The moment Wanda heard Loki's words, her mind involuntarily conjured an image of herself killing Lucas. In an instant, the dark, violent emotions buried deep within her surged violently, and the Chaos Magic inside her began to boil out of control.
"Wanda! Calm down! He's lying—don't let him deceive you!!"
Sensing that something was terribly wrong, Felicia immediately tried to calm her. The surging Chaos Magic had already formed a crimson energy field around Wanda, beginning to distort and affect the surrounding environment.
This was exactly the moment Loki had been waiting for.
He broke free of his restraints in one swift motion and snatched up the scepter.
"I didn't expect her to be this easy to influence," Loki said with a satisfied grin. "As I thought—her control over her power is far too weak. Well then… goodbye, ladies~~~"
With a graceful bow, Loki shattered the glass and leapt off the Helicarrier, landing neatly on a Quinjet sent to pick him up. In the next instant, the aircraft sped away.
"Wanda, wake up! Everything he said was a lie! Didn't you go to study magic? As long as you can control it, no one will get hurt!!"
Felicia continued to reassure her, but Wanda's eyes had already turned completely blood-red, and the violent energy around her showed no sign of subsiding.
Just as Felicia was at a loss, Gwen and Peter arrived at the laboratory and witnessed the scene.
"What's going on? What happened to Wanda?" Gwen asked as she stepped forward.
Felicia sighed and quickly explained everything, especially Loki's verbal provocation.
Gwen immediately moved in. Relying on her vibranium suit, she resisted the crushing pressure of the Chaos Magic with great difficulty and finally managed to grasp Wanda's hand.
At the same time, Gwen's consciousness was pulled into Wanda's inner world.
It was Gwen's first time seeing Wanda's heart.
A blood-red wasteland stretched endlessly before her, the entire world saturated with frenzied crimson power. The only place that could be called a refuge was a small house standing alone in the chaos.
Gwen pushed the door open—and froze.
The interior was laid out exactly like Lucas's apartment.
In the corner, Wanda sat curled up, hugging her knees.
"Wanda… Wanda… are you okay?"
Gwen walked over and sat beside her.
Wanda looked up in surprise when she saw Gwen.
"Gwen? Why are you here?"
Clearly, Wanda knew this place was the deepest part of her own mind.
"You lost control because of Loki's manipulation," Gwen said gently, taking Wanda's hand. "I'm here to save you."
"It's useless," Wanda said painfully, curling in on herself again. "I killed Lucas. You'll never forgive me—and I'll never forgive myself. Let me stay here. I don't care what happens outside anymore."
"That's not true," Gwen said firmly, pulling Wanda into an embrace. "Lucas is perfectly fine. That was all your imagination. He's still outside fighting the Hulk right now, and he needs your help. Don't you remember?"
"Really?!"
Wanda snapped her head up, staring at Gwen in disbelief.
"Of course it's real," Gwen replied with a confident smile. "Come with me and see for yourself. Trouble lasts forever—Lucas isn't the kind of guy who gets killed that easily. I've lived with him for over twenty years. I know him better than anyone."
"Really?! That's wonderful!" Wanda's eyes lit up with hope. "Lucas is okay… that's such a relief. I'll go with you right now!"
Gwen took Wanda's hand, and together they pushed open the door of the small house.
---
Outside, the crimson energy filling the laboratory suddenly collapsed inward, all of it being absorbed back into Wanda's body. Wanda and Gwen opened their eyes at the same time.
"Yes!! I knew they'd be fine!" Felicia exclaimed, rushing into the lab.
"That's great!"
Overcome with relief, Felicia hugged both Gwen and Wanda. She had been truly frightened just now—and it was also the first time she had fully realized the terrifying magnitude of Wanda's Chaos Magic.
---
Meanwhile, Lucas was completely unaware of what had happened to Wanda.
He stood on the Helicarrier's deck as the Hulk charged straight toward him.
Lucas twisted aside, narrowly avoiding the attack. Countless bolts of lightning erupted around him, surging toward the Hulk. Violent arcs of electricity slammed into the green behemoth.
"GRAAAAH—!!!"
The lightning coursed through the Hulk's body, overwhelming him with paralyzing current. With a thunderous crash, he slammed into the deck, completely immobilized.
But the Hulk did not lose consciousness.
His rage flared once more, eyes blazing red as he strained to rise again.
Lucas gave him no such chance.
More lightning descended, delivering an unrelenting electric onslaught.
Under the sustained barrage, the Hulk's consciousness finally collapsed. His massive body began to shrink, until Bruce Banner lay unconscious on the deck.
"Hah—didn't expect you to be in such good shape," Lucas remarked casually.
He immediately pulled out his phone and snapped several photos of Bruce's completely naked body. Thankfully, Bruce was unconscious—otherwise, he would have summoned the Hulk again just to kill Lucas.
With a gentle gust of wind lifting Bruce's body, Lucas carried the unconscious, fully exposed Banner toward the bridge, fully intending to give him the most brutal social death imaginable.
The Helicarrier was in utter chaos along the way.
When Lucas finally encountered Wanda again, she threw herself straight into his arms.
Lucas looked at Gwen in confusion, but Gwen neither explained nor had the time to—she simply sighed softly.
In the end, thanks to everyone's efforts, the Helicarrier was saved. Unlike in the original timeline, it was not torn apart beyond repair.
After Bruce woke up, he was forced to put on a black combat uniform from one of the strike teams. There was no alternative—either that, or stay naked.
During this time, Lucas learned from Gwen and Wanda what had happened earlier. Only then did he understand why Wanda had clung to him so tightly. He had assumed she had already gained control over her Chaos Magic—but it turned out she still had a very long way to go.
Among everyone, only Barton remained unconscious.
Natasha sought out Lucas. Since Loki had used magic to control Barton, it made sense to undo it with magic as well.
In the original timeline, Barton had been punched awake by Natasha. Here, however, he never even got the chance—Tony had already knocked him out cold with a powerful electric shock.
In the cabin, Barton lay unconscious, eyes closed.
Lightning flickered in Lucas's hand as he prepared to administer yet another "electric therapy session."
Wanda couldn't stand to watch.
She quickly stopped Lucas's would-be "Professor Yang" routine and stepped up to Barton herself.
"Just don't," she said helplessly. "I'll do it."
A wisp of crimson energy drifted from her fingertips. She gently touched Barton's temple, and the Chaos Magic flowed directly into his mind.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For 20 advanced chapters, visit my Patreon:
Patreon - Twilight_scribe1
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you enjoyed Marvel Manifestor, please give it a Power Stone and leave a review! Your support means everything.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~