ᴅᴀʀᴋᴄʜɪʟᴅᴇ (magiks) wrote in avengers_logs, @ 2021-08-14 09:49:00 |
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Illyana spent a lot of time at the Sanctum - as much as she could get away with, without actually moving in there. Of course, she always checked that Dr. Strange was okay with her coming over before she teleported over - because he was one person she did not wish to be rude to, and she liked him. Anyone who interacted with her for at least fifteen seconds would be able to tell that she did not like many people. But he was a different story, with his salt-and-pepper streaks and the rumble of his voice and the way he dressed like a monk. She was learning more about magic and it was because of him - so the least she could do was be polite and respect his domicile, and leave some of her tip money for him and Wong so they could actually afford more deli sandwiches. Yes, tip money - thanks, Tony Stark, for the idea. Her rating as a delivery person on the Uber Eats app was also so high it nearly broke the app. She earned decent money out of those tips, from people who knew how to not be stingy - but for those that were stingy, she usually ate some of their fries or let their food get cold. Pizza cheese deliberately stuck to the box, or she simply spat in their drinks - that sort of thing. Some needed to learn how to properly appreciate those in the food industry. Anyway, after completing at least sixteen deliveries in record time she decided to take a break - the words sum in omnipotence limbo were caressed by her accent, and she was picked up and deposited right in the middle of the Sanctum’s library. There, she distracted herself, getting lost with the books - the telltale scent of magic lingered even if Dr. Strange wasn’t in the room; the more powerful the spell, the more powerful the sorcerer, the stronger the scent that was left behind. She knew what it smelled like - it lingered on his cloak too. Illyana expected that he was around someplace, and he would know she was here thanks to the thumps in the library, heavy tomes, and her moving those tomes from the cart to the shelf, dust and ancient paper and golden sunlight falling in thick bars across the floors. Dr. Strange arrived through a portal, soon after Illyana's arrival. Several hours had been devoted to looking up ways to find lost persons in other dimensions, and locking up the Darkhold in Kamar-Taj. He trusted Wong without question, and knew that all the librarians had been vetted and trained. It would be safe there, encased and bound in magical locks where it would remain unopened and untouched. Not much time passed before he heard the sounds of someone in the house. The noises weren't from the locked basement - always a good sign - and he could only assume that Illyana was tidying up all of the books he had torn through during the search for information. He walked to the library door, opening it, the cape waving a little hello as he leaned against the doorway. Having someone else around was nice enough, but he was no stranger to quiet and silence, to intense study. At least this student had a similar disposition to his own: sarcastic and kind of a jerk to other people. If it got the job done and no one was killed, that's all that mattered to Stephen Strange. "You're doing that the old fashioned way," he said, so slowly that it wouldn't startle her during her task. Some of those books were dangerous, after all. A few had teeth, and the buckles kept the covers closed so no one lost a finger. "There's several books about levitation here. I suspect you like touching the books instead." Not that he could blame her. It was possible that merely by handling them, one could feel the magical power that radiated from within. Illyana turned, a twinkle in dark eyes - they flashed in greeting, electric blue for a moment, and her grin was only a little bit coy. “What else do you suspect I like touching?” she wanted to know, with as much false innocence as she could muster - another book was shelved and she picked up the one that had teeth next. She knew it because of its bindings, though she never minded the risk of losing a finger when she cracked open the old thing to give it a read. Just as long as it wasn’t the middle finger. She needed that to wave at people - one of her favorite American greetings. When she pretended she was a foreigner who didn’t know what it meant, that always gave her a tickle of delight. Still, she wasn’t about to throw any of these books around - especially the ones that could literally bite. They were all fascinating to her - everything about the Sanctum was fascinating. “You were looking for something specific,” she guessed. “What happened?” Surely something must have. That was definitely a case of false innocence. Stephen shook his head with a snort of amusement. Of course, he wouldn't fall prey to trading any such innuendo, but he found it amusing nonetheless. Illyana was a young daredevil who had seen far too much, and his life was devoted to his work, undertaken with such an intense focus that even the oldest monks would envy. "Likely things that are illegal in a few states and other dimensions," he joked, walking into the room and picking up one of the books. A diagram of known layers of reality was on the pages, and he stared down at it pensively. Things were always complicated when people appeared and disappeared here. "A friend, well...a friend from before, lost her children," he explained. "This happened in both realities. Twin boys. Christine and I were their godparents here, in this universe. I'm trying to find them, wherever they exist. If they exist. That means I'm looking at known dimensions and various locating spells." He closed the book, and it levitated back into its space, on the shelf. “Someone made you godparent?” Illyana snorted, but she was only teasing - that was actually kind of...cute. In a weird way. Even if she couldn’t picture Stephen cradling something as small and helpless as a baby, or even changing diapers - he probably had a spell for that. Something to conjure clean diapers and portal away the ones soiled by a small blob of fat with eyes that couldn’t control its bowel movements. Oh, fine - babies were sweet (if a little bit creepy with their toothless gummy smiles), they smelled like sugary milk and soft powder, and if Stephen had a friend with lost children then Illyana supposed she could help. She hummed thoughtfully, fingers stroking the spine of the toothy book once she’d resheleved it - a delicate, soothing sort of touch in case it was disgruntled from being moved around. Because it too had a soul. Much of the Sanctum did; she felt it down to the bones in the walls and far beneath the ground, a criss-crossed network of mystical ley lines. Then she drifted closer to Dr. Strange. “I bet if we go to Limbo, we ask the demons, they will tell us where the children are - you can look a lot of things up in a book. But not all things. Sometimes you have to social network.” Stephen wasn't a baby sort of guy, but he took to Wanda's twins like a sacred duty. He vowed to protect them and it weighted heavily, not knowing the circumstances in which they disappeared in this universe. Even the house seemed like it was hushed, waiting for his answer. She had a good point, and he had already accepted that his books were only going to get him so far. He would need to go into other realities, and had been preparing to astral travel through them. Illyana's way might be better and more efficient. Then again, with the amount of demons he bound, he might not be that popular. A risk he was willing to take. "Let's try that," Stephen agreed. "I'll leave the social aspect up to you. I'm not going to be too popular in Limbo." Well, now this was shaping up to be an adventure. “I will make sure nothing happens to you,” Illyana promised - and she meant that, despite the ever-present look of mischief in her eye. There were some things she was dedicated to. Things she was serious about. And the safety of Dr. Strange was one of them, along with helping him find these lost children - she knew what that was like. Her world, her life, would have been filled with so much less hardship and strife if she hadn’t been wrenched away from her mother - because sometimes you just needed the comfort of that relationship, no matter how old you got. The thought of lost children spiraling through other dimensions trying to get back to their parents - it was sad. Even someone with a heart as prickly-hedgehog as hers could see that. That settled it, then. Sum in omnipotence limbo. When she said the words, the doorway morphed into a circular pass-through with blue edges that grew and grew, much like one of his sling ring portals - through the circle, they’d be able to see the dusky shades of Limbo, a perpetual sunset. Armor began to clink into place along one of Illyana’s arms, plates forming, the soulsword in her hand - and if horns popped up slightly, maybe a brief flicker of a demon tail, well. That was to be expected. She grinned at him. “I can go myself, if you’d rather not. But if you do - take my hand.” She held it out to him, and it was a choice - there was at least one last chance to back out. Loss was one thing they could both empathize with. That you couldn't go back and do things over again, only keep living. He'd molded his life around losing his sister, about not being able to save her. And she carried on after being ripped away from her home at such a young age. Learning to survive in what many would call a hellscape. He would do what he could to make sure no one else had to suffer, especially not two innocent children. He would be a bad godparent if he backed out now. He reached out, a scarred hand taking hold of hers. The grip was loose from the nerve damage, with familiar aches left behind after multiple surgeries. It was easier to levitate objects and cast spells than it was to use them. "I'll follow your lead," he said, and there was a gleam in his eyes like he too had the same streak where he wanted to know all he could. Like this wasn't just saving Wanda and Visions children, but the promise of learning something new as well. "If you find me a place with coalesced power, I'll try a locating spell that I've been working on." Illyana nodded. “I can do that,” she said, and her grip was gentle on Stephen’s hand - she was curious about the bumps and ridges, the long red scars, but figured now wasn’t the time to get all of the details. Instead, she made sure he was with her and stepped through the portal with him - they landed on what looked like a beach, right at sunset; this was the nature of Limbo, you see. It could be rocky, sulfurous terrain or it could be something more calm, akin to paradise - that all depended on Illyana’s state of mind. She was calm now herself - hence why the colors of Limbo’s sky was a bold blaze of red and gold, an orange resembling the warmth and comfort of a campfire. “This way,” she led them across a stretch of flour-soft sand. Water gently lapped at the shore, lacy waves breaking. “There is a cave where the floor is mostly magical metal - it is how I made my armor. And the...ether? Barrier, I do not know - but between worlds, it is thinner here. You should be able to do a locating spell with greater effects.” When they got to their destination, there was a demon scurrying around the rocks and scavenging for metal - a small one, yes, but all demons had magical powers in Limbo. It recognized Illyana and stopped. “I will talk to him, if you want to pick a good place for your spell,” she offered, since she doubted Stephen wanted to interact with any potential demon he’d banished from Earth. The transition from one dimension to another was tangible like magic and power hung suspended in the very air around them. The beach was calming, but he knew that could change in an instant. And yet, with Illyana there, he didn't feel the need to be on guard quite so much. She knew the ways around here. The hardest part, the part where all eyes would turn on the both of them, was yet to come. He followed her to the cave on the beach, he entered and loosened his fingers to let go of her hand. He eyed the demon and nodded to her in agreement. "That would be best. Maybe keep him calm, since we're going to be calling attention to us." He eyed the Soul Sword in her hand. "You might need to use that after all." As she calmed the demon he took a few seconds to focus on his inner self, to arrange the spell in his head. A magically charged metal would be the perfect conductor to send a locating spell throughout the Archipelago of Anguish and Redemption, a collection of dimensions reachable from Earth. If Billy and Tommy had been taken away, it would be to one of these dimensions. They would have only one shot at this location. It needed to count. He focused his will and drew power, raising his hands as he spoke the incantation and bringing them down. The metal beneath their feet lit up with a slowly turning magic sigil that lit the cave's ceiling like a bonfire. The spell moved like a tidal wave over Winding Way, into the Planes of Sephiroth, the Dungeon Dimension, Krakkan, Watoomb, Cloudsea. It echoed throughout the Dark Dimension, the Halls of Fear, the Dimension of Dream, and the Realm of Madness. It reached the depths of the Outer Dark and Muspelheim and traveled through thousands of unnamed Splinter Realms. And when it all came back to the spot where he stood, the metal rang like an old church bell. The tolling of which let Dr. Strange know precisely where the children were. It wasn't good news, but it wasn't exactly unexpected. "They're in Hell," he said, turning to Illyana. "Mephisto has them." She dealt with the demon out here scavenging while Dr. Strange cast the spell - the glow of Illyana’s soulsword also illuminated the cave, a cluster of magic that was nearly blinding with its blue phosphorescence. The demon was shooed away, chattering in its language - runes on the walls also matched the demonic script of Limbo, and it was a language Illyana knew as well as English and Russian; not many others spoke it. But whoever had the sword was the rule of Limbo - that was the way it went. There wasn’t much any of these demons could say against her. Not much they could do. Turning toward where she caught a whiff of other magic, she subsequently caught the tail end of Stephen’s spell, however - she heard the tolling of what she assumed was funeral bells. If those children were in Hell, that seemed accurate. “Mephisto?” she frowned. “We will have to go there. Plan a trip, maybe?” She wasn’t sure if they would need time for that - it seemed like they would. But if he wanted to jump there now, she could do that too. Adventure was out there either way. “The demon said something similar though - we chatted about where a child like that would be. He said he would help but I told him to shoo. It’s just not a good idea to trust one. I’m sure you know this.” He ended the locating spell quickly, the sigil evaporating into bright sparks. Now the cave was lit only by the Soul Sword, casting everything into a ghostly blue light. "I know this," he said, having banished many of them back to where they came from, or bound them into objects. It still concerned him that the twins were there, and if the spell was traced back to him, then it gave Mephisto a heads up. He only hoped that wasn't the case. "We have two choices," he told Illyana. "One is more reckless than the other. The least reckless option is to get Wanda and bring her with us. She's a nexus being, and having her in Hell to get back her children would give us an upper hand. However, Mephisto might now we're on to him now with that locating spell. "That's option two," he continued, sounding very grave indeed. "We go in now and don't give him any time to react by hiding the boys anywhere else. You can control the demon horde here, can't you?" It wasn't a question. He looked at the sword in her hand like that was an answer. “Yes, I can.” Illyana confirmed that right away - and she knew Stephen realized too; mostly she was just curious about what the plan was going to be. He presented two choices and she gave them both some serious thought - Though she knew right away which one she would go with. His friend, Wanda, she had been missing her children for how long? Probably awhile - and every second that ticked by without them likely felt as if it lasted years. Too long of a time apart, and maybe she had missed a lot - maybe her children had changed, if they spent awhile with an entity like Mephisto. Illyana had changed, hadn’t she? She knew what it was like. “We can bring Wanda with us,” she decided, grip tightening on the soulsword; it continued to glow, along with the otherworldly blue flames that burned in her eyes. “What do you need me to do with the demons?” The changes from being in another dimension were a concern. If so, it would be better to have Wanda there. No one would know their children like a mother would. He nodded in agreement, it was the safer choice, even if time was of the essence. As for what they needed the demons of Limbo for? "Start a demon war," replied Stephen. "We'll fight fire with fire. If you gather them, I can open a portal to Wanda and Vision, and then another into Hell." He promptly opened a portal to their apartment in the Tower, which had to be a little jarring. It was no simple backdrop, like the Sanctum would be. Instead, they would be greeted by a cave in Limbo. He coughed to clear his throat, and hopefully get the attention of those on the other side. Oh, that definitely caught some attention. Vision, with an appearance that was sleek and also beet-red, wearing a smart cardigan paired with dress slacks, suddenly looked up from the copy of the book entitled Letters of a Stoic. He sat in the living room, legs crossed while he read - the television was also on in the background but he wasn’t paying it any mind. The only thing he was now focused on was the sparkling circle which revealed an odd alien landscape, Dr. Strange, and a blonde woman wearing an armored sleeve, metallic plates rippling down her side; she carried a brightly glowing sword in her opposite hand. The neon blue could light up a room. He blinked. Once. Twice. “Wanda?” Vision called, right as Illyana opened with, “Get into the portal, losers. We’re going to Hell to get your kids.” When she heard Vision call out, Wanda turned - and sensed the presence of others a moment before she saw them. She stared for a moment, and the only thing that kept her from immediately attacking was the fact that she recognized Dr. Strange and neither of them were attacking her or Vizh. It took a moment for the girl’s words to sink in, but the moment they did she strode forward. “They’re - where? You found them?” Her eyes lifted from the blonde to Dr. Strange, hardly daring to believe it might be true even as she stepped up to the portal...but didn’t step inside just yet. “How?” This put a whole new spin on a house call. Stephen nodded hello to them both before he explained, "I pieced together several locating spells into one that could cross dimensions. Illyana found a location that could amplify it. I wasn't sure it would be successful. But it worked." He glanced over at Illyana. "We'll still need all the help we can get," he said. "I can get us there, but if Mephisto has your children trapped in the Hell Dimension, we may have to fight our way to them." He really hoped there were no more bargains involved. There was already one from before that Loki rendered null and void. Mephisto probably wasn't happy about that. Vision stood up immediately, going with Wanda to the portal - he didn't step through yet, not right away. Not without her. But if this involved their children, then - the decision seemed easy. "I promised you we'd find another way," he said to her. "This seems to be it." He held out his hand - they'd go together and get this done. And hopefully come back with Billy and Tommy (because Mephisto? Out of all places they could be, Vision would not have guessed that - he just knew he would literally fight to Hell and back to return with the boys). Meanwhile, Illyana worked on what Stephen had asked for - she had a telepathic link with all of the demons present in Limbo and she reached out to them. Put out a call to arms, magic skittering over her skin and down to her bones - here was where she was strongest, where her own demonic attributes were brought to the surface. Horns. A tail. Eyes that flooded with black clouds, as she called them to gather en masse by the cave - they were surrounded now. It smelled like fire and brimstone, ash and smoke, that crackle of ozone and earth. "They're ready," she told Stephen. Stephen wasn't sure if this was the best option, but it was an option. Having Wanda and Illyana there would help a lot. Now that they had a demon horde to fight fire with fire. "Time is of the essence," he told them. He was sure that Illyana had a handle on controlling all of the Limbo creatures, but there was something more concerning. "I may have caught a lot of attention with that spell. Illyana should be able to wage war on the hellspawn while we confront Mephisto. We should go." Leaving that portal open for Wanda and Vision to step through, he opened a larger one outside of the cave into Hell, a place that he had only visited before in astral form. The landscape was as full of fire and brimstone as one would imagine, the perfect place for a book like the Darkhold to originate from. He nodded to them and started walking toward the door to Hell. Wanda looked over at Vision at his words, then his hand. After one more brief moment of thought, she slipped her hand into his, and as she did her power emerged to change her clothing, the simple blouse and jeans shifting into her Scarlet Witch garb and its impenetrable material. Squeezing his hand, she looked back at Stephen and Illyana and gave a nod, stepping forward and into the cave, then following him towards the other portal. Everything immediately felt different to her there - but her eyes crackled with the red hum of her power and she felt it burning bright within her. Though Mephisto had power in this land of demons and brimstone, there was no way he could hold against pure Chaos Magic. She’d learned that much, and more, from her study of the Darkhold. “I can feel them now. The boys.” Vision shifted too - no longer was he in a smart cardigan and slacks, but rather his suit and armor, his sleek boots and gloves with the cape flowing behind him; the mind stone replica glowed from where it was embedded into his forehead. He kept his hold on Wanda, not wanting to separate too far from her - he couldn’t sense the boys the way she could but he knew that neither of them wanted to leave without them. Especially now that they were here. His receptors were picking up on the scent of sulfur. The burn of it, and rotten eggs - not pleasant at all. But it also felt - oppressive. They really could not linger. “Let’s head to him right away then?” Vision suggested, referring to Mephisto. “Go,” Illyana nodded. Around her, the demons of Limbo surged - a sea of red, like blood leaving a heart; they were eager for a fight and she was eager to give them that. There were plenty of hellspawn for them to rip into - demons of all sizes leaped into the fray, from the smaller ones that moved quickly to larger demons that were the size of buildings. Chaos brought right to Hell - for her, it was an oddly beautiful thing. It was oddly beautiful, even if it was incredibly dangerous. Stephen wasn't about to stop Illyana. It might be a place of torment, but being in Limbo and commanding a legion of demons also set free her powers. He nodded to her and said very simply, "Be careful." He didn't want anything to happen to her, this sarcastic and headstrong young woman that he had agreed to tutor. And a tutor was all he truly was because Illyana had mastered many things already. Just like Wanda, she was a formidable force in her own right, and right now, the best thing to do was to set their powers loose. Over a burning crest, a wave of hellish beasts came, their footsteps thunderous, their voices like the thousandfold screams of the damned. The cloak levitated him up out of the way, and he knew Vision and Wanda could do the same. If they could get the children and escape through the portals, it would be a success. All they needed was time for Wanda and Vision to do that. "I'll try to keep him busy," he told the pair. He could already see that devil in the distance, lording over his host from a throne of bones and decay. The boys had to be nearby, and he began to move off in Mephisto's direction. "A distraction, at least. Good luck." The demons themselves barely drew Wanda’s attention. Instead, her eyes were distant as she used her connection to Billy and Tommy to determine a location. Letting go of Vision’s hand once they were through, she nodded at Strange’s words before lifting into the air herself with her powers and turning to Vision. “Let’s go find our children,” she told him with a smile, before they headed off as well. Flight was second nature to Vision - it was a smooth glide into the air, propelling himself forward; he followed Wanda - and as he flew, he was able to take in glimpses of what the Hell dimension actually looked like. There were small cities composed of gorges, stone ledges, deserts - rivers of boiling blood, a thorny bramble of a forest, a frozen lake or two (ironic, perhaps, because here he thought everything was literally on fire). The residents were sinners, he assumed - or those who were brought to Mephisto for one reason or another. His bone throne was avoided but there, trapped in a cage of bones along the edge of a dark, dank forest? There appeared to be two children. Billy and Tommy. “Mom! Dad!” they called out from the inside; Vision swooped in to get to them, and if he had a proper functioning heart this might be where it swelled with all sorts of emotion. He could only imagine what it was like for Wanda. As for Illyana, she fought her way through the ruckus below, soul sword glowing and pulsing - her armor shifted around her as she moved, keeping her safe. “Stephen?” She went to go find him, teleporting in smaller increments to get there. "You were not allowed to keep these children here," Stephen said as he hovered over toward Mephisto on his throne of bones. The resident ruler wasn't in the mood for chitchat. He swirled the wine around in his goblet and smiled, "Tricking me out of a deal means I am allowed to do what I like. And that means I have you all in one place, to make you suffer." It worked though. Mephisto's focus was on him. Just as the embodiment of the devil raised his hand to set several hellhounds on him, Illyana showed up. Luckily he had thrown up the mandala shields and cast a wind spell to blast them back at the throne. Needless to say, their master didn't look happy. And he spilled his wine. Through the din of battle, he could sense Illyana's approach. As the hounds got their bearing again, their ghostly glowing eyes honed on him like he was a tasty snack, he held his location. He and Illyana could buy Wanda and Vision enough time to get the children and get away. He could close the portals behind the family, and they could find their own way out. While Mephisto was distracted, Wanda’s focus was entirely on the boys, particularly when she saw the cage they were within. She followed Vision until they reached the cage, and landed beside it to reach both hands through it. “Billy, Tommy - it’s okay. We’re here and we’re going to get you out,” she assured them. Her love shone fiercely in her eyes as she squeezed their hands. “Boys, I want you to duck down and cover your heads. Billy, shield your brother with your magic, okay? Stay together.” Once they had obeyed, she used her own power to shatter the cage completely, then rushed in to wrap her arms around them both and look up at Vision. “It’s really them,” Wanda said softly, even as she smiled. “It is,” Vision smiled too, a soft expression - they were exactly like Wanda had shown him, though seeing them in the flesh and not simply as constructs composed of her magic was something else entirely. He was their father - and they recognized him too, judging by how they rushed to hug him as well when he joined the family reunion by the shattered bones. “We have to leave now - come on, boys, let’s get you home.” The glow of the portals, he could see those in the distance - they were still open, but Vision knew they wouldn’t remain that way for long. “To those portals, where you can see the glowing,” he added, holding out his arms for Billy to hop aboard - Vision would carry him, even though he wasn’t a baby, but still. A piggyback ride was quicker. Tommy was eager to run, it seemed, after being trapped in a cage for so long. There was another explosion, the din of battling hellspawn and demons - and when Illyana arrived at the scene with Stephen, she drew her soulsword to help fight off the hounds as magic crackled in place of where her irises were, skittering up and down along her limbs. “You spilled your wine, you sloppy shithead,” she told Mephisto (well, if she died now - this had been fun). Hopefully she wouldn’t, however. With another sum in omnipotence limbo she opened a portal meant to take her and Stephen away from there. Mephisto's attention was not only on his spilled wine but on Illyana, exactly where Stephen didn't want it to be. The devil stood from his throne, readying to take care of matters on his own. In the distance, he could spy the family escaping through a portal, and the goblet shattered in his clenched fist. By Illyana's side, Stephen knew she had opened the portal. But he wouldn't leave without making sure everyone escaped safely, and that called for a massive distraction. He raised his arms and summoned the first spell, calling upon the Vapors of the Great Valtor. A dark mist sprung up from the ground around Mephisto and his hellhounds and gradually rolled out from there like a thick, pea soup fog. Still with a clear view, Stephen swiftly glanced back to make sure the family would get to the portal in time. With everyone's location and path to safety in mind, he prepared a vast spell to send the Hellspawn scattering. He focused all of his willpower and summoned the Rain of Raggadorr. Mystical beams of golden light rained down as far as the eye could see, offering them time to retreat to safety. He nodded to Illyana. It was time to go. His portals would close immediately after the family traveled through, and he would take the portal that Illyana had summoned for them. Wanda focused on gathering her family and ushering them quickly to and through the portal, but paused on the edge to look back. Before she could think better of it, she lifted her hand, red chaos magic swirling around her fingers, and a blast of energy shot straight through the air, cutting through demons and hell creatures alike, until it slammed into Mephisto himself. If there was one thing she wanted to be sure, it was that he’d think better of coming anywhere near the Scarlet Witch and her children again. Satisfied with whatever destruction would ensue, Wanda stepped through the sorcerer’s portal and it winked shut behind her. Once on the other side in the tower, she turned to the boys and knelt so that she could pull them both into a tight hug as tears of joy filled her eyes, and she looked up at Vision over their shoulders. “I’m so happy to have you here,” she told them - but her words were for her ‘husband’ as well. Their family was together again, and she would let nothing ruin that moment. |