[Westview. 2800 Ellis Avenue. The Living Room.]
[Canned Laughter]
"Oh, Vis!" Wanda Maximoff (dressed in a stunning A-line floral dress) threw her hands up in mock despair. "The Harts are coming for dinner in twenty minutes, and I've burned the chicken! It's absolute charcoal!"
Vision (wearing a sweater vest) stared at the blackened bird on the table. "Well, dear, perhaps we could tell them it's a Cajun delicacy? Blackened poultry is all the rage in... New Orleans?"
[Laughter]
"Oh, stop it!" Wanda waved a hand. "What are we going to do? Mr. Hart is your boss! If this dinner fails, you might get fired from the... wait, what is it you do again?"
"I analyze computational forms!" Vision said proudly. "And I cannot compute a way out of this one!"
[Ding-Dong]
The doorbell rang.
Wanda froze. She looked at the camera (the fourth wall). "Who could that be? The Harts aren't due until six!"
She smoothed her dress and opened the door.
Standing on the porch was a tall, handsome man in a tuxedo. His hair was slicked back, and he held a silver platter with a covered dish.
[Audience Oohs and Aahs]
"Good evening, Madam," Sebastian bowed. "I am Sebastian. The Welcome Wagon committee informed me that a new couple had moved in, and as the neighborhood's... facilitator, I thought I might offer a warm welcome."
Wanda blinked. She didn't write this character. She tried to remember if she had cast a butler.
"Oh! Well, aren't you... dapper," Wanda smiled nervously. "We're actually in a bit of a pinch right now—"
"Say no more," Sebastian stepped inside, gliding past her. "I smell carbonized protein. A kitchen disaster, I presume?"
He walked to the table, lifted the burnt chicken with two fingers, and dropped it into a waste bin.
[Laughter]
"Hey!" Vision protested. "That was my Cajun surprise!"
Sebastian placed his silver platter on the table. He whipped off the cover. Underneath was a perfectly roasted duck, glistening with orange glaze.
"Duck à l'Orange," Sebastian announced. "Prepared with a reduction of Grand Marnier. It pairs wonderfully with a promotion."
[Applause]
Vision's jaw dropped. "Wanda! Look at this! We're saved!"
Wanda stared at Sebastian. Her eyes narrowed slightly. The script was changing, but... it was a good change. It fit.
"Well," Wanda clasped her hands. "I suppose we could use an extra pair of hands. Are you hired?"
"I am merely one hell of a neighbor," Sebastian winked at the camera.
[Laughter]
[The Dinner Party]
The evening was a blur of slapstick and perfection.
Mr. Hart (the boss) choked on a bone? Sebastian performed the Heimlich maneuver with one hand while pouring wine with the other. Mrs. Hart complained about the draft? Sebastian closed the window before she finished the sentence.
Throughout it all, Sebastian watched Vision.
He watched the Synthezoid eat. He shouldn't be eating. He has no digestive tract. He watched Vision laugh. He shouldn't be laughing. He is a corpse.
In the kitchen, while Wanda was plating dessert, Sebastian cornered Vision.
"Excellent meal, Sebastian!" Vision patted his stomach. "I feel as light as a feather! Which is odd, considering my density is usually quite high."
"Sir," Sebastian leaned in, his voice dropping the sitcom accent for a second. "Do you recall... before?"
Vision blinked. "Before? Before what? Before the appetizer?"
"Before Westview," Sebastian pressed. "Do you remember the stone? The Titan?"
Vision's smile faltered. The laugh track was silent. The air grew static.
"I..." Vision touched his forehead. "I feel... why is there no stone?"
"Cut!" Wanda's voice rang out from the dining room.
[Jump Cut]
Suddenly, Sebastian was standing by the sink, washing dishes. Vision was back at the table, laughing at Mr. Hart's joke.
She edited me, Sebastian realized. She rewound time.
He looked down at his hands. The soap suds were pink.
[The Yard. Night.]
The Harts had left. The dinner was a success.
Sebastian walked out the back door to take out the trash.
"You're good," a voice said from the bushes.
Agnes (the nosy neighbor) was leaning over the fence, holding a potted plant.
"Agnes, isn't it?" Sebastian smiled. "Lovely evening for gardening."
"Cut the crap, Jeeves," Agnes smirked. She looked him up and down. "I know a spell when I see one. But you... you're not a spell. You're something... older."
"And you," Sebastian walked to the fence, his eyes flashing red in the dark, "smell of purple magic. Not chaos. Something more... structured."
Agnes's eyes widened. She laughed, a cackle that wasn't for the audience.
"You're not supposed to be here, tall, dark, and demonic. She's going to notice. The cracks are already showing."
"Let them show," Sebastian whispered. "I need to know if it's real, Agnes. Is he alive?"
Agnes looked at the house where Wanda and Vision were turning off the lights.
"Alive?" Agnes scoffed. "Honey, in this town, 'alive' is a matter of opinion. But if you're asking if he has a soul?"
She leaned in.
"He's a puppet. And she's pulling the strings so hard her fingers are bleeding."
Agnes walked away into the dark.
Sebastian stood alone in the perfect, artificial yard.
A puppet, he thought. Then she cannot resurrect. She can only animate.
His heart sank. If Wanda couldn't truly bring Vision back, she couldn't bring Tony back. The hope was a lie.
But then... he looked at the house again. He saw Vision kiss Wanda on the forehead. It looked so... genuine.
Unless, Sebastian thought, the soul is not in the body. But in the memory.
He had to stay. He had to push her until she broke.
He straightened his tuxedo.
"Tune in next week," Sebastian whispered to the moon.
[End of Chapter 52]
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