As he felt himself beginning to fall asleep, Liam activated his Dream Dominion ability, carefully controlling it so that Carrie would be taken with him into what he sensed was his mother's dream.
The world softened, as if the bed were sinking into warm water. The walls dissolved first, then the ceiling. Darkness didn't arrive all at once—it folded in on itself, forming slow-moving layers, like drifting smoke curtains.
In the dream, they found themselves in a familiar house—his house from when they lived in Derry. In the dream, his mother could be seen smiling, while an older Liam and an older Carrie stood together, holding and lovingly gazing at what appeared to be their child.
Liam seemed to be talking with a smile of genuine happiness to his mother as they spent a peaceful family day, far removed from the terrors of the real world. It felt like the dream of what Margaret desired most.
Seeing this, Liam couldn't help but feel conflicted. What he saw before him—though he still struggled to forgive his mother—stirred a sense of longing he couldn't deny.
A quiet, happy life.
"Oh, Liam, let's have a child," Carrie said, her eyes shining as she looked at the scene in front of them.
Liam shook his head, pulling himself out of his thoughts when he heard her."No. The world is still too dangerous for us to have a child," he said, thinking of the dangers their future child would face if they decided to have one—his enemies, monsters he knew were still alive or had returned, likely seeking revenge the moment they had the chance. Liam couldn't bring a child into the world without a truly safe place, somewhere no one could ever hurt them.
"That's a shame… he looks so cute," Carrie said sadly. She understood the dangers of the world and what Liam meant. But in her mind, an idea began to take shape: she just needed to become stronger than any danger that might try to harm them.
Carrie clenched her fists, more determined than ever to deepen her studies of molecules, to turn the ideas forming in her mind over the past few weeks into reality—so nothing would ever prevent them from having a happy life.
Liam was about to speak to his mother when, at that moment, something changed.
🎵 clink… clink… clink… 🎵
A metallic sound. Childlike.
Carrie froze."Liam…" she whispered. "Do you hear that?"
Liam nodded seriously."Yes."
The melody seeped into the dream like a crack. A slow, twisted tune—the same one. It didn't come from any specific place; it was in the air, in the floor, inside their heads.
The lights flickered.
The house stretched, as if it were breathing.
The beautiful dream began to fade as Margaret, confused, looked around in fear. A moment later, she saw Liam and Carrie standing nearby, which caused even more confusion—though it didn't last long. Something clicked in her mind, and she realized this was a dream… and that the Liam and Carrie in front of her were real.
"No… don't do it…"A voice echoed throughout the house, indistinct, impossible to identify.
Upon hearing it, Liam understood immediately. Something was trying to prevent contact with the outside, trying to sever his connection to his mother's dream.
"Enough!" Liam shouted, taking control of the dream and forcibly expelling whatever was interfering.
"Arghhh!"
"No—"
That was the last thing they heard from the voice before the music stopped completely and the dream returned to Liam's absolute control. The air stabilized, the shadows retreated, and the house regained its normal shape, as if nothing had happened.
"Liam, Carrie, what happened? How did you enter my dream?" Margaret asked anxiously, looking around with a furrowed brow before fixing her gaze on them, clearly shaken by what she had just witnessed.
"Calm down. We came to tell you we'll be delayed by a week or more than we expected," Liam said calmly, trying not to sound alarming.
Margaret's eyes widened slightly in surprise, worry immediately surfacing on her face."Did something happen while you were traveling? Are you okay?" Her concern was clear in her voice as she took a step toward them, as if she needed to be sure they were really there.
"We're fine," Liam replied briefly, then looked at Carrie, giving her a silent signal to continue—he didn't want to face the full force of his mother's worry directly.
Carrie nodded gently and spoke with a small, reassuring smile."We're fine. We just got trapped in what seems to be another dimension or a different space that's hard to escape from. But don't worry—whatever is here can't hurt us. We just need to find the exit."
Margaret brought a hand to her chest, breathing deeply to calm herself. Even so, she nodded slowly when she saw the confidence in Carrie's expression and Liam's controlled calmness, understanding that they weren't hiding the danger—they truly believed they could handle it.
"Come back safe and sound. Be careful. I already have the house ready for the families you said you'd bring. Edward was a great help," Margaret said, still worried but trying to stay strong. With those words, she also informed him of the progress on some of the plans Liam had entrusted to her.
Liam nodded at the information, clearly satisfied with the progress."Good. I'll inform you through the same means if we run into any problems. Keep up the good work," he said approvingly. With that, Liam turned, ready to leave the dream.
Hearing that Liam was satisfied with her efforts, Margaret couldn't help but smile. It was a sincere smile, filled with hope—feeling that she was doing things right and helping her son, hoping that one day he might forgive her for her past mistakes.
Carrie noticed that expression and smiled as well, waving enthusiastically as she said goodbye."Goodbye, mother-in-law. See you in a week."
With that, she turned and followed Liam without hesitation.
The rest of the dream returned to Liam's domain, and the two of them began practicing their different abilities within it—testing limits, refining control and coordination—until the night finally passed.
…
The next day, at dawn, they woke up. They got ready for the day, and the first thing Liam did was head down to the basement to check whether the hole Tabitha had made in season one was there.
"Looks like I'll need to gather information about everything that's happened," Liam said seriously, carefully observing the place and noting how much information he was still missing.
But he didn't find what he was looking for, so he had to return to the living room, where everyone was slowly waking up, speaking quietly and organizing themselves.
After talking with them for a bit, Liam gave them free time until noon to explore the town. After that, they would meet again so he could inform them that they would choose the town when the time came to decide. In addition, Liam grouped several families into a single house to keep them from being too spread out and to ensure that, in case of any trouble, they would be within quick rescue range.
Then, guided by Jim, he and Carrie headed toward the police station to learn everything possible about what had happened over the past few months.
Along the way, they noticed the townspeople watching them with curiosity—some with distrust, others with cautious hope. It seemed many still didn't know what had happened the night before, and it was likely that within a few hours, the entire town would know.
As they arrived at the police station, Liam was surprised to see someone there who absolutely shouldn't have been in this place.
Hawkeye—or rather, Clint Barton—had ended up trapped here.