Chapter Text
Earth 616
November, 2025
Missouri
Kairi and Xion Eclipse, Roxas Cooper, Stephen Strange, Wong, and Wanda and Vision Maximoff had long since accepted that their lives would never be normal. After all, given the fact that two of them used to be Nobodies, one was a Princess of Heart, two were sorcerers, one was the fabled Scarlet Witch, and one was a synthezoid who was only about ten years old physically, they had no choice but to accept that "normal" would never happen to them. Even when having a simple event such as a baby shower for Wanda and Vision's imminent twin sons was filled with the usual quota of "abnormal" thanks to the crazy situation they had fallen into with the Multiverse.
After the group's return from deeper within the Multiverse, the baby shower managed to pass by... relatively pleasantly. Naturally, many members of the team ended up having to leave so they could share notes and tips about what all they had experienced, so that they had more knowledge and were more careful of future threats. Stephen had been tempted to do the same, especially with his new ally, Clea, waiting for him (Roxas, Xion, and many others all smirked over the way Stephen smiled when he said her name), but he decided to stick around a bit longer.
At the moment, the Sorcerer was in a very un-Sorcerer position, alongside Wong, and the non magical help of Kairi, Roxas, and Xion. They were all helping Wanda and Vision settle down after the long day, while also packing up many of the gifts they had gotten.
Wanda ended up directing most of the group as they put away the bags, almost looking like she was directing air traffic as she stood there in a set of red sweats, trying not to get too tired just from standing while nearly full-term pregnant. Vision constantly moved to her side to offer her some comfort, while still joining Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wong, and Xion in putting away all the boxes and bags. Stephen rolled his eyes at some of the orders, but he still followed along. Roxas vocally admitted that he wasn't sure he belonged here, but he still joined Wong in carrying away some boxes.
During the evening, Wanda also exchanged pleasantries with Kairi and Xion, their longtime friendship helping fuel the feeling of companionship they had gained over the years. It was nice for them to share moments of friendship now that they were outside of work as Avengers, and the three of them really enjoyed each others' company.
Of course, at the same time, Wanda ended up explaining to Kairi and Xion some of the complications she had been experiencing with her pregnancy. Some details intrigued the two teens, while others were a little too graphic, and disgusted them a little bit.
"Making more people when you're a Somebody is probably the weirdest thing imaginable," Xion remarked. She shook her head. "I'm glad I won't be doing that for at least another ten years."
"Did Axel tell you that?" Kairi asked with an eyebrow raised.
"Yes," Xion confirmed.
Kairi and Wanda laughed at that.
"It's still disgusting, though," Xion commented. "You pee on a stick just to learn you're pregnant. You throw up all morning, then throughout the rest of the day. The baby, or babies, heat up inside you and make you really hot. They push against your bladder and make you pee all the time. And your feet swell up like balloons!"
"You don't need to remind her about what she's going through," Kairi reminded her (kind of) sister.
"But she's not wrong, either," Wanda admitted. She panted with one hand on her back and the other on her swollen, rounded stomach. "Especially about the feet. These things look like balloon animals."
She panted and lifted up a foot, and Kairi and Xion grimaced over how swollen Wanda's ankles looked. *1*
Whatever the case, the group continued packing up the boxes, some of them in the house, some in Wanda and Vision's bedroom, and some in the nursery right next door to their bedroom. Roxas didn't let his short height weigh him down, and frequently floated up into the air with his powers when he had to help store some boxes on higher shelves. Of course, Kairi and Xion weren't going to let themselves be outdone, and joined him in floating up to store some items. Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all laughed at the teenagers, while Wong just rolled his eyes since he was the only one who couldn't fly.
They took some time to rest and just calm down for a moment, though it did briefly get interrupted by a man coming through an orange portal in a red and black suit with katanas on his back and guns attached to his thighs. He asked if Roxas was the Roxas he was looking for, shouted "fuck" at the top of his lungs more than once, then disappeared back into the portal before vanishing. Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, Wong, and Xion all shared confused looks, but they shrugged it off before continuing their break, then eventually going back to work.
At the group's insistence, Wanda sat in an armchair and let the lower section raise up so she was reclining backwards, her hands resting on her distended stomach as she watched and directed them amongst their various duties. Vision frequently stopped by to kiss her before continuing his work, and Wanda not-so-subtly watched him walk away in appreciation every time.
Of course, as they did their work, Roxas and Xion also ended up near each other frequently, and every time, they ended up in slightly flirty situations. When Roxas lifted a box over his head, Xion stared at his stomach as the bottom of his shirt rose slightly. When Xion crouched down to slide something under a desk, Roxas stared at her bottom for a while before trying to save face. Both Roxas and Xion ended up holding hands as they pulled a curtain across part of a room, and then blatantly held onto each other in a small hug, content smiles on their faces.
Seeing them interact ended up reminding Stephen and Wong about the nature of young love, which reminded them that they weren't so young anymore. Wong inwardly wondered when the last time he checked his dating app was, while Stephen thought about Clea and inwardly tried to convince himself that he just saw her as a professional partner.
'A beautiful, gorgeous partner...' Stephen thought to himself before stubbornly shaking his head.
Kairi, meanwhile, had a different reaction to the moments where she saw Roxas and Xion together.
Seeing her sort-of-clone and Sora's Nobody together, happy in a relationship, just reminded Kairi that she was alone since Sora was still in Quadratum. It had been almost five months (their time) since Riku and Vanitas had initially disappeared with the power of waking to follow him, two months (their time) since the two had briefly returned to help deal with Maleficent and the Darkhold, and then only a week or so since they briefly returned once again to help the Guardians. Kairi was still bitter that she hadn't been able to join them with the power of waking, and was absolutely enraged that they had been back with a more proficient way of traveling the Multiverse and hadn't brought her with them. And it stung even more that the other Roxas, the one with a team that specialized in traveling the Multiverse, outright told her that she wasn't ready to face whatever was happening in Quadratum.
Rationally, a part of Kairi knew that this made sense considering how many times she had gone up against something that she wasn't ready for and lost (it was way too many, in Kairi's opinion), so she knew that she had to be smart. But a stubborn, irrational side of her was too angry over the fact that it had been months since their last breakthrough, and she was still no closer to finally reuniting with Sora.
So, seeing somebody that looked exactly like her, and someone that had been (kind of) made from Sora be happy together as a couple felt like an extra punch to the gut for Kairi.
Once again, Kairi knew that it was irrational. After everything that they had been through, all the hardships and the trauma they had endured, Roxas and Xion had more than earned their right to be people on their own. They deserved the chance to be happy together, and that included the normal Somebody traditions of dating and being in a relationship. Neither of them deserved the jealousy that Kairi felt towards their relationship, but she just couldn't help herself.
Seeing Roxas and Xion together just made her wish that it was her and Sora together, instead.
Namine could kind of relate to Kairi considering she was in a similar situation, what with Riku being gone in Quadratum, too. But it was still a different situation considering Riku had at least gone to Quadratum willingly, and he had made the effort to come back home more than once and show her that he was okay. Kairi wasn't granted that luxury, but she made sure not to show any form of bitterness because of it to Namine, knowing that her other sister needed her own form of comfort over the situation.
Kairi just couldn't stop herself from being jealous every time she saw Roxas and Xion together. Every hold of the hand, small hug, or quick kiss led to her feeling more and more jealous that she couldn't experience those same experiences with Sora. Of course, given the fact that she saw Xion as a sister, and she and Roxas had become really good friends to her, Kairi felt even more guilty for her actions and her feelings. But Kairi decided not to dwell on this too much, knowing that she would never let her feelings drive her too far because she cared about both Roxas and Xion too much.
Still, Kairi couldn't help but still feel a little bitter over the way that Roxas and Xion continued to just... be together and stay together in front of her.
Kairi inwardly sighed out and felt another wave of frustration and guilt for her feelings, knowing that they were unwarranted considering her friendship with both Roxas and Xion. Once again, she inwardly pushed down those feelings, once again following the idea of dealing with them at a later date.
At the same time, she also pushed down the lessons that Wanda had learned from her classes about being a therapist: that bottled down, pent-up feelings have a tendency to then explode at the worst possible moment. Kairi knew that she was good at controlling her emotions, so there was no problem with her getting pent-up or too worried like that.
(Kairi also pushed down the memory that Wanda had gone through that same exact situation, which had resulted in the creation of the Hex around Westview two years prior. She was trying (and failing) to focus on the positive). *2*
At the moment, though, Kairi made sure these thoughts weren't on her mind as the group finished putting up all the boxes and gifts from the other Avengers and their allies at the baby shower. Having gotten some drinks and pulled up plates of leftover dessert, Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, Wong, and Xion were all gathered together throughout the living room, sitting in the various couches and chairs as they just rested for a moment. Roxas and Xion were together in an armchair, Kairi tried not to look at them in jealousy nearby, Stephen and Wong were spread out along a couch, and Wanda and Vision were together on another couch, with Vision holding onto Wanda as she sat with a plate of cake resting on her stomach.
"That is impressive," Xion commented with an eyebrow raised at Wanda.
"Secret benefit of being nine months pregnant: free table," Wanda quipped.
"I'm so glad that our sons are making your life easier," Vision quipped with a smile.
"That might change after they come out," Stephen replied.
"Oh, hush, Stephen," Wong replied. He smiled pleasantly. "Children are always a joy."
"I'm not sure you can say something like that genuinely when you don't even have kids yourself," Roxas replied with his eyebrows furrowed.
"Well, you can't, but that's not saying he's wrong," Vision replied with a shrug of his shoulders.
The group all shared a small chuckle at that, before they let out a collective, content sigh. Xion leaned into Roxas once again, while Vision joined Wanda in placing a hand on her swollen stomach, and Stephen and Wong just smiled for their friends while Kairi leaned back in her seat, once again trying not to feel too jealous about being around so much love and not being able to experience her own.
"I am very happy to be back in our own universe," Vision informed Wanda as she took another bite of cake.
"And I'm happy to have you back," Wanda replied through her bite.
"Yeah, I much rather prefer our usual chaos here while at home as opposed to the full-blown chaos we get in the Multiverse," Roxas added, with Xion nodding in agreement.
"I've only been through different universes with you guys once, and I agree with you there," Stephen admitted.
Wong inwardly grimaced, now wondering just how bad things could be in the Multiverse that the craziness of their own home was much more preferable.
"Here's to our usual chaos here at home," Xion remarked, lifting up her cup with a smirk.
"Here, here," Kairi said, giving her first genuine smile in an hour as she lifted her cup.
Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Wong all chuckled and lifted their own cups to join in the salute before they all took a collective sip, agreeing with the sentiment of preferring their own universe once again.
Of course, it almost felt absolutely perfect for their lives that this was when a new problem arose.
As Wanda lowered the cup from her mouth, she then closed her mouth and grunted in pain as she pressed her hand to her head, grimacing slightly over the feeling of a great headache. Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Vision, Wong, and Xion all quickly lowered their cups and looked at her as she kept her hand on her head, her headache continuing along with small grimaces and grunts.
"What's wrong?" Vision asked, immediately going into Dad Panic Mode. "Is it something to do with the boys?"
"No, it's not that," Wanda admitted. She grimaced and opened her eyes. "There's... something wrong in the magical world. Something wrong with a spell that I cast."
"A spell gone haywire?" Stephen asked, leaning forward in intrigue.
"That's never a good thing," Wong remarked with a worried shake of his head.
"No, it hasn't gone haywire," Wanda slowly said. She huffed and opened her eyes. "There's... interference. Someone is tampering with it and trying to take it down."
Kairi, Roxas, and Xion all set their drinks down and shared looks, leaning forward in curiosity.
"Can that be done?" Roxas asked, looking at some of the others before turning towards Wanda.
"It can," Stephen confirmed. He looked at Wanda. "With the right number of incantations and enchanted objects, unless you've added all sorts of defenses, any spell can be undone."
"Which spell is it?" Vision asked, moving the plate of cake slices from Wanda's rounded stomach.
"It's none of the protection spells," Wanda admitted. She sighed as she furrowed her eyebrows thoughtfully. "It's... I think it's one of the older, more prolonged spells that I cast."
"What does that mean?" Wong asked.
"Give me a second," Wanda requested.
With that, she closed her eyes and concentrated for a moment. Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Vision, Wong, and Xion all shared looks of concern as Wanda continued to concentrate, humming to herself as she did a mental check of her spells to see which ones were active and which ones were being tampered with. It took her a few moments, but soon enough, she was able to narrow down which spell was being interfered with.
And when she did, Wanda gasped as she opened her eyes. With that, she then waved a small hand, casting a spell that made a red glow appear around her stomach.
"Oh, shit," Wanda said.
Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Vision, Wong, and Xion all blinked in surprise, because none of them could remember the last time they had heard Wanda cuss. *3*
"What's wrong?" Vision asked, concern filling him again.
Worry appeared on Wanda's face as she looked at her husband.
"It's the spell I put on Agatha two years ago," she told him. She worriedly looked amongst Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Vision, and Wong. "Someone is trying to free Agatha."
The eyes of all other occupants in the room widened as they felt worry fill them over Wanda's declaration.
"Oh, shit," Xion commented.
She still remembered how evil Agatha had been, between manipulating Wanda, threatening those versions of Tommy and Billy to get her to comply, putting Wanda's pain and grief in the residents to torture them "for fun," and had even been twisted enough to kill a dog just to mess with her. And that was before Agatha had tried to steal Wanda's power to kill her, something that she had apparently been doing for about 300 years, all the way back to when she had murdered her own mother and her coven to steal their power.
Even Bucky, who hated when people manipulated others with brainwashing considering what HYDRA had done to him, agreed that this wasn't the kind of woman that they wanted free and out of the "prison" that Wanda's spell had put her under.
"What's going on?" Roxas asked as he and the others stood up.
"Yeah, what could someone be doing to your spell that could have them think they can take it down?" Kairi asked. She gestured with her hands. "I mean, you're the Scarlet Witch. What makes anybody think they could take down one of your spells?"
"The magic that I can sense is involved isn't... as powerful as mine," Wanda admitted. She huffed. "But I can sense two individuals using magic at the same time against my spell. This is weakening the hold that I put on Agatha."
"Shit," Stephen commented.
"Stop cussing," Wanda said with a frown. She patted her swollen belly, which was still glowing red. "This sound-proof spell doesn't last for too long."
Stephen held up a hand apologetically while he and Wong shared a look.
"I don't get it," Roxas said with his eyebrows furrowed. "Your power is apparently greater than that of the Sorcerer Supreme. How could anybody be strong enough to take down one of your spells."
"Well, she was stronger than all of us combined when she had the Darkhold forced on her, but she isn't that strong anymore," Wong pointed out.
"Yeah, so she's probably a bit weaker now," Stephen added. He shrugged his shoulders. "Wong and I are probably strong enough combined to take her down."
"How about we test that out after I'm not pregnant?" Wanda sarcastically suggested with a roll of her eyes.
Vision placed a hand on her shoulder and helped her up with a small grunt.
"But that's not important," Wanda said. She huffed and looked amongst the group. "What's important is that there are two magic-wielders that are close enough to me in power that are running interference with the spell that I put on Agatha. And if they're lucky, then both of their magicks combined will be enough to get her to break free."
"That's not good," Stephen remarked with a shake of his head.
"Yeah, with what you guys said about her, even I don't want a lady like this running around free," Kairi agreed with a huff.
"Well, it won't be the worst thing in the world, right?" Xion pointed out. She gestured to Wanda. "You gave her a taste of her own medicine and stole all her powers from her, which made you into the Scarlet Witch in the first place."
"That's true," Wanda admitted. "But there's one spell that I never took from her, because I never wanted to be as bad as her: the power to drain the power and life from witches."
Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Vision, Wong, and Xion all narrowed their eyes at that.
"But... when Maleficent made you go after America..." Roxas slowly remembered.
"That was Maleficent forcing the powers on me with the Darkhold through the Id," Wanda reminded them. She shared a look with Vision. "I've already killed too many people accidentally. I purposefully left out that spell when I took Agatha's magic because I didn't want to kill anyone purposefully."
Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Vision, Wong, and Xion all tilted their heads to the side, understanding that sentiment.
"But then that means that Agatha still poses a threat," Vision assessed with his eyebrows furrowed. "She still has the spell that takes power and life from other witches."
"And while witches have garnered a pretty bad reputation over the centuries, there is no reason to believe that they deserve to die, especially like that," Wong declared.
"So once these two magic wielders get Agatha free of the spell..." Roxas slowly said.
"Then she'll be able to go throughout the world and steal the powers from other witches again," Stephen declared.
"And who knows how many innocent witches will die in the process?" Wanda added with worry in her voice.
Kairi, Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, Wong, and Xion all grimaced together in worry over the very idea. *4*
"So what do we do?" Roxas asked, looking amongst the rest of his allies.
"We've gotta get to Agatha and try to stop these two magicians before they can undo the spell," Stephen declared.
"Well... it's a little too late for that," Wanda admitted. She grimaced and looked at the others. "Whoever these magic users are, they're clearly experts with their craft. I can sense my spell breaking down on Agatha more by the second. My best estimate is that it'll be completely down within a couple of hours."
"Shit..." Wong sighed out.
Wanda frowned at him, and he gave her an apologetic look.
"In that case, what should we do?" Vision emphasized.
Kairi, Roxas, and Xion looked amongst the magicians and the synthezoid in similar curiosity.
"Well, we'll need to get to Agatha either before or immediately after the spell wears off," Stephen declared.
"And we must also investigate these other two magic wielders," Wong added with a frown. He looked at Wanda. "If the two of them combined are enough to take down a spell from the Scarlet Witch, then we'll need to learn more about them, especially if they're friend or foe."
"Looks like whatever the case, we're going back to Westview," Xion assessed.
Wanda and Vision then shared a look and inwardly grimaced, both of them hoping that enough time had passed that the people of Westview weren't angry anymore.
"I think we should be smart about this, though," Stephen said, gesturing with his hands. He looked at Wanda and gestured to her stomach. "I mean, obviously we shouldn't let you go headfirst into danger considering your state."
"That would be a very bad idea," Wanda agreed, placing her hands protectively on her swollen stomach in concern.
Vision put a hand on her belly and nodded in agreement.
"And sadly, we shouldn't go to Westview, either," Wong admitted as he looked at Stephen.
"What?" Kairi asked, frowning in surprise with Roxas and Xion. "Why not?"
"We saw what Agatha was like when going through Wanda's memories," Stephen informed them. "Agatha's powers only work when someone with magic attacks her."
"So no matter what spell you guys try to use on her..." Roxas slowly said, furrowing his eyebrows thoughtfully.
"She'd use it to steal our magic and kill us," Wong confirmed.
"Okay, that's tough," Xion remarked with her eyebrows furrowed. "How are you supposed to fight a magic wielder without magic of your own?"
"This feels like a philosophical question," Vision remarked. He raised an eyebrow. "Literally. It sounds like a philosophical question that I've encountered more than once."
"Well, it can be done," Stephen pointed out. "You all and V did a decent job against Maleficent numerous times during that problem. And if she hadn't had the Darkhold, you'd most likely have taken her down. Again."
"That's true," Roxas remarked with a nod of his head.
"So..." Kairi slowly said, looking between Kairi, Roxas, and Xion. "If you guys don't mind going to Westview in my stead..."
"Hey, you don't even have to ask," Xion promised with a wave of her hand.
"Yeah, after everything we've been through, I'm more than happy to help," Roxas emphasized.
Kairi nodded her head in agreement.
"But we've gotta try and keep this on the down-low," Stephen then pointed out. "We can't spook Agatha, or either of these magicians in case they attack. So, we need to be covert."
"So I can't go," Vision remarked with his eyebrows furrowed. "Given our history in Westview, even if I'm disguised, they'll most likely recognize me. Too many people in the town are familiar with my face, both with and without the disguise."
"And that means that you probably shouldn't go, either," Wong informed Roxas.
"What, why?" Roxas asked with a small frown.
Stephen pointedly reached over and grabbed one of the spikes that Roxas's hair made, and the young blonde sighed out as he pushed his hand away.
"Point taken," Roxas sighed out.
"Yeah, not even a good glamor spell will be enough for that, not with how often you've been seen on the news," Wong admitted, with Stephen and Wanda both nodding in confirmation.
Roxas sighed out. This whole "publicly known as a hero to the entire world" thing certainly had its ups and downs.
"So, that just leaves two options..." Xion slowly said.
"Us," Kairi confirmed, sharing a look with her (kind of) sister over the very idea.
Roxas immediately narrowed his eyes in worry with Vision, while Stephen and Wong looked at the two teen girls in concern, and Wanda just gave them a look.
"You don't have to do this," Wanda told them. She shrugged her shoulders. "This is my problem, after all. But... if you guys could go there in my stead, well... I would appreciate it."
"It's no problem, really," Xion promised her with a wave of her hand. "We can go there, do a little sleuthing, figure out what's going on, and apprehend Agatha. It's nothing we can't take care of."
"Plus, I didn't have any plans for this weekend, so I'm glad to just have something to do," Kairi added with a shrug of her shoulders.
"Is this still the best option, though?" Vision couldn't help but ask in concern.
"It might be," Wong confirmed, to Roxas's disappointment. "Given that their powers are vastly different to the magic of this world, that means there's less chance of Agatha stealing and draining their life forces in case something happens."
Kairi, Roxas, Wanda, Vision, and Xion all breathed out a collective sigh of relief.
"But do either of you really think you would win if you had to fight Agatha, or either of these other magic users?" Stephen asked, looking at Kairi and Xion in concern. "Magic is very different from the powers you possess, and while that can be a good thing sometimes, it's still not something you should underestimate."
"Yeah, but we've got experience in fighting magic thanks to Maleficent," Kairi reminded Stephen. She gestured to Xion. "She and Roxas fought her head on when she had the Darkhold, and they survived. We can probably take on a powerless witch 2 years out from detoxing from that thing."
"And let's just hope that whoever these two magic users trying to take down the spell over her aren't evil," Xion added. She looked at the others and shrugged her shoulders. "I mean, it's really unlikely at this point, but where would we be without hope?"
Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Wong all nodded their heads in understanding.
With that, the group then took a little while to start getting things ready. Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, and Vision all changed out of their casual clothes and into something more battle ready if necessary (this consisted of Roxas changing into his usual outfit, Stephen waving a hand and replacing his shirt and jeans with his robes, Vision phasing his outfit from a sweater and pants to his teal and gold suit, and Wanda waving her hand and changing her sweats to a shirt, jacket, and jeans). Kairi and Xion also changed out of their dresses and boots into something more inconspicuous since they were at least trying to be covert. This consisted of simple shirts under hoodies (black with white designs for Xion, pink with black designs for Kairi), jeans, and sneakers.
Of course, they opted out of wearing baseball caps or sunglasses, feeling that those would just make them stand out all the more.
"Wearing a hat and sunglasses with these outfits isn't really gonna do much to hide our identities," Kairi pointed out.
"Yeah, we'd just look like ourselves but at a baseball game," Xion agreed.
Wanda shrugged her shoulders before putting the hats and sunglasses on a counter.
"Yes, I always questioned Captain Rogers and Ms. Romanoff's choices of only consisting of using those to hide their faces," Vision admitted. He raised an eyebrow. "Honestly, if I hadn't been sabotaging the facial recognition networks the government set up when you all were on the run, they would've found you in just a matter of weeks." *5*
Wanda smiled and leaned in to give Vision a grateful hug, and Vision smiled and reciprocated the hug.
Kairi smiled for the couple before Roxas and Xion shared a hug, making the redhead sigh and work to conceal her frustration.
All of a sudden, a portal opened nearby, and Wong stepped out, coming from the New York Sanctum with a small case in his arm. Stephen nodded at the other sorcerer before he opened the case, pulling out two tiny devices, which he handed to Kairi and Xion.
"We have modified some of the comlinks that Sam Wilson provided us with," Wong explained. "Not only can they work across greater distances than usual, they can also keep working even if they are disturbed by some form of magical interference."
"We also put small cameras into the sides," Stephen added as Kairi and Xion put the earpieces in. "They can connect to the laptop that Wong brought and show us what you're seeing. We figured that gear like this would especially come in handy on a reconnaissance mission if we were facing a particularly great magical beast. We send scouts in, they get the info about the monster, come back, and we figure out the best way to take it down."
"Oh, that's how you knew you needed me to cast a spell to imprison that Leviathan," Wanda commented with remembrance in her voice.
Stephen and Wong both nodded their heads, while Vision grimaced at the memory, and Kairi, Roxas, and Xion all frowned, wondering when exactly that had happened.
Whatever the case, the trio of Keyblade wielders brushed it off as Stephen then took out a couple of small pendants that he passed to Kairi and Xion. The two teens looked over the charms, seeing various patterns and designs engraved in them, including a couple of runes.
"And take these with you," Stephen told them. "They offer a small form of defense against magical attacks, including witchcraft."
"I helped make them," Wanda added, raising a hand. "They aren't much, but they'll still ensure that a spell won't be too impactful or damaging."
"Well, we'll take what we can get," Xion remarked with a shrug of her shoulders.
Kairi nodded in agreement as she, Xion, and even Roxas gave the sorcerers and the witch grateful looks.
The group then took a moment to all walk into the study, where Vision usually did his work for Stark Industries. Wong placed his laptop on the desk, and the rolling chair was replaced by a comfortable armchair for Wanda to sit in. She pulled up in front of the laptop, wanting to have a first-hand look at the situation since this was a problem involving one of her old villains. Roxas, Stephen, Vision, and Wong all gathered behind the desk with her, though Wong made it clear that he might have to step out every once in a while due to his duties as Sorcerer Supreme (something that Stephen still felt like his friend was rubbing in his face with how often he brought it up). Kairi and Xion were on the opposite side of the desk, nodding at their friends to show they were ready.
"When you get to Westview, you'll need to go into the residential area," Wanda instructed to the two teens. "That might be the best place to find Agatha. With her having the personality of the 'nosy neighbor,' she should still be at the house she was living in during the Hex."
"Didn't that house originally belong to a guy named Ralph Bohner?" Roxas asked, frowning in remembrance.
Stephen smirked and gave a small chuckle, but he cleared his throat to get serious again.
"It did, yeah," Stephen confirmed, clearing his throat as he, Wanda, and Vision all looked at the blonde. "When I went there to check things out after we got rid of the Darkhold, I found Agatha still in the spell, and Ralph Bohner nowhere in sight. Afterwards, she more or less just moved into his house, and he hasn't been seen or heard from in about two years."
"I hope everything is all right for him," Vision said with a small grimace.
"Me, too," Wanda agreed with her own grimace.
After learning that Agatha had manipulated Ralph, Wanda already felt bad enough for having thrown him into that hay bale during the "Halloween party." She hoped that his experiences because of Agatha and what Wanda herself had done with the Hex hadn't been too horrible for Ralph.
"The best course of action is to find the lot that I had bought, since Agatha only lived about two doors down from us as Agnes," Vision emphasized to Kairi and Xion, pulling Wanda out of her thoughts.
"Well, I guess it shouldn't be too hard to find an empty lot," Kairi commented with a shrug of her shoulders.
"Why should we assume that it'll be empty?" Xion asked with a frown. "Two years, won't someone have built a house there by now?"
"Uh, no," Stepehen admitted. He grimaced. "I checked in on the place last year, when we were putting together that arranged deal with the military. The one when people were calling for Wanda to have some form of punishment, and we agreed to house arrest. Not only did people refuse to build something at that lot, but they also tagged what was there with graffiti."
Kairi, Roxas, Vision, Wong, and Xion all grimaced, while Wanda looked down and sighed, having expected this.
"Do I even want to know what they wrote?" Wanda softly asked.
"I erased the worst of it," Stephen reassured her. "But... it wasn't nice."
Wanda sighed out again, and Vision put a comforting hand on her back.
"Whatever the case..." Vision slowly said as he looked at Kairi and Xion again. "You find the empty lot, and you'll be able to find Agatha. She lived only a few doors down."
"Got it," Kairi said with a nod of her head. "Anything else we should know?"
"You should still be careful of Agatha and whoever these other two magic users are," Wanda said, sighing as she pulled herself out of her thoughts. "Though she might not have enough of her powers to perform the greater spells, there are still a few smaller scaled spells that witches can perform."
"Exactly," Stephen agreed. "And you better hope that these other magic wielders aren't other hostile witches. After all, with the different types, like Potion witches, Divination witches, Protection witches, and even Green Witches, you don't wanna risk fighting them."
"How many times of witches are there even?" Xion asked with an eyebrow raised.
"We'll explain it to you along the way," Wong promised, with Stephen and Wanda nodding in promise. *6*
"Would it matter at all if I said I'm not that comfortable about this anymore?" Roxas asked.
"No," Kairi, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, Wong, and Xion all simultaneously told the blonde.
Roxas sighed out.
But whatever the case, the young blonde still stepped forward and hugged Xion, and she promised him that she would be okay. Kairi looked away again, trying not to let her jealousy show too much, but Wanda paused as she sensed the feelings within the redhead.
Of course, Wanda didn't get a chance to take Kairi aside and voice these feelings because Stephen waved a hand and made a bright orange portal appear with his Sling Ring, leading directly into the residential area of Westview, New Jersey. Kairi and Xion nodded at Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Wong, and the group all nodded back at them. With that, Kairi and Xion turned and walked through the portal together, exiting the house and entering Westview together as the portal slowly shimmered out of existence behind them. Roxas, Stephen, Wanda, Vision, and Wong all watched them go, then they all let out a collective sigh, all of them hoping for the best for their friends.
Now, they just had to watch and wait...