'I'm sorry I'm late... it couldn't be helped... I was on my way here... when something came up' Wanda Maximoff a.k.a. the Scarlet Witch announces.
Earlier:
Wanda walked down a sidewalk in Manhattan, and stopped at the front door of a house. Inside the house, a child is chained to a bed in a dark bedroom. Furniture and other belongings are strewn about the bedroom. 'Filthy %$&%*S! Your souls will be scraps for the hounds of Hell to gnaw on. Do you hear me, Momma? Papi?' the boy cries out, crawling on the bed, he tells his parents that he will feed their souls to the dogs.
'Sweet mother goddess' Wanda gasps as she stands in the bedroom doorway with the child's parents. The father thanks Wanda for coming. 'No need to thank me Mister and Missus Soledad, stepping in, helping when witchcraft and evil have somehow come together... it's what I do' Wanda replies, while the boy warns his father that he will drag him hell-bound with him. 'You'll all die!' the boy cries out. Wanda asks the parents how long their son has bene like this, and Mrs Soledad begins to cry, and informs the Scarlet Witch that Gustavo became this two weeks ago.
Mrs Soledad reveals that they called a priest first, who referred them to another priest, one who specializes in exorcisms, and he came and performed several rites. 'But nothing worked' Mr Soledad informs Wanda, adding that the priest admitted failure and spoke to a friend of his, a nun in Spain, who told him how the Scarlet Witch had successfully dealt with something like this over there recently. 'So you went from the godly to the ungodly and contacted me' Wanda remarks. The Soledads don't answer, so Wanda tells them she was joking, but that she knows it isn't funny. Wanda hangs her head and closes her eyes, apologizing to the Soledads: 'It's just sometimes the horror of things -' she begins. Mr Soledad assures Wanda that he understands, and reveals that he is an undertaker. 'When a body's gases cause it to explode in your face, you either laugh or vomit. Usually both – hopefully not at the exact same moment. Gallows humor'.
Wanda assures the Soledads that she is serious – deadly serious – about helping them, and promises to free their little boy. Mrs Soledad informs the Scarlet Witch that they are Catholic, to which Wanda explains that with them first summoning a priest, she assumed as much. Mr Soledad reveals that his parents were from Cuba, and his wife's from Costa Rica. Mrs Soledad adds that bringing a witch into their home is something they would never entertain, until this with Gustavo. 'Now all I feel is gratitude' she remarks. Wanda puts a hand on the other woman's shoulder and tells her to thank her after – when Gustavo is happily in their arms. 'Now...exorcisms can be many things, but rarely are they harmonious or pleasant to behold. I'd wait here if I were you. What's seen cannot be unseen' Wanda tells the Soledads as she turns back to the boy's room, opening the door, she steps inside, and a pink glow surrounds her as she turns to “Gustavo” and asks the demon what this is all about. 'Silly question... what does it look like?' a dark bird-like demon with large wings replies as it is perched on the boy's shoulders. 'Momma. I want my Momma' Gustavo calls out.
Wanda tells herself that this isn't the first time she has had to free a possessed innocent – there was Spain and Japan, too. 'Help me, Red Lady!' Gustavo pleads, while the demon flutters in the air, pulling the boy upwards, as Wanda surrounds herself in a pink bubble and assures Gustavo that she is here for him. 'No help from her! Death to her!' the demon screeches as it releases a green energy towards Wanda. 'Noooo!' Gustavo screams, while Wanda casts forth her energies and tells Gustavo not to worry, that she won't let him harm her. Wanda realizes that the boy's soul is even more enraptured though, even more than those she freed in Kyoto. 'Hex with care' Wanda thinks, but suddenly, she realizes that there is something more to this. 'Ah, now I see – it's not the boy you want -' Wanda declares, discovering that the demon wants the boy's bloodline, a link to the past. 'Come, demon, don't be shy...show me everything!' Wanda urges the demon.
Strange scenes play out before Wanda. 'I sensed as much. This isn't about Gustavo's young life – it's his father -' Wanda begins, as she sees the demon holding Gustavo over his father, who is covered in a purple glow, some years ago. The landscape around them is different, too, and Wanda realizes that it goes back further, still. Part of her is still in New York, holding her own against the demon, but at the same time, she is in Havana, Cuba, decades ago – a different place then, a different world. 'Clever. Clever little witch. You found the link' the demon remarks. Wanda declares that Gustavo isn't the demon's end goal, just a conduit to a time gone by – and to a great witch who existed then!
'Mister Soledad!' Wanda clals out as her astral form appears before the concerned parent. She reminds him that he said that his father and mother were from Cuba, and asks for their names. 'Jamie and Esperanza, but – they – adopted me' Mr Soledad reveals. Wide-eyed, he informs the Scarlet Witch that he has no idea as to the names of his real parents, and asks the Scarlet Witch if she knows who they are. 'Not your parents, but your grandfather at least' Wanda reveals, adding that she doubts Mr Soledad will approve, not after what he said about witches, before asking him if he has heard of Senor Violetta. 'Yes...stories – fables. I didn't believe -' Mr Soledad responds, to which the Scarlet Witch tells him to believe now, because it is his blood that flows through his veins. 'Leodanis Salazar. Senor Violetta. Witch, warlock, or whatever he called himself then' Wanda announces as she watches a projection of Senor Violetta walking through Cuba years ago, a woman at his side on one occasion.
Wanda informs the Soledads that from what little she knows, and that he protected the people of Cuba, used hex and spell – but he wasn't above taking the odd bribe from a mobster or general if the evil wasn't too great. Wanda sees him talking to a mobster, and then fighting a monster in a cornfield. 'Salazar made his own rules' Wanda declares, before she sees him in a casino, playing a game. Wanda tells the Soledads that Cuba back then was affluence, glamour, music and fun, but also a place of greed, fear and tyranny. She wonders if that was the only way for a man like Salazar, a witch, to live by your own rules and morality. She assures the Soledads that she isn't here to judge, just to free Salazar's grandson!
Wanda is suddenly knocked aside by the demon who lunges towards her. 'You can't stop me – or all I've done!' the demon exclaims, reminding the Scarlet Witch that the priest couldn't. 'Takes a witch to beat a witch...or a demon, like you, using witchcraft' the Scarlet Witch responds as green power radiates from the demon. Wanda pauses, and remarks that their proximity means she can sense that the demon is not what he appears to be.
'Show me who you are! Tachiven! You're not a Detlene...fight me with your true face...or run like a coward!' Wanda commands the demon, energy billowing around her. Suddenly, there is blackness. Light slowly peers into the room, revealing the Scarlet Witch holding Gustavo in her arms. She tells him that she has him, and that they are safe.
'Wanda, you saved our boy' Mr Soledad tells the Scarlet Witch as he and his wife sit with their son. Wanda informs the Soledads that the “demon” wasn't what he appeared to be. Wanda explains that once she saw through that, however, the “demon” chose to flee instead of facing her before he was ready. 'Ready, how?' Mr Soledad enquires. Wanda reveals that the being behind this is trying to regain his power, that is the real reason he possessed Gustavo. 'He didn't want your son's soul, he wanted the latent witches' energy from your ancestor, Salazar. Wanda adds that she has learned a lot about this lately with her own mother. 'The passing of color, too – violet in your case'. Mr Soledad points out that he doesn't have powers like the Scarlet Witch, who tells him that doesn't speak for Gustavo. Mr Soledad adds that he can't believe that he is the grandson of Senor Violetta.
The Soledads see Wanda to the door, and Mr Soledad asks who exactly the monster was that possessed their son, what its true name was. Wanda tells the Soledads that they don't need to know, and informs them that she has used a hex to “bless” Gustavo, which will prevent his attacker from ever trying to hurt him again. 'Ms Maximoff – how can we ever thank you?' Mr Soledad asks. 'How? Simple. Don't be so quick to judge witches' Wanda replies as she carries on down the sidewalk, and joins the busy foot traffic of civilians going about their business.
A man in a green suit stands on rooftop and stares down at the Scarlet Witch. 'Ah, Wanda... I shouldn't enjoy fighting you as much as I do' he remarks. Whether she knows he is there or not, Wanda frowns.
Now:
Wanda is at her destination, 'So who was it? Your foe?' she is asked. 'Or are you planning to keep us all in suspense?' Wanda announces that after she took away his magical powers on the Witches' Road, she thought he would keep to the shadows, for a while anyway, but she sees now, with an immortal, psychotic villain, she was naively optimistic. Wanda reveals that she knows her foe is Declan Dane the Emerald Warlock, that he is out there, reacquiring his power, using magic and trickery and bloodlines. She knows that she will face him sooner or later, and that when she does, she will be ready.
'You've changed, Wanda' the Vision remarks as he sits opposite the Scarlet Witch. 'For the better, I hope' Wanda replies. The Vision adds that Wanda is more assured, for one thing – and happier.
Earlier still:
'So, I'm finally rid of you?' Wanda asks on the balcony of her high-rise apartment. 'Yes, but not forever' Agatha Harkness replies. 'As entwined as our fates were yesterday, so too they'll be tomorrow' Agatha reveals, adding that she needs time to herself. 'You deserve it, Agatha. You're alive again...enjoy it' Wanda replies. Agatha announces that there is a private nude beach in the Hamptons that she will definitely be visiting. 'I didn't need to know that' Wanda declares. Agatha tells Wanda that she loves her, and Wanda tells Agatha that she does, too. 'Now, hope on your broomstick. And live' Wanda declares, as Agatha vanishes.
Now, again:
Wanda tells the Vision that is why she is back here at Avengers HQ, that it is not like other times, where she was an Avenger because she couldn't think of anything better to do. 'I needed time away – to fix witchcraft absolutely. But as much, I needed to fix myself' Wanda explains, adding that she isn't sure how successful she has been. Wanda informs the Vision that she learned about her true mother – found her and lost her in a way that breaks her heart, and learned about other things, too – about lineage and about herself. 'What I'm trying to say is that after everything I've been through... I'm ready to come back. I want to be an Avenger again' announces the Scarlet Witch!
