Fade: Evolved

Part 1 - Wandavision/FATW/Nisshoku

6 months later...

"Ms. Stark, we have arrived."

"Thanks, FRIDAY."

I quickly let the jets out from beneath my feet lose power and I'm hurtling towards the ground. With my hand extended in front of me, I land on the pillowy grass with my legs extended. Slowly, I stand straight and hit my earbud twice, the quiet trilling of nanobots crawling towards my ears competing against the quiet of the mountains. The ice-cold wind whips against my fresh scar, the pain fresh enough to make me want to wince. But now wasn't the time.

I needed answers only Wanda could give. 

Earlier last night, millions of voices broke into my head, all talking at once and breaking me out of a deep slumber. Somehow they were all connected to the quantum realm. But from my recollection from the past 5 years...I was the only one there. All I knew is that Wanda had gotten into some trouble with SWORD and the FBI. She was the only one powerful enough that I knew of (that wasn't dead) that could affect the quantum realm.

Tucking my hands into my pockets, I walk up the creaky wooden stairs of the run-down cabin. She was home, there was a small amount of smoke pooling out of the chimney. But I kept guard, I didn't know how her powers had evolved since we last spoke. If my hunch was right from what I saw from the fight against Thanos; there was untapped potential. 

Quietly, I open the brittle door and walk into a home untouched. It was simple, that was for sure. 

"Wanda? It's me, Erin." I say softly, looking around for any sign of her. 

Suddenly, she appears from the bedroom, dressed in sweats and her hair loosely pulled back. 

"Nice to see you awake," she says. "Let me make us some tea."

I simply nod as I watch her, knowing that something was clearly off. Like a hologram, there were small, nearly unnoticeable glitches to her figure. Every time I went to pull at something on her body it was like trying to touch a ghost. Looking at the teapot she had just set on the firewood stove, I slowly pull my hand out of my pocket, and with the flick of my fingers, I knock it forwards. The pot launches right through her as water splashes everywhere. Faux Wanda turns to me in shock only to fizz out eventually and disappear. 

A door opens to my right and I look to see the real Wanda enter, fully clad in scarlet armor and a crown pulling her ginger locks back. 

"How did you see through that?"

"I can feel matter, remember? Maybe make your holograms more solid." 

She nods quickly, turning to the room and pulling out a book that looked like it had been burned to a crisp, quickly opening it without ever touching it. 

"Somewhere in here, it said I can make my illusions solid. I just don't remember where." 

"Wanda we can deal with that later. I need your help." 

She looks up at me from the crisped book, worry filling her eyes. 

"Look I woke up last night to tons of voices in my head. And they were echoing like they were far away but close enough for me to hear. I still hear them. It sounds like they're coming from the quantum realm but last time I checked that place was dead empty..."

"Do the voices sound like you?"

"Yes."

Looking back down at her book, she flips through its pages as she begins to pace. With a tired sigh, I shove my hands back into my pockets and watch her. Almost 20 minutes pass before I speak again:

"Look, Wan, I gotta go bail Barnes outta jail so if we could speed this up a little,"

"I'm not sure, Erin." she finally puts the book down and walks towards me. "My only explanation is that someone opened the multiverse. You would be hearing all of your own variants since you're the only one who has a direct connection to the quantum realm right now."

"Woah, slow down, the multiverse? As in there are multiple different realities?"

"Yes, it would explain why I heard my boys," her voice tapers into a whisper. 

I watch sadness fill her eyes, overtake them. A dark place we had both shared before. Except now she was alone in it. 

I gently pull her into my arms, holding her in a close hug as I feel her arms do the same. My memory takes me back to all of the SWORD footage, her perfect life with Vision and the boys. It was all she ever wanted. I couldn't even find it in my heart to view her as a villain...because she wasn't. She was a broken woman trying to find her path like I once did. 

"You're a good mom, Wanda. I know you'll find them. And I'll help you if you need me." I whisper softly. 

Slowly pulling away, I see the ghost of a smile on her lips. With the squeeze of her arms, I back up and shove my hands back into my pockets. 

"I gotta go. Bucky missed his therapy and I'm one of his court-appointed contacts so I have to check it out," I say with a smirk.

Wanda chuckles softly as she plays with a ring that lays nonexistent on her finger. 

"Just promise me you'll look into the quantum realm for me. If the multiverse is open...you're our only way inside. Your power could be immeasurable."

"Yeah, yeah, most powerful Avenger and all. I would just like to use my powers without a blinding headache most days," I say as I walk towards the door. I turn the handle before Wanda speaks up;

"Erin?" 

I turn to look at her.

"If the multiverse is open, you're the gateway to it all. You could see into any universe you want."

"I'll look for the boys, I promise."

A sigh of soft relief blows past her lips, a small smile and nod following it. 

I nod in return before walking out of the cabin. Tapping my earbud twice again, nanobots flood my body and within seconds I'm in the clouds. 

"Ms. Stark? There's an incoming call from Mr. Stark,"

"Yeah, I guess I'll answer it,"

I wait a few seconds, taking the time to turn around mid-air and jet off before hearing Dad's voice echo into my headset. 

"Hey, Bitsy. Get any answers?"

"Not really. I got some vague explanation about a multiverse I'll have to look into more once I get home."

"And when is that?"

"I'm not sure. I still gotta go break out Barnes and figure out why he decided to skip his session."

"I really hate that you're still one of his contacts..."

"Dad he had no one else. Steve is too busy in the past and you know Wilson has a lot of family issues to tend to. Plus, Bucky has reformed."

"Just be careful, alright? And make it quick, you're only two months healed. You shouldn't push it too hard."

"Dad," I say with a chuckle. "I'm fine! Yeah, the scar is still bugging me but it will heal in time. I'll stay in contact."

"Fine," he sighs dramatically on the other line. "Don't listen to your old pops then."

"Goodbye, Dad," I laugh softly before the call disconnects. 

Landing the same way I did in Wanda's backyard, I look up at the prison entrance with a sigh. It isn't long before the paparazzi swarm me as I try to walk into a building. Once I get close enough, I see two armed guards standing on either side of the entrance. Tapping my nanobots once so that my face is revealed, I stop in front of them.

"What's with all the protocol, boys?"

"Captain America is in the building. Only authorized people come in and out. You can go in, Ms. Stark."

Well...shit.