Bab 15: Recruiting the Maximoffs!
The cold winds of Sokovia greeted Maxim as he stepped out of the vehicle. Nightfall had already cast a shroud of darkness over the environment, making it perfect for Maxim to move around, and not draw too much attention to himself.
For the past couple days while traveling to Sokovia, he had been communicating with Captain America incognito, trading valuable information about taking down Hydra.
Simultaneously, he had also stopped at any library or book-store he could potentially find, taking any books related to engineering, robotics, computer technology and anything of the sort.
Reading these books, his integration with Killjoy's template had swiftly increased, reaching over 45% already, and he had already obtained Nano-swarms and Turrets which he could obtain a limited amount from the system whenever he wanted.
Now he had finally arrived in Sokovia with one goal, to find the Maximoff twins and recruit them. Wanda and Pietro, from Alex's memories, were a pair of twins with immense potential, but pathetically weak compared to that potential.
It had been said dozens of times before, but how pathetic is it that a speedster dies to a normal gunshot? Embarrassing, and then for Wanda, who had potential reality warping powers spent most of her time only able to do some light spiritual magic and energy blasts.
It was an embarrassing display in the MCU, and Maxim knew he needed to give the twins a grueling training regime once he recruited them to allow them to reach their full potential, and become strong assets to him.
Maxim knelt to the ground and inhaled deeply, his senses rapidly expanding beyond the physical, allowing him to pick up on the faint pulses of energy that ran across the war-torn land.
He tried to focus on that energy, losing its trace occasionally, but after a while, Maxim finally had a firm connection to it. The energy was chaotic, raw, but incredibly potent. It was like a beacon when it came into contact with Maxim's Astral energy.
Once he obtained a firm connection with the energy, which was located in the heart of the main City, Maxim started moving towards it. At this point in the MCU Timeline, the twins should still just be protesters who would soon be manipulated by Hydra.
Maxim needed to reach to them first, gain their trust using irrefutable proof, and awaken their powers. His form was barely visible was he toggled his incorporeal state, shuttling through like a shadow.
The streets were littered with debris from bombings and constant conflict, tension high as people constantly remained on their feet. As Maxim moved closer and closer, he continued to release his Astral energy, allowing his consciousness to move out and pinpoint the Chaos Magic.
A crumbling building near the outskirts of the city, not far from where Sokovian resistance fighters were stationed. The Maximoffs were hiding, or more likely, surviving.
As he approached the building, Maxim reformed near the entrance, his body coalescing from the darkness. Now that he was basically right next to them, he could sense the immense pulse of Chaos energy within Wanda, and a much smaller pulse within Pietro.
Maxim wondered if he could just awaken their powers using the abilities he inherited from Astra, and decided to put that on the list of things to test. He walked slowly into the open, making no attempt to hide his presence now.
The moment he stepped into view, he spotted Pietro holding a knife, protecting Wanda behind him as he looked towards Maxim with fierce, untrusting eyes.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Maxim said, his voice low but commanding, "I'm not your enemy."
"Who are you?" Pietro demanded, his voice sharp as he tightened his grip around the knife, "And why shouldn't I destroy you where you stand?"
Maxim held up a hand, his expression calm, but his voice carried weight, "My name is Maxim, and I'm here to stop you from making a mistake."
Pietro scoffed, "Big talk from a guy we've never seen before. Why should we care?"
"Because," Maxim said, his gaze locking onto Wanda's, "I know you guys think Stark killed your parents, but that's not true. Stark didn't authorize your parents' death. You're being manipulated. The real enemy is far closer than you think, and you're walking straight into their hands."
"LIAR!" Pietro roared out angrily, "We saw his name on the missile, he KILLED THEM, he ruined everything!"
"Stark doesn't authorize all of his weapon's uses, the real culprit was actually already captured you know?" Maxim said, taking a step forward slowly and deliberately.
Maxim reached into his coat and pulled out a small, weathered file, "This," he said, "is everything your real enemies doesn't want you to know. About your parents, about how they're planning to take over Sokovia."
Pietro slowly and steadily walked forward, calling for the file to which Maxim threw it at him. Pietro caught it, and steadily walked back to Wanda's side, "Nice story," he said, "but how can we be sure you're truthful?"
"Because the people who are exploiting Sokovia also harmed me too," Maxim replied, his voice cold. "And because I'm offering you something more than just revenge. I'm offering you power. Power to protect yourselves, power to free your people, and power to destroy the real enemy, the one hiding in the shadows."
Wanda's eyes narrowed further, "What enemy?"
"A group that works in the darkness, they have bases and informants everywhere. They've been sowing discord all over Sokovia, funding the wars here. Most of the death and destruction here is directly related to them. I even have info that says they were planning to lie and recruit you two. Can you imagine that, unknowingly working under the people destroying your home?"
Pietro listened to Maxim's words and flipped open the file, skimming through the documents, his eyes widening as he read, "Wanda, look at this," he muttered, handing the file to his sister.
Wanda took the file, her expression growing more serious as she read through the pages.
"How do we know this isn't just another manipulation?" she asked, her voice quieter now but still filled with caution.
Maxim stepped closer, lowering his voice. "I've been in your position, used and exploited by Hydra. If we don't stop them, Sokovia won't survive. It'll be exploited into dust."
Pietro looked at his sister, concern evident in his eyes as he saw her emotions becoming potentially unstable, "What do we do, Wanda?"
Maxim took that moment to push forward. "I'm not asking you to forgive Stark. He did build those weapons even if he didn't authorize them.I'm not asking you to forget what happened. I'm asking you to see the bigger picture. If we work together, we can tear down the real enemy, free Sokovia. But we can't do it if you're blinded by a lie."
Wanda's eyes locked onto his, and for a long, tense moment, silence stretched between them. Then, slowly, she nodded.
"Show us what you know," she said, her voice steady but tinged with the uncertainty of a decision just made. "If you're telling the truth… then we'll listen."
Maxim smiled, feeling the weight of his plan starting to fall into place. He gestured for them to follow him into the darkness, "First, we need to stop Hydra's operations in Sokovia. They have a base located here. I'll destroy it and prove it to you. Then, I'll work on making you two more powerful."
"Powerful?" Wanda said curiously, "Powerful how?"
Maxim's smile widened slightly at Wanda's question. He turned to face the twins, stepping closer as the shadows around them seemed to respond to his presence, shifting and curling like tendrils of living darkness. His eyes glinted with a quiet confidence.
"Like this," he said simply.
With a flick of his wrist, the shadows around him twisted into a vortex of black mist that swirled around his body. Maxim's form wavered, dissolving into the darkness, then reappeared several feet away in the blink of an eye, without a sound.
Wanda's eyes widened, and Pietro blinked, his usual cocky demeanor replaced by silent awe. Maxim didn't react to the expression, he just lifted a hand, and in an instant, the temperature around them seemed to drop.
The darkness thickened, coalescing into tangible, inky-black tendrils that rose from the ground and extended outward, surrounding him like a protective cocoon, "I can help you unlock your true potential, obtain powers of your own to allow you to protect yourselves, and your own people." Maxim said.
Pietro grinned, his excitement barely contained, "You mean, we could be like that? Like, super?"
Maxim nodded slowly, his voice dripping with promise, "Stronger than you've ever imagined."
Wanda's lips parted, her eyes filled with wonder. The temptation of power was unmistakable
"You help me stop Hydra," Maxim said, his tone persuasive, "and in return, I'll give you the power to make sure no one ever hurts you, or Sokovia, again."
_______________________________________________
How is everyone enjoying the story so far?
As for future plans, I have ideas I'll list below, tell me your thoughts of them:
#1 - Breaking Hela out of Odin's dimension, potential Wife. Keeping Hela's ruthlessness and power, but making her more intelligent and less of a bland genocidal maniac.
#2 - Taking over Madripoor, turning it into a Kingdom. Madripoor will be MC's own power, filled with his allies, leaving him out of the touch of corrupt international governments and organizations.
#3 - Taking down Red Room, recruiting the Black Widows
#4 - Potential War with Namor ( this would be way in the future of the story )
Bab 16: Taking down a Hydra Base!
The cold wind of Sokovia was sharper on the outskirts of the City, the air was biting into Maxim's skin as he led Wanda and Pietro through the desolate streets. People were all in their homes, or what was left of various homes, huddled up to protect eachother.
The darkness of night had already fallen, perfect for the mission Maxim had planned for. The trio's journey through the ruined city had been quiet, none of them wanting to increase the already high tension and uncertainty.
The twins just slowly but surely followed Maxim, intrigued by the promise he had laid out for them. For Wanda and Pietro, this was finally a chance, a chance to actually make some serious change in Sokovia, instead of just being useless protesters.
For Maxim, this was just another step in his carefully orchestrated plan ever since he had exited Sokovia. Currently S.H.I.E.L.D were currently busy secretly investigating themselves under the command of Nick Fury, and Maxim knew he was getting closer to be cleared.
After getting himself cleared, Maxim would naturally head to the US, to visit his sister Katya, all the while training Wanda and Pietro. He suspected he could awaken their powers using his own Astral Powers inherited from Astra.
Once he was done with his visit with Katya and Wanda and Pietro had reached a suitable combat level, he'd wait until after the New York attack, protecting the City and taking away the Mind Gem to use temporarily.
Then, he'd recruit the Black Widow to take down the Red Room and go from there. Naturally, the first step in all of this needed to go well, and so he needed to defeat this Hydra base to prove to Wanda and Pietro he meant business.
As the trio reached the edge of the city, Maxim crouched behind a crumbling concrete wall, motioning for the twins to do the same.
Ahead of them, a Hydra base stood looming in the darkness. Floodlights illuminated the perimeter, revealing armed guards patrolling the ground, each of them in pairs.
"Look," Maxim said, his voice low but firm. He gestured toward the base with a subtle movement of his hand, "That's Hydra's heart in Sokovia. Everything they're doing to your country, every atrocity, every manipulation, it all stems from there."
Pietro squinted into the distance, his jaw clenched tightly as he spotted the guards, "So, what's the plan? We sneak in, take them out? Steal their files?"
Maxim shook his head, a slight smile tugging at his lips, "Not 'we' You two stay here. Watch. I'll handle this."
Pietro's brows furrowed, his fists clenching as if insulted, "You're joking, right? We didn't come all the way out here to sit on the sidelines."
Wanda sensed her brothers anger and cautiously placed a hand on his arm, holding him back as she turned towards Maxim for him to respond to Pietro.
"You're not ready for what's inside that base. What combat power do you have? You're not trained, you have no powers as of yet. You go in there like this, without preparation, and you'll die."
Hydra isn't just soldiers with guns; they have weapons, tech, and experiments you've never imagined. I've seen it firsthand. You go in there without powers, without preparation, and you'll die."
The sting of Maxim's words hit Pietro harder than he cared to admit, but he kept quiet, though his jaw remained clenched in frustration. Wanda, however, was more reflective. She stared at Maxim, her mind turning over his words.
"We're just supposed to sit here and wait?" Wanda asked, a hint of doubt in her voice.
Maxim nodded, "Yes. I need you to watch. See what's about to happen. It'll prove to you exactly what kind of enemy we're dealing with, and why you need me."
Pietro opened his mouth to argue, but Wanda gave him a look that quieted him. She was the more measured of the two, the one who knew when to take a step back and listen, "Fine," she said, though there was a note of hesitance. "But if this is some trick—"
"It's no trick," Maxim interrupted, his gaze steady and serious, "This is just the beginning."
Without another word, Maxim stepped forward, his form almost disappearing into the shadows as he approached the Hydra base. The twins stayed low behind the concrete wall, their eyes following his every movement, unsure of what to expect.
Maxim's body seemed to dissolve into the darkness, his incorporeal state taking hold. He moved like a dark wraith, effortlessly slipping through the defenses of the base.
From their vantage point, Wanda and Pietro could only see the flickers in the darkness as Maxim appeared, instantly striking down a duo of guards before vanishing back into darkness, taking out one pair of guards after another.
Pietro let out a frustrated breath, his fingers digging into the cracked concrete as he watched Maxim's silhouette disappear into the Hydra facility, "How is he doing that?"
"I don't know," Wanda whispered, her eyes narrowing as she tried to follow Maxim's movements and failed, "But it's… it's like he's not even there."
Inside the base, Maxim was a total killing machine. He could feel every pulse of life, every footstep, every breath of every Hydra agent inside the base.
Maxim slipped through walls and doors with ease as if they weren't there, immediately annihilating any and everyone in his path. He took them down before they could even react, moving deeper and deeper into the base.
He had one goal, the heart of the base, it's generator room. Once he took that out, the entire base would crumble. Maxim raised his hand, and the shadows around him thickened, coalescing into inky tendrils that snaked along the walls and floor.
His telepathic abilities reached into the minds of the guards nearest to him, planting seeds of terror, feeding their latent fears until panic began to bloom in their subconscious.
One by one, the guards started to falter, looking over their shoulders, gripping their weapons tighter as a sense of dread washed over them. They couldn't see anything, but they could 'feel' the danger approaching.
Back outside, Pietro shifted uneasily, watching as Hydra members ran in and out of the base, their movements slowing. Pietro could see the guards looking around nervously, muttering to each other, their hands gripping their rifles tighter.
Something was happening, something they couldn't see but could feel.
"Do you see that?" Pietro whispered to Wanda.
She nodded, her eyes wide with a mixture of confusion and awe, "He's doing something… but I don't know what."
Inside, the chaos was spreading. The lights flickered as Maxim reached the generator room. His hand hovered over the main power conduit, a cosmic nebula swirling in his hand.
~BOOM~
With a boom, the wave of cosmic energy crashed into the machine, and the entire facility went dark.
An instant later, the alarms blared.
Outside, Wanda and Pietro jumped at the sudden sound, watching as the base was plunged into darkness, only the distant glow of emergency lights casting a faint red hue over the scene.
"What's happening?" Pietro asked, his voice edged with both excitement and anxiety.
In the darkness, the Hydra guards scrambled to restore order, their radios crackling with frantic voices. But they couldn't see what was coming. From every shadow, Maxim emerged, incapacitating the remaining guards with brutal efficiency.
Like a ghost, Maxim swiftly dispatched guard after guard, his incorporeal state allowing him to pass through walls and floors, striking from all angles.
~RATATATATATA~
Hydra soldiers shot into the darkness, terrified as their bullets hit nothing, and before long, a swift punch through the chest and crushing of the heart killed them.
jMaxim's telepathy filled their minds with confusion and fear, his abilities amplifying their terror until it became all-consuming.
Back outside, Pietro's hands clenched into fists as he watched the chaos unfold, his heart racing, "He's… he's taking them out. By himself."
Wanda's gaze was fixed on the base, her mind racing. She could hardly believe what she was seeing. This man who had approached them was dismantling an entire Hydra base on his own, using abilities that defied everything she understood about the world.
Minutes passed, though it felt like an eternity to the twins. Then, just as suddenly as it had started, the chaos subsided. The alarms stopped, and silence fell over the base.
Maxim reappeared at the edge of the base, walking calmly back toward them, his form solidifying from the darkness. There wasn't a scratch on him.
Pietro stood up, staring at Maxim in disbelief, "How did you…?"
"I told you," Maxim said, his voice cool and composed. "You weren't ready for what was inside that base. But now, it's gone."
Wanda stepped forward, her eyes locked on Maxim's, filled with a mixture of awe and apprehension, "What are you?"
Maxim smiled faintly, but there was no warmth in it. "I'm someone who's been through what you're about to face. Hydra wants to control you, but with my help, you'll be the ones in control. I told you I could give you power, and now, you've seen a fraction of it."
The weight of his words settled on them both, the reality of what they had witnessed sinking in, "You said we'd destroy Hydra," Wanda said, her voice quiet but steady.
Maxim nodded. "And we will. But first, you need to become something more. Something stronger."
Pietro's excitement was barely contained, but even he knew the gravity of what lay ahead. "So, what now?"
"Now," Maxim said, turning toward the distant horizon, "We begin your real training."
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