help saving the world. He does this for multiple reasons but one of them is that he still regrets trying to destroy earth back at the ARK. He still remembers this incident and the regret still haunts him till this day.

Why would Sonic even bring this up? Sonic out of everyone must know the turmoil Shadow has been through and still he decides to use Shadow’s insecurities against him. He really went out and said “Look I am not saying you are wrong but remember that time you fucked up? Yeah that was bad, you were really evil back then too. You are in the same level as the person who constantly tries to kill me and my friends. Oh, but you saved the world multiple times? Yeah, I know and I don’t care. You are always making the wrong decisions, just listen to me because I am right. Your opinion is invalid because of the mistakes you made, because you were bad.”

Can’t he see Shadow’s hurt face? Can’t he understand how the words affected him? Shadow was again reduced to thinking that no matter what he does, he is always going to be seen as evil. That everyone will remember his mistakes and that no matter what, they will always remember that. Sonic just deepened that wound, he increased Shadow’s insecurity.

And Sonic still has the guts to smile? Boy, what the heck are you smiling at? You just denigrated Shadow the Hedgehog, a hero, to the likes of Eggman. Get out of here.

“Losing one’s memory doesn’t make them any less dangerous”

And you know what makes me sad the most?

That I am sure that Shadow saw himself in Mr. Tinker. Shadow said that he wanted to ‘destroy’ him. It makes me think that if Shadow could, he would also like to destroy the past version of himself. If the Shadow right now could go back to the past and destroy his past self … He would.

I am sure Sonic knows this. So, still it just makes me wonder why? Why Sonic the Hedgehog, a character who is said to always live in the ‘present’ looks backs at Shadow’s past mistakes and manipulates them to his benefit? To the benefit of a Eggman who he knows has brought pain to him, to his friends and the world?

You would think that after Sonic Lost World, Sonic would have learned something about listening to others or thinking before acting. Especially when the whole mess on Sonic Lost World was due that Sonic jumped into action without listening to Tails first. Shadow is really telling Sonic to not trust Eggman so easily for two reasons.

1. Experience, Shadow more than anyone knows that losing one’s memories does not make them any less dangerous. (No pun intended lol)

2. He is doing it to protect what is left of the world. In Sonic forces, it is stated that Eggman conquered 90% of the world (Or more, I don’t remember exactly) The world is basically in ruins and after the war they have begun to restore it. If Mr.Tinker remembers he was Eggman, the Resistance would be at a total disadvantage. They have no resources nor people … how can they win another war?

This bothers me as well …

Sonic doubted Eggman … and he still left him … unsupervised. Like why in the world you trust a man who has attempted to do genocide multiple of times?

2.   Sonic’s lack of guilty

This? Good

This? Bad.

“But heroes have nothing to be sorry about.”

           Can he just shut up?????

Was that really necessary to say? Honestly, he could would have said, “But she has nothing to be sorry about.” That would have been great.

Why?

When Sonic and Tangle are talking, he is actually apologizing. Tangle tells Sonic that he has nothing to be sorry about and that she knows that Sonic would make things right. At first, I thought Sonic was saying that Tangle was right to reassure her. That way, Tangle could get infected with some peace at her mind. She can go away thinking that her hero didn’t do anything wrong and that he will fix things for everyone.  However Sonic still thinks he is at fault.

That would have shown so more deepness in Sonic’s character. But no, Tangle got infected and he went ahead to make it about himself because he is that self-centered, right?

That line, ruined it. ‘But heroes have nothing to be sorry about?’

This whole thing really went down like:

Tangle: “You have nothing to be sorry about.”

Sonic: “Lmao you are right.”

Because that line wasn’t meant towards Tangle, NO it was meant for himself. He literally is saying that he has nothing to be sorry about. Now, I am not saying its Sonic total fault or that Sonic should be crying saying that he is sorry or something like that. What I am saying is that Sonic was really reckless, overconfident, and naïve (Which is no good because he already has enough experience dealing with Eggman, this can even be see as stupidity.)

Maybe Sonic it’s not at fault that Mr. Tinker got turned into Eggman, but Sonic DID contribute to the problem at hand. To an extent he is at fault.

Letting go of Metal Sonic even when there was the possibility of him turning evil? Of someone using him for their benefit?

Not listening to Shadow and recklessly leave Mr.Tinker alone when there is the possibility that Metal Sonic is looking for him? Or that they may encounter each other at some point?

Deciding to trust a criminal who constantly tries to kill you instead of trusting the hedgehog who saved the world, redeem himself and knows better of how dangerous people with amnesia can be because he himself has being there?

I think what bothers me the most is that we have already gone through this.

In Sonic Lost World, Tails pointed out that Sonic trusted Eggman more than him. Tails was right, Sonic did trust Eggman more. Sonic trusted Egmman to shut down his machine over Tails. (Sonic has seen Tails do amazing things, why wouldn’t he trust he can shut down a machine? IDK but oh well) Sonic even admitted to doubting Tails’ abilities and then went head and said he was never doubting him again.

So, watching this I was like alright. Sonic learned something, he developed. Sonic will trust his friends, listen to them and won’t doubt their abilities.

But then again, he decided to trust Eggman.

And the worst is that he is no showing remorse whatsoever? Even after they had been through a similar situation before?

He didn’t listen to Tails back then. He didn’t listen to Shadow now and because of that the world is at stake again.

To conclude all of this, I want to say that it just seems that Sonic hasn’t develop whatsoever. He hasn’t learned a thing and won’t ever develop if he keeps thinking that he wasn’t done anything wrong. Mistakes are good because you learn from them but at this point it seems that Sonic is so self-absorbed that he just won’t admit that he made a mistake. Because he is a hero, he always makes the rights decisions. There is just no way that he can be wrong.

Sonic is self-centered and self-absorb. Those are character flaws which would have been fine, the thing is that we have already gone through this and it seems like he didn’t improve at all. Or he is not even trying to improve.

Some may argue that Sonic is just good like that. That his character is made to see the good in everyone. Be good at all costs and accept people for who they are and of course that this fiction and the way the world interacts is different from our world. However, what makes a good character is how they react to different circumstances. You are trying to write a character that is relatable to us, but you can’t do that unless that character shows different sides. A character needs to make mistakes and overcome them, to be vulnerable.

Alright that’s it. This was all over the place lol. Anyways, it’s not terrible writing and like I said this is not to talk bad about IDW. I am just pointing out some of the things that I dislike. I really hope that on the next upcoming issues, Sonic at least develops a little. Maybe he starts to be a little bit insecure about himself or just doesn’t trust anyone that easily. Any type of improvement would suffice. I won’t stop reading IDW because at the end of the day I think the story is good. The characters are decently written and the story plot is pretty entertaining. I like how Flynn has done the other characters.

This is a pretty long post but I hope this the type of answer you wanted? Like I said I don’t like to give an opinion unless I have evidence to prove it. Anyways, thank you for asking! This was fun to write.

For my other followers who wanted a Silver Character analysis and writing tips, that would be up soon enough as well. Thank you!

[multiverseofmiracleshq]

After Wanda Maximoff expanded the Hex in an attempt to save the Vision, Captain Monica Rambeau and Agent Jimmy Woo escaped and headed into New York to give the Avengers and other heroes a debriefing session. While they were unable to come up with any solutions, the conflict escalated when Wanda herself showed up and took some of the heroes back to Westview with her.

THIS IS THE OFFICIAL CHAT LOG COVERAGE OF THE IC

MONICA: Everything felt wrong. Everything was wrong, but Monica wasn’t the type to linger on where they were failing. She had to focus on what they had going for them... which was admittedly very little at the moment. Stepping through shadows and arranging secret meetings in dilapidated warehouses all felt very illicit. It was the exact opposite of everything Maria Rambeau had instilled in the bones of S.W.O.R.D. when she created it. Still, desperate times called for desperate measures. That’s what she had told Jimmy grimly when she accepted her coffee that morning, black and burning her tongue. They both looked exhausted. At some point she had discarded the blue S.W.O.R.D. windbreaker she had been wearing for days and found herself stripped down in just a sweater and jeans. Not exactly wow ‘em with a first impression style but Monica had a one track mind that was circling Westview. “Bigger turnout than I expected.” Her voice was clear despite the lack of sleep. Maria had taught her a few things, and one of them was to hold herself together under pressure. “I know it’s not on the news or being talked about, but Agent Woo and myself were there. We talked to Maximoff. And I,” she swallowed thickly around the hot ball of humiliation she had been shoving to the side. “Was inside the Hex. If you’ve got questions we’ll do our best to answer, but we need is a game plan here.” Or a why. Or a how. How had anyone let this happen. “You know Wanda. Anyone get any kind of vibe from her that she was about to hold a town hostage and steal a body?”

CAROL: Carol scratched at the back of her head, the half-assed bun she'd thrown her hair into protesting until she ultimately removed the band entirely and fiddled with it instead. A twirl around her wrist followed by a pop as she snapped it against her skin. And then she repeated the process, listening as Monica spoke, following the way the agent moved as she explained the precarious situation. Bad guys usually came in the form of sinister aliens or disgruntled mutants. Not too common did they come from their very own backyard. "Hold a town hostage?" They'd been briefed before settling into this dilapidated building and Carol tried to hold the bite back in her tone. "She's torturing them." She couldn't help but cast a glance to Pietro, asking a question that didn't really require an answer. Still, "Are we even sure this is Wanda?"

STRANGE: Stephen was dressed a bit more casually than usual, meaning less magical. He had his gray suit with his red shirt and black tie underneath, but of course a man of his caliber always needs a little extra flair, that's what the black cape that went halfway down his back was for; aka the transmogrified Cape of Levitation. He sat patiently one leg resting over the other for the meeting to start. This wasn't his meeting for once so he chose to be polite and not chime in right away. Although when Monica began taking questions he didn't hesitate to answer. "Yes and no." He said as he folded his hands in his lap. "She was doing well for once. Made a lot of progress but was always seeking to push the limits. Hoping to bring back The Vision and Pietro but I would always try and talk her down from it. While I can't claim I didn't see this as a possibility I certainly believed it wouldn't come down to this." He aimed to keep his town emotionless and professional despite his pedagogical love for her.

MONICA: Dark eyes skipping over the crowd, Monica refused to let them rest on a single person. “It’s Wanda.” Her voice was firm. “That grief, the emptiness. It’s not manufactured. It’s raw and it’s all consuming.” If they could have gone into the situation and danced around her tenure as Geraldine: sassy Black friend Monica would have done so in a heartbeat. Her experience was part of the puzzle though and she knew it. “It’s the feeling of someone who has nothing left. But that’s not true. I mean, some of you are examples to the contrary. So why would she feel like that? And how did none of you notice she was drowning?” Maybe it was harsh, but Monica wanted answers. Everyone stuck in Wanda’s sick game deserved them.

BILLY: Billy was leaning over his edge of the table, picking at the corners of his nails, his eyes downcast and away from the rest of his family that was perched near him. Man, he hated this. "She seemed fine when we talked. I mean, I know it hasn't been easy for her, but she never seemed so..." unhinged was left unsaid as he trailed off, finally picking his gaze up from the table top and looking at Monica. "She created a whole family." he stated, the rumble in his tone an indication of how troubled that made him. "But she had one already, didn't she?"

PETER: Peter had shown up a few minutes earlier than the rest of the crowd, and lingered by the door as the group filed in. While his civilian attire felt wrong, it appeared to match the unspoken dress code of the rest and that alone quelled most of his nerves. Dwarfed by an oversized sweatshirt and a ratty old baseball cap emblazoned with the Star Wars logo, Peter tentatively raised a hand, “Wait, I’m sorry — steal a body?” The information was likely common knowledge, but Peter hadn’t been paying the closest attention during the initial debriefing and that was coming back to bite him in the ass right about now, “H- Hi— I’m sorry, can we go back to that part...”

LORNA: So her sister had gone mad. Lorna had seen that coming from a mile away ( decimation, anyone? ) but it was still sad to hear. She knew loss but not on that level, and in all honesty, Lorna couldn’t pretend she wouldn’t do the same if it was in her power. Someone had pulled some chairs around a sketchy looking table and the mutant was perched with one leg tucked underneath her. “I mean, we’re not super close with her. Things are fine but we don’t have sibling hangouts. She barely comes to Krakoa for obvious reasons. Idk how it was with you, dad,” she glanced at Erik. “But I can’t say I’m surprised. It’s not like she accidentally Decimated our people or anything. Of course this is the kind of shit she’s capable of consciously.”

SCOTT: “Yeah, I’m with the kid — what’s our level of concern in regards to all of this? Are we - delegating...things to worry about?” Scott gestured to Peter briefly before returning his hands to the pockets of his jacket, “Or is this one of those, ’everybody worry about everything’ situations. Because nothing against any of you,” he held up a hand to Monica apologetically, “but that doesn’t seem...the most...productive....” Noticing the conversation was continuing on around him, Scott trailed off, “...nope, yeah. Nevermind.”

PIETRO: Pietro stood to the side of his father for once, Tommy lingering to his own right, and together it was an interesting collection of white haired mutants that were related to the one in question — to say the least. With his arms crossed, he shrugged his shoulders in a fidget as Monica spoke. He glanced at Carol as her gaze slid his way and listened to the others as they shared their opinions. Which was really all they were. Opinions.  “Lorna, shut up.” He cleared his throat and turned back to Monica and Woo, though he spoke to the room. “Despite the way it might seem, my sister’s intent isn’t a hostage take over. She’s in pain, she’s alone — and she’s experiencing more power than anyone in this room has touched. Wanda’s still discovering what she’s capable of, in some ways she’s in control and in others I think it’s her subconscious.” Pietro inhaled and stepped out of line beside Erik and his nephew. “I think I’ve been speaking with her in our sleep — since the mind stone altered her, we have always shared a mental sort of link — she doesn’t want this reality any more, she doesn’t think there’s anything here for her. She doesn’t even think I’m real.  If we’re to do anything, it’s to show her that she’s wrong.” His gaze danced to his father, Tommy, and then Billy. Wanda had a whole family out here, she just didn’t know it.

CAROL: "How much of that is our job?" Carol asked, not intending to sound so crass but unable to help it. "Stepping into this role comes with more responsibility than anyone is ever prepared for and Wanda had a way out if she wanted it -- she's a mutant, she has a whole Island now. Instead, she became a terrorist to live out a sitcom fantasy and people are suffering. If she needed help, she should have talked to someone -- she shouldn't have stolen the Vision's scraps and pieced him back together." She let out a staggered breath, the tension in her shoulders the only indication, other than her tone, that she was eager to move and respond. React. "We can't be expected to keep tabs on everyone's mental state at all times."

LORNA: Eyes rolling at her no longer dead brother’s command, Lorna’s tongue stuck out slightly before she leaned back in her chair. Not because she was listening to him. She just didn’t have anything to contribute at that moment.

TRAUMA: He had been sitting quietly, picking at the black nail polish of his finger nails anxiously as he practiced the same meditative breathing as he did with his patients. Sure, he specialized with those with super powers and paranormal trauma were his specialty but this was on a whole new level and he was so ill acquainted with everyone in this room but he had to chime in. "Assigning blame won't accomplish anything in remedying this situation." Trauma chimed in, his cold eyes looking over everyone. "Terrence Ward, code name Trauma, leading paranormal trauma counselor. We aren't here to point fingers, are we? The fact of the matter is Wanda's mental health is her own responsibility and no one elses. While we hope those close with her would help her it's not their responsibility to keep her stable. We need to all get in this mindset before we can actually prepare to help the people she's taken under her control as well as her... So yeah..."

ABIGAIL: As a rule of thumb, Abigail wasn’t exactly known for having a good attitude. She could be considered surly on a good day but she was damn good at her job and that’s what counted. They had set up a tiny projector with a sheet on the wall and she tapped play as footage began to silently play. “Your girl is a metaphorical grave robber.” Bluntness weighed her words down. “I’d also like to talk about my agency. My agency that the asshole Hayward commandeered. S.W.O.R.D. has other branches. He’s acting outside of his jurisdiction. I managed to get this footage off the server before he booted me and my team. Which, as the actual Director of S.W.O.R.D. is incredibly frustrating.” Running a hand through green waves, she turned to the kid who had snuck in. “That explain it?”

ILLYANA: “Boo hoo.” Dark lips were tugged downwards in a mocking expression. “She lost people. People died. Everyone dies around here. I left my lovely living Island because you had questions about magic, and this is just a psychology discussion over someone who seems quite content with her delusion. What do you want from us? Do you want me to teleport inside? I have a sword. I’m great at ending things.”

STRANGE: "I do not suggest that, Miss Rasputin." Stephen chimed in. "As I'm sure you know, death isn't a sure fire way to end magical effects, especially as powerful as the hex. And even if it did, who knows what sort of violent psychological damage it could inflict on the citizen's of Westview." He also didn't want to lose Wanda. He claimed some sense of responsibility over her.

ERIK: “I think it’s easy to make judgements and accusations when you’re not the one that’s lost every person you’ve ever cared for. Everyone in this room has made fair points, Wanda has caused a great deal if distress for those inside Westview and those of us outside of it that are left to pick up the crumbling pieces. That in mind, I’d also like to remind everyone here that their own abilities are vastly inferior to my daughters. Not one of you could for a second fathom the responsibility she carries. I’ve seen Storm start fires in the atmosphere if she simply gets too angry, so she spent her entire life learning to control her emotions. You’re asking an orphaned girl who accidentally became an Avenger to do the same when she was dead for five of the years she carried the Avenger title. Perhaps we should be less quick to dismiss her as our responsibility. I don’t see that mind set when someone bombs the U.N. Now your teammate is falling apart and you’re upset she’s inconvenienced your day?  And you call yourself heroes.”

SCOTT: “Yeah - that’s an option,” Scott nodded to Illyana, stepping closer to the remainder of the group, “— or, you know, I could make myself reeeeally small, and just - “ a vague gesture and shrug later, “ - kinda, squeeze my way in. Thoughts?”

SAM WILSON: “Hey now,” Sam extended a hand towards the mutant mouthing off. “Doc is right. Even if she’s messing up, Wanda was our friend. Is our friend. She deserves a fair trial here. But this isn’t just about an inconvenience, Magneto. This is an active security threat and we aren’t the only ones with our eyes on the target. Maybe Captain Rambeau or Commander Brand know more than me, but I don’t think Hayward is trigger shy.”

PIETRO: Pietro zipped to stand inches from Illyana’s face, eyes narrowed. “Go ahead, do it. I’ll have you trapped in a vortex so fast your lungs will explode before your brain waves can even get the thought to your brain to teleport.”

CRYSTALIA: A moral support more than anything else, Crystalia was left standing next to the gust of air where Pietro had once been. “Pietro.” Her voice was quiet, body swaying slightly to keep the baby strapped to her asleep. “She’s trying to get a response. Even if she did teleport in, the Hex would rewrite her. Maybe Westview needs a Russian house cleaner.”

SUSAN: They had decided to only send one representative to the meeting. It made sense with the Fantastic Four trying to stay out of things and their never ending multiversal issues. “...That won’t work.” She shook her head at Scott Lang. “She’s rewriting reality. Do we have anyone else who can compete with that? Franklin, my son, used to but he’s been depleted.”

ADAM: Getting quite tired of all the back and forth bickering Adam chimed in. Arms crossed over his chest, face looking just as stern as ever. "Now now let's all return to our respective seats and leave threats of violence to the voices inside our heads, shall we?" He chimed in before giving Captain Rambeau a nod and turning his attention to Susan. "Thank you for bringing that up, Doctor Storm. One thing I was hoping to do was get a closer look at the Hex itself or at the energy readings that have been gathered by S.W.O.R.D. if anyone is in possession of such a thing. Then I can begin my work on creating an energy frequency directly opposing that of the Hex with the intent of using it to neutralize the reality altering energies being employed by miss Maximoff."

PIETRO: Pietro eased as Crystalia’s voice resonated and he stood again, stepping back to stand besides her and Luna. “That’s not the point.” he said to her. With ideas of violence thrown around, others were bound to feel the same and that kind of mentality was like a virus—it spread. Pietro turned to Sam then. “Hayward is not trigger shy — he already shot a missile at her and two ten year old boys. Not that it did him any favors.” he shrugged.

CAROL: Carol let out another breath, finally abandoning her fiddling antics and instead sat further back in her chair, the base squeaking with the applied pressure. "I don't want to hear about uncontrollable power when this one," she shot a hand towards Billy, "tried to bring back his boyfriend's dead mother by plucking through realities and we almost had to step in when everyone lost their damn minds." Carol then refocused her gaze on Erik, clear exhaustion burning into her features. "Wanda is not the first, nor the last person who will accidentally go haywire and lose control. That isn't the point here, Lehnsherr. The point is that Wanda is making a deliberate decision to do this. She's not out of control --- the problem is, she is in control, and she isn't stopping. This was the point of the Accords, wasn't it? To prevent things like this from happening?"

MONICA: At Adam’s interference, Monica gave him a wary and relieved close lipped smile. “We had readings on the Hex, but Hayward has them. Our other best bet was Dr. Lewis, but Darcy got sucked inside.” Monica still felt guilty about that. They had left her, hadn’t they? She had insisted -- but still. Out of the three of them Darcy was the one with zero combat skills and the most important knowledge. We either get Darcy back or the files, and that’s a toss-up. I’m not sure what the Hex consumed last night.” Knowing that didn’t help Adam much, Monica turned to Pietro. “She’s your sister. I get it. At this moment, I’m the closest anyone has been to Wanda since she built the Hex. I didn’t know that missile was armed. I never would have sent it in. But we do need a solution here. If we can non-lethally take her out maybe we can contain her before she wakes up. We just don’t know who we’re going to lose if we try, and I don’t want everyone to have to get tossed through a few fences if she decides she’s mad at you.”

SAM: Tension cording the muscles of his shoulders, Sam stood to pace along the back wall. “We really citing the Accords out here right now? Some of us,” he gestured towards Nat, Steve, Scott and Clint, “either got hauled into the Raft or ended up on the run. Both for some of us. Maybe structure isn’t bad but that deal was. If you were here, you would have known.” He left it open for any of the impacted parties to step in.

ERIK: Erik was glad to see Sam had a level head — he was a good fit for the shield and it was always better to have reason in the room. “I never disagreed that she wasn’t a threat.” he said. “I do think we should note the threat only advanced when — as Pietro said — Hayward made the first act of violence. All things considered Westview was for all intents and purposes contained until the director jumped the gun. Now it’s expanded and she feels threatened — If we send a group of mutants or agents or anyone up there that isn’t a face she cares for, I don’t think it will end well.” as Carol spoke next, Erik listened. “Is she?” he asked. “And how in control can one be when they’re restitching the fabric of reality, Miss. Danvers?”

BILLY: "Well, she expanded the area." Billy chimed in, fingers drumming against the table. "That kind of reality warping isn't easy to do if you can't control it. And she did it to save Vision, which does lend itself to being pretty deliberate." This whole conversation was making him uncomfortable, but considering he had enough experience with reality warping, he felt stupid keeping his mouth shut. "You can sometimes screw up," he cast an apologetic glance towards Carol before continuing, "And do it wrong, but it was still done."

MONICA: “The threat was already in advance.” Exhaustion and irritation lined Monica’s voice as she leaned forward to plant her hands on the table. “The second Wanda took over Westview the threat began to advance. I know she’s your daughter, but her eyes were clear when she kicked me out of town. Wanda knew exactly what she was doing. Every glitch, every change. She even controls the airwaves and blocks off what she does’t want us to see. Maximoff marched out of the Hex and threatened everyone to stay away. No ranting, no raving. She meant it. This is calculated, as much as I hate to say it. Which brings me to my next point: I’m going back in. I’m not asking you for permission. I’m just telling you. Woo will handle this side of things.”

CAROL: "Go back in so your memories can be wiped -- what purpose will that serve?"

STEVE: Steve’s jaw clenched at the mention of the Accords. “The accords was just handing the reigns to someone else, all it did was shift the blame and put more paperwork in the way of the job.” he looked at Carol. “It was never about keeping anyone safe. You can put as many contingency plans in place as you want, but I’ve seen enough in this life to know better than to expect anything less than the unexpected.” a beat passed and Steve sighed. “ The last thing we need to focus on is why wanda is doing anything. She’s a good kid, she’s got a huge heart — i know that for a fact. Now, I don’t know what’s going on with her that’s got her head so twisted right now that she’d do this, but it doesn’t matter. What matter’s is how we fix it. When Thanos had us on our knees, Wanda came out of that portal and she was a huge part of what swung that whole fight for us. I’m done listening to anyone else shrugging off responsibility like she’s a Starbucks cup on Broadway — if you don’t want to be part of the solution — the door’s that way.” he jutted his chin in the direction for emphasis. “Now, Pietro said he was having dreams where he could communicate with Wanda — I’d say we start there since S.W.O.R.D. couldn’t even do it with the best tech on the planet. Monica, you said you were inside the Hex, right?”

BILLY: "Should her family go in?" Billy asked. "I might even be able to combat some of whatever she's doing and we could at least try to get people out."

NATASHA: For the duration of the conversation, Natasha had been sitting with her chin perched on steepled fingers. She was by Steve’s side as a silent observer, glancing up when Carol invoked the Accords and Sam called her by name. “Steve’s right.” She shrugged simply. “If this is all deliberate, it took a lot of planning. When and where did that happen? Sometimes when you want to find answers you look at the beginning. Is it possible she started small or did it instantly escalate? And the fact that S.W.O.R.D. had his body -- did anyone know that? I thought he got buried.” He deserved to be. He was their friend who had died unfairly.

MONICA: Her jaw had clenched so tightly that her head had started to ache. The lack of sleep and surplus of coffee probably had something to do with it as well. For the first time all night, Monica locked eyes with Carol but her gaze did little to soften. “Wanda changed me. My body, my genetics. Woo saw the charts. Maybe what she did will keep me safe. If not, I’m looking good in low rise jeans. I’m the only person whose gotten out. That has to mean something.” She shook her head. “So, yes. I’ve been inside. For multiple days, actually. And I think it’s a bad idea to send in anyone Wanda has a close connection to. We don’t know what she’d do to you. She literally manifested a few new versions and recast Pietro. If she won’t let her own twin in and refuses to acknowledge him, why would anyone else be different?”

STEVE: Steve appreciated Natasha every morning he woke up next to her, but there were moments like now, where he appreciated her even more. And it looked like he wasn’t the only one — from the looks of it, Pietro visibly seemed to ease some of the tension in his shoulders as he came to stand behind the couple. “That’s what I wanted to know, I thought from S.W.O.R.D.S intel, Wanda didn’t even seem to know Wanda was in control until a few days ago. As far as I was tracking, Maximoff only just recently became conscious of her doing.” Which if anything, gave them some semblance of hope now. As Monica spoke, Steve was carefully attentive, but at the recasting comment, he looked to the mutant in question behind him—who rolled his eyes and shrugged. “Monica has a point.” He agreed. Pietro didn’t seem to like that and all steve could do was offer him an apologetic press of his lips. “Are you saying you’re willing to go back in?” he looked back to the agent.

PETER: “Everything Agent Rambeau said makes sense to me,” Peter piped up during the briefest lull of silence, intimidated by the multiple pairs of eyes now on him, “If she let you go, she obviously had no intention of hurting you. Maybe we can use that to our advantage, maybe things’ll be different this time.”

JIMMY: “Monica is right.” Jimmy chimed in, only to take a beat with his mouth partially open as the former Captain made eye contact with him. Consider him not so jaded by the number of heroes in the room but somehow maintaining a level of professionalism even he was proud of. “Monica’s scans are more than just different, they’re concerning,” he continued “When she went in she was wearing a kevlar vest and Wanda rewrote it into a bullet proof 80’s pant suit. There’s no telling what she’ll do to anyone who goes inside.”

CAROL: "So you want to go in alone." Carol remarked. "Contingency plan?"

SCOTT: Scott eyed Agent Woo with curiosity and mild surprise, “Concerning? That’s one way to put it. This is a suicide mission.”

PIETRO: “Aceasta este o pierdere de timp.” (this is a waste of time) Pietro sighed the words heavily to himself and pinched the bridge of his nose. “No offense to either of you but you’ve been working on this for what? Several weeks now and still know around the same level of information as before — and the idea, the best one we have — is to send the woman my sister hurled out of her Westview and expect her to succeed in reentering the hex based on, what? Wanda’s good natured decision not to kill her?” By the time he reached the end of his sentence he was chuckling bitterly. “cel mai mare erou al lumii și nici măcar un creier printre niciunul dintre voi.” (the greatest heroes in the world and not a single brain among any of you.)

MONICA: Grabbing the bottle of water that she had discarded, Monica took a long swig as people affirmed her choice and one questioned it. “This is a few months ongoing,” she wiped her mouth with her sleeve. “With recent escalation. Before it was tiny things we could brush off but Wanda’s all but declared war now. Trust me, I’m counting my lucky stars that Wanda decided to kick me out instead of erasing me from reality, cells metastasizing aside. Parker may be right. I’ve been in and I’ve come back out. That’s more than anyone else here can say. Besides,” her voice softened. “Darcy doesn’t deserve to be left there. Not after everything she’s done.” Although she almost didn’t answer, Monica crossed her arms over her chest and turned to Carol. Maria would have advised her to watch her tone, watch her mouth. It was out of respect to her dead mother that she keep the thin line of professionalism present. “Contingency plan? You guys. Find a reality warper or a magic spell. We came to you for a reason.” As Pietro began to speak his hybrid phrases, Monica rolled her eyes. “Yeah, well, she let me in. That’s more than you say currently.”

LORNA: “A suicide mission?” Lorna looked between her brother and father. “The world has too many humans. Send in the bug ones and Illyana and let’s see what happens.” She snickered slightly. “I don’t speak Romanian, but he’s shit talking the hell out of you.”

PIETRO: “She thinks I’m a dead figment of her imagination. You’re an intruder that she has kept alive because she’s not a murderer. Don’t be so quick to saddle your high horse just yet.”

SUSAN: “That’s not entirely true.” Susan tapped her finger on her leg. “Wanda’s killed before, even if accidentally. The trajectory of this makes it highly probable she may again.”

CAROL: "Mouth on you," Carol remarked, rubbing her eyes. "If Wanda isn't a murderer, then Monica reentering the Hex shouldn't be a problem. The problem, actually, is phase 2. So Monica goes in, and then what? We just wait? If there was a way to reach us from inside Darcy would've figured it out. You going back in does nothing to solve our direct problem other than Wanda does finally lose it and kills you."

TOMMY: “We have a reality warper.” Tommy piped up finally, grabbing Billy by the back of his shirt and shoving him forward as he marched to the forefront. He patted Pietro on the arm as he passed him.

ABIGAIL: A brow rose. “I think she was asking for a different one, so this one has already been noted and passed over. You’re an Avenger Jr, aren’t you?”

BILLY: Billy shrugged off Tommy's grip, smoothing out the panes of his oversized shirt out of habit. "You really want me to go up against that? The best I can do is get a read on it and tell you what's going on, but in no way can I combat it."

SCOTT: Scott glared at Lorna after her thinly veiled threat, but gave Peter a knowing nod. Insults aside, if there were lives at risk, many many lives, he’d go. It’s what Cassie would want him to do.

TOMMY: “No one is asking you to fight it, just — you know—“ Tommy waved his hands around excessively “Do the wiggly woo. At least getting a read on it is more than what they’ve got.” He jabbed a finger at Monica and Woo.

MONICA: Her patience was fraying. Like she had initially said, Monica wasn’t asking for permission. “What, Carol? You want to go in and play the hero? Jimmy and I have been studying this anomaly for months -- watching the tapes, analyzing the context. I appreciate the concern but you’re a lot of things, Carol Danvers, and my mom isn’t one of them. I’m not asking for permission here and I’m willing to take that risk. Dr. Lewis is a genius, but if she’s under the spell she’s just as trapped as anyone else. My mother created S.W.O.R.D. with a purpose and Tyler Hayward is dragging its name through the mud and letting this get out of hands. I’m doing it.”

BILLY: "She'd know, Tommy. The minute I started messing with it she'd know. And I just-" he wrenched his hands together, wondering if he was making the right decision here. "-What if she keeps hurting people because we keep trying to interfere? We'd have a better chance trying to reach our recently reality created 10 year old selves."

PETER: “You can do that?” Peter raised an eyebrow, staring Billy down with renewed intensity before turning his attention to Carol and the others, “I mean, couldn’t that be your contingency plan?”

SUSAN: “You need to be careful,” Susan mused, agreeing with Billy. “Getting close to the Hex, trying to interact with it. You ‘getting a read on it’ may feel like an invasion or attack to Wanda and she’s clearly against those. I have no idea how they got a tracker on Vision. Speaking of which,” she shook her head. “We have to talk about what happened to him. He fell apart when he tried to leave. Does Wanda have his body, or is he... We have to broach the idea that the Vision is still dead and what you’ve witnessed is just a construct of him. If that’s true, Wanda’s going to have to lose him again and I’m unsure as to how she’d respond to that.”

STEVE: Steve watched Monica speak and felt the stress bound tight in her voice from across the table. He’d been thinking about it a lot since the meeting started, weighing all their options. Pietro would have been his first bet but if wanda wasn’t willing to accept him, then they had to try to find another way. Steve looked between her and Woo, nodding slowly “It’s your mission, you know it better than anyone. What do you need on our end?”

CAROL: The corner of Carol's jaw ticked, the grip of her arms crossed over her chest tightening. "Play the hero?" This was usually where Sam stepped in, indicating the rise of Carol's tone, the heat that reached her words. But her mention of the Accords had separated them and her casual retention of where Sam was in the space of the room had dissipated. "This isn't about being your mom, Monica. This is about being your teammate. You called us here, you asked us for help, and if I have questions, I'm going to damn well ask them. If you want to lead an effort against Wanda Maximoff, then act like a leader with a team behind you, not this I am an island bullshit."

TOMMY: “And what is she gonna do, Billy? Attack you? She knows we’re real. It’s just Pietro she hates for once right now.”

PIETRO: “Hey-“ Pietro swatted for him but Tommy was already on the move in anticipation.

TOMMY: Tommy zipped to the other side of Billy, knowing full well he’d only evaded Pietro’s pursuit out of sheer laziness on his part. “Don’t be a baby.” He said to his brother.

PETER: “Hey!” Peter stood up, rolling up a sleeve and quickly sending a small mass of webbing in the direction of Tommy’s torso - not to detain him or hurt him in any way, more of a message. One that said - “Don’t be a dick, dude.”

MONICA: A low hum reverberated in her throat as Monica scoffed. “Yes, playing the hero. Showing up, smashing through spaceships, saving the day. Let’s get one thing straight here, Captain Danvers. We’re not teammates. I’m not an Avenger who goes on the run or retreats into space. Jimmy and I are agents who work with boots on the ground for the dirty day to day operations you guys miss when you swing in for the big battle. And that’s not an attack on what you do. We need every piece of the puzzle. But we’re situational allies here and that means we have diametrical differences that aren’t going away.” Monica needed their help. Desperately, really. She just couldn’t handle the holier than thou mentality that came from having an Infinity Stone fuel her. “Ask your questions, Captain. If it wasn’t for us Wanda would be out there hurting more people and you would be just as clueless as when she started. I want this fixed.” Exhaling, Monica smoothed her hands over her rumpled jeans and looked to Steve. “S.W.O.R.D. has resources outside. A few less since the Hex expanded, but we’re flying blind here.”

BILLY: "I don't know." Billy admitted quietly in response to Peter. "I've been doing this for a while but it's not easy. Reality warping is...confusing and complicated and if you pull the wrong thread you could ruin everything. Break everything. The idea that there's a pair of us existing in that town with the same exact abilities is weird as hell, but we have to be connected to them, don't we?" He shifted to look at Tommy. "I'm not worried about me. I'm worried about the town, Tommy."

TOMMY: Tommy heard the shout, turned his head and — well, look, if you’re gonna throw something at a speedster, don’t give him a heads up? He took several seconds to watch the webbing slowly unfurl itself and outstretch like some weird webby hand and before it could get more than two feet from him, he was side swiping Billy in front of him, bracing for impact. Snickering before it had even hit him, by the time he realized what happened Billy would likely already have a face full of webbing. “Ah—no habla ingles!” Tommy shouted to the spider.

PETER: Peter cringed in sympathy as the webbing missed its target, nodding apologetically at Billy, “oh god —Sorry, man.”

LORNA: “I’m no expert here,” Lorna swung both of her boots towards the ground. “But it seems like she doesn’t want any connection or tie to any of us. If she’s making a perfect world with cute weird looking sons, why would she tie them to the real flawed ones she already had? It’s not like she wanted you two around.” She shoved a chair towards Tommy’s thighs with a flick of her fingers. “Sit down and shut up.”

CAROL: The classic temper that always flared during meetings like this was a blaze of heat in the back of Carol's throat. With a burst of energy she stood abruptly, knocking her chair out from behind her. "You've got a lot to say for knowing nothing at all, Monica." When had their relationship become so strained, she didn't know. But Carol was seething under her skin and it took everything not to let that out. "We're grateful to have been informed of Wanda's whereabouts and we're here to help, but we need a concrete plan before you disappear in there. I'm tired of losing people, Monica. That's all."

TOMMY: Tommy narrowed his eyes at his aunt, striking a scary resemblance to Pietro in that exact moment as they both stood with their arms crossed and a look of annoyance etched into their features. As the chair skirted across the floor toward him, he side stepped it and simple said, “Well if it isn’t the insecure one with something to say. Is this an ill directed lashing out because you’re not daddy’s favorite anymore?” Tommy snickered.

PIETRO: Pietro scoffed a laugh, stifling the smile that tugged at his features despite any actual concern for the emotional response they might elicit.

MONICA: Unable to bite her tongue, Monica took a step forward so that edge of the table dug into her thighs. “You’ve got a lot of nerve, Carol.” She had been referring to her by her title, but if she wouldn’t do the same Monica was happy to drop the Captain from Danver’s name. “And some massive balls. I may not agree with you, but I wouldn’t come in front of your peers and say you know nothing at all. Because I, at the very least, maintain a sliver of respect for you.” Shaking her head, Monica took a step back. “Must be exhausting to lose people when you’ve pushed most of them away. You want a written report? Fine. I’ll type up an official dossier and email it.”

LORNA: “--I’m still the favorite.” Lorna bristled. “I’m not the one being labeled as a domestic terrorist by the government. Nor did I decimate our people. Instant points.”

STEVE: “Okay,” Steve started, gently waving his palms. “ Monica—whatever resources you need just let us know and we’ve got you covered.” Steve was doing his best to change the course of direction for the conversation before it steered to far south.

SAM: Even though he didn’t want to say anything, Sam left the spot he had found by Steve and Nat to stand opposite both Monica and Carol. “Stop. Both of you. Take a step back.” He nodded in Steve’s direction. “I’m with Rogers, Captain Rambeau. You want help, we got your back.”

TOMMY: “Ooh you’re less powerful therefore you didn’t make a huge mistake. Sick burn. I’m sure you’ve never done that before.” Tommy rolled his eyes.

BILLY: "Tommy," Billy said calmly, which was more telling than his normal, quiet voice. "All this talk about reality warping and you're getting real bold." He muttered something under his breath and the webbing dissipated. "You're just adding to the list of 'ways to make Tommy's newfound love life even more awkward than it already is." he shifted his gaze away from his brother and resettled in his seat, annoyed but throwing it off quickly. "We were never biologically hers, it makes sense why she'd want that for herself. But they're still us...aren't they?"

CRYSTALIA: The baby had needed to be fed and Crystalia had excused herself to the back of the room. She wasn’t self-conscious, but the situation was strange enough without an Inhuman royal exposing herself in the middle of a now heated conversation. “You’re acting like children.” She shook her head, Luna now out of the sling and in her arms. “Wanda is family. Vision too, I suppose. If they’re hurting it’s your responsibility to ease it.” The Inhumans had strong and pointed views about family, to say the least.

CAROL: "Yeah, this just screams respect. Drop the act-" she was ignoring both Sam and Steve at this point, her tunnel vision only focused on one thing. "-And get professional about this. Do you think I care if you respect me? Do you think I care if you think all I do is throw my abilities around to what, show off? Only show up for the big showdown? Fine. Paint whatever picture of me you want to in your mind to get you through your day, but drop it for now. This isn't about what I do or don't do with the powers, this is about resolving a hostage situation and this is the last place to bring in personal matters. Drop it, for fucks sake."

TOMMY: Tommy rolled his eyes “Please, i don’t have shame.” He waved it off and quickly resumed his serious demeanor at the comment of not actually being Wanda’s children. “Yes we were. Not in body, but soul. Otherwise, explain.” He wagged his finger between both their faces. “I bet if you tested our genetics we’d even read as twins on that. She may not have given birth to us but I shouldn’t have to explain reality warping to a reality warper. Our biological parents brought us into this world but we wouldn’t be us if it wasn’t for her. All I’m saying is she isn’t going to destroy you for the version she made in there — on some level she knows it isn’t real. she’s not going to hurt you.”

SCOTT: Scott could tell Crystalia was feeling a bit restrained by the presence of her infant daughter. Being a parent himself, the instinct to help was all too powerful, and he stepped toward the Inhuman royal and gently tapped the redhead on the shoulder, “Mind if I—?” Gesturing to Luna, he gave her the option to free herself up for a brief bit.

PIETRO: Pietro’s eyes instantly narrowed at Scott as he so much as breathed near Crystalia, much less the baby. In a small gust of wind, he appeared behind the ant man, hands clasped comfortably behind his back. Pietro cleared his throat.

CRYSTALIA: She was a bit taken aback when her shoulder was tapped, but Crystal only blinked once before handing the baby over without much of a second thought. She had been raised by wet nurses. While she wanted to more present she still found the constant extra assistance had made her a little lackadaisical in who had the baby. Noticing that Pietro had moved behind Scott, Crystal shrugged. “He offered. She wouldn’t stop screaming before we got here.”

PIETRO: Pietro watched in horrific slow motion as Crystalia....simply....handed...Luna over. He gaped at her from behind Scott, quickly masking the gut struck shock as he quickly became irritated. “Ah—who the hell is this?” Pietro asked, tilting his head at the strange man holding his daughter.

CRYSTALIA: “--he’s....” Crystal looked to the man holding her week old daughter in hope’s that he would finish the sentence. “One of the good guys if he’s here. And he knows how to hold a baby.”

PIETRO: “Two theories in which you decided to test at once with our newborn child?” His brows slipped up into his hairline.

SCOTT: Scott gently accepted the baby and cradled her against his shoulder, memories of holding Cassie as an infant came flooding back instantly. He glanced at Pietro for a moment, then back at Crystalia, “I’ve got a daughter of my own - “ he replied, careful not to speak over the greater conversation, “ - it’s instinct at this point.” A warm grin was sent in the mother’s direction as Scott’s gentle swaying lulled the baby into a much calmer state, “See? Nothing to worry about.”

MONICA: There were so many instances in her life where Monica had learned to choke back her rage and dampen the sparks in her blood that were waiting to turn into an inferno. Maria had taught her daughter a lot about what it looked like to be a Black woman in modern America and the privileges they were denied -- especially when it came to perception and actions. Carol had none of those restraints and she blew up - literally and physically - whenever she felt like it. Not Monica. She didn’t have that daily luxury. “Once, Carol,” her voice was tired. “I did. It would have meant the world to me. You were one of my favorite people in the galaxy and I cared so goddamn much. It sucks to grow up. It’s because of my mother -- because of Maria that I put your name on the invite list. Because she means everything to me, no matter how I feel about you. I’m being polite because that is what my mother instilled in me. Common courtesy, respect. There’s a lot I want to say but I ain’t got nothing to drop here. Captain Wilson. Rogers.” She clasped her hands so tightly her nails dug into her palms. “Thank you. Do you have any kind of monitoring tech available?”

TOMMY: “Billy. c’mere.” Tommy placed a hand on either shoulder and brought his brother a verging on uncomfortable proximity. He stared straight into his eyes. “Why would Wanda destroy the town she wants to live a fake life in to save it? How does that make sense?”

PETER: Peter tentatively approached Scott, Crystalia, and Pietro, “That’s Scott Lang. Ant-Man. He’s a good dude. Trust me,” he noted, reassuringly as they watched Scott continue tending to the child. “He’s a bit weird,” Peter shrugged, watching with confusion as Scott began singing some gibberish of a lullaby, “—but you have nothing to worry about. Promise.”

CAROL: For a brief, inkling of a moment, Carol felt herself deflate, the tender memories of her brief stint on Earth back in the 90's reforming in her mind. She'd never truly forgotten them, but Carol wasn't a selfish hero that swooped in for glory and fame. She cared about the souls she saved, and that had built so many relationships in her mind that she'd momentarily lapsed on why Monica, of all people, would be so callous and cold. Instead of inflating again, like she happened to do naturally, Carol simply closed her mouth and sat back down, grinding her molars as the anger rolled through her.

STEVE: Steve nodded “We do.We can get you and Woo set up in one of our intel rooms upstairs, should have anything you’d need.” he said to Monica.

BILLY: Staring into a face that was damn near identical to his own save for a few minor cosmetic differences was something Billy would never get used to, not even after spending almost 5 years with Tommy as a twin. They had a natural connection, one they'd always had since being born, but it'd never made sense until they were face to face. He sighed again, rubbing thin fingers into his eyes and down his cheeks. "Wanda wants Vision. Wanda wants her kids. Wanda doesn't care about the fact that we're right here -- we've always been right here, Tommy. I know it's not the same for her, I can't argue that, but if we try to take that away from her, or if she thinks we are, she might just say fuck it and poof," he made a motion with his hands. "If she can't have it no one can, you know?"

SAM: The deescalation was already underway. Sam still crouched by Carol’s chair, dark head bowing towards hers. “Cool off. Whatever family drama you got, let it go.” He knew about Maria Rambeau. Monica too, by extension. He just didn’t know where it went south. “You really think the Sokovian Accords are relevant here, huh?”

PIETRO: “Ant-man.” he repeated, musing over the name. Pietro looked at the kid with the webs and surveyed him up and down. “I don’t know you either.” Tolerating the scene before him for only several more seconds, Pietro had lost the thin thread of patience he’d been holding on to, to being with. “I’d like it if you handed me my daughter back, now.” Pietro said. It wasn’t exactly a secret he was obnoxiously protective, and if anyone had thought that was annoying with Wanda, they were in for it with Luna. Actual light of his life.

SCOTT: Scott paused in his subtle rocking of the child against his shoulder, nodding at Pietro’s repeating of his hero moniker, “Mhm. That’s the name, don’t wear it out,” he joked, but his light expression fell when the speedster all but demanded his child back, “Oh, uh - sure, yeah. Of course.” He was only trying to help, but not one to want to get on someone’s bad side, he quickly acquiesced, gently passing Luna to her father.

CAROL: Carol's gaze flicked to Sam, the anger from her confrontation with Monica still present beneath her skin. She tried to reign it in, but it felt impossible in the moment. "The Accords were put on the table for a reason, Sam. We watched Wanda's powers get out of control the first time and she killed innocent people. Now she's taken a town hostage. I understand what you and Rogers fought for, but it's not ridiculous to think that maybe regulating abilities is more important than free rein. She's hurting people, Sam. She's destroying families, all for a fake life. If we had regulations in place before this, this wouldn't have happened."

CRYSTALIA: “Pietro.” Crystalia sighed, watching the baby get passed from one set of hands to the other. “Thank you, Mr. Lang. I appreciate it. It’s exhausting to be a mother at these functions.” That being said, it was really her first time with the baby in public and she felt oddly self-conscious about being seen in the light of motherhood.

PETER: The friendly smile on Peter’s face quickly dropped as Pietro briefly addressed him. As heroes go, he was pretty well known, in more ways than one unfortunately, and Peter could say the same for Quicksilver. The rebuke stung briefly, but Peter shook it off, turning his attention back to the growing conflict at hand, concealed web shooters at the ready if need be.

SCOTT: Scott nodded to Crystalia politely, opting to ignore Pietro, “I understand completely. If you need anything else - just ask.”

PIETRO: His demeanor relaxed the moment Luna was pulled into his arms. In truth, it had nothing to do with Scott — he didn’t like anyone holding his daughter, much less strangers. He’d barely let Erik look at her. “Why do they call you Ant-man?” Pietro asked scott, a deep crease forming between his brows. “Do you...turn into an ant?” he asked puzzled. Then he looked at Peter “And you—what is that you shot at my nephew earlier?”

SAM: “You know who I am.” Sam’s voice was gentle but firm. “You know what I believe in and what I don’t. Even with regulations, Wanda could have gone rogue. We needed better support systems, ways to handle trauma. I was a PTSD group leader and I didn’t even check in on my friends the way I should.” Why was it, still, that Sam felt everyones wellbeing was his duty? “Wanda’s powerful enough to get around Accords or laws. We knew that. We knew her, and now we’ve got to help. Coming to blows with Rambeau won’t do anything on that front.”

SCOTT: “Oh,” Scott spun around to face Pietro, mildly shocked the speedster was addressing him again, “Ha, I wish—“ he joked, but the tone quickly fell flat, “—uh, no actually. I can shrink. Really really small. Subatomic even. Although, that? Not as fun. So not as fun.”

CAROL: Carol kept her gaze affixed to his, finally relinquishing the tension in her shoulders and letting out a breath through her nose. "We've seen what this world looks like with no laws in place and now we see what Krakoa looks like with laws in place. It's hard not to compare the two." In this instance, she was speaking generally, not about Wanda in particular. "We had no clue what happened. We had an agency reach out to us to tell us that one of our own had become a terrorist. There's too many of us for one man, even two-" she was referring to Sam and Steve in that moment, "-to keep track of. Too many for any of us to keep track of. We need better support systems and we need better regulations on abilities. Sam, we can't have people like Wanda or Jean Grey running around freely. Do you not remember what happened with the Phoenix?"

PETER: Peter was reluctant to reveal his web shooters, instinctively tugging his sweatshirt sleeves down past his wrists, his hands practically swimming in the fabric, “Just web fluid,” he addressed Pietro as well, ever so slightly timid in his response, “My own invention.”

PIETRO: Pietro’s look of confusion remained as he mused over lang’s response. “What does that do? —getting small.” He was genuinely curious. “Might someone....step on you?” He asked.

SAM: He leaned back slightly, thighs aching dully. It had been leg day, unfortunately. Almost every day was now. “No offense, Carol, but you really don’t. You weren’t here. Ultron, Sokovia, the Accords. You weren’t here and we were, tryin’ to make it by.” He pursed his lips together. “I believe in justice. Balance, order. But we can’t have them running around freely? Really, Carol? What do you propose? They get locked up for the rest of their lives? For the most part they didn’t ask for it and they’re good intentioned. I know Wanda. Well, actually. No matter how big this mess, she’s still a person.”

PIETRO: When the boy answered him, he watched him tug at his sleeves while Luna played with Pietro’s pale hair.  “You made that? By yourself?”

CAROL: She pinched the bridge of her nose, shaking her head. "No, of course not. We knew Wanda had reality warping abilities. We did nothing about it. We just let her...be. Now let me ask you something -- that kid over there," she gestured towards Billy again. "He loses that boyfriend he cares so much about. Who's to say he wouldn't do the same exact thing for the same reason? Maybe he loses Tommy too and we end up in Westview 2.0. But we knew all along he could warp reality and we just....trust he'll never do anything nefarious with it? There has to be a middle ground here, Sam. We can't just pretend like good people won't go bad. Especially when those people have powers that could destroy everything."

SCOTT: “Suuure?” Scott replied, wary of the implication, “But I don’t know if I’d recommend it. I’m pretty damn strong at that size. You know how ants are... it’s the schtick.”

TOMMY: At the second jab at Billy, Tommy got mad. “Hey!—“Tommy slapped two hands on the table and stared Carol down directly. “What is your problem? My brother hasn’t done shit. You’re the one with an atomic bomb rolling around inside you and you’re sitting here prattling on about people being too dangerous to go on freely. You’ve been on this planet for what, like two seconds and already you’re trying to get people kicked off it?”

PETER: Peter knew the silver haired man had seen them - he wasn’t doing too good of a job at being stealthy. But the risk of this backfiring on him didn’t feel super high. His spidey senses weren’t on high alert anymore, so what was the harm? Showing the tech to Pietro, he smiled softly, boundlessly proud of the creation that had become so ingrained in his being, “Yeah, I did. Took a while to figure the web formula out,” he gently prodded at the trigger, but not hard enough to release any webbing, “-and the rest is history.”

ERIK: “With all due respect, Miss Grey is a matter of Mutant relations and will be kept out of this conversation. Especially from the mouths of those that don’t actually understand her situation or the trials she has faced involving the Phoenix Force.” Erik had been quiet for some time, choosing the diplomatic approach of listening so that he could later inform the Council and Charles of the matters involving Wanda.

PIETRO: “No, not really. I’m not overly familiar with ants.” Pietro admitted, and he was still struggling to figure out how being tiny was useful. “So shrink, but get stronger?” he cocked his head.

CAROL: That was it, the last shred of patience Carol had. She stood so quickly her chair kicked back far enough away that there was little hope of her reseating again before this meeting commenced. "We're talking about the fact that your mother is destroying people's lives and we could do nothing to stop it because we had no means to. You think that couldn't easily happen again?" She shifted her gaze to Billy, who was straightening his shoulders, unperturbed by her eyes on him. "We always put our faith in the good guys and then the good guys lose a couple of people and we get our asses kicked. People die. We bury them. We memorialize them. We mourn them. And then we rinse and repeat the process and at some point it needs to fucking stop." God she was so angry again. "

TOMMY: “It won’t, and I hate to break it to you but if you can’t stomach it, get out then. Go live on some other planet somewhere like you did before. We’re perfectly capable of handling it on our own. You keep throwing Wanda around like she woke up one day and decided to take over a bunch of peoples lives and didn’t just wake up in that fucking bubble and have to figure it out at she went along. We’ve all got shit — we all lose people. I blew up a fucking school on accident the first time I got my powers and they stuck me in a prison and poked and prodded me with needles and metal. Is that what you fucking want!? You want all of us to get locked up becuase we make you scared!? You sound like the mutant haters and we have plenty of them! We don’t need more.” He was yelling now, his temper well past a peak. His hands were beginning to shake and as much as he’d love to blast the fucking table into a billion splinters it’d just prove her right. he waved his hands around as they spasmed “Oh no, I better not fuck anything up or Carol’s gonna come put me in fucking jail—what, you’ve never fucked up Danvers??? You never made a mistake? Must be fucking nice!” By now Steve had stood and started to pull Tommy away, and Tommy did little to fight him, though it was bold of the former Captain to touch him right now considering it could destabilize him in a blink.

STEVE: “Alright, take a couple breaths.” Steve told him.

CRYSTALIA: As Carol once again blew up Crystal edged closer to Pietro, reaching out to take her daughter. “Give me my baby.” She commanded gently, knowing Pietro was more likely to get involved in the situation.

PIETRO: Pietro handed Luna over to Crystalia and stayed firmly planted in front of them — his nephew certainly had his temper and a few abilities he hadn’t even discovered yet. “He’s fine.” Pietro assured her.

WANDA: They were gathering. Of course they were gathering. It had only been a matter of time. Still, shivers ran down in her spine as she was doused with the cold dread that hid under the silver screen smile she had glued on. Monica’s time in Westview had left an imprint of sorts, an afterimage Wanda could still trace. They had stood outside the Hex and threatened her. Now they were calling to arms less than a hundred miles away and she was laying in her bed staring at the ceiling, half tempted to speed up time so it was morning and the opening credits could roll. Vision was still beside her. Synthezoid's didn’t sleep, per se, but they did turn off at night to process the days information. With a heavy sigh she rolled out of bed and wrapped her body in her robe, the ever throbbing vein of anger that had pulsed through her for the last two months rapidly gaining speed. Red ate its way across the town as everyone stilled in their beds. Would they dream? Maybe. Maybe she would let them as she made her way past Ellis Ave. The border glowed red with static as she approached, one palm resting against it. The Hex was alive. It hummed and spoke to her, reality warping under her fingertips before it bent and allowed her to cross through. Her robe and pajamas were gone, replaced with her corset and long coat. The flight to their location took little time but felt like an eternity. For every second she was away from her home there was a paralyzing fear that someone would sneak in and erase all her hard work. Boots touched down on the gum crusted sidewalk only a second before she snapped her wrists and red broke the door open. “It’s not nice,” she strode in as the wind from the now broken door blew in. “To speak about someone when they’re not present. Not like this.” Some faces there were familiar but her blinders were on. “I told you to leave me alone. That was your warning. I took care of S.W.O.R.D. Don’t make me turn you into clowns as well.”

PIETRO: Maybe he felt her coming before she did — or maybe he was still on edge from the outburst between Carol and Tommy, but every hair on his body stood up on end just seconds before she came through the door. A heavy blanket of ice chilled the room to a stand still and he half expected to see his breath fog up the air as he exhaled. His hand stilled on Crystalia as he stared at her, Wanda — and then. and then, and then, and then — before he could even think about thinking about it, he was standing in front of her. a little gust of wind kicked a few tendrils of her strawberry red hair and he just stared at her. For several seconds it was like water stilling in a lake, his chest rose and fell to the rhythm of hers and for the first time in six years they breathed the same airspace. “Wanda....” he was afraid to speak, like his voice would blow the mirage away and he’d have hallucinated the whole thing.

CAROL: Every bone in her body was demanding, insisting, Carol send a flare of energy over her limbs, but as she turned to face Wanda, she commanded her abilities to stay down, deep down. The last thing they needed was a confrontation, not when Wanda could erase the very fabric of their existence. She followed Pietro with her eyes but made no move at all, which was an unnatural but strategic response.

STEVE: When the door blasted open, Steve half thought Tommy blew a fuse—or Carol, but to be fair he was the one shaking violently. When he turned and saw Wanda walk in, his jaw nearly dropped. Then, instantly, his head snapped to Pietro — only to find his spot empty. Instead, the twins stood toe to toe in the center of the room and everyone held their breath praying it’d be enough.

BILLY: Billy rose slowly from his seat, gently tugging on the sleeve of Tommy's shirt as he did so. Taking a step back, he watched Wanda carefully as he spoke lowly to his brother. "She left the town. Tommy, we have an opportunity."

WANDA: Monster. Terrorist. Out of her mind. Monster. Delusional --. Everyone had an opinion, didn’t they? Ratings were hard to keep up. The world was composed of critics and this was no different. If there was one thing that could have stilled her to silence it was him. The only problem was that he was’t here. Here he was, her twin, haunting her waking dreams. “Not now, frate,” she tsked. Still, one hand rose as if to brush his cheek before falling to her side. Her train of thought was derailed when she saw the twins, heads bent towards one another in that familiar tableau of mischief. “Boys?” Surprise laced her voice, accent instantly falling away to be replaced with the smooth American syllables they knew her to have. “Why aren’t you at home?”

CRYSTALIA: It was out of instinct that Crystal took a step back, tucking Luna against herself. Wanda had no reason to hurt the baby, but she still felt a sharp maternal instinct. She was outmatched. That went without question.

TOMMY: Tommy was in shock to see her to say the least, and if it weren’t for Billy tugging on his shirt, he may have stood there with his mouth agape until drool came out of it. It took him a quarter of a second to process the words after they’d left his mouth, but as he did he wasted no time — Tommy grabbed Billy by the back of the shirt and jerked them both to a more hidden corner of the room. With Steve, Natasha, Sam, Carol, and —jesus christ, everyone gathered around their mother, they made for a good wall. “Do it.”

LORNA: Nearly falling out of her chair, Lorna straightened up and looked to Erik for guidance. Her hands clenched into fists, green nearly sparking from them. If she hadn’t been afraid of Wanda seeing and overreacting she would have done something. Instead, she just stayed wary with the metal chairs on standby.

PIETRO: As Wanda addressed him, a wave of — something settled in his stomach, like spoiled milk. It took the breath out of his lungs and nearly dazed him. He stared at her, for once his brain struggled to process the moments at all, much less quickly. He’d waited for this, wanted it for weeks now— months. It’d been an ache that never fully left him. It rose with him when he pried himself out of bed in the morning and it snaked through his blood stream when he went to sleep at night. The dismissal was killing him. “Wanda, please. Just talk to me for five minutes, hmm? — five minutes.” he’d lost the delicate approach from before, too easily slipping into the comfort of being able to take hold of her wrist, he nearly held it to his chest, once again coming between his sister and the mix of Avengers and X-Men behind him. “I know you think this isn’t real, I know, but it is — I can prove it. lasă-mă să te aduc acasă. nu trebuie să fii singur. nu esti singur.” (let me bring you home, you don’t have to be alone. you’re not alone.)

BILLY: Billy blinked dumbly at this woman he'd had tea with regularly only a few months before - until the two days a week meetings turned into one and then turned into every other week, and then once a month, and then not at all. Billy had Teddy and Tommy had his new relationship he wasn't doing much to hide and Billy was still experimenting with his abilities --- he'd chosen to fall into the busy life and not wonder about what Wanda was up to. She was so smart, and capable, and strong. He just assumed she was busy, like he inevitably was. He heard her accent slip away and for the briefest of moments, Billy wanted to step towards her, wanted to lean in to the warmth and concern in her tone. This was the woman holding a town hostage? This was the...terrorist? Swallowing, Billy opened his mouth to speak, "Wa-Mom, what are you do-" but before he could finish, Tommy was pulling him back, knocking him right back into his senses. "Did you not feel that?" Billy asked his brother, his hand coming up to rub against his chest, momentarily forgetting what his original plan had been.

TOMMY: Tommy’s body froze as Wanda addressed them. Similarly to the way a toddler would if his mother caught him on the chair digging into the cookie jar. It was a warmth that crept over the back of his brain, tangled with the twinge of a burn — like alcohol slipping down his throat. Warm, but uncomfortable. “I don’t like this.” Tommy muttered to his brother. He felt like a mouse in front of a hawk and all he wanted to do was turn invisible — why?? Why couldn’t that be his power. Tommy’s grip tightened on Billy’s shirt and his legs twitched with the urge to fucking bolt to James right then and there. but he didn’t. His knees locked up and he just fucking stood there. “Billy, do something.”

PETER: Everyone was walking on eggshells right now, and Wanda’s startling shift in tone and accent sent a shiver down Peter’s spine. But he didn’t let up, eyes flicking around the room to gauge any potential items of use he could web and fling in Wanda’s direction. The only other thing on his mind right now was how horribly horribly wrong this could all go. Wanda could sneeze and erase them all from existence if she really wanted to, and MJ’s voice echoed in the back of his mind, offering him words of encouragement wrapped in her usual dry wit. It was something positive to latch onto, but it didn’t do much to quell the absolute panic in Peter’s bones.

WANDA: She had a purpose. Of course she had a purpose if she had come all this way from the comfort of her warm bed, next to her loving husband while her two boys slept in a nearby room. That was where she belonged. Not here in this dirty room with people who wanted to burn her at the stake like a common witch. They didn’t get it. They didn’t have to. In the end, they didn’t matter. None of them mattered. Not when she finally got to make the rules. “I don’t have five minutes,” she muttered, more to herself than to him. Then his hand was on her wrist and her body was spinning to face him, face to chest. How many times had she rested her head in the crook of his neck, breathing becoming more even as he guided her through the panic? Pietro had always been there... until he hadn’t. He was gone and she was tugging her hand away from him. “I have a home.” She replied firmly in English, tone glossy and bright. “I have a family. A husband, a brother. Sons. And that’s real. This? All of this is irrelevant. You can keep it. I know what I want.” Gloved hands coming together, Wanda drew them apart as a line of red magic extended between the appendages before shooting across the room. Scarlet covered the surfaces as they became clean and put together. It looked the conference room in the Avengers Compound before Thanos had destroyed it. Her mind pieced together glass and metal furniture as it remembered one of the last places she had been put on a public trial. The ripple that crossed the room moved the people to the side, a path clearing between Wanda and her sons. “I’m sure none of this makes sense,” she spoke slowly as if aiming to not spook them. “I can explain it in the morning. Your father is going to be worried.” There were threads moving between her and the twins, connecting the three in magic. Wanda funneled the time she had spent with the new twins towards them, reality slowly webbing them in. “And he won’t be happy you aged yourself again. Let’s go home.” She was standing before them then, arms extended.

TOMMY: You know, he was kind of hoping Pietro would have pulled it off. “Oh, no—n-n-no” he could feel her creeping in, it was like trying to outrun a hurricane with his thoughts, he could feel them all slipping away like walking into a room and forgetting why. Just when he’d find something else to hold on to, it’d slip away in exchange for another—and another, and another. The room started to shift and he felt the panic bubble up. It was like drowning on land. Tommy felt himself get ripped forward, and it didn’t matter what he did there was no escaping it. What little still stuck around from his current life had him gripping onto the ledge of the table for dear fucking life until the fear of losing his grip became so great, it just obliterated right out from beneath his finger tips. He gasped, sent one last look to billy and then that was it. Curtains drawn. Lights out. Let the credits roll.

PETER: Everything that had been moving in slow motion was now progressing much too quickly for Peter’s liking. Grunting in frustration with the others as the red magic pushed them aside, Peter watched the Scarlet Witch approach the twins. Her comment on their ages didn’t bode well, but neither did the ‘let’s go home.’ Before he could formulate another thought however, Tommy vanished in the blink of an eye, and Peter panicked, surging forward with a shout, “Wanda! Wanda, wait!”

BILLY: Billy could feel the familiar weave of magic as it mingled with his own, his mutant abilities reaching out to greet Wanda's like an embrace after years of being apart. The walls around him were tinted a shade of yellow, slightly dulled by a stream of pale light. He could hear the patter of feet across hardwood floor right onto carpet and the familiar burnt smell of toast filled his senses. But it felt so welcoming, so warm. At some point, Billy had reached down and interlocked his fingers with Tommy, so when he took a step forward, his own magic reaching out to meet Wanda's, he was pulling Tommy along with him, his eyes fixed on Wanda's glowing red hues. "Dad," his voice didn't sound like his own, but the magic swirling around him was so familiar and comfortable he couldn't even find the urge to resist it. "He'll be so worried." They were only a few steps away from Wanda then and Billy reached out with his free hand, extending it towards her. "Let's go home." he parroted.

WANDA: It was a sweet relief when the twins relented. Wanda loved them in an intense, soul crushing sort of way. She had been thankful to not know loss in her life ( her parents. pietro. the vision. )  and the idea of losing them sent her reeling. What would she do if they were gone? She couldn’t even pretend to know. It was Tommy she reached first, his embrace brief as she felt his mind slip away. Tommy, her first born. Billy, the one Vision had loved so dearly that she had no choice but to manifest in her womb, the perfect counterpart for her son. Billy understood. He was a sensitive boy and the red light in her eyes were reflected in his own. “He loves you dearly, you know that.” She leaned over, pressing a kiss to the top of his head. “Take care of your brother. I’ll see you two in the morning.” With that the image of the boys flashed red as static overtook their body and they dissolved from sight. Eyes returning to green, Wanda glanced around the room. “Sorry about that. Kids, am I right?” Her laugh was strained as she looked to the boy who had burst out. “I’m sorry, where were we?”

PETER: Peter swallowed harshly, reaching up to remove the hat from his head, hair mussed with sweat. Fiddling with the brim in a gesture more akin to some starving Victorian orphan, Peter proceeded with utmost caution, “Wanda! You don’t have to do this. You’re not alone out here. I promise. Bring Tommy and Billy back, Wanda. Please.”

CAROL: Carol watched the twins dissipate with a slightly widened expression, one that didn't betray too much but her sheer shock was simmering just below the surface. "Wanda," she said, almost breathlessly, having watched the only person with first hand knowledge of her abilities willingly disappear into Wanda's fake world. "Wanda what did you do,"

PIETRO: Watching it all was one thing, but to do so slowly? Even worse. He knew it’d been a shot in the dark, but he didn’t think here and now with all these minds available to her that she’d still just see a ghost. Her mind was so imbedded in West View he couldn’t even feel her slinking around in his head like he used to. Not that she ever violated his privacy but it wasn’t like he’d ever put up a wall between them. And to be honest neither had she, not until now.  But she couldn’t avoid him forever. Try as she might there was a subconscious part of her that was reaching for him, there had to be. Because he wasn’t the one initiating a dream cycle every night. Couldn’t if he tried. He watched her take them, tendrils of red reaching out with sticky fingers to take the twins. Pietro watched Tommy struggle, wincing in the opposite direction as Billy seemed more accepting. And as the scarlet in the room faded out, he exhaled heavily from his seat on the floor, a weight settling down on broad shoulders. Well, fuck. “Fine.” he scoffed. “You don’t want to talk now.” he stood, nodding his head as he moved to the edge of her vision once more, only this time several feet of space separated them. “We’ll talk later. You can’t run from me—” he leaned forward some then to meet her gaze—if she would. “I’m faster.” The edge of his lip quirked just a fraction of a hair despite the bitterness and hurt that ebbed beneath. You can pretend i’m dead in your little bubble with your awful version of me, but you find me when you need me. he thought the words rather than say them, but there was no telling if she’d heard him. he took two steps back from her, falling back into place beside Crystalia and Luna.

WANDA: “You know,” one hand momentarily covered Wanda’s mouth as she thought. “The twins do need more friends. The neighborhood has been so quiet.” The boys leaving had shattered part of her illusion. They were gone and she wasn’t just Wanda Maximoff: mom anymore. She was the Scarlet Witch and this wasn’t a game, theatrics aside. Her real voice was lower, heavier. It betrayed just how much she had seen, even if the words seemed disjointed to the tone. “Thank you for volunteering.” She pointed at Peter for a split second before the Hex sucked him up, personality absorbing into the barrier. He wouldn’t wake up right away in his new bed with his new life. Unlike the twins he would be in a holding pattern, stuck in stasis until she could cast him. In that moment there was just too much going on to focus on anything except what was in front of her and keeping the town frozen. “I sent them home.” Wanda drifted through the crowd, gaze passing blankly over her father and sister. “Back to Westview, where they belong.” She paused at the sight of an infant, face softening. “And what are you doing here? She’s so little. God, I miss these days. They go by so quickly.” Way too quickly in the Maximoff case. She blinked and they were grown. The mother of the baby made a motion of protest when Wanda reached out, but red glowed underneath her temple and she handed the baby over wordlessly. “We can make this easy,” Wanda kept her gaze trained down on the sleeping face, her magic keeping the infant asleep. “But you need to let it go.”

PIETRO: No—n-n- no, no, no. His entire body went rigid as Wanda took Luna. He could have never imagined a moment in his life where he’d have believed for even a second that the sight of his baby in his twin’s arms would terrify him. Yet here he was. “Give her back.” he appeared beside them both then, voice splitting into a tremor. His already rabid heart stammered against his sternum as his tongue went dry in his mouth. He couldn’t even think straight,  “Wanda, te rog — ea este a mea.” (please. she’s mine.). The knot that formed in his throat made it difficult to breath, bleeding his fear out into every shaky exhale. He’d been terrified a number of times in his life, but this one was coming uncomfortably close to bringing him right back to Sokovia, when he was 10 with a bomb three feet from his face. “Let her go, both of them. I’m begging you. For me. Please.” He couldn’t look anymore, his eyes shut and he just hoped with everything in him she’d let them both go.

WANDA: Home was where the heart was, and right then her heart was aching to return home. This wasn’t her reality anymore. It was gray and dull. It lacked the carefully curated sheen of Westview. In some ways Wanda had become a puppet with scarlet strings tying her to the town. She couldn’t escape it even if she wanted to. But the boys were home now, the Vision as well. Even Pietro, as unsettling as his new face was. She finally had something to live for again and it pained her to be away from it. Kissing the crown of the babies head, Wanda handed her back to her motionless mother. “If she’s yours, Pietro, she belongs with her father and he’s back in Westview.” There was a flash of red before Crystal’s arms were empty and the Inhuman started back into motion.

MONICA: “Wanda.” Monica shoved her way to the front. “Stop. That was his baby. Your brothers baby. You have to give her back.” Her voice was firm, shoulders rolled back. Maybe it was too late to try and fix things, but they couldn’t combust. “She won’t hurt her.” Monica turned towards Pietro slightly. “That’s not what the Hex does, and she’s little. She’s okay.”

CRYSTALIA: One minute she was holding Luna and the next her arms were empty. There was a gap in the middle where Wanda had blocked everything off but now her eyes were wide. “---Where is my baby? Luna. You have to bring her back.”

PIETRO: “I’M HER FATHER!” the roar that erupted from his chest was explosive to say the least, and a volume that which he had never used with her before. “Why are you doing this to me!?” He could barely register Monica’s presence much less her words at this point. “You said metastasizing cells.” He whipped around to acknowledge Monica for the briefest of seconds, only to remind her of the very dangers she’d been so keen on expressing earlier. “What is this, huh — “ He looked back at Wanda “you want me to feel as alone as you did when I died, is that it, ah?” The emotions here piling on top of one another now, a mass of raw nerves that had been exposed day in and day out for weeks now and she just lit the match. On the verge of tears, the way he looked at her now, the betrayal dug deep into the lines of his face . Defeat hollowed him out. “I can’t even look at you.”

CRYSTAL: “And I’m her mother.” Pietro was yelling but Crystalia couldn’t stop crying. It was her fault. She had been holding the baby. She had let Luna go. Unable to look at Pietro, she moved towards his twin and clasped her red clad arm. “She’s two weeks old. She needs her mother. You have to send me to be with her.” Did she trust Wanda? Not in the slightest. The people in her Hex were suffering. Crystalia would suffer every day if she needed to if it meant her daughter wasn’t being neglected or forced to live with a new mother. The Inhumans could live without their Princess. Pietro could live without whatever she was to him. Crystal could not fathom living without Luna. “Please.”

WANDA: He had never yelled at her before. Never raised his voice, never yelled. Maybe snapped, but this was different. Why would a dream yell at her like that? Look at her in such utter disgust? Tears welled in Wanda’s eyes. They were always there, waiting to fall. She had hurt him judging by his response. The scarlet whisper told her it didn’t matter, but it did. He was her twin. Half of her heart, she had always said. For a moment she actually considered what it would mean if he was here and she had crossed the line of stealing his child. But that couldn’t be right. Pietro was home. He had an American accent. He was wrong, wrong, wrong. Pietro was --- Lip trembling, Wanda took a step back. Her tears had always ended their fights as children but this exceeded that. “I -- I’m trying to make people happy. She’s happy. She’s where she should be.” No, Wanda. You’re trying to make you happy. Don’t forget it. Blinking, she looked down at the hand on her arm. Light eyes trailed up her form before the Princess dissolved in red as well. “See? Just making everyone happy.”

PIETRO: For a moment he was conflicted — immediately regretful of yelling at her like that, but then glad that he had because for several seconds she seemed...present. And for a singular beat, his heart thudded with a flicker of hope—and then it was gone. It faded right out of him just as Crystalia slipped away, red tendrils swirling and evaporating like smoke. He felt stunned, akin to the aftermath of a bomb and the way his ears would ring and the world felt like it was held at an arms length. Several breaths went by and he didn’t know if he should be relieved Crystalia was with Luna or devastated they were both gone. His gaze trained vacantly in the space where she’d been, and when they shifted to Wanda they were not more lively. Merely pools of exhaustion and the soul draining fear of thinking he may actually never see either of them again. Whether they’d be different — his realities versions — or something else....if they survived. “You’re not making any one happy. You just took it.” The words fell out of his mouth with out a whisper of emotion and he turned away from her. As he walked away, he felt beyond heavy, and he didn’t have it in him to run.

WANDA: Her lips pursed together, the resole that had driven her there once again energizing her weary bones. “I’m leaving now.” She announced. “And I hope you realize how serious I am about all of this. I have what I want. No one is taking that from me.” Desperation threaded her voice, words cracking slightly. “So I’ll amend my policy. Westview is wonderful. Some of you would really enjoy a visit. Besides, it’s about time for my family to show up. People keep asking. I’m European and that’s apparently funny, but they need faces.” She also needed people with the power to stop her or the ones who could have ideas off the table. “Welcome to Westview.” She smiled at the group, serene before her magic erupted around the room. Abigail Brand, that S.W.O.R.D. director. Bucky and Sam, two familiar faces. Steve, who had always been there for her. Erik and Lorna to complete the picture of a happy family. Magik, who had threatened to stab her. Susan Storm, that scientist. They all flickered red and disappeared. The rest were left in the wake of her magic, the sound of static that had been growing louder now softening to a whisper in the background. She had been sloppy, slightly. She knew others who weren’t in the room had been pulled into the Hex as well but she’d deal. Wanda tilted her chin up in defiance. “They’re happy. They’re safe.” Lie. Maybe truth. “Leave me alone. Leave Vision alone. Don’t hurt us again.” Without waiting for a response Wanda turned, red propelling her in flight out of the room and back towards her quickly growing home.

NATASHA: Left in the aftermath, it felt all too much like the dead silent moments after Thanos had snapped his fingers the first time. Her husband was gone. He had been sitting right next to her but there wasn’t even a pile of ash left behind. “Wanda.” Her voice fell flat, knowing Wanda was gone and wouldn’t hear her. She shook her head, trying to catch her breath and remain calm. “Shit.”

SCOTT: Mouth agape, Scott stood by, staring at the place where Crystalia and her baby once stood, the spot now empty. Blinking slowly, he glanced around at the others, the silence deafening, “—- now what?”

MONICA: Breaking into a jog, Monica made it to the door and stuck her head out. “Maximoff!” She called at his retreating form. “Wanda just kidnapped your daughter and a foreign royal along with a handful of Avengers. The only time I saw anything out of Wanda was when you snapped. We need you. Luna needs you. That being said, she was still going in. She had to, especially if Wanda had upped the ante like that. “We’re going to fix this.” Her voice wavered slightly as she addressed Scott. “We’re going to -- we’re going to get this under control, okay? We’re going to keep it together.” That was aimed at Pietro. Of course it was Steve and Sam ( who had vowed to help Monica ) who had been taken. “We’ll get equipment, monitor the show. They may be trapped but we can see them. Wanda will show us if they’re okay. We don’t know that everyone in Westview will have the same biological response as me. It could have been from being thrown through the barrier.” Could have also been the former, but she was trying to ease frayed nerves. “And then we’re going to fight like hell because she doesn’t get to take from us and win. We’re gonna get them back.”

PIETRO: He stopped halfway down the hall, listening to her yell at him. Christ, where did she get the energy? After a beat, he pivoted on his foot and reappeared in the doorway as Monica delivered the rest of her speech to the room.  He noted it was about half as full as it had been, which meant his sister had gotten a case of sticky fingers and plucked them clean out. Wonderful. That was what, Steve, Sam, Bucky— that annoying blonde girl—actually, that was kind of funny. “Lead the way.” he said.

MONICA: “The episodes are edited,” Monica exhaled a sigh of relief when Pietro came back. “By Wanda. But we can keep visuals on everyone. It’s a start while we try to get in.”

NATASHA: Rising, Natasha slipped her hands into the pockets of her coat. “Scott, come back to the Compound with me. Call Hank and Jan on the way over. Maybe they can help. I’ll call you, Monica, with what I found. And Pietro...” She gnawed on her lip for a moment. “I’m choosing to believe Wanda isn’t lost. I don’t know what life looks like for her after this, but it’s not the end.” With one last tight smile she left to her apartment where Steve’s side of the bed would be cold.

SCOTT: Scott nodded, giving Natasha a halfhearted salute, “Got it, chief.”

PIETRO: Pietro surveyed Natasha, and somehow her words did help. Somehow. At any rate she’d lost something now too — at the very least if no one was inclined to help Wanda before, they all had their own stakes in getting someone out now. Maybe this was a blessing in disguise. After a moment he turned to Monica. “I don’t presume you’ll be sleeping tonight?” A not so subtle way of asking whether or not she’d begin work now or later.

MONICA: A low chuckle left her chest. “Didn’t sleep last night, so I see no need to start now. It’s my turn to get coffee. Jimmy did it last time. After that, I have a few sheets to go over. Why,” she inclined her head to the side to stretch her neck. “Need a way to pass the time? I can only read so fast.”

PIETRO: He should sleep — purely for the chance to talk to Wanda, but it’d likely be day for her in Westview. He’d have his chance later. “Lucky then that I can read a book in seconds.” Despite the light nature of the comment, it never really reached his eyes—or his tone. “I can take you to the surveillance room steve mentioned.” He offered. “There’s a coffee pot.”

MONICA: They had a lot of ground to cover and not enough time. Monica had known they were poking the bear by gathering everyone together but she had instigated anyway. Now where were they? Definitely down resources from before and with less morale. Natasha’s vow to help was nice but didn’t ease Monica’s concerns. “We’re going to fix this.” She repeated, mind stuck on a loop. “I don’t care what Wanda or Hayward says. We know what’s real.” Pietro offering to help was more than Monica expected after everything that had just gone down but she wasn’t stupid enough to turn him down. “Okay.” Resolved settled over her. “Let’s do this.”