Chapter 2: A Scarlet Arrival and Sibling Squabbles
The air in Portland, already prone to a certain misty dampness, suddenly crackled with an unnatural energy. A distant streetlight flickered violently, then exploded in a shower of sparks. A small gust of wind, far too strong for the calm evening, whipped through an alley, scattering trash cans with a metallic clatter. Somewhere, a car alarm blared, then another, creating a discordant symphony of urban panic.
Adama, nursing a lukewarm coffee he'd managed to procure from a surprisingly resilient street vendor, felt a prickle on the back of his neck. He knew that feeling. It was the universe clearing its throat, preparing for a dramatic entrance. And he knew exactly whose entrance it was.
Then, it happened. A flash of chaotic, swirling red energy erupted in the middle of a deserted park, momentarily illuminating the trees in an eerie, otherworldly glow. It pulsed, expanded, and then, with a sound like tearing fabric, imploded. Standing in its place, disoriented and swaying slightly, was a young woman. Her hair, a fiery red, was disheveled, and her eyes, wide and haunted, darted around with a raw, defensive intensity. Wanda Maximoff. Right on schedule.
"Well, that was subtle," Adam muttered, taking a slow sip of his coffee. "Almost as subtle as a Hulk smashing through a wall. You'd think a multiverse transfer would come with a 'soft landing' option."
Wanda, still reeling, instinctively raised her hands, a faint crimson glow emanating from her fingertips. Her powers, raw and untamed by grief and confusion, flared, causing the grass around her to wither slightly, and a nearby bird to drop stunned from a tree. She looked terrified, lost, and ready to unleash hell on the nearest perceived threat. Which, unfortunately for Adam, was him.
"Who… what… where am I?" Wanda choked out, her voice laced with a thick Sokovian accent and a tremor of barely contained power. "Pietro? Where is Pietro?"
Adam sighed, a long-suffering sound. "Alright, deep breaths, Scarlet Witch. Or, you know, Wanda. Pietro's… not here. And you're in Portland, Oregon. Earth. Specifically, a very weird version of Earth where fairy tales are real and the monsters are, well, actual monsters." He took another sip of coffee. "Look, I know this is a lot. You just got pulled across dimensions. Think of it as an unscheduled vacation. A very, very unscheduled, monster-filled vacation."
Wanda's eyes narrowed, the red glow intensifying. "Dimensions? Monsters? What are you talking about? And how do you know my name?" Her powers flared again, and a small, unfortunate bush behind Adam burst into flames.
"Whoa, easy there, pyromancer," Adam said, holding up his hands in a placating gesture, though his expression remained annoyingly calm. "Look, I'm the guy who brought you here. Long story, involves a death, a transmigration, and a magical library that decided I was its new best friend." He gestured vaguely at the unassuming trailer. "Think of me as your… chaotic good tour guide. Or, you know, your new, slightly annoying older brother."
Wanda stared at him, her grief-stricken mind struggling to process his bizarre nonchalance. "Brother? I have no brother."
"Well, now you do. Sort of. It's a multiverse thing, don't worry about the specifics. Just know that I'm here to help, and also to make terrible jokes. It's my coping mechanism. You'll get used to it. Or you'll try to set me on fire. Either way, it's a bonding experience." He offered her the coffee. "Want some? It's lukewarm, but it's got caffeine. You look like you could use a pick-me-up. Or a therapist. I hear Portland has good ones, though I haven't checked the Yelp reviews for 'supernatural trauma' yet."
Wanda hesitated, her powers still flickering around her, then, slowly, reluctantly, she lowered her hands. The bush continued to smolder. "I… I don't understand any of this."
"Yeah, join the club. It's a pretty exclusive club, membership requires dying and then waking up in a monster-infested city with a talking library in your head," Adam said, finally walking closer. "Look, I know you're grieving. I get it. Pietro was… well, he was fast. And now he's not. It sucks. But you're here now, and you're safe. Mostly. And I need a bodyguard who can, you know, punch things really hard with magic. So, win-win."
He gestured towards the trailer. "Come on. I've got a place where we can talk. It's… cozy. And by cozy, I mean it's bigger on the inside than it is on the outside, and it's full of books. Lots and lots of books. And no one can use their powers inside, which, for you, is probably a good thing right now. Less accidental bush fires."
Wanda eyed the trailer suspiciously. "No powers? What kind of magic is this?"
"The 'don't spontaneously combust the neighborhood' kind," Adam replied with a shrug. "It's called Grimm Mode. And it's pretty neat. Think of it as a magical Faraday cage for Wesen abilities. And yours, apparently."
He led her to the trailer, and as he pushed open the unassuming door, he mentally commanded, "Grimm Mode."
The interior of the trailer shimmered. What had appeared to be a cramped, ordinary space suddenly expanded, revealing a vast, cavernous library. Towering shelves stretched upwards, filled with ancient tomes, leather-bound journals, and strange artifacts that glowed faintly in the dim light. It smelled of old paper, dust, and something indescribably ancient and powerful. It was magnificent, overwhelming, and utterly impossible.
Wanda gasped, her eyes widening in disbelief. She took a tentative step inside, then another, her gaze sweeping across the endless rows of books. Her hands, which had been glowing faintly, suddenly flickered. The crimson energy winked out. She tried again, a surge of frustration crossing her face, but nothing happened. Her powers were gone.
"What did you do?" she demanded, spinning on Adam, her voice laced with a new kind of fear.
"I told you, Grimm Mode," Adam said, leaning against a towering bookshelf filled with what looked like anatomical drawings of grotesque creatures. "It suppresses Wesen powers. And apparently, yours too. Which, again, is probably for the best. Less collateral damage while we're trying to figure things out."
Wanda clenched her fists, then unclenched them, a wave of helplessness washing over her. She was used to controlling chaos, not being stripped of her ability to do so. "I… I feel naked."
"Yeah, well, try not to be. This is a public library, technically," Adam quipped, then softened slightly. "Look, I get it. It's a lot. But this place? This is our advantage. This is how we deal with the... things that go bump in the night here." He walked over to a section, pulling out a thick, illustrated bestiary. He flipped it open to a page depicting a snarling, wolf-like creature. "See this? This is a Blutbad. Basically, a werewolf. But not the cool, angsty kind. More like the 'I might eat your face off' kind."
Wanda stared at the drawing, a flicker of morbid curiosity replacing some of her fear. "They are… real?"
"Oh, they're real, alright. And they're just the tip of the iceberg, sweetheart," Adam said, flipping to another page, revealing a bird-like creature with razor-sharp talons. "This is a Siegvogel. Think angry, feathered velociraptor. And then there are Hexenbiests, which are basically evil witches, and they are not to be messed with. Unless, of course, you have a magic library and a sarcastic sense of humor. Then they're just… annoying."
Wanda looked from the terrifying drawings to Adam's calm, almost amused face. Her initial distrust slowly began to morph into a grudging curiosity. She was still grieving, still disoriented, but there was something about Adam's unflappable absurdity that was… strangely grounding. He was clearly insane, but at least he was her insane.
"So, these… Wesen," Wanda said, testing the word on her tongue. "They are everywhere?"
"Yup. Hiding in plain sight. They woge, they un-woge. It's like a really messed up costume party where you're the only one who can see the costumes," Adam explained, closing the book. "And that's where we come in. Or, you know, where I come in, and you're my incredibly powerful, slightly traumatized backup. We're going to navigate this mess, help the good guys, maybe make a little profit on the side, and try not to get eaten. Sound like a plan?"
Wanda looked at the vast library, then back at Adam, a flicker of something akin to a smile touching her lips. "You are… very strange."
"Comes with the territory, kiddo. Now, let's find you a comfy chair. We've got a lot of monsters to learn about. And I'm pretty sure a detective named Nick Burkhardt is about to have a very bad day, and we're going to be his mysterious, sarcastic guardian angels."