Scarlet Wars: Episode 2 (Part 4.5: Mark’s Inner Interlude 2)

Written in collaboration with Cross C

After he had convinced the little girl that he was a legit friend, things seemed to move a little faster for Mark. He had agreed to play hide and seek with the little creature to not piss her off again (plus it would be pretty easy to find her in a featureless void) but to his surprise, a new location had manifested to let the youngling scurry in to.

It still wasn’t very big, but was certainly dripping with mystery, like the rubble he’d found the little Wanda in.

Two prison cells. Dark ochre walls of pure metal surrounding all but one plane, which instead was glass. The mood lighting depressing, the bed far too small, the environment far from sterile, yet a series of doctor’s tools lay bloodied on a single wheeled table. A horrible place to find yourself stuck inside, yet there was a singular hunched over girl inside the right cell with her face away from Mark.

“Well, I gotta hand it to you, little Wanda. You know some great places to hide.”

“Thanks!” She beamed as she poked her head out from behind the right prison cell. “You found me, Mark! Now you hide!”

Still trying to stay on her good side, Mark was being as careful as possible around the little **** machine, “In a minute. I think we need to check this place out, you can talk to the other girl if you'd like to leave me be for five seconds.”

“She’s boring. Let’s go!” The little one pulled at his wrist, trying to shift his body away from the woman inside the cage, but Mark wasn't interested. Instead, he began examining the area, unable to see any extra clues for his escape of this realm. It was only when he noticed that his ability to see was getting affected that he slumped his shoulders in defeat.

“What did you do to her?”

Oh boy, there goes the lights again. White void eaten in an instant by the darkness. The eerie lights of the less than sterile examination room now the only source of vision for miles, “Fine! I’ll go bloody hide!” Mark harumphed at the little girl, though her sudden insistence to cuddle up to him made him pause.

“Th-this isn’t me…”

Right. Nothing about this was obvious. The dark scarlet lights weren’t escaping the youngest girl, but the one slowly turning towards him from inside the prison. Her red eyed glow piercing right through Mark’s soul, “You. Need. To leave.” She hissed.

Trying to get between them, little Wanda threw herself at the raging teen, “I like him! Mark’s my friend! Let him stay, Wanda!”

Mark sighed. Seriously, this was getting annoying. Though as the magic failed to escape the glass, Mark could at least count that as his one blessing. It was a shaky miracle though, as a magical red tentacle picked up a syringe and slammed it into the cell wall, creating a shatter up the glass. Only a matter of time to either run or talk his way out of this new shitty development.

“You are just here to stop my powers developing.” The other Wanda snarled, throwing item after item against the glass, “Another one of Stark’s puppets. An enemy of my country. Here to drop another bomb on an innocent family.” She rambled, much to Mark’s confusion.

Though he was smart enough to connect some of the dots.

“Hey! I-I hate Stark too!”

“...you do?”

“Yeah! That lame goatee asswipe with his privileged as fuck upbringing and unchecked ego!” he said with gusto when realizing the effectiveness, though as he thought about it the sentiment became more real, “That prick took everything from me! If it wasn’t for him... I’d be happy under a safe roof with my family. But now? I’m in a place so far away from where I’m started, with versions of me running around that seem to know what they’re doing better than me, and barely anything to show for it. Jean is gone, Ororo is gone, and I somehow lost four moms! FOUR! The OG, Sue, and the Utopian gals. I’m actually too scared to find a new one in this universe in case something happens to her too!”

“Wow, Mark! You had four moms? You’re so lucky!” Little Wanda beamed before catching herself, “B-but… sorry you lost them…”

A tussle of her hair made him center himself a bit, “It’s okay. I guess being around a kid just makes you think about that age of your life…” He sighed, “Anyway… my point got away from me, but Stark sucks. We have that in common.”

CRASH!

With a final building block, the glass shattered away.

Mark flinched, expecting the worst, limbs of his tearing away from the strength of this new Wanda... but happy to find the girl in the loose fitting apron to just be standing there.

The magic quickly dissipated, puritanical hues returning to the void, as her arms folded under her modest chest. “...Mark, was it? We seem to have a lot in common. I’m not sure where you came from, but… if you're here to help me stop Stark, then I guess I won’t kick you out straight away. You do seem rather familiar...”

After a small beat of a scowl, the girl slowly outstretched her hand towards him to show their alliance.

“Thanks.” He smirked, giving her a hearty shake, “All I’m asking for... is a little trust. After all, we’ve known each other for ages! We tell each other everything, apart from that 'secret crush' you have for me, of course!”

Her eyes glazed over slightly, readjusting to this new narrative, “Yeah… yeah, we do… Mark? Mark!” She exclaimed before jumping into his arms, “I can't believe you're here! I thought Hydra locked me so far down that I'd never see you again! Y-you came to get powers to fight Stark too?”

“Uhh… Of course I did! Gotta be a genuine superhero with my best pal, Wanda!”