Chapter 5
Currently in the theatre: Wanda, Vision, Stephen, Clea, Kamala, America, Peter P, Kate, Shang-chi, Carol, Tony, Natasha, Steve, Sam, Bruce, Thor, Loki, Clint, Wong.
Back at the grave of Sharon Davis, where Rio was summoned the Salem Seven in their animal forms entered the Road
Wanda cocked her head "why are there animals?" She asked a little confused "the Salem Seven can turn into animals" Clea says
The Salem Seven changed into their human forms and started crawling around while whispering to each other about finding Agatha. At the clearing where the coven are resting Lilia is woken when a member of the Seven picks up the obsidian she placed on the ground and wakes everyone up and tells them that they left door open from the summoning spell which allowed the Salem Seven to access the Road
Clea rolled her eyes "that is why you don't use summoning spells, because you always bring more than what you called for" she says "I have no idea what you're talking about, but I'll agree with you" Tony says
"When Agatha killed her original coven" Lilia starts but is interrupted by Jen who says Agatha drained them of their magic "because her own mother tried to have her executed" Rio says a little tersely "are you really defending a noted serial killer?" Jen asks "when Agatha murdered her coven, she spard their young children" Lilia finishes "then they became a feral, hive-minded coven bent on revenge" Rio says
Peter eyebrows shot up "damn and they've been looking for her for centuries" he said
Agatha comes running into the clearing telling them to always finish what you started "and also mercy is overrated" Agatha says as they all run out of the clearing
"Mercy isn't overrated, sometimes mercy is a good thing" Shang-chi says getting nods
The coven hear the disembodied screams of the Seven all around them "what about a Hexenbesen?" Teen asks, everyone but Rio disagrees with him, but quickly change their minds when they hear more of the Seven's screams and start making them, Teen asks why Lilia hates brooms, Lilia goes on a tangent about brooms being co-opted by the holiday industry complex as an absurd symbol of witch culture "they're an obvious symbol of female domesticity" Lilia says giving the broom she made to Jen
All the women nodded their heads at that "why are they giving the brooms they made to each other?" Peter asks "you can't fly on a broom you made yourself, you have to make one and give it to a coven member in return for one they made. I think it's a symbol of trust and respect" Clea says
Alice offers him one, prompting Teen to gather the materials for it only for him to be attacked by a member of the Seven, Alice uses the broom in her hand to knock the Seven member off him, Teen quickly makes a broom and switches with Alice and the coven fly off.
"That looks like fun" Kamala says "you do realise you can create platforms to run off the ground right?" Kate asks "I know still looks fun"
Everyone flys high off the Road, Lilia remarks that she hasn't done it in centuries "why didn't we do this from the beginning?" Teen asks, his question is answered as the Road begins to pull them down back onto the Road
"So you can't step off the Road without sinking into mud and you can't fly because the Road will pull you back down" Loki says summerising the situation "this is why I hate magic and prefer science and technology at least you know what you're getting" Tony grumbled
Everyone flys along the Road and sees the next trial, a member of the Seven appears in the middle of the Road and spews out cicadas at them and they all fly through the her and crash land onto the Road. Everyone runs into the trial which changes their clothes into 1980s sleepover clothing
Kate shuddered at the cicadas "looks like the trial is 80s themed, I wonder whose trial it is" Clint says
Teen realises that he has lost his spell book, "we're ok" Agatha says "no we're not ok when the entire Halloween aisle is waiting for us" Jen cries out, Agatha says that they can't get into the trial. Alice wonders whose trial it is "Agatha's" Lilia says looking out the window "a Blood Moon, when the veil between the living and the dead is at its thinnest" she says
"Also a really good time to cast spells" Loki says with the various magic users nodding "ok a 'Blood Moon' is just the result of an eclipse nothing magical about it" Tony says getting tired of all the magical nonsense, Clea merely rolled her eyes
Rio stalked forward holding her knife like a hairbrush microphone "and who better to commune with the dead than someone who's put so many in the grave" she says. A oujia board moves out from underneath a bunch games, their watches beeped indicating the start of the trial
"They have to use a oujia board?" Peter asks "I played with one nothing happened" Clint says
Teen reads the rules of the board, they must end a session with goodbye, don't taunt the spirits. Everyone looked at Agatha at that one, don't remove their fingers from the planchette as that may cause them to become possessed and don't ask about death
"They already have Death with them, so that's a bit redundant" Clea says "I can't believe Death is a person" Bruce muttered
The board is laid out and everyone places their fingers on the planchette "is there anyone here?" Agatha asks and the planchette begins moving, everyone says their not moving it "anyone here this Witching Hour?" Agatha asks again the planchette moves to yes. They ask who they're talking to the planchette spells out Mrs Hart
Everyone rolls their eyes, "it's clearly Agatha messing with them, Sharon kept repeating herself that her name was Sharon" Wanda says a little annoyed with Agatha
The planchette is forcefully ripped from underneath Lilia's fingers and Agatha begins to act like Mrs Hart, everyone catches on that Agatha is messing with them.
"Does she not want them to pass the trial or something?" Steve asks
They decide to try again and the lights begin to flicker as they ask who is with them, the planchette spells out Death causing Rio to laugh
"Of course Death is with them, Rio's Death" Clea says
Teen reminds them that they're not to ask about Death, but they ask what does it want. It spells out punish "who are we supposed to punish?" The planchette spells out Agatha. The oujia board flys off and there's a gust of wind inside the cabin as paper starts flying "I hated this the first time" Lilia says "Lilia's being weird again" Teen says
'Another sign of Lilia's consciousness is slipping through time' Clea thinks "why does Lilia keep saying all these random things?" America asks "it's not random, Lilia is a Diviner and as is the case with most Diviners or anyone with Sight her consciousness is going back and forth between the past and the future" Clea says "so all those things she's been saying randomly are?" Natasha asks "is her future consciousness slipping back, its a common occurrence and most either have control of it or lose their minds entirely" Clea explains
Everyone turns on Agatha saying they need to punish her to pass the trial, Jen suggests tying her up "or we could slit her throat" Rio says brandishing her knife
"Has Death always been so?" Sam asks trying to find the right words "violent? Yes she has" Clea says
Teen goes to say something but is shot down by Jen "familiars don't get a vote" she says. The lights go out and Agatha disappears, everyone gathers and try to find her, the sound of loud breathing could be heard.
"That is definitely a horror movie trope right there" Kate says getting nods from the teens
Teen looks up and sees Agatha with a different face, she jumps down and crawls on her hands and feet upside down over to Teen before lifting Jen by the throat. Lilia quickly throws a switch which puts the lights back on and Agatha has disappeared again
The teens shudder at watching while the adults barely bat an eyelid
The ghost of Evanora Harkness appears before them "my coven and I risked everything to kill her and you fools have willingly joined her" Evanora says bitterly, Agatha asks her mother why she hated her "you were born evil, I should have killed you the moment you left my body" Evanora says
"Damn, that's cold" Clint said shocked "not even my own father would say that to me" Tony says, Wanda sat quiet maybe Clea was right, maybe she didn't know what Agatha had been through
Evanora told them to leave Agatha with her and continue on with the Witches' Road without her, "no way" Rio says "a minute ago you were prepared to slit her throat" Jen says, Rio explains that she wasn't going to leave Agatha with her mother "there's no water or fire, the only threat to us is Agatha Harkness" Jen says fully prepared to leave.
"If they want to pass the trial and continue the Road they will have to" Vision said
Evanora enters Agatha's body and Alice uses her magic to blast Evanora out of Agatha's body, but Agatha instinctively begins to drain Alice of her magic as the others watch on.
"And maybe I was right about my assumptions about Agatha" Wanda says "is no one going to help her?" Carol asks
Teen notices that the planchette for the oujia board is rapidly sliding across the board and he asks who the spirit is. The planchette spells out a name "Nicholas Scratch" Teen yells out. Agatha stops draining Alice, who drops to the ground dead "Mama stop" Nicholas's voice could be heard saying
"I think that was her son" Steve says "well clearly she never traded him for the Darkhold, otherwise he wouldn't be telling her to stop what she's doing" Clea says
Teen moves the planchette to goodbye and runs over to Alice, he pleads with her to wake up Agatha walks over "don't touch her" he snaps at her "she was protecting you, but you don't deserve it" Agatha leaves the trial and Teen catches up to her outside and berates her for what she just did "it's all about power for isn't it?" He asks bitterly Jen says that's what it's about for all of them "Death comes for us all" Lilia says before she and Jen continue the Road "if that's what it means to be a witch, then I don't want to be one" Agatha chuckles "are you sure?" She whispers in his ear and places her finger underneath his chin "you're so much like your mother"
Everybody was confused "wait she knows who Teen's mother is?" Clint asks "apparently" Tony says
Agatha walks away "come along Pet" she says, Teen flexes his fingers as blue magic crackles around them. Lilia and Jen whose eyes are blue, grab Agatha by her shoulders and drag her to a mud pit, Teen thrusts his hand sideways and it glows blue. Agatha is thrown into the mud and sinks while screaming. Teen then yells and moves his arms sending out a blue shockwave that sends Lilia and Jen flying into their own mud pit and they scream as they sink. Teen is revealed to be wearing a blue crown
A pin drop could be heard in the room "um, didn't Teen's crown look a lot like the crown Wanda wore as the Scarlet Witch?" Clint asked "well Wanda's crown was more feminine and kind of pointy, that crown was less so" America says. Stephen could feel the mother of all migraines coming on "wait couldn't Billy in the Hex do the same thing as Wanda only it was blue?" Steve asked "yes he could" Wanda says slowly turning her head to Stephen "nobody say anything" Stephen says "I mean we're all thinking it, and I'm gonna say it I think that Teen is Billy" Peter says "Billy and Tommy were nothing more than magical constructs created through grief, they don't exist" Stephen snaps "they were created by her" Clea says pointing at Wanda "the Scarlet Witch can alter reality as she pleases, who's to say that after she brought the Hex down that they're not wandering out in the world out there" "if that was the case Clea, then they would be thirteen not sixteen" Wong says "unless they entered the bodies of the recently dead, that has been known to happen" Clea says doubling down "so are you saying, our children could be alive?" Vision asks putting a soothing arm around Wanda who looked close to a anxiety attack "I'm saying that's a possibility, but we need to keep watching to learn more" Clea explains reaching over and taking Wanda's hand in her own