Under Aron's pressure, the Ancient One finally admitted why she knew so much.
The answer wasn't complicated… In her early years, she traveled through parallel universes, speaking with other versions of herself in those worlds, as well as with other powerful beings, exchanging information and experiences.
That was precisely why she knew so many secrets about the universe. Even part of the dark magic she had mastered, she learned in that way.
"Are parallel universes really that fun?"
"No, I want to travel the entire multiverse…"
Aron thoughtfully touched his chin, wondering whether different versions of the same person would have the same taste in everything, even when it came to love.
"Aron?"
Wanda noticed the mischievous smile on his face and immediately realized that nothing innocent could be on his mind.
"Nothing," Aron answered calmly. "I'm just thinking about a very serious question."
He turned to Wanda and spoke a sentence that completely froze her mind:
"If I fall in love with you from another universe, does that mean I'm unfaithful to you? Or would it actually prove that I can never resist you, no matter the world?"
Wanda's eyes widened. The processor in her head seemed to have burned out.
If in another universe there existed her, identical in everything, and yet Aron fell in love with her… did that mean that he had turned his back on her in this universe? Was that betrayal? Or, quite the opposite, did it prove that she was attractive to him in every world?
Confused, Wanda backed away a few steps, then sat in a corner and began quietly counting on her fingers, as if trying to find logic in that dilemma.
Aron observed her expression, recognizing the confusion on her face. His smile grew even wider. "Looks like my little experiment worked," he thought with satisfaction.
Suddenly – smack!
A chestnut hit Aron right in the head.
"Stop it!"
"Hey!" Aron protested, rubbing his forehead.
The Ancient One stood before him, looking at him coldly. She uttered only two words, but her tone was enough to sound like a threat:
"That's enough."
"I'm joking, I'm joking," he tried to ease the situation, but it was clear that he enjoyed the game.
He rubbed his head and moved toward Wanda, but just at that moment his phone rang. Without looking, Aron rejected the call.
Just a few seconds later, the phone rang again, and this time a message arrived.
Aron, Thanos is coming. The team is in danger. Return immediately. – Tony
Aron raised an eyebrow, read the message, and immediately deleted it.
"Thanos, huh?"
He chuckled under his breath. It was obvious that the news hadn't stirred any sense of urgency in him.
After all, how long had it been since the events everyone associated with Thanos's arrival? The Avengers' timeline hadn't even reached those events yet. The Ancient One was still alive, which was a clear sign it was too early for that.
"Everyone knows, as long as the Ancient One is here, Thanos can't be on the scene," he muttered.
He decided to completely ignore Tony's message.
For him, what was Thanos compared to Wanda? What was a universal tyrant worth compared to the moment when Wanda, his Wanda, was losing her head because of his words?
Aron leaned back, convinced that no danger could be more important than the game he was currently playing.
...
Outside New York, inside the new Avengers headquarters.
Captain America, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Dr. Banner...
Daredevil, Punisher, Luke Cage, Jessica Jones… The street heroes.
Winter Soldier, second-generation Ant-Man, Hercules, Ares… New members.
The Guardians of the Galaxy group.
All eyes were fixed on Tony Stark, who, though usually confident, now looked nervous.
"Aron!" he shouted, waving his hands. "I know him! I'm telling you, what's Thanos, compared to him everyone's just trash!"
Tony used Aron's name as a shield, relying on the reputation of his "good friend" to leave a strong impression on those gathered.
"Whatever Thanos tries, Aron will crush him! He's not just a man, he's a force of nature!"
Everyone was stunned. Especially the Guardians of the Galaxy, who had never even heard of Aron.
Star-Lord turned around, confused: "Wait a minute… since when has Earth had such a ruthless guy? How do I not know about this?"
Rocket nervously rubbed his paws. "So I was right… Aron is a hero even stronger than Kevin Bacon?"
"I am Groot!"
Groot cheerfully raised his hands, as if already planning to ask Aron for an autograph.
The tension was rising. Everyone expected that at any moment, the hero Tony spoke of with such passion would appear. But… the phone remained silent. There was no answer.
Minutes passed, and a bead of sweat slid down Tony's forehead.
"Maybe he's busy," he stammered, trying to save face. "You know how he is, always in hell or other dimensions, dealing with those terrible types like lords of hell. It's not easy to reach him by phone."
Still, doubt had already been sown. The looks around him no longer trusted his words.
Black Widow broke the silence: "By the way, Coulson, the last time I heard from Fury, he said you had a good relationship with Aron. Is that true?"
Everyone turned toward Coulson. His reputation as a level nine S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, now also an external member of the Avengers, put him in the spotlight. He was the one who recruited Daredevil, Luke Cage, even Hercules. But now he looked uncomfortable.
"It used to be good…" he muttered. "But a little accident happened."
He laughed bitterly, clearly recalling unpleasant details. After one incident, he had sent Aron apology messages for twenty days straight, but there was no reply. Later he realized Aron had long since lost interest.
Black Widow remained silent.
She remembered the times when Aron came to the Avengers' headquarters, as if he really were part of the team.
Sometimes he would play FPS shooters with Hawkeye, sometimes he would persuade her to act as his sister so they could trick passersby in games, and he regularly showed up in the cafeteria as soon as it opened.
Everyone then thought that Aron had changed, that he had sided with the team after all, that he had become one of them.
But now, when he was supposed to appear… there was no trace of him.
Captain America sighed. "Looks like this time we can't count on Aron."
"To get back to the point, what's the purpose of this Thanos, Thanos, you're talking about?"
Tony felt a new chance to regain credibility.
"Thanos destroyed Xandar!"
"He and his army killed half the life on that planet and took the Cosmic Spirit Orb!"
Gamora finished his sentence, her voice full of pain.
Everyone's eyes widened.
"Excuse me, where is this Xandar you mentioned? Also, what is the Cosmic Orb?"
"..."
–––
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