Boom! Boom! Boom!
Hulk, like a rampaging armored beast charging at Wanda, abruptly halted as soon as Bella's voice called out to him.
He blinked.
Confused, the green giant tilted his head and looked toward Bella with a childlike grievance on his massive face—an expression so awkward it was almost… pitiful.
It was bizarre. Even though Hulk wouldn't normally harm innocents without reason, once he entered a true rage, rational thought became a distant memory.
Yet Bella—with just a word—had calmed the uncontrollable.
Was it fear?
An instinctual submission from having once been beaten?
No one knew.
But Tony and the others were stunned.
Bella walked forward slowly. Seeing her approach, Pietro gritted his teeth, stepping in front of his sister, though his legs trembled. He dared not move—but he wouldn't back down either.
> "Impressive resolve," Bella said with a soft smile.
She stopped in front of them, eyes calmly landing on the confused Wanda.
> "Your heart burns with hatred," she said gently. "The kind that consumes. You and your brother... You became HYDRA's experiments because of this, didn't you?"
Wanda's expression darkened. The mention of the past cut deep.
> "Yes... I want revenge," she said, her voice cold and trembling.
As memories surged, pain and anger filled her eyes. Red energy began to pulse from her body—uncontrolled, raw, and violent.
The ground around her cracked and shattered. Everything the crimson energy touched turned to dust.
Even Hulk, standing some distance away, flinched and leapt back like a startled frog.
> "Hulk doesn't like that… Hulk doesn't want to get hurt. That hurts."
Tony's HUD lit up with warning signals. Drip! Drip! Drip! His suit's sensors were going haywire from the rising energy levels.
But none of that concerned him right now.
What truly caught his attention was the pair of eyes staring at him—eyes filled with unmistakable hatred.
> "J.A.R.V.I.S... identify them."
> "Sir, the girl is Wanda Django Maximoff, and the boy is Pietro Django Maximoff. Both born in Kosovia. Twelve years ago, war broke out there. Their parents were killed during an air raid. They've been vagrants ever since."
Tony's brows furrowed.
Kosovia…
He knew the name. But what connection…?
Then it hit him.
> "J.A.R.V.I.S, pull up arms sales to Kosovia twelve years ago."
A flood of data filled his screen. When he saw the names on the weapon manifests, his stomach dropped.
He understood now.
Why these twins hated him.
Why they would even join HYDRA.
Because the bomb that killed their family… had the name "Stark" engraved on it.
---
With a low boom, Tony activated his thrusters, soaring in front of Bella. His helmet peeled back, revealing a heavy expression.
Natasha arrived moments later, landing a Quinjet nearby. The other Avengers followed, curious and wary. The twins' power was undeniable.
> "Wanda," Bella called gently.
Golden light flashed in her eyes, and a divine pressure descended. Wanda's red aura began to fade, the Origin Magic Power dispersing under Bella's presence—not canceled, but gently restrained.
Bella's power now rivaled Odin's—no longer just comparable to gods, but above them. Wanda, though powerful, hadn't fully mastered Origin Magic Power.
> "Calm," Bella whispered.
Her spiritual energy reached into Wanda's heart, subduing the fury and soothing the storm.
Wanda's breathing slowed. But her eyes—still locked on Tony—remained bitter.
Tony's face was visible now. The twin siblings' hatred bore into him.
He felt it.
More than a decade ago, Stark Industries was the top arms dealer in the world. Selling weapons was just good business—until he realized the horror that came with it.
Since then, he'd shut down the weapons division. Donated billions. Tried to change.
But the Maximoff twins? They remembered none of that.
They only remembered the missile lodged in the ruins of their home... with his name on it.
They lay under that collapsed roof for two days and two nights, afraid to move, afraid it would explode.
> "STARK."
That name etched itself into their hearts—not as a memory, but as a curse.
The air grew cold.
Bella, sensing the tension, took a moment. She didn't intend to interfere. Hatred like this could be untangled—but only by those bound to it.
Still, she raised her finger.
> Click.
From a nearby HYDRA transport, a gleam of blue shot through the air—the scepter, the one once wielded by Loki, flew to her hand.
Natasha and Barton exchanged uneasy glances.
Recovering the scepter had been their mission.
But now…
Bella simply smiled. With a flash of light, the scepter vanished into her own dimensional space.
> "It served its purpose," she said coolly. "Why would I return it now?"
No one objected.
Who would dare?
---
> "Enough," she finally said. "Let's talk somewhere more civilized."
---
New York – Avengers Base
Spanning tens of thousands of square meters, the Avengers Base was one of Stark's most ambitious projects. Lavishly designed, hyper-intelligent, and impressively fortified.
On the third floor, Bella stood in front of tall French windows, swirling wine in a crystal glass. Outside, agents and staff moved across the lawns like ants in a hive.
Her lips curled into a faint smirk.
> "Tony really poached quite a few from Fury…"
But Fury, the old fox, hadn't fought back.
One was willing to steal, and the other… willing to lose.
Then, from behind—
> "Not planning to listen in?"
A husky, pleasant voice broke the silence.