SELCOUTH | 1.1
"ATHENA WHY ARE YOU ON THE TV?"
Westview, New Jersey | Present Day

ATHENA CHOI CLOSED THE DOOR OF HER car and adjusted her sunglasses as she made her way through the camp that had just been set up outside of Westview, New Jersey. She made her way to the nearest person and politely tapped them on the shoulder.

"Do you know where I can find Tyler Hayward?"

They point toward a tent and Athena nods gratefully as she heads toward it and steps inside. Her eyebrows lift in awe as she looks at the technical setup. There were screens everywhere that seemed to be monitoring everything going on inside the small town.

Athena takes her sunglasses off as Hayward, who had been speaking to someone, notices her and holds up a finger to the person as he makes his way over to Athena, "Miss. Choi, thank you for coming out."

"Please, just call me Athena," she says, shaking his outstretched hand, "And it's honestly no problem."

"We're just getting things set up here. One of my agents, Monica Rambeau, she was sucked into whatever that is," Hayward informs her, and Athena nods her head, having read about that in the file Hayward had sent her on the drive over here.

"Have you sent anyone else within the anomaly?" Athena asks and Hayward shakes his head.

"We're prepping some agents to go inside, but first we want to understand what we're dealing with first. If it's a hostile threat within we figured it'd be best to have someone a little more durable nearby."

"Understandable."

An agent approaches them holding a tablet and Hayward holds his finger up before looking back at Athena, "Excuse me."

"Of course," Athena tells him as she watches the two of them walk off. Athena looked outside the window and watched as they sent a drone toward the town line, only for it to disappear behind some sort of electromagnetic field.

She takes a look around the tent to see everyone actively at work. It made Athena feel a little useless if she was being honest. Her eyebrows furrowed as she watched a woman lifting a very old television onto the table.

As Athena approached her, she noticed the warm cup of ramen sitting there as the woman tampered with the television.

"This stupid thing won't work," she says before slapping the television, which stops displaying static and picks up on something. An old show in black and white. The woman grins and does a mini fist pump as she picks up her cup of ramen before noticing Athena and jumping slightly.

"Dude! Make your presence known," then her eyes widened at the sight of Athena, "You're Athena Choi! You're Thor's-"

"Yeah," Athena says quickly, cutting her off, "I am her."

"I've met Thor. My old boss, Jane, she used to date him," the woman informs her, and Athena nods her head, having heard everything about Jane from Thor.

"Thor told me all about her and their mutual dumping," Athena points to the chair beside the woman, "May I sit?"

"Of course!" she says, "My name is Darcy, by the way."

"Nice to meet you, Darcy," Athena tells her. She points to the television, "What's all of this?"

"I was picking up a lot of CMBRs and had one of those idiots bring me a television," Darcy informs her, "Apparently it's an old TV show."

Athena looks at the screen, hearing a laugh track play in the background, "It's a sitcom," the setting on the screen changes from an office to a house with two women sitting on the couch. Athena's eyes grow wide as she recognizes a face, she knew all too well.

"Is that Wanda Maximoff?" Darcy asks.

"Yes," Athena answers. They continue watching to see that it isn't just Wanda, but Vision as well. Athena exhaled a shaky breath. There was no way that was Vision. She'd watch him die. She'd watch Wanda kill him. She'd watch Thanos kill him and yet there he was.

There she was.

She and Darcy continued watching in silence. Athena was simply trying to decipher what was happening and who could be doing this. There was also the big question of who had managed to bring Vision back.

"What's that noise?" Hayward asked as he came up behind them accompanied by an FBI agent.

"Is that-"

"Yes," Athena confirms for him as well.

"Look I know it's been a crazy few years on this planet, but he's dead, right?" Darcy asks, "Not blipped, dead."

"What am I looking at?" Hayward asks, he looks at Darcy, "You? What is this? Where's this coming from?"

"Out there," Darcy tells them.

Athena listens in on the conversation as best as she can, but all she can do is stare at that damn screen watching as Wanda and Vision argued in the kitchen of the black and white TV show.

"Is it authentic?" she hears Hayward ask.

"I'm not sure how to answer that," Darcy replies.

"Is it happening in real-time? Is it recorded, fabricated?"

"I don't know. I don't know. And I don't know," Darcy answers.

"What do you know?" Hayward asks.

"My equipment registered an extremely high level of CMBR. That's-"

"Relic radiation dating back to the Big Bang," Hayward finishes. Hearing those words seems to snap Athena from the trace she was in. She looks over at Darcy who continues speaking.

"Yes. So, I had one of your goons pick me up a sweet vintage TV, and when I plug this bad boy in, voilá, sound, and picture."

"So, you're saying the universe created a sitcom starring two Avengers?" The FBI agent on the other side of Athena questions.

"It's a working theory."

Hayward requests a transport back to the S.W.O.R.D headquarters and demands that Darcy doesn't stop recording. Athena sighs as she looks back at the TV. It felt eerily similar to another show she had seen before.

She can't help but move closer to the screen, watching each of the characters along with Wanda and Vision. It played out like a sitcom, like a spin on Wanda's favorite show.

Athena's face softened at the realization, "The Dick Van Dyke show."

"Hm?" Darcy asks slurping on a noodle.

"It was Wanda's favorite show when we stayed at the Avenger's compound. She made me watch it all the time," Athena says she bites her lip as she tries to figure out who was recreating the sitcom.

"Weird choice," Darcy mutters.

"It reminded her of home," Athena says softly. Was that what was happening? Was Wanda trapped in some universe that tapped into her mind and brought her greatest fantasies to life? It would make sense. Athena knew that Wanda would give anything to be with Vision again.

"So, what's it like being an Avenger?" Darcy asks her, "I mean you must know Wanda pretty well, right?"

"Sure," Athena answers, thinking back to the immature teenager she had been, "We met back in Sokovia."

"Oh, when you guys fought Ultron," Darcy says, and Athena shakes her head.

"Not exactly," she states, "I was looking into HYDRA's experiments, that's how I ended up meeting Wanda and Pietro."

Darcy snaps her fingers together, "That's right, you guys joined the Avengers at the same time. It's weird though. Wanda's file reads like a book and yours is practically empty, I mean except for the fact that you're from Asgard. And that you're a professor at Brown. How'd you get into the whole behavior science thing?"

"When I was thirteen, I learned that I could get anyone to do what I wanted. I wanted to know why," Athena glances over at Darcy, "Clearly behavior science did not have the answers."

"Because you're a god," Darcy states and Athena nods her head, looking back at the TV screen. "Have you ever been to Asgard?"

"No," Athena answers, "It was destroyed before I ever got the chance."

"Right," Darcy says, "Sorry."

Athena shrugs, "Don't apologize. I didn't lose anything when Asgard was destroyed."

Darcy tilts her head, "But you kind of did. You were robbed of seeing your home planet, the place where you should have grown up."

Athena looks at Darcy, "As much as I am loving this therapy session, I was called here to help stop whatever is happening in there and that is all that I want to do. Yes, I never got to see Asgard, yes, I am technically a god, and yes, I'm an Avenger. All other questions will have to wait till the end."

Darcy huffs out a loud sigh, "Fine."

Athena looks around at the different organizations that were there. S.W.O.R.D, the FBI, the army, the Air Force. Athena was surprised S.H.I.E.L.D wasn't out here. She glancs over at Darcy.

"Who do you work for?"

"No one," she answers, "At least I don't think so. I'm not sure they kind of just called me in."

Athena nods at the information, averting her attention back to the television to see Vision and Wanda sitting side by side on the couch as Wanda magically creates herself and Vision's wedding rings.

Athena's jaw clenched slightly, she was familiar with the feeling, but she hadn't experienced it in years. She should have listened to Tony when he told her that this was no way to live.

"Aw," Darcy says from beside her, "They must have really loved each other."

"Yeah," Athena mumbles, "They must have."

"Is the stream over?" the FBI man asks as he returns to Athena's side and she nods her head. He smiles at her and extends his hand out, "Jimmy Woo, FBI."

"Athena Choi, former Avenger," she introduces herself.

"Okay, we need to play it from the beginning. Wanda and Vision are two of the confirmed trapped in the anomaly that surrounds Westview, but that leaves everyone else in the town."

"I could run some face recognition software," Darcy suggests, and Jimmy nods his head.

"And if you see anything relating to Monica Rambeau, please let me know."

"Sure thing," Athena answers. She looks at Darcy, "Looks like we're working together."

Darcy runs the software while Athena does a background scan on everyone to discover their real identities. It takes several hours, but eventually, they're able to identify everyone in the town. They're sitcom personalities and they're real identities as well.

Athena stares at the recording of the show as Darcy goes to make herself another cup of ramen. She picks up a pen and begins to twirl it between her fingers. Whatever was going on, no one seemed to be in any immediate physical danger, nor were they showing signs of distress or discomfort, something Athena was very familiar with given her field of work.

"Notice anything?" Jimmy asks her.

"Everyone seems too relaxed, too calm. Whatever this is, I don't think it's there to hurt them," Athena says, tapping the screen with her pen, "Look at their body language. It's similar to that of you and me. If anyone seems uncomfortable, it's Wanda and Vision, but even they don't seem to be screaming for help."

"So, what could this be?"

Athena shrugs, "It could only mean two things really. Either everyone in the town is going along with this or they're being controlled. The latter seems more plausible. Wanda and Vision don't seem to be acting as their selves so I wouldn't rule out the possibility that they're under mind control either."

"Hm," Jimmy says thoughtfully, "Ever thought of working for the FBI? You'd make a great profiler."

"I don't trust the government," Athena declares, "Besides I'm happy failing students that are the same age as me."

"Ever miss saving the world?"

"It's not the same when the people you used to save the world with are gone," she lowers her head, glancing at the TV, "I'm only here as a favor to Hayward."

"Understood," Jimmy answers.

Athena looks back at the television and her eyebrows furrow as a new episode begins over the old one. She looks up at Jimmy to see him watching the television confused as well. Darcy comes back with a new cup of ramen in her hand, stirring it.

"What did I miss?"

"Apparently there's a new episode," Jimmy answers.

Darcy pauses as she looks at the TV, watching as Wanda and Vision prepared for a talent show. Athena's eye twitched at the couple's flirting, but otherwise, she found the episode to be similar to the one that preceded it.

"Still in black and white," Darcy states, "That's great."

"Bewitched," Athena mutters, "That's what this episode is based on."

"Another one of Wanda's favorites?"

Athena nods.

She watches as Wanda hears a noise outside and goes to investigate. She funds a red helicopter in the bushes. Athena wouldn't be confused if it weren't for the fact that everything else was in black and white and the helicopter was in screaming color.

"That weird to anyone else?" Darcy asks.

"Yeah, just a little," Athena answers.

Athena begins to focus her attention on her pen as Agnes and Wanda head off to the planning committee meeting at Dottie's house. The sounds of the show were muffled by Darcy's loud slurping as she ate her noodles.

Athena feels a slap on her shoulder, which causes her to drop the pen that she was holding. She looks over at Darcy who looks as though she's was having a seizure as she looks at the TV screen.

"What?" Athena asks as she looks up at the TV. Her eyes grow wide, and she swears her heart stops.

"Athena, are you seeing what I'm seeing?" Darcy asks.

Athena doesn't reply as she watches the interaction play out on the screen.

"You're nervous," a carbon copy of Athena says as she looks over at Wanda who had just taken a seat under the cabana with the rest of the housewives that lived in Westview.

"I am," Wanda states as she leans closer to Athena's doppelganger.

"Hi there, Nervous," she says as she holds her hand out to Wanda, "I'm Nora."

Athena's body tenses at the stated name and Darcy looks at her, as though expecting an answer, but Athena didn't have any as she stared at herself on the TV screen. The all too familiar smile giving her chills.

Wanda chuckles, getting the attention of the other women. Her laughter quickly takes the form of a cough and Dottie rolls her eyes as she goes back to speaking. Wanda grins as takes Nora's hand and gives it a firm shake, "Wanda."

"Athena, why are you on the TV?" Darcy asks her.

Athena shakes her head, watching as she and Wanda continued to speak in hushed voices, "I have no idea."