A few days later
Elias POV
The world had truly gone crazy...
Wanda was sprawled across the cushions like a red-headed cat, one leg bent, the remote held loosely in her hand. The news was still looping the same grainy footage and aftermath shots from the night before. Two giant monsters had torn through a section of New York.
The death count was already in the thousands, with hundreds more injured. Entire city blocks looked like they had been hit by a natural disaster; buildings cracked open, cars overturned. It resembled a war zone from a third-world country. Footage of the actual fight was sparse and low quality, mostly shaky phone videos, and some from news helicopters before they were forced to retreat. Most of what we got was of the aftermath, and it was bleak.
They weren't this brutal...
I had instinctively known what was going to happen and just how destructive the Hulk could be. From what I could guess from the timeline, I knew it wouldn't be long until the fight between the Hulk and the Abomination after our encounter, but I hadn't been sure because things were quite different from what had happened in the movies.
Still, the carnage and the death count were astronomical.
Wanda and I had kept a low profile the past few days. Contrary to my initial scan, I had accumulated quite a bit of damage from my "fight"—though I had to use that word very loosely—with the Hulk, and had used the time to heal myself up and get back to 100 percent. Still, despite the fact that my upgraded body had performed exceptionally, there was still a lot I could do; my encounter with the Hulk had shown me that.
"Whoa..." murmured Wanda, looking pale and concerned as she saw just what we had survived. And she was right, the Hulk had gone easy on us.
"We really were lucky, huh?" she continued. "What do you think they are... this Hulk and... Abomination?"
Wanda asked me, using the names that were being broadcast and that the public had adopted for them both.
"I don't know..." I brushed off the question, not wanting to answer. "It doesn't matter. One of them is neutralized, and from what I can see, the situation is contained."
She shifted on the couch, turning her head to look at me.
"You're still on that..." She raised an eyebrow and brushed away her red hair. "Honestly, I think you're being a little paranoid. Sure, it's possible there could have been cameras that caught our faces, but it was quite a wild situation. I mean, we can't really keep hiding at home..."
I had put my foot down after we returned home from our Hulk encounter, feeling paranoid that it might have rubbed Wanda the wrong way. I needed to get a handle on the situation, but maybe she was right; we couldn't keep hiding. To a point, I wasn't even sure what I was hiding from.
Sighing, I walked around the couch. I brushed aside Wanda's legs and plopped onto the cushions, earning a glare from her. We had grown closer these last few days; near-death experiences tend to do that. Still glaring, she passed me the crackers she was munching on. I gladly took some and watched the broadcast. There was even a debate about what Tony Stark was going to do. People were especially curious, as he had come out as Iron Man, and many were angry about why he didn't help in the fight.
It was something I was guilty of as well. I could have informed him immediately after my escape from the Hulk, but I had stopped myself. Sure, I was close with Tony, but realistically, what could he have done? Nothing, not as he was right now. I could have even gotten him killed. More than that, I realized I was quite self-serving to myself and those I cared about.
It was something I wasn't expecting from myself. Sure, I wasn't some bleeding heart, but I had come to accept it: I would keep myself safe first. Still looking at the carnage displayed on the TV, I felt a sense of urgency. I had to get stronger; my strength as it was wasn't going to cut it.
But how? It was something I had to quickly plan and decide.
Wanda nudged me with her leg. "So, what are we going to do today?"
I looked at her in askance. I was still surprised at how quickly her mood could flip. One moment she was pale, looking at the carnage, the next brightly asking me what we were going to do today. Thinking about it, I really had nothing to do. I didn't have a job, nor anything I had to do. I had enough money, especially after I had my banker invest half the money I got from Tony into Stark Industries. That would be enough for my entire life.
A little stumped, I asked her, "You have something in mind?"
Wanda sat up a little straighter, brushing her hair back. "Yeah. I wanted to try and go to college."
I blinked. "You?"
She scowled immediately. "Why? I can't go to college?"
"No, no—that's not what I meant," I said quickly. "You have a high school diploma, right?"
"I have my GED."
"Oh. That's good." I thought for a second. It was still early, and we had the whole day ahead of us. It would be a little weird to do so after yesterday's disaster, but it might actually be for the best. I could use this opportunity to buy a car; we really needed transportation.
I nodded. "Sure. We can do that today. With a GED, you could get into a community college pretty easily."
She shook her head. "No. I want to join ESU."
I raised an eyebrow. "Empire State University?"
"Yeah."
"That's going to be a little hard."
"Maybe," she said, already sounding stubborn. "But I still want to try."
I didn't argue. Instead, I stood up from the couch. Wanda followed, looking excited as she bounced off into her room.
I shook my head in amusement as I went to change.Who would have thought the Scarlet Witch wanted to go to college?
I pulled on a pair of jeans, a plain t-shirt, and a dark jacket, sliding a knife into the inner pocket out of habit. Looking at myself in the mirror, I had to admit the enhancements had done more than just make me stronger. At nearly six-five, I looked good.
After changing, I stepped out and found Wanda in a simple outfit: dark jeans that hugged her legs and a dark fitted top. Her hair was pulled up. She looked good. It was hard to imagine someone who had been lying on the couch eating crackers ten minutes ago.
We left the apartment together and made our way toward the 30th Avenue station.
I had wanted to grab something to eat first, but Wanda's excitement still lingered in the way she walked, so I kept the thought to myself. I didn't want to rain on her parade, even if I privately doubted how far a GED would get her at a place like ESU.
We had to wait a few minutes for the Manhattan-bound four, but boarded all the same. I had graciously given Wanda one of the free seats and stood next to her in the crowded train car. I was astounded by just how tenacious humanity was. Two giant green monsters had fought and destroyed a couple of blocks, but life still continued as usual.
Somewhere in this train, someone was probably more worried about a morning presentation than the fact that the world had just been shown monsters were real.
I shook my head slightly at the thought.
Twenty-five minutes later, we stepped off at the 8th Street–NYU Station. The moment we climbed the stairs and exited onto the street, we were officially in Greenwich Village, right in the heart of the Empire State University campus area. Under normal circumstances, the sidewalks would have been packed with energetic students, but today was different. I could see Wanda's excitement fade.
Groups of students huddled around laptops and phones, whispering in tight clusters. National Guard Humvees sat parked along the curb of 8th Street, and yellow police tape still blocked off several side roads. The usual youthful buzz of a university campus had been replaced by frantic energy.
We walked slowly toward the main administration building, catching fragments of panicked conversations as we passed.
"Was it an alien?" "Some kind of terrorist weapon?" "Did the military make it?"
A few student activists had already set up tables on the grass, cardboard signs hastily scrawled with slogans like MONSTERS OUT OF NYC and WHO IS PROTECTING US?
By the time we reached the admin building, Wanda had gone quiet. She stopped just short of the steps and looked up at the entrance, her earlier enthusiasm completely gone.
"...Maybe we should come back later?" she said softly.
I could tell she wasn't feeling it anymore, but I gave her a small nudge of encouragement.
"We're already here," I said. "Why don't you at least go in and check out the programs? No harm in looking."
She hesitated for a moment, then nodded and walked up to the front desk, clearing her throat.
"Excuse me," Wanda said, her Sokovian accent very clear. "I wanted to inquire about starting classes here. I... I only have a GED." The tired receptionist nodded understandingly. "You'll want to look at our non-traditional entry pathways. Let me get someone from academic counseling to go over the options with you."
A moment later, a woman stepped out from the back offices to escort us both inside. She introduced herself simply as Margery, a woman in her late 30s with sharp, observant dark eyes, high cheekbones, and dark hair pulled back into a flawless, practical bun.
As she led us into a quiet counseling room, Margery offered a calm smile. "I'm just helping out with the high volume of students today, so I don't know if I'll be your permanent counselor, but I can certainly get you started on the right program."
Margery opened a folder on her desk and looked up, her eyes shifting over to me. "And what about you? Are you joining our program today as well?"
"Oh, no," I said quickly, leaning back. "I'm just here for moral support."
"Ofcourse," she replied. "Support is good. Education is important, especially now. The world is changing very fast around us, and knowledge is going to be needed."
I didn't say anything but nodded. She turned back to Wanda and slid over a packet of paperwork. "We have a continuing education framework that allows you to enroll immediately. It bypasses the traditional credit blocks while you establish your baseline."
Wanda's face lit up with pure excitement. "Really? I can just sign up?"
"Yes," Margery says. "Fill these out. Your permanent counselor will reach out to you by tomorrow to finalize your schedule. Don't worry too much about the tuition fees right now either; we have several specialized scholarship programs that you will likely qualify for."
I was surprised and genuinely happy for her. Still, a small part of me found it a little too convenient. Empire State University wasn't exactly an easy place to get into, especially with just a GED. Maybe the program was less competitive than I thought, or maybe I was just being paranoid again.
A few minutes later, she collected a stack of official university materials—brochures, pamphlets, and a few informational discs—and thanked Margery before we left the room.
We made our way back through the lobby and stepped out onto the busy New York street. I glanced over at her, matching her brighter mood.
"Well, that went well."
Wanda smiles warmly, her eyes bright as she looks down at the papers in her arms. "Yeah. It really did."
"Shall we get something to eat," I ask, bumping my shoulder against hers, "and find a dealership for the car?"
"Sure!"
We grabbed a quick bite at a nearby fast-food place, then walked until we found a dealership. I went in eagerly, only to be disappointed. Most of the cars on the lot were ridiculously uncomfortable for someone my size. Wanda didn't even try to hide her amusement, snorting quietly every time I tried to fold myself into another sedan.
Eventually, the salesman guided us toward the trucks. One of them actually looked promising. I quickly asked for a test drive. While the salesman went to grab the keys, Wanda's phone buzzed. She checked it, then looked up at me with a surprised little smile.
"Margery is my counselor," she said. "Isn't that just lucky?"
I nodded and smiled back, though a small seed of doubt settled in the back of my mind. I shook it off a second later. I was probably just being paranoid again.
Let's just get this truck, go home, and find out ways to get stronger.