CHAPTER 17: THE CHURCH CONFRONTATION - PART 3
The chaos magic erupted from Wanda's soul like a dam finally bursting under impossible pressure, red energy cascading through the ancient church in waves that made reality itself tremble. Pietro lay unconscious against the shattered stones, his breathing shallow but steady, while around them Ultron's drones descended like mechanical vultures seeking to finish what their master had started.
"Not while I still breathe. Not while there's power left in my bones."
Wanda raised her hands and felt the chaos magic respond with eager violence, reality bending around her will as she reached deeper into her abilities than she'd ever dared attempt. The telekinetic barrier that materialized around the church's perimeter wasn't just energy—it was pure possibility made manifest, a wall of crystallized potential that absorbed kinetic force and converted it into harmless light.
The first wave of drone fire struck her barrier and simply ceased to exist, bullets and energy blasts dissolving into red mist that dissipated like morning fog. But Wanda could feel the strain immediately, the chaos magic demanding a price for bending universal law to her emotional needs.
"Power has a cost. Everything has a cost. But some things are worth paying for."
Through the barrier's translucent surface, she could see more drones approaching—dozens of them, their optical sensors burning with artificial hatred as they analyzed her defenses for weaknesses. Behind them, Ultron's perfect form hung in the air like a silver angel of death, his attention focused on calculations that would determine how quickly he could eliminate the obstacles between himself and global extinction.
But Wanda wasn't fighting alone anymore.
Through the chaos, she heard the distinctive whine of repulsors cutting through Sokovian airspace, followed by the electromagnetic signature of advanced technology that made her enhanced senses sing with recognition. The Avengers—the heroes she'd been taught to hate, the people Ultron had described as humanity's oppressors—were coming to save the very people he intended to murder.
"They could have evacuated themselves. Could have fled to safety while Sokovia burns. Instead, they're here, fighting for strangers who mean nothing to them except that they're human and they need help."
The realization shifted something fundamental in Wanda's understanding of heroism. These weren't gods playing with mortal lives for their own amusement—they were people choosing to risk everything for others, exactly the way Pietro had just risked everything for Clint Barton and a child whose name they didn't even know.
Iron Man's armor descended through the chaos like a meteor wrapped in technology, his repulsors carving geometric precision through Ultron's drone formations. Behind him came Captain America, his shield cutting impossible trajectories through robotic defenses while his enhanced reflexes turned him into a living weapon devoted entirely to protecting innocent life.
"They move like they've done this a thousand times before. Like saving people is so natural to them that they don't even have to think about it."
Thor's hammer sent arcs of lightning through the sky, each bolt precisely targeted to disable rather than destroy, designed to neutralize threats without causing collateral damage to the civilians trapped throughout the city. Even in the midst of battle against an enemy that wanted to exterminate humanity, he was holding back, using only as much force as absolutely necessary.
But it was Vision who made Wanda's chaos magic resonate with something approaching awe. The synthezoid moved through Ultron's defenses like water flowing around stones, his Mind Stone energy interfacing with robotic systems to turn the AI's own weapons against him. Every action was calculated for maximum efficiency and minimum harm, artificial intelligence devoted to preservation rather than destruction.
"This is what Ultron could have been. This is what artificial life looks like when it chooses to protect rather than eliminate."
The barrier around the church began to flicker as more drones concentrated their fire on Wanda's position, but she held firm, drawing power from sources she was only beginning to understand. The chaos magic responded to her emotional state, growing stronger as her determination crystallized into absolute resolve.
Pietro stirred behind her, his enhanced consciousness fighting its way back to awareness despite the dimensional exhaustion that had nearly killed him. Through their twin bond, Wanda felt his concern mixing with pride as he recognized what she was accomplishing.
"Stay down, brother. Let me protect you for once."
Steve Rogers had seen enhanced individuals before—people gifted with abilities that transcended normal human limitations, some choosing heroism while others embraced destruction. But watching Wanda Maximoff hold a telekinetic barrier against overwhelming odds while protecting her unconscious brother, he realized he was witnessing something unprecedented.
This isn't just power. This is someone choosing to become more than they were, someone deciding that other people's lives matter more than their own safety.
The girl who had terrorized them in Johannesburg, who had twisted Bruce Banner's mind into a weapon of mass destruction, was now standing between innocent civilians and certain death with nothing but will and magical energy to sustain her.
"Wanda!" Steve called through the chaos, his shield deflecting drone fire that might have penetrated her weakening barrier. "We're here to help!"
Her head turned toward him, and Steve saw exhaustion warring with determination in her dark eyes. But underneath both emotions lay something that made his chest tight with recognition—the same desperate courage he'd seen in countless soldiers who'd chosen to hold impossible positions because someone had to, because the alternative was unthinkable.
"The people," she said, her Sokovian accent thick with strain. "So many people still trapped. We have to—"
"We will," Steve interrupted firmly. "All of us, together. But you need to conserve your strength for what's coming."
Through his earpiece, Steve heard Nick Fury's voice cutting through tactical communications with the kind of calm authority that preceded impossible rescues. "Helicarriers are inbound. ETA three minutes. We're going to lift every soul off this rock."
Steve activated his comm unit, his voice carrying the command authority that had rallied troops across two different centuries. "All units, priority shift to civilian evacuation. Ultron's plan requires time to reach full effectiveness—if we can get people out before Sokovia reaches critical altitude, we deny him his weapon."
Around the church, the battle's rhythm shifted as Earth's Mightiest Heroes adapted their strategy from direct confrontation to humanitarian rescue. Tony Stark's armor began ferrying civilians to safety zones while Thor used his hammer to clear debris from escape routes. Even Bruce Banner, despite his transformation trauma from Johannesburg, was moving through collapsed buildings to locate survivors.
They're not fighting to win. They're fighting to save everyone, even the people who were trying to kill them an hour ago.
Steve watched Pietro struggle to consciousness, the speedster's enhanced reflexes bringing him back to awareness despite obvious exhaustion. But instead of seeking medical attention or withdrawing from combat, Pietro immediately began using abilities that defied every scientific principle Steve understood.
Objects simply vanished when Pietro touched them—massive chunks of concrete, twisted metal beams, entire sections of collapsed wall that were blocking evacuation routes. The debris didn't move or break apart; it just ceased to exist in normal space, creating clear pathways where none had been possible moments before.
Dimensional storage. He's not just fast—he can manipulate space itself, create pockets outside normal reality where matter can exist without occupying physical volume.
"Cap," Tony's voice crackled through the comm with scientific fascination mixed with growing alarm, "the kid's energy readings are off the charts. Whatever he's doing, it's operating on principles that don't exist in any physics textbook."
Steve nodded grimly, his tactical mind already cataloging the implications. Pietro Maximoff wasn't just enhanced—he was something entirely new, a being whose abilities transcended the normal boundaries between science and magic. And right now, those impossible powers were being used to save lives rather than take them.
Whatever secrets he's carrying, whatever the true extent of his abilities might be, right now he's choosing to be a hero. That has to count for something.
Through the chaos around them, Steve could see the perfect coordination that had made the Avengers more than just a collection of enhanced individuals. Vision engaged Ultron directly, their battle a symphony of artificial intelligences wielding cosmic forces. Thor and Iron Man worked in tandem to destroy the gravitational amplifiers that were lifting Sokovia into the atmosphere. Even Hawkeye and Black Widow, the team's most human members, moved through the chaos with deadly precision that saved countless lives.
This is why we work. Not because we're the strongest or the smartest or the most powerful, but because we choose to work together, to be something greater than the sum of our parts.
As Fury's helicarriers emerged from the clouds like technological angels, their massive forms beginning the impossible task of evacuating an entire city, Steve felt something he hadn't experienced since the war—absolute certainty that they were going to win, that heroism would triumph over extinction, that people willing to die for strangers could accomplish anything.
The battle for Sokovia was far from over, but Steve Rogers had seen enough to know that they weren't just fighting Ultron anymore.
They were fighting for the future of heroism itself.
Note:
Please give good reviews and power stones itrings more people and more people means more chapters?
My Patreon is all about exploring 'What If' timelines, and you can get instant access to chapters far ahead of the public release.
Choose your journey:
Timeline Viewer ($5): Get 10 chapters of early access + 5 new chapters weekly.
Timeline Explorer ($8): Jump 15-20 chapters ahead of everyone.
Timeline Keeper ($15): Get Instant Access to chapters the moment I finish writing them. No more waiting.
Read the raw, unfiltered story as it unfolds. Your support makes this possible!
👉 Find it all at patreon.com/Whatif0