The gym on the top floor had been renovated by S.H.I.E.L.D. for training. Four large apartments were merged together to build more than ten boxing rings, a space where agents could spar or blow off steam.
At dusk, the setting sun streamed in through tall French windows, casting golden light across the rings. The silhouettes of sparring figures stretched long and dramatic across the floor, like living artwork.
Wanda sat by one of the rings, gazing absently out the window. The fading light touched her face, tinting her hair with a warm crimson hue.
A shadow suddenly fell across her.
Wanda blinked and turned her head slowly. Malrick was leaning against the ropes, one arm slung casually over them. His presence bent the cords down nearly half a foot. He wasn't just blocking the sunlight—he was commanding it.
"So, your way of practicing magic," Malrick teased, "is to sit there, zone out, and let your powers ferment like spoiled wine?"
Wanda felt she should be annoyed, but somehow she couldn't summon any anger at all.
"After dinner, I need to digest before exercising," she replied softly, offering an almost sheepish excuse.
"You actually came up with a serious reason?" Malrick grinned, sunlight painting his features in a hazy glow.
Wanda stared for a heartbeat too long before turning her head away, hiding her warm cheeks behind her hand.
"Tony arranged private lessons for Pietro and me," she explained. "All the subjects, from grade school through high school. I'm good at biology now."
"How long has it even been?" Malrick chuckled. "So you're a genius! No, wait—I'm already picturing you in a lab coat, studying mutant animal droppings like Betty…" He rubbed his forehead in mock despair.
Wanda's eyes snapped back to him. "Betty? Who's that?"
Like most girls, she locked onto the most dangerous word.
Despite months spent around Natasha and Yelena, Wanda still hadn't gotten used to the fact that Malrick carried the same careless charm as Tony Stark. She had accepted it, but she hadn't embraced it. Especially not if he was comparing her to some other woman.
Fortunately, Malrick quickly clarified. "Betty is Dr. Banner's girlfriend. She's a biologist. I could introduce you sometime."
Wanda blinked, genuinely surprised. "Dr. Banner… has a girlfriend?"
"The guy who turns into a green giant when he's mad, yes," Malrick said, spreading his hands. "Betty's a scientist. They're a perfect match. Honestly, you two would get along. Both biologists at heart."
Wanda hesitated, then looked away. She couldn't exactly admit she was studying biology to answer awkward questions about whether superhumans could even have children with regular people.
So she lied. "I just want to understand how my magic forms inside my body."
"Then you should have asked me." Malrick leaned closer, eyebrow raised. "Chaos Magic isn't tied to your body—it's tied to your soul."
Wanda's brows knitted together. "How do you know that?"
"Because you gave me your blood earlier," he said calmly. "I studied it. I've been looking into genetic structures recently."
"Soul…" Wanda murmured, lifting her hand. Crimson light swirled around her fingers, flowing with life and defiance of physics. She stared, confused, trying to reconcile the thought of this being connected to her soul.
"Don't overthink it," Malrick said. "Some things can't be broken down into science. Almost every version of you across the Multiverse can use Chaos Magic. It's who you are. You were born the Scarlet Witch."
He nodded toward the crimson glow at her fingertips. "Forget the theory. Show me the portal spell again—the one you developed yourself. That was impressive."
Wanda couldn't help but smile. Pride flickered across her face as she lifted her hands. Her earlier melancholy gave way to confidence.
"I figured it out by watching the sorcerers at Kamar-Taj open portals," she explained, rotating her fingers. Crimson light bloomed between her palms, weaving into a disk.
"I'm better at spatial magic than the Wandas I see in my dreams," she added quietly.
The portal solidified, space itself tearing apart to reveal a breathtaking view. On the other side lay a strange dimension—walls of glowing crystal forming rhombus patterns in every direction.
Malrick's eyes widened. "Did you just tear through the dimensional barrier of our universe?"
Wanda nodded. "When I create a passage, I rip the barriers at two points and connect them. Simple."
Malrick's expression was somewhere between admiration and horror. "That… sounds like brute force sorcery."
"When you did that," he asked carefully, "did you see a bald guy with a really big head watching you?"
Because if she had, Malrick thought grimly, that would mean the Watchers had noticed.
The Watchers were an ancient race, born at the dawn of the cosmos. They were impossibly old, impossibly powerful, and bound by a vow never to interfere—only to observe. Uatu, the Watcher of Earth, was infamous for bending that rule and sticking his nose into every major catastrophe.
If Wanda had just shattered the universe's skin, Uatu must have been startled enough to choke on his cosmic popcorn.
But Wanda only tilted her head. "What bald guy? The Ancient One? Master Wong told me she was your old Sorcerer Supreme. If you want, I could try opening the dimension where Eternity resides."
Malrick froze. "Uh, no, that won't be necessary."
The image of Wanda casually knocking on Eternity's door made his stomach twist. She had no idea what kind of cosmic forces she was playing with.
"There are safer ways," Malrick said carefully. "Wong's been collecting magical relics and portraits of past Sorcerer Supremes. Like the moving paintings in Hogwarts—they can actually talk with the soul of the person inside."