Originally Posted by
Sutekh
I *so* wanted Children's Crusade to be a Young Avengers-centric story, with about 98% less Avengers, X-Men, Magneto and Doom cluttering it up.
(There was some relevance to Wanda, Rictor and Scott Lang appearing, so I don't mind *some* guest-stars, to service the story, particularly ones as tied to the characters as Wanda (to Billy and Tommy) and Scott (to Cassie).)
Imagine if Wanda said 'No More Mutants' and instead of some Life Force retcon, it was the power of Chthon that answered her call, reaching out through her to change the world, and releasing so much of his power in the act that, for the first time in eons, more of his power, his essence existed *outside* of Wundagore than imprisoned within, and his spirit managed to wrench free and possess some poor slob nearby. Meanwhile, the arcane wards did nothing, because his actual body remained imprisoned as always, and there was this honking big power-signature from across the sea, where Wanda was standing, to 'blind the radar' to any warning jiggles from Wundagore.
Cut forward many months, Chthon having been massively weakened by this stunt, and slowly recovering his power, and wanting to get the hell away A) from Wundagore's vicinity, and B) not be near New York (and the Sorcerer Supreme and Avengers Mansion, where some of his greatest adversaries hang their capes) where his possessed tourist host hails from, so he's taken a suggestion from his host, that he allows to think he's in control, to go to Vegas and use glamers and minor suggestions to cheat at gambling. His power grown, he's now living rent-free in a penthouse, an entire casino pretty much enslaved to his will, living a life of hedonistic abandon at his host's whim, but otherwise avoiding the sorts of gratuitous displays of power that might attract those who would return him to his prison.
Enter the Young Avengers. Billy has a spiritual tie to Wanda. Wanda has a spiritual tie to Chthon. Every time Chthon gets a little overzealous and, say, turns a hotel staffer to stone for spilling his drink, or something equally dramatic, Billy gets a twinge through this second-hand connection. Cue the crew heading to Vegas to deal with Chthon, and eventually having to call Wanda in for cleanup help un-petrifying people and stuff (although I'd want the YA to deal with this possessing Chthon-spirit themselves).
Skip the Life-Force stuff, which was pretty much invented for this, and seems likely to never be mentioned above. Skip Doom. Hard pass on the rest of the Avengers and X-Men and Magneto getting involved. Too much clutter, IMO.