"What did you do, Alex?" Wanda looked at Alex with an expression of despair.
"I had to do it. The backlash would've killed you otherwise."
"But what about…" Wanda trailed off as she looked at her surroundings. Instead of the previous red-tinted void, the entire 'dimension' was covered in pitch-black cracks that sucked in the remnants of the red aura of the dimension. Wanda's gaze then honed in on the dimmed sphere floating in front of her. It had lost its previous blinding luster and seemed like a faded pinkish-red sphere.
Neither Alex nor Wanda spoke for a while.
"W-what do we do now, Alex?" Wanda asked, tiredness creeping into her tone.
"I infused almost a quarter of the dimensional heart's essence into your physical form. As much as I could while making sure that everything inside you worked the way it should."
"I asked what we should do now," Wanda said, irritably.
"I did it to save your life, Wanda."
"I'm not —" She stopped speaking, taking a deep breath and calming her erratic emotions instead. She turned to Alex with a forced calm tone. "I'm not blaming you for saving me, Alex. But I have no idea what we can do right now. I have essentially destroyed the entire dimension. These cracks lead to the Superflow, a place beyond the universe."
Alex had to raise his brow at Wanda casually dropping information that he was sure she shouldn't have had any access to, "The Superflow? Did the information about the space between universes just appear in your mind?"
"Kind of," Wanda said. "It's like I always knew of it but only recalled the term when I needed to refer to it."
"Do you know anything more about the Superflow?" Alex asked while examining the cracks that were sucking in the aura of the dimension. "From what I know about it, it is greater than this black void that we see. The Superflow is more of an informational space..."
"… where dreams, ideas, and visions come from. You're correct, it's not supposed to be a black void. It's like an abstract realm that surrounds each universe, leading to the Neutral Zone…"
"Okay…" Alex trailed off. "Too much information dumping for one arc. How about we try to go back to the main material plane? Inside the universe."
"But…" Wanda didn't pay particular attention to Alex's choice of words. "The Sorcerer Supreme energy's backlash will hit again."
"Try to cast a mystic arts spell," Alex said while pressing his lips together.
"Sure," Wanda thoughtlessly cried to create a whip of eldrich energy. The magic circle never appeared. "What's going on?" She frowned.
"You are a quarter of the embodiment of the Chaos dimension, my Wanda," Alex said. "The mystic arts are wholely incompatible for you now."
"So that means…" Wanda's eyes widened in realization.
"How about we try to get back to the main material plane now?" Alex offered. Despite Wanda losing access to the mystic arts, Alex could still use some of the basic spells. The system was specifically made for humans, making him incompatible with it, but with his ‹ High Magic Affinity › Alex was still able to use it to some extent.
"Can you cast the return spell that Wong told us about?" Wanda asked Alex.
"I already tried," Alex shook his head. "I can't manipulate Eldrich Energy with the necessary precision. It is a system built for humans and I can't make use of it very well despite my affinity for magical abilities."
"We could look for more traditional witchcraft spells for you," Wanda said. "The mystic arts system is made in such a manner that as long as a human has the correct guidance, they can become a practitioner. It doesn't have any other requirements."
"You have got to stop dropping information bombs on me," Alex said, a little confused about how Wanda knew so much hidden information.
"I can't help it. I'm thinking of something and the information is just coming to me," She raised her hands in defeat. "The knowledge just comes to my mind when I think about it." She seemed to want to speak more but stopped herself.
"You don't need to think further. I am aware of the situation behind the Vishanti and how they sponsor the Sorcerer Supreme. The backlash you were experiencing was because their latent wills were rejecting you."
"There's more," Wanda said excitedly. "Just like Cthon, those three are also gone. That is the only reason that the backlash wasn't too strong and I was able to do all that I did. This means that I should be able to return to Earth without any issues."
"That is, as long as you are willing to destroy the dimensional barrier that the three sanctums maintain."
"Can't I? The dimensional rulers are all gone. I can help them set up a new barrier to protect them from the weaker dimensional entities."
Alex's brow twitched, "Your semi-omnipotence when it comes to the general information might seem useful, Wanda. But you aren't thinking straight with the information. Without the barrier, there will be an influx of demons because they will realize that their mortal enemies, the Sorcerers of Kamar Taj are defenseless. I don't want you to spend most of your time maintaining a planet-wide barrier."
"But then…" Wanda seemed desperate. "I want to go home, Alex."
"It's fine," He hugged her. "We can instead explore the other variants of Earth. I will create a clone on Earth to manage the construction of our sanctum. You can share its senses to feel right at home."
"But… it's not the same," She pouted, holding Alex's shoulders with her hands and resting her cheek on his chest.
"It isn't going to be a forever thing either," Alex said. "In no more than a couple of months, at most a year, I am going to need to get rid of the dimensional protection anyway. It will come after I'm prepared to officially take over your Earth as its de facto ruler. Just wait until then, okay?" He told her.
She didn't particularly care about Alex's words further than him saying that he would need a year to take care of everything. "A year," She said. "No more."
…
A swirling chaotic rift opened in a ship that was floating in space above the forty Conjoined Earths. Through it, walked Wanda, decked out in a sleek black and red combat suit that hugged her body perfectly.
"So this is the ship that you came here in?" Wanda asked Alex. "You were lying to me when you said that your previous host betrayed you and all that crap." She said with an accusatory tone.
"Stop acting all butthurt about it," Alex said uncaringly. A chair swirled around and revealed him looking at Wanda. "You were aware long ago. We just kept a tacit silence about it."
"And yet I still feel that you're hiding something from me," She narrowed her eyes at him.
"And you're going to have to pry it off of my unprotected mind if you want to know about it," Alex said. "Now come here."
"So stubborn~" Wanda said, her tone turning casual as she approached Alex and propped herself on his lap. "Whatever. Why'd you bring that dim energyless ball though? You should've let it disappear with the rest of the dimension's remains. It doesn't seem to have any use now that I've destroyed the entire dimension into the Superflow."
"You don't already know about it?" Alex asked her, acting emphatically surprised just to annoy her a little. He also wrapped his arm around her waist and held her tighter.
"I didn't get omnipotence," Wanda said, annoyed as she crossed her arms. "I merely got access to the information of the dimension. How many times do I have to tell you that? The information appears in my mind when I need it."
"Fine, I won't tease you anymore," He said, kissing her neck and making her whine lightly. "A little bit should be fine." He whispered in her ear.
"Tell me… Why'd you keep the husk of the heart? It isn't going to regenerate if that's what you're thinking. The twenty-five or so perfect of the essence that you infused in my body is all that's left, forever… Until we find a way to create more."
"That's not it. I just kept it since it might somehow end up being useful to us." Alex shook his head. "How viable is the creation of more essence of the dimensional heart? For lack of a better term, I'll call it the Source of Chaos. I'm going to assume what we lost to the Superflow is now lost permanently."
"You're right about that. As for generating more of the source, the process is very complex and time-consuming. And that was when the dimension existed for it to consume the necessary abstract authority of existence to strengthen the heart of the dimension."
Alex raised a brow and had a thought. "You mean to say that the prosperity and existence of life in the dimension is what allowed for the heart to generate and condense more of the Source of Chaos…"
"Something like that, yeah. It's difficult to put it into words."
"Then I'm definitely glad that I kept the empty husk of the core," Alex said, feeling a sense of relief.
"What happened?"
"I've been working on a project for an unbelievably long time and I finally found a lead to make it work."
"Are you going to tell me about it?" Wanda asked.
"Eventually maybe," Alex said. "I would rather show it to you. Instead, let's talk about how we can strengthen the twenty-five percent of the Source that you have remaining within you."
"What's the point?" Wanda shrugged. "What I have is more than enough to essentially obliterate anyone that I want. I feel that establishing the dimension once again is too troublesome."
Alex ignored Wanda's overconfident words. The enemy was one she couldn't even begin to imagine the existence of. "I have another idea," He said. "Since you are the literal embodiment of the Chaos Dimension's heart, that means that all of the universe's Chaos Energy energy flows through you now, right?"
"Yeah."
"And you aren't the only Scarlet Witch in this universe at this point…"
"Also right."
"The other versions of you are channeling Chaos Energy through…" Alex trailed off, waiting for Wanda to confirm his words.
"Yes. I can feel multiple tethers pulling Chaos Energy that the essence of the heart is generating even at this very moment. Are you trying to get me to use these copies of me to generate more of the source?"
"Exactly," Alex nodded before speaking excitedly, "Hell, you could even create your own force of specialized chaos-empowered individuals who provide you the necessary feedback that would help you grow stronger."
"I have another idea, Alex," Wanda smiled and put her palm on Alex's cheek. She leaned her head closer to him and kissed his lips, "I will leave everything to you and you can establish whatever force you want to create and whatever you want to do with my new power. On the other hand, I want you to fuck me so hard that I completely forget about the previous few days that I spent in that accursed dimension. How about that?"
"Alex…" Wanda mumbled as she felt her partner slipping a blindfold over her eyes.
He shushed her. "Focus on feeling today. No need to see," He said before turning her head a little and pressing his lips against hers. At the same time, he traced his palm along Wanda's cheek and to her ear. She felt him inserting an earplug into it.
"Even my hearing?" She asked, pulling away from Alex's lips.
"I told you, my love," Alex said, making Wanda feel a little weird as she heard his voice from only one ear. "Focus on feeling today." He pressed his lips against hers once again and repeated the process with Wanda's other ear, suppressing her hearing completely.
[I won't respond to you telepathically for immersion's sake, okay? You can be sure that you forget all about your shitty experience in the Chaos Dimension once I'm done with you.]
Wanda gasped into Alex's mouth when she felt his hand tracing along the surface of her fitting combat suit. She felt his palm trace along her stomach and over her breasts before stopping at the neckline. He stopped for a moment and Wanda felt a slight vibration over her skin, not understanding what it was. When his fingers touched her bare skin, she connected the dots, realizing that Alex had most likely opened the zipper of the suit. She felt a gentle breeze on her skin as more and more was being exposed. Alex opened the zipper down to her pelvis before slipping his palm in between her skin and the material and sliding it along her stomach.
After some light rubbing, Alex moved his palm higher, cupping her breast and giving the mound a nice squeeze. Wanda hissed into Alex's mouth while tensing up a little. Alex could feel her slowly hardening nipple on the surface of his palm and didn't resist the urge to give the nub a light pinch as Wanda expressed a sensual reaction again.
"Don't tease me too long~" She moaned pulling back from Alex's lips but he grabbed her neck and pressed his lips against hers again. Unable to see and hear anything, she couldn't help but moan at the amplified sensations of Alex's touch.
After teasing and toying with her body for a while, Alex finally freed Wanda's lips as she breathed heavily. "Are we going to do it now?" She asked. Sadly, there was no reply, Instead, she felt Alex pushing her a little and her feet met the floor. He got her to stand up from his lap. She couldn't help but look to her left, where she felt Alex's presence. He grabbed her unzipped suit with both hands and pulled it away from her body. Wanda pulled back her arms as Alex took the suit completely off of her torso, leaving her half-naked.
"What now?" She expressed her curiosity as the gentle breeze traced her skin and made her intimately aware of her state. She felt Alex standing behind her as he touched her waist with both hands and started tracing them up. She squirmed before feeling his hands cupping her chest. He gave her sexy mounts a rough squeeze, making her gasp out his name as she clenched her fists. He let go of her breasts.
Wanda turned her head around to look at Alex, he gave her a little kiss on the side of her lips before grabbing both her wrists and holding them behind her back. He pulled her arms back hard enough that she had to push out her chest to manage the posture.
The redhead hissed when she felt a slightly coarse yet soft-feeling material moving along her wrists. She couldn't identify it initially as Alex wrapped the material around her wrists and tied them behind her back.
"We've never used ropes before…" She said after thinking about the material. It took her a while to figure it out. Alex's response never came and he tied another rope right above her elbows, forcing her to stick her forearms together and push out her chest even more. "How much longer?~" Wanda moaned as Alex grabbed her wrists and pulled them a little higher, making her put her fists on the small of her back. She felt some more rope gliding along her waist as it was attached to her wrists, forcing her to keep her arms in an uncomfortable posture.
"Did you take a shibari class and didn't tell me about it, Alex?" Wanda spoke as she wiggled her arms, but they were taut. "We could've gone together to learn it~" Despite not getting any response from Alex, Wanda could sense his emotions and while they were dominated by lust and passion, he was amused by her words.
Alex continued tying more ropes around Wanda. Looping it around her neck and pulling it all over Wanda's skin. She didn't know what kinds of knots he was making or where he was pulling the ropes, but she felt more and more of it being slowly wrapped around her body. Alex's hands traced all over her torso as he continued to tie her further. She initially thought that it would slowly be difficult for her to breathe, making her feel restricted, but she felt different. She felt an arousing sensation burning her abdomen as the Hishi Karada was tied around her torso. While she could feel a sense of compression all over her body, it was more comforting than she'd expected.
"Weirdly enough, this feels better than even the leather harness that you usually use…" Wanda mumbled, despite the uncomfortable position of her arms and the relatively rougher material that was the rope. She felt Alex tugging on the lower half of her clothes as he slid it all the way down. "Are you kneeling in front of me~" She spoke with a teasing yet amused tone as Alex grabbed her ankle and had her raise her foot up. She was about to comment further, but it was interrupted by a squeal as she tried to jump away from him. He had just tickled her sole and despite her attempt, he was holding her still.
He freed her ankle after the little warning and pulled up her other ankle, getting rid of her previous outfit completely. Wanda then felt him looping the same rope over her crotch.
She squirmed. "No~ I want to feel you inside me~" She mumbled before feeling Alex's finger on her lips. She chose to defy his wordless command by wrapping her lips around his finger and sucking it. She went further and teased his finger with her tongue. Still, her action didn't stop Alex from continuing the tie. He pulled it between her legs and Wanda felt the material rubbing against her naked wet slit. She couldn't help but sway her hips a little, attempting to generate some friction between the rope and her clit. It wasn't enough for her.
"Alex?~" Wanda moaned out as her partner pulled away from her and seemed to be looking at her from a distance. Her head turned in his direction even though she could neither see nor hear. The man walked in a circle around his bound host, admiring his handiwork.
Wanda's breaths got shorter as she got more excited with Alex moving closer to her. She felt his finger hooking through the rope that went over her stomach before squealing as she walked toward him. He'd lightly yanked the rope and it had a cascading effect all over her body. The rope rubbed over her skin as the bonds got just a little tighter, making her feel a rush all over her body.
Wanda felt Alex's lips over hers and reciprocated instinctively as he pushed his tongue through her lips. She felt his fingers touching her back and realized that he seemed to grab a section of the rope. An involuntary moan escaped her mouth as she felt the entire 'rope dress' tighten over her body. The ropes dug into her skin, making her exposed parts much more sensitive. She moaned again when Alex's hand cupped her breast and he pinched her nipple, giving her a gentle squeeze. As they continued making out, Wanda's reactions to Alex's teasing got more and more pronounced, yet there was also a sense of dissatisfaction as he focused only on her breasts. He continued loosening and tightening the ropes that wrapped around her body, making her constantly lose her rhythm.
He kept going even as Wanda helplessly wiggled in his arms. With how Alex had tied the ropes, she had no chance of freeing herself without using magic. Eventually, Alex pulled the rope tighter than he had through the entire session. At the same time, his teasing of her breasts got much rougher, making Wanda constantly wiggle and writhe in his arms as her arousal threatened to burst.
Following the constant rhythm, Wanda's orgasm came like a floor as her body shook with Alex's teasing. His redhead partner had cum with him teasing just her breasts.
In her helpless state, Wanda finally heard Alex's voice, [This reminds me of the day I revealed myself to you. I made you cum with just your breasts that time as well ~]
Wanda's orgasm seemed to get prolonged even further when she heard the voice that she didn't even know that she had been longing for.
-x-X-x-
Wanda Pov.
"I can finally feel you, Alex~," I spoke to my beloved as his presence in my heart solidified once again.
"You're being a little dramatic, but whatever," I heard him speak as he appeared beside me. Unable to control my reaction, I threw myself at him.
I missed his scent. The way he gently held my waist and held me close. I already feel like it's been ages since I've hugged him like this.
"You have no idea how lonely I felt when I couldn't feel you as closely as usual. It's like I was permanently homesick," I want him to know what his disappearance does to me. I never want to be separated from him.
"Just wait until I bond with your organs and nervous system. You won't even need to rely on your powers to feel connected to me at that point," He whispered in my ear, making an involuntary giggle escape my lips. I will always want to feel connected to you via my magic, Alex. The more I can feel you the better.
"I asked you to do it yesterday. You refused," I spoke to him sadly. I wanted to feel him even deeper. I would love nothing more than if I could forever become one with him.
"And I'm still going to refuse," Alex said. "It's going to be soon, though. Don't worry about it." I felt a tingle go down my spine as it settled in my crotch. I want to have sex, Alex.
"It's like you're talking about proposing marriage to me…" I joked a little, trying to curb my libido. "I keep pushing you to propose and you keep delaying it for one reason or another."
"I like to believe our bond runs deeper than marriage," Alex said, kissing my lips. My heart fluttered and I was sure that I was looking at him with a lovestruck look when his lips pulled away from mine. "After all, we're permanently bonded together. And for far longer than the life of a normal human." His words roused a doubt in me.
"I'm still not going to be immortal after you finish the bonding process?" I asked. I want to spend all eternity with my Alex.
"Virtually immortal," He answered. "Just like me. There are still things that can kill me, and by extension, you. But if we're talking about lifespan, there's no limit."
I will make sure that no one will ever be able to kill me or you, ever, Alex. Promise. I didn't say anything, sensing weird distortion close to us.
"Your outburst seems to have brought us company," Alex tried to tease me, but I only felt annoyance. How dare a lifeform of my Dimension not bow to me as its first instinct. A claw came through the spatial distortion and I created a barrier to block it.
I didn't even need to share a look with Alex to know what he was going to do. He was the same, knowing what I was going to do before the intent completely formed, even. More claws attacked us as we defended against them, but a creeping doubt took root in my head even as I easily located the beast and crushed it in the palm of my hand like a weak bug.
"I feel amazing!" I turned to Alex, my eyes shining. For once, I could truly let loose without caring about my surroundings. Hell, if nothing, my surroundings were the things supporting me. I felt right at home in the Chaos Dimension. As if the entire plane was welcoming my arrival.
"We could permanently stay here," Alex offered. "You could become the new dimensional ruler."
A wave of repulsion struck me the moment Alex spoke his words. The dimension wants something from me, doesn't it? It wants to use me to further its own goals. It will then discard me just like a broken tool. My thoughts had no proof behind them, but I knew that to be the case.
"Fuck no," My distaste shone through on my face. "Although I feel powerful here, I would much rather spend time in our sanctum, the construction of which I'm meticulously supervising. Hell, I even love the castle in Wakanda. I don't want to stay in this dark and dreary place." Those weren't my exact thoughts but were close enough. I feel like this comforting feeling in the dimension is the same as the creepy uncle my mother used to tell me never to take candy from.
Even as I bantered with Alex, messing around with him, and teasing him. I loved his expression of my angry exclaim about killing Wong. Of course, I'm not talking literally, silly.
"Sex in zero-gravity, you say…" Alex's offer enticed me. It moved me and I instantly felt myself getting wet, ready to take him — Why can't these bastards just let us be? They just keep on coming. Just let me enjoy my alone time with my beloved. "I would love to, but we have more company…" I told him, suddenly extremely annoyed. I'm going to blast these bastards to smithereens for daring to interrupt my peace time with Alex.
The days passed as we continued to encounter all sorts of disgust-inducing demons through the dimension, all of them, somehow, singlehandedly were focused on doing their best to kill me. The contrasting feeling of the dimension greeting me warmly like its own child went against the constant attacks by its inhabitants, and the doubts in my mind about this place only increased. I felt as if there was some kind of dangerous scheme afoot here that involved me, I just couldn't figure out what.
My feelings only intensified when I finally ran into that coward of an eye demon who kept quivering at my mere presence. It was disgusting. Not only the demon's appearance and presence, but even its attitude invoked a wave of disgust in me. What was worse, I felt that the dimension had bestowed on it a certain level of fundamental authority, the same kind that I possessed. That made me think that that disgusting demon was given the same treatment by the dimension as me, which only increased my distrust toward the warm feeling that it invoked in me.
Things got even worse when I met the other nine leader demons. Each one of them was worse than the last. I just wanted to hide inside Alex's suit and not come out until all the monsters were gone, but the dimension made me feel like I was obligated to show my strength to those creatures. I tried my best to distract myself by thinking of sex with Alex and the many ways he could destroy my insides, but ultimately, it was all useless.
Those demons all attacked me, forcing me to defend myself, and I'll admit, I snapped a little. Here I was, the literal princess of the dimension arriving, not even to take anything from them and to merely free myself of my status and these bastards continued to get in my way. The worst part was that I felt the dimension itself showing a negative intent toward me when I was fighting them. It kept switching between its previous warm presence and its repulsive feeling that made me want to just leave. I couldn't understand what was going on and the disgust that the creatures invoked in my entire being was truly getting to me.
Without Alex, I'm not sure if I could've survived against those demons. But I did and I went as far as I wanted to, eradicating them from existence as the dimension's fluctuating intent calmed down. The damage, however, was already done. I was pretty much done with this place and just wanted to get out of here by now. I could even feel that the demons that I killed weren't completely dead, merely weakened and they had revived in their domains. I just want to leave this place as soon as possible.
…
I hate them. I hate them. I hate them so fucking much. How dare they get in the way of my happiness when I was already merciful with them? I felt my entire world crashing all around me when I finally found the fragment of the heart of the dimension. It was all broken up, the same as my will to keep going. Merely staying in this dimension was taking a heavy toll on me and I couldn't stay here any longer than necessary. I don't know when it happened, but that previously everpresent warmth had now started to fluctuate constantly. At one point, welcoming me warmly, and at another, attempting to get me to leave the dimension. I realized that it was probably because of the fragmented heart.
Rage overtook me as I barely kept myself in control by relying on Alex's presence inside me. If he hadn't been there, I was sure that I would've made some horrible decisions that would have ultimately led to the Cthulhu's scheme being successful as it turned me into empowerment for himself and took over the dimension completely.
A temporary sense of calm came to me after I finally gathered all of the fragments of the heart, but it was useless. This entire dimension seemed to be working against me at this point, unwilling to allow me to do whatever I wanted. Even after I forced the heart together, it threatened to kill me.
I snapped.
I snapped completely as the final straw broke for me.
I couldn't take the abusive nature of the dimension anymore and exploded, my instincts taking over me. Since the dimension was going to do its best to kill me, I will reciprocate its will. I'll destroy this dimension.
I lost myself in a bubble of uncontrollable hatred and despair that consumed me as I decided to take the dimension down with myself. Since it decided to dish out an ultimatum, I returned with my own third option. I don't know much of what happened after that, merely remembering an intimately warm embrace taking over me. I couldn't recognize it despite knowing that it was familiar. I wasn't sure what I was missing as I almost killed myself trying to destroy the Chaos Dimension.
Then it hit me. Alex had saved me. I don't know what he did, but he had saved me and we both had appeared in some kind of spaceship where he calmed me down and finally brought me back a sense of calmness that I had lost after going to the Chaos Dimension. He poured all of his passion into me as he fulfilled my wish of bonding with my organs. Despite the setback of the situation, I was finally able to enjoy my peaceful time with my man and leave everything to him. He could take care of everything and I would merely go along with his whims.
I want him to form an even deeper connection with me.
-x-X-x-
[Wanda's still in the Chaos Dimension, dealing with the demons who are all hostile to her presence. We should eventually reach the central area of the dimension.] Alex told Natasha as they walked through the floating fortress to brief the widows about the new mission.
[Any estimate of when she might return?] Natasha asked Alex.
[Honestly, no clue. I can't say how long it's going to take her inside the dimension. And that's without even mentioning the fact that the dimension is synched with space days and not the jumbled time on this Earth. For all we know, she can return in two hours, or two months depending on how time moves here.]
[That means there is a big chance that she won't be here in case something big happens in the near future… That's a lot of firepower that we're down on.]
[Don't worry about that. As long as the widows are sufficiently sustainable with their farming work, we can take care of everything with the Infinity Stones.]
Natasha didn't say anything further as she reached the entrance to the assembly room. Taking a breath, she entered the room as the noise almost instantly died down, all of the women standing at attention with Yelena at the frontmost position in the group. They were all naturally standing in an orderly manner, spread across the room in ten rows with ten widows in each row except for a few, totaling ninety-six excluding Natasha and Yelena.
Nat stood some distance away from Yelena, facing all of the widows, and cleared her throat. "We have a new mission, one for which I will need all of you engaged completely. That is why I have recalled you from any missions that you were on. For the past month that we've been working together, all of you have had the 'fun' of the vigilante life. Playing around as street-level Avengers, which I'm sure was very fulfilling. But now, we need to go and get some serious work done, off-world. We will go to one of the copies of Earth that have appeared in the space around us. Your mission? To eradicate creatures of untold strength who can wipe out our entire planet if they reach us. We will be moving our fortress itself to that planet to act as a base of operations. You also have a secondary objective there. To bolster our numbers. We shall be taking in refugee candidates who suit our requirements and absorbing them into a secondary infantry division. I will explain the details about that once we all reach the planet."
One of the widows raised their hand and Natasha pointed her out as she asked her question, "What kind of planet is it? Is it the same as the Earth? Or something different?"
"That's a very good question," Natasha nodded. "It's a clear and complete nuclear wasteland. Scarce vegetation, even scarcer human presence. The planet is infested with creatures who are best described as Abominations. These Abominations were created from the mix of the nuclear fallout and the bioweapons that mutated ordinary humans. We are not fully clear about the source of the mutation, but that is the current working theory. Any more questions?"
"Will we be returning to this planet any time soon?" Another widow asked.
"The mission is a prolonged one, Natalie," Natasha said. "But I understand the toll that staying too long in such a location can have on soldiers. That is why after one year, you will all be brought back to Earth for a long vacation before we send you back once again. You will be asked how long of a vacation you require and we will come up with a consensus for that. Anything else?"
"How will the logistics of the situation work? The necessary resources to sustain such a mission, that is."
"Our long-term goal is to establish a permanent base of operations on that planet, codename Sanctuary. For that, we will need a hefty amount of resources and manpower. The foundation of Sanctuary's infrastructure will come from us taking over a specific established base that already has some of the manpower we will require. As for the rest, that will come from the inhabitants, refugees, and stray people that we gather. As for the logistical aspect of the situation. That will all come from this planet. Thankfully, Tony Stark has far more money than he knows what to do with and has agreed to fund this operation. Until the base is completely self-sustainable, regular shipments of food, water, construction materials, and any other necessary items will be delivered in weekly shipments."
"Will we be staying in the fortress or the New Sanctuary?" Another widow asked.
"The fortress. The widows will be the ones occupying the fortress, as it should be. We have enough capacity to comfortably accommodate a thousand people, yes, but only the widows will be the ones who will be allowed to stay here permanently. The refugees that we rescue will be living in the new base. The only exceptions will be the new widow candidates, who will get to live here permanently as well."
"Are we reviving the Black Widow program?" Another widow raised her concern.
"Of course not," Natasha almost snapped. "I have experienced the torture of that program and will never inflict that on anyone, ever. We will merely be taking inspiration from the original system for candidate selection for the program. They will not be subjected to any of the horrible tests and surgeries that come with it. Nor will be snatching them away from their parents. The refugees we find will have an abundance of orphaned children who will all need a place to call home. We will give them that home and train them into becoming not killers, but defenders."
"Is that planet not a post-nuclear fallout wasteland? There will be a large number of things that will emit active radiation. Will it be safe for us to be exposed to such an environment?"
"Yes, about that," Natasha nodded. "Your suits all have certain presets of outfits that go from two to nine, with the first preset being your combat uniform, correct? Now, presets one through nine will be modifiable while you merely need to call out the default preset to form the modified combat suit that will make sure to keep you safe and sound in the face of the environment of the wasteland, which, yes is very toxic. Yelena, will you demonstrate?"
The blonde second-in-command nodded as she called out to Apex under her breath, "Default preset." With her words, her combat suit started shifting as a thin internal layer formed over her skin, covering her up to her throat followed by a secondary layer that seemed to be the actual full-body combat suit with slight padding at the knees and elbows along with the necessary straps and belts to hold her weapons and leave her with ample maneuverability. Next, thin, red lines formed along the suit, going down from the sides of her modified choker that now showed five glowing red lines that went horizontally across its surface and down to her arms, ending just before her wrists where two similar bracelet cuffs formed with red energy seeming to course through them. The lines then extended from the bracelet to the inner side of her arms and moved along her sides all the way down to her ankles where similar, sleek red and black ankle cuffs formed, allowing for the final streak of red to pass along the insides of her legs to close the circuit that essentially outlined her body. Last, the innermost layer that was stuck to her body extended up her neck and went all the way up to her nose to form a layer that covered all of her exposed skin with a black full-face mask that extended over her ears and even up her scalp. While her hair was still free and flowing, there wasn't an ounce of her skin exposed.
"It's done," Yelena spoke, looking around through the se-through visor that was formed in front of her eyes, going from her brows to the middle of her nose, "I think." Her voice was perfectly clear as if the mask wasn't even there.
Natasha smiled, "How about everyone else also give it a try?" She asked and the widows were suddenly all dressed in identical uniforms, the only difference was that instead of the five red lines on Yelena's choker, bracelets, and anklets, the widows merely had two on each. "You can ask the choker to remove your masks, but there is a failsafe in it that will refuse your request in case you are in a harmful environment." Some of the widows attempted it and the head part of the mask retracted back into their collars.
"Are these red streaks some kind of a filtering mechanism that will collect any harmful particles and energies?" A widow asked while examining the newly formed bracelets on her wrists that seemed unmovable over her suit.
"Yes," Natasha said. "It is a filtering mechanism that makes sure that no harmful particles stay on the suit. This way, you do not need to disinfect yourselves when you enter a safe environment."
"Will we need to do something about these filters?" Another widow asked, "Such as changing them at regular intervals."
"No need for that. Your chokers are as foolproof as they have always been. They will never require any maintenance. Period."
"I noticed that Miss Yelena has five streaks while we have only two," One of the widows asked from behind Yelena. "Is there any significance to it?"
"Not in its effect. That is what the chokers will look like from now on. Since Yelena is my Deputy Commander, she has five lines, and I, as the Commander have six. The streaks and ranks don't particularly have any significance currently because the widows are barely the size of a small company for now. Things are manageable due to your small numbers for now, but once we start expanding and getting more trainees, things will change and we will need to establish a working hierarchy system. You do not need to worry about that for now, however. Even if the trainees do come, they will be left with single-streaked chokers until they finish their training. Any more questions?"
After no one said anything, Nat spoke up once again.
"Since everyone has understood what we will be doing" As the widows all collectively straightened up further, Natasha continued. "You can prepare yourselves mentally, look at the bright blue skies all you want for today because once we move to the next planet, all you will see are dusty, yellowed skies filled with pollution particles. We leave tomorrow, an hour before dawn."
-x-X-x-
The next day, before the sun was about to rise, the widows were all in their quarters, almost all of them having indulged themselves in the addictive, guilty pleasure of submitting to an inanimate object. Most of them equated it to a kinky self-bondage session gone awry as their permanent clothing took advantage of them to drown them in pleasure. The ones who weren't currently indulging in that pleasure were in a deep sleep, either not corrupted enough to try those things by themselves, or merely tuckered out after the suit was finished with them. Ultimately, what mattered was that none of them realized when the windows of their respective rooms were covered by shutters and their doors barred.
In the fortress's control room, Natasha and Yelena were standing side by side looking at the huge screen in front of them that showed the fortress from multiple angles.
"Are you sure you can do it?" Natasha asked Alex who was standing on her other side.
"Yeah, don't worry," Alex said. "I even have some help from a special sorcerer who has a very deep connection with the source of their abilities." A small portal appeared in one of the cameras, showing the scene of a dusky sky on the other side. That portal started getting larger by the second, increasing by multiple magnitudes. Soon enough, it was large enough that it had covered the view of multiple cameras completely, covering their vision with what was on the other side.
"We should move quickly because if the irradiated air passes through that planet into ours, we will be in trouble," Yelena said.
"Look at Yelena the environmentalist," Alex teased. "Don't worry about it. Mystic Arts portals are made with much more thought put into them. Since they are made to traverse between dimensions and other planets, it is integral for them to block the passage of anything other than the intended recipient. Nat, turn on the thrusters at full capacity. We have a very small window to pass through the portal."
Natasha, ready for his signal, blasted the ship's thrusters at full throttle to pass through the portal that was easily multiple miles in diameter.
From the outside, it looked like the huge floating fortress gained a breath of life as it moved fast enough that the mere inertia would've destroyed half the fortress. That is what would've happened if the fortress wasn't a marvel of engineering that had been enhanced extensively by Alex to be able to withstand the motion. He had even established an artificial gravitational system with the nuclear reactor as the core to make sure that no one inside the fortress would be affected by their abrupt change in speed.
Soon enough, the fortress passed through the portal completely as it instantly disappeared, stranding the fortress on another planet. Some distance away from the previous location of the fortress in MCU Earth, Doctor Strange's body calmed down and stopped seizing as his face seemed to have gained some wrinkles. He was the one Alex was using to channel the necessary Eldrich Energy since Wanda was somewhat blocked from accessing it at the moment.
"We're here," Yelena said tiredly with a sigh as a blue glow appeared all over the surface of the fortress, graphene-like hexagonal structures forming a translucent shield. Alex had gotten some help from his time accelerated Scientist Gwen to help him put together a modified, smaller version of their planetary shielding system for the fortress. She was also responsible for helping him develop the system to keep the fortress intact during their travel process.
"What now?" Yelena asked as a frown made its way to her face, "What are those bird-like monsters? They seem to be flocking around us…"
Alex was the one who answered, "They are Abominations, Yelena. The very reason we needed such a shield generator in the first place." He said. "These are the beings that rule the skies, the seas, and most of the land on this planet. As for the humans, they have a scarce few bastions left that still have the capabilities to hold themselves against these monsters. The smaller communities? They are barely able to survive against the weaker ones, but they are few and far between. We will be taking over one such community and establishing our own bastion — The Sanctuary. We will use the fortress as our means of travel and migrate the smaller communities to our budding bastion. The widows, including yourself, will be the guardians of The Sanctuary and train an armed force that will aim to rid this planet of these Abominations."
"Those communities are the ones you want us to take little girls from to train them to become widows?" Yelena asked, her tone slightly sour. She wasn't very fond of expanding the Black Widow program.
"It's just a name, Yelena," Natasha said. "I support Apex in this endeavor. We can call them the Young Avengers if need be. As I told the Widows outside. We will train and groom the trainees into combatants, yes, but they will be protectors first and foremost. While the training will be brutal and difficult, with Apex's help, their recovery and enhancement will be good enough that they will never need any of those painful procedures that we needed to endure."
"Fine, fine, I get it," Yelena said. "I understand where you are coming from. Hell, I'm sure that most of, if not all, the girls will jump at the opportunity to gain strength and to be able to defend themselves while living in this luxurious fortress."
"Do we need to do anything about these flying Abominations?" Natasha asked Alex as she saw more and more of them attacking the fortress.
"No need," He said. "This particular shield generator comes from a planetary-scale shield. Unless the ‹Eldrich Leader Class› abominations that truly rule the skies attack us, we're fine. And I know where to move to avoid them. Once we start descending, they will all naturally leave since we are going out of their territory."
The fortress moved through the sky for a few more hours, by which point the widows were starting to get ready for their usual 8 AM workday. Suffice it to say, they were very startled by the view of the abominations that they saw from their windows. They didn't panic, aware that if it was an emergency, they would be hearing all sorts of alarms. They were then called to the assembly hall once again where Natasha briefed them about their current plans.
…
Close to the fortress's destination, Laura and Kamala were working like the diligent farmer bees that they were while wearing their red-streaked black outfits and helping Alex harvest his EP from the abominations.
"Laura look," Kamala said as she noticed something in the air, "Is that something we should be concerned about? I can't identify its shape, but it looks really big…"
"Apex says safe," Laura said. "He is guiding us…" With the cryptic words, looked in a specific direction and started moving. Kamala wordlessly followed Laura, knowing what awaited her if she refused.
"We can't even see anything…" Kamala said. "The sandstorm has limited our visibility by so much."
"Don't whine," Laura said. "Trust Apex."
"I do, I do, really. He's been an amazing help for us, truly," Kamala said. "I owe my life to both you and Apex because I don't think I could've ever survived here on my own. And I don't know about you, but I feel that we're getting stronger the longer we stay here, not only in skill, but in our abilities as well, or is that just me?"
"We are," Laura said. "Apex nourishes us and enhances us."
As the two continued walking forward, they noticed some kind of tall dark silhouette that extended in both directions, "Is that a wall or something?" Kamala asked.
"Settlement," Laura said as Kamala stopped in her tracks.
"Are you sure we want to go in there? What if they suppress us and do experiments on us? Since these people can resist abominations, they might be able to capture us," Kamala panicked. "I don't want to become a test subject. Isn't Apex the one who always discouraged us from coming into contact with the settlements?"
"Trust, Apex," Laura said. "He says that it's safe. It's also the destination of the structure we saw."
"Then shouldn't we be running away —"
"Quiet," Laura said, giving Kamala a pointed look. "Follow me." At Laura's order, the Inhuman obediently followed her, walking behind her with a pout.
"Is that some kind of a floating fortress?" Kamala wasn't quiet for long and pointed at the sky as the thing they had seen before became clearer. They could now see the structure with some clarity. Through the light blue sheen that covered its surface, it seemed like a huge metal fortress with large thrusters under it as it flew to the same destination as the two of them.
"Seems like it," Laura said as the two continued moving. "Be quiet now, if we are to sneak into the base, we need to suppress our presence as much as possible." Both Laura and Kamala disappeared under the camouflaging ability of Apex.
'Why are we sneaking in?' Kamala wanted to ask but didn't want to get scolded. Ultimately, she stayed quiet and followed Laura's lead, knowing that Apex and Laura weren't big fans of sharing their plans with her. Even if she argued, it was useless as Laura dragged her to execute the plan anyway. By now, she had lost most of her actual resistance to following Laura's lead without asking questions. What she did now was just playing around.
-x-X-x-
"Yelena," Natasha said, "I want you to take command of the Widows when we land and represent us. I have some things to take care of back home, so I'm not going to stay here long term."
"So you're abandoning me in this wasteland?" The blonde asked, looking at Natasha with a betrayed expression.
"You can ask Apex to connect us whenever you want to contact me. If you need any help or even just want to talk, you can ask him, okay?"
"Fine," Yelena nodded reluctantly. "The Widows are already assembled, will you be the one to give them a commencement speech, or should I do it?"
"I'll do it while also briefing them about the new leadership situation," Natasha said. "You can disembark and talk with whomever this base's leader is. It's a high chance that you will find an arrogant egotistical prick with more power than he knows what to do with, so you just need to keep him engaged until the widows spread through the entire base and take control over the strategic locations. And if he is a little smart and understands his situation, we can move more diplomatically."
The flying fortress lowered itself to fly right above the ground beside the settlement, its thrusters raising their own dust cloud that formed a tornado in the sandstorm.
The hanger hatch opened as Yelena heard Apex's voice in her head, [You can pass through the shield, it won't be an issue.]
"You sure I won't get fried or anything?" She asked as the visor formed over her head, covering completely from head to toe while still allowing her hair to flow freely as the red streaks over her outfit accentuated her figure.
[The shield only stops things that are outside from coming in. Not the other way around. You don't need to worry. As for coming back, There's no need to come back. You can stay in the wasteland from now on.]
"Apex…" Yelena ground her teeth.
[I'm just fucking with you. I can calibrate the shield to allow you in whenever you want to. Don't worry so much. I have everything thought out.]
"Fine," Yelena said before taking a deep breath as she charged right out of the hanger bay and jumped from a few miles in the air. She somersaulted in the air as her speed of descent continued to increase. Uncaringly, she continued diving through the air, maneuvering herself such that she landed right in the center of the small settlement that was barely the size of a small village.
Her landing destroyed the ground and threw some debris all around her. Still, she didn't forget to make a cool pose while landing, "How do I look?" She asked Apex.
[I want to come up from behind you and fuck that superhero hard-on right out of you.]
Yelena didn't react. She didn't even know how she was supposed to react to Alex's words. In the end, she just cleared her throat and jumped out of the crater that she had landed in, "Hey guys," She waved at the four people dressed in complicated-looking hazmat suits that also seemed to serve as armor, "Take me to your leader."
They shared a look, "Hands above your head," A man stepped forward, his gun pointed at Yelena.
"Look up there," Yelena said dryly, pointing at the floating fortress. "Do you want to antagonize what could be very real and genuine help for you and your community? And do you really think that you can take a flying fortress on? Take me to your leader, I have a deal for him." She dismissed their threat completely and stood with her arms crossed.
The four guards shared a look and nodded amongst themselves. "Fine. Follow me," The first man spoke as he approached her.
Yelena raised a brow as he gestured, "This way," He pointed to the direction behind her.
"Got it," She walked with the guard who seemed to be the leader while the other three walked behind them, their guns still pointed at her.
"Please wait here while I call the mayor," The guard spoke as Yelena nodded waiting with her arms crossed. She didn't show any outward change as Natasha's voice reached her ear, telling he that the widows had already started infiltrating the settlement. After her showy and exposed landing, the sentries would expect to see similar things, but the Widows all jumped down in a camouflaged state as Alex made sure to slow down their descent as much as necessary, allowing them to land on the ground without being detected at all.
Almost ten minutes passed in waiting before Yelena heard a voice, "You may come in now," The same man spoke as she entered the building through the door. "Please disinfect yourself," The man spoke to her through a glass wall as he pointed at a chamber. He had already removed his Hazmat suit and was in some kind of bodysuit now.
"Fine, whatever," She said. "The other bastions all have much better filtering technology. Where people can roam around the walls freely…" She mumbled, giving some insight into herself to the guard as she walked into the chamber. After being doused in all sorts of cleaning solutions and mists that were absorbed back into the chamber, Yelena finally came out before pulling her helmet away, freeing her head from the mask.
"Please follow me," The guard couldn't help but stare at her for a few seconds as he spoke.
She didn't say anything and started moving, leaving the lost guard behind. She knew where she needed to go after Apex gave her directions to the entire building.
As she entered the leader's office, following the guard who had caught up to her after a few seconds. As the two entered, she heard a deep, slightly cracked voice speaking, "I was told that this one was a woman, but I never expected one as beautiful as this."
"Of course, it's one of those kinds of people," Yelena said under her breath before turning to the man with graying hair who seemed to be in his late forties. "My name is Yelena. I come here representing The Sanctuary. We are hereby taking over this settlement in exchange for providing the inhabitants with the basic necessities, providing them jobs that can be exchanged for a merit system, and more. We will even protect you in case you get unlucky enough to face a hoard of Abominations. While you've been lucky for a while, such as keeping the people locked in during the night times so that the monsters don't get too aggressive, it's only a matter of time before your luck runs out."
"Who do you think you are?" The man stood up from his seat. "I have been leading this place for months and you think you can just waltz in here and take over my hard work? Over my dead body. Instead, I will give you a counteroffer. Join me as my mistress. I'm still virile enough that I can put some obedience in your head and teach you what it's like to live under the leadership of a man."
"I always feel that no one would be as dumb as to threaten someone who is clearly in a superior position, but color me surprised. Maybe living in this irradiated wasteland is getting to you in your old age. You have no chance against my forces. Surrender peacefully, otherwise, I know how to take you down."
"Even better, actually," The man said. "You said we're lucky that we've survived up until now, right? I'll show you just how lucky we've been." Just as he said that he picked up his phone and pressed a single number to speed dial someone. He didn't even hear the other party's greeting and spoke "Jerry, charge up my Damocles Cannon. Blow that fortress out of the sky and tell this bitch what it's like to feel despair."
"My apologies, Jerry is a little busy at the moment," A female voice spoke through the phone, making the man's hand quiver, "Please call again later."
"You may have gotten Jerry, but I have all sorts of weapons that can obliterate you and your forces. Don't test me and obediently surrender to me. I will allow you to manage this place by my side."
"Not a chance, you fool," Yelena shook her head. "As I said before. You're an idiot. I'll give you a few more chances to make calls. My people have already taken over all of the strategic locations in this base. I just came to meet you as a courtesy."
The blonde woman's confidence unnerved the leader, making him growl at her as he called another number that was on his speed dial. A widow answered, dashing his hopes. Yelena enjoyed the increasing look of despair in the man's eyes as he continued calling more and more people, only to find that all of them had been intercepted by Widows.
"If you're done, shall we continue?" Yelena asked as the man sat defeated in his chair.
"What is it that you want?" He asked her with a weak voice, unable to even look at her.
"Nothing much, I just plan to take over this place and establish it as a base of The Sanctuary," Yelena said. "As for the inhabitants, they will be integrated into our system. As much as my blood boils when I say it, it's a kind of meritocratic communist system where we will centralize everything and base the exchange of materials and services on the basis of merit. Sadly, in this wasteland, this is the only kind of system that can thrive when it comes to small-scale communities."
Just as Yelena finished, a loud sound reverberated through the entire community as the building shook a little as if a weak earthquake had occurred.
"Don't worry," Yelena said. "It's just the shielding system that we threw down on the ground. Prepare to announce your abdication to our authority in front of the three thousand or so citizens that you have. Once the shield is established and given an hour or so, the air will naturally become breathable for everyone. Call them in some kind of assembly ground."
-x-X-x-
"She's doing well," Natasha commented from the control room of the fortress. She was sitting on her chair while the huge screen in front of her showed the bodycam footage of Yelena and the thirty or so widows that had been deployed into the settlement.
"I guess it runs in the blood," Alex spoke, he was also sitting on Natasha's chair while she used him as her chair. He leaned forward and gave a brief lick to his host's neck as she smiled a little.
"She's not my actual sister, you know that right? We just had a mission where we were supposed to play sisters for a few years," Natasha said.
"I know," Alex nodded. "You still share many things. Your upbringing, your abilities, and even your sexual preferences are the same. I would know because I am the man whom you two are sharing."
"I know you're trying to tease me, but the taboo nature of your relationship with both me and her doesn't invoke anything in me beyond a little embarrassment," Natasha said, turning her head to look at him.
"Whatever you say," He said. "The shield has already been established surrounding the circumference of the wall that they have. The generator has been buried almost a hundred feet in the ground and we will need some people to cover it up. Secondly, you need to deploy the rest of the widows to fight off the abominations that are going to attack the settlement after the commotion that the shield generator has created."
"And why could you not have them dig a hole before throwing the generator down?" Natasha asked.
"I want them surrounded by Abominations," Alex's words left Natasha speechless. "That way they will focus on defending themselves from the external threat and be grateful and fearful when they see the widows taking care of these monsters without even using any heavy weapons."
"How about I join in on the fight?" Natasha asked. "It's been a while since I've done anything of the sort."
"Don't," Alex refused. "Your strength is overwhelming and will not work in the Widows' favor; invoking more fear in the populous than confidence while also making the widows complacent. Instead, Yelena is just strong enough that she can both control the battlefield and motivate the widows to give it their all. Also, I have a much more difficult fight coming up for you."
"Yeah? Who?" Natasha asked.
"You see, there's this Immortal Chinese warlord guy who has the keys to a very special location. A location that has a unique power system that I wish to explore. It's going to be a very fun adventure for just the two of us." Alex told her.
"I'll do whatever you want me to do as long as you don't let have me sitting on my ass anymore. I've done this administrative work for the widows for more than a month and am sorely bored by now."
"Don't worry. Once we settle things here, we will go on a fun adventure, promise," Alex said as he turned Natasha's head and pulled her into a kiss.
…
Despite being a small settlement, over the couple of months that the group had existed, they had gathered a hefty number of people. While most of them were adults, the number of pregnant women and infants was much higher than one would imagine. The infants who were less than six months old were staggeringly in the late double digits out of the three thousand people in the community. As for the pregnant women, that was even more absurd, crossing the triple digits where within the next seven to eight months, there would be at least two hundred more infants in the community.
"Were you planning to smuggle these newborns away or something? Is this some kind of breeding camp?" Yelena's thoughts went in the most probable direction after hearing the statistics of the people living in the community. With the limited resources that they could find in the wasteland and despite the community having a sustainable biome where they were able to raise animals and plants for eating, it was impossible to accommodate such a large population.
"I'll tell you, I'll tell you. Just stop hitting me!" The previous mayor said. "We have a partnership with a nearby community. They provide us with food and we give them protection. While we do ration it, the food supply is very steady and all we need to do is to use our weapons to protect their community. The squadron should return tomorrow with this month's rations. That's why we can sustain such aggressive birthing. If anything, I encourage it because the more kids we have, in a couple of years, that will translate into more soldiers."
"How much food do you have in your storage?" Yelena asked, not completely convinced, but she didn't push it for now.
"Enough to sustain the current community for six months, easy. And that's if we lost our partner who graciously provides us with food every month in exchange for protection."
Yelena asked a few more questions, spending a good two hours understanding the system of the community. While the guy was a little high on power, the decisions that he had made for the community had always been solid. If they weren't so limited in resources, this place itself could've become a bastion eventually. She learned that they even had weapons that could kill the buff class abominations that Alex had told her about. They had never encountered any leader-class ones, which might truly have been up to luck.
By the time Yelena was done questioning him, the shield was done with its purpose of cleaning the air inside the entire dome. While the ground and everything else was still dangerous, simply staying in the dome was perfectly safe as long as one didn't eat the dirt or something. This was why Yelena had the mayor call an assembly of all of the citizens. She would be directly addressing them about the Widows and their purpose.
In a sort of dilapidated stadium, Yelena stood in the center with the mayor standing beside her with his head hung low as the people all crowded in. The infants and their mothers alongside the women in the third trimester of pregnancy were excused since traveling here would be very inconvenient for them. Still, the stadium was filled up by almost three thousand people who were all wearing Hazmat suits. Yelena was impressed at the sheer logistical challenge that this many resources possessed.
"Did you guys rob multiple military warehouses or something?" She couldn't help but ask him. "The weaponry that you have along with these hazmat suits and more. Where did all this come from?"
"I don't think you want to know," The man said. "It's better for you to stay in the dark about this. For your own peace of mind."
"Just fucking tell me," Yelena didn't have much patience with the man and kicked him in the gut.
"God, argh… Fuck…" He kneeled over, "Fine, Jesus." He said breathing deeply to recover before looking up at her and speaking. "I am not from the wasteland. Instead, I am a corporal from the military. I was one of the first people who worked in Tony Stark's Bastion. After the Kree invasion, and the damage to the planet, I was sent on a mission to this location to set up a shelter. For the first six months, I had their full support, which is why I was able to rapidly expand and promote the birth of the next generation. That was how we formed the partnership with another community in the first place. They had discovered an underground biome where they could grow certain plants and raise cattle en masse. Just as the partnership was formed, the Bastion went dark. I sent some scouts to check up on the place, but none of them returned. Either the place has been destroyed, or they have abandoned me. Happy now?"
"Kinda, yes," Yelena nodded. "That tells me that you are just temporarily power high. After a little humbling, I can put you back to work instead of killing you. Plus, now you have a different Bastion's resources backing you up."
The man shook his head as Yelena waited for the people to all come into the stadium.
Her speech consisted of informing them that the flying fortress in the air was from The Sanctuary. One of the final Bastions of Humanity. She told them that some things might be changing from now on, but their lifestyle would only get better after today. She clued the people in on some of their plans while calling to action the people who were willing to fight for the fortress. They were to assemble on the ground of the stadium after everyone else would leave. Then, she addressed the people with crafting jobs, specifically the construction workers and architects that they would now have work to do in expanding the settlement to accommodate more people. It was the same with the other common professions, all of whom got a gist of their situation going into the future. Yelena left some of the details to the future and adjourned her speech after telling them that their mayor would still stay the same.
Finally, it was time for the fighters to gather in front of her. She saw that a good five hundred men were gathered in front of her, all of them with battle-hardened looks telling her that they weren't unfamiliar with the abominations.
"My widows," Yelena said loudly and almost a hundred women, all clad in the same outfits as her appeared out of nowhere behind her. She could see the shock and awe in each of the soldiers' eyes and smiled. "These women are the Sanctuary's protectors. My soldiers. They will be joining in on the fight that is about to come. Due to the generation of this shield, you will be assaulted by a hoard of abominations that will rip into your walls and destroy everything you hold dear once they enter. Will you fight for your lives, and your family's lives? Will you fight for the Sanctuary?" Alex enhanced Yelena's voice with Chaos magic to make it seem like her words and speech were extremely charismatic, making the soldiers howl excitedly as their blood boiled to fight their enemies.
-x-X-x-
An hour or so later, Yelena and the widows along with the defense force of the settlement were all manning the walls. Yelena had distributed the widows equally throughout the perimeter of the city so that they could easily support the infantry against the Abominations. While the force of the settlement was decked out in heavy armor and battle gear along with large weapons that each took two people to man, the widows seemed starkly underprepared. But no one underestimated any of them. After Yelena's entrance into the city and the initial might she had established, they were willing to give the women the benefit of the doubt.
"W-without this shield… This settlement would've been completely destroyed by now," The leader of the settlement's forces spoke, standing beside Yelena. He was also decked out in battle gear. Similar to a large chunk of the infantry, he was decked out in a battle suit with gauntlets and thrusters that was essentially a far bulkier Iron Man suit that looked less cool.
"It was only a matter of time before you were attacked by a horde. We merely ended up accelerating the process. You don't need to worry, however. They won't be able to breach the shield any time soon. Still, the power consumption of the shield must be managed. Which means that it would be best if we start clearing them out." Yelena said solemnly. While she had heard a lot about the abominations from Alex, seeing was different from hearing.
"Give the order. My men will follow me into battle," The leader said as Yelena nodded and spoke into a walkie-talkie.
"Let her rip, everyone. Show these glorified zombies what we're made of," While the Infantry division leaders heart the order through their walkie-talkies, the widows heard Yelena's voice directly in their heads by means of Alex's automated relay system for intercommunication.
The sounds of plasma being charged reached Yelena's ears as loud blasts overtook her surroundings. The sentries released an initial wave of bombardment that obliterated the frontal layer of the zombies. As they were charging, the soldiers who were wearing power suits all jumped down the walls, walking through the shields alongside the widows who all burst into action.
If anyone had any doubts about the capabilities of the widows before this, they were all completely gone moments after the battles started. The lithe women were stronger than the men who were wearing literal power suits to fight and were manhandling the abominations like nobody's business. What surprised them was the suits that the women wore seemed to be much more than mere clothes. Their clothes seemed to have been formed of nanoparticles that were easily able to form into different weapons and tools that they used efficiently to mow through the abominations. There even seemed to be a cleaning function where the downed abominations were all absorbed and decomposed by the suits themselves.
"Fall back!" After clearing a wave, they were all called back. The cannons were all charged up by now. The widows and soldiers all returned, effortlessly passing through the shield as the cannons blasted the Abominations once again.
"We only have two more shots after this. The cannons will overheat and can only be used after an hour," The leaders on each side spoke. "We will be relying on you guys until then."
The process was repeated two more times as the cannons overheated, leaving everything to the soldiers in the power suits and the widows who had shown surprising efficiency in their work. As the battle continued, a certain widow shone through most of all. Yelena.
The blonde was singlehandedly dealing with multiple ‹Grunt Class› abominations and even a Buff class and was actively pushing it back. With lighting-based attacks, she was able to move at speeds that none of the abominations were able to react to, effortlessly killing them. She even had the time to save a fellow power-suited soldier who was about to have his head blown off by two weak abominations that were upon him.
"T-thank you…" Yelena's angelic-seeming blonde hair fluttered through the air, despite the mask hiding most of her face, the man couldn't help but feel that he was falling in love with his savior. She didn't pay him any heed and continued on her way, keeping the ‹Buff Grunt Class› abomination busy as Alex encroached upon it to devour it. He was already doing the same with all of the abominations around the battlefield without wasting anything. EP was a very precious resource for him after all.
A similar scene as Yelena was repeating itself throughout the battlefield. While not as extreme, each of the widows was responsible for saving multiple lives from Abominations. And giving the soldiers a little bit of a complex about their supposed weakness while also causing some of them to develop a minor crush on the widows. However, the most prominent thought that almost everyone was sharing was that of admiration toward these women who were fighting the enemy so efficiently and effectively while also focusing on their comrades and protecting them.
Despite the lower number of widows, they had taken the spotlight on the battlefield, each of them taking care of multiple times the number of abominations that the original forces were dealing with.
As the hour passed, the cannons were charged up once again, but they weren't fired. Instead, they were docked once again so that they could be used in the next wave. The widows were working so efficiently against the abominations that Yelena had the cannons called off. The real reason, though was that Alex didn't want the abominations destroyed by the cannons. The destroyed Abominations didn't provide him with much EP.
Hours passed as the sky darkened. Sadly, the Abominations still weren't finished. Despite having lowered the size of the horde by a large factor, there were still enough that it would take them a few more hours to clear everything out. Understanding the situation, Yelena had the widows retreat behind the shield, where the soldiers were already present, already too tired to continue fighting.
"Bring those two girls to me," Yelena said with a hint of fatigue in her eyes. She was looking at two young women who were decked out in identical suits as the widows, both of them resting behind the shield.
"They aren't a part of your forces?" The leader asked.
"Please do what is asked, Mr. Kabal," Yelena gave the man a pointed look, making him cower. If he initially had a slight sense of jealousy toward Yelena, that had transformed into extreme admiration and some fear by now. To him, the woman was an absolute monster who was able to even contend against the stronger variants of abominations who usually took at least three shots from their plasma cannons to be taken down. Even her own people were having significant difficulty against the stronger variants, being forced to work together to take care of them. Yelena, on the other hand, was able to take care of them on her own. She even managed to keep two of them engaged at the same time before another widow supported her.
The man did as he was asked and Yelena saw the two young adults stand up from their spots and turn to her. One of them had caramel skin that was glistening with sweat and a bright gaze in her eyes while the other, white-skinned one seemed apathetic to her surroundings. They were both decked in the same outfit as her with some slight modification. Their collar, wrist cuffs, and anklet cuffs all sported a single horizontal line of glowing red, representing their status as widow trainees.
"Apex…" Yelena spoke softly. "Was this you?"
[Yes, those two are Kamala and Laura. They've been helping me farm EP for a while in this place and would do well in the new and improved Black Widow Program.]
Yelena resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the man and gave a gentle yet faint smile to the two girls.
"You two aren't a part of my widows, are you?" She asked.
"No," Kamala shook her head. "But we would love to join you. You're all like so badass, taking care of those abominations like they're weak zombies instead."
Yelena gave a pointed look to the man who had come close to them, hoping to hear their conversation. He cowered and quickly moved away under her threatening gaze. "What is your relationship with Apex?" Yelena asked them as Laura's eyes lit up, Kamala also showing signs of knowing in her eyes.
"He's my suit," Laura said, going against her self-preservation instincts by telling Yelena about her abilities, but Apex's instinct told her to speak freely, so that's what she did. "He's helped us a lot."
"Of course he has," Yelena said. "I want to rest for a while, but would you two like to join us for the second round? You can also go and rest if you wish to."
"I don't mind fighting more," Laura said.
"But I do," Kamala interjected, only for Laura to look at her with narrowed eyes. "I'm tired. I want to rest, Laura."
"How about you… I forgot to ask you two your names."
"Kamala." "Laura," The duo told Yelena.
"Kamala, why don't you sit back here and rest while your friend helps us fight? What do you say?" Yelena asked.
"Can't," Kamala told her. "Apex has us tethered together," She raised a black rope that connected the two together. It was invisible previously and just became visible now.
"Is this some kind of an experiment or something?" Yelena spoke under her breath.
[Something like that. They will be staying that way.]
"What?" Laura asked.
"It's nothing, Yelena said. "In that case, you both can rest back with the soldiers. We aren't low on manpower and the widows only need an hour or so more to clear the majority of the horde. After that we will all be retreating to the fortress, you can come with us at that time."
After some time passed, Yelena noticed that the horde seemed to be getting larger, and attracting more Abominations, so she decided to take care of everything once and for all.
"Widows. Time for the final stretch. Show these people your strength as the protectors of the Sanctuary. We want them completely dazzled and starstruck with us by the end of the event," Yelena's words were broadcast to each and every widow, each of them using their skills to make sure that the men who were enamored with them stayed that way without actually getting any tangible benefit.
The reason they were working so hard to develop a reputation among the soldiers was that it was these people with the most children in the settlement — Having had the most work to do, and hence the most benefits, they had the necessary resources to raise children and take care of their spouses.
If the fathers looked up the widows, the children would be the same. Eventually, it would make the position of a widow an extremely big deal in the settlement. With just the right amount of propaganda promoting the widows and their benefits, the job would become extremely desirable. At that point, once the recruitment drive starts, people would fight to have their children join their training program.