Stephen tried to persuade the Illuminati to take Wanda's threat seriously, emphasizing that only he—armed with the Book of Vishanti—stood a chance at stopping her.
But the members of the Illuminati clearly didn't agree. Captain Marvel shrugged dismissively, "You don't need to worry. We'll deal with that little witch, even if she's become a dream-walking sorcerer."
Reed, more solemn, added, "We appreciate your concern, but the one I fear is not the Scarlet Witch. Based on our experience, the greatest threat to the multiverse… is Doctor Strange."
Stephen was baffled. How did I become the biggest threat to the multiverse?
Of course, he knew Reed wasn't referring to him—Stephen Strange of Universe 616—but rather to the Strange from Universe 838. He asked flatly, "Because your Strange sacrificed himself to defeat Thanos?"
The sarcasm in his voice was hard to miss.
At that moment, an aged voice cut in, "We should tell him the truth."
Turns out, there weren't just six members of the Illuminati. While six chairs had been prepared, there were actually seven members.
The final member to appear was the heaviest hitter: Professor Charles Xavier—elderly, bald, and seated in a futuristic yellow hover-chair.
The chair, which resembled a small, bright-orange vehicle, gently floated to the center of the room. Clearly, he was the leader of this version of the Illuminati.
Off-screen, Erik couldn't help but laugh. "Heh, Charles, that little scooter of yours looks kind of slick… Since you're here, where am I in this universe?"
From what the Quiz Game had already revealed, Erik Lehnsherr knew he and Charles were destined to be both close allies and bitter rivals. Seeing Xavier in this 838 Universe, he was more than curious about the role he himself played in this world.
Charles, watching the feed, stared blankly at the image of his bald future self. He subconsciously ran a hand through his still-thick hair and sighed with a bitter smile, "Looks like baldness is my fate… just like Peter Parker always ends up bitten by a radioactive spider."
Logan let out a laugh. "Honestly, you look better bald. Right now, you just look like a weak little pansy!"
Maybe if Charles had heard the quote, 'I went bald, but I became stronger,' he wouldn't fear his shiny-headed future quite so much.
Back in the video, Stephen looked curiously at the older Professor X. "What's the truth?" he asked.
But before the professor could answer, the scene abruptly shifted—to a snowy, frozen wasteland.
There, Wanda and Wong were on a quest to find the legendary dark temple of Wundagore.
And they found it. The temple stood high atop a towering mountain, long ruined and forgotten.
Together, they entered the ancient ruins and discovered an altar.
Wong explained that ages ago, the first demon to appear in the world poured his dark magic into this altar. That sinister power had since been etched into the stone walls, forming the eerie runes later found in the Darkhold.
He warned Wanda that terrifying creatures lurked within these ruins. But Wanda had long since committed herself to this path—nothing, no matter how dark or dangerous, could stop her from finding her children.
As she lit the shadowy temple with magic, something stirred. Suddenly, four massive, grotesque, demon-like beasts emerged, surrounding them.
Wong instinctively snapped into a combat stance. Wanda, though tense, began to float gently upward, ascending the platform that seemed both altar and stone coffin.
Just as they were preparing to fight, something unexpected happened: the four monstrous creatures dropped to one knee, bowing to Wanda in submission.
"Look behind her—at the statue!"
Off-screen, Stephen furrowed his brow. "So this… this is the Scarlet Witch's place of inheritance?"
Thanks to his comment, Peter and Pietro also noticed it: on the wall behind Wanda, a sculpture depicted a woman levitating, her hair flowing—an uncanny match for Wanda's current form.
It was now clear: Wanda—no, the Scarlet Witch—was the true master of this eerie temple.
Wong was stunned. He hadn't been a match for the Scarlet Witch to begin with, and now he had four monsters to deal with too. Escape seemed impossible.
Still, he made one last attempt to reason with her. "You could just force America to send you to any universe you want. Why do you need to steal her power?"
But Wanda didn't think that was enough. She wanted to be with her children all the time. What if something happened to them? If she needed America's power just to reach them, it would take too long. It was risky, inconvenient. Why not just take the power for herself?
Wong grew angrier. "That would cost America her life!"
But Wanda didn't care whether some stranger lived or died. For the sake of her children, she was willing to ignore the mission, the legacy—even the universal threat that came with being the Scarlet Witch. One girl's life meant nothing to her now.
And since Wong had outlived his usefulness—and was getting too preachy—Wanda casually blasted him off a cliff with a surge of magic.
Stephen, watching from beyond the screen, widened his eyes in shock. Fortunately, Wong wasn't dead—his quick reflexes and magic allowed him to catch himself on a ledge, avoiding certain death.
But Wanda didn't care. She immediately began dream-walking, projecting her consciousness across the multiverse. Once again, she possessed another version of herself.
Conveniently, that version existed in the 838 Universe—the same one where Stephen and America currently were.
It was nighttime when she arrived. The children were sound asleep beside her.
She didn't stop to enjoy the warmth or peace of the moment. Instead, she immediately took flight, heading toward the horizon—clearly sensing Stephen and America's presence.
At the same time, back at the Illuminati's tribunal, the bald Professor X finally revealed the truth to Stephen.
It turned out that the 838 Universe's Doctor Strange hadn't died heroically fighting Thanos—there was another story, one the world didn't know.
_____
T/N:
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