Chapter 0183: Calling

"We should call Wanda for this," Steve said to Tony and Nat, "If the energy surge is similar to her, her insight would be invaluable."

"Yeah, bring the unstable nuclear weapon to get her to help us create something that can help us contain her." Tony said sarcastically, "That's definitely going to work."

His words made both Nat and Steve look at him with hostility, "She's a kid, Tony."

"Whatever you say," He shrugged, "But my point stands. She's not going to appreciate what I'm planning."

"Don't you have better things to do?" Nat asked, "With some kind of an interplanetary war on the horizon, nerfing our own people should be the least of your concerns."

"It's not just our Wanda that we might end up fighting." He said with a snap, "My satellites have seen multiple people with Wanda's powers on the other planets who are effectively her copies. Some of them, I'd rather never face at all if possible," He shuddered, "Our Wanda might not be a nuke, but the others? The others definitely are."

"All the more reason to call her," Steve said, "Her insight will be invaluable. You couldn't have built the Hulkbuster without Banner's insight into his own strength."

"I could've," Tony corrected Steve, "It would've required some trial and error, but I could've."

"Trial and error that would decimate cities in its aftermath, Tony." Nat interjected, "Forget it. I'll call Wanda or help if we run into something that we can't deal with. Let's go and see what's going on."

[What do you think is going on, Alex?] Nat asked as she gave the aviation managers instructions to pilot the fortress to the Transian mountains.

[Either something is calling Wanda from there, or someone is.] Alex said, [Either way, I wouldn't count on Wanda coming by. She's got a lot on her plate for now. On the other hand, you might run into Strange.] The only thing Wanda had on her plate right now was food. Alex just didn't want her to end up encountering the Darkhold and told Nat that she was busy.

[Is that supposed to be a person?] Nat asked.

[You'll see when you get there, he's a lovely person. Tony will really get along with him.] Alex said with schadenfreude, making Nat let out a tired sigh.

"How long until we get there?" Steve asked Nat.

"An hour." She said before pressing a button on her intercom, "Put up the ETA on a display in my office." Quickly, one of the many screens lit up with a countdown.

"You would really do well with an onboard AI on this fortress." Tony said, "Think about how much manpower you would save."

"It's my fortress, Tony." Nat said, "I'll manage it as I want until you start paying me to run it. I might become more receptive to your ideas in that case."

"Buzzkill." He decided to get himself a drink as Stevae sat beside Natasha.

"How's Bucky?" Natasha asked.

"He's doing fine." Steve nodded, "After the prosthetics that Wanda got him and got rid of his brainwashing, he can finally live his normal life."

"Can he?" Nat asked, "You're telling me that he's going full Barton and settling down?"

"Believe it or not," Steve shrugged.

"Well…" Nat said, "I wish him the best."

"You got any plans?" Natasha asked Steve, "Maybe work with me on this whole new Avengers thing. We can use the intergalactic war as a catalyst and force them to abolish the Sokovia Accords."

"Maybe…" Steve said, "If that's possible, I could think of a way for me to come out of the shadows. After Shield, I can't trust any large organization that I'm not at the helm of. Especially not governmental organizations."

Nat patted Steve's shoulder and got up, "I'll be with Yelena, we'll leave once we reach Transian airspace."

"Hey!" Tony called Nat. He'd just been examining her office for the past few minutes, "Can you get me a lab to experiment on foreign energies?"

"This place is a fortress, Tony." Nat said, "Not a research center. I don't have the necessary advanced equipment that you would need for this."

"Fine." Tony shrugged, "Give me a large empty space and access to the hanger's doors."

"Fine." Nat said before moving to her console, "Apex, can you get him the necessary permissions."

"Done." The voice echoed through Nat's office.

Tony couldn't help but raise his brow, "You have a Friday?" He asked.

"Yeah." Nat nodded nonchalantly, "How else would I keep you out of my systems?"

"Touchè…" Tony said. Steve meanwhile was looking at Natasha with an impressed expression.

She didn't respond to their reactions and walked out, but a hint of a smile was present on her face, [Thanks…] She said to Alex.

…

In the snowing mountains of Transia. A woman was overlooking a range of snowy peaks. With inky black hair and purple dress robes, she took steady steps along the snowy paths. There was a constant purple aura escaping from her body as she took each step. Behind her, an ancient-looking book was floating, emanating a murky red aura that kept mixing with her purple while continuously pulling more of her aura out of her.

"I broke you out of that metal vault, you better be worth it…" The woman said, seemingly talking to herself.

"I don't have to worry?" She scoffed, "I'm obviously going to worry. Shield's remnants are easy to deal with, but I still don't want to get on the bad side of the sorcerers of Kamar Taj and the Sanctums. The Ancient One wasn't all they had."

"What do you mean I can use your spells?" She had a tone of disbelief, "Most of your spells are going to fucking suck out my life force. Look at this…" She raised her hand and took off her glove, revealing her hand that was currently completely pitch black, "This was because of the damn spell that you asked me to cast that led us to this place."

As the woman continued talking to the Darkhold, in the distance, on the edge of a mountain, stood an old decrepit temple. It was made of pitch-black obsidian rocks that kept pulsating with a weak, murky crimson. The walls that were filled with tapestries and murals of hidden meanings kept glowing, releasing a constant surge of energy that was acting as a beacon to call the Darkhold to itself.

It was this surge that Tony had detected and connected to Wanda. Same as him, there were more people who had detected this energy surge and were currently making their way here.

***

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