Coulson's team was no longer a suitable task for Solomon to personally handle—he had far more troublesome matters to deal with. More terrifying enemies, such as the Feathered Serpent God, the infiltrating agents of Chthon seeping into the physical realm, or the prophesied Eye Tyrant awakening from the 31st century—not the scattered Inhumans of Afterlife running wild. Solomon had little patience for such distractions.
The members of the Fimbulwinter First Secret Corps were authorized to bring along some pieces of arcane tech in addition to conventional light and heavy weaponry, to continue the mission in case Wanda Maximoff failed. Solomon had always been generous with weaponry and secrets for these war-hardened veterans. He had witnessed their radiant courage when facing life and death and hoped they could pass that spirit down as a model for future legions of Eternal City.
At the same time, the structure of the Fimbulwinter First Secret Corps also served as an experimental prototype for future military organization and doctrine. Currently, the corps was structured similarly to a U.S. combined arms battalion but enhanced by Eternal City's aerospace technology, granting them superior firepower and communication systems, capable of cooperating with future starship-based orbital bombardment and deployment strategies. Future warfare would once again shift dimensions—much like the destructive gap between modern fighter jets and WWI infantry.
But the Fimbulwinter Corps' purpose extended beyond that. Many of the special organizational models of future legions were born from classified experimental tactics tested here: such as the deployment mechanism of War Machines, the allocation and application of magical weaponry, or the ability of internal secret command groups to temporarily assume battlefield control and adapt to rapidly changing combat environments. All of this required constant meetings.
Thus, the Honor Guard Constantine had to drag every officer from the Fimbulwinter Corps into endless, around-the-clock strategy sessions.
This had started just half a month after the Battle of Finbowinter.
Genetically enhanced, Constantine didn't find the meetings strenuous. But for mortal officers, prolonged high-intensity sessions were exhausting. A few poor souls even fell asleep mid-note-taking. Eventually, even the Honor Guard had to allow everyone to nap collectively in the conference room before resuming the military codex drafting.
These trials required extraordinarily high troop quality. Eternal City had always valued surface-based field testing, and they directly deployed the Fimbulwinter Corps to the Middle East battlefield to validate their organizational structure and tactical effectiveness. Every future military institution was honed in blood, designed to flexibly adapt to nearly any combat environment. Some tactics too demanding for mortal legions were later applied successfully within gene-enhanced legions—thanks to the sacrifice and valor of the Fimbulwinter Corps.
Sophia from the Lost City and her clan had also hoped to join the corps, believing it a mark of Eternal City's trust. They had proven themselves in the Finbowinter battle.
However, Solomon had other plans for them.
The Lost City's soldiers were highly capable, and their isolated lives had left their gene pool relatively uncontaminated, making them ideal candidates for future genetic transformation into warriors designed to conquer the stars—pure instruments of violence against humanity's enemies. But that was for later. For now, Wanda Maximoff would be accompanied by a small team armed with deadly arcane-tech weapons and heavy firepower. Even if they encountered the Ghost Rider, they would survive—and perhaps even defeat him. After all, Ghost Riders still required human hosts. Heavy explosive rifles and plasma guns could solve any problem involving flesh and blood.
Before sending Wanda off, Solomon inquired about the Avengers' recent mission.
That immediately soured Wanda's mood. Although Natasha Romanoff had temporarily smoothed things over between her and Pietro, the twins had resumed arguing during the mission.
"I could've just controlled the Hydra agents' minds and avoided a firefight," Wanda said angrily, cheeks puffed. "But that idiot Pietro just had to charge in and steal their weapons. He didn't even consider whether he could carry all that weight."
"So?" Solomon asked with obvious interest.
After the mission, Natasha had called him, but she hadn't gone into detail. She still needed to maintain the appearance of loyalty to the Avengers and avoid leaking sensitive information. She knew that as long as Solomon asked, Wanda would spill every detail anyway, so she didn't bother. She'd rather spend that energy booking a private hotel room to blow off steam after the stressful mission. She also suspected that Solomon hadn't told her everything about the Winter Soldier. He was as secretive as Nick Fury—something Natasha, a former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, recognized all too well.
And indeed, Solomon was keeping some things from her.
The Winter Soldier's case was tied to the struggle for the Wakandan throne. Solomon needed to play this carefully if he wanted to secure access to their industrial assets.
"To save time, Pietro tried to carry all the weapons at once, and one fell from his chest and tripped him," Wanda explained, a trace of worry leaking through her irritation. Despite the twins' constant bickering, blood remained thicker than water. They'd grown up supporting each other—sibling squabbles were just routine. "He broke his leg and loosened a few teeth. The Hydra agents immediately reacted. If Steve Rogers hadn't jumped in front of him, that idiot would've been riddled with bullets. But in the end, I controlled the agents, and the mission went perfectly. No one got hurt—aside from that dumbass. Not even the civilians were scratched. They were just frightened."
Wanda shook her head. "I ended up healing him with my alchemical potion. Otherwise, if he'd landed in Dr. Helen Cho's hands, half his bones would've turned into plastic."
"That's nanotech… well, okay, I'm not really sure what Dr. Cho's tech actually is. I really should pay her a visit and see what's what—then find a way to adapt it to our own systems. In any case, I trust you'll handle your next mission just as well," Solomon said, patting her on the shoulder. "Try not to injure any civilians, okay? And if you can, wipe the memories of any eyewitnesses. The temple stewards at Kamar-Taj already have their hands full. There's a ton of business with outer dimensions and off-world threats."
Solomon wasn't lying. As soon as Wanda left, he turned and ran off toward Kamar-Taj.
That had always been his life—only lately, it had gotten a bit busier.
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