The portal spat them out like bones from a wolf's maw.
One heartbeat, they were fleeing the TVA in fire and screams. The next, they landed in soft grass beneath a sky the color of lavender dusk.
Mira staggered forward, still clutching her claws tight, blood dripping down her arms. Her seven cats slinked around her ankles, their forms flickering between beast and shadow, before finally collapsing in the grass, exhausted but alive.
For the first time in days, she breathed without smoke or iron in her lungs.
Wanda fell to her knees, staring at the sky. "This… isn't Earth."
Deadpool rolled onto his back, arms spread wide. "If this is heaven, it needs Wi-Fi. But ten outta ten for the landscaping."
They were in a meadow on the edge of a lake, mountains rising in the distance. The air was still. No Hunters. No alarms. No TVA soldiers. Just silence.
For Mira, silence had always been dangerous. It meant waiting for the next attack. But here… she felt something strange, something she had forgotten long ago.
Peace.
---
Night Without Fear
The team set up camp by the water. Deadpool scavenged wood and—through some miracle or maybe fourth-wall nonsense—produced marshmallows from his pocket. "Don't ask where I kept these. Just eat."
Wanda, still shaken but calmer, sat near Mira, letting her chaos sparks light the fire. The flames danced red, reflecting in her tired eyes.
Mira stayed a little apart at first, her cats coiled protectively around her. She watched the firelight flicker across their faces—Deadpool humming tunelessly as he roasted marshmallows, Wanda gently stroking one of Mira's cats, who purred like distant thunder.
Something inside Mira ached. She didn't understand this warmth, this simple togetherness.
"You don't trust us," Wanda said softly, not accusing, just observing.
Mira's eyes narrowed. "Trust is a leash. I've worn too many."
"But this isn't a leash," Wanda countered. She met Mira's gaze, red light glowing faintly in her pupils. "It's a choice. To stand with someone. Or to stand alone."
Mira looked away. "Alone is easier."
Deadpool, chewing a burnt marshmallow, chimed in: "Yeah, but way less fun. Team-ups are where the merch money is."
Wanda shot him a look, but Mira chuckled in spite of herself. The sound startled her—sharp, unpolished, but real.
The cats shifted closer to the fire, their monstrous edges softening. For the first time since she had cursed them, they didn't feel like weapons. They felt like family.
---
Stories in the Dark
As the night deepened, the fire grew smaller, and the team shared fragments of their pasts.
Deadpool rambled about tacos, chimichangas, and his failed marriage, but between the jokes, Mira caught glimpses of loneliness deeper than any wound.
Wanda spoke more quietly, her voice carrying grief: Sokovia, Vision, Westview. Mira listened, fascinated and horrified, because here was another woman who had broken the world with her pain.
When it came to Mira's turn, she hesitated. But something about the still night, the way her cats purred, the way the others looked at her—not with fear, but with patience—made her speak.
She told them of Ketterdam, of the Hunters, of the day her seven cats were cursed into monsters. Of how she wore horns because she refused to bow to anyone, even gods.
When she finished, the fire had burned to embers. Wanda reached across the ash, her hand brushing Mira's. "You're not a monster," she said.
Deadpool leaned back, hands behind his head. "Speak for yourself. She's like… ninety percent monster. But in the cool way. Like a goth Pokémon."
Mira smiled faintly, sharper than the flames. For once, it didn't feel cruel.
---
The Meeting at Dawn
Dawn painted the sky gold and rose. Mira woke to find one of her cats curled on her chest, purring softly. For the first time in years, she hadn't dreamed of blood.
They walked together by the lake's edge, silent except for Deadpool's constant chatter about breakfast. Mira almost let herself believe this peace could last.
But peace never did.
The air shimmered at the lake's far shore. Ripples spread across the water though no stone had been thrown. And then, stepping through the shimmer as if through a curtain, came two figures.
A man in green and gold, with a crown of horns. His smile was sharp as a blade.
And beside him, a woman with the same cunning eyes, her presence steady but dangerous.
"Ah," Loki said smoothly, his voice echoing in the still morning air. "The fugitives of the TVA. And the one who carries Mephisto's stain."
Sylvie crossed her arms. "This is a mistake. They'll bring the Timekeepers—or worse."
Mira's cats hissed, circling her feet. Wanda's eyes glowed faintly red. Deadpool raised a hand. "Wait, wait, wait. Is this the Disney+ spin-off squad? Oh my god, crossover episode!"
Mira stepped forward, meeting Loki's gaze. "You know who I am?"
Loki's smile widened. "I know what you are. And I know why the TVA fears you."
The morning sun broke fully over the mountains. Shadows stretched long, and for the first time, Mira didn't feel like she was standing in them alone. Her team stood at her side.
And before them, the Trickster God smiled, as though the game had only just begun.