"Wanda!" I yelled.

  Wanda was at my side instantly. She knelt in the mud, her expensive coat ruining in the wet grass.

  "What do I do?" she asked.

  "I need you to get that object out," I ordered. "It’s lodged in the trachea. Use your precision."

  Wanda leaned in. Her eyes narrowed.

  "I see it," she whispered. "It is... a plastic coin."

  "Do it. Now."

  Wanda raised her fingers. Tiny tendrils of red magic flowed from her tips. They entered the baby’s open mouth.

  "Come on..." she breathed.

  She pulled her hand back slowly.

  A small plastic token (like from a board game) floated out of the baby's mouth, wrapped in a red mist.

  She tossed it onto the grass.

  "It is out," she said.

  "He's still limp," I said, my voice tight. "No spontaneous breaths."

  I tilted his head back slightly into a neutral position, pinched his nose, and covered his mouth with mine, creating a seal.

  I gave two gentle rescue breaths, watching his chest rise each time to ensure air entry.

  I moved back to the chest, placing my fingers in the center.

  "Come on," I gritted out. "Come on."

  I resumed the cycle, pumping thirty rapid compressions, followed by two rescue breaths.

  "One... two... three..."

  Thud.

  Thud.

  Thud.

  The crowd was silent. You could hear a pin drop in the wet grass.

  Thud.

  Thud.

  Thud.

  I repeated the cycle, counting the compressions rhythmically: "Twenty eight, twenty nine, thirty," followed by another set of rescue breaths.

  Suddenly, the baby jerked.

  A cough. A hacking sound.

  Then, a wail.

  It was the most beautiful sound I had ever heard.

  The baby’s skin flushed pink. He started screaming, his little fists bunching up.

  I collapsed back on my heels, exhaling a breath that felt like it had been held for a lifetime.

  "He’s back," I whispered. "He’s back."

  The mother lunged forward. "Tommy! Oh god, Tommy!"

  "Careful," I said, handing the crying infant back to her gently. "Keep him upright. Rub his back."

  Sirens wailed in the distance. Blue and red lights flashed against the trees.

  The ambulance screeched to a halt at the curb. Two paramedics jumped out with a kit.

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  I stood up, wiping my hands on my jeans. My knees were shaking.

  "Over here!" I called out.

  The paramedics rushed over. One of them, a guy I recognized from the grocery store named Herb, looked at the baby, then at me.

  "Status?" Herb asked, kneeling down.

  "Infant male, approx one year," I rattled off, slipping back into clinical mode. "Foreign body airway obstruction. Plastic coin. Removed. CPR initiated. Two rounds. Responded to rescue breaths. He’s conscious, crying, pink."

  Herb checked the baby’s vitals. He looked up at me, impressed.

  "Airway is clear," Herb confirmed. "Lungs sound good. You got him just in time, Doc. Another minute and..." He shook his head.

  He looked at the mother. "We need to take him in. Check for throat trauma. But he’s going to be fine, ma'am."

  The mother looked up at me. Her face was a mess of tears and mascara.

  "Thank you," she sobbed. "You saved him. You both saved him."

  She looked at Wanda.

  The mother reached out and grabbed Wanda’s hand.

  "Thank you," she said fiercely. "Thank you."

  Wanda blinked, stunned. She looked at the mother’s hand, then at the crying baby.

  "I..." Wanda stammered. "I just... helped."

  The paramedics loaded the mother and baby onto the gurney. They rushed them to the ambulance.

  As the doors slammed shut and the rig sped away, the silence returned to the park.

  [Perspective: Wanda Maximoff]

  She stood in the wet grass, mud staining the knees of her jeans.

  She looked around.

  The neighbors were staring at them.

  Wanda braced herself. She waited for the fear. The Witch. The Monster. Because she used magic.

  But then, Dottie started clapping.

  Slowly at first. Then louder.

  "Well done!" Sarah shouted. "That was amazing!"

  "Did you see that?" a man asked. "He knew exactly what to do! And she... she just plucked it right out!"

  They swarmed them with hands on shoulders and pats on the back.

  "Aryan!" Mrs. Higgins (the avocado nemesis) pushed through. "You didn't tell us you were a hero doctor! I thought you were just a regular doctor!"

  "I... just did what anyone would do," Aryan said, looking flushed and rubbing the back of his neck.

  "Nonsense!" Herb, who had stayed behind to get statements, slapped Aryan on the back. "That was a textbook. You saved that kid's life."

  "You’re the Scarlet Witch, aren't you?" a teenager asked, eyes wide.

  Wanda tensed.

  "Yeah," the kid grinned. "That’s cool. You guys are like... the Avengers of Westview."

  "Our very own power couple!" Sarah beamed. "Saving babies and bringing spinach puffs. Is there anything you can't do?"

  Wanda looked at Aryan.

  He was smiling at her. He looked proud.

  "She did the hard part," Aryan told the crowd, putting his arm around her waist. "I just pumped the chest. She cleared the pipe. Precision work."

  "You picked a good one, Doc," Dottie noted, eyeing Wanda with approval. "She’s a keeper."

  "I know," Aryan said softly, looking down at Wanda. "I know."

  Wanda felt a lump in her throat.

  For years, her power had been a source of fear. Even when she saved the world, people looked at her hands and saw destruction.

  But here?

  These people were cheering.

  She leaned into Aryan’s side.

  "Thank you," she whispered to the crowd, and she meant it.

  They extricated themselves from the crowd after twenty minutes of handshakes and promises to tell the full story at the next potluck.

  They walked back to the house in silence.

  They reached the porch.

  Aryan unlocked the door.

  They stepped into the warm hallway.

  Aryan leaned back against the door, closing it. He let out a long exhale.

  "Well," he said. "That was... not peaceful."

  "No," Wanda agreed, unbuttoning her coat. "It was not."

  She looked at him. His hair was messy from the run. His jeans were muddy at the knees. He looked exhausted.

  "You were... incredible," she said softly.

  "We saved him," Aryan corrected, kicking off his shoes. "I couldn't get it out. My fingers were too big. You were the scalpel, Wanda."

  He looked at her.

  "You realize what happened back there?" he asked.

  "The baby lived," she said.

  "No. I mean... the people," he said. "They know who you are now. And they cheered."

  Wanda looked down at her hands. The red energy was quiet beneath her skin.

  "They cheered," she repeated, the wonder still fresh in her voice. "They called us... a power couple."

  "Because we are," Aryan said.

  He pushed off the door. He walked over to her.

  He reached out and took her hands. His hands were shaking slightly… the adrenaline crash.

  "Are you okay?" he asked. "Using magic like that... with the crowd..."

  "I am fine," she said. She looked up at him. "I am better than fine."

  She squeezed his hands.

  "You are a doctor," she said, a smile touching her lips. "A real doctor."

  "I told you," he grinned crookedly. "I didn't just buy the diploma online."

  "You were amazing," she whispered.

  She stepped closer. She released his hands and wrapped her arms around his waist, burying her face in his chest.

  "You are amazing," she murmured into his shirt.

  Aryan’s arms came around her instantly. He held her tight.

  "Just a neighbor," he whispered into her hair. "Just a guy who knows CPR."

  "No," she said fiercely. "My hero."

  They stood there in the hallway holding each other.

  "I need a shower," Aryan said eventually, his voice muffled by her hair. "I have mud in places mud should not be."

  "Me too," Wanda said.