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MISADVENTURES IN PARADISE
vi. A VERY SPECIAL GUEST

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   FIRST, THERE WAS DARKNESS. It swallowed the world, stubborn, relentless, domineering. She couldn't move nor speak, not unless it wanted her to. It took her thoughts and shoved them so far deep into her subconscious that they didn't exist. It stole her nightmares and hid them in the clouds among the heavens. For the first time in Riley's life, the darkness was soothing.

   Then gravity struck, and rain fell from the clouds. And with the rain came a new set of pain. Hopelessness. Loneliness. Grief.

   She tried to scream, but the pain drowned her. And the darkness, the very darkness that once stole her nightmares, didn't bother trying to remove these newfound feelings of pain. Because this pain didn't belong to her. This pain belonged to someone else — Wanda Maximoff.

   That was the magical part about Westview. It took your pain away and subjected you to a normal life, one filled with color, joy, and prosperity. No longer was Riley haunted by the agony and despair her true life gave her. She could have a simple life in a town she could never leave. But this life came at a price. As it erased Riley's pain, Wanda's pain was forced onto her and all the other citizens of Westview.

   Of course, no one acted like it — probably because they couldn't.

   The pain they felt in their original lives wasn't all that was stolen. Their identities were taken. They were given new names and roles in the strange town of Westview, characters in a sitcom that was never supposed to exist. Riley was no longer Riley Stark, the Valiant Valor. She was—

   "VIOLET, I SWEAR TO GOD, I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"

   Deep in the heart of Westview, a girl sat on a bench in the park. Her legs were propped up as she flipped through a magazine with one hand and held a cigarette in the other. Dryly, Violet greeted, "Hello, Jameson."

   In another life, the boy furiously marching toward her was known as Roman. Here in Westview, however, he went by James.

   "Don't you hello me, you two-timing cheater!" he shouted.

   "Well, how else would you like me to greet you? Spanish? French? Russian? Portuguese? Take your pick," Violet lazily offered. James glared daggers into her head before tearing the magazine from her grasp. "Wha—Hey! Alright, alright, you have my attention! What do you want?"

   He rolled up the magazine and whacked her with it. "I want you to rot, you backstabber!"

   "Will you just tell me what's got your panties all twisted so I can go back to reading?" she groaned.

   "This isn't reading," James scoffed, waving her magazine in the air. "This is looking at pictures of pretty people!"

   Irritated, Violet rose to her feet and retorted, "I'm not going to sit here and trade insults with you like we're twelve again because first of all, we're not twelve, and second of all, I would win. Now, hurry up and say what's wrong before I start screaming that you're trying to rob me."

   "Oh, very mature, Vi."

   "Fine. I warned you," she said before deeply inhaling and shouting, "HELP! HE'S TRYING TO ROB ME! STOP! THIEF—!" James smacked her with the magazine again. "Um, ow! Didn't anyone ever teach you manners?"

   "Oh, that's rich coming from you," he sneered. "I'm mad at you because Mrs. Turner told me that I'm no longer projected to be valedictorian when we graduate. Instead, it's supposed to be you."

   "So?"

   "So, you know that being valedictorian is my dream!" he whined. "I thought you didn't care about school! You don't even show up half the time! And when you do, you throw pencils at my head and smoke out the bathrooms! You haven't cared about school since we turned 14 and you started stealing from the gas station for fun! You haven't cared about school in years, yet you're always one step ahead of me! It's so infuriating!"

   "Hey, I care about school!" Violet defended before giggling. "No, even I can't lie about that."

   "Well, clearly you do because you're supposed to be valedictorian when we graduate next year, not me," James grumbled. "I don't know how this happened."

   "I do! You stopped studying and started spending all your precious time drooling over Mrs. Maximoff," Violet snickered. "You know she's out of your league, right? Like, way out of your league."

   "I don't drool over Mrs. Maximoff—"

   "You can't fool me, dude. Even I think she's hot," she interrupted. "I don't know why you're making this such a big deal. You're acting like we graduate next week! Look, if this valedictorian crap really means that much to you, I'll try less at school."

   "No, no, no. At this rate, if you try any less, you'll become the president by Thanksgiving!" James cried. "You need to try more, not less! If you try harder to be bad at school, maybe we'll get somewhere!"

   Violet sighed. "Fine. I'll try to be even more amazing and awesome than I already am."

   "You're the best!" he chanted, grabbing onto her and forcing her into a tight hug. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! I won't forget this!"

   "Yeah, yeah, get off of me, you idiot," Violet grumbled. "I can't have people see that I'm capable of hugging you. It's weird."

   James scrambled off of her, grinning widely. He rattled off something about going to the library to study for an upcoming exam before rushing off.

   "What a weirdo." Violet watched his figure disappear into the horizon and took a long drag from her cigarette. "And that jerk took my magazine."

   "Boys! How many times do I have to tell you to look both ways before crossing the street!"

   Jogging toward the park was Wanda Maximoff and her twin sons, Billy and Tommy. The boys eagerly sprinted ahead of their mother, heading straight for the playground. Violet watched in amusement as Wanda slowed down to catch her breath.

   "Ah, gotta love motherhood," Violet mused. Wanda's head snapped toward her, surprise pooling in her green eyes. "You alright, Mrs. Maximoff?"

   Wanda hesitated before offering a smile. "I... Yes! Yes, I am. I'm sorry, I don't believe we've met," she lied. Of course, Violet didn't know that.

   "Nah, but I know who you are. James talks about you all the time. Name's Violet."

   "Oh, I've heard of you! James mentions you a lot. You two must be good friends," Wanda chirped.

   "Eh, something like that," Violet mumbled, cigarette returning to her mouth. She noticed how Wanda couldn't stop staring at her. "Uh, is there something I can do for you, Mrs. Maximoff?"

   "Sorry, I didn't realize I was staring," she apologized. "It's just nice to finally... see you around here. And please, call me Wanda."

   Before Violet could reply, they were interrupted by Billy and Tommy shouting at each other.

   "It's not fair! You already went on the monkey bars twice! It's my turn!" Billy yelled.

   "Well, maybe you should be faster!" Tommy fired back.

   Violet never really liked kids. They annoyed her by doing anything, including breathing. But something in her clicked at that moment. When Wanda went to step in, Violet said, "I got this."

   She walked over to the twins as they continued to loudly fight. Luckily, there didn't seem to be any other children in the park. Honestly, there were never any children at the park. That was why Violet liked to smoke there. It was peaceful... usually.

   "Alright, alright!" Violet shouted. "What's with all the yelling? You sound like my parents!"

   Although the twins didn't know Violet, they immediately pointed fingers at each other and started shouting over one another again.

   "Uh-huh, okay. Here's the thing," Violet said, crouching down to their level. She held her cigarette between her fingers, waving it around as she spoke. "You guys are twins, yeah? Don't you guys have some sort of weird twin system? Twin rules? What does it say in the Munchkin Constitution about this stuff?"

   Tommy tilted his head to the side. "We don't have any rules. We just do what we think is fun!"

   "Maybe we should have rules!" Billy exclaimed. "It's not fair that you always do whatever you want! You never care about my feelings!"

   "Well, I'm the cool twin! That's my job!"

   "Right on!" Violet praised. When Billy shot her a look, she faltered. "I mean, no. No. Bad. You can be cool and respect your brother's feelings at the same time. Look, you made the kid all sad."

   "I didn't mean to!" Tommy defended. "He's just too slow!"

   "Where's the race, tough guy? You two are the only munchkins at the park," Violet pointed out. "How would you feel if it was the other way around? You'd be bummed if you couldn't play on the monkey bars, too."

   Tommy deflated a bit. "I guess you're right..."

   "That's my secret, kid. I'm always right," Violet said. She turned to Billy. "And you. Good job for sticking up for yourself. It's not always easy, especially when it's your brother, but you should always stand up for yourself, no matter who it is or how scary it might feel. Capiche?"

   There was a moment of silence as the twins absorbed what she was saying. Then, Tommy turned to his brothers and apologized, "I'm sorry, Billy. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings."

   "It's okay, Tommy," Billy smiled.

   "Aw, look at that. That was adorable," Violet butted in. "I'm Violet, by the way. I don't normally like munchkins that much, but you two seem alright. If you need help next time, I'm usually hanging around here. Don't be shy."

   Billy and Tommy thanked her and said their goodbyes before going back to playing as they did before. Violet stood upright, somewhat proud of herself, as Wanda joined her side.

   "Wow, Violet, that was impressive," Wanda praised. "The boys usually get along, but when they fight... Well, let's just say it takes a lot more than a pep-talk to get them to stop fighting."

   Violet shrugged. "It's no problem. I'm used to talking down drama queens. And by drama queens, I really just mean James."

   "It's just been a tough day for them," Wanda explained. "My boys got their first dog today, Sparky. And... he just died a few hours ago. I brought them here to try and cheer them up. Honestly, I wasn't expecting to see them smile for the rest of the day at the very least."

   "He died the same day you got him?" Violet whistled. "That's some serious bad luck. Sorry to hear that."

   "Thank you," Wanda replied. "Uh, actually, I was wondering... There is something you can do for me. It's a little sudden, but I was wondering if you offer any babysitting services?"

   If Violet was holding a drink, she would've spat it out.

   But she wasn't, so she asked, "Huh? Me? Why don't you ask James? He's Westview's Golden Boy. And I'm not exactly the kind of influence you want around your kids. I'm sure you've heard what the people around here say about me. If you wanna keep up your goody-two-shoes reputation, you shouldn't start associating yourself with me."

   "I've heard... rumors about you. I won't lie to you about that," Wanda revealed. "But I believe in second chances. I've been fortunate to have gotten a few in my life. I once knew a girl who hated me and my brother, but then she ended up saving his life and became someone I consider close to me. She gave us a second chance, and because of it, I have the family of my dreams. My boys are growing up fast, and I'm sure you know that it's not always easy. I could use some extra help every now and then. I like James, but he doesn't need this job."

   "And you think hiring me as a babysitter is gonna solve all my problems?" Violet scoffed.

   "I don't. But I do think you could use something in your life that's worth caring about. Clearly, you're pretty good with kids. This could be good for you," Wanda said. "Don't you think it'd feel good to show all those people in this town who don't like you that you're capable of doing something worthwhile?"

   "Sorry, Wanda, but I don't think that's possible."

   "Well, I think it is," Wanda ricocheted. "Do you trust me?"

   "Look, lady, I just met you—"

   "Doesn't matter. Do you trust me?"

   After weighing the options in her head, Riley ultimately shrugged. "Alright. As long as I'm getting paid."

   Wanda smiled.

   Things were finally going back to normal again.

○ ○ ○

   Things were definitely not normal, and Violet knew that.

   Deep down, something was off about Westview and Wanda Maximoff.

   It was a weak thought, one she couldn't even really reach, but she knew it was there. An insatiable itch. A voice was shouting in the back of her head that begged to be heard, and it belonged to Riley Stark.

   Riley didn't know how she ended up here. She remembered entering the Hex, which might've been a stupid idea, in hindsight. She remembered feeling okay for a second, and then, pain. Just endless pain. She heard Wanda in her head, just like Monica described before, telling Riley all would be okay, that her pain would disappear, and she was right. But she never said Wanda's pain would replace those dark thoughts she originally had before entering Westview.

   Riley didn't have control of herself. She was a puppet on strings, getting dragged around for her next performance. Her character was Violet — a stereotypical, rebellious teenager without any cares in the world. She was a little rough around the edges, but for the most part, she was happy. No one ever expected anything from her. No one was breathing down her neck. She could do what she wanted, be whoever she wanted to be. She was everything Riley secretly wanted to be in her real life. Wanda gave her that.

   Was that what Wanda meant when she asked that? Do you trust me? Do you trust me to take away your pain? Do you trust me to give you the life you want? Do you trust me to make you happy?

   But this wasn't what Riley wanted. Not really. All she wanted was to bring Wanda back to reality. Sure, things sucked, but they could endure it together.

   Whenever Riley spoke to Roman, she hoped he could see through her. She didn't know how, but she hoped for it. Every time their eyes met, every time they spoke to each other, every time they walked side by side, she waited for him to break free from his spell and save her. But nothing changed.

   Riley wondered if Wanda could hear her begging to be set free. Did she hear Riley in the back of her mind? Or was she ignoring her?

   At least the twins were sweet. They were funny, lively, and admittedly didn't take well to having a babysitter at first until they realized their new babysitter was the cool girl from the park.

   When she "met" Vision, Riley hoped he could see through her performance, but she was pretty sure he didn't. He only shook her hand, completely unaware of the fact that he wouldn't even exist without her. He didn't even say a word, not even a, "Hello, nice to meet you." It was all very strange to the girl who had lost hours of sleep just to have philosophical debates with him as a kid.

   It was a few hours after Wanda hired Violet. The sun was setting, and Vision had just finished burying Sparky in the backyard. Violet was upstairs getting the boys ready for bed. In the kitchen, however, Vision was talking with Wanda. He wasn't happy.

   "Is there a reason why you decided to hire that girl without talking to me first?" asked Vision, his back facing Wanda as he washed his hands. "You let a complete stranger into our house near our children, Wanda."

   Wanda waved her hand. "She's not a complete stranger. She's friends with James!"

   "You know what the townspeople say about her. She's a delinquent. She isn't a good influence to have around our boys," Vision insisted. "The Neighborhood Watch said they've been dealing with her and her antics for years!"

   "Give her a chance, Vis. You and I aren't exactly what meets the eye either," Wanda insisted. "I wanna help her. She could use our guidance. She's a good person, I know it. I'm sure you'll come around to her soon enough."

   Vision became more and more frustrated. "I haven't even seen her before today. It's almost like she didn't exist before this afternoon. I feel like we might have met before, but I'm not sure how that could be possible," he confessed. "Her entire existence just... seems strange."

   "There are a lot of people in Westview, hon. I doubt you've met everyone here. It's not like she appeared out of thin air," Wanda assured. "Be glad that we have her company. She's already helping the boys feel better after everything they've dealt with today."

   Vision sighed, but he still wasn't convinced. Something was still troubling him.

   "I spoke with Norm today," he revealed.

   Wanda didn't seem to understand. As she picked up some of the boys' toys, she replied, "Oh?"

   "I unearthed the man's suppressed personality, and I spoke to him free of your oversight," he went on. "He was in pain, Wanda."

   "Vision..." Wanda chuckled. "Listen, can we just—"

   "What? Watch TV? Turn in for the night so you can change everything over again?" he demanded. "No, Wanda. You can't control me the way you do them."

   Wanda tilted her head to the side. "Can't I?" she quietly asked. She turned around and began to walk away. "I'm going to bed!"

   "No! We're not done here! What is the Maximoff Anomaly?"

   "The what?"

   "I have to believe that this, whatever this is, was subconscious at first, and that you only recently became aware of it," Vision went on.

   "Aware of what?" Wanda demanded.

   "Norm has a family, Wanda! He has a family, and he can't reach them because you won't let him reach them!"

   "I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT!"

   "STOP LYING TO ME!"

   Meanwhile, upstairs, Violet cringed at the sound of the Maximoffs fighting.

   Deep down, Riley tried to eavesdrop, but she just couldn't control her body. She could tell Vision was upset with Wanda, but why?

   "Are Mom and Dad fighting?" Billy timidly asked. He sat up in his bed, eyeing the door.

   "Nah, they're just... talking really loudly," Violet assured as she tugged the covers over Tommy's legs.

   "Why would they do that?" Tommy wondered.

   "Why wouldn't they?" Riley shrugged. "I'm sure it's nothing. Don't worry. My parents yell at each other all the time, and I'm pretty sure they still love each other."

   The boys exchanged confused glances before Billy admitted, "I'll never understand grown-ups."

   "Yeah, you can say that again," agreed Tommy.

   Violet chuckled. "Adults are weirdos. Trust me, being young is fun. Now, are you munchkins ready to go to sleep?"

   Tommy nodded, but Billy asked, "Can I ask you a question, Violet?"

   "You just did," Violet taunted. "What's up?"

   "Are we... friends?" Billy meekly wondered. "Um, are... are you our friend?"

   Violet raised her eyebrows. She walked over to his bedside and crouched to meet his gaze. "Do you... want to be friends?" she gently asked. He was hesitant, but then he nodded. "Well, there you go. We're friends. It's that easy."

   Billy smiled, and from his bed, Tommy did, too. Their first friend.

   "Does that mean we have to be friends with James, too?" Tommy groaned. "That guy's a total nerd."

   "Sorry, bud, we're a package deal. He's not that bad though. Trust me. He just has a weird crush on your mom," Violet said, to which the boys grimaced. When the doorbell rang, she stood with a sigh. "I should probably get that, especially if your parents are still fighting."

   "Hey, I thought you said they weren't fighting!" exclaimed Tommy.

   "I was playing Double Agent! Sue me!" Violet remarked. She turned off the lights and called, "Sweet dreams, munchkins!"

   The boys chorused back with a goodnight of their own, and she headed down the stairs. Wanda and Vision had been fighting for a while, and it only made her more nervous to walk in there and pretend she hadn't heard any of it. But there was no way around it, so she hopped down the steps and prepared to embrace the awkwardness.

   But they were already at the door when Violet arrived. It was wide open. Wanda and Vision were completely frozen.

   "Uh, the boys are asleep," Violet announced. "Who's at the door?"

   "Wanda... who is this?" Vision slowly asked.

   The man at the doorstep wore a friendly smile. His hair was a bright shade of platinum, which felt familiar to Violet for reasons she wasn't sure of. She felt like maybe she'd seen him before, but she didn't know how that was possible. Wanda was staring at him in awe.

   Finally, the man greeted, "Long lost bro get to squeeze his stinkin' sister or what?"

   "Pietro?" Wanda whispered, whimpering quietly as he hugged her. Tears glossed over her eyes.

   Pietro Maximoff strolled into the house, eyes darting around curiously before landing on Vision. He paused. "Who's the popsicle?" he asked.

   "Awkward family reunion time," muttered Violet. "Well, I better head out—"

   "No! No!" Wanda exclaimed, nervously chuckling. "Uh, Vi, do you mind giving Vis some company while I... while I... um..." She pointed to Pietro.

   "Don't worry, take your time," Pietro mocked.

   Ignoring him, Violet asked, "Er, are you sure?"

   "Yes, are you sure?" Vision chimed.

   Wanda's smile was wide, but it looked uncomfortable. "Of course! I'll... I'll be... We'll be... over here!" She grabbed Pietro and showed him to the kitchen, leaving Vision and Violet to each other's company.

   It was quiet. Not quiet enough to eavesdrop, but quiet enough to where Violet could hear the gears turning in Vision's head. Metaphorically, obviously.

   Studying him, Violet noted, "Huh, you look super confused right now!" Vision shot her a puzzled glance. "Well, James is convinced you're a robot for some reason. He said you never show emotions that aren't just pure joy. His words, not mine!"

   "A robot? Don't be ridiculous," Vision awkwardly chuckled. "No robots live around here, I'm afraid."

   "Riiight, well, I'm... gonna head out, I guess," Violet said.

   "Wait, wait," Vision called. "You didn't... hear my wife and I upstairs, did you?"

   "You're asking if I heard you and Wanda yelling at the top of your lungs in this tiny house? No, no, I didn't hear a thing!"

   Vision sighed. "I'm sorry. I would never wish for a guest to feel unwelcome in my home."

   "I didn't feel unwelcomed. Maybe a little judged though," she said.

   "I'm sorry, again. Things have been rather confusing these days. I'm worried I've lost my senses between the boys turning five and ten today," Vision admitted.

   "Parenthood's tough. I mean, I wouldn't know, but I would assume," Violet assured. "A little word of advice? Don't teach your children hatred and fear before they can know love and acceptance. There's enough darkness in the world, and kids are the only light we have left these days. I know I'm not the person you'd want around here. Believe me, I'm not sure why I'm here either. But Wanda seems to trust me, and that's more than I can say about most of the people in this town."

   Vision frowned. He couldn't put his finger on it, but their situation seemed so comfortingly familiar. It wasn't the words being spoken; it was the fact that they were standing there and chatting in the first place. Déjà vu.

   "Very well spoken, Violet," Vision complimented. "I'm still unsure why my wife was so adamant about introducing you to our family, but... I trust her. And if she trusts you, I'm willing to, too."

   Violet smiled. "You know what, old man? I have a feeling we're gonna get along just fine."

   The two stood there, not knowing that in another life, they'd been close friends. Friends who fought together and had all kinds of interesting debates because Riley was a brilliant overthinker and Vision could deduce a counterargument to any statement. Friends to strangers. How terribly strange...

   "I think so, too," Vision agreed. "Violet, I have a question for you. Do you play chess?"

   "I'm sorry, I don't play chess," Violet revealed. "I own chess. That's my game, Vision."

   Vision motioned to the small chess set in the living room. "Would you like to play a round while my wife talks to her long-lost-brother who I knew nothing about?" he offered.

   "Man, you guys have such an interesting family," Violet commented, mostly to herself. "Yeah, alright. Why not? But I have to warn you: you're going down."

   Vision chuckled. "You're on."

   But maybe that was the sweet part about all of this. No matter the circumstances, brainwashed or not, the people we love will always find their way back to us, and their love will live on forever. Despite not remembering each other, despite everything, Vision and Riley found each other and remembered the little things they always did together, like exchanging meaningful advice and playing chess.

   For Riley, she would always cherish these little moments with the members of her village, even when they were inevitably taken from her.

   Always.