Whether it was Pietro or Wanda, before they learned to control their newfound abilities, they represented walking time bombs capable of devastating ordinary humans at any moment.
Setting aside Wanda's reality-warping chaos magic for the moment, even Pietro's superhuman speed posed extreme dangers to civilian populations. The locomotive incident from Richard's previous universe had demonstrated this principle with horrifying clarity—when a speedster lost control, they could reduce a normal person to pulp without even realizing what had happened.
After hearing Richard's explanation about their temporary isolation, both twins nodded in understanding. While they didn't yet know exactly what powers they had developed, neither wanted to risk harming innocent people due to lack of control.
Richard spent the next hour giving Pietro and Wanda a tour of the cabin he had constructed using his matter manipulation abilities. While technically built as a temporary shelter, the structure rivaled luxury forest resorts in terms of comfort and amenities. Every room was fully furnished, the kitchen was stocked with provisions, and the utilities functioned perfectly despite their remote location.
When they began selecting bedrooms, both twins diplomatically avoided the master suite on the second floor, understanding that it was reserved for Richard. Wanda chose the secondary bedroom upstairs, while Pietro claimed the guest room on the ground level.
Once their accommodations were settled, Richard retrieved their personal belongings from his system storage. Before departing for the laboratory, he had instructed both siblings to pack everything they might need during an extended absence from civilization.
Pietro and Wanda took their luggage to their respective rooms and began the process of settling in. Both felt the immediate need for showers—the stress and pain of the transformation process had left them feeling uncomfortably sticky with perspiration.
While the twins cleaned up and organized their temporary living spaces, Richard retreated to the cabin's study to plan their training regimen.
Although neither Wanda nor Pietro had yet displayed any obvious signs of superhuman ability, Richard's enhanced senses confirmed that their transformations had been successful. The Mind Stone's energy had fundamentally altered their cellular structure and nervous systems—it was simply a matter of time before their new capabilities manifested.
Based on his knowledge of the original timeline, their powers would likely emerge within twenty-four hours. Once that happened, Richard would need to provide intensive training to help them achieve basic control as quickly as possible.
He estimated that both twins would be ready to use their abilities in public within a week, assuming they demonstrated the same aptitude for power control that they had shown in the films.
One Week Later
As Richard had predicted, Wanda and Pietro's abilities manifested the day after their transformation. While the timeline differed slightly from the original MCU, their powers proved identical to the canonical versions—Pietro gained superhuman speed while Wanda developed telekinetic and telepathic abilities enhanced by chaos magic.
The twins' excitement upon discovering their new capabilities was infectious. Having been orphaned at age ten and lived as powerless refugees for over a decade, this was their first experience wielding genuine influence over their circumstances.
Both had fantasized countless times about what it would feel like to possess superhuman abilities. Now that the reality exceeded their wildest dreams, they threw themselves into training with remarkable dedication.
Richard was impressed by how quickly both siblings adapted to their new physical capabilities. Pietro mastered basic speed control within two days, while Wanda learned to manipulate small objects with her telekinesis almost as quickly.
Within three days, both had achieved sufficient control for basic applications of their powers. While they remained far from expert-level proficiency, they could at least use their abilities without accidentally causing destruction or injury.
Despite their rapid progress, Richard insisted on extending their forest retreat for the full week. The additional training time allowed him to introduce more advanced techniques and ensure their control was truly stable before returning to populated areas.
Downtown Los Angeles - Luxury Apartment
After a week of intensive training, Richard used teleportation to bring the twins back to Los Angeles. Rather than returning to their hotel suite, he had purchased a spectacular penthouse apartment using funds "liberated" from various criminal organizations throughout the city.
The moment they arrived in the urban environment, Pietro's restless energy reached a breaking point. Despite Richard's warnings about discretion, the young speedster couldn't resist using his powers to patrol the streets and fight crime.
Wanda, demonstrating the more cautious temperament that would serve her well in the future, remained in the apartment to continue practicing her abilities in controlled conditions.
That evening, the three gathered at an upscale French restaurant where Pietro enthusiastically recounted his afternoon adventures. He had stopped three muggings, prevented two car accidents, and helped an elderly woman retrieve her escaped cat from a tree—all while maintaining speeds too fast for security cameras to capture clearly.
While Pietro had harbored deep resentment toward America as a political entity, he bore no personal animosity toward individual Americans. His traumatic childhood had actually strengthened his desire to help others when possible.
Previously, his lack of power had made such assistance impossible. Now, with superhuman speed at his disposal, he could finally act on his protective instincts.
Richard and Wanda played their roles as enthusiastic audience members, encouraging Pietro's heroic impulses while quietly noting areas where his technique could be improved.
After dinner, they returned to their new penthouse—a two-story duplex that occupied the entire top floor of one of Los Angeles's most exclusive residential towers. While technically classified as an apartment, the space rivaled most luxury homes in terms of size and amenities.
The purchase had been made possible by Richard's systematic raids on major criminal organizations throughout the city. While the IRS was notoriously efficient at tracking financial irregularities, such concerns were irrelevant when Tifa's AI clone could manipulate digital records with perfect precision.
The artificial intelligence had also created flawless identification documents for both twins, allowing them to exist legally within American society. Wanda's new identity listed her as the apartment's owner, providing an additional layer of security.
Tifa had offered to create similar documentation for Richard, but he had declined. His superhuman abilities made conventional identity verification largely irrelevant.
After returning to their new home, Richard gathered the twins in the penthouse's study for an important announcement.
"I'll be traveling for a while," he explained. "If you encounter any problems you can't handle, use this number to contact me immediately."
He handed each of them a secure phone programmed with his emergency contact information.
While Wanda and Pietro were curious about his destination and purpose, they had learned to respect Richard's privacy regarding his more mysterious activities. Both simply nodded their understanding.
The Next Day
After breakfast in their new apartment, Richard used teleportation to visit Tony Stark's mansion for a quick status update on the Iron Man project.
Despite only a month having passed since their confrontation, Tony had thrown himself into armor development with renewed intensity. His humiliating defeat seemed to have motivated rather than discouraged him.
The inventor was currently working on the Mark V—a portable armor system designed for rapid deployment in emergency situations. Like its cinematic counterpart, this version sacrificed weapons and armor plating in favor of mobility and convenience.
The design resembled a high-tech briefcase that could transform into a functional suit of powered armor within thirty seconds. While significantly less powerful than previous models, its portability made it ideal for situations where Tony couldn't access his primary workshop.
After confirming that Tony's development was proceeding according to schedule, Richard departed for his real destination.
New York City
In an instant, Richard teleported from the West Coast to the East Coast, materializing on a Manhattan rooftop with the city's skyline stretching out in all directions.
His mission in New York was twofold: he needed to meet with Betty Ross and Samuel Sterns, two crucial figures in Bruce Banner's story who would play important roles in bringing the Hulk back to American soil.
Dr. Samuel Sterns—operating under the email pseudonym "Mr. Blue"—was currently a professor in the cellular biology department at Greyburn College in New York. Betty Ross taught in the biotechnology department at Culver University in Virginia.
Richard also intended to accelerate Banner's return to the United States. In the original timeline, Banner would eventually come back after escaping General Ross's forces in Brazil, but Richard didn't know the exact timeframe for those events.
By having Samuel Sterns contact Banner directly with promises of a potential cure, Richard could bring the timeline forward according to his own schedule.
He decided to visit Sterns first, since Greyburn College was conveniently located in Manhattan.
Without hesitation, Richard teleported directly to the university campus. After asking directions from a passing student, he quickly located the biology building and made his way to Sterns's laboratory.
Rather than knocking, Richard simply pushed open the lab door and walked inside, where he found the scientist hunched over a microscope examining cellular samples.
"Who are you?" Sterns demanded, his expression shifting to annoyance at the unannounced intrusion. "This is a private laboratory."
Richard ignored the question and immediately activated his telepathic abilities, establishing a mental connection with the professor. Within seconds, he had access to Sterns's complete memory bank and current knowledge.
The information confirmed what Richard already suspected: Sterns had been corresponding with Banner via encrypted email for months, using the codenames "Mr. Blue" and "Mr. Green" to discuss potential treatments for Banner's condition.
"Send an email to Mr. Green," Richard commanded calmly. "Tell him you've discovered a possible cure for his condition and request that he come to New York immediately."
Sterns's face went pale as he heard the secret codename spoken aloud. He had never revealed his correspondence with Banner to anyone—the fact that this stranger knew about it suggested access to information that should have been impossible to obtain.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Sterns replied, though his voice lacked conviction.
"My patience is limited," Richard said with quiet menace. "I suggest you comply with my request, unless you'd prefer today to be the last day of your life."
To emphasize his point, Richard activated his matter manipulation abilities and casually disintegrated a nearby piece of laboratory equipment, reducing the sophisticated machinery to its component atoms in seconds.
Sterns stared at the empty space where his expensive centrifuge had been moments before, his scientific mind struggling to process what he had just witnessed.
"You're a metahuman," he whispered, his voice filled with awe and terror.
While the general public remained largely ignorant about superhuman individuals, Sterns's work in cellular biology had given him theoretical knowledge about enhanced humans. However, this was his first direct encounter with such abilities.
"Send the email," Richard repeated. "Unless you'd prefer to be decomposed in the same manner."
Recognizing that resistance would be futile and potentially fatal, Sterns nodded quickly. "Of course. I'll contact him immediately."
He moved to his desk and opened his laptop, accessing the encrypted email account he used for his Banner correspondence. Following Richard's instructions, he composed a message claiming to have made a breakthrough in gamma radiation treatment and requesting an urgent meeting.
After sending the email, Sterns turned the computer screen toward Richard to demonstrate compliance.
"Excellent," Richard said, producing a business card from his system storage. "When he arrives in New York, call this number. I'll return to continue our conversation."
Before Sterns could respond, Richard simply vanished—not in a flash of light or dramatic effect, but as if he had never been there at all.
The professor sat in stunned silence for several minutes, staring at the business card and the empty space where his equipment had been. Eventually, he concluded that contacting the police would be both pointless and potentially dangerous. What could ordinary law enforcement do against someone who could teleport and disintegrate matter at will?
After storing Richard's card safely in his briefcase, Sterns left his laboratory, his mind racing with implications of what he had just experienced.
Meanwhile - Building Rooftop
Richard had not departed the university, instead teleporting to the biology building's roof where he could monitor Sterns's activities without being detected.
Using his telepathic abilities, he confirmed that the professor had no intention of contacting authorities or warning Banner about the coercion involved. Satisfied that his instructions would be followed, Richard prepared for the next phase of his mission.
Culver University, Virginia
The six-hundred-mile distance between New York and Virginia meant nothing to someone with instantaneous teleportation. Richard materialized on the Culver University campus and quickly located the biotechnology building where Betty Ross conducted her research.
Rather than confronting her directly as he had with Sterns, Richard chose a more subtle approach. He found a bench outside the biotechnology building and used his telepathic abilities to scan the interior.
Within minutes, he had located Betty's distinctive mental signature and began carefully examining her memories and current emotional state.