The tip had come from one of SHIELD’s lesser-used channels—something about an “enhanced presence” in an abandoned estate in upstate Vermont. No names. No threats. Just whispers, electromagnetic anomalies, and one agent who claimed his thoughts weren’t his own for a few seconds.

Which, to be fair, could’ve meant anything. Enhanced was a catch-all term. Mutants, tech anomalies, science experiments gone sideways. Hell, one time it was a guy who got struck by lightning and suddenly thought he could talk to raccoons. (He couldn’t.)

Now, the team moved in—an old orphanage half-swallowed by the woods, long abandoned, supposedly. The hallways groaned under their boots. Flashlights flickered. The air crackled.

Then, the attacks started.

A whisper here. A sudden, sharp cold spot in the hall. One agent staggered, breath hitching as he stared at the wall like he saw something that shouldn’t be there. Another clutched his head, muttering about voices—his mother’s, he said, but she’d been gone for years. Another punched himself in the face, his hand guided by a force not there.

Wanda stepped forward.

“This isn’t an ambush,” she murmured, eyes narrowed. “It’s a warning.”

She told the others to fall back. She needed quiet. Needed stillness to feel what no one else could. And when she passed through a crooked door, it slammed shut behind her—sealing with a soft thrum of magic that felt young and furious.

Wanda didn’t move. The room was empty. Dust-heavy. A broken crib in the corner. An old toy on the floor. The shadows watched her.

Then came the pressure—thin and sharp, brushing against her consciousness like cold fingers on skin. Wanda exhaled gently.

“No, sweetheart.”

The presence paused.

“You’re not trying to hurt anyone. You’re protecting your home. I get that.”

The wallpaper fluttered though there was no wind. A rocking chair shifted once.

“I’m not here to take anything from you,” Wanda said, slowly lowering herself to the floor. “And I’m not here to hurt you. Those were some pretty impressive tricks you did out there. Mind coming out to talk?”