Waking up again, I found myself enveloped in darkness, like a blanket covering my entire body. When I touched it, it felt like an egg membrane, and with a little force, the shell-like covering fell apart. Looking around, I saw that I was inside what seemed to be a hollowed-out part of a tree. On the ground was a large yellow shell that looked familiar.
Emerging from the hollowed-out tree, I found myself in a forest, completely naked. Examining my body, I noticed a gem on my belly button and another, much smoother gem on my forehead. Focusing on the gem on my stomach, it began to glow, and clothes started to form around my body. They were made of light and changed shape to fit me, leaving me dressed in a white dress with layers down to my waist (similar to Rose Quartz's dress from Steven Universe).
As I turned around, I heard a commotion that sounded like a large battle. With no other direction, I decided to investigate. Running, I discovered that I could move much faster than any human should. In no time, I reached the source of the commotion and saw a blue woman, who I suspected might be Mystique, sneaking up on someone. I approached and whispered, "What are we looking at?"
She turned around in surprise, clearly not used to being sneaked up on. "How did you get here and who are you?"
"I walked here, and my name is Aria Calloway. Pleased to meet you," I replied.
Just then, I heard a man with a silver helmet yelling that he had murdered the Scarlet Witch. To my astonishment, the supposed deceased Wanda floated down from the sky. They were talking, but I was too far away to hear, so I decided to get closer.
I turned to say goodbye to the blue woman, only to find that she had vanished, probably turning invisible. As I approached Wanda and the others, I saw her kiss Vision. Deciding not to interrupt, I stood at a distance.
Vision spoke, "Wanda, I'm so relieved to see you're alive, but I admit I'm confused. I hadn't finished grieving my late wife when I had to start grieving you."
"Wife?" Wanda asked, bewildered.
Captain America interjected, "What's going on?"
"How do we know it's her? This could be a trick," Tony Stark said.
Captain America added, "She might have been held somewhere. It could have been an enchantment, a stasis spell. Wanda, is that what happened?"
"I—" Wanda began.
"That's enough questioning. You're causing her to panic," I said, stepping forward. Everyone then noticed me.
"Who are you and how did you get here without anyone noticing?" Tony asked.
"Hi, my name is Aria Calloway, and I'm very good at hide and seek," I said, walking closer to Wanda. Taking her hand, I looked into her eyes and asked, "Are you alright?"
"Yes, I'm fine, I think," Wanda responded.
Suddenly, a man in all black with white accents flew past us and began punching Magneto. After landing three hits, he said, "That was just a preview. I've been enhanced since we last fought, Magneto. Threaten my husband again and I'll show you the extent of my improvements."
The man then walked over to another waiting individual. "Wanda's reappearance doesn't change X-Factor's investigation. An attack occurred, and you're still a suspect, Magneto."
"Oh, right," Magneto replied.
The man in black turned to us and said, "Kyle wanted me to tell you that dinner will be ready soon. The Avengers are still welcome to join us."
"Dinner? At a time like this?" Captain America questioned.
"He's human," came the reply.
Everyone decided to follow him. Iron Man and a few others glanced at me and said they would talk with me later about Wanda's situation.
"That's fine with me," I said.
As I walked inside the building, I noticed a staircase in the lobby. Descending the stairs were two boys, one with black hair and the other with silver hair.
"Mom, you're okay!" The silver-haired boy rushed to Wanda and hugged her.
"Tommy, wait!" the black-haired boy called out.
"Have we met?" Wanda asked.
"That's not our mother. She's the Scarlet Witch," the black-haired boy explained.
"What do you mean?" Tony asked.
"She's not entirely herself. Like, she's from the past or something. What's the last thing you remember?" the boy continued.
"I… I don't know," Wanda admitted.
Turning to Magneto, Wanda asked, "Dad, what's going on?"
The man in black spoke to a red-haired woman, "Rachel found her last memory."
"Sure, this won't hurt, okay? I'm just going to take a peek," the red-haired woman said.
"All right," Wanda agreed.
In secret, the red-haired woman spoke to another red-haired woman in green clothes and a yellow top mask. "Mom, she remembers so little. Charles warned us that her last backup was quite outdated."
"I thought the Council voted not to resurrect her," the woman in green replied.
"Yes, that's correct. I guess we know where Magneto's Cerebro backup ended up. Can you help me fill in her missing memories?" the first woman asked.
"I can, but is that wise?" the second woman inquired.
"Maybe not, but it's the right thing to do. She doesn't even remember her sons," the first woman answered.
"Let's just play her greatest hits," she concluded.
With that, Wanda's memories were restored, but a loud noise accompanied by an earthquake occurred outside.
"Northstar, can you check what's going on?" someone asked.
The man in black, Northstar, flew out as instructed. A few minutes later, he returned and reported, "Three giant kaiju are attacking the island at different coastal locations. One of them is near us and incoming."
"Why are they attacking?" Captain America asked.
"Let's figure that out after they're dealt with," Northstar replied.
"Fair point. We should split up and neutralize the threats from each coastal location before they move inland," Captain America suggested.
"I'm relieved to hear you'll help, Krakoa," Northstar said.
"Of course. Please give Kyle my rain check on dinner," Captain America replied.
"I absolutely will. Scott—I've seen the kaiju. Each is unique. Do you trust me to divide us up based on corresponding power sets?" Northstar asked.
"Absolutely," Captain America confirmed.
"You take point on this, Northstar. I'll assemble the war captains and rally back up," Scott said.
"Understood."
"Wait… What about me?" I asked.
"Wanda, until we understand what's going on with you, it's best if you stay here," Captain America advised.
Looking at Wanda, I said, "I'm going with them to see if I can be of any help. I'll meet you after this is over. Talk to you later and be safe."
"Okay," Wanda replied, as I left her with her two sons.
We split into three groups to tackle the kaiju. I joined a group with Captain America, Vision, Wolverine, Jean Grey, and a man with many eyes whose name I didn't know. We arrived just in time for Vision to save a young green-haired boy from being crushed by a giant snake monster.
Vision focused on evacuating civilians while the rest of us prepared to fight the monster. Captain America's shield caused the beast to bleed, but it didn't inflict much damage. Jean Grey created a psychic barrier to protect us from the monster's attacks.
"How are you able to predict its next strike?" Captain America asked.
"It's not a prediction. I can see its intention," the man with many eyes explained.
"That's handy. Stay close," Captain America said.
Around the island, the monsters continued to wreak havoc, but the one near us was most concerning. I used my gem powers to create a spear and shield. The spear aimed for the monster's eyes and sliced one of them out. Using the shield, I bashed the monster, causing it to reel back. Though the monster struck me with its tail, Jean Grey used her powers to hold me up before I could be severely injured.
"Thank you," I said.
"You're welcome," Jean Grey replied.
Looking at the weapons I had just made, I was amazed at what I could do. I was happy that the knowledge of the gems and the magic from the wizard had transferred properly. The only thing that hadn't transferred was how to bend elements, which I was okay with, so I wasn't too bummed out.
After fighting the snake-like monster for a while, throwing five fireballs and magic missiles at it, I heard a loud noise like thunder. Then, the world seemed to "spin the wheel" from where Wanda was supposed to be.
After hearing that, I felt something within me—like my energy was reacting to something, spreading around and trying to find the cause of the noise. After three minutes, I sensed an energy with a chaotic nature moving erratically, up and down, left and right. It was strange and seemed to be heading towards us. There were three of them, and I thought that one might be Wanda.
An old lady in a white cloak with red clothes, reminiscent of the Scarlet Witch's attire, flew towards us and landed near me.
"It's been a while, hasn't it, Aria?" she said.
"You're Wanda, but older," I replied. "Are you from the future?"
"Yes."
"How is it?"
"It's fine, I think."
"You can't tell me much, can you?"
"No, they'd be spoilers."
"Figured. But tell me this: am I going to become your caretaker like I was supposed to be?"
"Yes, you're one hell of a caretaker. But enough chit-chat. Aim for the eyes; that's a weakness."
After saying that, the old woman flew up to the monster. Wolverine, who was on top of the monster with his claws extended, was engaged in the fight.
A few minutes later, reinforcements arrived. I saw Magik flying in with her sword and a yellow platform, and Storm was also helping us with the monsters. After five more minutes of battling, the monster began to disintegrate into flower petals, and eventually, it was gone.
Walking towards the three Wandas, the old one said, "Let's be quick before everyone starts asking questions."
The young Wanda asked, "About what?"
The three of them began speaking in hushed tones, and then they fused, leaving one Wanda who was crying. Looking at her hands, she said, "Spin the wheel," and walked towards Magneto. Wanda hugged him, and the rest of the people surrounded her.
"It was you who created those monsters to attack the island," said a blonde-haired woman.
"Yes, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to. I untethered them as soon as I could."
"It's not her fault," said one of her sons.
The blonde-haired woman said, "It's always her fault."
Everyone was surrounding Wanda, trying to protect her from the multiple mutants who were angry at her.
"Please, I can explain," Wanda pleaded.
"We're listening," said Emma Frost.
"I know who attacked me."
"Well, don't keep us in suspense, darling. Tell us who tried to kill you," said Iron Man.
"Well…"
"Nothing's going to happen to you, Wanda. We're here, and we're not going to let them hurt you again," Iron Man reassured.
"You deserve justice. You were brutally attacked by one of us," said Wolverine.
"Yes, and no matter how your magic may or may not have affected Krakoa today, we cannot let this slide," added another.
"Okay, it was you," said Wanda, pointing at Toad.
In the Council room, it seemed Toad was exiled for his crimes against Wanda. I wasn't sure what would happen next.
After the trial, everyone in the council room looked at me.
"Okay, I guess it's my time to explain myself," I said.
"Yes, it is," Magneto responded.
"Who are you?" he asked.
"My name is Aria Calloway."
"Aria Calloway? How did you get to Krakoa?"
"I'm not sure. I found myself in the forest, and I seemed to have come from a yellow shell thing."
"You were reborn, but Cerebro doesn't have you in its records, and nobody remembers reviving you or even starting the process of reviving you."
"I'm not sure what to tell you. That's what I know."
"Okay, tell us about before the revival."
"I can't tell you about that."
"Why not?"
"Because if I told you, you'd all be in danger and might go insane."
"Try us."
"No."
"Do you not trust us?"
"It's not about trust. It's about the amount of harm it would do if I told you where I was before being here."
"So what is your goal for being here?"
"It's not a goal. It's a job. I was given the job to protect Wanda Maximoff from harm."
"Who gave you the job?"
"I can't tell you that."
"Look, let's just say I can't tell you a lot of stuff and be done with that."
"Also, Wanda, can I live with you? I have nowhere to go," I said while rubbing my head.
"Sure, I guess," she said uncertainly.
"Thanks."