The room was silent for a long moment after Rin finished her story. The Avengers, usually quick with quips and counterpoints, were all processing what they had just heard.
Finally, Clint let out a slow whistle, crossing his arms. "So, let me get this straight. You're telling us that if we go through with this mission the same way we always do, we're gonna end up with a mind-control witch, a discount Flash, and—" he pointed a finger at Tony, "—we absolutely, under no circumstances, let Mr. Genius here anywhere near the big glow stick. That about sum it up?"
Tony scoffed. "Excuse me? I feel like we're glossing over the part where I was, you know, trying to create world peace."
"Yeah, and in doing so, you built a genocidal murder bot that nearly wiped out humanity," Natasha cut in dryly, arms folded. "World peace, sure."
Steve let out a long breath, rubbing his temple. "So, the Maximoff twins start out as enemies, but they switch sides? And Ultron—somehow—gets his hands on Vibranium, builds himself a nearly indestructible body, and tries to wipe out the planet?" He looked to Rin for confirmation.
She nodded. "That's the simplified version, yeah. But trust me, you don't want to experience the full version. I'm giving you all a massive shortcut to avoiding disaster."
Bruce looked deep in thought. "And the AI—Vision. He's supposed to be our counter to Ultron, but it's a fifty-fifty shot whether we even trust him?"
"More like sixty-forty," Rin corrected. "Since you and Thor get into some ridiculous philosophical debate before he just hands over Mjolnir like it's a business card to prove he's on our side."
Thor perked up at that. "Wait, he lifts Mjolnir?"
Rin nodded. "Casually."
Thor blinked, looking genuinely intrigued. "Well, that's something to look forward to."
"No, it's something to avoid," Rin corrected firmly. "The whole point of telling you all this is so we don't get to that point. We take out Strucker, lock down the scepter, and stop Tony from even thinking about AI-based world defense."
Tony raised a finger. "In my defense—"
"No," the entire team, minus Thor, said in unison.
Tony huffed, slumping back in his seat. "Tough crowd."
Natasha, who had been listening quietly, finally spoke up. "Alright, so what's the move? How do we stop all this before it even starts?"
...
The Avengers charged toward Strucker's base, the forest around them alive with gunfire and explosions. Natasha sighed as she dodged incoming fire. "Of course. Charging head-on as always."
Inside the HYDRA base, alarms blared over the loudspeakers. Wanda and Pietro Maximoff stood together, listening as orders were barked out.
"Report to your stations immediately. This is not a drill. We are under attack. We are under attack."
Outside, the Avengers fought through waves of HYDRA soldiers.
Tony Stark flew toward the base, scanning the defenses. "JARVIS, what's the view from upstairs?"
JARVIS responded, "The central building is protected by some kind of energy shield. Strucker's technology is well beyond any other HYDRA base we've taken."
Steve Rogers frowned. "Loki's scepter must be here. Strucker couldn't mount this defense without it. At long last."
Natasha knocked out a soldier with a swift kick. "'At long last' is lasting a little long, boys."
Clint Barton dodged enemy fire, taking out opponents with precise shots. "Yeah. I think we lost the element of surprise."
Meanwhile, inside the HYDRA base, Strucker turned to his subordinates, face tight with concern.
"Who gave the order to attack?"
A fortress soldier responded quickly, "Herr Strucker, it's the Avengers."
Another soldier added, "They landed in the far woods. The perimeter guard panicked."
Strucker exhaled sharply, then turned to Dr. List. "They have to be after the scepter."
Dr. List adjusted his glasses. "Then let's show them what we've accomplished. Send out the twins."
Strucker hesitated. "It's too soon."
"It's what they signed up for," List insisted.
Strucker turned away, muttering to himself, "My men can hold them."
Outside, Tony Stark soared above the battlefield. He had already hacked into the comms and warned the others that the twins were coming. The Avengers were prepared. Pietro, with his short temper, immediately rushed toward Stark, eager to enact his so-called revenge.
However, Tony, now aware of his abilities, already had countermeasures in place. In the original timeline, Pietro had been gunned down. With that in mind, Tony figured that some JARVIS-powered, high-tensile fishing nets would do the trick in keeping him contained.
"Alright, Speedy Gonzalez, let's see how fast you are when you're wrapped up like a Christmas ham," Tony quipped as he activated the trap.
The plan worked—Pietro was caught mid-sprint, tangled up and struggling against the reinforced material. "Are you kidding me?!" Pietro shouted, thrashing against the net. "This is cheating!"
"Oh, absolutely," Tony said smugly, landing beside him. "But hey, at least I didn't fill it with electricity. That was Plan B."
Wanda, seeing her brother captured, panicked but pressed forward, silently moving toward her initial target. But unlike the original timeline, this time she wasn't focused on Tony Stark. No, thanks to recent events, there was someone else who had taken priority.
Rin had not anticipated Wanda coming after her, so she had let her guard down, allowing Wanda to easily ambush her. With one hand gripping Rin's shoulder and the other glowing with crimson energy, she called out to Stark, "Let my brother go, or your daughter pays the price."
The Avengers tensed. Rin, however, remained composed. "Why are you working with HYDRA against us? The Avengers aren't your enemies."
Wanda's eyes burned with hatred as she glared at Rin. "Stark weapons destroyed our lives. When the bombs hit, our home collapsed, our parents were gone, and we were left trapped under the rubble." Her voice wavered slightly, but her fury remained unwavering. "For two days, we waited, staring at the missile with your father's name on it, wondering when it would finally explode and kill us too."
Rin arched a brow. "Sokovia having Stark weapons? That only makes sense if they were supplied by a global criminal organization—like HYDRA." She smirked slightly, but her tone remained serious. "That missile never exploded, right? Stark Industries doesn't make duds. If it sat there for two days, then either someone sabotaged it, or it wasn't one of ours to begin with." She crossed her arms. "Honestly, sounds more like a cheap knockoff—maybe something from Hammer Industries or some HYDRA experiment gone wrong."
As they argued, Pietro took advantage of the distraction, slipping free from the net.
Wanda hesitated, uncertainty gripping her. It was only because she had seen Pietro escape that she finally decided to use her powers on Rin. With a deep breath, she forced Rin into a nightmarish vision. But as she delved into Rin's mind, she found herself staring at something eerie—a cup. It seemed like something once revered, perhaps holy, but now exuded an unsettling presence. Its once-pristine surface was marred by a thick, black sludge that clung to the edges like tar. It radiated an oppressive aura, as if it carried a weight that corrupted everything in its path.
Before the others could react to Wanda using her powers on Rin, Pietro entered the scene in a blur. In the next instant, he disappeared with Wanda, and Rin dropped unconscious.
........
A few miles away, Pietro stopped, setting Wanda down. But as soon as he let go, she gasped, breathing heavily. She coughed violently, blood splattering onto the ground as her energy spiraled out of control.
Pietro stepped back, alarmed. "Wanda?! What's happening?"
.......
Elsewhere, in a dimensional void, a man watched the unfolding events. Zelretch, the Kaleidoscope himself, observed the twins with mild amusement. He hummed thoughtfully, his eyes narrowing as Wanda's power flared chaotically.
"Reality-warping chaos energy mixing with All the World's Evil… Not the best outcome," he mused.
His attention flickered back to Rin, unconscious and unmoving. A small smirk crossed his lips.
"Now, what will you do, my disciple?"