"He discovered that there were universes stacked on top of his own..." The subject of this article comes from an alternate universe connecting to the main timeline of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This universe is designated as "Illuminati Assembled".

The Battle at the Illuminati Headquarters was an attack on the Illuminati Headquarters by Scarlet Witch, who dreamwalked into her alternate self in an effort to locate and capture America Chavez. It resulted in the swift massacre of multiple Illuminati members and the successful abduction of Chavez in the Gap Junction.

Background[]

Chase of America Chavez[]

America Chavez landed in Earth-616 while escaping from an inter-dimensional creature, and she was attacked there by Gargantos, being ultimately rescued by Doctor Strange and Wong. Chavez explained to them that she could travel through the Multiverse and that the creatures were sent after her by someone who wanted her powers for themselves.

Strange and Wong discussed the runes on Gargantos and concluded that they were dealing with witchcraft, rather than sorcery, and were taken to the corpse of an alternate Strange for proof that Chavez was telling the truth. Strange approached Wanda Maximoff and asked her for help to keep Chavez safe, but Maximoff revealed that she was the one who targeted Chavez in the first place.

Under the Darkhold's influence, Maximoff discovered countless universes in the Multiverse in which she was living a happy life with her sons, and wanted Chavez's powers to get the life that she'd always longed for. Strange claimed that Maximoff couldn't be trusted with such power, and that he wouldn't willingly put Chavez's life at risk. Maximoff gave Strange an ultimatum: he was to either surrender Chavez peacefully, or Maximoff would take her by force. As the threat of the Scarlet Witch's attack loomed close, Wong ordered the Masters of the Mystic Arts to fortify Kamar-Taj and prepare for an attack, as giving Chavez up was not an option.

Siege of Kamar-Taj[]

Arriving at Kamar-Taj, Maximoff was once again met with refusal to her demands from Strange, thus she began her offense, although the barrier around Kamar-Taj was initially able to withstand her attacks. However, Maximoff was able to breach the barrier by enthralling one of the Masters, killing numerous other Masters and deflecting any counterattacks they tried against her. When Maximoff stepped closer to the temple, Strange tried to hinder her by trapping Maximoff in the Mirror Dimension, however, she made her way out through reflections. As Strange and Wong stood as the last people left to protect her, Chavez opened a portal, through which she and Strange eventually landed in Earth-838.

As Wong and most of the Masters were neutralized, Maximoff used the Darkhold to dreamwalk into her alternate self from Earth-838 in order to get to Chavez. However, Sara Wolfe sacrificed herself to destroy the Darkhold, so Maximoff forced Wong to guide her to another source of the Darkhold spells, as she threatened to murder other Masters. Wong reluctantly told Maximoff that the Darkhold that she had was a copy and that it had been first carved into the walls of a castle at the top of Mount Wundagore. Arriving at the castle with Wong, Maximoff realized that it was devoted to the Scarlet Witch, as the Elder Beasts turned out to be loyal to her. Using the runes written by Chthon, Maximoff dreamwalked into her alternate self again and continued her mission.

New Universe[]

Meanwhile, Strange and Chavez decided that they needed the Book of Vishanti to find a way to stop Maximoff, so they tried to find the Earth-838's Doctor Strange. However, they found out that this alternate Strange had died fighting Thanos and that Karl Mordo was the Master of the New York Sanctum. Mordo welcomed them and told Strange and Chavez about dreamwalking. Strange and Chavez then realized that they were poisoned by the Sands of Nisanti, before Mordo captured them and transported them to the Illuminati Headquarters.^[1]

Battle[]

Doctor Strange was brought in by Baron Mordo to face the Illuminati, who assured Strange that the biggest threat to the Multiverse was not Scarlet Witch, but Strange himself. Professor X revealed that their Doctor Strange had dreamwalked to find the solution to defeating Thanos, which eventually resulted in an Incursion and the destruction of another universe. Although Strange and the Illuminati eventually found the Book of Vishanti, which was used to defeat Thanos, the Illuminati decided that Strange still remained a threat and executed him. Despite this, Strange was still presented to the general population as a hero who had tragically given his life to defeat Thanos.

Convinced that every Doctor Strange was a Multiverse-level threat, the Illuminati decided to cast their votes on how to handle Strange's presence in their universe. However, they were interrupted by Wanda Maximoff attacking their headquarters. The Illuminati confronted Maximoff, who quickly killed both Black Bolt and Mister Fantastic, before being attacked by Captain Carter and Captain Marvel. In the subsequent battle, Maximoff managed to cut Captain Carter in half with her own shield and crush Captain Marvel with a statue, before continuing to make her way towards America Chavez.

While the other members of the Illuminati were being killed, Mordo still refused to let Strange go, leading him to believe that Mordo was jealous of Strange's alternate self the whole time and always wanted him to die. Mordo then attacked Strange, and in the battle, both of them were affected by the Sands of Nisanti, which nullified their magical powers. Strange and Mordo then engaged in close quarter combat, in which Strange managed to leave Mordo behind and rush out of the room to get to Chavez.

Meanwhile, Maximoff headed to the research facility where Christine Palmer was trying to release Chavez from her containment chamber. Before Maximoff could attack, she was confronted by Xavier, who engaged Maximoff in a telepathic duel and tried to liberate the Wanda Maximoff of his universe, who was trapped inside her own mind. However, Scarlet Witch was able to best Xavier by suppressing her alternate self, and snapping Xavier's neck. Chavez and Palmer used the distraction to escape and reunite with Strange, running through the underground tunnel to the waypoint that led to the Book of Vishanti. Strange drowned the tunnel to temporarily hinder Maximoff's movements and buy them some time, before they reached the gateway to the Gap Junction.

Strange, Chavez, and Palmer found the Book of Vishanti there. However, before Strange could use it, he was attacked by Maximoff who had caught up to them. She was able to grab Chavez and despite Strange's best efforts, the Book of Vishanti was destroyed in the ensuing chaos. Maximoff enthralled Chavez and forced her to open a portal to another universe which Maximoff sent Strange and Palmer into. Maximoff then forced Chavez to open a portal back to Earth-616, pushing Chavez there. Maximoff then ceased the dreamwalking, liberating her alternate self, and prepared Chavez for a ritual to extract her powers and fulfill her mission.^[1]

Aftermath[]

Doctor Strange and Christine Palmer were sent to another universe, one that was being destroyed by an Incursion. Knowing that America Chavez was in danger, Strange and Palmer decided to look for the Doctor Strange of that universe hoping that he could help them figure out how to defeat Wanda Maximoff since the Book of Vishanti was destroyed. Arriving at the New York Sanctum, Strange encountered his alternate self who was had used the Darkhold to dreamwalk and kill his alternate selves who had a happy life with their Christine Palmer, eventually becoming corrupted by it.

Strange engaged in a spellcasting duel with his alternate self, in which he emerged victorious and his alternate self ended up dead. Strange then used the Darkhold to dreamwalk into the dead body of Doctor Strange who was buried in Earth-616, and although he was attacked by the Souls of the Damned, Palmer helped Strange maintain control as he made his way to Mount Wundagore.

Strange confronted Maximoff there, and made the decision not not save America Chavez by taking her powers. Instead, Strange let her confront Maximoff on her own, telling Chavez that she was capable enough to control her powers and use them effectively. However, instead of fighting Maximoff, Chavez transported her back to Earth-838, where Billy and Tommy were terrified of what Maximoff had become. Realizing what she had done, Maximoff decided to renounce the Darkhold and destroyed the Darkhold Castle along with every copy of the book in the Multiverse.^[1]

References[]