• • 2000's • •

BILLY WALKED INTO the living room wearing his Halloween costume. It consisted of a blue shirt, pants, headband, and a red cape.

"Halloween's a magical holiday." He spoke, breaking the fourth wall, "All about family, friends, and the thrill of getting to be someone else for a day."

"Wrong! Halloween's about candy." Tommy replied as he served himself milk in the kitchen.

"And scaring people." Vivian chimed as she finished putting chips into a bowl.

"But mostly candy." Tommy repeated.

"Where's your costume, Tommy?" Billy asked.

"This is my costume. I'm the cool brother."

"What does that make me?" Billy asked, not understanding his jab.

"The dork." Vivian smiled and went towards the living room with her snacks. Tommy laughed, and Billy rolled his eyes, "That wasn't funny."

The two brothers followed their sister into the living room, where they all stared at the sleeping Pietro on the couch.

"Wow, he even snores cool." Billy remarked.

"I'm gonna go wake him up." Tommy said.

"Don't! Are you out of your mind?" Vivian asked.

"You scared?"

"Why would we be scared?" Billy asked.

"Because it's four in the afternoon and you're secretly afraid he's a vampire."

"No, I'm not."

"You said that this morning." Vivian said.

"Well, I don't think that anymore."

Out of nowhere, Pietro dashed at the three kids and startled them, "Blood is thicker than water! I show you!"

They screamed, and Pietro began to playfully chase them around the living room all while using his super-speed.

Wanda walked downstairs upon hearing the screaming, "Oh! Somebody better be bleeding, broken, or on fire."

Billy looked at his mother and noticed her costume. It was all-red with a cape and a crown.

"Whoa, Mom. Are you old Red Riding Hood?" He asked, causing Pietro to hide laughter with a snort.

"I'm a Sokovian fortune teller."

"Wow." That is so..." Pietro began.

"Rad!" Tommy exclaimed.

"...lame." His uncle finished.

"Lame." Tommy corrected.

"That's worse than the costumes mom made us the year we got typhus."

Wanda tried to recall, "That's not exactly how I remember it."

"You probably suppressed a lot of the trauma." Pietro replied.

The kids had sat back down when Y/N walked downstairs himself. He wore a black suit and tie, and had sunglasses on.

"Whoa! Sweet costume bro-ham-in-law." Pietro told him, "Let me guess. Uh, you work for the IRS."

Y/N chuckled as he took off his sunglasses, "Close...I guess. I'm a secret agent."

"Cool!" Tommy spoke from the couch, "Like Men in Black?"

His father began to think, "Basically. It just felt like me, ya know?" Maybe in his past life he was one, who knows?

Lastly came Vision, who wore green spandex with a bright yellow cape. He painted his face all red.

"Now, this is interesting." Pietro began to guess his look too, "Traffic light?"

"No." Vision answered.

"Uh...half-shucked corn?"

Vision stood quiet.

"A booger!"

The synthezoid didn't want to hear anymore guesses, so he sighed in defeat. "Yes."

"Yes!" Pietro cheered, then walked over to the couch.

Y/N turned towards his brother, "That's quite a look, Vis."

"Well, it was the only thing in my closet." He replied, "Tried to conjure up some Mexican wrestler look."

"You should've told me. I could've figured something out so we could be a tag-team duo."

They both laughed, and Wanda walked up to them.

"Yes, it would've made my day seeing the both of you in ridiculous get-ups." She said.

Y/N chuckled and looked at her, "And look at you, darling. I have to say that looks rather good on you."

"But not as good as you, honey." She got closer to him, "A man in a suit really excites me."

"Oh, is that right?" Y/N replied with a smirk, causing Wanda to giggle.

Vision knew where this was going, and moved on by calling out to the children, "What do you say, kids? Who's ready for that first hit of high fructose corn syrup?"

They didn't hear as they were playing video games with Pietro. Y/N noticed this and crossed his arms as they looked at them.

"You never told me much about your brother, Wanda. I had no idea he'd be so..." He tried to think of something to say, "...great with kids."

"Yeah. He's just full of surprises." She replied.

"Well, you two have tonight." Vision said as he started walking towards the door.

"What? What do you mean? You're all dressed and ready to go." Wanda spoke.

Y/N walked up to Vision as they gave each other a look. The synthezoid replied, "I'm undercover. Halloween is a bacchanal for adolescent trouble makers and the neighborhood watch is the only thing that stands between trees and the toilet paper."

In reality, the synthezoid was going to further investigate Westview. The two brothers knew that whatever was going on around them was off, so they wanted to understand it more. Vision would go further out while Y/N stayed with Wanda and the kids so she wouldn't be suspicious.

Wanda didn't understand, "No, that's not what you're supposed to—"

"What?" Y/N placed his hands on his waist, waiting for her to finish. She looked back at Vision.

"You didn't tell me you had plans."

"Well, I am telling you now."

"It's the kids' first Halloween. You have to be there."

"It'll be all right." Vision pat Y/N on the back, "They still got their papa-ya." That call-back to what seemed to be only days ago got a chuckle out of Y/N.

"Nothing to worry about." Pietro said walking up to them with a can of soda, "Kids still got Uncle P." He had been eavesdropping on their conversation.

"There you go, problem solved." Y/N replied, thankful that he unknowingly saved their plan.

"You have a spooky time tonight, kids." Vision told the children.

"Goodnight, Unc!"

"Bye, Vis!"

"I'll get some candy for you!"

Vision gave a nod to his family before getting in a playful fighting stance, "I smell crime." He then left the house.

• • •

THE FAMILY WALKED along the street joining the many other residents of the neighborhood in trick-or-treating. Y/N held Vivian's hand as they walked behind Wanda and Pietro.

"Nice costume, babygirl." Y/N remarked as he looked at his daughter. She wore a white dress and makeup of the same color.

"Thanks, dad. I'm a ghost." She replied.

"It's better than simply putting a blanket over yourself, I'll tell you that. Pretty creative."

"I tried to be like you. Since you kinda are a ghost, right?" She made sure to whisper that question. His kids knew about the adults' powers, so it didn't come as a shock.

Y/N chuckled, "You got that right, Viv. Soon enough the Casper nickname will go to you."

"No." Vivian responded, "That will always be yours."

"Race you guys to the blue house!" Billy called out to his siblings. Tommy and Vivian followed to get candy from one of the neighbors.

"Unleash hell, demon spawn!" Pietro shouted, then turned back to face Wanda and Y/N.

"Do you remember when we were at the orphanage after mom and dad died?" Wanda abruptly asked, "What was the name of that kid always trying to steal your boots?"

Y/N put his hands in his pockets and let them talk.

"You're testing me." Pietro pointed out, "Hey, it's cool. I know I look different."

"Why do you...look different?" She asked again.

"You tell me. I mean, if I found Shangri-La I wouldn't wanna be reminded of the past either."

They looked at him in confusion, and Y/N was obviously the most puzzled. Tommy arrived with his siblings before he can question the silver-haired twin.

"Next house, mom!" He exclaimed.

"Junior entrepreneur, over here." Pietro laughed, "How about you let Uncle P help you maximize your candy acquisition, huh?"

"Yeah, kick-ass!"

Pietro grabbed onto Tommy's arm in which Billy and Vivian followed suit.

"I feel the need..." He began.

"...for speed!" Tommy finished.

Pietro dashed off using his super-speed and took his niece and nephews to get more candy.

"Kick-ass?" Wanda asked herself.

"I swear I didn't teach him that phrase." Y/N raised his hands.

Their neighbor, Herb, who was in a Frankenstein costume, walked by and got the attention of Wanda.

"Oh, hey, Herb."

"Oh, hey!" He greeted the couple.

"How's patrol going?" She asked.

"Eh, quiet, so far. Hold up..." Herb started to talk with somebody on his radio, "What? All the candy has disappeared?"

Y/N looked around, and saw the blur of Pietro and his children running in super-speed taking everybody's candy. He shook his head and sighed.

"Pumpkins have been smashed? And now everyone's covered in silly string?"

Wanda looked back and saw the trouble her brother and her kids were causing. She hoped Herb wouldn't notice.

Herb signed off, "Sorry, y'all. I gotta bounce."

"Well, maybe Vision can help you out." Wanda told him.

"Vision? Oh, he's not on duty."

"Oh! I...I thought he..." Wanda was confused, and glanced at Y/N.

"Uh...he's probably doing his own patrol. You know him....doing things beyond the call of duty." He quickly replied.

"That is something he'd do." Herb nodded before bidding farewell, "All right, peace."

Wanda was still puzzled. Why would Vision lie to her? Was her husband doing the same?

Y/N didn't want his wife to think too much of it and figure out the plan. He joined hands with her, "Come on, honey. Why don't we get treats of our own?"

Wanda gave a slight nod, and the couple continued down the street.

• • •

LATER IN THE NIGHT, the family walked along the empty road in front of the theater. The kids walked ahead of them as Pietro spoke to Wanda.

"This is so lame. I can't believe you're making them return the candy."

"I can't believe what a bad influence you are." She shot back.

"Who beefed in you borscht?"

"Beefed in your borscht?" Y/N repeated in bewilderment.

"Look, I'm just trying to do my part, okay?" Pietro said, "Come to town unexpectedly, create tension with the brother-in-law, stir trouble with the rugrats, and ultimately give you grief. I mean, that's what you wanted, isn't it?"

Wanda ignored his explanation, "What happened to your accent?"

"What happened to yours?" He rebutted.

Y/N glanced at Wanda. He doesn't remember his wife ever having an accent.

"Everything's fuzzy. I got shot like a chump on the street for no reason at all and next thing I know, I heard you calling me." Pietro stated.

"What? You were shot?" Y/N asked in awe.

Before he can get an explanation, his two boys arrived from their recent candy trek.

"They've got full-size candy bars a few blocks up. Dad, can we go?" Billy asked.

Before he can respond, Tommy used his newfound super-speed to dash over to the house and get the candy. He came back in a second.

"Next stop, Cavity Town." Tommy chuckled.

"Right on, little dude! You got super-speed!" Pietro cheered.

Billy looked around and realized Vivian was missing. "Where's Viv?"

Suddenly, she appeared beside him after deactivating her newfound invisibility power.

"Boo!" She exclaimed, scaring the two brothers.

"Oh, man! Seems like you got more of your daddy's genes, squirt." Her uncle told her.

"Great, she's gonna be pulling pranks for days." Y/N crossed his arms.

"We got powers, Viv!" Tommy cheered, then began to run around the street using his enhanced speed.

Wanda stopped Tommy when he got close, "If you're gonna break the sound barrier, please just take your brother and sister with you."

"Really?"

"Yes, just be careful."

"No need to worry." Y/N began, "I'll go with the kids. Gotta make sure that they know with great power comes great..."

"Management and conduct?" Vivian asked.

"Yeah...something like that." He replied, then got into a running stance as he looked at Tommy, "Bet you can't beat your old man."

"Already did." Tommy replied as he grabbed his siblings and dashed away. Y/N laughed as he also used his not-as-fast speed to follow.

• • •

THE KIDS AND THEIR FATHER had a great time walking around the pumpkin festival and receiving treats from the many booths put up. Y/N unwrapped a piece of chocolate and popped it in his mouth.

"Wow, Dad. That's the fifth candy I've seen you eat." Tommy remarked.

"You've been keeping count?" He asked.

"Somebody's going to get cavities." Vivian said in a singsong manner, "And I thought Tommy would be the one."

"Unlike your brother, I brush my teeth." Y/N chuckled as he chewed.

"Hey!" Tommy shot back.

They laughed as Y/N pat his son on the back. Tommy sped away to get more candy as Y/N walked with Vivian. They noticed Billy standing still ahead of them.

"Billy?" Y/N called out.

Billy stood where he was, trying to focus in on what he was sensing. He heard screams in his head, and he knew it was coming from either inside or close to the town. He also heard voices.

"He really does want out, doesn't he?"

Tommy ran by, and Billy used his newfound psionic ability to slow down and stop him.

"Woah, Billy. That was sick!" He said in awe.

He heard the screams again, and that's when he knew it was his uncle Vision. He was in trouble.

He snapped back to face his Y/N, "Dad! It's Uncle Vis!"

"What?"

"We have to tell Mom!" Billy exclaimed and quickly ran away. His siblings followed, and Y/N ran with them moments after.

"Mom! Mom!" The kids shouted as they saw Wanda sitting with Pietro on a block of hay. They got up to see what the problem was.

"What? What is it?" Wanda asked.

Billy panted, "I hear Uncle Vis in my head. He's in trouble." He breathed heavily, "I don't understand. What's happening to me?"

"Where is he?" Wanda asked, "Where's Vision?"

"Hey, don't sweat it, sis. It's not like your dead BFF can die twice." Pietro chuckled.

Wanda's eyes glowed red as she turned back and sent Pietro across the street with a blast of energy. Y/N looked on in awe as he stood by Tommy and Vivian.

"Billy." Wanda faced her son again, "I need you to focus."

Billy shuddered as he closed his eyes and focused in again, "I see these...", he saw flashes of Vision disintegrating and being surrounded by men with guns, "...soldiers." He opened his eyes, "They think he's dying."

Wanda looked at Y/N, who had an expression of bewilderment and worry. In an instant, she channeled her energy and used her powers to freeze the people around her. The only people who weren't were her kids and Y/N.

"Wanda?" Her husband called out. She didn't respond, and with her eyes closed she exerted an immense amount of energy that engulfed the town.

The dome that surrounded Westview began to expand, which fortunately saved Vision from being completely torn apart. He laid unconscious on the grass. The Hex engulfed the S.W.O.R.D base and the unlucky agents outside of Westview, turning them into clowns and other sideshow characters. The dome kept expanding miles out, making the Hex even larger.

Once the deed was done, Wanda opened her eyes. They still glowed red, but slowly reverted back to their original color.