Wiccan: Witches' Road (2026 series) #3

Wiccan (Billy Kaplan) has got tangled up with the witch Baba Yaga who has turned his husband Hulkling (Teddy Altman) into a small puppet and sent them on a quest with an untrustworthy talking fox to restore his magical power (and Demiurge-ness). The 1st task was to get a flower from a dragon that turned out to be Fin Fang Foom. And more significantly it was accompanied by a young girl who claimed that *she* was the Demiurge.

We begin with a flashback to a very young Billy crying because bullies have destroyed his snowman. He's consoled by an equally-young girl who he doesn't know and she helps him rebuild it.

Then we take a side-trip to the orbiting Impossible City HQ of the Avengers where Scarlet Witch (Wanda Maximoff) has noticed that 17 Roxxon facilities have been destroyed in the past 2 weeks and she's detected that terramancy (elemental magic) was involved with a naggingly familiar feel to it. Storm (Ororo Munroe) feels it too and they agree to go on a road trip.

Wiccan kneels before the Demiurge but he recognises her from somewhere. He embraces her but she rebuffs him and traps him in vines, accusing him of breaking his promise and abandoning the Earth (when he and Teddy went to space to rule the Kree/Skrull Alliance) and now Roxxon has been poisoning the land. (And last issue she and the dragon attacked a Roxxon site where they are now.) They are standing in a sea of red with red bubbles hovering over it and the fox (with Hulkling dangling from a cord round its neck) indicates that the red is a blight that the Demiurge has drawn from the ground.

At this point Roxxon attack her. The fox called Nameless attacks a trooper who empties a clip of ammo into it. Wiccan draws his large sword and retaliates. But the Demiurge is able to take care of herself by causing roots to rise out of the ground and ensnare the foes. Billy finds Teddy floating on the redness while the girl holds the injured fox. Billy comforts her while she transforms the animal into what it really is, a naked woman who declares herself to be the witch Morgan Le Fay. But she finds that although Baba Yaga's curse has been lifted she doesn't have her magic. Billy says that now she's in the same situation as him, but he has a sword.

Now he thinks his quest is over and he'll use Baba Yaga's magic wishbone to take him and the Demiurge (who has now fainted) back to her. But when he looks in his pouch it's not there. Morgan says she knows the paths of the Witches' Road and he reluctantly accepts an alliance. She takes his cloak to cover her nakedness. Billy is worried about the Roxxon soldiers following them so Morgan takes his magic gourd, uncorks it and points it at them whereupon it does its job and swallows them. Billy is angry at this but the witch reminds him that she's faced the Avengers, Avalon and Dr Doom so he's nothing to her.

We now get a different flashback. A young girl brings flowers she's picked to her mother's hut in the countryside. But Baba Yaga upbraids her for killing the flowers without their permission. And she turns her into an (amnesiac) fox.

In the present it's raining and Morgan finds a firefly nymph to light a fire with, and she's caught 2 rabbits to cook. The Demiurge is sleeping and Billy & Teddy are discussing their situation. Morgan arrives and kills the firefly and grinds it up to start the fire. She's also found time to sharpen some rocks so they can skin the rabbits. When they're roasted on a spit the girl wakes still angry. They argue about Billy's abandoning her and she takes refuge in the arms of Morgan. Billy leaves with Teddy to 'find more rabbits'.

They discuss their situation again and reaffirm their love. They also review the terms of the quest. They've found the Demiurge and got the flower of a dragon (though this wasn't actually shown and Fin Fang Foom didn't actually seem to have any flowers). Teddy points out they still need the tears of a giant, and Billy starts to cry because there's something else that he hasn't told him. (Now Billy's a giant compared to puppet Teddy, and Billy's tears are flowing down towards him. If I were Teddy I'd save some of them.) Baba Yaga wants him to give her the heart of his 1st love. Teddy thinks that means him but Billy says there was someone else he loved in a different way when he was very young.

Back to the 1st flashback. Billy and the girl regularly met up to build snowmen and play other games. But 1 day she just stopped showing up.

Billy returns the camp (but we see 3 beings looming over him). But Morgan has the wishbone and uses it to take herself and the Demiurge back to Baba Yaga. Leaving Billy and Teddy in the forest with the looming beings.

Morgan tells Yaga that she's ready to live up to her potential and her mother says the world needs a Demiurge.