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"Good afternoon, Miss Maximoff."
Nolan stepped into his Osborn Tower office, where Norman Osborn and Wanda Maximoff were already seated.
Upon seeing him, Wanda quickly rose from her chair. "Good afternoon, Dr. Nolan."
"Here to see me? Is there something I can help you with?"
"I heard you're one of the world's leading experts on extraordinary abilities," Wanda said, getting straight to the point. "I… was hoping you could help me understand mine. Control them better."
Nolan gave her a thoughtful nod, smiling gently. "Of course. Would you prefer coffee, or perhaps tea?"
"I'd like to try some Eastern tea, if that's okay."
"Refined choice. Norman, could you pour Miss Maximoff a cup?"
Wanda offered a nervous smile as Norman excused himself to the side.
"I… sometimes lose control," Wanda admitted quietly. "My powers they feel like mine, but then they just… slip. It's like I'm watching myself from the outside."
Nolan's expression sharpened slightly.
Even after all the battles she'd fought, Nigeria, Sokovia, and Westview, Wanda still hadn't mastered her powers.
The Nigerian incident alone, where she accidentally triggered a massive explosion, was enough proof. Her emotions destabilized her magic, leading to dangerous, sometimes catastrophic outbursts.
And that wasn't just mutant power, it was Chaos Magic, a force tied to something far older and darker.
Nolan's thoughts raced.
Wanda didn't simply manipulate energy; she wielded probability-altering, reality-defining force.
The source? Chthon, an Elder God, is the originator of the Darkhold and Chaos Magic itself.
But Wanda's X-Gene wasn't passive. She had her own mutant ability, reality warping infused with Chaos Magic.
"Let me ask you," Nolan said, folding his hands, "do you know what you really are? Are you a superhuman? A mutant? A sorceress?"
Wanda blinked. "A… what?"
"You don't even know where your powers originate. That's part of why you can't control them."
Wanda's expression darkened.
"I was experimented on," she said slowly. "When I was young, my brother and I were taken… tested on. By people who called themselves scientists."
Even the Avengers didn't know the full story. But Wanda remembered every cold needle, every sleepless night.
"I see," Nolan said softly. "Have you ever heard of Magneto?"
She shook her head. "Not really. I grew up in Sokovia. We didn't have much news about Western metahumans."
In the mainstream MCU, Wanda and Pietro's powers had been awakened by the Mind Stone. But Nolan knew that couldn't be the full story.
The Infinity Stone was a trigger, not the source. They already had latent abilities. The Mind Stone simply unlocked them.
And in this world, where mutants already existed, that raised serious questions about their true lineage.
Nolan drifted into thought, processing the implications. Wanda, seeing his silence, misunderstood.
"I'm sorry if this is too much. I didn't mean to waste your time." She stood, flustered.
"I never said I couldn't help," Nolan replied, snapping out of it. "I can't promise full control overnight. But partial stabilization? Absolutely doable."
Wanda's eyes lit up. "Really?!"
Her face softened, her entire expression glowing with hope.
"You should smile more," Nolan remarked. "You're much more pleasant that way." (😮💨)
Wanda blushed, caught off guard.
Nolan continued, "Any problem can be solved if you have the right knowledge. And I do. But I'll need your full cooperation."
She nodded. "What kind of cooperation?"
"This involves a hybrid protocol, scientific readings paired with structured meditation. I'll need to monitor your vitals in real-time. That includes drawing blood and possibly equipping you with biosensors."
Wanda hesitated.
"Your powers, as I've observed," Nolan added, "aren't just impressive, they're absurdly versatile. You can project energy, manipulate minds, teleport, even… revive the dead."
"Revive the dead?" she repeated softly.
Nolan nodded. "In theory."
Her voice trembled. "Then I'll do it. I want to control this, truly control it. I can't keep hurting people. And… if there's even a chance…"
She didn't finish. But Nolan understood: she meant Pietro.
"Alright," he said. "You'll need to stay here for the time being. For observation."
Wanda glanced around. "You live here too, Doctor?"
"Of course. My life is research," Nolan replied without hesitation.
"That sounds… kind of sad."
"Sad? Not at all," he said with a faint smile. "To witness the beauty of life at the cellular level, to explore the laws of physics… That's joy. That's the meaning."
"But don't you ever want to eat good food? Go out? Have fun?"
Nolan tilted his head. "Taste is just sensory input. I can simulate gourmet cuisine through neurostimulators. Pleasure is a chemical I can generate in a controlled environment. As for socializing…"
He trailed off, smirking.
Wanda laughed. She was finally starting to relax. "Doctor, I think your life sounds extremely boring."
"I won't force others to live as I do," Nolan said, "but I won't let anyone mock what brings me peace."
"Fair enough," Wanda said with a playful roll of her eyes.
"Come on," Nolan gestured. "Let's get your initial diagnostics started."
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