~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For 40 advanced Chapters, visit my Patreon:

Patreon - Twilight_scribe1

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Ohhh~ forgot to introduce her—this is my sister, Wanda Maximoff. —"

As Quicksilver rattled on at top speed, Henry looked at the famously renowned Scarlet Witch standing before him.

How to describe it?

His only thought was that reality was even more impressive than the movies.

Of course, she wasn’t wearing the classic costume.

Both siblings were dressed casually.

Even so, what should be there was definitely there.

...Siblings?

Which version of Marvel continuity retcon was this now?

Then again, if they were the MCU brother-and-sister pair born in 1989, they’d still be at the runny-nose age in this timeline.

The woman in front of him clearly was not.

"—Honestly, I’ve wanted to introduce you two for a long time, but Wanda always refused.

"Until today. She suddenly asked me to bring her to find you.

"But tracking you down isn’t easy. I ran all over the place.

"If I couldn’t find you here, I wouldn’t even know where else to look.

"I even asked people at the school to call you, but you never answered."

Henry replied matter-of-factly:

"Calls from Xavier Gifted... ah, the Jean Grey School for Gifted Youngsters are blacklisted.

"If that number calls, it auto-hangs up."

"Ah? You can do that?" Quicksilver widened his eyes in amazement.

"Your sister looks like she’s about to beat you to death, and you still want to keep discussing this?"

Henry wasn’t eager to talk to the girl.

He simply didn’t want these siblings—uh, brother and sister—to start causing a scene here.

Quicksilver looked like a complete idiot, glancing at Henry, then Wanda, then back again, eyes darting between them with comedic effect.

Finally, he fixed his gaze on his younger sister and said:

"You really this desperate?

"When you were in your thirties, I was the one worried, trying to find you a decent brother-in-law.

"But now you’re already fort—"

Before he finished, Quicksilver vanished from his spot in a burst of speed.

A crimson energy bolt from Scarlet Witch dispersed right before splattering into Henry’s face.

Henry could have dodged it as easily as Quicksilver.

But he had wanted to test the power of magic—and was fully prepared to catch the attack with his hand rather than his face.

Unexpectedly, Wanda’s control was even better than he’d imagined.

He didn’t even need to raise a hand.

Nor did things escalate.

She simply glared murderously at the brother who had already fled.

The commotion at the front door naturally drew attention from everyone gathered inside the dining room.

From within, Katharine Hepburn called loudly:

"Henry, who’s at the door?"

Turning his head, Henry shouted back:

"Friends here to see me! I’m talking with them outside for a bit."

Then he gestured for them to move farther away.

Ignoring her runaway brother, Wanda Maximoff grabbed Henry’s outstretched hand and dragged him away.

This was to prevent the rude possibility that he’d lure her farther off, then shut the door and ignore her.

And honestly...

That was absolutely something Henry would do.

So when she yanked him out into the courtyard beside the parked cars, guilt kept him from resisting in the slightest. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

It definitely wasn’t because she was... substantial.

Definitely not because she was pretty.

Anyway, no other reason.

After dragging him from the doorway to the open driveway, Wanda casually flicked her hand.

The front door slammed shut without anyone touching it.

Henry had just begun trying to analyze how the magic worked when the woman—whether she actually used the title Scarlet Witch or not—said:

"Please don’t do that. It causes me trouble."

Though he had no idea what sort of trouble she meant, Henry had no desire to do something unwelcome.

So he abandoned the fleeting chance to study her spell.

Only then did she formally extend a hand.

"Wanda Maximoff. It’s an honor to meet you, Mr. Brown."

"Henry Brown. Pleased to meet you, Ms. Maximoff."

Since the lady had offered first, Henry politely shook her hand lightly.

After they released hands, no magical chemistry sparked whatsoever.

The woman merely said coolly:

"I should clarify first.

"My earlier refusal to meet you was not because I disliked you.

"It was because of a directive issued by the Sorcerer Supreme to the entire magical community.

"I was simply obeying orders."

...Well then.

Another very important name.

Henry asked:

"The Sorcerer Supreme is...?"

"The guardian of Earth’s magical dimensions.

"Normally, he doesn’t concern himself with mundane affairs.

"Even if witches or sorcerers slaughter each other or devour one another."

"So my case is unusual."

Henry gave a bitter smile.

He had also noticed one detail:

When referring to the Sorcerer Supreme, this member of the magical world had used he.

So the Sorcerer Supreme was male?

Wanda answered bluntly:

"I don’t know the full details.

"I only know that old man rarely speaks.

"But when he does, if people don’t obey, things become very bad."

"Then you coming to see me means the restriction has been lifted?

"Or is something so serious that you had to ignore the order and come anyway?

"If it’s the second one, please go back.

"I’ll pretend I never saw you, and we can all stay peaceful."

"In fact, I’m here because the Sorcerer Supreme told me to come.

"Since Pietro knows you, I wouldn’t need introductions or proof of identity."

"Can I just refuse directly?

"No matter what it is you want."

Henry said instinctively.

"The message he asked me to deliver was:

’If the Void completely loses control, can you guarantee you’ll be able to protect the people you want to protect?’"

Just as expected.

It was about that matter.

Henry smiled bitterly.

"You never considered asking the X-Men?

"I don’t know if you realize it, but Jean Grey possesses—"

"The Phoenix Force. We know."

Wanda cut him off.

"But the Phoenix is incomplete.

"And Jean Grey has not properly trained herself to use that power.

"In short, she cannot face the Void alone.

"As for the other X-Men, there’s even less to say.

"They already failed once.

"The fact they all escaped alive is proof they were both strong enough—and lucky enough."

Oh?

So the X-Men had already gone in.

And it sounded like the results were ugly.

"If even the X-Men failed, then who can deal with that... what did you call him? The Void?

"Isn’t he the Sentry?

"Or do you mean someone else entirely?"

"The relationship between them is complicated.

"You may think of the Void as the Sentry if you like.

"The X-Men failed because they lacked a sufficiently powerful front-line fighter to block the Void’s attacks."

In MMORPG terms:

They lacked a proper tank.

Among the X-Men, the obvious meat-shields would be Wolverine and Colossus.

Iceman counted as a caster-tank, maybe.

Though whether those three had joined yet in this timeline was another matter.

Wanda continued, apparently explaining their battle plan:

"Both Jean and Professor X are prepared to oppose the Void in the fields where they excel.

"The magical community has also gathered under the Sorcerer Supreme’s orders to fight him.

"But we lack someone who can physically restrain him at close range.

"Only you can do that.

"At least... that’s what the Sorcerer Supreme said."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

🎉 Power Stone Goal Announcement! 🎉

I’ll release one bonus Chapter for every 500 Power Stones we hit!"

Let me know what should I do

Your support means everything—let’s crush these goals together! Keep voting, and let the stones pile up! 🚀

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~