Synopsis
Young Avengers Presents #3 synopsis by
Rob Johnson
Rating:
This issue features the twins Speed and Wiccan with support from Wiccan's boyfriend Hulkling.
Billy Kaplan explains to Teddy Altman that he has a regular dream where he's having his 8th year birthday party and his 'mother' Scarlet Witch is there talking to other Avengers, in particular in last night's dream the Wasp. Wanda Maximoff as usual comments that he has his father's eyes and we see Mephisto behind them. And he wakes up filled with dread. He adds that the effect has been getting worse since the Civil War.
Billy says he needs to find the Scarlet Witch (who's been missing since the House Of M event) and learn the truth about his heritage. If he can find her he can help her recover from her insanity (that led to Avengers Disassembled and House Of M). Teddy wants to accompany him on his quest but Billy says Tommy should go with him because Wanda's his 'mom' too. At which point Tommy Shepherd enters through the window. Besides, Billy needs shape-shifting Hulkling to pretend to be him so his 'real' mother Rebecca Kaplan doesn't get suspicious. At which point she calls him for dinner. Tommy zooms off, Teddy wishes Billy well and assumes his boyfriend's form, and Billy leaves.
Speed had said he was heading for the island of Genosha, the last place Wanda was seen alive. So Wiccan magics himself there (Billy's way of doing magic is still to chant what he wants to happen until it does) but his superfast brother still beats him to it. And Tommy's still kidding Billy about his burgeoning relationship with 'the Skrull'. Billy looks around at the deserted city of Hammer Bay but Tommy says he already searched the place while he was waiting and the Witch isn't here. And he declares he's off to Wundagore and Wiccan has to follow him again.
Wundagore Mountain is the place where Wanda and her brother Pietro/Quicksilver were born. Again Speed has checked every dwelling and says he's drawn a blank once more. He claims to have learned by experience (with Wiccan and others) to tell when someone's magical. Wiccan double-checks with his magical senses and has to agree. Unless she's deep undercover with her magic powers completely suppressed.
Billy then says they're going to the place *he* wanted to try 1st, that they could have reached by bus (an option which Speed can't take seriously). And he magics them both to Cresskill, New Jersey where Wanda and the Vision set up home when they were married. The house looks deserted and going to seed but then they see someone in a window. Billy warns Tommy to be careful but Speed races to open the door. And as he touches the doorknob a bolt of magic lightning sends him to Hell.
Wiccan uses a protection spell to get himself inside the house. And inside he finds Master Pandemonium hiding, who he recognises from Avengers files. The villain sends the demons that are his arms to attack the boy who responds by conjuring up his magic staff to hold them off. More demons trickle out of the star-shaped hole in Pandemonium's chest which Wiccan fails to dismiss. It's a standoff and Billy asks where his brother is, to be told the answer is Hell. But MP says he recognises Wiccan's magic as the Scarlet Witch type, and guesses that his brother is his twin and that they are Wanda's kids Billy and Tommy. He magics them both to Hell and then brings them back with Tommy.
Pandemonium then tells them things concerning their origin (confirming and expanding what they learned in #11 of the Young Avengers series). They were Scarlet Witch's twin babies born by magic but really they came from Mephisto, who made a pact with the movie actor MP once was but then supposedly took 5 parts of his soul, 2 of which became Tommy and Billy. Master P searched the world for them only to find at the end that he'd been tricked into recovering 5 missing pieces of Mephisto himself. (MP doesn't actually describe all this very clearly.) He says that after the MP/Mephisto/SW(/West Coast Avengers) affair was over the children were erased from Wanda's memory, which led to her madness mentioned above.
Since then he says he's been in hiding (not completely true), lately in this house. Billy says he and Tommy came here looking for their mother and their history. MP advises them that their past is shrouded in 'darkness and chaos' and they should let it be and embrace their present. When they've left we see him watching presumably 1 of his old films.
The duo go home to New York by bus, much to Speed's disgust. Billy still believes his mother isn't dead but thinks she doesn't want to be found. (And we see that Wanda *is* in a house in Wundagore.) Billy goes home to *his* present which significantly includes is his boyfriend Teddy. And he has to admit that his brother Tommy isn't as obnoxious as he seems.