[ This is a chunky one soz ]

AGATHA looked between the two Avengers with an amused smirk plastered on her face. She moved her gaze down to the rabbit she was holding in her arms and let out a hum before lifting it up to her ear and nodding along, pretending that it was speaking to her.

"No, I know." Agatha nodded. "They do look shocked to meet the real us, don't they?"

Wanda moved from behind Carson and attempted to get into Agatha's head, but it didn't work. Agatha raised a brow when she saw Wanda's eyes glow their usual red before letting out a laugh at her attempt.

"Oh... that's adorable." Agatha faux frowned. "My thoughts are not available to you, toots. They never were. So don't go givin' yourself a migraine. We've got work to do."

"Where are our children?" Wanda snapped, her Sokovian accent slipping out.

"Where are our children?" Agatha mocked her voice before rolling her eyes. "That accent really comes and goes, doesn't it?"

"Where are they?" Carson glared at her. He attempted to form his energy around his hands, but when nothing but a few harmless sparks happened, he look down at his hands in confusion.

Agatha chuckled as she watched the couple exchange a look. "Oh, that's right, your powers are no good here. Must've slipped my mind... silly me. Anyway, let's get down to business shall we?"

With that, Agatha's magic suddenly appeared around her hands and her purple wisps wrapped their way around Carson and Wanda's wrists before suspending them both in the air, weaving around their legs too.

Agatha pulled them through the air and made them stop once they got into the centre of the room, a sick grin appearing on her face as they winced in pain.

Carson could practically feel his powers surging through his body, waiting to get out. But no matter how hard he tried it wouldn't work.

"What the hell did you do?" Carson said through gritted teeth.

"Didn't you notice?" Agatha asked coyly as she pointed at the symbols around the room. "Basic protection spell, one in each wall?" She looked at Wanda. "They don't ring a bell?"

Wanda's brows furrowed and she looked around the room, noticing that each symbol now had a faint purple glow surrounding them.

"No, nothing?" Agatha taunted. "These are runes Wanda. In a given space, only the witch that cast the runes can use her magic. How do you not know the fundamentals?"

"Who are you?" Wanda questioned.

"Who am I? No, who are you?" Agatha looked at Wanda in distaste. "All those costumes and hairstyles you had us dressed up in? I mean come on, do you know how terrible that was for me to go out in those clothes?"

Carson rolled his eyes. "Oh how traumatic that must've been for you—"

He was cut off when Agatha used her powers to throw him to the side and slam him against the wall. Carson clenched his jaw and let out a muffled groan and Agatha moved him back to his spot next to Wanda.

Wanda's breath hitched in her throat when she saw a streak of blood start to drop down his face. Normally a blow like that wouldn't even draw any blood, but due to his powers being suppressed it also meant his healing too.

Carson narrowed his eyes at Agatha who was already looking at him with a grin.

"No healing?" Agatha smiled. "Real shame isn't it?"

He chuckled dryly. "You're gonna be in for a real treat when I get out of this—"

"Ah, ah, ah." Agatha's magic started to weave it's way around his neck and rested against his mouth, making it so he couldn't speak. "Let's just keep that mouth of yours shut for now, hm? I'll come back to you later, pretty boy."

Carson writhed in her grip, trying to break free. His eyes displayed the occasional flicker of red but Agatha tightened her hold on him so much to the point that he couldn't even move.

"Sure, keep trying. It just makes this more entertaining for me." Agatha shrugged.

Whatever he was saying to her came out muffled due to her magic still being wrapped tightly around his mouth, but Agatha was pretty sure that whatever it was, it wasn't exactly going to be nice anyway.

"I see why you like this one." Agatha looked at Wanda and wiggled her eyebrows. She took a step closer to Carson and ran her fingers down the side of his face to get a rise out of him. "Such a handsome little face. And those eyes... I bet your a sucker for those aren't you?"

Wanda's eyes narrowed at the sight. "Get the hell off him."

"Of course, of course. How could I forget what I was going to say." Agatha tapped Carson's cheek lightly a few times before stepping in front of Wanda. "Y'know I was so patient with you Wanda. God it was so exhausting waiting for you to reveal your true self. I got close with fake Pietro, Fietro, if you will. But still no dice."

"That was you." Wanda's face dropped in realization.

"No, it wasn't literally me. Just my eyes and ears. A crystalline possession" Agatha informed her. "Necromancy was a non-starter since your real brother's body is on another continent. And well... full of holes. But you were so crippled by your own self-doubt that you actually believed it. It's quite pathetic actually."

"Stop." Wanda warned her.

"Oh, Wanda, when I sensed this place, the afterglow of so many spells cast all at once... I couldn't make heads or tails of it."

Agatha walked around the room as she spoke. She noticed a fly on one of the pillars and picked it up, letting it sit in her hand. The woman looked between the couple to make sure they were watching before she started chanting a spell, using her magic on the bug.

"Mind control." Agatha lifted up her hand so they could see. "A quick incantation and a feeble psyche and you're good to go."

The older witch released the bug from her magic and controlled it to fly over to Wanda, making it crawl across her face. Wanda closed her mouth as the bug started to move across her lips and her face contorted in disgust.

"With thousands of people under your thumb, all interacting with each other according to complex storylines." Agatha marvelled. "Well, that's something special, baby."

Agatha picked the fly off Wanda's face. "And of course, there's transmutation."

She opened up her palm and spoke out another chant. With a few waves of her hand the fly transformed into a bird and flew around the room.

Carson scoffed. "shmh ofph. [Show off]"

"What's that?" Agatha looked at him. "Can't quite hear you."

"Oh fuhmg hou. [Oh fuck you]"

Agatha chuckled and turned her attention back to Wanda. "Years of study to achieve even the smallest convincing illusion. But Westview through your lens, Wanda." She grabbed the bird and held it tightly in her hand so it couldn't move. "Every little detail in the place down to the crown moulding. You're even running illusions miles away at the edge of town! Magic on autopilot! What's your secret sister?"

Wanda remained silent, not knowing what to say. I mean, what could she respond with? She had no clue what Agatha was trying to get at.

Agatha let out a frustrated huff and tossed the bird to the side, turning it back into a fly as it was vaulted through the air. The fly landed in her rabbits mouth and Wanda let out a small gasp.

"Listen, I need you... hey, Wanda." Agatha grabbed her attention. "I need you to tell me how you did this."

"I didn't do anything. I'm not..."

Agatha clapped her hands together and threw Wanda against one of the pillars before harshly tugging her back into her original place. Wanda yelled in pain and Carson let out a grunt as he wriggled in Agatha's hold once more, wanting nothing more than to get a shot at the woman for doing what she did. His anger only growing when he saw the cut on Wanda's head that started to bleed.

The brunette glanced over at Carson, smiling to herself when she saw she got a rise out of him. She looked back at Wanda. "I tried to be gentle, to nudge you awake from this ridiculous fantasy, but you would rather fall apart than face your truth."

"I don't— I don't know what your talking about." Wanda panted.

"Well then you've left me no choice." Agatha took a step closer. "What was it you said to your non-brother, huh? All you could recall was the feeling. You felt empty. Alone. Endless nothingness."

Wanda swallowed the lump in her throat and she blinked away the tears she could feel forming in her eyes as she recalled the memories. The emotions. All of it.

She looked over at Carson who already had his eyes on her. He knew what Agatha must've meant and his gaze softened, giving her a small nod to reassure he that it was okay. That they were okay.

"It's been fun playing pretend for a while, hasn't it, Wanda?" Agatha pulled out a strand of Wanda's hair.

She whispered another chant and her magic swarmed around the strand of hair. Agatha used her powers to move it through the air, making it absorb into a door that was at the other side of the room. The door started to get covered by Agatha's magic and within a second it's appearance had changed.

"It's time to look at some real reruns, don't you think?"

Agatha removed her hold from around Wanda and she fell down to the floor with a thud. The wisps that were around Carson's mouth faded and he let out a breath, instantly looking down at Wanda to make sure she was okay.

Wanda got to her feet and rushed over to Carson, cupping his face and turning his head to the side so she could look at the cut on his face from before.

"I'm so sorry." Wanda whispered, her voice shaky. She looked at the cut on his face and bit the inside of her cheek. "This is all my fault..."

"Don't worry witchy." Carson chuckled lightly. "It's just a scratch."

"Alright." Agnes walked over to the door and motioned for Wanda to follow. "Let's go before I throw up. I can't stand watching the two of you anymore."

Wanda's eyes narrowed at as she looked over at Agnes. "No."

"Oh I'm sorry." Agnes grinned. "Did you forget who has your husband and children held up in her bewitched basement."

Agatha's magic started to weave it's way around Carson's neck again, stopping him from being able to breathe. Wanda's eyes widened at the sight, watching as Carson's breathing became ragged.

"No, no, no." Wanda shook her head and tired to help him. But the more she tugged at the magic, the tighter it got. "Stop! You're going to kill him! STOP IT!"

"Mom! Dad! Help us, please!"

"Help!"

"B-boys?" Carson choked out.

Wanda turned to look at Agatha. "FINE! Fine! I'll come with you just— just please stop!"

A smug look appeared on Agatha's face and she released her magic from around Carson's neck. He instantly gasped for air and started to cough.

Carson lifted his head up lazily to look at Agatha. "Oh your a real bitch, you know that right?"

"Hm, maybe I am." She hummed in thought. "We can talk about that later you and I. But for now, me and Wanda have other business to attend to."

"Where the hell are you taking her?" Carson spat.

Agatha shrugged. "Oh, you know, just a little trip down memory lane."

"If you even so much as lay a finger on her, so help me god I'll make your life a living hell."

"Is that so?" Agatha pointed at the runes. "I'd like to see you try."

Carson opened his mouth to say something but before he could get the chance, the door at the other side of the room opened and Agatha stood at the side, waving Wanda over.

"Wanda, wait." Carson grabbed her attention. "Don't. We can't trust her. If she tries something... I..."

Wanda took one last look at Carson and smiled sadly. "It's okay."

Agatha pointed at the door. "After you, superstar."

~~ ᗢ ~~

AGATHA closed the door to Wanda's first memory behind her, giving Carson a faux frown as it shut, laughing as she heard him quip another remark at her. She turned around to look at Wanda who had a faint smile on her face as she gazed around the room, taking everything in.

It was her old home, back in Sokovia.

It had been so long since Wanda had seen the old apartment, she thought that she'd forgotten the way it looked, all of it's little details, it's smells. But now she was back, it's like the memories never went away.

"Charming." Agatha's face scrunched in distaste as she look around. "Love the Cold War aesthetic."

A brunette woman suddenly came into view as she walked over to the sink and started to do the dishes. Wanda's breath stifled in her throat at the sight and her eyes started to fill up.

"Mama..." Wanda whispered under her breath.

The front door to the apartment opened and Wanda's mother perked up when she realised who it was. In walked a man, smiling away when he caught sight of Wanda's mother. He placed down his bags and pulled her into his embrace, placing a kiss on top of her head.

A quiet gasp left Wanda's mouth. "Papa."

"Papa!" A young boy ran into the room and jumped into Wanda's fathers arms, interrupting the conversation his parents were having.

"Pietro..." Wanda said shakily.

"Oh, he's loud, isn't he?" Agatha covered her ears.

"You said the only rule of TV night is we try to practice our English." Young Pietro said.

Iryna nodded. "Yes, he is right. But we were just making rid of our last little bit of Sokovian Piet, don't worry."

"Where is your sister?" Olek smiled at his son and ruffled his hair.

Pietro looked around. "Wanda?"

Agatha huffed at how loud Pietro was. "I mean we're right here."

"Wanda!" The young boy called out again.

"That's your cue, lady." Agatha gave Wanda a nudge. "You're on."

Young Wanda walked into the room and Olek knelt down in front of her, pulling her into a hug. He gave her a quick a quick kiss on the cheek and Wanda's younger self giggled.

Olek pulled back and looked around at his family. "Now we can begin. Wanda, you pick."

"My pick isn't here." Young Wanda shrugged.

"That's right." Olek looked over at a spot in the wall. "I put it in the special place for safekeeping."

"Don't look, don't look." Iryna covered Wanda's eyes playfully and the pair broke out into a fit of laughter.

Olek and Pietro moved the tapestry to the side and reached into the hole that was in the wall to pull out the sitcom that Wanda wanted to watch.

"This is your pick, Wands?" Olek asked with a grin, knowing it was exactly what she wanted to watch.

Wanda nodded excitedly. "Season 2, episode 21."

"Dick Van Dyke, again?" Pietro groaned. "Always, sitcom, sitcom, sitcom."

The Maximoff family all settled down in the living room while Olek put the disk into the player. Once it was in he turned on the TV and sat down on the couch next to his wife, slinging his arm around her shoulder. Wanda and Pietro perched themselves on the floor together side by side.

Young Wanda looked over her shoulder at her mother and smiled warmly at her. Iryna chuckled and blew her a kiss before leaning her head on Olek's shoulder.

However, despite the seemingly wholesome moment that was happening in front of her. Wanda couldn't help the tears that managed to escape her eyes as the looked over at the TV her younger self was watching.

Everybody was so happy, so content. They may not have had the best life in Sokovia, or had much money. But they had each other. And that's all they needed.

Wanda looked at the Dick Van Dyke episode that was playing, a wave of realization hitting her when she noticed the similarities that showed. She watched the couple on the screen and her mind instantly drifted to Carson, knowing that because of her he'd had to conform to acting a certain way for a while without him even knowing it.

She'd not only been controlling the citizens of Westview, but she'd been controlling him. And Wanda would never be able to forgive herself for that.

"Bleh." Agatha's voice broke Wanda out of her thoughts. "This is getting too mushy. Next clip."

Suddenly, the scenery around them changed and the apartment they once stood in was now destroyed. Rubble everywhere, glass from the windows scattered around, broken furniture, dust filling the air.

Wanda watched as her younger self lay underneath a bed next to her brother Pietro, her chest tightening when she realised what Agatha was showing her. The two children each jumped and held their heads to block out the sounds as another bomb landed in front of them.

Young Wanda slowly lifted up her head after hearing no explosion and looked ahead, her eyes narrowing as she read the words on the side of the bomb.

Stark Industries.

"Wanda. Si v poriadku? (Wanda. Are you okay?)" Pietro looked at her. "Musíme sa odtiaľto dostať (We have to get out of here.)"

"Nemôžeme. (We can't.)" Young Wanda replied.

Wanda's younger self took a deep breath, her gaze travelling over to the small TV that was somehow still playing their sitcom underneath the rubble. She focused on the sounds coming from the TV in order to calm her down. The laughter, the talking, the audience in the background, all of it.

"At the end of the episode, you realize it was all a bad dream." Wanda told her brother. "None of it... none of it was real."

Her eyes moved back to the Stark Industries bomb that was still ticking. She inhaled sharply and slowly extended her hand outwards.

"Wanda don't!" Pietro shouted.

Suddenly Wanda was pulled from under the bed and she returned to her normal self. She let out a breath and got to her feet, narrowing her eyes at Agatha.

"Did you stop that bomb?" Agatha questioned.

"What?" Wanda replied shakily.

"You used a probability hex." Agatha suggested.

"No, I..." Wanda panted. "It just never went off. It— it was defective. We didn't know that. We were... trapped."

"For how long?"

"Two days."

"Hm." Agatha hummed. "So much trauma... and yet you were safe as kittens the whole time. What I see here is a baby witch, obsessed with sitcoms and years of therapy ahead of her. That doesn't explain your recent hijinks. Where'd you get the big guns, Wanda?"

Agatha looked over her shoulder and Wanda followed her gaze, shaking her head quickly when she noticed the door had changed once more.

And this time, she knew exactly where it was leading her.

Hydra.

"I don't wanna go back there." Wanda took a few steps back.

"I know you don't. But it's good medicine, angel." Agatha chuckled. "The only way forward... is back."

~~ ᗢ ~~

WANDA AND AGATHA were now in another one of Wanda's memories. This time, they were in a Hydra facility, the one where Wanda and Pietro volunteered to be studied and tested on. Merely a few years before she met the Avengers.

Wanda looked around at the room, the hairs on the back of her neck standing up when she looked at the two scientists stood near the desk.

Looking back on her time here, she wished she never volunteered. They were tortured, abused, barely given the care they needed to stay alive. Her and Pietro believed they were doing it for the greater good, that they were going to make the world a better place. But oh how naïve they were.

"Ah, Wanda. The rebellious years." Agatha pursed her lips. "Quick question. Your reaction to the bombing of your civilian apartment building and the murder of your parents... was to join an anti-freedom terrorist organization?"

Wanda looked down at the ground. "We wanted to change the world."

Agatha chuckled and walked over to the desk where the two scientists stood. She looked down at their notes, her brows coming together when she saw what they had been writing.

"Now this... just got interesting." Agatha muttered. The woman pointed down at the pad then at their security feed and smirked. "Your husband ever tell you he was a few cell blocks down?"

Wanda's head snapped over to Agatha. "What?"

She walked over to where Agatha was stood and looked down at the small screens that showed security footage from the different cells.

Wanda's breath got caught up in her throat as she watched the feed, seeing a younger Carson sat down on the floor in his cell. He was looking straight ahead at the wall in front of him, power supressing cuffs locked tightly around his wrists. He looked so weak, so miserable.

"I, uh..." Wanda said quietly. "I didn't know..."

"You didn't know?" Agatha's head cocked to the side. "Or he just never told you?"

Wanda shook her head. "No, no. I knew about his time with Hydra and he knew about mine but... I didn't know we were in the same facility." She looked away from the screen, not having the heart to see him in that state. "He doesn't like to talk about it.. so we just.. don't."

Agatha hummed and nodded along. "Sounds like you both need some couples therapy—"

The older witch was interrupted by a door opening in the testing room, a teenage Wanda stepping out. Wanda looked at her younger self and stepped closer to the glass, placing her hands against it.

"Don't be scared." Agatha whispered. "You already lived it once."

And with a push from the brunette woman, Wanda was forced to relive her memories once again.

~~ ᗢ ~~

FOR THE third time, Agatha made another door appear for Wanda to walk into. The redhead took a deep breath and slowly walked through, her eyes darting around the new location they were in.

Wanda was now stood in her old room at the Avengers compound, looking at her past self who was sat on the bed with her back against the headboard, legs crossed and a pillow resting in her lap.

"So, where are we now?" Agatha questioned.

"The Avengers Compound." Wanda answered, playing with her fingers nervously. "It was the first home Carson and I ever shared. Pietro had been dead for a few months and I was still getting over the grief of losing him. I was in a new country... and I was all alone. Until... until Carson."

There was a knock at Wanda's door and she didn't bother to look away from the TV, instead she just waved her hand and used her powers to open the door.

Past Wanda looked down at the pillow in her lap and started to fiddle with the fabric. She didn't meet the eyes of whoever walked in, but she just assumed it was Steve. "Steve I told you I'm fine, I'm getting better. You don't have to check on me."

"Hi witchy."

Wanda looked up, seeing Carson leant in the doorway with a brown paper bag in his hand. She sat up straighter and gave him a small smile which he returned.

At the time, Wanda and Carson's friendship was fairly fresh. Other than the talk they had when Pietro's death was new or when they made pancakes together, they hadn't really spoken to one another much.

It wasn't like they didn't want to, because believe me they did. It was just because their days were too packed for them to actually get a chance to see each other.

Wanda was a new member of the team so she had to go through all the different training protocols, whether that be the theory or the practical side of things. And Carson had his own training sessions he had to do too.

But when they did have the time, however. The teens would always manage to sneak in little visits with one another. Because sure, Wanda was getting along with the rest of the team, but with Carson it just felt so easy.

The others could see that the two teens had taken a liking to each other. And although they each convinced themselves it was strictly platonic, the team saw straight through it.

It wasn't like it was hard for them to. Whether it was how when Wanda would walk into the room, Carson's attention would instantly land on her. It didn't even matter if he was in the middle of a conversation, his eyes always gravitated towards the girl. Or how Wanda would be more talkative and seem more comfortable with the others as long as Carson was with her. It like when he was around, he brought her out of her shell.

Everybody saw it. Everyone except them.

"What are you doing here?" Wanda asked. "Aren't you supposed to be staying with Tony and Pepper for a few days?"

"I can see them next week." Carson shrugged. He set down the brown bag on Wanda's bedside table and flopped down on her bed next to her, making Wanda chuckle. "I figured it wouldn't hurt to stay here for a little while longer."

"Oh yeah?" Wanda turned onto her side, propping her head up with her hand as she looked down at him. "Why's that?"

"Well," Carson mirrored her position, meeting her eyes with a grin. "The compound isn't as boring as it used to be now that I have you, witchy. And besides, how would you possibly function without me?"

Wanda bit the inside of her cheek to try and supress the blush she felt creeping up on her. She shook her head shot him an unimpressed look which made him laugh. "I told you to stop calling me that."

"Oh I know." Carson nodded. "But it'll grow on you. I'll get you to like it eventually."

"I'm never going to like it."

Carson shuffled closer and smirked. "We'll have to see about that won't we... witchy?"

Wanda took a moment to look at their position, her heart starting to beat a little faster when she realised how close they suddenly were. She found herself sinking her teeth down into her bottom lip subconsciously and she met Carson's eyes once more, exhaling shakily through her nose making him smirk.

"So, um." Wanda cleared her throat. "What's uh... what's in the bag?"

Carson looked over his shoulder and grabbed the bag, putting it down in between them. "Why don't you find out?" He said, wiggling his eyebrows.

Wanda let out a breathy laugh and shook her head before peeking in the bag, a quiet gasp escaping her throat when she saw what was inside. She looked back up at Carson and he chuckled, giving her a nod to carry on.

She reached into the bag and pulled out what was inside, holding it in her hands as she looked at it in awe.

In the time that they two of them started to build their friendship, it was pretty clear to Carson that Wanda loved sitcoms. She was always watching them, always talking about them. They were like a comfort blanket to her. In some form, it was Wanda's way of staying close to her family.

Now Carson wasn't exactly the biggest fan of sitcoms. But when he'd see the way Wanda's face would light up when she'd watch them. How sometimes she'd laugh so hard that she could barely breathe, it was then he decided that he'd tolerate them. Just for her.

But there was one in particular that she seemed to be really fond of. And that was the Dick Van Dyke show.

When Carson was out in the city with Tony one day, he noticed the boxset for all the episodes in the window of a small shop. And after hearing Wanda mention to him how she couldn't find any of the episodes, it was pretty much a given that as soon as he saw them, he had to buy them.

So that's exactly what he did.

"Where did you get these?" Wanda beamed as she looked down at the box.

"Some antique shop in the city. I remember you yapping on about how you couldn't watch it so I figured I'd buy them." Carson replied, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips as he looked at her. He cleared his throat and scratched the back of his head. "You know, just so you'd stop complaining. That's all."

Wanda wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into a hug, stuffing her face into his neck as she let out a squeal of excitement. Carson was surprised at the sudden contact at first. But after a moment he relaxed, letting out a chuckle and wrapping an arm around her waist, returning the hug.

"Thank you so much." Wanda smiled as she pulled back a little to look at him, her arms still around his neck. "Really Carson this is... y'know you can actually be quite sweet sometimes."

Carson lifted his hand up to rest on her arm, giving it a light squeeze. "Only for you witchy."

The projection of Wanda and Carson's younger selves disappeared and Wanda stepped forwards to stop it, wanting to carry on watching. But they were gone. And now she was left in the empty room with Agatha.

"So, to recap." Agatha began. "Parents dead, brother dead, Carson... well it's starting to look that way for him too."

Wanda wiped away the tears that began to mindlessly fall out of her eyes and the inhaled sharply. "Stop..."

"What happened when he wasn't there to pull you back from the darkness, Wanda?" Agatha pushed.

Wanda sniffled and turned around to face Agatha, shaking her head at the woman. "I can't do this anymore."

"Come on, Wanda!" Agatha huffed. "You're on the precipice. You are right there! Tell me how you did it."

Wanda looked away and back at the bed, a quiet sob escaping her throat as she looked at the spot her and Carson were once sat on.

Agatha walked up to her. "Without Carson—"

"Stop!" Wanda snapped. "I don't know how I did it!"

"Listen to me, listen to me." Agatha shushed her. "Carson was gone, Wanda. He was gone. But you wanted him back... didn't you?"

Wanda remained silent as she thought over what Agatha was saying. It was then when Agatha saw it suddenly click in Wanda's brain, like a switch had suddenly been turned on. She could see it in her eyes, see the realization washing over her.

"I wanted him back..." Wanda mumbled.

A new door suddenly appeared in the room and Wanda slowly looked over at it, letting out the breath she had been holding in.

"I wanted him back."

~~ ᗢ ~~

this was mean leaving it here sorry luvs but hey ho you'll survive

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