- "You gave all those lives just to keep me from my children."
"You took those lives." - ―Scarlet Witch and Doctor Strange[src]
The Siege of Kamar-Taj was a confrontation between the Masters of the Mystic Arts and Scarlet Witch, who demanded America Chavez to be handed over to her.
Background[]
- "Return to Kamar-Taj, and prepare to hand over America Chavez by sundown. Peacefully. After that... You'll never see me again."
"And if we don't?"
"Then it won't be Wanda who comes for her. It will be the Scarlet Witch." - ―Scarlet Witch and Doctor Strange[src]
Researching the Darkhold, Wanda Maximoff discovered the existence of the Multiverse and found that her counterparts in alternate universes were living her ideal life with her two sons. While being corrupted by the Darkhold, Maximoff found out that America Chavez possessed the power to travel through the Multiverse, so Maximoff summoned several inter-dimensional beings and creatures to hunt her down, intending to get the life she longed for. Escaping from the Ribboned Creature, Chavez joined forces with Doctor Strange, who intended to use the Book of Vishanti to save Chavez. However, as the creature was too powerful for him to handle, Strange tried to take Chavez's powers from her, despite knowing that the process would kill her.
Doctor Strange saves America Chavez from Gargantos
As Strange was suddenly killed by the creature, a terrified Chavez opened a portal to Earth-616's New York City, where she was attacked by Gargantos. There, she was rescued by an alternate Doctor Strange and Wong, who killed Gargantos and questioned Chavez about her sudden appearance. Chavez explained that she could travel through the Multiverse and the creatures were sent by someone who wanted her powers for themselves, and showed them the dead body of Strange's counterpart as proof. Discussing the situation, Strange and Wong recalled that Gargantos had runes on it, which meant that they were dealing with witchcraft, rather than sorcery.
Scarlet Witch gives Doctor Strange an ultimatum
While Chavez was sent to Kamar-Taj for protection, Strange approached Maximoff at her hideout and informed her that Chavez was being hunted, and asked for her help to keep Chavez safe. However, Maximoff accidentally revealed to him that she was the one hunting Chavez, as she desired to reunite with Billy and Tommy Maximoff. Despite the fact that Strange tried to reason with Maximoff, claiming that her sons and the Westview Anomaly were never real, Maximoff knew that they were real in another universe following her use of the Darkhold. Maximoff gave Strange an ultimatum: he was to either surrender Chavez peacefully, or Maximoff would come to Kamar-Taj as the Scarlet Witch to take her by force.[1]
Siege[]
Doctor Strange faces Scarlet Witch
As the threat loomed ever closer, Wong ordered the Masters of the Mystic Arts to fortify Kamar-Taj to protect America Chavez. Scarlet Witch finally arrived at Kamar-Taj and Doctor Strange attempted to talk her down to avoid conflict, but Scarlet Witch refused to give up. She explained that sending the creatures after Chavez instead of doing it herself was a mercy, and she had begged Strange to walk away, but Strange had now exhausted her patience. Scarlet Witch then proceeded to lay siege on Kamar-Taj, however, the magic shield created by the Masters managed to withstand her attacks.
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Scarlet Witch causes havoc at Kamar-Taj
As the shield proved to be highly resistant, Scarlet Witch used her mind-controlling abilities to instill fear into one of the Masters, causing the shield to fall. With Kamar-Taj left defenseless, Scarlet Witch got inside the perimeter, wreaked havoc using her hex bolts on the ground. Sara Wolfe and other Masters tried to blast her with the artillery, but Scarlet Witch blasted them off and toppled the building. As Strange and Wong ordered the rest of the Masters to fall back, Scarlet Witch continued to cause chaos on the ground, killing and wounding multiple masters in her rampage.
Scarlet Witch being trapped in the Mirror Dimension
Strange then trapped Scarlet Witch inside the Mirror Dimension, before telling Chavez that Kamar-Taj has fallen and they need to get Chavez out of there. In the Mirror Dimension, Scarlet Witch discovered a space between the mirror shards that led out of the dimension through reflections. She took out Hamir and the other sorcerer on guard, and although Strange, Wong, and Chavez tried in vain to cover all the reflections, Scarlet Witch succeeded in escaping. She did this by contorting her body and managed to squeeze in between the mirror shards, therefore exiting the Mirror Dimension. As Strange and Wong were the only hindrances on her way, Scarlet Witch used the Darkhold to show them the universes where she had the life she longed for.
Doctor Strange tries to hold Scarlet Witch off
Strange cast a spell and summoned snake-like creatures to attack Scarlet Witch, while Wong stepped forward to combat her, none of it was effective against Scarlet Witch. She used her powers to seize Chavez and tried to extract her powers, which caused Chavez to open another portal out of fear. Strange then leaped forward and tried to save Chavez, and although Scarlet Witch blasted him and damaged the Cloak of Levitation, Strange and Chavez still got through the portal. Traveling through the Multiverse, Strange and Chavez found themselves at Earth-838.[1]
Aftermath[]
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Scarlet Witch dreamwalks into her alternate self
- "A dreamwalking sorcerer projects their own consciousness from their universe into another. Possessing the body of an alternate self. Playing puppeteer, this unholy doppelganger, and pursue their enemies from afar."
- ―Baron Mordo to Doctor Strange and America Chavez[src]
With Kamar-Taj fallen, Scarlet Witch restrained Wong and used the Darkhold to enter the state of Dreamwalking and possessed her alternate self in Earth-838, to hunt America Chavez down. However, Sara Wolfe sacrificed herself to destroy the book, leaving Scarlet Witch without the spells and forcibly removing her from the dreamwalking state. Scarlet Witch attacked Wong and threatened to torture and kill Rintrah and a group of surviving sorcerers that were wounded during the attack, forcing Wong to tell her what he knew about the Darkhold and where she could get the spells. Wong told her about the Darkhold Castle on Mount Wundagore, where Chthon had inscribed the spells that were transcribed into the Darkhold copy she had.
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Doctor Strange faces the Illuminati
At Earth-838, Doctor Strange and Chavez tried to find Strange's local counterpart to get the Book of Vishanti, however, they found out that he had died fighting Thanos and Baron Mordo had replaced him as the Sorcerer Supreme of this universe. Mordo told Strange and Chavez about the dreamwalking, however, he used the Sands of Nisanti to neutralize both of them and transported them to the Illuminati Headquarters, where Christine Palmer and the Baxter Foundation studied them. Strange then faced the Illuminati, who explained to them that their Strange was corrupted by the Darkhold and dreamwalked to find the solution to Thanos' threat, however, his actions caused an Incursion and destroyed the alternate universe.
Scarlet Witch attacks the Illuminati Headquarters
As the Illuminati considered every Strange the biggest threat to the Multiverse, they concluded that Strange's presence in their universe put them in great danger. However, before they could vote on their next steps with Strange, the headquarters was attacked by Scarlet Witch who had successfully dreamwalked into her counterpart. Scarlet Witch killed Black Bolt and Mister Fantastic, before fighting and killing Captain Carter and Captain Marvel. Chavez and Palmer tried to escape, as Professor X tried to liberate Maximoff from Scarlet Witch's control, but was unsuccessful, as Scarlet Witch killed him as well. Strange, Chavez, and Palmer got to the Gap Junction, where they tried to get to the Book of Vishanti, however, Scarlet Witch destroyed the book and captured Chavez.[1]