coveted magics, 18
Harry had never been to the Asgardian settlement in Norway, nor had he ever expected to. But he was pretty damn sure this was where he was going to find someone related to Heimdall, because the divination spell wasn’t going to put down a name of someone off-world. Tønsberg was easy enough to get to with a sling ring, and it was a pretty impressive sight to behold. It had a rather well synthesized blend of medieval-style buildings and impressively futuristic architecture and technology that was representative of Asgard’s scientific advances.
If he’d done his research correctly, the best way to find Axl was to start by asking for an audience with King Brunnhilde, who was supposedly pretty relaxed about the whole authority thing. After asking quite a few people for directions, Harry found his way to the town hall that the King tended to frequent for her work. Sure enough, she was there - wearing a tank top and jeans. Not exactly what Harry expected from the Asgardian King, but he wasn’t here to judge.
“Excuse me, your majesty, I was hoping I could have a brief audience with you?” Harry said as he approached her where she was organising some books on a shelf. “My name is Harry Osborn, and I’m a witch in need of assistance from someone I believe is here in New Asgard.”
Immediately, the king burst out laughing. “Your majesty? Please, call me Val. And I’ve heard of you - you’re that Witchboy bloke, right?”
Harry narrowed his eyes, doing his best to stave off the embarrassment of being corrected after assuming that formal language was most appropriate. “How do you know that?”
Val smirked. “I know a lot of things. You’ve got an impressive little team over there in Boston. How’s Carol’s little fangirl Kamala doing these days?”
For a few moments, Harry just stared, processing just how chill the Asgardian King was. Then, he collected himself. “She’s doing fine, I think. Still very much a Captain Marvel fangirl.”
“Heh, of course she is,” Val grinned. “I keep telling Carol she ought to pay that kid a visit, it’d make both their days. Anyway, how can I help you?”
Harry rolled his shoulders back to try and loosen some of the tension he felt. “Are you familiar with the Witches’ Road?”
Val frowned. “No witch of Asgard I’ve ever met has mentioned it. Care to elaborate?”
As concisely as he could, Harry explained the Road to the king, and she nodded along as she listened. He hoped he’d done a good enough job of balancing honesty with downplaying just how dangerous it is, so that the king would agree to help him find Axl.
“Right, sounds like a fun little quest,” Val said, with a look in her eye that Harry could only guess meant that she herself wanted to come along. “Anyway, who would you be looking for?”
“Axl Heimdallschild,” Harry answered honestly. “My divination spell said that they would be a suitable member for my coven. I presume this Axl is magically trained?”
“Indeed,” Val nodded, “though they’re still very much in the learning stages. Quite adept for their age and amount of training, all the same. They’re a good kid, too. So, how long will you be borrowing our sentry-in-training, should they agree to come with?”
Harry hummed. “No more than a week from the day we depart, I’d say. I have every intention of escaping the road early if it takes any longer. So, you don’t mind me recruiting Axl?”
“Nope, not at all,” Val smiled. “They could use this kind of experience, if they want to be as much of a protector of Asgard as they say they do. Oh, and they’re lurking right outside now, so you can ask them yourself.”
A new figure entered the room, and Harry turned to look at them. Axl was reasonably tall - perhaps an inch or two shorter than Harry himself, with dark skin and a lean, skinny build. They had a short afro-like mohawk, and had a pair of daggers holstered on either side of their hips.
“How are you so good at spotting me?” Axl complained, pouting dramatically.
Val chuckled. “You’re just predictable, kid. So, I presume you heard everything from the moment your name was mentioned?”
“I did,” Axl answered honestly. “You’re really going to let me go?”
“Sure,” Val shrugged. “As I said, it’ll be good for you. Plus, whatever danger Harry here is preparing for, you might just be able to keep an eye out while you’re all on the Road.”
“You really are perceptive,” Harry remarked. “Also, this was way easier than I expected. So, Axl, right? We’re leaving for the Road in a week. We’ll depart from my team’s training facility in Boston.”
Axl nodded. “Understood. I will travel to your city soon, and you need only call my name when it is time, and I will find you. Just in case something happens, though, might you identify the other coven members for me?”
Teddy didn’t expect to end up in a situation like this so soon. When he said he didn’t want to be a superhero until he was older, he meant it. Right now he was content with his life learning at school, going on dates with Billy, and hanging out with friends. He loved helping out at shul and upholding little family traditions, and he had no interest in putting himself in any kind of danger until he was ready for it. And older.
He had just been out for a walk through the city, having spent some of his pocket money on a figurine of one of Billy’s favourite characters in a manga series about pirates, wondering how soon was too soon to ask if Billy wanted to officially be his boyfriend. He had just enough time to get home and change before heading to the Playground to train with Peter, and maybe Kamala if she had time to join in as well.
But there was this robbery, going down in broad daylight. The victim was this small jewelery store in the inner city that Teddy was pretty sure was an actual small business rather than some chain in a big corporation - which just made things look worse. Teddy knew that the best thing he could do was keep walking and let this get sorted out by literally anybody else, but… how was he supposed to do that, when he also knew that he could help? He’d seen the gun being held up at the employee, and Teddy was reasonably sure that he wouldn’t get hurt too bad by a gunshot, judging by how well his body was holding up in training sessions.
He put one foot in front of the other, with every intention of just walking away. But thoughts that he knew would make his dad proud were running through his head at full throttle. He could possibly save a life here without endangering his own, so how could he possibly walk away? What would happen to the employee and those who owned the store, and their livelihoods? What about the people in their lives, who might be impacted too? Was it really right to just let this happen? No, he couldn’t.
Then there was the question of how to do this without his identity being outed to the public. He really didn’t need any of his classmates of all people knowing that he was a superpowered alien. Well. Teddy didn’t really consider himself an alien - he’d spend his entire life here as far as he could remember. So what if he was half-Skrull, half-Kree? That was a fact that he knew only because he’d followed a trail of paperwork from his old home to a storage locker where his original mother’s possessions had been boxed up after the Blip. He still didn’t even know if she was his biological mother - all he knew was that she was a Skrull who had left Earth after the Blip and left the box for Teddy in case his death wasn’t permanent, so he could learn of his heritage. He was very pointedly ignoring that his heritage was royal, because he liked his life here and had zero intention of leaving it behind for intergalactic politics.
Anyway, he needed to keep his civillian identity hidden. Conveniently, there was a shade-darkened alleyway right next to him. Teddy rushed into it and put his backpack behind a large dumpster, before letting his usual transformation subside. A few moments later, he rushed out of the alley looking very, very green. He’d even changed the colour of his hair and a few of his facial features just for good measure.
“OH SHIT, A HULK!” someone screamed out as Teddy rushed towards the small jewelery store. Well, there wasn’t really much hope of sneaking up on the gunman anyway like this, so Teddy sighed and just picked up his pace. He bounded into the store, leaping straight towards the gunman and planting a fist across his face - but not before the guy pulled the trigger, and a bullet thudded against his chest. The bullet broke a little bit of skin before falling to the ground, but it hurt like hell.
“Motherfucking ow,” Teddy complained loudly at the gunman on the ground. “Did you have to go and shoot me?”
The gunman, eyes wide, looked up at Teddy. “Wha-“
“And why,” Teddy began to demand, “are you robbing this poor small business? At least have some social conscience and pick a big chain or something, dude. Now I gotta stop you and hand you over to the police or some shit.”
Eyes even wider than before, the gunman raised his hands in immediate surrender. Some blood spilled from a small gash in his cheek where Teddy had punched him. “I’m sorry! Please don’t hurt me!”
Teddy let out a weary sigh, pangs of pain still spreading from his chest. “I’m pretty sure I already did. Anyway, maybe take this as a lesson to not do crime, yeah?” He then turned his attention to the employee, who was hiding behind the counter at the back of the store. “You okay?”
The meek looking employee nodded, and began to stand up. She warily eyed the gun that had clattered across the store, and was lying well out of reach of the robber. “Um… I think so. Thank you so much for helping! Uh… what do I call you?”
Teddy squinted, and then grabbed the robber, hoisted him up and held him by both hands behind his back so he couldn’t escape or try anything that might make the situation worse again. Then, he shrugged. “I dunno. I don’t have a hero name or anything. Seriously, I was just trying to buy a surprise gift for my… well I guess he’s not my boyfriend yet, but something like that.”
“Oh,” the woman blushed. “That’s very sweet! I must thank you. Can I… perhaps would you be interested in a couple of our rings?”
“Rings?” Teddy asked, the implication totally evading his conscious awareness.
“Yes!” The employee nodded. “You know, rings!”
The realisation struck, and Teddy’s jaw dropped. “Ma’am, it is way too soon for that! Did you hear me say that he’s not my boyfriend yet?”
The woman shrugged, a wry grin forming on her face. “You never know, love can bloom fast!”
Teddy had to work to hold himself back from blurting out the fact that he hadn’t even turned fifteen yet, because he did not need the world knowing how young he was. Instead, he politely declined her offer and took the robber outside, passing him off to the police and then rushing around the block until he could find a safe place to transform again and retrieve his bag to head straight to the Playground, since he’d now otherwise be running late.
Suggested marriage shenanigans aside, he arrived at the Playground still feeling the high of successfully stopping a criminal act safely - and having confirmed that he was in fact mostly bulletproof. He definitely wasn’t ready to be an actual proper superhero, but when he was, he was going to be a damn good one.
I should be stronger than this, thought Wanda to herself as her body shook from the sheer stress of the past week. She was the Scarlet Witch, who had single-handedly driven Thanos himself into such a harsh corner that the only way he could prevent his own death was by having his ship rain fire on the battlefield and fully disrupt Wanda’s concentration. She had evaded the Department of Damage Control all on her own for the better part of a year, and destroyed every copy of the Darkhold across the entire multiverse. And yet…
One of her sons had almost been killed, and Agatha Harkness was surely coming to finish the job soon. Wanda had bested Agatha once now, but she couldn’t fully trust that Agatha wasn’t going to be better prepared for her capabilities this time around. Granted, Wanda knew a lot more about witchcraft than she did in Westview, but it wasn’t enough to calm her mind. Theoretically, that was why Daisy was driving her to Newton, where she had planned a picnic date by the so called Crystal Lake. Something about relaxation, with the promise that they could both fly back home at top speed if anything happened.
Wanda wanted to surrender herself to this opportunity, but it was just so hard to let go. She’d been doing her best to keep busy to fend off these feelings the past few days - spending time with her sons and with Daisy, helping Peter learn to cook, helping Harley to soundboard his writing ideas and watching the occasional film with Gwen. It all worked, but only somewhat. Wanda knew that she’d only truly be able to rest once Agatha had been dealt with. But this? Maybe something like this might just bring Wanda as close to true rest as was possible before her sons were safe.
This… it was all new. Wanda would be lying to deny that she had felt an attraction to Daisy since day one. It was hard to avoid it flowering into something more after all the two women shared in their experiences of life. Yet, Wanda mightn't have made the move to turn her fantasies of a partnership with this woman into reality if not for the intervention of one Jessica Jones.
It had been four days since Jessica’s intervention, and Wanda still remembered it perfectly.
“So, what are your plans now that you’re wrapping up your work for the day?” Daisy had asked, her and Wanda watching as Jessica packed up her laptop and a plethora of loose paper printouts. Jessica had been given the go-ahead to hijack the largest apartment’s living room to work in just for the moment until she located a better work setting.
Jessica shrugged. “I guess I’ll hunt around for a cheap shitty hotel or motel nearby. I have the offer to sleep on Pete and Harley’s couch, but I’ve found that a proper mattress goes a long way to keep me distanced from alcohol.”
“If you need help with money, I’m sure Daisy here could help you out,” Wanda had smirked, thinking it amusing how Daisy would so nonchalantly rob the rich to assist those around her in need.
“Or…” Daisy started, and then paused. All of a sudden she glanced at Wanda, and then quickly looked away. At first, Wanda had thought nothing of it. “Maybe, if, um. Wanda, if you don’t mind, I’d be okay sharing a bed with you for a bit so Jess can stay right here and use one of our rooms?”
Still having not understood what Daisy was getting at, Wanda only thought of the practicality. Naturally, her hesitance to cause problems for anyone got in the way of things. “I wouldn’t want to impose on your comforts, Daisy.”
Daisy slapped a hand to her forehead. “No, that’s not what I-“
Jessica interrupted her with a chuckle. “Wanda, girl, she’s flirting with you. She wants to screw you, and far as I can see the feeling appears mutual. Look, I can still go find a hotel, but I won’t say no to something free that involves no additional travel. Been a long day, and all that.”
Wanda’s jaw dropped. She had no words whatsoever to respond to that, or to how casually Jessica had spoken of such matters. She felt her face heat, and even some of her Chaos magic began to crackle to life at her fingertips before she quickly closed her hands to tamp down the sparks of errant power. “I- uh…”
And then Daisy was looking straight at her, a little more confidently than before. “She’s… not wrong. I mean-“
“You feel this way too?” Wanda asked, because even if she was out of practice with all of this and hadn’t ever been used to it being without taboo, she saw no reason to beat around the bush anymore either. “Truly?”
Daisy nodded.
“Great, so who’s bed am I stealing?” Jess asked a little bluntly.
“You can take mine,” Wanda answered easily.
After that, Wanda followed Daisy into her bedroom, and was sure to cast a silencing spell around the room for the night.
Thinking back on the memories of that night, Wanda found herself reaching out to place a hand on Daisy’s leg as she drove. When Daisy reacted with a smile, Wanda smiled too. “How long do you think this would have taken us, without outside intervention?”
“You mean Peter’s sister exposing how horny we both were for each other?” Daisy chuckled. “I’d like to say I was working myself up to saying something, but I’ve always been less good at actually flirting with women compared to men. I mean, I was using tricks from my friend Fitz’s books, and that is not a good sign.”
“If I recall correctly, he’s the awkward engineer married to your ex?” Wanda asked as Daisy pulled into a parking spot by the lake.
“Yup,” Daisy confirmed. “He also hooked up a bunch with my other ex. The one who turned out to be an evil psycho whose body then got possessed by the Inhuman who mind controlled me. Of course, that was all happening before Ward turned out to be evil.”
Wanda unbuckled her seatbelt and opened the passenger door. “I’d say you’ve led a thrillingly strange life, but mine has been just as complicated. With far less sex, though.”
“We can fix that,” Daisy winked before getting out of the car.
“I’m counting on it,” Wanda flirted back, and then got out of the car herself. “I’m grateful, though. For you, and all the others. I can’t remember the last time I was truly able to settle down in a safe home. It must have been all the way back before the Avengers had our rather destructive falling out.”
“That is a long time ago,” Daisy remarked, grabbing a picnic basket from the back of the van. Wanda was aware that Daisy had borrowed this basket from Harley - and that there was a story behind it, involving Harley accidentally taking Peter on a picnic date near MIT campus before the two of them had begun their now well established relationship. “So, shall we?”
“We shall,” Wanda answered, and followed Daisy to the patch of grass beside the lake. Instead of picking one of the tables nearby, they opted to sit right by the water on the grass - of course with a picnic blanket, rather than directly on the freezing ground. “This place is nice. Calm.”
“We all need a bit of calm from time to time,” said Daisy as she sat down beside Wanda and began unloading some food - and a bottle of red wine - onto the blanket. “Plus, in my experience, even during times of duress, if you can fit in something joyous, it’s usually a good idea. Fitz-Simmons got married right in the aftermath of a trans-dimensional danger attacking our secret base not long after we got back from the future. After that, we got right back to work.”
Wanda then glanced around, pleased to see that there was nobody else in sight. While Daisy worked to set up the picnic, Wanda invoked a small amount of her magical energy to create a disturbance in the lake just near the closest edge, forming a flower-shaped series of ripples for her own amusement.
“Feeling a little daring, huh?” Daisy teased, noticing Wanda’s handiwork.
“Aren’t I supposed to be letting loose?” Wanda responded playfully, maintaining the flow of energy to keep the ripples going. She was sure to keep it mild, so that none of the aquatic life in the water would be bothered.
Daisy grabbed a pair of wine glasses, poured some wine into each. Once one of her hands was free, she loosed an equally gentle vibration onto the water, merging with the effect Wanda was already creating to turn the ripples into small waves rising out of the water. “Can’t let you have all the fun, can I?”
“I suppose not,” Wanda agreed. She took a sip at her wine, and smiled. Things were good now, and if Agatha thought she could disrupt that? Well, she would learn the hard way what would happen if she tried to mess with Wanda’s family again.