" Why are you in my head?"

The Scarlet Witch lets out a deep and heavy sigh.

" We want the same thing."

" And what's that?"

" The multiverse... you want to travel through it, I want to travel through it. We both want something we no longer have... We could help each other."

" What makes you think I need help?"

" Have you left this universe yet? Have you found one that has what you desire?"

" Not yet."

" Exactly. And I can help with that."

" How?"

" The Dark Hold."

At her words, Lauren pauses. Never has she mentioned the book of the damned to anyone else, but when she looked through Stephen's mind and saw the book... she saw Wanda as well.

" You have it?"

" Yes... It has shown me things I never thought were possible... It's shown me my boys... and it can show you Steve."

" And what would you like in return?"

" I need your help finding the means to travel the multiverse."

" How do we do that?"

" A girl... who goes by the name of America Chavez."

" Consider it done."

Lauren opens her eyes and flushes the witch out of her mind with ease. She walks herself out of her hall of mirrors. She walks through her underground hide out, but senses she's not alone.

She stops in the middle of the dark hall, eyes and ears scanning over every possible location of an intruder. She doesn't even use her powers, she doesn't need to. Her history and training makes her deadly, all without magic.

Her feet continue to take her forward in complete silence as she hones in on whoever is invading her space. She knows there's somebody out there, but doesn't know who.

Her eyes fall down to the floor and find a rock roughly the size of her palm, so she grabs it and throws it in front of her, only it doesn't clash with skin, but with metal. It pings against a metal hand as it's grabbed with ease, telling her exactly who the intruder is.

Bucky walks out from the shadows, his face dimly lit by the light sneaking in from the small cracks above, casting him in a cool light. He makes eye contact with the woman in front of him, and is met with eyes that don't resemble hers. It's not Lauren he sees. It's Mage.

" I don't remember inviting you in," She utters, voice void of any emotions.

" Yeah, well, I couldn't find the doorbell," Bucky quips.

Silence fills the air for a few moments.

" How did you find me?"

" Do you really doubt that I could?"

Silence resumes once more, but soon enough, he takes a step closer to the grieving woman.

" Lauren... whatever it is that you're doing," Bucky starts, " It needs to stop."

" I have no idea what you're talking about," Lauren states, " Now, if you'll excuse me."

Lauren leaves her spot and begins to walk, attempting to walk past him, but he grabs her arm with his metal one, preventing her from going any further. At a slow and eerie pace, Lauren turns her head in order for her eyes to bore into his. Bucky would be lying if he said she wasn't absolutely terrifying, but nontheless, he stands his ground.

Without speaking, Lauren uses her other hand to slowly peel back his arm, the grinding sound of metal only spurring her on. She takes not three steps before Bucky grabs her once more.

This time, she's ready for it.

His hand reaches out to grab her, so she grabs it, twists it and shoves him face first against the nearest wall, all with one hand. She presses him into the rough and jagged rock wall. He feels the edges digging into his skin as he lets out a low grunt.

" You can't win, Buck."

And he takes this as a challenge. He shoves his leg behind him, hitting her in the stomach, and while not causing her to pull away, makes her grip on him loosen enough for him to turn around. He uses her arm to flip her around so she lands on her back with an awfully loud thud. She then thrusts her legs upwards, wrapping her thighs around his head and shoves him up and over her head. As Bucky lands on his back, Lauren stands up in an attempt to run, but her leg gets grabbed and soon enough she's on the ground once more. Bucky gets on top of her, grabbing her arms and pinning them on either side of her head.

" Stop fighting me."

" You started it."

Lauren shoves her knee upwards, coming into contact with his sensitive bits in between his legs. The wind leaves his lungs as his eyes bulge in pain, and he's subdued for long enough for her to slide out from his grasp. She stands up in front of the man on his knees and lands a punch to his jaw. He falls back, but gets picked up by his shirt and receives another punch. And another punch. And another punch.

By now, his nose is bloody, his face is red and bruised, his teeth are stained. She picks him up to land yet another punch, but this time, he speaks up.

" He wouldn't want this!"

With his words, she pauses. She still holds her first up in the air, but she doesn't bring it down to his face.

" You don't know that."

Bucky looks up at her with pleading eyes, hoping seeing his face all bloody in combination with his words will spark something inside her.

" You need to let go... Lauren, please... Let go... Move on."

Her grip never falters. It stays strong. She never releases his shirt from her grasp nor her fist from the air.

" He's out there... and I'm going to find him," Lauren whispers, the lower half of her face, her mouth, looking like a void, no emotions, no struggle, but the upper half of her face, her eyes, give it all away as they gloss over with tears, showing her fold, her anger, her pain, her grief, " I have to."

" Lauren... he's dead. Steve is gone."

With that, her jaw trembles. He's struck a nerve. Her mouth twitches, rapidly switching from a smile to a frown as she bends down for her lips to be next to his ear as she whispers once more.

" Only in this universe."

She pulls away and before he can utter another word, her fist makes contact with the side of his face, the hardest blow yet. Bucky falls down to the ground, eyes closed and unconscious. Her chest heaves up and down as she gazes down upon him, internally rationalizing her choice as her eyes blink the tears away.

With one prolonged, immeasurable breath, Lauren closes her eyes. She opens them, and the tears are all gone, no longer in existence. She turns away from Bucky's body to leave her lair, her long, black leather coat forming on her body as she does.

She exits the lair that rests tucked within a bewildering forest and flies up into the air. She leaves it behind, for it no longer serves her. Instead, she opts for a mountain. A tall, rugged mountain top for her to land. Her eyes glow gold as her palms face the sky, conjuring a dwelling made of stone to form around her. She conjures torches along the wall, and one by one a flame ignites and brings light to her inky surroundings. And once more, on the wall, she conjures a mirror. Her famed mirror, and as she steps closer to it, she her eyes seep into her own reflection.

" Mirror mirror on the wall, show me the girl of which the multiverse she can crawl."

Black smoke blows through the mirror and swirls around inside the glass as an image begins to form. An image of the girl who can create star portals. An image of the girl with a jean jacket and pride pin. An image of a girl who appears to be with an alternate version of Doctor Strange. Lauren tilts her head as she watches the pair interact with one another, but her eyes glow their signature gold as she taps into the head of the red headed witch.

She hears Wanda chuckle from within her mind as she sees the same images from the mirror.

The two witches share a telepathic link. It allows their communication to go undisturbed and smoothly. While they both share the power of the Mind Stone, they each possess a power the other does not. For Lauren, it's the power of the rest of the stones, but for Wanda, it's the book of the damned. It's chaos magic.

It's Mage and the Scarlet Witch working together... for now.

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[ the ending of this book is gonna be sad asf, just letting y'all know now ]