Tony’s Investigation!
21: Chapter 21: The Man Behind Wanda?
Tony’s Investigation!
Far away in Northern Europe.
Under the cover of night, an eerie, oppressive aura hung over a dark, twisting forest.
Caw, caw…
Black crows circled the sky before landing on the roof of a dilapidated, lonely cabin.
Inside, a middle-aged woman in dark robes stared at a bulky, old-school television set.
The screen flickered with grainy news footage of Wanda extinguishing the inferno in New York.
The woman’s face flushed with manic, unhinged excitement.
“Oh, Almighty Lord!
The great Chthon…
Chaos Magic has finally revealed itself!” She gripped the sides of the TV, her piercing blue eyes reflecting the screen’s glow, brimming with bottomless greed.
If Holden were here, he would have recognized her in a heartbeat.
It was none other than Agatha Harkness!
“New York!
Chaos Magic!
I’m coming!” Agatha spread her arms wide.
Her dark robes billowed violently despite the lack of a breeze.
A thick, suffocating black mist poured from beneath her cloak, instantly swallowing her whole.
The next second, the dilapidated cabin was completely empty.
Avengers Compound.
It had been an incredibly fulfilling day for Wanda.
The endless interviews were exhausting, but she found herself genuinely enjoying the positive shift.
However, when she returned to the Compound hoping to finally rest, she was surprised to find the rest of the Avengers waiting for her in the lounge.
“What’s going on?” Wanda asked, looking around in surprise.
“Why is everyone still up this late?” While they all lived at the Compound, it was rare for the entire team to be gathered in one room unless there was a crisis.
“Congratulations are in order.
Your public approval ratings are skyrocketing.
Give it a little more time, and we’ll completely reverse the PR nightmare.” Tony smiled, raising a glass of liquor in a toast.
The PR blitz today had been a massive success, and the online narrative was rapidly turning in their favor.
“Ever since you pulled off that miracle, those annoying protesters outside have finally stopped screaming for our heads,” Sam Wilson shrugged, offering a tired but relieved smile.
The Compound had great soundproofing, but seeing a mob outside their window every day had been a massive headache.
“We honestly didn’t expect you to pull off something this huge right under our noses.
You really surprised us today,” Natasha noted, her boots propped casually on the coffee table.
“You did great out there, Wanda.
But what exactly is this new power of yours?” Steve Rogers asked, leaning forward.
The rest of the team looked at her with intense curiosity.
That fire had been laced with a mutagenic green gas; simply suffocating the flames wouldn’t have neutralized the chemicals.
Yet, Wanda had used an ability none of them had ever seen before to completely freeze the threat.
“It’s not a new power.
It’s actually the exact same energy I’ve always used,” Wanda explained.
She walked over and sat down next to Natasha, hugging a throw pillow to her chest.
“I just…
finally learned how to properly control it.” Since they were her team, she didn’t want to hide the nature of her powers, so she answered honestly.
“Not a new power?!” Tony was stunned.
He had always assumed her abilities were strictly telekinetic and telepathic.
“Wait, didn’t your powers come from the Mind Stone?” Wanda hugged the pillow tighter, shaking her head with a bewildered look.
“I don’t know…
he didn’t explain that part clearly to me…” The moment the word ‘he’ left her lips, Tony’s sharp mind caught it.
“‘He’?
Who is ‘he’?” It was glaringly obvious this was someone the team didn’t know—and someone who was likely the key to Wanda’s sudden mastery of her powers.
Wanda froze.
‘Crap, I slipped up!’ There was absolutely no way she could tell them about Holden and what had happened between them!
But her mind was blanking on a plausible lie.
If she confessed, how on earth was she supposed to explain their relationship?
“If you’re hiding something from us, one small misstep could ruin everything we’ve worked for today,” Tony pressed, his expression turning grave.
An unknown third party could throw a massive wrench into their delicate political situation.
Wanda squeezed the pillow, burying the lower half of her flushed face into it.
She bit her lip, looking incredibly conflicted.
She really, really didn’t want to talk about it.
“Tony, back off.
Let her rest,” Steve intervened, bailing Wanda out.
“Yeah, she’s been dealing with reporters all day.
She must be exhausted,” Natasha chimed in.
With a woman’s intuition, she had already picked up on the subtle clues.
Only these dense guys could miss the embarrassed, flustered look on Wanda’s face.
Whoever this mystery man was, he was clearly very important to her.
Relieved, Wanda quickly dropped the pillow.
“Goodnight, everyone!” she blurted out before practically sprinting out of the room.
“You guys…” Tony frowned, watching her disappear down the hall.
“Tony, she has the right to make her own choices.
Everyone has secrets,” Steve said sternly.
“Besides, some things are better left unknown.” “This concerns all of us,” Tony shot back, his face darkening.
“If you have this much energy, maybe you should focus on figuring out how to convince Ross to back down,” Steve countered, his jaw tight.
If they signed the Accords, the Avengers would become nothing more than government lapdogs.
Tony scoffed coldly.
“Fine.
You guys figure it out then.” He spun around and stormed out of the lounge.
Back in his private office, Tony dropped into his leather chair and immediately dialed Pepper.
“Pep, I need you to run a full background check.
Find out exactly who Wanda has been in contact with recently!” He wasn’t going to be able to sleep until he knew the truth.
Hanging up, Tony rubbed his face, letting out a heavy sigh of exhaustion.
He had been under immense stress lately, and he desperately needed an outlet.
‘Maybe I should go see Holden?’ The thought popped into his head, but he quickly dismissed it.
Holden was always busy doing his own thing.
After hesitating for a moment, Tony walked out onto the balcony, stepped into his Iron Man armor, and blasted off into the night sky to clear his head.