Scarlet Witch (4th series) #5

The Emporium, which is located in Lotkill, New York, USA. 'Working late, night owl?' shop assistant Darcy Lewis calls out to Wanda Maximoff the Scarlet Witch, who is levitating cross-legged in front of the mysterious red door called The Last Door. Hexes dart around as Wanda informs Darcy that she is certainly working, as Chthon is free, thanks to the Griever, and now, as they speak, a hunter spell scours the inner planes for Chthon's trail – but there is nothing. Wanda adds that Chthon cannot again keep her from where she is needed – the Last Door calls, though Hexfinder did leave them some gifts when she rebuilt it – alchemical traps, of which Wanda has found seven so far, and expects no more – as seven is a powerful number for alchemists. 'And to be honest, if Nicola hadn't tried to kill me, I'd have been insulted' Wanda adds.

'Stoke that drama, girl. I'll just be here... deep in my book learning. Wild stuff, this Ensorcielammia. I thought I might find something to test the Last Door's safety' Darcy remarks, looking up from the book, where she leans over the store counter. Wanda glances back at Darcy and tells her that she has made good use of her vault's treasures. 'Magic is not science. It is about perspective as much as knowledge. You're a journalist...I wonder at what new possibilities you'll find in those old tomes' Wanda adds. Wanda then drops down to the floor and announces 'As for testing the door, we don't need a spell. During the Griever's attack, you entered the door from this side. Instead of bringing someone who needs me here, it brought you where you had to be'. Wanda states that she will walk through, will test the door, and asks Darcy if she would like to join her. 'Not today, lady! I'm a certified shop-watcher' Darcy responds. Wanda glances back at Darcy and tells her that the Emporium is in good hands, and that she doesn't expect she will be long. 'Wherever the door takes me...what could possibly be worse than the Witches Underworld?'

Wanda steps through a crimson and scarlet realm behind the Last Door, which then re-opens and deposits her in Hell's Kitchen, New York City. Immediately, Wanda hears a cry for help, turning to see a woman running up the stairs that lead down to the subway. 'Help! It won't stop!' she pleads. 'It – it's trying to kill me! He's trying to kill me! The hammer! Someone help me before it -' the woman pleads as a hammer, covered in some green substance, is hurled up the stairs towards her – but before the hammer strikes her, a baton is thrown at the hammer, knocking it off course. 'WHAT?' the woman shouts, while Wanda looks on as a voice calls out 'Never a dull night in the Kitchen. Not with all these witches about.... Never mind the devil himself'. It's Matt Murdock a.k.a. Daredevil, who is perched on a streetlight up above.

Wanda greets Daredevil, who drops down to the sidewalk, and the woman asks 'He's with you?' to which Wanda explains that she is just passing through, and that Hell's Kitchen is his domain. 'It's not, no... not anymore' the woman remarks, before introducing herself as Mia and explaining that she is here for work. Mia reveals that she was headed back to her hotel on the train, and while things seemed right, they weren't – the floor was filthy with red dust. The train took off, and someone came out of nowhere, smelling like the idea of death. 'It was a ghost. He wanted to kill us' Mia declares. 'Here, Mia, I've got you. Go on' Daredevil tells the woman as he puts a hand on her shoulder. Mia hangs her head and reveals that in a blink, he attacked, raving about some dark elder. 'I'm a woman, I carry a baton. I broke the glass at the next station, leapt out. He threw his hammer...and it followed' Mia explains, recalling how she ran down the train, while a demonic mouth with long tongue lashed out at her.

Wanda examines the hammer and reports that the green gunk is ectoplasm, and not an unfamiliar style. She adds that the red dust mention of the dark elder means that this is less than good. Wanda informs Daredevil that she has seen this kind of haunting before, in Lotkkill, where an ancient entity who possesses anything containing one of its bricks, the Bricklayer, is elderspawn, born of Chthon, his so-called “Dark Elder”. Wanda adds that she thought he was obliterated, so if he is back, then some brick remnants must remain. 'Until they're found and destroyed, he will not stop' Wanda notes. 'A haunted subway car. The A-Train's already torture enough. Care to take a ride?' Daredevil asks Wanda. 'That I do' Wanda responds, before she creates a construct of an ambulance and informs Mia that it will take her to the nearest hospital. 'Do not fear... there are worse things than ghosts in the city tonight – us' Wanda assures her.

Soon, Daredevil and Wanda are down in the subway. Daredevil puts a hand to the ground and tells Wanda that every train around them sounds safe, as the vibrations are normal, and he can't hear the screams, meaning the Bricklayer's car is long gone. He adds that it is nice to finally be working together. 'It is. I'm surprised it hasn't happened more – fate works strangely' Wanda smiles, to which Daredevil suggests that maybe fate thinks a devil riding with a witch is a little on the nose. 'Nonsense. She loves you. We've spoken, and if she didn't we'd make our own fate' Wanda responds, before she conjures the Sentry Eye of Argus, an old Darkhold charm, which will reveal any hostile presences. The eye glows as it hovers in front of the Scarlet Witch, who soon discovers a brick covered in the green energy. 'There. The train has passed, but some small piece of brick remains' Wanda reports, supposing that it was ejected along with the Bricklayer's hammer.

'What kind of brick smells like rotting meat?' Daredevil asks. Wanda picks the brick up and explains that it is a brick in name only – it is actually a piece of the creature's body. Daredevil reports that the scent is getting stronger, and that it is humming – infrasound, lower than most can hear – and it is laughing. 'AS IT SHOULD, IMPOSTER DEVIL!' the Bricklayer cries out as he emerges from the brick, knocking Wanda backwards as he appears. 'How else am I to greet fresh, gift-wrapped flesh?' the Bricklayer asks. 'Some devil you are. We share a creator, share our inspiration! Knowingly or not... all devils wear the face of Chthon!' the Bricklayer exclaims.

Wanda responds by casting a hex, which is joined by Daredevil's batton which he throws intro the hex while remarking that he thought he looked like his dad. Both attacks striking the Bricklayer and toppling him to the ground. Wanda checks the fallen enemy and tells Daredevil that his words were meant to shake him, nothing more. 'I'm a New Yorker.  Harsh words are our love language...but this was too easy' Daredevil decides, to which Wanda agrees, and informs Daredevil that this was just an echo of the Bricklayer – but that in the right hands, even echoes have their uses.

Wanda and Daredevil trudge on through the tunnels, with Wanda using the echo of the Bricklayer like a lamp to guide their way down a dark tunnel lined with cobwebs. 'So, you nuke the guy but keep the head? Are you sure we haven't dated?' Daredevil asks. Wanda explains that destroying the brick fragment stops the Bricklayer from manifesting locally, as the stray pieces could have still reached for the whole, and until she disperses it, that is exactly what the head will do – the pull will lead them. 'You made us a GPS for a ghost train? Not bad. A little morbid, sure...can't say it's taking us anywhere good, though. The tunnel might be dark to you, but I see it all' Daredevil responds, before informing Wanda that they are off the map – the tracks are there, but the floor is becoming dirt.

'And the feeling... it feels like my father's funeral. I feel so... small' Daredevil explains. Wanda glances back at him and tells him that he isn't, and that he shouldn't forget, he is feeling what he has already overcome. 'Good advice. I didn't even have to confess anything' Daredevil responds. 'Only that I look better in red' Wanda utters. 'Twist my arm' Daredevil tells her, while some rats can be seen scurrying about up ahead. Wanda informs Daredevil that they are close, as the tug on the skull is overwhelming, and they have reached water. 'Not water. I can feel it through my feet – 98 degrees... it's blood!' Daredevil responds, as suddenly, a horrid voice utters 'Shall we add to it?' A hooded figure carrying a large hammer stands near a train which has a red glow seen through the windows.

'Long did a shred of me linger in this atrium. Linger...in anticipation. You didn't kill all of me in Lotkill, Witch. I woke, at last – reborn to this brick. This place. The Bricklayer lives! I did not expect to see you so soon, nor with a friend...but good!' the Bricklayer announces, before declaring that his dark elder at last walks free, and demands a new church, with new followers – and luckily, this city is rife with humble stock – new flesh to remake in Chthon's honor. Inside the subway train carriages, several zombie-like figures can be seen, banging against the windows. 'An elderspawn's spawn. With my ripe, red dust flowing in their veins...these are the Bricklayer's children. And I am a proud father' the Bricklayer claims, finally turning to look at the Scarlet Witch and Daredevil, who remarks 'Some dad'.

'He is a broken creature. Chthon has no children – only puppets. This sad ghost labors to honor a creator who sees him as less than a glorified appendage' Wanda declares. 'YOU LIE!' the Bricklayer shouts as he slams his hammer down towards the ground in front of Wanda and Daredevil, who leaps up into the air to dodge the rubble that is created from the impact. 'The dark elder is loose, Maximoff. Your weakness let him slip his chains' the Bricklayer exclaims, adding that his return is whispered throughout the flickering realms. 'He need not acknowledge me. I am not some fawn suckling at his tear. I speak no praise – I reap blood because it is right' the Bricklayer declares, to which Wanda manifests a magical ax-like weapon and responds 'Funny. That's the same reason I stand in your way'. The Bricklayer tells Wanda that she failed to destroy him once, before the old madness was free, and boasts that he will flay her to the bone while his children butcher her devil for scraps. 'I'll have to disagree!' Wanda retorts as she lashes out at the Bricklayer, her magical ax clashing against his hammer.

The doors to the subway train open and the Children of the Bricklayer rush forward to attack Daredevil. Daredevil defends himself and realizes that these people are still alive, as their hearts are pounding like thunder. Wanda is squaring off against the Bricklayer but glances over at Daredevil and tells him that the people can still be saved – they are just warped by chaos, possessed. The Bricklayer suggests Wanda mind her gaze, as his children are ravenous, but she has her own problems. 'I will always return – here or elsewhere. My family will grow. All mortal meat will be fouled. Brick by brick, I will build the chaos. I will serve my dark elder. When Chthon rises...he will find an army waiting – with your hide as its banner!' the Bricklayer boasts as he continues to force his hammer against Wanda's magical ax.

'You and your kind... you pervert chaos – there are consequences' Wanda tells the Bricklayer, before remarking that, as for his hungry brood, Daredevil is no stranger to demons. 'One confession at a time, people!' Daredevil jookes as he kicks one of the Bricklayer's “children” aside with ease. 'Who am I kidding? You're hear for blood...or maybe not. Maybe not every bit of you. Not yet. Let's hope – and let's find out!' Daredevil exclaims as he cracks his whip around him to keep the “children” at bay. Daredevil begins speaking in Latin and knocks the “children” back, one by one, his incantation or prayer having some purpose, as Daredevil smiles, his plan works – as the transformed “children” revert to their true selves. 'Amen' Daredevil adds.

But suddenly, there is a hissing sound, and some of the civilians appear to be in great pain. 'No – it burns! It – it's burning my skin off!' a woman shouts. 'Stop! Make it stop! It's got to...' another cries, when suddenly, the pain ceases, and the civilians look confused. 'We're back? Like...to normal?' one of them asks. Daredevil informs the civilians that the elderspawn has fled their blood, but that exorcisms take a toll. 'On you and me both...I can't call this the best night I've had' Daredevil remarks.

The Bricklayer begins chomping his teeth and moving his face closer to Wanda, who utters 'What? Don't -' before she decides that she has had enough, and casts a surge of energy directly ahead of herself – punching a hole straight though the Bricklayer's stomach. 'Ha! You and your mortal tortures – no wound can fell this form!' the Bricklayer boasts. 'Yet so many can hurt you. You are of Chthon. You hold the lineage of chaos...but you do not deserve it!' Wanda responds as she casts a hex, which begins to build some sort of barrier that starts to surround the Bricklayer. 'And who made you the arbiter of that, witch?' the Bricklayer responds. 'I did' Wanda tells him, announcing that chaos is freedom, but he and his sire and all his kin abuse that – he corrupts, destroys and wields freedom for the pain of others. 'That displeases me' Wanda frowns, while the Bricklayer tells her that she can't do this, as the hex structure forming around him suddenly rises up – and bites his body in half.

'Bite a witch, Bricklayer...and they bite back' Wanda declares. 'Now, while you consider what you've lost...' Wanda begins, to which Bricklayer, dragging his torso along the ground boasts that he has lost nothing, and that there is always another brick. He claims that he will respawn, re-form and uncork twice the blood he has here – just because he can. 'Think twice' Daredevil suggests as he kicks the Bricklayer in the face, and asks Wanda if she has had any luck on that haunted brick. Wanda stands near a pile of bricks and holds up a glowing brick, announcing that she has it, and that it is the only one here. 'There are so many more! I have scattered myself across the globe – farther!' the Bricklayer boasts. 'Then it's good that a sorcerous solvent is in strong supply. The Bile of Satha wull make short work of your brick...as it will what chips and pebbles may come' Wanda remarks as she drops the glowing brick into the bile which she conjures up, bidding goodbye to the Bricklayer – be it for now or forever. The Bricklayer screams as he begins to dissolve.

Wanda smiles and turns to Daredevil: 'Well. You know your Roman rites, Devil. I'm surprised' she admits. Daredevil smiles back and tells Wanda that with a gig like his, he attracts an inconveniently high number of demons. 'Demons? Were we possessed? Was that what that was?' a woman asks, adding that the Bricklayer grabbed her, that she felt gravel under her skin – and then madness. 'The touch of a realm you need never have known' Wanda responds, before assuring the woman that she is safe now, while a man nearby thanks Daredevil. 'And I believe help is on the way' Wanda adds.

Soon, Wanda and Daredevil lead the now-free Children of the Bricklayer up out of the subway, and a paramedic smiles at Wanda, informing her that her magic bus dissolved once it dropped Mia in the E.R. 'She told us what happened – about a New York Seven as far as weird nights' the paramedic decides, adding that she thought folks might need some old-fashioned medicine down here. Wanda smiles and tells Daredevil that she appreciates his help, and offers to heal his wounds, to which Daredevil responds 'Sure, but then how would I learn anything?' to which Wanda tells him to believe it or not, but she understands.

Soon, in Lotkill, 'Good morning Darcy' Wanda calls out as she appears in front of the Emporium. 'GYAHWHAT? GHOST! BOSS GHOST!' Darcy shouts, surprised by Wanda's sudden re-appearance. 'Come on, Wanda. Mortal nerves over here' Darcy mutters, reminding Wanda that they talked about this – that if she keeps appearing out of nowhere, then Darcy will have to put a bell on her. 'Who am I to argue with the manager of the Emporium?' Wanda smiles, before telling Darcy to lead on. 'Wherever the Last Door left you, you could've stayed' Darcy responds. 'And miss your lessons on the art of sarcasm?' Wanda jokes. 'Trust me, the lessons are just beginning -' Darcy responds as she opens the door to the Emporium – only to go wide-eyed, as a voice calls out 'You're so right, Miss Lewis'.

'Intruder! Release the hounds' Darcy exclaims, as Agatha Harkness reclines across the Emporium's counter. 'Such poor hosts. If you insist on opening this shack to the public...you could at least tidy up ' Agatha suggests, rubbing her fingers together. Wanda looks unimpressed and tells Agatha that after her last visit, she will make this quick: 'What do you want?' Wanda demands....