The Next Day
Yesterday was… interesting, to say the least. I spent most of it buried in the Ancient One's library, learning everything I could about magic, and I picked it up fast. Fast enough that I decided to leave one of my clones at Kamar-Taj to continue studying while I handled other business.
Right now, I was in full hero gear, preparing to head to a Russian prison to meet Alexei. He might have intel on the Red Room, and I wasn't about to waste that lead. I'd already sent another clone to visit Melina as well, just to keep both sides covered.
But before I could go, Peggy wanted a quick meeting. Something about a strange patient we'd saved from a mutant torture facility.
When I entered the meeting room, only Peggy was there. She didn't waste time, just gestured for me to sit.
"So, who's the person you needed to talk about?" I asked.
She pressed a few buttons on the table, and a file projected onto the main screen.
"This is the man we rescued from that mutant experiment lab," she said. "His name's Wade Wilson. A mercenary, guns for hire type. He actually volunteered for the experiments after finding out he had cancer."
The next image made me grimace. It was footage, grainy, but enough to see what they'd done to him.
"The treatments were horrific," Peggy continued. "They tortured him, trying to awaken a dormant mutant gene. And somehow… it worked. They activated it. He developed a healing factor, but unlike others we've seen, it doesn't regenerate healthy cells."
I frowned. "Then what does it do?"
She switched the display to a series of body scans. Every inch of Wade's body was lit up in red.
"It just keeps making cancer cells," Peggy said quietly. "He's basically a walking tumor. Mercy and Wendy are doing everything they can for him, but that's not why I called you here."
I glanced at her. "Then what is?"
Peggy crossed her arms. "Because somehow, this guy already knows about us. About the Vanguard. About you, me, and several of our members. And none of us have ever met him."
Of course he knew things he wasn't supposed to. The man's basically a walking multiversal glitch.
The reason he probably knows so much about us is because of his… fourth-wall awareness.Which, honestly, raises a terrifying question: does that mean my whole life is just a story someone else is writing?
Nope. Not thinking about that. If I start spiraling like that, I'll go crazy and try to wipe out the world or something.
I exhaled slowly and looked at Peggy.
"The reason he knows so much," I said, "is because he has an ability similar to mine."
Peggy blinked. "What?"
"You know one of my first powers, the multiversal knowledge thing? He has a version of that too. Just… slower. And a lot more chaotic. His mind's cracked like a dropped mirror. Half the time, I'm pretty sure he doesn't even understand the things he blurts out."
Peggy sighed in relief. "Okay… so I guess we don't have a leak."
"Nope," I said. "But I do want to talk to him when I get back. Just tell me when Mercy and Wendy finish stabilizing him."
"Got it," Peggy said.
I nodded, stood up, and teleported away.
Russia Seventh Circle Prison
I teleported above the prison, floating in the freezing air for a moment as I looked down.Yeah… this place was definitely heavily guarded. Spotlights, guard towers, walls thick enough to survive a warhead, the usual Russian hospitality.
I turned invisible and phased straight down through the concrete, slipping through floors and walls until I reached Alexei's cell.
Church had already given me the layout, so it didn't take long. Alexei was lying on his bed, grumbling to himself. No cellmate, lucky for me.
I cast a quick illusion spell over the cell, muffling sound and making sure no one noticed anything unusual. Only then did I turn visible again.
Alexei saw me instantly and launched off the bed, dropping into a fighting stance like he was about to battle a dragon.
"Calm down," I said. "I'm not here to fight. I'm here to talk."
"Talk? No, no, no," Alexei said, jabbing a finger at me. "I know who you are. I know why you are really here. You want to fight the Red Guardian, da? American hero wanting to test himself against the best!"
"…wait, what?" I blinked.
"Do not play dumb! Admit it! You want to fight me! Try your luck! I will not go down easy, because I am the Red Guar—"
I lifted my hand.
My telekinesis activated and Alexei shot upward like a ragdoll, smacking into the ceiling before slamming down again. Then up. Then down. Then up. Then down. Repeatedly. Until even I felt like I should stop.
He ended up on the floor, groaning like a dying walrus.
"First of all," I said, "I'm not just an American hero, I'm basically worldwide. Second, I'm actually here to talk about your daughters and your wife, and to offer you a chance at freedom if you cooperate."
Alexei froze at the word daughters, then groaned and dragged himself up. Limping, he sat back on his bed and rubbed his back.
"We will… call it a draw," he muttered.
"Sure," I said. "Let's pretend that's what it was."
Ed Clone 3 POV
"Mr. Valtheris, I know you've funneled a lot of money into this project of yours, but you do have a press conference in an hour," Abby reminded me, heels clicking behind me. "We need to get you ready."
"I know, Abby. Look, I already have one stress-filled redhead bossing me around in my life, I don't need another," I said. "We're only going to be here for a few minutes."
Right now, Abby, one of Olivia's coworkers, was escorting me through the Baxter Building on our way to Reed Richards' office. The rocket was finally finished, which meant the Fantastic Four's transformation was almost here. The launch was scheduled for next week, but I wanted to see them all before they became cosmic science accidents.
We entered Reed's office and found the whole crew there: Reed Richards, Susan Storm, Ben Grimm, and Johnny Storm.
"Hello everyone," I said, lifting two bottles of wine. "I heard the rocket's done, so I brought a gift."
Susan blinked at the bottles, confused.
"Oh—one's for drinking later," I clarified, "and the other is for smashing on the rocket for good luck. Y'know, like christening a ship."
Reed gave a small smile. "Thank you, Ed, but that gesture won't be necessary. The rocket is perfect. I designed it myself, and I made sure it can handle every variable and danger space has to offer."
"We'll still happily take the wine," Susan cut in quickly, snatching both bottles and setting them safely on a counter.
"So," I said, grinning, "are you guys ready to make history?"
"Yes, we are," Reed answered. "And we can't thank you enough for the donations. Truly."
"Especially after all the setbacks," Johnny added with a smirk. "Honestly, I'm surprised you kept giving us money."
Susan smacked him instantly.
"Hey, it was no problem," I said. "Every failure is an opportunity to learn something new. Like Edison said, 'I didn't fail a thousand times, I just found a thousand ways that didn't work.'"
"And Reed was very close to finding a thousand ways that didn't work," Johnny added proudly, and got smacked again by Susan.
Ben snorted loudly, trying not to laugh.
"Well, I just came to say hi. I can't stay long, I've got a press conference," I said.
"Yeah, we know," Ben grunted. "You're runnin' for mayor now. Posters everywhere. You got my vote, by the way, especially after explainin' how you're gonna help the local neighborhoods."
"Thanks, Ben," I said with a grin.
I turned to leave, but Reed stopped me.
"Mr. Valtheris, before you go… I'd like to make a request."
"Reed, come on," I said. "You've known me how long now? Just call me Ed."
Reed nodded. "Alright, Ed. I wanted to ask if I could bring one extra person on this mission. Since you funded everything, I thought you should have the right to approve it."
"Oh? And who's this person you want to bring?" I asked.
"Victor Von Doom," Reed said.
My smile faded instantly. "...Why do you want him on this trip?"
"He's also a brilliant scientist," Reed said quickly. "And he could help me study the cosmic fluctuations. We met at MIT—"
"Is he needed for your mission?" I asked.
"…No," Reed admitted.
"Then why do you want him to go?" I pressed.
Reed sighed. "Because we're old friends. And he asked me."
I raised a brow. "Old friends, huh? If he's such a great friend… why didn't he donate anything to your project?"
Reed went completely silent.
"Reed," I said, crossing my arms, "I make it my personal job to know every important scientist in New York. And I've done a lot of research on Victor Von Doom. Honestly? I don't like the guy. So… no. He's not going."
"But—" Reed started.
Susan gently stepped in. "Reed, he's right. Let it go."
Reed deflated a little, clearly disappointed. I wanted to say something else, but Abby tapped her watch with a pointed look.
Late.
Again.
I sighed. "Alright. Press conference time. I'll see you all soon."
And with that, I headed out before Reed could try to sneak Doom onto the passenger list behind my back.
Ed Clone 4 POV
"Wow, that's pretty interesting. Anything else?" I asked.
"Oink, oink, oink," the pig replied.
"Oh, okay. I'll make sure to tell her," I said with a nod.
Melina stared at me like I'd just started juggling chainsaws. "Are you really talking to my pigs right now?"
"Yes," I said casually. "One of my many, many powers is that I can talk to animals. Dogs are simple. Cats are smart but complete assholes, at least most of them. Dolphins are crazy intelligent. And squirrels? Squirrels are chill."
I turned back to her. "Oh, also your pigs want better scraps. They're tired of eating the same thing every day."
"I'll… keep that in mind," Melina muttered.
Now, to explain why she was tied to a chair outside with her pigs watching us like this was some kind of farm-themed interrogation:
Ever since I walked up to her door, she had been NONSTOP trying to kill me.Guns, chairs, a frying pan, even a grenade.
A grenade.
Luckily, I handled all of it without destroying her house or blowing up the countryside.This whole area is a dead zone, so no calls, no alarms, even when she frantically mashed her panic button.
After six minutes of her trying to reenact every James Bond fight scene at once, I got tired.Knocked her out.Tied her up.Sat her outside by the pigs so I could talk to them while I waited for her to wake up.
She woke up a minute ago.
Honestly, this is the calmest she's been since I arrived.
"So," I said, folding my arms, "are you ready to have an actual conversation? Or are you gonna try attacking me while tied to a chair?"
Melina glared at me. "I already sent out a distress signal. My government will be arriving soon."
I raised an eyebrow. " For one. Your government probably thinks you're dead, two, this entire area is a dead zone and, three, I know you don't work for the government. You work for the Red Room."
Her eyes narrowed slightly, a flicker of panic she tried to hide.
"Now cut the bullcrap," I said. "I want to know something real. Do you want a second chance with your daughters?"
That one hit her. Hard.
"What…?" Her voice softened in pure confusion.
"I'm planning to take down the Red Room," I said plainly. "Thanks to your computers, which, by the way, were incredibly easy to hack, I know exactly where their main base is. And I want to know if you want to redeem yourself by helping me destroy it."
Melina scoffed bitterly. "Why? So you can have an army of Widows at your disposal?"
I rolled my eyes. "Don't be ridiculous. Why would I want an army of Widows when I already have multiple superheroes on my team? I'm not trying to build a harem of brainwashed assassins. I want to help these women get their lives back. If some of them want to join me afterward? Fine. But that's not the point."
She hesitated, studying me carefully."If that's true… you already have an army. So why do you need me? Why do you care about my redemption?"
"Because some people deserve a shot at redemption," I said. "Some people just need help getting there. I know every Widow is under a mind-control virus. I want you to create the cure. Fix what you created."
Her jaw tightened. "And if I refuse?"
I shrugged and gestured around at the pigs."Then I leave you here. I'll make the cure myself and save all the Widows anyway. They'll get a better life… and you'll spend the rest of yours alone, surrounded by pigs, regretting what you did to your daughters."
Her breath hitched.
"And don't pretend you don't love them," I added quietly. "I know you do. Blood or not… you're still their mother."
Melina looked away, and for the first time since I arrived, she had no comeback.
Just guilt. And silence.