Chương 126: Multiverse of Madness
A/N: This One-Shot is set after Endgame, so before reading this make sure you've read the Summary chapter. Some things won't make sense otherwise.
Warning: It is an open-ended one shot. There is no conclusion, just the beginning of the story.
—
Harry wakes up in the middle of the night with a start, eyes already moving around to scan his surroundings, his wand in his hand already casting spells.
He feels his wife, and the mother of his twins, sit up beside him, as she too starts scanning around, her hands glowing red.
Whatever the two had felt, whatever had woken them up, retreats before they can pinpoint it, and the couple relaxes immediately.
"They're gone." Harry mumbles tiredly, as he gets up to check on the twins. Wanda takes a few seconds to try and sense the intruder on their lives once again, before she too joins Harry next to the cradle, to watch over the twins.
The twins. Harry Potter, and his wife Wanda Maximoff's children. Euphemia and Iryana Potter, named after Harry's grandmother, and Wanda's mother respectively.
Thankfully, whatever had intruded on their lives in the middle of the night hadn't disturbed the girls in any way.
Sighing, Wanda asks, "How long are we going to keep this up, Harry? How long is this unknown threat going to remain content with just watching us?"
Harry had no answer to that. He didn't even know what the intruder was, or who. He just sighs back at her, and says, "I'll.. I think we need real help with this. I think I'll contact Mason."
Wanda frowns, but nods. Mason Lucas Aves, the person who had defeated Thanos single-handedly, Mastered Death, and reconstructed the previously destroyed Infinity Stones, all in the same day right after coming back from the dead. He was also one of the very few people more skilled in every magical art than both Wanda and Harry, and also the strongest Telepath on the planet.
If anyone could detect this intruder and find a way to permanently stop them, it was him.
Putting her head on Harry's shoulder, she says, "Good. I think we'll need all the help we can get with this."
—
The next day, Harry appears on Sanctuary, right at Mason's castle's doors. As always, he takes a second to enjoy the magic of the Sanctuary embracing him, before he knocks on the door, and opens it.
Mason already knew he was there, Harry knew that.
"Come to the Library." A voice calls out in his head, confirming his guess.
Mason always knew when he was here, except for when Harry wore his Cloak of Invisibility. He knew there were old spells, undetectable spells, that gave Mason every little piece of information about the Island, including what animals and plants there are, and who comes to visit him.
Entering the Library, Harry sees Mason leaning back on a recliner, like the old man he is, with his feet propped up on a small table, a book in his hands.
Groaning, Harry asks, "You purposefully chose that book to read, didn't you?"
Mason looks up from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, the third of a fictional book series some soothsayer on Earth wrote about him, and says, "I have no idea what you're talking about. I'm just reading my favourite book ever."
Harry shakes his head, and sitting down in front of Mason, he says, "I'll get straight to the point. I need your help."
Mason snaps the book shut, his face turning serious, and as the book disappears from his hand, he asks, "What's wrong?"
Harry rubs his face tiredly, and says, "Since Halloween.. someone, or something.. has been watching us. Watching Wanda and I live our lives, and most of the time watching our kids."
Mason hums, and says, "I assume none of the methods you've tried have worked in keeping the voyeur out?"
Snorting at the term, Harry shakes his head and says, "It works.. for a time. But then somehow, that being returns to watching us again, bypassing our spells sooner or later. Hell, even the Reality Stone only managed to delay whoever that is for just 21 days, before it returned."
Mason blinks, shocked, and asks, "The Reality Stone's protections failed?"
Harry nods, completely understanding why Mason was so shocked. Wanda.. had a connection with Reality, a very deep connection. Her Chaos Magic allowed her to shape reality however she wished, and using the Reality Stone only strengthened her gifts, allowing her Chaos to actually become Reality, almost permanently.
Thanks to that, Wanda's spells had a tendency to remain unbreakable unless you have something like the Reality Stone, another Infinity Stone, in your own possession.
And the fact that the voyeur, as Mason put it, broke through those Reality empowered spells, in just 21 days, speaks about their power. Or their obsession with Harry and his family.
Mason's face becomes a bit more serious, and leaning forward, he orders, "Walk me through the steps you took. Tell me everything that happened."
And Harry does.
It had begun on Halloween, a few months ago, as he had said. Wanda was out visiting Pietro on Genosha, so he could meet his nieces, and so the old dying Magneto could meet his great-granddaughters, while Harry was busy making sure the barriers around Avalon did not deteriorate thanks to the thinned borders between the living and the dead realms.
And then, he suddenly felt it, he felt an eye on him. Being the Grand Sorcerer (the Sorcerer Supreme for Avalon), he had detected the eyes on him as soon as they had seen him. But he could not tell where those eyes were looking at him from. Or when.
He had tried talking to it, but the eyes had no voice, they did not answer him.
He could, however, feel intense curiosity from the other side, curiosity about what he didn't know. But it did tell him, that the being watching him did not mean any harm. At least, not yet.
But still, he had tried seeking it out. Using spells that he knew, and some he didn't know but had to dig out, Harry spent a few hours trying to track the eyes down, to confront the being watching him. But none of his methods worked.
Then, Wanda came home, bringing Euphemia and Iryana with her.
And suddenly, the emotions in those eyes watching him changed. There was envy when they turned towards Wanda, love and a want, when they turned towards his daughters. And there was anger, when Wanda's eyes flashed red.
Wanda was a Witch, and a Sorceress in her own might, had telepathy skills comparable to Mason's, and she was intimately familiar with the Magic of the world. As soon as those eyes had turned towards her, Wanda had felt them, and immediately commanded Reality to throw the being out, using just her Chaos Magic.
It worked, giving the Potter family their privacy back.
But then, a few days later, the eyes on them returned, and this time, Wanda's command on Reality failed to banish them. The eyes had broken through, or circumvented all the spells that were geared towards protecting the family's privacy, and still, the being continued watching them.
Spells, Rituals, Wards, and even Runic Spells, nothing managed to stop the being from watching them for more than a week. They couldn't even find the being, find how they were watching them, or why.
One day, an angry, sleep deprived Wanda brought out the Reality Stone, and used it to Empower her command on Reality. This time, it kept the being out for 3 weeks, before it returned, watching them with the same curiosity as before, as if taunting the couple.
And so, a desperate Harry came here, to Mason. Begging for help. Needing it so they can sleep peacefully, without worrying about their children's safety.
The being may not have done anything now, but there wasn't any guarantee that it won't do anything in the future. Maybe it was gathering information for an attack, or something on the Grand Sorcerer and his family. They didn't know.
Mason listened to the tale attentively, and once Harry was done explaining, he said, "Hand me your Cloak for a few days. I'll come by and see this being for myself, try and bring it out. Don't mention the Cloak, or that I'm coming over to anyone, not even Wanda, and not even in the Sanctity of your minds. Just tell her I'm working on something to help you."
Harry is relieved, even if it wasn't over yet, and obediently takes the Cloak of Invisibility off of his shoulders, and hands it off to Mason.
It might not work, Mason might fail too, but if there's a tiny bit of a chance that Mason succeeds, then Harry will take it. If not for him, then for Wanda. For Mia and Iryana.
—
Watching Harry pop back home, I frown in thought. This was worrying. Someone, or something, was keeping an eye on the Potter family for some reason, and not one of their methods worked on keeping the being out.
It was strong, that much was sure, if it disregarded the Reality Stone's command to stay out of their lives. And right now, only one being comes to my mind.
A Being that has an unhealthy interest in the life of Wanda Maximoff, someone very much interested in Wanda's children; the children of the Scarlet Witch.
"But why would Chthon be curious about Harry?" I asked myself, musing the question over.
Also, why hasn't he tried something against Wanda yet? Is he waiting for something? Is it even Chthon?
I think I'll only find out once I sense those eyes myself.
Seeking Selene out, I explain Harry and Wanda's problem to her, and after wearing the Cloak of Invisibility, I simply teleport to the Potter family's house.
The first thing I do upon entering the house, undetectable and invisible to everyone else, is look for residual traces of Magic. Unfortunately, all I find is Magic used by Wanda and Harry, and no one else.
Which was one more point towards this entity being Chthon checking up on Wanda.
For the next few days, I remain at the Potter house, waiting for the voyeur to strike again. I only went home for food, sleep, and cleaning up, and used the Time Watch to return back in time, so I don't leave the family alone for even a single second.
Finally, on my 9th day of camping in the Potter house, I feel something.. incredible. There was a tremendous amount of Dark Magic being used, and all of it was focused towards Wanda. Which did confirm my suspicions that the being was looking at Wanda, and Harry was just there.
As soon as I feel those eyes enter the house, I close my eyes and enter the Astral Plane. Even as Wanda and Harry wake up, startled awake by those eyes and guard the children, my invisible Astral form flies around the house, trying to track exactly where the magic is coming from.
But no matter how hard I looked, the being remained elusive, unseen to even I.
Growing desperate, as I feel the being starting to retreat again, I bring a ring out of Nowhere, the Soul Stone sitting on top of it, and focus, but not before entering into the Mirror Dimension.
The Mirror Dimension, a collection of Realms that work as the border between different Energy Dimensions, and in this case, the border between two Universes.
I grin, feeling the Soul watching the family from somewhere afar. Somewhere not in this Time. Somewhere not even in this Universe.
Clenching my fist, I focus on the Soul sending its Magic into this Universe using some Dark Magic to achieve this feat, and pull.
Immediately, the space in front of me cracks, and a Soul comes barrelling through the crack, only to get blasted a small distance behind me, crashing into the Mirror Dimension's ground. As the crack seals back up, I watch the Soul slowly get up, and look around.
The person looks at me, and then turns around to look into the Mirrors of the Mirror Dimension, allowing us to look outside it. She, and it is a she, watches Wanda and Harry relax, since they stopped feeling her gaze on themselves as soon as I pulled her Soul through her Home Universe, to my own.
Seeing her watch Harry and Wanda return to their bed, after checking on the twins once more, I say, "When Harry told me someone was intruding on their lives, not allowing them the peace to sleep properly.. I didn't expect it to be you.. Wanda."
Wanda Maximoff.. the Scarlet Witch.. turns towards me, and says, "I would ask you how you know who I am, but I assume you somehow know my counterpart. Tell me, Sorcerer. Who are you?"
I look at her, properly look at her, and frown. Her soul.. it was so corrupt, so Dark. She was worse than Selene, when Selene tried to take over Rome. This.. this was Wanda? No, this is not my Wanda.
No.. this is not the Wanda I saved from Ultron. This is not the Wanda I protected from Tony's need to imprison her with false freedom. This is not the Wanda that learned how to control her powers, and learned Sorcery, under Harry's guidance. This.. is not the Wanda who fell in love with Harry, married him, and had children with him.
I look at the sorry state that she had allowed herself to become, and say, "My name is Mason Aves. I am, as you put it, a Sorcerer, and a Wizard, and a Mutant. I assume I don't exist in your Universe."
Or any other Universe, really. My own dabbles into the Multiverse had allowed me the privilege to know something. I was a Singularity. A being similar to Wanda, but completely opposite.
Most of the people in the Multiverse are of the normal kind. Existing in some Universes, not existing in some others, and existing as different people in a few Universes. Like Loki. In some he prefers to be male, in some she's female. In some, Loki either dies at birth, or is never picked up by Odin, or is never even born. There are different versions, different variants of these people.
But then come the special people. Someone extraordinary, someone.. More.
There are two types of such beings of Power, inside the Multiverse. Singularities, and Nexus Beings.
Nexus Beings are those that exist in each and every Universe inside the Multiverse. Like Wanda Maximoff, or Merlin and Morgana. Each and every Universe out there has these beings, without exception.
Every Universe in the Multiverse has a Merlin, that is actually named Merlin and not something else. Each Universe has a Morgana. Each Universe has a Wanda Maximoff who becomes the Scarlet Witch. It is an absolute Point in the Multiverse. There may be more, but I haven't encountered any as of yet.
Singularities, on the other hand, are those that exist in only one Universe. Their home Universe. Like me. There may be other children of Morfin Gaunt and Marigold Aves, but not one of them is Mason Aves, and not one of them has my particular reborn soul.
The only Universe I exist in is this one. Mine.
Wanda tilts her head, and I feel her Telepathy try to enter my mind. Her Magic may have been corrupted by Chthon, and therefore a lot stronger than Wanda Potter's, but I'm.. me.
I've fought Demons and Gods for 2000 years. Her frankly novice level of Telepathy is no match for me.
Smiling when I feel her anger, her telepathy failing to even find a mind, I ask, "So, tell me, Wanda. What happened to you? What went so wrong in your life that you made the stupid decision of picking up the Darkhold?"
The corruption.. I could feel it as clear as day. It was the Magic of the Darkhold, Chthon's Magic. It was empowering her, and even while she's just a Soul here, I have no doubt that she's still a dangerous foe to fight.
But.. I don't want to fight her.
She's.. Wanda. Not my world's Wanda, but Wanda just the same. Unless she forces me to, I won't fight her.
Wanda narrows her eyes at me, and says, "I don't need to tell you anything, Sorcerer."
Shrugging, I say, "You're still trapped here, a Soul without a body. What does it hurt to tell me your story?"
Besides, I want to know why she was peeking into this Universe, using the Darkhold of all things to help her.
Multiverse.. is a dangerous thing. Travelling into other Universes is dangerous on its own, and so is using what I assume is a precursor to Dreamwalking. Chthon corrupts everything he touches, and repeated instances of using the Darkhold to traverse between two Universes would allow Chthon to appear into both the Universes simultaneously.
It might allow him to absorb these two Universes into his own Dimension, and thereby increase his Power.
"You think I'm trapped here?" Wanda asks, amused. "I can, and I will return to my body when I want to. As for my body.. I assure you I am barely any weaker when I'm without my body."
I shrug, and say, "So then you won't mind telling me your tale then. If you're so sure about yourself."
Wanda stays silent for a few seconds, as she glares at me, and says, "I was curious."
"About what?" I ask, not much surprised that she answered. Play on a strong person's ego, and they'll prove you right.
"About her." Wanda answers, turning to look at Wanda Potter once again. "I was curious about her, about her children, and about.. him. Her husband." That much, I knew. But why? "Who is he? Who is Harry Potter? Is he your son?"
Chuckling a bit, I say, "I was the Godfather to Harry's father. So in a way, he is my grandson. What about them made you curious enough to force your way into this Universe, Wanda?"
Wanda stays silent for a few more seconds, making me almost fear that she won't answer. But then she whispers, "Everything."
"What do you mean?" I ask.
Wanda looks at me, looking confused, and says, "She's not the first of my counterparts I've been peeking on, nor is she the only one. But.. she's the only one of my counterparts not married to Vision. She's the only one who did not give birth to my children, Billy and Tommy. She's.. she's the only one in possession of an Infinity Stone." Wanda floats towards me, as her Telepathy once more tries to force its way into my mind, and asks, "Why? What makes this one so special? Why is her husband alive, while all of us others lost our Vision? Why are her children different, different gender, different minds, different.. energies? Why?"
Huh. This Wanda married Vision and had children with him? How the fuck did that even work? As far as I know, Vision does not have any.. equipment down there.
Not that he was ever born in this Universe, but I do remember him from the movies.
Ah.. Reality Magic.
Shaking my head, I say, "To answer your questions one by one; This Wanda did not get her powers from the Mind Stone, not like yours did. And if you mean Vision, the Vibranium body that Ultron made for himself, well we never allowed him to be born. If my visions hold true, then he had the Mind Stone in his head, did he not? It is possible that the bond you two shared with the Mind Stone is what prompted you to fall in love with one another."
"So what? My Love for Vision was just a product of us being connected through the Mind Stone?" Wanda asks, her face showing barely restrained anger.
I shrug, and say, "Fuck if I know. I don't know anything about your Universe, you know."
Which… is a bit of a lie. I assume she's from a Universe closely connected with the Universe I remember watching as movies 2100 years ago, in my previous life. And this Wanda is what Wanda Potter could have been if I hadn't interfered at all. Plus.. I've been slowly reading her memories while talking with her, my words prompting her to think about specific memories that she practically handed off to me.
"As for your children. I assume the fact that this Wanda did not use her Magic to give birth to the children helps a lot. And let's not forget, them having a different father also helped determine the gender, and their identities. Harry.. I am to blame for that, I introduced them to one another, but they did the falling in love thing by themselves."
Wanda glares at me, and then returns to watching Wanda and Harry Potter sleep, which.. creepy, now that I think about it. Waving my hand, I shatter the mirror walls that Wanda was using to peek out, and transport the both of us to an Island, but still inside the Mirror Dimension.
This was where Thanos had won the fight against the Avengers, X-Men, and Wakanda. This is where I got dusted.
It was abandoned now, but the American Government had laid claim to it, like they usually do.
Snarling, Wanda points her hands at me, and shoots off an energy blast at my face, coloured red with tints of black. The energy blast speeds towards me, but as soon as it reaches my face, it splits up and flies off to my two sides, leaving me completely unharmed. My surroundings, however, explode as if two grenades had been thrown behind me.
Raising an unimpressed eyebrow, I say, "You've done enough intruding in this Universe. I have all I needed from you, so now I need you to pack it up, leave, and don't ever try to peek in here again."
Wanda glares at me, and hissed, "You think after all I've done for my children that I will just leave?"
"Your Children? Wanda, they are not here. As you've seen repeatedly, this Wanda did not give birth to your sons, Billy and Tommy." I calmly say not bothered by her anger in the least.
Wanda smiles, and it did not make me feel good at all. It was the kind of smile I'd seen Wanda Potter give to Ultron, before she destroyed his heart.
She says, "The girls are not Billy and Tommy. But.. They are still my children. They are still my daughters. And I.. will be their mother. I will give them the love that they deserve, love that the.. weak Wanda.. cannot give them. I will protect them from anything and everything that would come to harm them, and once I find my sons again.. I will raise them all together."
I immediately lose my smile, anger taking a hold of me. She.. wants to replace Wanda? She wants to take over as Euphemia and Iryana's mother? As Harry's wife.
Staring at her, internally praying that she takes this chance, I say, "I will say this one last time. Stop trying to peek into this Universe again once I send you back home, and I won't kill you where you stand."
"You cannot kill me. No Sorcerer can." Wanda boasts, as her soul floats up and her Chaos Magic surrounds her.
Good thing I'm not just a Sorcerer then.
I stare at her, and say, "Well, I tried being nice. The next time we see each other, it will be in your Universe, and I will most definitely be killing you. Until then.. goodbye."
Wanda looks at me, tilting her head in a confused manner, and asks, "What do you-"
Unfortunately, she never gets to finish, as her Soul freezes in place, surrounded by the dull yellow Magic of the Soul Stone. A circular hole appears in the space behind her next, and pulls Wanda through before she can even start putting up a fight.
And once again, I am left alone in the Mirror Dimension.
If I had waited a single minute before throwing her out, Wanda would have succeeded in pulling her body through from the other side. She'd been trying it since the moment I brought her through, I knew that.
Her Soul being in one Universe and her body in another allowed for the two Universes to be temporarily connected, with Wanda's Magic being the tether. And stupidly, since I used the Soul Stone to do it, she only had to widen the connection into a Portal, thereby allowing her to travel between the universes freely.
Chthon's Magic is really dangerous, and I almost proved it.
And if she had successfully done it once, she would do it again.
Sighing, I wait a few minutes, sensing for the Portal I'd thrown Wanda's soul through, and the moment it completely closes, I return to the Potter Home to give them the news.
—
"So.. this Alternate Wanda won't be able to see me if you carve this Runic spell on me?" Wanda asks, once I'm done.
I nod, and rubbing my face, I say, "I should have realized it was someone Dreamwalking, but it never even crossed my mind. It is.. disgustingly easy to prevent anyone from Dreamwalking into you. Just Tattoo any Anti-Possession Spell, and you're done. She won't even be able to find this Universe again."
Since it was her connection to this Wanda that allowed her to enter this Universe. Break that connection, and she will be completely unable to find this Universe. Chthon's magic or not.
"Dreamwalking." Harry mumbles, stressed. "What could have possessed her to do that?"
I shrug and answer, "Losing her brother, being forced to kill her lover, then watching Thanos use the Time Stone to revive said lover only to kill him again, and then losing the two children she created with a fictional version of her lover, and then finally being forced to collapse said fictional reality would do that to a girl."
"..."
"..."
"What?" I ask, when Harry and Wanda just stare at me.
Harry gets up, and says, "I.. need a drink."
As Harry walks away, Wanda hesitantly asks, "Will you kill her?"
I look at Wanda, and softly say, "I know you sympathize with her, Wanda, and I do too. She's lost a lot. More than you, certainly. But.. the path she is on currently will only lead to destruction on a scale we can't even imagine."
"What do you mean?" Wanda asks, frowning.
I lean back, and say, "You must've wondered why Harry reacted so badly with Dreamwalking, and why you hadn't heard the term before."
Wanda simply nods.
So I explain, "Dreamwalking.. is a Spell written inside the Darkhold. Very few people even know about the existence of that spell. In fact, I can count those people on one hand. The Sorcerer Supreme knows about it of course, and so does the Grand Sorcerer, Harry. This is so far hidden that not even Nicholas and Perennell Flamel know about it, and neither does Dr Strange. I only learned about it because I'd taken it upon myself to keep destroying every copy of the Darkhold that I find."
I'd.. gotten curious one time, and read the Darkhold when I found it next. Which, funnily enough, happened only in the 18th century, in the hands of a Witch named Agatha Harkness. Huh, she's the one who Wanda, the other Wanda, took the Darkhold from.
It had taken me two whole years, and a long ritual to get rid of the taint the Darkhold had left on me.
"What does the spell do? Other than allowing the alternate Wanda to watch us when we sleep?" Wanda asks, when I pause in my explanation.
Nodding, I say, "The Spell allows the user to send their Soul out into the Multiverse, and Possess the body of their alternate selves. But.. the costs are very high. Once you use the Darkhold to possess your alternate self, you forge a connection between the two Universes that cannot be broken. That connection strengthens over time, getting even stronger when the Dreamwalking is repeated. And then.. it pulls the two Universes together, into a collision course. Into an Incursion."
This wasn't written in the Darkhold, of course. Why would Chthon warn the users about the Side Effects and consequences of his spells? No.. this was something Selene told me, and she had learned of it because she was once the Sorcerer Supreme.
Being the Sorcerer Supreme, she had access to spells that allowed her to spectate on other Universes, without risking an Incursion. You didn't need an alternate self to exist in that Universe to do it either.
But in return, you cannot interfere while spectating. At all. You're just a spectator and nothing else.
Even when I was Peeking through the Multiverse, I used those same spells, and so did Tilda.
"The two Universes.. once the Incursion happens, get destroyed. No one knows what happens to the destroyed Universes, but there are theories that Chthon claims them as his own, and merges them with his Dimension, thereby empowering him." I stare at Wanda, and gravely say, "If that Wanda keeps at it, she'll continue feeding Universe after Universe to Chthon, and if he gets strong enough, he will return to every Universe. And this time, I don't think anyone will be able to stop him."
As much as I'm confident in my capabilities, fighting an empowered Elder God is not within the range of my powers. Least of all someone like Chthon.
Wanda sighs, resigned. She says, "I.. I feel bad. She lost her Pietro, lost her husband, lost her children." Pausing, Wanda takes a few breaths, and says, "But.. if there's no other choice.."
I nod, and pat her on the knee. She didn't need to finish. I know what's going through her mind.
Harry returns then, a glass filled with Firewhiskey in his hand, and asks, "But how will you even go there? To her Universe?"
I grin, and say, "Eh, don't worry about that. I have.. multiple methods I can try. Until then, turn around and push your hair away Wanda, so I can tattoo this on the back of your neck."
—
A/N: Again, just a One-Shot. Anyone wants to continue it? Feel free!
How would Mason go to the other Universe? I did actually think on this, and have thought about a couple methods he can use, that agree with the Rules we currently Know about.
He asks Lady Death to drop him there. She's a Cosmic Entity, and he's her Master as per the judgement of the Living Tribunal (read the previous Chapter).
He uses the Soul Stone to feed (infinite) energy into a Portal spell, while using the same Stone to seek out Wanda's Soul. It should leave him injured/tired for a while when he appears out into the other Universe.
That's it. That's all I'd thought.
Anyway.. this concludes the Story of Mason Aves, the Wizard. This is the end.
Thank you for your support! Tata!
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