Chapter 0186: Stalemate

In Wakanda.

"Are you sure I don't need to go there?" Wanda asked Alex while giving a concerned look in a specific direction as if she could see through the walls in the bedroom, "The calling just got a whole lot stronger since a few hours ago."

"Yes," Alex told her, "Stark's there, examining a witch who has been corrupted by the Darkhold. He and Nat have everything under control." As for how Alex knew what was going on without Nat being there, he had already hacked into Tony's systems and could access all of the data that Friday was working with, including the recording that Tony was trying to examine.

"Are you sure that they don't need me?" Wanda asked, "I just need to portal there and help them out. I'll finish up as soon as possible and return."

"They'll be fine." Alex held her shoulders and made her sit back down on the couch, "They would've called you if they needed you. Plus, Strange and Wong are there to help out with everything."

"Oh, they are also there," Wanda raised a brow, "The fluctuations must truly be massive then. I've been feeling its call for a long time, but looks like it's desperate now."

"All the more reason for you to not go there," Alex said, "Remember that Earth that I was telling you about? The one where I had to overtax myself?"

"The Hydra one where you went with Laura, I know." She nodded with a glint in her eyes.

Alex coughed, "Yeah, Laura… So, that place also has a variant of you." He told Wanda, "And the Wanda there is probably somewhat stronger than even you. By a significant margin."

"Impressive," Wanda said casually before grabbing a biscuit and munching on it, "What about it?"

"She's not really Wanda," Alex told her, "An external entity is controlling her."

"So you're telling me that if I come into contact with the Darkhold and adhere to its whims, I'll get possessed by this unknown entity?" Wanda asked with a raised brow.

"Exactly," Alex nodded, "And it's not unknown. It's the ruler of the Chaos Dimension, Cthon. Or at least a wisp… I don't really know the exact deal."

Wanda hissed at Alex when she heard that name, her eyes filling with unbridled fury. An expression of immense hatred appeared on her face for a moment before disappearing, "That was weird…" She said while massaging her head.

"Yeah, you aren't going anywhere close to the Darkhold or Wundagore," Alex decided, "No matter what happens."

"Wundagore?" Wanda asked.

"The thing that's calling to you isn't the Darkhold. It's the palace on Mount Wundagore," Alex explained, "It's the place where the book was originally inscribed."

Alex's words had little effect on Wanda, "Whatever," She couldn't bother to give a fuck about anything that didn't have to do with herself and Alex, "Can we just get back to working on our Sanctumnal Home? I need to make sure that they don't mess anything up," She said, "If they mess up a single internal carving, the formation will be messed up and we'll have to do everything once again. Worst case, it blows everything up." She got up from the couch and grabbed Alex's hand, pulling him with her.

…

"What's your ETA, Nat?" Tony asked while approaching the temple that kept ominously glowing red.

"Ten minutes to breach Timerian airspace, another two to reach your location." She said, "Do you need backup?"

"It's fine," He refused, "I have a lovely sculpture of a woman keeping me company. The two weird men who put her in that state should also be returning soon."

Nat didn't say anything for a while, "…We'll be there as soon as possible," She said before hanging up.

"I would hope so…" Tony mumbled before glancing at Agatha's frozen form. After a moment of thought, he started flying toward the glowing rock structure.

"What are you doing?" It was at this time that Doctor Strange and Wong returned from Kamar Taj after having their talk, only to see Tony approaching the temple.

"Going closer to the ominously glowing rock formation to examine it better." Tony didn't let Strange's words dissuade him from entering the place.

"The grounds of Wundagore are a forbidden location for a reason," Strange said and created a portal in front of Tony that made him appear on the cliff that Strange and Wong were standing on.

Tony halted himself so that he wouldn't collide with the ground, "Don't," Tony said with suppressed annoyance as he prepared to fly back to the structure.

"Please stop," Wong tried to reason with Tony, "The tomb on top of Wundagore Mountain is not a simple place. Eons ago, the first demon, Chthon was the one to transcribe his darkest spells into his resting place. Those spells were later transcribed into that book," He pointed to the Darkhold that was frozen behind Agatha, "The Book of the Damned. That castle still contains the lingering will of the first demon and will corrupt anyone who enters unprepared."

"Nice history lesson, what's stopping me from destroying it?" Tony asked, "Seems like a big mess of old rocks that probably won't survive a big explosion."

"These places are not that simple." Strange said, "The Darkhold itself is many millennia old. With the tomb having existed for an indeterminate amount of time, do you really think a little explosion will get rid of it? It's built upon a leyline that directly empowers the defenses of the castle."

"I think a nuke should do the trick if nothing else," Tony said, "It'll even destroy the so-called leyline that's powering everything. Problem solved."

"It's like I'm dealing with a fucking rock," Strange blew up, "Do you not get it!? You can't destroy the tomb or the entire world's defenses will be put at risk. The leylines are all interconnected and if even a single node is destroyed, then everything gets destabilized."

"Seriously, stop trying to blow it up," Wong shook his head at Tony, "We can interrogate her and ask what's going on." He pointed to Agatha, "She will probably answer a lot of your doubts."

Tony clicked his tongue in disappointment and powered his thrusters down, landing on the ground with Wong and Strange, "If her answers don't satisfy me, I'm getting rid of that place. I don't want a loose Wanda Maximoff out and about after being corrupted by the devil-hold or whatever. I've seen what she can do."

"The Darkhold." Strange corrected Tony while pulling Agatha toward himself.

"Big difference, yes," Tony said with a mock-serious tone.

Strange narrowed his eyes at Tony and was about to say something, but his gaze abruptly turned upward. His eyes widened a little when he saw the silhouette of a fortress high up in the sky.

"Took you long enough," He heard Tony say and his brow twitched.

"I take it you called your buddies?" Strange asked, getting ready for a fight.

Before Tony could say anything with a quip, lightning crackled in the snowy sky as a lightning bolt hit the ground beside him, making him flinch away while in mid-air. As the snow settled, Nat appeared, clad in the usual black leather combat suit that she always wore, though it seemed even more tight-fitting than before, if that was even possible.

"I see you've been inspired by Thor. A much, much sexier version, but Thor nonetheless. Where do I get one of those?" Tony couldn't help but ask when he saw that she was completely unharmed after jumping down from the fortress that was still miles above them.

"It's a … kind of a me thing." Natasha said with an amused smile, "So what's going on with these guys?" She pointed to Wong and Strange.

"Does she kind of remind you of Wanda?" Wong asked Strange.

"In that they both have red hair?" Strange was slightly taken aback, "I didn't take you for that kind of a monk, Wong."

"Huh?" Wong was confused for a moment before his eyes widened slightly when he realized it, "What?! No!" He whispered furiously with his accent shining through his tone, "I was talking about the sense of something weird and inexplicable going on with them. What's wrong with you?"

"Oh, you should've clarified," Strange said, "How was I supposed to know?"

"If your lovers' spat is finished, shall we check out the ominous rock already?" Tony said with hints of impatience.

"When we said that Wundagore is a forbidden ground, what part of it did you not understand?" Strange said annoyedly as he cast an EMP spell at Tony that would disable all electronics and make his nano suit useless. The armor peeled right off of Tony's body, leaving him in a flimsy jacket that barely protected him from the cold.

"That wasn't very polite, was it?" Tony said with a tone of suppressed anger.

"We will take care of everything here. You don't need to interfere," Strange said before floating slightly higher with the help of his cloak to give his words more emphasis.

"Yeah, no." Nat shook her head and stomped her foot. Instantly, a large tentacle erupted from the ground right under Strange and wrapped around his ankle before pulling him back down.

"You go…" Tony couldn't help but cheer when he saw what Nat did, "I seriously need one of those."

"How about we talk cordially and cooperate?" Nat suggested, "You should know what kind of a stubborn bunch the Avengers are. Do you really want us against you?"

"Finally, a voice of reason," Wong cheered happily since he didn't have to deal with two egotistical maniacs all by himself anymore. When he saw Nat's inquisitive expression, he introduced himself, "My name is Wong, Ms. Romanoff."

"Hello," Nat greeted with a little smile, "Can you tell me what I missed?"

***

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