American comics: Damn it, I’m surrounded by those who worry about their fathers!.

Chapter 1066 Wanda vs. Doctor Strange
Doctor Strange, realizing that something was wrong with Wanda, immediately stopped what he was about to say.

The surrounding environment instantly became solemn.

The scents of ancient scrolls and spices that filled the air seemed to freeze instantly, replaced by a strange atmosphere that gradually spread.

Stephen Strange stood frozen, all his senses focused on Wanda's face, which still held a smile but now looked somewhat eerie.

His brain raced as he tried to find a plausible explanation.

Perhaps Peter had contacted her before?

Perhaps she heard the name elsewhere?
But reason told him that it was impossible.

The name America Chavez should be completely unfamiliar to anyone in this universe, except for a few who have just returned from another universe and know the inside story.

Wanda's smile seemed to freeze for a moment, almost imperceptibly.

Her eyes flickered, a hint of panic at being exposed flashing across them, but she quickly let out a soft "ah," raised her hand to touch her forehead with her fingers, and pretended to be trying hard to remember.

"America? Oh, is that the name?"

She spoke casually, even with a hint of confusion, "Maybe...maybe I misheard? Or...did Peter mention it before? You know, he always encounters a lot of strange people and things..."

Wanda seems to be trying to make amends.

Stephen's heart sank completely.

He didn't move, but the magic within his body had already begun to flow quietly, and the sign of the Shield of Seraphim was faintly visible in his palm.

Stephen's gaze sharpened, fixing intently on Wanda.

"This doesn't sound like a mishearing."

Stephen's voice turned low, no longer showing any of the previous relaxation, "Wanda, from beginning to end I only said 'a girl,' and you had no idea this girl existed before Peter came to you."

He took a step closer, an invisible pressure emanating from him: "How did you know her name was America?"

Wanda's smile finally crumbled.

The panic in her eyes quickly faded, replaced by a look of embarrassment and anger at being seen through, and a coldness that Stephen had never seen in her before.

Wanda remained silent for a few seconds before dropping her disguise.

When she raised her head again, her entire demeanor had completely changed.

Her previous gentleness and kindness had vanished, replaced by a powerful, suffocating sense of oppression emanating from her.

"so what?"

Wanda's voice was eerily calm. "I know her name. Does that matter, Stephen?"

"This is very important."

Stephen took a step back, his hands already raised, and the golden Ring of Raghadore was immediately created by casting a spell.

"This means you already knew about her, you knew about the one hunting her, and even... you knew about what happened in another universe. The Eye Demon... the monster that hunts America, is it related to you?!"

Faced with Stephen's questioning and wary posture, Wanda suddenly laughed.

"relation?"

Wanda shook her head slightly, as if mocking Stephen's naiveté.

"What do you think?"

She stopped hiding it and slowly raised her hand.

There were no complicated incantations, just a simple snap of the fingers.

"Snapped!"

A soft sound, like the shattering of a pane of glass.

The light inside the entire New York temple instantly turned dark red and viscous, as if it were soaked in blood.

The view outside the window was no longer the streetscape of New York City, but rather a landscape entangled and covered by countless twisted, menacing, and pulsating branches that resembled black veins.

Countless scarlet eyes opened on the menacing branches, staring intently at the interior of the temple.

The walls and floors of the temple itself began to writhe, and the ancient wood groaned in pain, as if it had come alive and been eroded and transformed by some dark force.

The air was thick with the stench of sulfur and burnt flesh, so strong it was nauseating.

The temperature suddenly rose, but was also accompanied by a bone-chilling cold.

Stephen watched in shock at the earth-shattering changes. He could feel the protective array of the New York Temple itself groaning, being forcibly eroded and transformed by an extremely evil force.

"You...what did you do?!"

Stephen shouted in disbelief as he tried to mobilize the Temple's power to fight back, only to find that his connection with the Temple had become extremely weak and obscure.

Just then, a thick book, its cover made of some kind of dark metal and an unknown black material, exuding an aura of ominousness and despair, appeared out of thin air in front of Wanda, silently floating in the air.

The pages moved without wind, and dark red runes flowed across them like living things; just a glance was enough to send shivers down one's spine.

Stephen almost cried out in surprise at what he saw.

He recognized the book, which had appeared countless times in the highest taboo warnings of Kamar-Taj.

"The Dark Book..."

Stephen's voice became dry and hoarse, filled with horror.

"You...you actually cultivated it? Wanda, don't you know what that is? It will corrupt your mind!"

Wanda reached out and gently stroked the cover of the Dark Book, her eyes revealing an almost morbid infatuation and possessiveness.

"corrosion?"

She scoffed, as if she had heard the most ridiculous thing.

"It gave me the power to truly see this world and the truth of the multiverse, a knowledge that no other magic book could ever give me."

As she spoke, she slowly paced, dark red energy coiling around her fingertips like a docile pet.

Her voice became ethereal, as if she were lost in some kind of memory.

“You know what? After Peter left… the farm became very empty. Although this farm is very similar to Smallwell’s farm, even the plants and trees are very similar, a fake is still a fake.”

She began to speak, her tone calm, “I miss him so much, and Pietro is very good, but he doesn’t understand… he doesn’t understand what I really need.”

"So... I wove a new farm for myself."

Her eyes became hazy. "There, Peter didn't leave. He, Pietro, and I lived together, and we were very happy... We also had two boys... Billy... and Tommy..."

When she spoke those two names, her voice was filled with endless tenderness and love.

But soon, this tenderness was replaced by heart-wrenching pain.

"But...dreams always end."

Her voice suddenly turned cold, filled with deep-seated hatred, "An 'unexpected event'... Hmph, perhaps this world cannot tolerate my happiness... They disappeared, my child... is gone."

She suddenly raised her head, her eyes burning with a frenzied rage.

"Later, the appearance of the witch Agatha made me realize that I was in a dream. I finally woke up, but it couldn't take away my pain and anger. It was the Dark Book that found me. It showed me the truth. It showed me other universes, countless universes!"

Her voice became agitated and shrill.

"Why?! Why can other Wandas have children?! Why can they have happiness?! But I can't?! Why should I have to suffer this loss?! Why?!"

She stared intently at Stephen, as if he were the embodiment of all this injustice.

“I need power, the power to cross the barriers of the universe, to reclaim everything that is rightfully mine, to find my child, America Chavez… She is the key, the uncontrollable power within her is exactly what I need.”

"Beholder..."

Stephen instantly understood everything, feeling a chill rise from the soles of his feet. "Did you send them?"

"He was just an obedient servant."

Wanda coldly admitted, "Unfortunately, it's too useless. It can't even handle a girl and a half-crippled Strange. I have to deal with the aftermath myself."

She stopped and turned to Stephen, her tone becoming unquestionable and threatening.

“Stephen, for the sake of our past as comrades, I don’t want to destroy Kamar-Taj. Hand over America Chavez to me now.”

Stephen forced himself to calm down from the immense shock.

He realized that Wanda before him had been completely twisted by the Dark Book and the pain of losing her son, and had fallen into a state of paranoid madness.

Although he still doesn't understand how Wanda had a child with Peter in the dream world.

However, there is one thing I must never hand over to America.

"Impossible, Wanda."

Stephen firmly refused, and a golden magic circle unfolded before him. "You've been bewitched by the Dark Book. That's not the solution. Hand over the Dark Book and let us help you..."

"help me?"

Wanda seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world. She interrupted Stephen, her eyes icy, and said, "No one can help me except myself." She glanced in the direction behind Stephen, as if she could see through space to Kamar-Taj.

“You just said Raven is also in Kamar-Taj? Perfect, I’d like to have a chat with her too. If you don’t hand over America, I think our meeting will be quite interesting.”

Stephen knew the negotiations had broken down and there was no point in saying anything more.

Without further hesitation, he thrust his hands forward, and the massive Seraphim Shield instantly materialized. At the same time, countless blazing bolts of Bossat lightning shot towards Wanda like giant golden pythons.

However, Wanda didn't even flinch when Stephen launched his all-out attack.

She simply raised one hand casually.

Dark red chaotic magical energy surged forth like a boiling tsunami, easily engulfing the golden lightning.

The point of impact did not even explode; instead, it vanished instantly, as if erased by an eraser.

The moment Stephen's Shield of Seraphim came into contact with the dark red energy, it shattered under the strain, cracks instantly spreading across the entire shield surface before exploding completely with a "bang".

The immense impact sent Stephen flying, crashing heavily into the mutated wall behind him, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

Stephen slowly fell down from the wall.

He felt as if his magic circuits were being forcibly torn apart, and excruciating pain spread throughout his body.

No, the gap... is too big!

Wanda, having mastered the Dark Book, possessed power far exceeding his expectations.

The combination of chaotic magic and the evil knowledge of the Dark Book made her extremely difficult to deal with; I am no match for her now.

Wanda slowly walked up to Stephen, who was lying on the ground, and looked down at him with no emotion in her eyes, only cold indifference.

"Don't test my patience, Stephen."

Her voice was like that of someone from the abyss: “Go back and bring America Chaviz to the place I told you to. Also, don’t try to contact Peter. He belongs to me alone.”

"Also, don't think that Kamar-Taj can stop me just because it has Riven and Azu. If you want to put up a fight, you can try."

She bent down, picked up the sling ring that Stephen had dropped, and casually tossed it beside him.

"Take this back with you, and remember my words."

After saying that, she didn't look at Stephen again.

The surrounding crimson scene receded like a tide, the twisted branches and scarlet eyes disappeared, and the New York Temple returned to its original state, as if nothing had ever happened.

Stephen Strange was left lying on the cold floor, clutching his aching chest, his heart filled with unprecedented shock and anger.

At the same time, a deep sense of powerlessness overwhelmed him.

Wanda Maksimov is no longer the comrade-in-arms they once knew.

Staggering to his feet, Stephen endured the pain and opened a portal to Kamar-Taj.

Now, all he can do is return to Kamar-Taj to organize the defenses and wait for Wanda's arrival.

at the same time.

Peter found no trace of Wanda and Quicksilver on the farm and was preparing to leave.

Just then, an unusual breeze swept by, carrying the scent of sweat from exercise.

The next second, a silver-haired youth appeared suddenly at the gate of the courtyard as if he had pressed the fast forward button, his body still in a slightly forward-leaning posture after moving at high speed.

It's Pietro Maximov, Quicksilver.

Quicksilver was wearing a baseball uniform covered in grass clippings and dust, his forehead was covered in fine beads of sweat, he was holding a baseball glove in his hand, and his face was beaming with a smile.

"Mr. Patrick? It really is you!"

Pietro greeted him with delight.

His breathing was even, as if he had just taken a walk.

"I never expected you to come. The game just now was amazing. I hit six bases and they couldn't even touch me."

Quicksilver speaks at lightning speed, with the energy unique to young people.

Peter looked at Quicksilver who had suddenly appeared, and a sense of unease quietly grew in his heart.

Why is this Quicksilver different from the one I know?
When did Quicksilver become so fond of sports?

Isn't he a total shut-in?
"Ahem, Pietro."

Peter suppressed his unease, nodded, and asked, "I just came from your farm and didn't see anyone."

"Oh, Wanda and I are going out to buy some things, and also... um... to clear our heads."

Pietro's smile seemed to pause briefly, but he quickly returned to normal, wiping the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand.

"Wanda is right behind us, she'll be here soon, she'll be overjoyed to know you're here."

As if to prove his words, a crimson stream of energy flashed from the horizon and landed in the farmyard like a shooting star.

The light faded, and Wanda Maximov appeared there.

Peter's gaze sharpened slightly.

Instead of wearing her previous casual home clothes, Wanda changed into her classic battle outfit—a deep red leather jacket, a scarlet bodysuit, and her signature crown.

Her outfit made her look beautiful and powerful, but it seemed somewhat out of place compared to the tranquil pastoral scenery around her.

Wanda's face was beaming with excitement and joy, and her eyes shone with an astonishing brightness.

"Peter, it really is you!"

Wanda's voice trembled slightly as she practically ran forward and gave Peter a tight hug.

Peter could feel her arm gripping him tightly, as if she were afraid he would disappear.

She carried a faint, strange, magical fragrance that masked all other scents.

"Wanda."

Peter patted her back gently, his tone mild, but his inner alertness instantly rose.

This outfit seemed somewhat unusual to him.

Does Wanda dress like this all the time?
It's not Halloween yet, why are you dressed like this on the street?

Wanda released Peter, but still held his arms with both hands, looking him up and down as if to make sure he was unharmed.

"When did you arrive? Why didn't you tell us beforehand? This is wonderful! I really...I missed you so much!"

Her words flowed like a floodgate opening, pouring out with an urgent emotion.

"I just arrived recently."

Peter glanced at Wanda's classic outfit, coughed, and said, "I just arrived in New York and came to see you and Quicksilver."

We are fine, everything is fine!

Wanda chimed in with a bright smile, "Pietro and I were just out for a stroll; we never expected you to come to New York."

Before Peter could answer, she continued excitedly, "How have you been lately? Is the farm alright? Those... 'children' haven't caused you any trouble, have they?"

at this time--

"Dong dong dong."

A soft but unusually clear knock on the door interrupted their conversation.

The knocking was abrupt.

It's not the time to visit now, and strangers never usually come to this remote farm.

Peter, Wanda, and Pietro all instinctively turned to look at the farmhouse door.

Wanda's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly, a fleeting hint of displeasure crossing her face, but she quickly regained her smile: "Oh, it's probably a neighbor, Pietro, go check it out."

Pietro vanished in an instant, then reappeared at the doorway and opened it.

The person standing outside the door wasn't a neighbor.

They were several children dressed in strange costumes.

Their clothes looked hand-sewn, brightly colored but mismatched, giving off an outdated or even antiquated feel.

The children wore rough plastic masks—one was a clown with a stiff smile, another was a monster with messy hair, and the last was a princess with a blank expression.

They stood there silently, each carrying an empty pumpkin lantern basket, without saying a word.

Halloween is still quite a while away.

“Uh…hi, kids?” Pietro greeted them, somewhat surprised. “What’s up?”

(End of this chapter)