Scarlet Witch (3rd series) #7

... Father? No, no it can't be. You... you were just gone. Like that' a wide-eyed Wanda Maximoff a.k.a. the Scarlet Witch utters as she stares at the white-haired man resembling her father, Magneto, who has entered her Emporium. Wanda declares that Magneto, the defender of Arakko, is dead. 'I couldn't let myself dream of a return, even if it's happened before. How can this be – how? If this is a trick... I pity the trickster' Wanda utters. 'Wait, your dad?' Wanda's snarky assistant Darcy Lewis asks. 'No offense, Wanda – all I got off him was magnetic himbo' Darcy remarks. 'Darcy' Wanda exclaims. 'What? Where's the lie?' Darcy asks.

The mysterious new arrival dressed in black and levitating the even more mysterious necklace which has come to be in Wanda's possession tells Wanda that he knows this is a shock, and that he is sorry for that, but that he is not here to trick her. He remarks that he remembers it – the flash of the sword, the surreal sight of his own body, and then light, the wet stink of organics, chemicals and preservatives – a lab, old, before Krakoa, familiar, a genetics site. 'Sinister. Plains in plans. That man. Plans gone fallow – he was gone. I was alone. I couldn't starve, so I left, but my face made the streets dangerous. I had nowhere to go...nowhere but here. The place for people with no one' the man reveals. He adds that he was dead, but now reborn, but he is not Magneto – only his copy, his clone. 'I wish I could say otherwise, Wanda. I'm sorry for your loss' the man remarks.

'Joseph' Wanda sighs, before telling him that he is sorry, and turning her head, remarking that she needs a moment – she thinks she has needed one for a while. Joseph announced that he slaughtered mutaphobes, tried to force Magneto back into terrorism, even dabbled himself. But he reveals that he was manipulated, he wasn't well – but he did those things – and Kwannon beheaded him for it. Joseph offers a smile as he tells Wanda that he knows how hard seeing him must be, his face – but now, mutants are global fugitives. He notes that Krakoa has fallen, but he can't surrender to Orchis. 'I'm alive. And I want... I need to start again. Who else is left who could possibly understand that?' he asks.

'Look, he's your dad's clone, not your dad. It's absolutely not weird for me to eye his cakes' Darcy remarks. 'Plus, Joe took one look at the rock, and said magnetism can distort space-time. So I'm like, this guy didn't mention a PhD once! He's a useful Polaris, Wanda! Can we keep him?' Darcy asks. Suddenly, a door creaks open, and Wanda asks Darcy which door Joseph stepped through.

'Those worthless, thankless fools!' a man in a green suit, with auburn hair and glasses exclaims as he finds himself on the floor of the Emporium. 'Where'd this drunken librarian come from?' Joseph asks. Wanda explains that it is a magic door, a portal, enhanced with a seeking spell. 'The Last Door is -' Wanda begins before the new arrival calls out 'The Scarlet Witch! I know you – I've seen you! In the Dream Dimension, the Superflor... all Hamlets in the Mindscape!' He then introduces himself as Nelson Gruber, and boasts that if it is written, he wields it, breathes life into it, that he builds kingdoms of worlds, but that he was betrayed. 'Deposed in a Junta! All by subjects who wouldn't even be here without me!' he declares. 'Only kingdom I see this guy ruling's a subreddit' Darcy whispers to Wanda, who reminds Darcy that if he walked through the Last Door, then he has no one.

'Listen to what he admits. Imagine what he won't. No one gets a crown without pain' Joseph remarks as he appears behind Wanda and Darcy, who both look at him, surprised. 'Enough pain, and sure, you want to help...but you don't have a right to ask for it. Despots get deposed. This man's no angel' Joseph adds. Nelson begins to get to his feet and calls out 'No. To hell with you! I – I touch books and make them real! But the freedom...it's too much for some. These ideas – they lash out once they realize they're truly alive!' he explains. 'I'm sure it's the freedom that terrifies them' Joseph smirks. Wanda puts a hand on Joseph's shoulder and tells him that it is okay, and that regardless of what Nelson has done, her door is open. 'I'm not ignorant about who he may be. But who would I be if I shackled others to their past?' Wanda smiles, and Joseph smiles back.

'Five stars for rhetoric, Wanda. But Joe's got a point. I mean, isn't this scumbag missing something?' Darcy points out, as Nelson holds up his right arm – revealing his hand has been severed. 'It was her! I gave her life, and that crone dismembered me!' Nelson rants, enraged. He claims that as a child, he loved Oz, the great and powerful – he wanted that.'Who wouldn't?' he asks, before revealing that her made Oz real, a gift to the kid who wore that first edition out. 'My fingers graced those pages like the hand of God...and pulled their story into reality!' Nelson holds the end of his arm where his hand was once connected and reveals that all he asked for was a throne. 'But were they thankful? No – I was attacked by her. The Wicked Witch of the West. She killed her rivals. Stole the Silver Shoes. Took my hand. Bound it to the book to anchor Oz in this world. I barely escaped!' Nelson declares.

'Got to hand it to you, Grubes – takes a real gem to make life and try to own it' Darcy frowns. Nelson claims that their lives depended on him, but they're parasites and must be destroyed. 'I see' Wanda responds, before telling Nelson that she won't reject him. 'Take me to your... “Oz” did you call it?' she asks, adding that no one is getting destroyed. 'That witch, you don't know her...' Nelson's voice trails off. Wanda tells Nelson that she knows enough, and states that this needs to end. 'I will end it for you' she assures Nelson, before turning to Joseph and pointing out that it seems she will need more than a moment, and asks him not to go far. Darcy turns to Joseph and remarks 'So, Joe, listen – she won't say it, but the boss is raw about losing her adoptive dad. And sarcasm is my first language. But if you hurt her... it's not Wanda you'll have to worry about' Darcy warns Joseph.

Shorlty, in Taxola, Oklahoma, 'This is Oz? It's so...whimsical' Wanda remarks as she stands on the edge of the Yellow Brick Road, an Emerald City glowing in the distance. 'Yellow Brick Road. Emerald City. Eight witches. How can you not know this, woman?' Nelson snaps. He explains that Texola was a ghost town, barring some squatters, and he made splendor of squalor – without him, every since Ozite would still be just a figmant of a dead man's imagination. 'Such grace couldn't be why they showed you the door' Wanda remarks, noting that people lived here, and Nelson changed them, altered their lives. 'Enough, woman. They cut off my damn hand. Give me aid. Not condescension' Nelson tells her. 'There's time for both' Wanda suggests, as she steps onto the Yellow Brick Road as Nelson tells Wanda to go first, as she is here for him, and that not all of Oz's wonders are welcoming.

A flapping noise can be heard, and Wanda and Nelson look up to see some strange creatures flying towards them. 'What are they?' Wanda asks as the Flying Monkeys circle above her. 'An army' Nelson responds. 'Is that all?' Wanda utters, before casting a hex – which does nothing. Wanda is surprised, as the hex could repel legions of nightgaunts, but these creatures persist. Wanda turns to Nelson and asks him who the witch is that he has conjured. 'The Silver Shoes make her unstoppable!' Nelson replies, informing Wanda that if she can't beat the witch, then she must be banished. 'Pull my hand from that book and send her back to the page. I'll build a new throne' Nelson suggests. 'All the miracles you could create, Nelson...and you can't think past a chair' Wanda responds, adding that this witch may be no better, but that power is more than blunt force. 'Case in point?' Wanda asks as she conjures a strange gas which causes the Flying Monkeys to stop in their tracks. 'We – we're not being stabbed by hundreds of flying bayonets?' Nelson asks, surprised. Wanda explains that the Flying Monkeys are entranced, a spell taught by the Mindscapes Clerics.

Wanda tells Nelson to stand up, as his stolen kingdom is just up the road. But as they carry on along the Yellow Brick Road, they encounter more opponents, like bewitched bees, who have been mutated and lash out at Wanda and Nelson, who claims that these creatures were free under him. 'Then why...were they under you?' Wanda asks as she defends herself against one of the giant bees. Nelson tells Wanda that he sees how she looks at him, but claims that he only wanted his due respect. 'The Wicked Witch – she turns all dissenters into brain-dead soldiers... she's the true tyrant, not me!' Nelson protests as he runs from a giant crow, while Wanda defends herself from the large bird.

Soon, Wanda arrives at the  Emerald City, with Nelson at her side, tied in a hex-rope. The Scarlet Witch is greeted by an elderly man in a wizard's hat, who thanks the Scarlet Witch for returning the great fugitive. The wizard hands Wanda a pair of green glasses and tells her that she needs to wear these to shield her eyes from the Emerald City's brilliance. 'Oh, my sister would never let me hear the end of these...' Wanda smiles, referring to her sister, Polaris, who often wears green sunglasses. The wizard tells Wanda to watch her step, and beckons her forward, stating that their leader awaits her with interest. 'Nelson, stay' Wanda commands Nelson as her hex rope turns into a hex anchor, preventing Nelson from walking away.

Suddenly:'What's this – the worm's returned?' a voice calls out, and Wanda look up to the stop of some stairs, where she sees the Witched witch standing. Beside her, three dogs resembling a scarecrow, a tin man and a cowardly lion. 'How sweet, welcome to Oz, Wanda Maximoff' the witch remarks, before announcing that there is a cauldron waiting for the Bookworm just inside – an his size. 'My three good boys are hungry' the Witch declares. 'Bookworm? That's what you call the man who gave you life?' Nelson shouts at the Witch. 'Oz came from my mind! Sprung from the page by my hand – you're just a -' Nelson begins, before Wanda snaps her fingers, causing Nelson's mouth to close shut. 'Quiet, Nelson. Witches are speaking' Wanda exclaims.

The Witch tells her good boys to heel, and remarks that the Red Lady is new here and has yet to learn her place. 'You'll find I know it quite well – upsetting witches who don't respect the craft' Wanda replies, adding that they are not oppressors. 'How quaint. Notice the shoes, my dear? I'm the one with the power' the Witch snarls as Wanda looks at her Silver Shoes. The Witch, who wears a tattered outfit and has a patch over one eye states that here, in this world, where she is not a wicked witch or a good witch – she is The Witch – although her good boys did find the others delicious. 'You drive your people to your will – dismember a man, unsavory or not. Nelson hurt you. He raised this kingdom and abused it. But so have you. Texola is not Oz. It is a real place. With real people who need their home back. They didn't ask for this. But I'm asking you... return the pages of the book' Wanda tells the Witch.

The Witch laughs, 'You believe I come from a book? And besides – would give up such power?' she calls out. 'I think not' she declares as she casts a blast of energy at Wanda, knocking her backwards down the stairs. 'That was a mistake' Wanda calls back to the Witch. 'You're mistaken. You think a few human drifters are  more real than I am? The worm thinks he pulls us from lifeless pages...but, no. He rips us from our homes so he can conquer us in his! We're alive, Wanda' the Witch reveals, explaining that they are natives of the Ideaverse, a realm of finction, until now, and that they have been Bookworm's puppets, but his punishmment is now long overdue, and out here, she can finally deliver it. The Witch walks down the stairs and pulls back part of her clothing, revealing the book hanging from her neck, along with Nelson's severed hand. The Witch explains that Nelson's hand bound to the book doesn't just anchor her, it anchors her power in Nelson's world. 'Here. Where I wield Oz's greatest talismans. Where I can't be stopped' the Witch boasts.

'Everyone says that. No one's managed to back it up' Wanda responds as she gets to her feet and begins casting a hex. 'Then let me be the first' The Witch offers as she sets her three good boys on Wanda. The dogs rush forward, but Wanda remarks that she sees only pups, and casts her hex, which transforms the three dogs into puppies. 'How dare you!' the Witch calls out. Wanda picks up one of the puppies and kisses it as the Witch shrieks 'That worm fled once – he can't escape justice a second longer!' 'Oh, he won't. But neither will you' Wanda tells the Witch as she sets the puppy down with the others. Wanda looks at the Witch and remarks that Nelson told her enough, and that she knows what the Witch fears. 'A rainstorm would be a  snap' Wanda suggests, adding that she doesn't wish for more death, and suggests to the Witch that she can still yield. 'Yield? In my place of power? Oz is my world – not yours!' the Witch snaps as she and Wanda hurl energies towards each other.

'After all the worm's put me – put all of the Ideaverse – through, I deserve this!' the Witch shrieks, adding 'That bastard worm will endure eras of suffering – he is the true tyrant. I've earned the throne! This is my time to rule!' the Witch exclaims. Crimson and lime colored energies flow as Wanda suddenly grabs the Witch by her throat: 'You can both be terrible' she remarks, suggesting that the Witch would not stop the pain, would merely pass it down. The Witch punches Wanda, who notes that Nelson conquered her world, and now the Witch has conquered his. 'What of the humans pulled into his petty manipulations?' Wanda asks as she falls backwards. 'What of the Ozites you enchant? Are they not from this Ideaverse, too?' Wanda asks. Looking at the Witch's Silver Shoes, Wanda suggests that these stories deserve a just ending, as does the Witch.

'And here it is' Wanda then calls out as she suddenly appears in the Witch's clothes, and the Witch in Wanda's costume. The old Witch is confused, before realizing that Wanda used a spatial hex on her, resulting in them swapping places. 'Oh yes' Wanda grins. 'And from what I've heard? There's no place like home' Wanda calls out as she clicks the heels of the Silver Shoes together, which causes the Witch to begin to fray and spiral back into the book which Wanda opens. But then Nelson gets caught up in it, too, 'No! Not me! It's taking me too, Maximoff! You – you witches!' Nelson exclaims as he is pulled into the book, he declares that all the witches are the same, they all betray him. The hex anchor around Nelson suddenly snaps, and he vanishes into the book.

But, Nelson lands with a thud, and looking up, sees several other beings standing over him. 'Where...where am I?' he asks. 'The streets you've pillaged endlessly. It's not quite the justice I dreamed of...but I'll make do. As will we all' one of the figures standing over Nelson begins. Nelson looks up, as the Witch welcomes him to the Ideaverse. 'We got you, my petty' the Witch smirks, Standing alongside her are Captain Nemo, Captain Ahab, Ebenezer Scrooge, the tiger Shere Khan, and the Headless Horseman. They close in around Nelson, who calls out' Please, please...I didn't know. Didn't mean it. Please... I'm real...'.

With Nelson's severed hand lying beside the book, Wanda picks the book up and tells Nelson that it is over, just as promised – but not as he hoped. 'Hm. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz' Wanda remarks as she looks at the book, realizing it is a first edition.

Back in Lotkill,: 'I see you're less one soggy-nosed king' Joseph remarks as he leans against the front of the Emporium. 'Nelson is where he belongs' Wanda replies. 'Wish I could say the same' Joseph utters, telling Wanda  that he knows him being here isn't easy, and reveals that he was so tired of wandering and wallowing in his past. 'My past. I thought you'd understand. But I'm a constant reminder of your father. I can't ask you to deal with -' Joseph begins, before noticing Wanda is carrying a severed hand. 'Is that Grueber's hand?' he asks. 'A good witch wastes nothing' Wanda explains, before admitting that Joseph does remind her of Msgneto, but that is not his fault. Wanda then tells Joseph that if he truly wishes to start again, then he is right where he belongs. They hug, before Joseph informs Wanda that he never read the Wizard of Oz. 'Clone childhoods aren't much' he jokes, before suggesting that perhaps they could read it together. 'I think I'd like that' Wanda smiles.

Meanwhile, in Hell Town, Bagalia City, Bagalia, where the alchemist called Diablo sits opposite someone, and tells them that it is curious meeting them here. 'Me – enjoying my favorite infernal combat club, the jewel of the right-light nation. And you -' Diablo stops himself, as the person sitting opposite him explains that they are paying a debt, as his lesson in temporal transmutation was priceless – almost. They then return Diablo his wordsword. 'Good girl. Consider the debt paid – and enjoy your revenge' Diablo tells her. 'Revenge?' the woman asks as she stands up. She has dark hair tied up on her had and wears a green and black costume with a long green cloak, and carries a staff which she stamps on the floor as she declares that revenge is a hobby, a lifetime long at best. 'My pain stretches back centuries. Witches betrayed my people...though  there is a cure, even for their strongest.' The woman declares that Wanda Maximoff is strong, that she is flourishing, but even the Scarlet Witch cannot hide from Hexfinder!