Abandoned underground S.H.I.E.L.D. base

Vision, Pietro and Erik finally arrived at the underground S.H.I.E.L.D Base along with the former agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, Leopold Fitz and Gemma Simmons. This base was used by a group of remaining S.H.I.E.L.D Agents for a few years, lead by Phil Coulson, after S.H.I.E.L.D had been publicly declared destroyed.

Upon arriving, Fitz and Simmons looked around with nostalgia in their hearts.

Simmons: Fitz? You okay?

Fitz: Its nothing it's just... This brings back many memories.

Simmons: Hard to believe how long it's been.

Erik noticed the dust on the equipment.

Magneto: When was the last time you were here?

Fitz: Around 2018 I believe.

Simmons: Yeah... Then the blip happened and we all sorta... Gradually went our separate ways during those 5 years. (The blip = Thanos snap)

Magneto: Are you sure this will work?

Fitz: I'm hopeful.

They turned the main power on and the entire base jumped back alive as the lights turned on and the computers booted up. Fitz inserted a usb into the main computer.

Vision: What's that for?

Fitz: I made a copy of the footage before we went away. The computer can scan the message that was given, to see if it has any meaning or point of origin. It could also try to bypass whatever blocked the footage past 8:30 that day. And potentially unlock the lost 29 minutes just before the... murdering occured.

Vision: What about the equation?

Simmons: If we know what patterns to look for, we can figure it out ourselves.

Pietro: So we will be able to see if Wanda was really about to leave before the shift happened?

Vision: Or see if she perhaps returned at 12 and reacted to the bodies on the floor.

Fitz: If it happened the way she described, yes.

After a few minutes, the computer revealed something about the patterns.

Fitz: It says here, that this equation is an original riddle, but the patterns link it to what has been dubbed "secret language". It means that each symbol that may seem like gibberish, actually has a numerical and/or alphabetical value. Almost like Gematria. If we can find the values of each of these letters, numbers and symbols, we can find out what it says.

Simmons: Gematria!? I know Gematria!

Fitz: Yes but this is slightly different. And it doesn't contain Gematria at all. Just similar patterns.

Magneto: Can you do it?

Simmons: How hard can it be?

Pietro was moving up and down frantically, while Simmons and Vision tried to decipher the secret language. Erik stood over the computer while Fitz tried to unlock the hidden footage.

Pietro: How much longer?

Magneto: They barely started. Have patience, son.

Fitz: I found something!

Vision: What is it?

Fitz: There's a password linked to the scrambled footage.

Magneto: Perhaps it's something we already have?

Simmons handed them the paper where she wrote down the messages.

*Glitched cctv message:
$!%!&%#&#£
- DnEbOrMtUS

*wall equation:
73810/25946 = A
( / + / ) - / = %

MEtDS%nOUbr = B
( % + % ) - % = x

÷$¥!&x#@×?£ = C

B = A = _

Simmons: Try typing in $!%!&%#&#£

Fitz did as she instructed, but it turned out incorrect.

Fitz: Nothing.

Simmons: How about DnEbOrMtUS

Fitz: Still nothing.

After a few minutes passed, they were still unable to figure it out.

Vision: If these are cryptic words. They have to be deciphered before we can continue.

Simmons: But these things are random! How can we know which part is the hint and which part is the answer? So far all I've managed to figure out is that A=B=C. I know they must connect to each other, but it's not possible to know which one contains the values that hints towards the answer.

Magneto: It has to be the first message we received. Let's start there.

Vision: If the answer lies in either DnEbOrMtUS or $!%!&%#&#£ or both... (he points his finger to the paper). That means the hint has to be a numerical value. Since the only place we saw numbers, was on the equation I found on the wall. The numbers has to be the key here.

Simmons: That's right!

She looked at the paper that showed the wall equation again.

*wall equation:
73810/25946 = A
( / + / ) - / = %

MEtDS%nOUbr = B
( % + % ) - % = x

÷$¥!&x#@×?£ = C

B = A = C

Simmons: That means we must use A to determine the values of B and then we can determine C.

After few more minutes, they were on the brink of giving up. As a last resort, Vision used his scanners in his eyes to look around the room.

Magneto: What are you doing?

Vision: As troublesome as it may seem if true, there might be a chance that whoever is behind this, knew we would come here...

Pietro: (sarcastically) That's not creepy at all.

Simmons: So, you think Wanda might have left clues here as well?

Vision: Not Wanda. Something else. I'm now seeing the same energy signatures scattered around this place. The same signature that was last found in the children's room. That entity was in here as well.

Pietro felt a chill run down his spine. Vision switched to his infra-red scanners to look for hidden messages.

Vision: Unbelievable.

Fitz: You gotta be kiddin me... You actually found something!? In here!?

Vision: It's on the floor. Right where Doctor Simmons is standing. If you could kindly move to the side.

She moved to the side and grabbed a pen and paper.

Simmons: Okay this is creeping me out now. How could it possibly have known we'd be here.

Pietro: Why leave the messages here in the first place?

Fitz: Maybe it wants to scare us. Let us know he's watching? I don't know.

Pietro: Why even make it cryptic!?

Vision: Maybe it doesn't want the rest of the world to find out, but somehow knew we'd uncover it.

Fitz: But why?

Magneto: This thing has no idea who he's messing with. Wait till I get my hands on him. Or it...

Simmons: What do the clues say?

Vision looked at the clues on the floor with his infra-red vision.

Vision: DD, nn, EEE, b, O, rr, M, t, U, S

Simmons wrote it down on the piece of paper.

Simmons: (sighs) I don't get it. What does this help with anything!?

Fitz: Wait... look... on your previous notes. DnEbOrMtUS... so far we assume this is a name or an alias. This new clue is saying that some letters in this name are used more than once. Hold on.

He rushed to the computer and typed "DDnnEEEbOrrMtUS"

Fitz: The computer could scramble the letters and give us a few words or phrases that it might spell out.

The computer gave multiple possible words.

"1. ROUnD bED StUrDEM"
"2. MOnStEr UnDEr bED"
"3. bOUnD tErSE MODErn"
"4. MOUntED rED bUrSts"
"5. bUrnED StOrMS OUt"

Simmons: I don't get it... Most of these phrases aren't completely accurate. And most are gibberish. Each phrase has to contain 15 characters..

Something caught Vision's eye immediately.

Vision: No... It can't be...

Magneto: What?

Vision instantly knew what was happening.

Vision: It's true... it's all true.

Pietro: What is?

Vision: There... one of the possible phrases...

He pointed towards "MOnStEr UnDEr bED"

Vision: Monster under bed... that's it.

Fitz: Why exactly would you think that?

Vision: Wanda was right... It's watching us...

Magneto: What are you talking about?

Vision: Back at the wedding... When I spoke to her outside after she collapsed during our dance, she talked about her chronic panic attacks and nightmares, most of them linked to some Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, but it got worse and worse over time. She said there was always one constant thing she kept seeing in these visions, which caused her indescribable fear.

Magneto: That's why she collapsed on the shower floor before the wedding...

Pietro: What did she see?

Vision: She couldn't describe it. She claimed it was like a dark, faceless entity that kept plaguing her. She was so afraid to tell me, that she looked around in fear while almost whispering her confession to me.

Fitz: So why do you think the answer is "monster under bed"?

Vision: I asked her...

Flashback

(From Chapter 6: Wedding Blues)

Vision: Is it the kind of fear a person gets when a spider crawls on them? Or is it the kind of fear a 5 year old child would have for the monster under their bed after they've watched a horror movie?

Wanda: Monster... Monster under the bed. Monster under the bed, definitely.

Vision: What do you think it means? Why do you keep seeing this "monster under the bed".

Wanda: I don't know...

Thinking about the thought triggered a cold chill running through her body.

Vision: Something tells me you do.

Wanda: Stop... S-stop...

Vision: Just tell me what you think is going on?

Wanda: I think...

She took a deep breath.

Wanda: I think...

Vision: Take your time. It's alright.

Wanda: I t-th... Think... someone or... Something...

...

Wanda: Is messing with my head. I felt it on the bridge too. That feeling.

Vision: Was that before or after the cop cars exploded?

Wanda: Before... I keep getting this excruciating fear... then I sense a prescence. Like a monster...

She took small breaths in angst and whispered because of an irrational fear that it might hear her.

Wanda: I feel it's prescence... Everywhere I g-go.

Her voice trembled as she tried to muster up the courage to go on. She looked around before continuing.

Wanda: As if it's...

...

Wanda: As if it's...

...

Wanda: Watching me.

Flashback ends.

Simmons: Okay this... this is turning into the beginning of a horror movie. Have you seen horror movies? I think we should stop now.

Magneto: My daughter and my grandchildren are being haunted by this thing... I don't care who or what it is... I will save my family.

Pietro: You know what this means, right? Whatever this thing is... Is the reason my sister is in the raft, and he has my nephews! We have to find it... now!

Simmons: Yeah well, we won't get far if we still don't know all the details. Like what $!%!&%#&#£ means.

Fitz: We have enough clues to decipher it. We should get to work.

Vision: We should see if the words unlock the lost footage first.

Fitz: Right. One thing at a time.

Fitz typed "MOnStEr UnDEr bED" into the computer, and immediately unlocked the lost 29 minutes and the hours after 8:30.

Magneto: I can't believe it! It... worked!

Pietro: We have the lost footage!?

Fitz scrolled to a minute before the glitch happened.

Fitz: Moment of truth...

The footage showed Wanda being chased by the S.W.O.R.D agents. Wanda was using non-lethal force.

Magneto: Okay, so this was just before the glitch happened, and then we saw her killing all these people. What was Wanda's version of the story again?

Vision: She said she was about to leave the facility, then felt a shift. Next thing she knew, they were all dead.

They got to the moment where Wanda was surrounded by all agents, and she erased all their weapons from existence.

Pietro: This is where the glitch happened, right?

Fitz: In a few seconds... three... two... one... Aaaand here. This was where the glitch happened. We are now witnessing the lost 29 minutes.

The footage continued past the original glitch, where it immediately would've shown Wanda killing these people. Now it showed something new. Something that was hidden.

Magneto: I can't believe it. She was right.

Vision: She's now walking towards the door. All agents unharmed...

Simmons: For now.

Fitz: So, you said... she was about to exit the facility when the shift happened, right? And then suddenly it was 12:00 and everyone was already dead?

Vision: Precisely.

Pietro: She's at the door now. It should happen at any time.

As the door opened up, everything and everyone in the facility suddenly froze in place. Including the door and Wanda.

Magneto: What happened!?

Fitz: I don't know...

Magneto: Fix it!

Fitz: I don't know what happened!

Simmons: Wait... guys... Look at the time!

Vision: It's still moving forward... It's not the footage that's frozen...

Fitz: The world was frozen! Or at least... everyone in the facility.

They waited three minutes to see if something happened.

Magneto: Can't we move the footage forward till the 29 minutes are nearly over?

Vision: There has to be a reason this was taken out of the footage. We can't risk missing something important.

Pietro: In that case...

Pietro ran out of the S.H.I.E.L.D basement and returned a few seconds later with Pizza and Cola.

Pietro: Anyone up for some Bacon & Avo deluxe? Don't worry, I dropped the money on the counter.

Fitz: MAN you're fast.

Simmons: Well I suppose we could start deciphering the rest of the secret language while we wait for any developlents.

Vision: I agree. However I'd rather keep my eyes on the footage.

Fitz: No worries, Simmons and I can do it with our eyes closed.

Fitz and Simmons continued to decipher the rest of the message, while Vision kept focusing on the footage. Pietro and Erik tried to help decipher the message while keeping an eye on the footage every now and then.

15 minutes later.

Pietro: Come onnnn... Why is nothing happening!

Vision: I'm more concerned about wether these people were conscious while this was happening or not. This is similar to something I saw back in Westview. (Read *Avengers Incursion War* to know how this Vision also has memories from the fake one during Wandavision)

Fitz: I think we've almost cracked the meaning of these codes.

Simmons showed the piece of paper and all the clues so far. Then replaced some clues with what they already know, and added her own notes to it. (Her notes are the ones in bold font)

Simmons: Okay, so this is what we know so far:

She showed the piece of paper to the rest.

*Glitched cctv message:
$!%!&%#&#£ = *Still don't know*
-DnEbOrMtUS = Monster under bed

*wall equation:
73810/25946 = A
( / + / ) - / = % *only to confuse us?*

MEtDS%nOUbr = B
( % + % ) - % = x

*% + % = 2%
2% - % = %

So % = x

*We know A= B, that means / = % and that means % = x. So C must then also be the same as A and B*

*Therefore / and % and x holds the same (numerical?) value.*

÷$¥!&x#@×?£ = C

In C, replace x with % or /

We get
÷$¥!&%#@×?£* OR ÷$¥!&/#@×?£

B = A = C

Fitz: With what we know now, we can simplify the original cryptic equation into something more readable.

Erik rushed to the computer and took control.

Fitz: What are you doing?

Magneto: Seeing as I am the only one in this room who understands how short on time we are, I will forward the footage myself! Vision, what did Wanda say happened again? Before she saw everyone dead on the floor.

Vision: She told me she turned around and saw the bodies. But that was at exactly 12:00. Not close where we are currently (7:58). However, as we have seen, the footage shows her killing everyone at around 8:12. We should just wait it out and see if we find someth--

As Vision's words hung in the air, a sudden and complete loss of power engulfed the underground base, plunging them into an abyss of impenetrable darkness.

Fitz: What just... happened?

They heard a screech from far away.

Pietro: What was that!?

Fitz: Shh!

Simmons: I don't like this...

Suddenly a word was shown on the computer screen. "StOp"

Simmons: (Panic in her voice) Okay we gotta get out of here!

Vision felt uneasy as he sensed something with them inside this basement. Something powerful.

Vision: It's here...

Before anyone could react, a hand grabbed Fitz by the legs, dragging him into the darkness with a bone-chilling scream that echoed through the silence, leaving only an unsettling stillness in its wake.

Fitz: AAAAAAaaaaaa....

Simmons: Fitz!!! Fitz what happened! Where are you!

...

Simmons: (Panicking) Fitz!!!

In a panic, Simmons fumbled for her phone to illuminate the suffocating darkness. Vision tried using his night vision, but something scrambled his eye lenses.

Pietro: Whoever you are, we're not afraid of you!!!

They heard a dark, raspy laugh echo through the basement.

Magneto: Show yourself!

The basement began shaking violently, while something was being written in glowing red on the wall.

Simmons: Look! Is that... glowing... Blood!?

The words said: The End Is Near.

Magneto: We're done with your games! What are you!? What do you want with us!? Where are the children!?

Two hands grabbed Simmons from behind and dragged her into the darkness.

Simmons: No no no! HEEEEEeeeelp...

Then there was silence again.

"YoU sHoUlDn'T hAvE fIgUrEd iT oUt So QuIcKlY"

Pietro began breathing heavily with angst.

Vision: What did you do with them!?

"ThEy KnOw ToO mUcH. ToO sMaRt."

Pietro took the flashlight and tried to run away, but a force grabbed him. The force was a dark red aura around his body, and he was unable to move.

Pietro: No, no! Let go of me! W-who are you!?

The voice whispered.

"I aM dEaTh."

Magneto: Show yourself!

Erik's words were barely spoken before he felt an extreme pain shoot through his head. He collapsed on his knees while holding his head.

Magneto: Ahhhh!!!

Vision: What do you want! What's your objective!

It laughed with a deep, raspy voice.

"OpEn... YoUr... EyEs!"

A hand grabbed his face, causing him to see the future. Glimpses and flashes of what's to come. A harrowing vision, a bleak tapestry of destruction and despair, where the forces of chaos reigned supreme and all hope seemed lost.

A whirlpool of death that sucks in all hope, and at its center, a snake, manifesting itself into The Scarlet Witch. There was a dragon, trying to fight her, manifesting itself into a cloaked man concealing his face.

Vision saw bodies laying everywhere, cities demolished to the ground, planets being devoured. Entire timelines unraveling into eternal darkness.

Then he saw the children, Billy and Tommy, held captive in another realm, screaming to their mother for help, but nobody hears.

Vision: No... No! No!!! Noooo!!!!!!

Vision collapsed on the floor, but still conscious. Then he saw feet next to him. He looked up, trying to see who this being is, but it was too dark to see a thing. All he could see was red glowing eyes.

The computer then showed a still image of what seemed to be a commercial for medicine.

(Taken from *Wandavision Episode 7* Timestamp: 14:11 to 14:50)

Erik looked up at the being.

Magneto: What do you want with my daughter! What do you want with the children!?

"If YoU wAnT tHe ChIlDrEn To LiVe... dO nOt WaTcH tHe ReMaInInG fOoTaGe... OnLy WhEn It'S tImE."

Vision: Where are the children!? Where are they!?

Erik, Vision and Pietro's eyes widened in disbelief as the lights suddenly came on, revealing the identity of this being standing in front of them.

They couldn't believe what they saw, so they all stared in disbelief and denial, too shocked to utter a single word. Pietro broke the ice after a few seconds passed.

Pietro: Wanda!?!?

Her head turned towards him. Her eyes glowing dark red, her skin, a grayish pale color. She showed no expression.

Then... darkness.

The Raft

12:00 AM Midnight

Two guards approached Wanda's cell as they heard noises coming from that direction. They knocked on the cell door.

"Hey! What's going on in there!?"

...

"Answer, inmate!"

Inside the cell, we see a close-up of Wanda's closed eyes. She shook her head as if she was having a nightmare.

Wanda: No! No! No!!!!

She jolted awake and opened her eyes in terror. As she recoiled from the nightmare, a single word escaped her trembling lips, carrying with it the weight of impending doom and fear.

Wanda: Chthon...