[1st POV | Wanda]
When I heard the door to my shop open, I had expected someone I've seen before, or perhaps another hero of the Marvel universe, someone like Captain Marvel or Tony Stark. But what I had not expected was to see Pietro Maximoff.
My brother.
Or a version of him at least.
The memories of the "other" Wanda was pretty ingrained in me, and I have long seen myself as both her, and the woman I was in my past life. We were one soul, one being, one Scarlet Witch.
And thanks to that, this man that I was staring at was my brother in pretty much every form that mattered. I remembered our childhood, the protection he provided for me when others tried to do me harm. I remembered a lot of things about him.
Pietro, my "brother" stared at me with wide eyes.
I can only assume he hadn't been told about this place, and had been called here by...something. Pietro did have a connection to the Scarlet Witch, to his Scarlet Witch of the world he came from. A connection that was not just on an emotional level like brother and sister, but on a metaphysical level that bonded them through their very souls.
Nothing gross, mind you. Because seriously, the Ultimate universe is just disgusting with what they had turned that relationship into. Makes me shudder just thinking about it.
"W-Wanda?" Pietro called out with wide eyes.
Hearing his voice, hearing him call out to me with wide eyes full of shock and confusion, I wondered how to go about this. Trying to explain that I am not his sister, not truly, was going to be...complicated.
I did not know where in the timeline their world was, but I am pretty confident that it is before my counterpart has said those horrible words and ended the lives of so many innocent men, women, and children. But whether or not I was a hero or villain in that world at the moment was an entirely different question.
One that I would need to figure out very soon, otherwise this conversation will get awkward.
"Not exactly, Pietro" I responded, cringing slightly at the recognition that flashed in his eyes. It would seem that he could even recognize me just from my voice, a voice that he has heard for decades in that world.
This would be a hard conversation.
"What do you mean "not exactly"? You look exactly like my sister! You sound like her too! Is this some sort of illusion? A prank? If so, it's a damn cruel one" Pietro responded with a frown on his face, anger clearly beginning to flow through him at my words.
"I am a different version of your sister, Pietro. I am Wanda Maximoff, but not the Wanda Maximoff that you know. I am simply one of the infinite variants in the multiverse. And no, this is not an illusion, and it certainly is not a prank. You are in my bookstore, in which I sell my books to people from around the multiverse and even beyond" I explained, the man staring at me in increasing confusion and frustration.
It was obvious that he was confused. But, he also seemed to at least know what the multiverse theory was, and had likely already interacted with beings from other universes plenty of times before. But it looks like he had not seen another version of his sister, like me.
"A different version of my sister from another universe? Bu-But why is your bookstore here of all places?" Pietro asked me, likely talking about the fact that the entrance to the bookstore was in Manhattan, and was very very obvious.
But it was only obvious to heroes or villains. Only those types of people could see the door to my shop just yet, and wouldn't be accessible to normal humans from that universe until I allow it to. And I haven't decided yet if I want normal humans from there to find my shop.
Or if I just wanted heroes and villains from the Marvel universe to enter this place. It was something I would need to think about in the coming weeks, but not right now, as I have far more important things to do.
Raven was at my side, silently glancing at Pietro. I hadn't ever spoken about my "Family" and I had never really gone into details about what "I" had done in the Marvel multiverse. I'm just lucky that the little ones aren't here, or else this would become far far more complicated and confusing.
Explaining this sort of thing would have to happen soon though, as it was becoming even more inevitable that my other self would appear here, and once she does, things will become incredibly complicated, even more than they already are.
"I place it randomly in a number of universes, Pietro. It just happens to have appeared in Manhattan New York, in your universe" I said softly, seeing that the man was beginning to calm down.
"...You know me, does that mean another version of me exists where you are from?" The man that was my brother from another universe asked, causing me to sadly smile.
"I did have a brother at one point, yes. But not any longer" I responded simply, causing an awkward silence to break out as Raven was gazing at me with a piercing look, which made it very clear that she was going to ask about this later on.
Valid, considering the circumstances.
"I see...so uh, what sort of books do you sell here?" He asked awkwardly, obviously uncomfortable, and not sure how to go about this conversation. Considering I look like a carbon copy of his sister, that is a pretty fair response.
"All sorts. I've got books on martial arts, history, science, economics, magic, philosophy, and more. Pretty much anything you can think of. And a majority of the books you will find here are from other worlds, making them impossible to find anywhere but here" I responded with a smile on my face.
I always love to talk about my shop and the books that can be found within. There were few things that brought me as much glee as the scent of a brand new book to read. And those things primarily involved my children, and of course my girlfriend.
"And I of course have some comics and manga too. As if you are anything like the Pietro I remember, you are not exactly interested in all the complicated stuff" I said with an amused smile, remembering Pietro's dislike for reading and her preference for comics and easy to understand stories.
He liked the heroes in the comic books, and loved to imagine himself as one of them many many years ago.
And if the reaction that this Pietro had shown was any indicator, he still liked them. The comics that he had grown up with, that I remember him reading so clearly. Of course, those comics were...pretty awful in comparison to what I had here, but still, they'd be devoured by his love for them.
"Comics? What sorts?" Pietro asked me without the previous nervousness or confusion, now looking interested.
"Magic, sci fi, fantasy, adult, pg, all sorts. I'm sure you can find some fun ones. Personally I'd suggest Invincible, Spawn, or The Walking Dead" I said, each of them were great series, with the first of them being the best in my personal opinion.
I was certainly going to be visiting that universe in the future, as meeting Mark in real life will be very interesting indeed.
"...I uh, I'll have to check them out. And I'm sorry for how I acted earlier, It's just...-" "I look so much like your sister? It's fair, but I must ask, what caused such a deep response from you? Is something wrong with my counterpart in your world?" I asked, wondering if Wanda there was dead or missing or something.
"Uh...no, no my sister is fine. Just a bit shocked is all" He said, very blatantly lying to me. Which was alarming.
"You're not a very good liar, Pietro. But...I will not pry, as I will find out the truth sooner or later anyways" I said in response with a deadpan, as the man could only awkwardly chuckle.
"Well...I'm going to go and look at some comics now!" He said, before blurring over to the comics section a moment later, hiding behind one of the bookshelves.
Considering his response to my words, I can only assume that this is before House of M, but after the loss of her children in that world...meaning, I had time to stop her before she spoke those horrible words.
Before she makes the greatest mistake of her life.
And perhaps the best way to do that will be to...
Visit her...
Personally
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That's the end of the chapter!
Sorry about the late upload, I was busy today so...yeah.
Anyways, have a good day!