"That sounds incredible. There's magic like that?" Wanda's wide eyes were filled with surprise.
"If you really want to learn it, you can wait until the academy is completed and enroll there," Malrick replied, spreading his hands casually. "It'll broaden your grasp of Chaos Magic and refine the way you apply it."
"I definitely will," Wanda said with a firm nod. Her gaze lingered on the half-finished spatial rift shimmering before her, the torn edges flickering with unstable crimson energy.
"Is my space magic really strange?" she asked softly. "It doesn't feel like the Mystic Art of Portals from Kamar-Taj. Maybe I've gone about it the wrong way. Self-exploration can so easily lead to mistakes."
Malrick raised an eyebrow, his tone carrying both surprise and amusement. "Mistakes? Wanda, you're almost breaking open pathways to the Multiverse. That's not a flaw—it's a strength."
He might have said it half-jokingly, but Wanda took his words to heart. Her brows furrowed in thought before she shook her head. "Traveling into the Multiverse isn't possible yet. I can't sense places that far away. But if it's about randomly opening gateways into other realms, maybe… maybe I can attempt it."
This time, Malrick's composure cracked. His voice lowered as he stepped closer. "You can really break through the barrier of another Universe?"
Before she could answer, he reached out and gently caught her wrist, his hand firm yet controlled. Wanda's first instinct was to pull away, but his grip steadied her, reassuring rather than forceful.
"I'll assist you," Malrick said, his gaze steady on hers. "Let's try it together."
Her cheeks flushed crimson. She felt like a startled deer caught in the hands of a hunter—every instinct telling her to flee, yet every part of her frozen still. Heart racing, she nodded quickly and focused her Chaos Magic into the channel before them.
Under her control, the crimson energy seeped forward, threading itself into the unstable tear in space. Normally, her attempts would fizzle out, leaving only cracks within their own Universe. But this time was different.
Something surged through her.
From Malrick's hand came a torrent of raw energy—warm, unyielding, and powerful. It flowed into her like a river of sunlight pouring into every cell of her body, igniting them one by one.
Her breath caught. It felt as if the Sun itself had carved its way inside her, giving her soul a radiance she could neither control nor resist. Her awareness soared higher, her senses stretching outward until the walls of the world itself seemed too small to contain her.
Her perspective widened. Through the channel, she saw further, deeper—beyond the familiar stars.
In that heightened state, Wanda glimpsed something… someone.
For a fleeting moment, a colossal bald figure cloaked in blue appeared on the other side, watching. Then, as quickly as it came, the vision dissolved.
Her heart thudded, but her gaze pressed forward. Beyond the channel, she saw it: another Universe, like a vast bubble suspended in a cosmic ocean.
And then another. And another. Hundreds, thousands, scattered like an endless field of stars.
Her breath caught at the sight. So many Universes…
Tentatively, Wanda extended her Chaos Magic to brush the nearest bubble. The barrier wavered beneath her touch, and she realized she could force it open with ease.
"How's it going? Can you reach another Universe?" Malrick's voice came close to her ear, grounding her.
Wanda nodded slowly, still in awe.
"That's incredible," Malrick said with quiet admiration. "What you're feeling now is because of my Gene Primeval Energy combined with the Space Stone's power. Remember this sensation—it'll help you grow stronger on your own."
She swallowed hard, nodding again, determined to lock the feeling deep in her mind. She was about to pull her magic back when something jolted her.
Another surge of Chaos Magic appeared. Not hers.
It slammed into her spell from the opposite side of the barrier, tracing the channel back toward her like lightning.
Wanda blinked as her vision overlapped with another image. She saw… herself. Another Wanda, restrained inside a glass containment chamber with HYDRA's emblem etched along the edges.
"That's… I've dreamed of her," Wanda whispered unconsciously.
"Who did you see?" Malrick's voice was tense now.
"It's another me," she answered quickly, her voice trembling.
But before she could explain further, Malrick's tone sharpened. "Wait. Wanda—did you just release energy beyond our Universe?"
Her eyes widened. "What happened?"
"The barrier of our Universe is unstable. Your magic has weakened it, and now… something else is pulling through," Malrick said grimly. His instincts screamed danger. "Something is about to happen. We need to stop."
The warmth flooding Wanda's body drained away in an instant. The soaring sensation collapsed, leaving her feeling hollow and cold. Her Chaos Magic recoiled, pulling back into her core. The unstable channel sealed with a sharp snap.
Wanda gasped and opened her eyes—just in time to see Malrick's face shift with alarm.
"Oh no," he muttered. "It's targeting Peter!"
The room warped. In the blink of an eye, the gym dissolved, replaced by Malrick's apartment.
In front of her, Pietro was gripping Peter Parker's ankle desperately, his enhanced speed the only reason he'd managed to react at all.
But it wasn't enough.
Peter's entire body was halfway through a collapsing black void, its suction threatening to tear him away completely. Pietro's upper body was being dragged in as well, muscles straining against the pull.
"Pietro, let go!" Malrick shouted as he appeared in front of the rift. "Do you want to rip yourself and Peter apart?!"
He thrust his hands into the vortex, manipulating the fabric of space itself. Golden primal energy surged from one palm while the radiant blue of the Space Stone flared from the other, intertwining in a dazzling storm of power.
The dark void slowed. It shrank under his control, its violent pull dimming. For a heartbeat, hope flickered in the room.
But then Malrick stepped forward.
"No." His voice was calm but resolute. "That force is dragging Peter into another world. There was no warning—it's like a natural phenomenon, not someone's spell. I have to follow."
And before anyone could stop him, Malrick vanished into the rift.
"I'll go too!" Wanda cried, her Chaos Magic erupting as she lunged forward.
"Wait!" Malrick's voice echoed faintly from within the vortex, but Wanda had already touched it.
The moment her crimson magic brushed the barrier, the unseen wave returned, bursting outward across the Universe itself. The channel snapped shut instantly.
Wanda's hand closed on empty air.
"What… what just happened?" Pietro asked, wide-eyed. His voice cracked with fear. "Peter's not in danger, right?"
Wanda's fists clenched, her expression darkening. "Malrick won't fall so easily… but I'm not waiting around. I'll find them both."
With that, she dropped to the floor, crossing her legs as crimson light flickered around her. Her focus reached beyond Earth, searching desperately through the Multiverse.
Meanwhile, in another world—
Malrick stumbled out of the collapsing rift and landed in the middle of an unfamiliar city.
The streets buzzed with energy, the skyline alien yet familiar. His eyes narrowed, scanning his surroundings—
Until he saw a figure in a red uniform standing ahead of him, back turned.
"Spider-Man?" Malrick whispered.
_____
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