There had been years—too many years—where the team was constantly being called to save the world. Sometimes the universe. Crisis after crisis, battle after battle, barely time to breathe between catastrophes.

But eventually, things had settled.

The world still had threats. The team still ran missions. But it wasn’t the constant, overwhelming chaos it had been. There was time to actually live between saving the world.

So Wanda had gotten a job. A real job, outside of being a hero.

She couldn’t just sit at the Compound waiting for the next emergency. She needed purpose beyond crisis response, needed to feel like she was contributing to the world in ways that didn’t involve her powers destroying things. And as it turned out, Wanda made a really good teacher.

Now she sat at her desk in her classroom as the school bell rang, signaling the start of another day. Her classroom had become a space she was genuinely proud of—an oil diffuser on her desk filling the room with the scent of vanilla cupcake, the harsh fluorescent lights dimmed in favor of softer lamps she’d brought from home, plants on the windowsill that she maintained with occasional touches of magic when no one was looking.

The whiteboard had notes from today’s lesson plan, along with a few doodles she’d drawn that morning—little stars and swirls that made the educational content feel less intimidating.

Her students started filing in, the usual pre-class energy filling the space. Some waved at her as they entered, others were deep in conversation with friends, a few already pulling out notebooks and settling into their seats.

Wanda clicked her glittery pen against her desk—a small habit she’d developed, something grounding—as she waited for all of her students to arrive and settle. She called them her “kiddos” regardless of their age, and most of them seemed to appreciate having a teacher who genuinely cared about making the classroom feel safe and welcoming.

Once everyone was seated, Wanda stood and moved to the front of the room, her Sokovian accent still present even after all these years in America.

“Good morning, everyone,” she said warmly, her red magic unconsciously flickering at her fingertips for just a moment before she noticed and pulled it back. “Let’s have a good day today, yes?”