In the comic book universe, Scarlet Witch uses Chaos Magic, a powerful force that can create, destroy, or distort reality.
Of course, in the comics, she is also a mutant with the ability to alter probability. The combination of the two is what makes her so formidable.
But here, Wanda is just an ordinary human woman. Although she gained some abilities beyond those of normal people through Hydra's human experiments, it didn't make her significantly stronger. It only gave her the opportunity to learn magic.
To possess the ability to distort and reshape reality as she does now, besides her decent talent, Tony's guidance played an irreplaceable role.
After praising the still-young Wanda a few times, Ethan turned to ask Tony, "As your disciple, are you only teaching her magic? You don't seem like a pure mage yourself."
"Of course not."
When the topic came up, Tony, for once, took on the air of a proper teacher, while Wanda's expression beside him couldn't have been more unpleasant.
"Magic is just the beginning. As my disciple, how could she get by with just learning magic?"
As Tony's disciple, she not only had to learn magic but also various scientific disciplines. At the very least, she needed to understand subjects like mechanical engineering. Otherwise, she wouldn't even be qualified to be Tony's assistant. Wouldn't it be embarrassing to introduce her as his disciple in front of others?
Moreover, Tony had prepared a dedicated Scarlet Armor for his disciple. If something went wrong with it, she had to know at least the basics of how to fix it. She couldn't rely entirely on nanotechnology and magic. Therefore, Scarlet Witch had a lot to learn, which was a torment for Wanda, who had barely received a proper education.
But Ethan couldn't help her. The scientific knowledge Tony had was complex and difficult. With Wanda's current knowledge base, she probably couldn't even memorize things properly. To her, it was just a bunch of unfamiliar terms with no meaning. That was why Tony prioritized teaching her magic, hoping to develop her mental capacity first. Even if her logical thinking couldn't improve quickly, at least her memory would be enhanced.
"That setup is quite solid. I can see you're really putting in the effort to teach her."
The brief meeting ended quickly, and the members of the Avengers returned to their own tasks.
For instance, aside from being an Avenger, Rhodey's position in the Air Force hadn't been revoked. So, he still had to go back and forth. Given the current situation, the military was gradually reducing his workload, but they maintained his position as a bridge between the military and the Avengers.
"Since I've taken a disciple, of course I have to teach her properly. By the way, regarding the Ancient One, the time is almost right, isn't it?"
"If nothing unexpected happens, the equipment in the underground lab should be needed within the next two years."
The body-reconstruction equipment originally created for the Stark couple had already been improved several times. It now had better performance and worked faster. Coupled with the Ancient One's powerful magic, even if the new body matured rapidly, there would be no issues with mismatches between the physical body and the mind.
"I'll keep an eye on it."
Ethan couldn't stay here long-term, and no one could say for sure when the Ancient One would need the equipment. What mattered now was to activate all systems and have them ready to go. Fortunately, with Jarvis managing the lab, Tony and the others didn't have to check on it constantly. A quick look now and then was enough.
After covering everything, Ethan no longer planned to stay.
"Getting ready to leave?"
"Yeah. I'm not used to being out and about in this form."
Ethan now had to look up to talk to Tony, which made him uncomfortable. When there were no outsiders around, he would either sit and chat with Tony or float mid-air.
"Don't you have a way to grow up faster?"
"If I had one, would I still be showing up like this?"
"Alright, fair point."
Tony was now certain that it wouldn't be easy for Ethan to return to his original form anytime soon, but he also believed Ethan would eventually figure it out.
"Let's agree on this. Once we're done with the Ancient One's situation, my teleportation device is finished, and you're back to normal, you have to let me know if you're heading out for fun."
"Where do you want to go? Arrow's world?"
Ethan assumed Tony was still interested in the Arrowverse, but Tony replied plainly, "That plan was made a long time ago, it doesn't count. As for where to go this time… I'll think about it carefully."
After nodding in agreement, Ethan then went to bid farewell to the other Avengers before returning to Artemis.
Banner didn't return with him. As Tony mentioned, he still had things to do with the Avengers.
Now that Banner no longer had the Hulk, the burden that plagued him for so long, he wasn't as reluctant to return to his old world. At least now he could move about freely without worrying about suddenly turning into a raging green giant and destroying half a city.
After returning to Artemis, Ethan didn't rush to find anyone. Instead, he sat quietly, sorting through his thoughts.
The Starship Troopers world was progressing steadily and didn't require his attention.
Hill, O'Connell, and Jonathan had gone to the G.I. Joe world to perform a "collection mission", and the teleportation was done by Artemis. This meant the time flow on both sides was synchronized. With such a short time passed, they were likely still gathering intel.
Things were also going smoothly with Ryu. Ethan had checked earlier and didn't need to intervene there for now.
"Thinking about it, it seems like I have nothing else to do again."
He thought about visiting Diana. He had stayed in the Harry Potter world for more than two years. It would be strange if he didn't miss her.
So, for the next few days, he went to spend time with Diana. He also brought back Sherry and Laura, who were still enjoying that world.
These two had been having a great time. What made Ethan even more speechless was that Laura already knew about Atlanna and Wolverine's relationship. When Logan suddenly left, Atlanna had gone to Themyscira looking for him, since he had once appeared there with Diana.
That incident made Laura aware of their relationship.
Laura wasn't unhappy that her father had found someone. In her view, Logan had always been a bit lonely, especially now that she was grown and no longer needed him to watch over her constantly. Logan was often by himself and really did need someone by his side.
"Where's Logan?"
After returning to Artemis, Laura looked for Logan, and then saw him in his child form.
"..."
They could still talk, but in his current form, it wasn't appropriate for Logan to visit Atlanna. At least not until he returned to his adult appearance. Laura didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Still, there were things they needed to talk about. Laura went off to have a conversation with her father, while Ethan wandered around the island, looking for the magic stones Auriel had buried to see what the little creature was up to.
Finding Auriel wasn't difficult. There weren't many real creatures on the island. Other than Logan, who often used the island's cabin as his room, most people only came by to relax. Auriel was one of the few who stayed here regularly.
So it didn't take long for Ethan to find Auriel lying on a stone platform at the foot of the mountain, basking in the sun.
Looking at the little creature sleeping soundly, Ethan didn't disturb it. Instead, he circled the area and found an inconspicuous cave behind the stone platform. The entrance was well hidden and couldn't be spotted unless someone came very close.
Just as Ethan was about to step inside, a wave of killing intent suddenly came from behind him, but it disappeared almost instantly. Turning around, he saw Auriel looking at him with those big, innocent eyes, as if it hadn't just released a terrifying killing aura.
"You're really that protective of your stash? I'm not going to steal anything."
Auriel leaped off the stone platform and landed squarely on Ethan's head, then gently hopped down to his shoulder and squatted there.
Ethan waited for Auriel to settle in, then continued walking into the cave. He casually cast a Lumos spell from the Harry Potter world.
Most wizards would emit light from the tip of their staff, but Ethan conjured a floating orb of light like a bulb. It hovered above his head, lighting up the cave as bright as day.
The cave wasn't deep. After just a few steps, he reached a corner. Turning there, he could see the end of the cave, which was less than five meters away.
It looked like an ordinary cave, but Ethan was surprised to find that it was actually a mine.
"This is... a magic stone mine?"
Some magic stones were scattered along the cave walls. Though small in size and mediocre in quality, there was no doubt this was a magic stone mine.
As the one who created this island, Ethan was certain he hadn't made this.
"You did this?"
Auriel tilted its head, looking very proud of its success in "growing" its own food supply.
"Are they all this level of magic stone? Or can higher-grade stones grow over time?"
Auriel placed its little paws on its hips and confidently indicated that, given enough time and sufficient energy replenishment, it could indeed produce higher-level magic stones.
After learning this, Ethan stared at Auriel in surprise for several moments. The little creature seemed to enjoy the admiration, but its proud expression instantly changed when it saw Ethan toss a magic stone into his mouth.
(To be continued.)