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Jersey City.
Sitting just across the Hudson River from Manhattan, Westview was a small town on the outskirts of Jersey City with a population of less than four thousand.
Small as it was...
The town was neat and orderly, with wide streets, abundant greenery, and a palpable sense of energy.
Real, bustling energy. A town that had been slowly withering from population decline suddenly found itself thrust into the spotlight.
The shops along Main Street—once shuttered and silent—began reopening one by one.
A candy store.
A toy shop.
A movie theater.
Chinese, French, Russian—people from all corners of the globe seemed to be flocking here, settling down and making it their home.
Overnight, life had been breathed back into this little town.
Chinese restaurants of every variety.
A Russian confectionery.
A French florist.
Anyone visiting for the first time might think they'd stumbled into some kind of world's fair.
Actually, no.
Not quite a world's fair.
Some of the longtime residents gathered in the newly renovated town square—complete with a working fountain again—feeling like they were dreaming as they murmured among themselves.
"The kindergarten's reopening, isn't it?"
"Not 'isn't it'—it definitely is. Westview Elementary is being revived too, supposedly."
"Good Lord."
"Wait, does this town even have that many kids?"
"That's why the mayor said they're starting with the kindergarten first."
"...Hey, where are Jordan and Michael?"
"Moved away."
"Moved... when?"
"A few days ago, I think. Something must've happened. Two moving trucks showed up in the middle of the night."
"Huh."
"Now that I think about it... have any of you noticed something different about the colors around here lately?"
"..."
Jordan and Michael had been longtime residents.
The old-timers gathered around the fountain instinctively scanned their surroundings.
Not far away, Pietro—arms full of candy from a newly opened Russian confectionery—overheard the conversation. He glanced around, blinked, and froze as something clicked. Then he hurried back to 123 Westview Lane, taking two stairs at a time.
"Wanda."
"What's up?"
Wanda was home when her brother burst through the door with that conspiratorial look on his face.
Pietro sidled up to her, handed the bag of candy to an eager Jean, then lowered his voice. "I just realized something weird about this town."
Wanda had expected something more significant.
Instead...
She fought the urge to roll her eyes and gave Pietro a look.
"You're only noticing now?"
"Uh..."
Pietro froze, staring at his sister who'd apparently figured things out ages ago. He scratched his head sheepishly.
"When did you know?"
"When they started building the playground across the street."
Wanda gestured toward the window and the plot of land on the other side of the road. In just five days, what was shaping up to be the most luxurious and well-equipped children's play facility in all of Jersey City—if not the entire state—had already taken form.
Every construction worker and supervisor was Asian.
At this rate, the whole thing would be finished in another two days.
The speed was insane.
"And the shops on Main Street."
"What about them?"
Pietro was confused. He'd been to those shops way more often than his sister. How had he missed something?
Wanda looked at her brother's guileless expression and sighed internally. "Haven't you noticed that most of the new stores are directly related to Jean, Billy, and Tommy?"
The toy store.
The candy shop.
The baby supplies boutique.
And five specialty children's clothing stores.
Those clothing stores were the real tell.
Nothing wrong with opening a clothing store. Even five stores selling kids' clothes wasn't inherently suspicious.
But this was a small town.
A town with fewer than four thousand people. Opening five children's clothing boutiques right next to each other? They weren't even trying to be subtle.
"Even if you don't care about clothes, did you look at what you bought?"
"The candy? What about it?"
"How much did you pay for all that?"
"Ten bucks. The owner said it was a grand opening discount. Great deal."
"..."
Wanda turned to look at the box of chocolates Jean had opened while sitting cross-legged on the floor mat.
"Godiva."
"The world's finest handcrafted chocolates."
"Premium luxury confections."
"Ten dollars..."
Wanda named the brand in her daughter's hands, then gave Pietro a look caught somewhere between amusement and exasperation. "You could resell that box for three hundred dollars, and someone would snatch it up without hesitation—probably worried you'd change your mind."
Ten dollars.
Three hundred dollars.
"Holy—"
Pietro finally grasped the price differential. He stared at Wanda. "Shit. Are we being surveilled?"
Wanda couldn't take it anymore. She rolled her eyes so hard they nearly disappeared into the back of her head.
Forget it.
He was her brother.
Calling him an idiot would just make her look bad by association.
Wanda thought this to herself, then closed her eyes and took a deep breath before opening them again.
"Surveillance is a bit much. They're probably here to protect us."
"Protect?"
"Mm-hmm."
Wanda nodded, running her fingers through her hair. Scarlet energy swirled around her right hand, and the steamer on the stove opened automatically. Two beautifully set bowls of steamed egg custard floated over and settled on the counter.
Pietro had been about to ask more questions, but the sight of those bowls distracted him.
"What's that?"
"Steamed egg custard."
Wanda smiled. "Mrs. Zheng, who just moved in a couple days ago, stopped by for a visit. We talked about parenting tips, and she taught me how to make this."
Mrs. Zheng was Chinese.
She also had two children—a boy and a girl, both a year older than Billy and Tommy. During her visit, she'd spotted the twins and struck up a conversation about childcare.
Wanda had found it incredibly helpful. Mrs. Zheng had even shared several recipes specifically designed for infants and toddlers, along with a website.
Wanda had checked it out that night.
A clean, straightforward website packed with tutorial videos on preparing food for babies and young children.
The tutorials were absurdly detailed. Wanda had even sent Pietro to the new shopping center in town to see if they carried the ingredients.
Good grief.
Seasonings and spices that couldn't even be found in the most authentic Chinese grocery stores in Manhattan's Chinatown? This little town's shopping center had everything.
Pietro's grand revelation had been completely derailed. Whatever earth-shattering secret he'd thought he'd uncovered, the momentum was gone.
Wanda didn't bother elaborating further.
The people here meant no harm. That was what mattered.
And anyone who did mean harm? Wanda figured they probably couldn't even get into this town in the first place.
A little while later.
Billy and Tommy sat in their special high chairs.
Jean perched on a bar stool, eating the steamed egg custard—her mother's latest successful creation.
Wanda used her Scarlet Chaos Magic to control a rag, wiping down the countertops.
An ambulance pulled up silently—no lights, no sirens—and parked in front of the house diagonally across the street.
Pietro wandered over to the window.
"Didn't the people across the way move out a couple days ago?"
"Mm-hmm."
"So what's with the ambulance...?"
The rear doors opened. A middle-aged woman with blonde hair—apparently asleep—was wheeled out on a gurney and taken inside.
Pietro raised an eyebrow.
"Some sick old lady."
"Shut up."
Wanda cut him off, then lowered her voice. "That woman has his energy on her."
Pietro blinked, then caught on. He thought about the woman being wheeled into the house across the street and turned to Wanda.
"So who is she...?"
"No idea."
Wanda shook her head. After finishing with the counter, she handed Jean-and-twins duty off to her brother and headed for the backyard.
The backyard was huge.
Much bigger than the one at 521A Palm Street. After all, that place didn't have a swimming pool.
123 Westview Lane did.
When they'd first arrived, Jean had practically lived in that pool, splashing around with wild abandon.
She'd refused to get out even when called.
That had pushed Wanda over the edge. One burst of Scarlet Chaos Magic later, Jean had been yanked out of the pool and deposited in her room upstairs for an afternoon of solitary confinement.
Wanda stepped into the backyard, intending to use magic to clear the fallen leaves and debris from the pool.
Pietro would be bringing Billy and Tommy out for some water play soon.
Another childcare tip from Mrs. Zheng next door—kids needed exercise. It built up their immune systems.
Just as Wanda was about to channel her Scarlet Chaos Magic, the power at her fingertips stuttered.
She turned around.
Hawk stood quietly behind her.
Their eyes met.
Hawk smiled faintly.
"Settling in okay?"
"More or less."
Wanda recovered quickly, returning the smile as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "It's nice here. And you're not restricting our movements."
Hawk shook his head with a small laugh. "The people outside aren't my doing. They're just worried about you getting hurt—and trying to stay on my good side."
After the Battle of the Atlantic, he'd firmly claimed the throne as Earth's number one.
And given his relationship with Maria Hill and Victoria Hand, he'd become something of an anchor for this little planet.
So...
Mrs. Zheng next door really was named Mrs. Zheng. Her husband was Zheng Xian—Director of China's Divine Spear Bureau.
The neighbor on the other side was Adelina Jelić. She had three kids too. Her husband, Jelić, was Director of Russia's Defenders Agency.
Hawk wasn't one to keep secrets. He told Wanda exactly who their neighbors really were.
Wanda nodded, arms crossed.
"And the one across the street? The new arrival?"
"That's..."
Hawk thought for a moment, met Wanda's gaze, and laughed softly.
"My mother."
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