ACT XI, SCENE II
3rd July 2019, New York Sanctum, New York
Tony knew that, in comparison to most, he was privileged. That he had far more than some people did, and that he should be grateful for it.
And he was, of course, grateful. He might not believe in a higher power, but he still felt thankful for what he had, and helped those who weren’t as lucky as he was whenever he could. He was a philanthropist, and poured millions upon millions in charity work and helping the less fortunate. His employers were paid way above minimum wage, he helped fund schools and hospitals all over the world, and generally helped the community at large.
He did not ask for much. He was happy with what he had, and he made sure to love it and be grateful for it, without being needlessly greedy.
He did not ask for much.
But he’d like to think that asking for his husband to not be kidnapped every time Tony let his guard down and turned his back wasn’t that much of an ask.
“You lost Loki and Vision,” he said, staring blankly at Stephen in front of him.
He was not as calm as he pretended to be, but letting himself be as pissed off as he felt inside would not help anyone, especially when he knew that Loki was, for the time being, okay.
Their dream link to one another was still working, even though the strain of their distance was palpable. From their mind link, he could feel that while he was deeply annoyed and pissed off, Loki was alive.
The fact that Loki could be bothered to project those feelings as well as a general ‘We’re fine’ and did not indicate any sort of accidental injury to his person was the only reason Tony was not doing something that would very much not be appreciated by the sorcerers he was currently around.
“We didn’t lose either of them,” protested Stephen. “Wanda was possessed and attacked.”
The girl in question had been passed out when Tony had barged into the Sanctum in a panic, but was now sat in a corner with Agatha Harkness and Wong, trying to make herself as small as possible.
Tony ignored her completely.
He might not blame her fully for what had happened, but that did not mean he wanted to console her or whatever. Loki and Vision were still gone.
He had been on his way to the Sanctum, because of the general anxiety and slight unhappiness he had been feeling from his husband. JARVIS had sent him a message telling him that Loki was planning on going to the Sanctum, and the feeling of slight unhappiness that he had felt from the man following what he believed was his arrival at the Sanctum had convinced him to come check on things too.
Just in case.
Loki did go to the Sanctum every now and again, mostly to hang around with Wong and piss off Stephen. The Sanctum was safe, and Loki was a grown man capable of keeping himself safe.
But even though it had been more than a year since, Tony could not forget that the day Adis was born had started with Mordo kidnapping Loki from the Sanctum under Stephen's watch and with other magic users present.
He did not buy the man’s insistence, even now, of how ‘safe’ the Sanctum was.
He gave a pointed look to the mess surrounding him, and then looked back at Stephen. “I don’t see them anywhere, and you claim to not know where they went.”
Stephen sighed, but Tony was grateful to see a degree of worry in the man’s face. Despite their mutual decision to antagonise each other as much as possible as often as they could, it was nice to see that Stephen and Loki did generally care about the other's well being.
Or maybe it was just that it would be hard to find someone as equally focused on their rivalry, if one or the other was gone.
Not gone, he obstinately corrected his brain. His husband was alive and... displaced for the time being, but he was not gone. He was Loki, son of Frigga and son of Hela, and he would find his way back if only because he was stubborn as hell and would not allow Adis to grow up without him the way Amaya had.
“America Chavez seems to have the power of travelling through the Multiverse,” explained Stephen. “The other Strange and her did not get to explain it very well, but it seems that another Wanda Maximoff is hunting down America to kill her and steal her powers.”
“Of course,” said Tony, trying to keep his temper. “And they decided to throw their mess at us.”
“She’s just a kid,” protested Stephen, giving Tony a very pointed look. “She’s scared and trying to stay alive with powers she isn’t quite sure of how to handle. She didn't mean for any of this to happen, she's just trying to survive.”
Tony scowled, even though he couldn’t help feeling a little sympathy for her. “Don’t use my attachment to superhero children against me.”
Stephen shrugged. “I’m trying to keep you from blowing up and destroying the Sanctum.”
“I wouldn’t-”
“Please,” said Stephen, rolling his eyes. “You don’t generally do well away from Loki, and he does not do well away from you.”
“You worry about me, but the one you should be worried about is his mothers,” said Tony, grimacing at the mere thought. Oh, they were not going to be happy about this, not at all. Hela in particular would blow a gasket.
And he was saying this as someone who liked Hela and who knew she liked him back.
Stephen imitated his expression, and Tony shook his head. “How do we find them? How do we get them back?”
“I’m not sure,” admitted Stephen, with a frustrated sigh. “I know what they are looking for. But I honestly thought it was lost, and I don’t see how they plan on finding it, unless America manages to control her powers.”
“Loki taught a synthezoid with an Infinity Stone how to use his powers,” said Tony, decidedly. “He’s an amazing teacher. This America kid is going to be back before we know it.”
He believed his own words. He had to believe his own words, because otherwise he might do something the owner of the Sanctum did not appreciate. The Sanctum did not have much in the way of technological stuff around, but Tony had once gotten so worried when he had momentarily lost Amaya and Loki in a mall that he had blown up all of the building’s security systems and taken down their wi-fi.
He knew how to control his powers, but when he got worried? Well, technopathy was very much slave to emotions, and Tony was kind of an emotional guy. Stephen was very right to worry.
“I’m sorry,” said Wanda, from where she sat in the corner. Her eyes were filled with tears, when Tony reluctantly glanced at her. “I did not even feel her inside my head. I didn’t expect it, I couldn’t control it. I felt pain, and the next thing I knew, I was here. I couldn’t control it.”
Why couldn’t you, wanted to shout Tony, but he kept his mouth shut at the quick look Stephen shot him.
“We know,” said Wong, reassuringly. “Dream-walking is a strictly forbidden practice for a reason. I have never seen anyone attempting it, and the fact that she felt brave and strong enough to do it... the fact that she succeeded?” He shook his head. “She’s dangerous.”
Tony remembered meeting the other versions of him, and hearing what they had to say about the Maximoffs. How they were dead or imprisoned because they were simply 'too dangerous', and how shocked they had been at the idea that the ones in Tony’s universe had signed the Accords.
He had not really interacted with the Maximoffs before their change of mind but he tried to imagine the Maximoff who had tried and failed to manipulate his mind and Bruce’s becoming even crazier than she had been then.
It was not a pretty picture.
“Did she leave anything in your mind?” asked Agatha, eyes serious. She had a black eye, a parting gift from the other Maximoff when she had taken over Wanda’s body. “Any hint of what her plan is?”
“She...” Wanda pursed her lips together. “She wasn’t... she wasn’t right. She was dark, sickly. There was something inside of her.”
“She was inside of you but there was something inside of her,” repeated Tony.
Wanda nodded. “I don’t think she was being controlled. But, at the same time, I think she lost control. She just wants her children and she is doing anything she can to get them.”
There was nothing ‘just’ about this, but Tony wasn’t going to mention it. He wondered, would he ever do something like that, if Amaya and Adis were taken from him? Inhabit another version of himself and hunt down a little girl so that he could steal her power to get ‘his kids’ back?
Tony had long known he could be a supervillain when necessary, and he knew that losing his children was an unbearable thought that would absolutely push him over the edge, but still, he couldn’t imagine himself doing that. It was just too far. He saw how Loki still twisted himself over what he had done to Jotunheim in the name of protecting himself and Amaya.
And there was still a difference between villainous revenge and the real psychopathy and derangement the other Maximoff was exhibiting.
“Children?” asked Agatha, confused.
“Yes, she and her version of Vision had children,” said Wanda, looking a little grossed out as she said that. “Twins. Tommy and Billy. But she... they weren’t real. They were real. But they weren’t. She made them.”
“She created children from magic?” asked Stephen, sounding shocked.
“The Tony of that Universe should have gotten her committed,” said Tony, a little creeped out. He wasn’t sure if it was the being obsessed with fake magic children thing or the thought of any Wanda near Viz that made him feel queasy.
Maybe both.
Thank god this Vision and this Wanda were not remotely interested in one another. He might not be an actual kid but Viz was 3, and Tony was not above calling CPS.
Not that there was a real worry, Vision and Wanda had maybe spoken twice in their entire lives.
“Their Tony is dead,” said Wanda.
Silence.
“Well,” said Tony, unsure of how to feel about that. “That sucks.”
“Her children are made from magic but they exist,” said Agatha, eyes shrewd. “In the Multiverse. And the Darkhold is helping her look for them.”
“Which you have,” said Stephen, glaring at her.
Agatha shrugged, and Tony put up a hand before they could start arguing about it. “I’m gonna be honest, I don’t care about who has what. Let’s talk about important stuff first, aka my husband. Who’s lost in the Multiverse with a universe hopping child and another Stephen Strange, being chased by a psycho Wanda Maximoff who wants to kill said child to steal her powers and possess another version of herself so that she can raise the children she imagined raising in her own universe.”
“When you say it like that, you make me question everything about our existence,” said Stephen, sighing. “But yes.”
“Cool,” said Tony. “Now, how do we track them?”
“That’s the hard part,” admitted Wong, standing up.
“No, no,” said Tony, shaking his finger at the man. “I don’t like that. I like the words ‘don’t worry Tony, we have a plan to get your children’s moddy back and it’s very easy to follow’. Say those words, Wong. I don’t like that face you’re making right now.”
“I wish it was simple,” said Wong. “But it’s not.”
Tony sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Where would the fun be, if it was?”
“We have been trying to find the America Chavez of this universe,” explained Wong. “To see if perhaps she has the same powers, if perhaps we can use her to track them down.”
“But you couldn’t find her,” guessed Tony.
“She doesn’t exist,” corrected Wong.
Tony frowned. “As in... she’s from the future?”
“Maybe,” said Agatha. “But I am pretty sure it means that she literally does not exist in our universe. It would explain a lot, actually.”
“Can we table the cryptic magic nonsense? Can we please speak clearly so that the muggle understands why his husband isn’t back already and why we cannot just follow the yellow brick road?”
Agatha rolled her eyes. “There is a story that I have heard before,” she started. “About something like this. But there is someone we must talk to first.”
Stephen's eyes narrowed. "I don't think I'm going to like this."
+++
Stephen was right.
Hela was, as expected, deeply upset when she arrived at the Mansion after Tony’s urgent request to see her and was filled in on the news of her missing son.
“You lost Loki,” she said, eyes fixed on Stephen.
He did not roll his eyes at her, clearly knowing better. “Wanda was being dream-walked on by another universe’s version of her,” he explained. “She tried to attack America. America panicked, and used her powers to get away. In doing so, she managed to drag the other Stephen Strange, Vision and Loki with him.”
Hela stared at him. “Do you know where he is?”
“... No.”
“So you lost Loki,” she surmised.
Just as Tony had said.
Stephen did not reply, and Hela turned around on her chair, glancing at Tony.
“He’s alive,” he said, reading her question in her eyes. “He’s irritated as hell, and a bit angry, but he’s alive and uninjured.”
Hela nodded, still not looking happy at all, and her eyes fixed on Wanda. “And why shouldn’t I kill you to make sure that that wretched version of you does not attempt to do this again, when Loki returns?”
Wanda did not say anything, shaking slightly under Hela’s eyes, but Agatha spoke up, moving in front of Wanda.
“Because it’s not her fault, and you know it wouldn’t be fair,” she said, swiftly. Hela’s eyes narrowed, and Agatha continued. “The other her, on the other hand? She called herself the Scarlet Witch from the beginning. Do you know what that means? Do you know the legends?”
“I know them,” said Hela. “But she is not her. She does not have the chaos magic. And the Darkhold is safe.”
“It is,” agreed Agatha, which had Stephen looking between the two of them with a frown. Tony was confused too, but unlike Stephen, he did not care about this Darkhold and what it meant or did. It sounded like a literature piece he would not be interested in reading, too much about damnation and not enough about tech. “But the other Wanda? She is the Scarlet Witch. She does have the Darkhold. And she is dangerous.”
Hela bared her teeth, chin raised in challenge. “I am not scared of a witch.”
“I’m not asking you to be,” said Agatha, rolling her eyes. Tony had to admire her guts. He had not known that the two of them had even known each other before today, but it was clear that they were at least familiar with each other. “But I’m just saying. I have a feeling you don’t exist in that other universe, and if you don’t exist...”
Hela’s eyes narrowed as Agatha trailed off, but she looked more thoughtful than angry now. “Perhaps. What does this have to do with finding Loki?”
“The girl,” said Wong, taking the initiative. “Her name is America Chavez. She doesn’t exist in our universe. Does her name sound familiar?”
Hela’s hands were quickly enveloped by black magic. Her eyes turned black for a moment as she practised some weird magic trick that had the entire room suddenly feel a lot colder than before.
“The lines of the Realms of the Dead are far more blurry than the ones of the Realm of the Living,” explained Agatha, when Tony looked over at her in confusion. She too was shuddering at the drop in temperature. “They are separated, of course. But in death, everyone's the same and, in death, everything is clearer. Similarly to how she can see into the Realm of the Living from Helheim, Hela can get glimpses of the other universes too.”
“What the fuck does that even mean.”
“You really should do some theology reading,” said Stephen, looking at him in faint disapproval. “How are you married to a Norse deity and know nothing about this stuff?”
“You got your ass kicked by Maximoff, shut up.”
Stephen glared at him, but then Hela’s eyes turned back to their usual unforgivable blue. Tony still felt a little chilly. “She doesn’t exist,” mused Hela, head tilted to the side. “A unique being.”
“A what?”
“A unique being,” repeated Hela. “A being that does not exist in any other universe but that of their origin. That complicates things.”
“How so?”
“Tracking Loki would be nearly impossible,” admitted Hela, sounding unhappy about it. “While some multiverse spells exist and can be cast by myself or Frigga, finding Loki in a Multiverse full of Lokis? There is no certainty that we would be able to find the right Loki.”
Similarly with how the other Stephen Strange had been looking for one specific Stephen and Loki duo when he had cast that spell with the Cauldron, and instead ended up with three different sets plus a bonus Tony Stark.
“The same can be said for Stephen Strange,” continued Hela. “There are too many versions of him. But this America... There are legends of the Scarlet Witch, in the Realms of Dead. Tales of entire universes razed to the ground by her and her chaos magic. And there are other stories, too. Tales that, for a long time, I thought were just tales. Stories about beings born with unfathomable powers, with incredible amounts of magic.
“Children of the Multiverse, I heard them called. Beings created when one timeline is shifted due to one unknown decision, and creates a being who does not exist anywhere else in the universe. It’s how, I’m assuming, Wanda Maximoff has been able to find America to begin with, no matter what universe she fled to. With the magic of America memorised and access to the Darkhold, it was easy for her to follow her trail, because there is only one America Chavez in the entire Multiverse.”
Tony was starting to not like the sound of that at all. “But we don’t have America Chavez’ magical signature.”
Hela scowled. “We do not.”
“And if there are countless of Lokis out there, and countless of Stephens, but one single America who we don’t know how to track but who Wanda does...”
Hela did not say anything, but she did not need to. Her silence spoke volumes.
Tony had been doing a very good job trying to not mess with the technology around him, but he had clearly reached his limit, as the lights flickered in the other room.
“What about Vision? Maybe he-”
“His energy signature is still that of an Infinity Stone,” said Wong, shaking his head. “We have been trying to figure it out, but-”
“What about my dream link?” he asked, starting to pace around the room, fingers tapping against his leg. “Can we not use that?”
“We can try,” said Stephen, though he did not sound very convinced. “It’s better than nothing.”
“But, again, I don’t believe this is the only universe in which you and Loki ended up together,” said Hela, smiling despite her clear unhappiness. “You two are meant to be.”
“I want to say thank you, but I’m not feeling very thankful,” said Tony, still pacing. “Are we just going to wait here for Loki to teach America to learn how to use her power and come back? What if Wanda comes after them again and she teleports away forgetting to grab Loki?”
No one replied, and Tony breathed out, even more anxious than before.
Sir, Miss Amaya and Mister Adis are back, said JARVIS in his mind. Mr Hogan is bringing them in now.
“Amaya is here,” he said, pausing and running a hand through his hair. “Fuck. What am I supposed to tell her, now? Sorry, your moddy is missing again honey? Damn it, damn-”
“Wait,” said Agatha, turning to glance at Tony and Stephen both. “Last year, you met other counterparts of yourselves, didn’t you? I remember Loki ranting about how two versions of Tony were in relationships with Strange.”
“Yeah,” said Stephen. “She- oh.”
“Oh?” asked Tony, as the front door opened. “Oh, what? I liked that ‘oh’, it sounded hopeful. I like hope. What are we talking about, are we convening the circle of Tonys, Lokis and Stephens again?”
“The woman Toni, she had Peter,” said Stephen. “All of them had Peters. The other Tony had FRIDAY. Even though she had a human body in that universe, almost every Tony Stark has a FRIDAY.”
“Okay?”
“Amaya,” said Agatha. “None of them had Amaya.”
Tony frowned, pausing in his pacing. “J, keep them away from this room for a second. What do you mean none of them had Amaya? Of course they didn’t, none of them was married to Loki like I was.”
“I think Amaya is like America Chavez,” said Agatha. “I think she is a unique being.”
Tony frowned. “That is... a reach.”
“I could be wrong,” said Agatha, accepting. “But on the 31st of December 1999, there was a shift in the timeline.”
“Yes,” said Wong, nodding. “The Ancient One noted it. It was nothing too major, but it was significant enough that the Time Stone reacted.”
“The last day of the Millennium?” asked Tony, eyes widening. “But that’s...” They all looked at him, and he cleared his throat. “That’s when I met Loki.”
The night that had started with a pink raspberry cosmo and brought them all here.
“I thought as much,” said Agatha. “I wondered, when Loki told me, why our universe seemed to have rippling effects that were so different from the other ones. I thought perhaps that it was because of Hela, but the fact that she was a half sister in the others did not support my theory. The diversion that made her Loki's mother clearly happened far earlier than that. That was a completely different change, from longer before.”
“You think that that meeting between Loki and Anthony was not meant to happen,” said Hela, eyes lighting up. “Something caused them to meet before their time, and that completely altered the timeline.”
“And isn’t that how, according to legends, unique beings are created?” said Agatha, looking at her meaningfully.
Tony shook his head. “You think that because me and Loki met in Bern in 1999, Amaya is a unique being that has no other copy in the Universe.”
“Does she dream?” asked Agatha. “She doesn't, does she?”
Tony hesitated before he shook his head. “Not really.” It had been peculiar, when Amaya’s psychologist, whom they had sent her to after the whole 'her grandmother killed her great grandfather who's also technically her step-grandfather in front of her' business, had told him that Amaya did not dream about herself.
Tony had argued that she had woken up crying a couple of times when she had been younger, but apparently that did not mean that she had nightmares about things happening to her.
“Dreams are glimpses into the lives of other versions of yourself,” said Agatha. “Amaya not dreaming? It’s because she doesn’t have other versions of herself. And something tells me Adis will be just the same.”
Tony wasn’t sure of how to take any of that, whether it was a good thing or not.
He decided he wasn’t going to think about it right now.
“So?” he asked. “Amaya might be a unique being. What does it have to do with anything?”
“The first bond a child has is with their mother,” said Hela, slowly. “Amaya knows Loki’s magic. She could be able to find her. Or, perhaps, recognise traces of her in this America.”
Tony stopped. “What are you saying?”
Hela met his eyes head on. "Amaya’s more powerful than you realise. I believe that she could be the key to this whole thing. I think she could find Loki."