"Do you think we should trust him?", Wanda asked, my gaze still focused on the stoic form of Karl Mordo as he raised an eyebrow.
'Why would Karl Mordo be here? Wait, he said that someone is expecting us? Is that the Ancient One? If so, what the hell would the Ancient One want-'
"Pietro."
"Huh, what?", I was snapped out of my thoughts by Wanda's voice, giving her an apologetic smile as she gave me a flat stare while Mordo looked amused at our interaction.
"Do you think we can trust him?"
"…You said that someone was waiting for us, right? How do we know that you're not HYDRA?"
"Considering that HYDRA has been made public knowledge as a terrorist organization since March 5th as well as the knowledge of everyone who is a member of it, I'd say you'd be able to figure out exactly who I am."
'Wait, the Winter Soldier movie has already happened? Right, that does happen before Age of Ultron. Wait, if that's the case, then the next part is going to be the systematic capture and destruction of the remnants of HYDRA.'
"Well, we were also stuck in a HYDRA base until a week or so ago, which means that either you're lying, which I don't think would be possible as you could have just made a portal under us and forced us to fall through, or we're lying…which doesn't make sense since we're trying to find out if you're lying."
"…Is it usually this confusing to understand him?"
"I've spent time with him for more than two decades and I still struggle to understand him."
"I'm right here, you know?"
"We know, Pietro. Wait, why am I trusting you?"
"You two are quite cautious to trust others, aren't you?"
"Considering that we grew up in a warzone, no one can blame us," I answered, standing up along with Wanda as we looked at Mordo for a while before I sighed.
"Well, we're not going to learn any answers here."
"Are you sure we should do this?"
"It's either we got through or we stay here and then head to Nepal only to find that he was telling the truth At least this way, I can knock everyone out and run away before anyone could try and capture us," I explained, Wanda staring at me before turning her gaze to Mordo who was waiting patiently.
"Very well, but if he or anyone he's affiliated with tries anything-"
"We get out and away," I spoke with a smile, packing up our camping supplies in just a few minutes before I looked at Mordo with a grin.
"Alright, Mr. Magician. Lead the way."
"Sorcerer."
"Sorcerer, magician, wizard, warlock. I can't exactly say that I know the difference between them all," I had expected him to say a quick one-liner, but raised an eyebrow as Mordo just turned and walked through.
"I don't think he likes me that much."
"Maybe if you stopped being so annoying to everyone you just meet, people would like you faster."
"Eh, I'd say that it's more like he'll take a while to adjust to me. Besides, I'm pretty likeable. Just ask anyone who isn't trying to sedate me into a coma," I spoke with a smirk, Wanda smiling at my words before we stepped through the portal together.
I don't know if I was expecting getting stretched as thin as I can and back together or some kind of wormhole effect, but it just felt like we were walking through a curtain of warm cloth before we were inside the room.
The air was thick with a sweet incense as we stood in a room of stone walls laid bare to the world, ancient markings inscribed onto them and dim lanterns being the only sources of light in the room.
'Also, what is that?', There was this dull sound beyond the room, like that of soft chanting. The only thing was that I couldn't exactly place the language.
'Is that Tibetan? Mandarin?…Klingon?', Glancing at Wanda as I felt her hand tighten slightly around my arm, I narrowed my eyes as Mordo walked. The two of us followed the man through the maze of hallways, my eyes flickering to the numerous statues and paintings around us.
I then blinked as we came to an abrupt stop, looking back at Mordo who pointed to two wooden chairs to the side while grabbing onto the handles of a pair of large wooden doors.
"Wait here. The Master will be with you shortly."
"Master?", I asked, but the man didn't answer as he turned the knobs and entered the room, closing the door behind him.
"…He really doesn't like talking to me, does he?"
"Pietro, many people don't like talking to you."
"I could say the same to you. Remember how the guys called you Baba-Yaga?"
"And remember what I did to earn that title?"
"Oh, so you do remember throwing a jar of acid onto that one guy's balls?"
"He was harassing me?"
"And I beat the shit out of him for it. You just wanted to make sure he didn't try it again."
"He didn't."
"Well, so did no one else. After all, who'd want to make an enemy of the Terrible Twins of Sokovia?", She giggled at my words, the two of us sitting down on the chairs while I looked at the door.
"So…who do you think this Master is?"
"An elderly man with a long beard and a pair of thick eyebrows. What about you?"
"…Honestly, considering the place we're in looks like a monk temple of some kind and with the humming we heard earlier, I'd say…we're dealing with a woman."
"A woman?"
"Yeah, be unexpected. I think it's going to be a woman and a bald woman at that since this is still a temple. She's going to be very young yet still older than us, so I'd say…in her early to mid 40's."
"And what if she isn't?"
"I do wish to know the answer to that question as well," A voice spoke from my other side, my head spinning on a swivel to see a mature bald woman sitting beside me with a curious smirk.
'…Okay, which god turned on the NSFW filter in this world?', That was not even a joke as the Ancient One's body was still covered with the same loose robes and clothes that she wore in the movie. Yet, as she stood up, my superhuman reflexes couldn't help but catch the slight jiggle of her chest and ass under her clothes.
That was also not mentioning the fact that she didn't look as old as I was expecting, looking more like a woman in her late 20's to early 30's.
'Firstly, there's most definitely something different about this world. Secondly, I'm going to need that Dormannu deal pronto if I can still look like I'm in my late 20's at…was she over 700 years old or over 800 years?'
"Question to what answer?", I asked, realizing that I was staying quiet for a bit too long before I turned to Wanda as she sighed.
"Answer to what question, Pietro."
"That's what I said."
"No, you said 'Question to what answer'."
"Well, I stumble over my words in the presence of a beautiful woman, okay?"
"Am I not beautiful?"
"You're also my twin sister. I'm supposed to give you backhanded compliment."
"And I do enjoy the ones that are given to me from time to time, but I must ask that they be put on reserve for now."
"For now, huh? So, you want to hear them when we're not having an important meeting?"
"Doesn't every woman want to be complimented from time to time on how beautiful she is?"
"Thank you!"
"Wanda, you're beautiful."
"Thank you, bro-"
"In the same way that a mare is beautiful to a horse."
"I will punch the shit out of you right here and now. Just say I won't."
"Neurobíš to, sestra (You won't do it, sister)," I provoked her in our own language, cackling as the world around me slowed down and I took a few steps back to hide behind the Ancient One, taking a quick glance down before looking back up as time resumed.
"That is quite the ability you have."
"Ah, thank you."
"Can you do it with your mind as well?", She asked and I raised an eyebrow at that even as I dodged around Wanda's hits with ease.
"What do you mean?"
"Could you perhaps use your superspeed on your mind to give you some form of enhanced learning?"
'…Wait, can I?', I know that I have the enhanced reflexes and speed, but would that actually be possible?
"I see you've never tried it. Perhaps, you should at a later time."
"Does that mean we can stay? Also, are you HYDRA?", I asked, grabbing onto Wanda's wrist before spinning her around and back into her seat with a soft yelp.
"You are and no, we are not. I am simply obeying the orders of a god high above."
"The Christian god or another pantheon?"
"You look quite relaxed at the news that gods exist."
"Thor exists so who is to say that the others don't?"
"Hmm, good answer. What of you? Do you believe in the mystic arts?"
"I won't lie and say that I do, but considering that my abilities came from a mystic sceptre, I have to admit that I do wish to see what else the world has in store for me," Wanda answered and we watched as the Ancient One stared at her before she nodded.
"That's a concrete answer. You both pass."
"Pass what?"
"The admission test."
'Didn't Strange have to sit outside for a few hours and that was before Mordo convinced her to take him in as her student? Huh, wonder how different she is from the original.'
"Oh. What do we…what do we do now?"
"Tomorrow will be your first lesson. There, we will learn if you have the aptitude for this or not, though considering that the two of you survived being exposed to the Mind Stone, we can assume that you most definitely will."
'And there's that sense of omniscience. Yeah, she's the real deal,' I thought, watching as she turned and walked back into the room. Yet, as she closed the door behind her, I swore I caught sight of a smile on her face before I turned to Wanda as she spoke up.
"We meet a sorcerer for the first time…and you're flirting with her?"
"I can't help it, sister. You know how I am."
"Right, your thing for older women. You need to work on your issues."
"And you need to work on yours. You think I don't notice the thing you have for older men?", I asked with a raised eyebrow, dashing to the side right as Mordo walked out of the room.
The man nearly caught a hex bolt to the face had I not moved him out of the way, but he did not look startled at all as Wanda hid her hands with a guilty smile while I shook my head.
"Oh, my dear sister."
"Don't you act so innocent. Just…follow me, please."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"These shall be your new rooms," Mordo spoke as I opened the door to my room, Wanda doing the same for her room behind me as I walked in and hummed at the rather simple yet still pleasing room I was in.
There was a double bed, a bedside table that already had a lit incense candle, more candles stacked on a cupboard close by and right beside it was a cabinet, which I opened to reveal numerous white tunic shirts, black pants, the orange cloth-jacket thing that the people of Kamar-Taj like to wore and then some wrist bands.
Honestly, I did not know the exact names of the clothing pieces, but I had to admit that they were pretty cool.
"Those are the official garb of the students of Kamar-Taj."
"They look pretty good," I muttered, running my fingers across the fabric before narrowing my eyes at the glowing sigils I could make out in between the cloth.
'Huh, wonder what those are for?'
"It appears you have noticed the protection sigils weaved into the fabric itself," Mordo spoke and I nodded, turning back to him to see Wanda also doing the same.
"For now, you two are free to wander around. However, you are not allowed into the library or the training yard as we do not wish for you to suffer a grievous injury in your first hour here."
"Got it. Stay away from the dangerous places."
"…Make sure he stays away."
"I will try my best," Wanda murmured, making me roll my eyes as Mordo nodded before the man left.
"So, you still think we shouldn't have accepted the offer?", I asked, looking at Wanda before chuckling as she turned and closed the door behind her.
"Come on, little sister. Let me in. I don't have anything to do~"
"For the record, you are just a few minutes older to me and also, go and talk to that sorcerer woman if you want to bother someone."
"…Wait, are you jealous?", I asked with a blink of my eyes, grinning as I heard her groan and walk away.
So, little Wanda is jealous that her brother is going to be taken away? Oh, this is music to my ears.
"Don't worry, sis. You won't lose me that easily."
"Go away!"
"Love you too!", I shouted, snickering at her grumbles before turning and walking back into my room.
'Well, we're in Kamar-Taj,' I had never expected it to be this easy, but at least now I can rest easy for a day or two to help my legs heal.
I did push them a bit too far, but as the holy grind says: pain is just weakness leaving the body. Too much pain and that's weakness returning to the body.
'Ah, yes. The grind never stops and neither do I,' Since I had a lot of free time and since my legs are still sore, what better thing to do than to train the other parts of my body.
"I still need to figure out that supersonic punch and vibration hands," I muttered as I sat down on the bed, holding a hand in front of me before narrowing my eyes as I began to speed it up.
I'm not sure exactly how I was going to do it, but as I continued to shake my hand repeatedly, I smiled as soft humming began to emanate from it.
"Now for the fun part," Keeping the shaking up, I raised my other hand and placed it against it, but a hiss escaped my lips when my vibrating hand cut deeply into my palm instead of passing through it like I was expecting.
Immediately stopping everything, I grimaced as I stared at the cut that stretched from in between my middle and ring finger to my wrist, but I was also surprised as I saw the muscles slowly pulling back together.
It only took a minute or so before I found myself staring at fresh pink skin that covered the former wound, narrowing my eyes before shaking my head as I vibrated my hand again.
This time, I did the same to my other hand and as I pressed the two together, I blinked at the loud hum that came from the two pressing against each other.
"…This is about to be a very long and dull process, isn't it?", I murmured, stopping the process before nodding as I stood up. With a simple thought, my entire body began to vibrate, the humming emanating from it being a lot louder as I began to move around.
"Huh, this is ni-Woah, that's…trippy,", My voice sounded like a combination of a voice that's on the radio and the static noise from a TV, making me blink as I gradually slowed down.
I was vibrating my full body and yet, I didn't pass through the floor. If anything, from the small cracks on the floor where I stood, my body vibrating was just more damaging to everything I touched.
'What if…what if I wasn't going fast enough?', I thought with a frown, raising my hand before shaking it at a rapid pace. However, I did not stop at the point that I reached previously as I continued speeding up to the point that my entire right arm was cramping up.
Yet, there was nothing but a happy smile on my face as I stared at the blurry right hand, taking a deep breath before kneeling and punching at the ground.
"Yes!", I hissed with a grin, staring at my hand that was wrist-deep in the ground and with no pain or damage to myself or the floor whatsoever.
'Now, it's time for the grind.'
A/N: Pietro begins figuring out more about his power and in the next chapter, he and Wanda start their training.
Like I said, having something else to fight with won't hurt, but he'll mostly be focusing on things that can help his speed.
Also, if you guys haven't noticed, we're going for the speed-maxed build, i.e. the Sonic build.
Like always, you can go to my Pat-reon-.-com-/-KingCrimsonNova to read ahead on this as well as many other stories & even some that haven't been released out to this site yet. If you want to, you are free to, but if you don't want, all's good as I will still be uploading here. This is just me trying to get some extra cash.
As always, read, enjoy, review and until the next chapter,
Ba-Bye~~!