Life's a Beach

There ever has been mystery and enigma enshrouding my earliest life...

Wanda Maximoff sat in a darkened room. Light seeped in a golden ribbon between drawn curtains, but what truly permeated the shade was the television that played a news reel before her.

The anchors had no shortage of information to report on. The overall problem was that, while events worth featuring were legion, there wasn't really a great deal of information yet to ground them. Mystery may be considered ratings gold under other circumstances, but with the relative ignorance that the world at large currently harbored, a number of potential stories had to be tabled until answers came to light. More answers, at any rate. The powers that be were unraveling the bizarre state of the world as they now found it, but still had far to go.

The world as they had known it had ended. Wanda was more affected by the transformation of the earth than most. Whether that was due to her connection to Chthon, her status as a nexus being, her simply being a sorceress or some combination of those three, she did not know. Any plans that Wanda and Pietro might have had to look into their past to find answers had been postponed indefinitely. They had other problems to worry about, even if Wanda couldn't help but let her worries concerning Magneto simmer and fester in the background all the while.

The drastically altered geography of the new world brought up many questions to Wanda in particular. She didn't know if there was a Mount Wundagore in this new plane of existence, but regardless her relation to Chthon remained. The Elder God must have been sufficiently bound, though, because his influence hadn't fluctuated since the shift. That was good. Wanda may have dreamed of severing all contact with Chthon and herself, but she didn't know what such an estrangement would do to her. Then, the thought of a realm where Chthon was free to do as he pleased was inconceivable.

Were the spliced status of the earth not great enough, Wanda knew that there were people - friends and allies - disappearing. As well as others - strangers - manifesting occasionally. Slowly the Scarlet Witch was riddling out how the new order would affect her. Slowly.

Completely altered as it was, the earth and time moved on. Wanda knew that that meant that there would always be a need for the Avengers. On cue with this thought, the sound of a muted explosion met the sorceress' ears. Wanda looked slowly away from the television and toward the drawn curtains. Contemplation could wait.

Duty called.