Inside the Avengers Base.
"Wanda, where's Linen?"
Seeing Wanda return alone, Tony Stark—who had just finished dealing with a group of alien smugglers that had literally fallen from the sky—raised an eyebrow and asked teasingly, "You know, you two stick together every day. Today, you didn't stay at Linen's apartment and came back alone instead. That's rare!"
Before Wanda could respond, Natasha, who had just drifted her car to a stop, stepped out and said with a smirk, "That just proves Wanda and Linen have a good relationship—unlike you, Tony."
"And I happen to know you've been staying at the Avengers base almost every night recently, dragging Dr. Banner into late-night research sessions."
"If Pepper hadn't come here yesterday to drag you back, you probably wouldn't have left the base at all. What—did your relationship with Pepper break down, or did your love affair shift to Dr. Banner?"
Hearing Natasha's teasing, Tony Stark looked up at the sky in silence.
"Huh?"
Pietro, who had just rushed back at super speed, only caught the latter half of the conversation. He stared at Tony with a slightly horrified expression.
"Damn it, don't look at me like that! Pepper and I are perfectly fine—and I don't like men!!!"
"Ah… that's good, that's good," Pietro sighed in relief. "If you really changed your orientation, I'd seriously consider moving out of the Avengers base."
Seeing Pietro's relieved expression, Tony immediately raised his middle finger.
After laughing for a moment, Natasha turned to Wanda and asked, "So… where's Linen?"
"He left temporarily for something important."
Thinking of her multiverse self "borrowing" Linen—and warning her not to reveal too much to avoid unnecessary trouble—Wanda paused for a moment before continuing calmly.
"He has something to deal with, so he left Earth for a while."
Hearing this, Tony and Natasha exchanged a glance, recalling what they had seen in the theater—that Linen had to undergo Nemesis's trials from time to time.
They both nodded.
Damn that goddess of vengeance. It was impossible to imagine what kind of torment Linen would face this time after leaving Earth.
"Huh?"
Pietro glanced at Wanda and said in surprise, "Wanda, something feels off about your powers. They feel… much stronger than before."
As twins, even though Pietro didn't understand chaos magic or scarlet magic, he could still sense the change in his sister's power.
It was like an instinctive connection—just like the moment Wanda sensed Pietro's death in the past.
Hearing this, Tony, Natasha, and Steve—who had just walked out of the base—all turned their attention to Wanda.
Wanda nodded slightly. "To be precise, my abilities have found an evolutionary path."
"I'm not fully familiar with it yet. I can only glimpse a crack in the future direction of scarlet magic."
"That's why I came back—to explore this path."
"This process may take a long time, but once I master this power, even if Thanos comes, we won't need to fear him."
Hearing this, Steve and the others immediately became serious.
Everyone had seen just how terrifying Thanos would be—and what he would do.
Natasha spoke first. "Wanda, is there anything we can help with?"
"Not for now."
Wanda shook her head with a gentle smile. "I just need some peace during this period. Pietro will take care of my daily needs."
"Of course," Pietro said immediately. "I've been taking care of you since you were ten."
"But… who exactly is Thanos? Why does everyone look so serious whenever his name comes up?"
Wanda raised her hand and lightly tapped his arm. "Don't be so curious. Go prepare some food for me—I need to focus on studying this power."
"Tsk."
Seeing Wanda once again dodge the topic and suppress him outright, Pietro shrugged and walked off to prepare food.
After nodding to everyone, Wanda headed toward her villa inside the Avengers base.
Watching her leave, Steve said solemnly, "If Wanda can truly control this power, it will be the best possible outcome—for the Avengers and for Earth."
"So during this period, her missions will be suspended. We'll focus on coordination training instead."
"No problem," Tony nodded immediately.
Natasha, however, looked serious. "Wanda said Linen left Earth. I think we should find out where he went."
"And whether there's any way to completely free him from Nemesis's curse."
"As a friend, I don't want him trapped by that curse forever."
Steve took a deep breath. After a brief silence, he shook his head. "There's nothing we can do right now."
"Maybe in the future… but for now, we can only hope Linen holds on."
"He will," Tony said firmly. "Linen is a real man. Nothing can break him or force him to surrender. I know that."
At the same time—aboard Thanos's warship in deep space.
"Prepare yourself. You are about to face a mission bestowed upon you by the great master."
"The opportunity has arrived. Complete this task, and Earth will become your kingdom."
Hearing Ebony Maw's words, Loki grinned and spread his hands. "Of course. No problem."
"But may I ask—where has Thanos been recently?"
"I can clearly feel that he's no longer on this ship."
"Silence!"
Ebony Maw's expression darkened with rage. "If you dare speak the master's name so casually again, I'll show you what real pain is."
"As for anything else—that's not for you to question."
With that, Ebony Maw turned and left.
Watching him depart in anger, the smile on Loki's face slowly faded, replaced by a cold glint of fury in his eyes.
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