"Where did you find this mutant?" Shin asked, staring at Scarlet Witch with surprise.
"Haha," Wanda chuckled softly. "What do you think? Not a bad stand-in, right?"
In front of them stood a girl with a delinquent look, short-cropped hair, a noticeable birthmark along her left eye, and a wad of bubble gum bulging in her mouth. She exuded a reckless air, the kind that screamed 'troublemaker.'
"Sister Wanda, why do you need my help this time?" the girl asked nonchalantly after popping her gum.
Scarlet Witch introduced her casually. "Her name is Neena Thurman, codename Domino. She has a probability manipulation ability similar to mine. While she can't directly rewrite reality, if there's even a one-in-a-million chance of something happening, her powers can push that probability into certainty."
That was more than enough for the Scarlet Witch. Domino might not be suited for combat at her level, but in terms of maintaining the illusion of her presence, she was a perfect substitute.
As for appearances, Wanda made it look effortless. She waved her hand, using her ability to subtly twist reality. Domino's entire body shimmered for a moment and when the distortion faded, she had become a perfect visual replica of Scarlet Witch.
"Whoa!" Domino gasped, spinning around to admire her new form. "Damn! I'm going to be a total heartbreaker like this. I've got a bold idea—"
"Shut it," Wanda interrupted with a blush, glaring daggers. "If you even think about it, I'll turn you into a 200-kilogram man next time."
"Okay, okay! You're the boss." Domino raised both hands in mock surrender but wore a mischievous grin.
Shin, meanwhile, rubbed his chin, watching the exchange with mild disbelief. "What's with this girl? Where'd you dig her up?"
Scarlet Witch stood a little straighter, clearly proud. "The Hellfire Club approached me recently and invited me to join them. I'm a member now."
She explained that she had used their intelligence network to locate various mutants who might be useful, people the government, military, or other mutant factions had overlooked. One of those was Domino.
"She was part of a military program, but they completely missed the extent of her power," Wanda said. "I discovered her potential myself."
While Shin had been busy in the lab and absorbing solar energy, and the Ancient One was off planning his cosmic trickery with Dormammu, Wanda had clearly been productive in her own way, building her own web of influence.
And it made sense. In the original storyline, Wanda was mostly a follower, swept up in the currents of larger powers. But now, with real authority, money, and one of the most formidable mutant powers on Earth, she was becoming her own force. Her recent notoriety among mutants after the last battle only amplified that effect.
With power comes presence and with presence, followers inevitably gather.
"In that case..." Shin said, eyeing Domino. With a swirl of black smoke in his hand, he activated the power of the Munch-Munch Fruit and infused her with a carefully selected bloodline ability the Kurama Clan's illusion-based kekkei genkai.
The Kurama Clan, though obscure in Konoha's history, wielded a potent bloodline technique, illusions so vivid they could become reality, to an extent. While not quite equal to Scarlet Witch's chaos magic, it was a close approximation more than enough to deepen the deception.
The illusion-based abilities, once mastered, could pass for Wanda's reality manipulation.
Domino blinked, then frowned. "What's this weird feeling? I feel... different."
"Here." Shin tossed her a book thick and covered in notes. "It's chakra theory and yin release illusions. Study it. You'll need to mimic Wanda's style perfectly."
"Your new part-time job," Wanda added, handing her a tablet filled with company notes. "You'll also be handling Oscorp's director meetings when I'm not around."
Domino muttered something inaudible but took the materials. As long as she got paid and stayed alive, she'd play her role.
On the other hand, Quicksilver, upon learning his sister was headed for multiverse travel, immediately volunteered to tag along. With his usual lack of tact, he gave Shin a suspicious side-eye the entire time.
Shin didn't particularly mind. Whether he brought two people or five, the effort was about the same.
After finishing preparations and briefing everyone, Shin opened a dimensional portal and led the group to a parallel universe, this time, aiming for one of the countless DC timelines.
The group emerged on a high hillside. Smoke rose from a city below. Sirens echoed faintly in the distance, and mechanical drones zipped overhead.
Shin rubbed his forehead. "I swear, every time I come to a new world, something's on fire."
Quicksilver dashed off and returned in a blur, a scowl on his face. "Yeah, it's a robot crisis down there. Full-on apocalypse vibes."
Scarlet Witch and the Ancient One both began testing their powers. The results were mixed.
The Ancient One's magical reserves were reduced by at least half an expected consequence. Marvel's dimensional energy sources didn't extend into DC realms.
Wanda's abilities fared slightly better. Her core powers, probability manipulation, and telepathy remained functional, but the chaos magic she drew from other dimensions had vanished entirely.
Her expression darkened. "This world suppresses my power more than I expected..."
Meanwhile, Quicksilver remained unaffected. His speed came purely from the X-Gene, no mystical tethers meant no power loss.
"That's strange," Shin muttered. "Is this world under attack by Apokolips already?"
Below them, robots corralled civilians into massive steel factories, where human bodies were visibly being converted into mechanized soldiers.
Scarlet Witch edged closer to Shin, her voice low and uneasy. "What is that thing?"
Shin didn't answer right away. His eyes narrowed as he watched a massive humanoid mech drag a screaming man into the factory.
"This isn't just an invasion," he murmured. "It's assimilation..."
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