"Wanda!"
Pietro's voice cracked as he stared at the glowing red energy in his sister's palm.
"The experiment actually worked?"
Wanda slowly shook her head, her gaze fixed on her hand. "No… I don't think it was the experiment. I can feel it. This power… it was always inside me."
She looked over at her brother, her voice trembling with the weight of the memory.
"Pietro, when that Hydra soldier had you pinned down… when I thought you were going to die… I panicked. I was terrified. And then—something snapped. I couldn't hold it back anymore."
Luke stood a short distance away, arms crossed, silently watching the crimson aura swirling around her fingers.
The demonic energy within him stirred slightly, reacting to Wanda's surge.
He wasn't surprised—this was exactly what he was waiting for.
Wanda's scarlet energy flickered, crackling like wild flame.
"The power of the Chaos Magic," Luke muttered to himself.
His expression, however, remained unreadable.
He hadn't brought the children back out of charity.
His true goal was Wanda all along.
And now, she stood before him, already wielding the power that would one day earn her the name—the Scarlet Witch.
"You can stay with me," Luke said plainly. "I'll teach you how to control it."
Wanda looked stunned for a second, then nodded slowly, hope flickering in her chest.
Luke turned his attention to Pietro.
"As for you… there's something in you too. It's buried deep, but it's there. I suggest you train at Kamar-Taj for a while. When your power awakens, come find me."
Pietro gave a serious nod. "Got it. I won't fall behind."
———
Soon after, Luke opened a portal and sent Pietro and the other children to Kamar-Taj.
The Ancient One greeted them with her usual calm, though not without a sigh.
"You've thrown the timeline into chaos again," she muttered, her eyes narrowing at Luke.
Luke smirked, 'Is that a pun? Because I saved Scarlet Witch himself from that base?' he inwardly thought.
Still, she allowed the children to stay.
After a round of testing, it turned out Luke's instincts had been right.
The children showed impressive magical potential.
One girl—an 8-year-old named Jenny—shocked even the Ancient One.
"She's got potential," the Ancient One said. "Possibly greater than even the next Sorcerer Supreme."
Her gaze flicked over to Wanda, who stood quietly by Luke's side.
"Are you sure you want to keep her?"
Luke didn't hesitate. "Yes."
"The power inside her is dangerous. And now that you've interfered with their timeline, the future's even more unpredictable."
"Uncertainty doesn't mean doom," Luke countered, his tone firm. "Maybe changing the future means we finally get a better one."
The Ancient One didn't argue further.
But her expression remained grave.
The Time Stone no longer offered a clear path.
———
After leaving Kamar-Taj, Luke and Wanda returned to the New York Sanctum.
It had been full when they left—now, it was quiet, almost lonely.
Wanda looked around, unease creeping in without Pietro and the others.
Her fingers fidgeted at her side.
"Um… Mr. Constantine? Where will I be staying?"
Unlike Kamar-Taj, the New York Sanctum wasn't exactly set up for newcomers.
Most of the guardians stationed here spent their time either meditating or training in silence.
So naturally, there weren't any extra guest rooms lying around.
"We can't stay here," Luke said casually, glancing around the quiet temple.
Then he turned to Wanda with a small smirk. "And also, just call me Luke. No need for the whole 'Mr. Constantine' thing. It's weird."
With a simple motion, he opened a portal and stepped through it with Wanda, arriving back at a modest house in Queens.
Inside, Elektra was seated in the corner, methodically wiping down a set of gleaming weapons.
She barely glanced up as they arrived.
"You've got a visitor," she said in her usual flat tone.
"Who?" Luke asked, already suspicious.
"I don't know. Some one-eyed guy."
Luke's face immediately darkened. "Don't tell me... Nick Fury again?"
He muttered under his breath, clearly annoyed.
That guy never seemed to give up.
"Wanda, the room on the left upstairs is yours," Luke said, pointing toward the stairs.
Once she nodded and headed up, Luke walked to the front door with the expression of a man expecting trouble.
He yanked it open.
Instead of the bald, leather-jacket-wearing Fury, he was met with an older man—white hair, a long white beard, and a cane.
Not bald. Not black. Not Fury.
"Hello," the man greeted in a calm, steady voice.
"I'm Odin. I believe you know why I'm here."
Luke blinked. "…Great."
He had been prepared for Fury's usual lecture about responsibility and timelines—not a visit from the literal All-Father of Asgard.
"This is probably about Hela," Luke said with a sigh, stepping aside to let the old god in.
Odin nodded and entered slowly, walking like a man far older than his body suggested.
"I made many mistakes in my youth," he began, his tone filled with reflection.
Luke cut him off. "No offense, but I'm not really interested in family drama."
Odin paused for a moment, then lowered himself onto the living room sofa.
"Not long ago, I sensed a familiar power awaken here on Midgard. I asked the Ancient One, and she mentioned you may have had something to do with it."
Luke raised an eyebrow.
"Hela," Odin said plainly. "My firstborn. The Goddess of Death."
"I imprisoned her long ago in a realm cut off from the others—a prison. I sealed her away for good reason. But somehow, you nearly bypassed that seal."
Odin's voice remained calm, but the weight behind his words was heavy.
Luke said nothing for a moment.
Odin wasn't just strong—he was ancient.
Asgardians only got stronger with age, and Odin's power was said to peak just before his death.
Not to mention, this was the original Odin from the main reality. He's not some extradimensional entity whatsoever.
Which meant exorcism tricks wouldn't work here.
But Luke wasn't worried. He had Ancient One as his backer.
"So… are you here to scold me?" he asked, tilting his head.
"Of course not," Odin replied, just as he was about to explain further—
BOOM!
A loud crash sounded just outside the front door.
Then came the ring of the doorbell.
"…Seriously?" Luke muttered. "What's today's occasion? What's up with so many goddamn visitors?"
With a groan, he got up and headed back to the door.
The door creaked open.
Tony Stark stood in the doorway, still clad in his battered Iron Man armor.
The plating was scorched and scarred, blackened streaks running down his chest from recent explosions.
Bits of shrapnel were still embedded in the metal, and faint wisps of smoke curled from the joints.
"Is SHIELD done cleaning house?" Luke asked,
He had only dealt with a few Hydra bases—specifically the one that had summoned a Shadow Demon.
The rest? That was SHIELD's problem.
Or more accurately, the Avengers' headache.
Tony stepped inside like he owned the place, shaking his head.
"Yeah, well, mostly. Those Hydra rats were dug in deep. SHIELD was like Swiss cheese. Turns out they had this whole Insight Project going.
Three giant helicarriers loaded with targeting algorithms. Luckily, only one of them got off the ground."
"Let me guess," Luke said, "You took care of it."
"You're damn right I did," Tony smirked. "Flew straight into the control center, let JARVIS take over the whole system. You should've seen the panic on those Hydra goons' faces. Classic."
He was just getting into his brag when he finally noticed the regal figure sitting on the couch across from Luke.
Tony froze mid-step.
Odin, King of Asgard, sat with one leg crossed over the other, sipping calmly from a goblet.
The aura around him was heavy—ancient, divine.
His single eye stared at Tony with calm interest.
"You're Tony Stark," Odin said with a slight nod. "Thor has spoken of you. I appreciate what you did during Loki's... recent escapades."
Tony blinked, suddenly aware of just how casual he had been acting.
The beard, the armor, the aura—it clicked.
Thor's dad. The literal God King.
"Uh... right. Didn't know you had royal company here," Tony muttered.
He turned toward the door. "Luke, I'll come back. Didn't mean to interrupt."
"Oh come on," Luke said, finally looking up. "You think Odin's going to bite your head off? Just spit it out."
Tony hesitated, then sighed. "Alright, alright. It's the same deal as before."
He reached into his armor and pulled out a thick folder, setting it on the table with a soft thud.
"Fifteen percent of Stark Industries. That makes you second only to me on the board."
Luke blinked. "You're giving me part of your company?"
"Not just part," Tony said.
"A massive part. You've taken out threats we didn't even know existed—demons, possessed Hydra squads, magic anomalies. I need you in this fight. Officially."
A thought jumped in Luke's mind: [Asset Transfer: Approximate Value—Hundreds of Billions.]
He stared at the contract. "That's insane. You're just giving this to me?"
Tony shrugged.
"You're not exactly replaceable. Look, I only own 39%. Obadiah had 25% before he went full supervillain and got vaporized. The rest is split across a bunch of small-time shareholders. I bought most of Obadiah's chunk after he died. And now I'm handing almost all of that to you."
Luke looked at him like he had grown another head. "I don't get it. The Avengers aren't your personal organization, Stark."
"Is it really worth throwing around hundreds of billions just to recruit someone for a public team?"
Luke leaned back on the couch, arms crossed, genuinely puzzled. He wasn't trying to be dramatic—it just didn't make sense.
"You're burning your own fortune... for a team you don't even technically own?"
Tony Stark scratched the back of his head, clearly caught off guard by the question.
For a moment, even he looked unsure.
"I... well..." he trailed off.
But then the uncertainty faded, and the usual Stark confidence returned.
"It doesn't matter. Money's not the issue. If it's being spent on something that matters, that's all I care about."
He looked Luke dead in the eyes. "I'm asking you, Luke Constantine, to officially join the Avengers."
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