Chapter 104: The Fall of the Avengers (Part 2)
Wanda had lost all sense of time and space after being banished to the Dark Dimension.
She'd tried countless methods to return to the real world, but nothing worked. She despised Doctor Strange and vowed to make him pay upon her return.
And that man named Ryan.
Without any temporal reference, she'd lost count of how much time had passed.
Just as the death energy enveloped Earth, weakening the protective magical barriers erected by the Masters of the Mystic Arts, Wanda finally sensed Earth's existence again.
With every ounce of her chaos magic, she finally tore a rift through dimensional space.
Upon emerging from the Dark Dimension, Wanda found the Avengers locked in a deadly standoff.
Confused, she asked, "Can someone explain what's happening?"
An energy blast struck the infected Captain Marvel, and Banner shouted, "Wanda, be careful!"
Wanda instinctively unleashed chaos magic to deflect Captain Marvel's attack.
The battle between the Avengers and their infected former teammates erupted instantly.
The Hulk punched the infected Red Guardian, sending him flying, then grabbed the creature's snapping jaw and hurled him at the zombie Captain America.
The infected Iron Fist's attack was deflected by zombie Captain America's shield, but the creature continued its relentless charge.
Drax the Destroyer battled the infected Jessica Jones, while Nebula single-handedly fought the zombie Taskmaster Antonia.
Mantis desperately dodged arrows fired by the infected Hawkeye.
Thor, wielding Stormbreaker, slashed at the infected Captain Marvel.
Scarlet Witch, still bewildered by the situation, hesitated to use lethal force. Instead, she used magic to levitate the infected Spider-Man and hurled him into a distant lake.
"What the hell is going on? How did they become like this?"
Wanda demanded answers from Banner while maintaining her magical defenses.
Banner, taking advantage of a momentary opening between counterattacks, replied, "It's a virus! They've all been transformed into the infected. They've completely lost their humanity."
"No!" Wanda felt the world had changed drastically in what seemed like only moments away, and the revelation was devastating.
Banner raised his massive arm to block the shield thrown by zombie Captain America and shouted, "A mad scientist reanimated Steve—this is what he became! The virus is highly contagious. One bite or scratch will turn you. Wanda, you have to be extremely careful!"
Infected superheroes retained their abilities from life. If Wanda became infected, it would be catastrophic.
With a powerful swing of Stormbreaker, Thor cleaved the infected Iron Fist Danny Rand in half, thick black ichor spilling across the ground.
Then, with a backhanded arc, he struck the infected Spider-Man—who'd just climbed from the lake—and sent him flying back into the water.
He shouted desperately, "Is there any way to save them?"
"There's no cure yet! Nick Fury is evacuating civilians to another planet. If we don't find a solution soon, Earth is finished!"
"I understand now!" Wanda, finally grasping the full horror of the situation, held back no longer and used her full power to subdue the infected Hawkeye pursuing Mantis.
"Clint, I'm so sorry!"
Tears filled Wanda's eyes as she used her chaos magic to telekinetically tear Hawkeye Barton apart in mid-air.
"How could it end like this?" Wanda wept after being forced to kill her former friend with her own hands.
She remembered meeting Hawkeye during the Battle of Sokovia against Ultron, how they'd worked together to evacuate civilians, how Clint had sheltered her during the Avengers Civil War, offering her refuge at his family's farm. Then finally, fighting together in the Battle of Earth against Thanos.
She'd fought alongside Clint Barton for years, but she'd never imagined it would end this way.
Scarlet Witch's grief infected both Hulk and Thor, and profound sadness permeated the battlefield.
But the battle continued, and everyone could only suppress their sorrow and keep fighting their corrupted comrades.
"Help me!" Mantis was suddenly grabbed from the air by the infected War Machine. As she struggled desperately, James Rhodes—missing half his face—bit down on her neck.
"I am Groot!" Groot released vines, pulling War Machine down from the sky.
Drax the Destroyer roared and charged forward, driving his twin blades into the infected Rhodes's eye sockets.
The brain damage didn't stop him immediately. The War Machine armor's automated systems activated, and with a blast of repulsors, Drax was thrown backward—only to be shot down mid-flight by the incoming infected Captain Marvel.
Mantis fell first, followed by Rocket Raccoon and Star-Lord. One was scratched by the infected Red Guardian, the other had flesh torn away by the infected Spider-Man. It wouldn't be long before they too became infected.
The Guardians of the Galaxy suffered casualties one after another, and Thor's rage intensified.
He leaped high and brought Stormbreaker down on Captain Marvel in a devastating arc.
"Wanda! Hold her in place!"
Wanda's chaos magic instantly froze Captain Marvel mid-flight. The descending Thor raised his axe and brought it down on Carol's skull.
BOOM!
Captain Marvel was cleaved in two, golden photon energy dissipating into the air.
Groot's hands transformed into piercing vines, impaling the infected Red Guardian's chest. Unexpectedly, the zombie virus began spreading through Groot's wooden branches.
"I am Groot!" Groot immediately severed his own hands, preventing the infection from spreading throughout his body.
Nebula was grabbed by the infected Taskmaster. Seeing the creature's teeth about to sink into Nebula's cybernetic flesh, Scarlet Witch released a chaos magic blast that sent Taskmaster flying.
Drax the Destroyer drove his twin blades into Taskmaster's back, lifted the body high, and flung it toward Thor.
Thor swung Stormbreaker in a horizontal arc, ending another corrupted Avenger.
One by one, the heroes who'd fought beside them fell. The Hulk, consumed by grief and rage, lifted the infected Jessica Jones above his head with a feral expression, then forcibly tore her body in half.
Only zombie Captain America remained—and rather than charging, he actually fled.
The battle was winding down, but it wasn't truly over.
Mantis, Star-Lord, and Rocket had all been infected during the fight. Now turned, they had to be put down again. Killing their friends twice was a devastating blow to the survivors.
After the battle, no one spoke. They silently dug several deep graves in Central Park and buried everyone together.
The Avengers, whom even Thanos couldn't destroy, had been nearly annihilated by a single reckless scientist named Angus.
The irony was crushing.
After burying their fallen comrades, the surviving few returned to the Milano and left the ruined city behind.
Bringing news of the Avengers' casualties back to New Asgard cast a pall over the entire evacuation effort.
Upon learning of Wanda's return from the Dark Dimension, Strange rushed to find her discussing recent events with other survivors.
When enemies meet, tensions run high. Sensing the chaos magic ripples emanating from Wanda, Strange hurriedly said, "Wanda, let me explain—"
"Forget it. I need to see Ryan now. I'll settle accounts with you for banishing me to that dimension when I get back." Wanda stood and walked past Strange.
She exited the building, gestured with her hands, and flew away in a swirl of crimson energy.
Celestial Island remained safe for now. Maya Hansen was attempting to develop a cure for the zombie virus, but Ryan held little hope for success.
Ryan was grateful he'd brought Ant-Man and his family to Celestial Island ahead of schedule. If Ant-Man and the Wasp had also become infected... the implications were terrifying.
He removed his rubber gloves and lab coat, glanced at Maya Hansen working intently at her station, and casually asked, "Any progress?"
Maya Hansen looked up from the microscope and shook her head. "No. The infected blood is extremely unusual. It's not really blood anymore—more like a cellular nutrient solution."
Ryan had already reached this conclusion the day Corvus brought Bucky back.
Normal blood serves numerous functions: transporting oxygen and nutrients, supporting metabolism, regulating pH balance and body temperature, immune response, and more.
The black ichor in infected bodies served none of these functions. Its only purposes were transmitting the virus and providing minimal energy to maintain cellular activity.
Moreover, upon contact with normal human blood, it rapidly assimilated and converted healthy cells into the same infectious state, making it extraordinarily contagious.
Theoretically, there were two feasible approaches to treating this virus.
The first was identifying the raw materials Angus used to synthesize the virus, then using his formula in reverse to create an antidote.
The second was obtaining the Reality Stone and directly altering the virus's composition at a fundamental level.
Compared to the first method—which required extensive experimentation—the second method was far simpler. It required only the ability to traverse dimensional boundaries and access parallel universes.
Only two people possessed that capability: Strange and Wanda.
Strange's severed hand prevented him from accurately navigating dimensional space, while Wanda had been trapped in the Dark Dimension.
Therefore, Ryan had concluded Earth was doomed.
Since Maya Hansen enjoyed research, he let her continue. Perhaps luck would favor her, and she might actually synthesize an antidote serum by chance.
Ryan exited the lab, planning to check on Cassie.
A sudden commotion erupted in the central plaza, drawing his attention.
"What's happening? Someone dares cause trouble on Celestial Island at a time like this?"
Ryan walked toward the plaza, and the crowd instinctively parted for the island's administrator.
"Tell Ryan to come out and face me!"
"Wanda, this isn't the place for your dramatics! Let him go!"
Ryan pushed through the crowd and saw Wanda in a standoff with Corvus in the central plaza. He was genuinely shocked. Just as he'd been thinking about Wanda, she appeared on Celestial Island. Speak of the devil, indeed.
Wanda was using chaos magic to levitate an island resident hostage. Corvus had drawn his glaive and surrounded Wanda with super-soldiers.
"Wanda, release him."
Seeing Ryan appear, Wanda dismissed her magic and released the hostage, fixing Ryan with an intense stare.
Ryan waved his hand, signaling everyone to disperse.
"Come with me."
Ryan led Wanda back to his residence, opened two bottles of beer, and offered one to Wanda. "When did you get back?"
Wanda didn't accept the beer. She said coldly, "That's none of your concern. I came here to ask you one question."
"You want to ask about what I promised you."
When Ryan had first been brought to this universe by Strange, he'd fought a massive battle in New York. If Wanda hadn't intervened, Strange might have successfully banished Ryan to dimensional space.
The reason Wanda had turned against the other Avengers was because Ryan had promised he would help her find Vision and her future children—the ones she'd seen in her hex in Westview.
Now that his creditor had come to collect, Ryan certainly couldn't pretend nothing had happened.
End of Chapter 104
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