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𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟐
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐖 𝐀𝐍𝐎𝐌𝐀𝐋𝐘

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After getting caught up on many confusing things by Jimmy, the FBI agent parked his car in the middle of S.W.O.R.D.'s base. Not even a second after that passed when he grabbed his tray of coffee and got out of the car. Charlie and Pietro exchanged an uncertain look before following after him. They received some very concerning looks from the agents they passed as they walked through the base. Everyone reminded Charlie of the men that she encountered on the Raft. That was all it took for the Barton woman to take a step closer to Pietro, who placed his arm around her shoulders. His actions eased her tension a bit, but not enough for the archer to let her guard down.

A wave of relief soon washed over the young couple when they entered the largest temporary building. There were a lot less people staring at them as they followed Jimmy. The three of them were walking through the halls until they came to a lab. The Woo man walked further into the room to place the coffee on the table. While he did that, Charlie and Pietro stood in the doorway, remaining unseen by the two women in the room.

"What'd I miss?" Jimmy asked while handing the woman with glasses a cup.

"The twins aged up to ten and their cousin is now sixteen," she responded before taking a long sip of coffee.

"Holy Christmas. At this rate, they'll be empty nesters by dinner time," the Woo man sighed after sitting down at the table beside his allies.

"I know an aerospace engineer who'd be up for this challenge," a familiar voice commented, causing Charlie's blood to run cold. It wasn't long after that when the third person walked out from behind the whiteboard, revealing Monica Rambeau.

The Barton woman forced herself to swallow the lump in her throat as she and Pietro took a step forward. All eyes turned to them before Charlie watched as the smile on Monica's face faltered. The silence in the room was causing discomfort to the speedster, forcing him to break it earlier than he probably should have. "What twins are you talking about?"

"Wanda's twins," the woman in glasses told them as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. She simply ignored their confused looks as she waved at them. "I'm Darcy, by the way. I was the one who called you."

"Hi, Darcy. Thanks for the call," the Maximoff man said, not bothering to hide the hint of annoyance in his voice, "now can we please go back to the twins? Wanda doesn't have any children."

"Well, things have changed in the last week," the Lewis woman responded before turning her attention back to Monica, "I can't guarantee the Hex won't just mind-wipe you as you go in."

Confusion overtook all the emotions Charlie was feeling as she looked over at Darcy. "I'm sorry. The Hex? What is that?"

"Oh, um, it's what I'm calling the anomaly because of its hexagonal shape. It's starting to catch on," the brunette woman explained with a proud smile on her face. An awkward silence overtook the room before Jimmy shook his head at them. The smile instantly fell from Darcy's face as she looked back over at Monica. "You really wanna go back in there? After everything she's put you through?"

A long sigh passed over the Rambeau woman's lips. "Yeah. Yes, I do."

"Have we identified these minors yet? Or the newborns?" Jimmy asked while gesturing to the screen in front of him.

"Oh, Wanda's twins are hers," Monica declared, earning shocked looks from everyone in the room with her, "everything might look fake on the TV, but everything in there is real."

Charlie and Pietro both tensed at the image in front of them. They were shocked to find children on the screen. Two of them were young boys, both looking eerily similar to Wanda in their own way. But what caught their attention more was the girl walking beside them. She was older than the twins by a few years, looking to be around fifteen or so. Her hair was a bright blonde and her face seemed to be the perfect mix of the young couple. 

"Who's the girl with them?" Charlie managed to ask despite having a hunch she already knew the answer.

Monica was quiet for a moment while keeping her eyes glued to the screen. What felt like an eternity passed before she finally broke the silence surrounding them. "Her name is Ashley Maximoff. According to Wanda, she's her niece. Which makes her your daughter. I'm just not sure if she's like the twins or if she's just playing a role."

Despite wanting to believe everything Monica was saying was impossible, Charlie couldn't. Ashley's eyes alone were enough proof of who she was. And by the look on Pietro's face, he was thinking the exact same thing. Somehow, Wanda used her magic to create their daughter. Ashley was walking around Westview with a bright smile on her face, completely unaware of her parents learning about her existence.

"But Wanda manipulates people's perceptions, makes them hallucinate," Jimmy responded after turning around to face his allies.

"Yeah, that's her whole bag," Darcy added, drawing all attention to her before continuing to speak, "if all the sets and props and wardrobe were solid matter, that would mean she's wielding an insane amount of power."

"Far exceeding anything she's displayed in the past," the Woo man added.

"Not entirely true, FBI Man," Pietro countered with a small smirk on his face, "she could've taken out Thanos on her own if he didn't command his ship to fire at us. Nobody else even came close to what she did."

"It's Jimmy. And I'd argue that Captain Marvel came pretty close."

Charlie caught Monica's body tensing out of the corner of her eye, causing her attention to turn toward her. She wasn't surprised to find all the emotion drain from the Rambeau woman's face at the mention of Carol. But it seemed that the only one in the room who was aware of Monica's relation with the Danvers woman was Charlie.

"Her powers came from an Infinity Stone, too, right?" the Lewis woman asked, not noticing the sudden change in Monica's demeanor.

"We are not talking about her. We are talking about Wanda," the Rambeau woman said while talking toward the board beside them. Her eyes scanned over the dozens of pictures before landing on the only one holding a spot of color. "Darcy? What was that you were saying about props and sets and-"

"Wardrobe?" the girl in the glasses finished, causing realization to form in Monica's eyes.

Not even a second after that passed when the curly-haired woman walked out of the room. The remaining four exchanged unsure looks with each other before following after her. They walked through the halls, passing by numerous people sending mixed looks their way. It wasn't long before they arrived in a separate room, which was being used as S.W.O.R.D.'s temporary lab.

"What are we looking for?" Jimmy asked while standing in the middle of the room with Charlie, Pietro, and Darcy. 

Monica didn't respond right away. Instead, she continued walking further into the lab until stopping in front of a very outdated outfit. "This is what we're looking for."

"Oh, man, are we being mind-controlled to see that right now?" Darcy asked without taking her eyes off the outfit in front of her.

"I don't understand. What's so special about that?" Charlie questioned, not bothering to hide the confusion in her voice.

"Those are the clothes that Monica was wearing in the Hex," Jimmy explained, earning stunned looks from the young couple beside him, "talk about jeepers creepers."

"Oh, no. They're real, alright," the Rambeau woman declared while walking toward them. She surprised everyone when she grabbed the pistol from the Woo man's belt and fired at the clothing. But what shocked them even more was when the outfit was left unscathed.

Jimmy just stared at the scene in front of him for a moment longer before looking over at Monica. "You had a bulletproof vest on when you went inside, didn't you?"

A large smile soon appeared on the curly-haired woman's lips as she approached the screen beside the clothes. "Those pants are 87% Kevlar. It's not an illusion. Wanda is rewriting reality."

Charlie just blinked a few times at Monica before looking over at Pietro. "She can do that?"

"Her powers grow stronger with her emotions," the speedster responded just loud enough for only the Barton woman to hear, "the loss of Vision must've unlocked more of her abilities."

"This isn't good, Pietro."

"She's not hurting these people on purpose."

"Trust me, I'm fully aware of that. That wasn't what I was thinking at all," the archer defended before letting out a long sigh, "but what if these changes are permanent?"

The couple just stared at each other for a long moment, unsure of how to continue their conversation. But their attention was soon drawn back to their new allies when Monica spoke once again. "If she can change things as they go into the Hex, then what happens if we send something in that requires no change?"

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Later that night, Charlie and Pietro found themselves in the control room of S.W.O.R.D.'s temporary base. They stood behind Monica as she used a joystick to control an outdated drone over Westview. They were all surprised that it made it past the barrier, but they were even more taken aback by what they saw. Nothing seemed to be up-to-date in the town, making Charlie and Pietro's fears feel even more real.

"I know this tech is from the '80s, but can we sharpen the visuals?" Tyler Hayward, the Director of S.W.O.R.D., said.

"Working on it," Monica responded with a hint of irritation in her voice. Her eyes stayed glued to the screen as she flew over Westview until finding exactly who she was looking for. "Maximoff located."

"Well done," Hayward told the Rambeau woman.

"We can't see the drone on the broadcast. Wanda's framing it out of the shot," Jimmy informed him from where he and Darcy were sitting in front of the TV screen.

"Just like all the jump cuts," Darcy realized while looking around at everyone in the room with her, "Wanda decides what makes it onto her show and what doesn't."

"And here we go," Monica muttered under her breath after steading the drone. Not even a second after that passed when she looked over at Pietro, who was wearing a very large set of headphones. "You're up."

The speedster hesitated, unsure of how to start the conversation with his sister. As if sensing his uncertainty, Charlie laced her fingers with his and gave his hand a gentle squeeze. Her actions were enough to give the Maximoff man the courage to begin speaking.

"Wanda, it's Pietro. Can you hear me? Charlie's here with me too. We just wanna talk. That's it," he said into the microphone, only for his sister to continue to stare at the drone in silence. It wasn't long before her eyes began glowing red, the only color that could be seen on the screen.

"Uh, wait my controls aren't working," Monica announced while trying and failing to regain control of the drone, "reconnect patch."

"Disregard. Take the shot," Hayward ordered, earning shocked looks from some of the people surrounding him.

"What? No. The drone isn't armed," the Rambeau woman responded, only for the soldier next to her to send her an emotionless look.

"Take the shot," Hayward repaired without taking his eyes off the screen in front of him.

The next thing anyone knew, a loud bang filled the room before the screens cut out. Charlie just stared at the fuzzy monitor as anger began flowing through her veins. It wasn't long after that when she turned to face the Director of S.W.O.R.D.. "What the h*ll was that?!"

Hayward simply glared at the Barton woman in response. However, before he could open his mouth to speak, a loud alarm ran through the base. Not even a second after that when someone announced that there was a breach. No one hesitated to sprint out of the building and toward the Hex's barrier, leaving Charlie and Pietro behind. The couple exchanged a quick look before the speedster took the archer into his arms. As soon as he had a tight grip on her, the Maximoff boy sprinted out of the building.

It only took a few seconds for them to reach the Hex and for Pietro to place Charlie back on her feet. Shock coursed through their veins as they stared at the barrier. Despite knowing what Wanda was capable of, they were both having a hard time believing that she created it. The barrier began on the ground and stretched toward the sky as far as the eye could see. Neither Charlie nor Pietro could make out where it ended. If the archer was being honest, Wanda's creation was impressive. But she also knew that it needed to be taken down sooner rather than later.

The young couple was soon joined by the group of people who were in the room with them. It wasn't long after that when a dozen cars appeared behind them followed by just twice as many soldiers. Charlie couldn't help but scoff, thinking that S.W.O.R.D. was being very overdramatic. That was until she saw a familiar silhouette on the other side of the Hex. But what really caught the Barton woman's attention were her friend's glowing eyes. Everyone kept their eyes glued to the shadow until it broke through the Hex, revealing a very annoyed-looking Wanda.

The redheaded woman continued toward them as she dragged the destroyed drone behind her. She didn't stop walking until she was standing a few years away, keeping her eyes glued to Charlie and Pietro. It was as if there weren't a dozen soldiers aiming their riffles directly at her. She didn't take her eyes off her brother and friend for what felt like an eternity, allowing them to see the hint of betrayal within them. That was until she finally turned her attention toward the man standing a few feet in front of them.

"Is this yours?" Wanda called out before tossing the drone like it weighed nothing. The broken device landed right at Hayward's feet, causing the man to take a step back.

The Director of S.W.O.R.D. just stared at the drone before looking up to meet the telekinetic's gaze. "The missile was just a precaution. You can hardly blame us, Wanda."

"Oh, I think I can," the Maximoff woman retaliated, not bothering to hide the hatred in her voice, "this will be your only warning. Stay out of my home. You don't bother me. I won't bother you."

"I wish it could be that simple. You've taken an entire town hostage."

"Well, I'm not the one with the guns, Director," the telekinetic argued while looking around at the soldiers surrounding her.

"But you are the one in control," Monica declared as she walked forward until she was standing beside Charlie and Pietro. The sight of the Rambeau woman was enough to make Wanda's hand glow, but the former didn't hesitate to ignore it. "Wanda, we didn't know the drone was armed. But you know that, don't you? A town full of civilians and you, a telepath, brought a S.W.O.R.D. Agent into your home. You trusted me to deliver your babies. On some level, Wanda, you know I am an ally. I wanna help you."

Wanda just stared at the curly-haired woman before finally responding. "How? What could you possibly have to offer me?"

Monica couldn't help but hesitate for a moment. "What do you want?"

"I have what I want," the Maximoff woman hissed as her hand continued to brightly glow, "and no one will ever take it from me again."

"Wanda, please," Charlie spoke for the first time since they got outside of the S.W.O.R.D. base, "I know how much it hurt to lose Vision, but you have to see that what you're doing is wrong."

The telekinetic's face remained stoic as she stared at her friend. It was as if Wanda was taking a moment to process what the archer was saying. And that was all it took to give Pietro a hint of hope that the sister he knew was still in there. A shaky breath passed over his lips, drawing Wanda's attention toward him before he began speaking. "I know you didn't mean to, but you're hurting a lot of people, Wanda. This needs to stop."

A single tear soon rolled down the Maximoff woman's cheek, but no more followed. She kept her eyes locked with her brother as she broke the silence surrounding them. "You need to leave, Pietro. And take Charlie with you. Never come back."

Before the young couple had a chance to respond, Wanda waved her glowing hand through the air. Not even a second after that passed when the soldiers' eyes began to glow. Their target then changed from Wanda to the Director of S.W.O.R.D.. His shouts for them to stand down were the only thing that could be heard in the clearing. Wanda sent one last glance Charlie and Pietro's way. They were just barely able to make out all the conflicting emotions in her eyes. But before either of them could say a word, the telekinetic turned her back on them.

The soldiers soon regained control of their thoughts the second the Maximoff woman made contact with the Hex. Wanda walked through the barrier with ease, causing a part of it to turn an eerie red. The spot of color continued to grow until the entire Hex was now glowing red. No one knew what the color change meant, but they could figure out it wasn't anything good.

About an hour passed and Charlie and Pietro found themselves sitting in front of an old TV screen with Darcy. Everyone else around them was preparing for what was to come, but none of them wanted to be involved. So instead, they were eating take-out food and trying to figure out what to do to safely get Wanda to stop. None of them were really watching what was happening on the screen. But that was until a doorbell came from the speakers.

The trio instantly looked up at the screen to find a very confused Wanda sitting on the sofa. She didn't move a muscle until the doorbell rang again. The Maximoff woman let out a long sigh as she got to her feet and approached the door. But her exhausted expression soon transformed into shock as soon as she opened the door. To their dismay, all they could see was Wanda's face and not who was standing in front of her. That was until the camera zoomed out to reveal the back of a very familiar person.

"Is that you?" Charlie questioned after seeing that the person had the same hairstyle Pietro did when they were facing Ultron.

"I don't know how it could be," Pietro responded as the camera continued to zoom out, revealing a blonde woman standing next to the newcomer, "how is that possible?"

Before they had a chance to say another word, the image changed, revealing the faces of the newcomers. They had matching smiles on their faces as they greeted Wanda, who still looked as lost as ever. It wasn't long after that when the man broke the awkward silence forming between them. "Long lost bro get to squeeze his stinking sister to death or what?"

"She recast you guys?" Darcy questioned without taking her eyes off the screen.

Charlie and Pietro didn't hesitate to exchange an uncertain look, unsure of what to make of their discovery. All they knew was that it wouldn't lead anywhere good.

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