Welcome back, my fellow readers and followers! Last time we checked, Bucky and Wanda grew closer than ever and while there seems to be something blossoming, they both know that their priority is helping Anna out, and Mordo may be closer than they could imagine, so let's get right to the action!

Enjoy the reading!

SCARLET WINTER

Chapter 10: An Abrupt Change of Plans

A group of ten police officers had the place surrounded, using the trees to cover if necessary, but their intended target was nothing but a man sitting on the grass, as if he were meditating. The leader was signaling the group to stay put while he slowly walks towards him, aiming his gun at the hooded man who is only meditating.

"These pathetic fools think they got me caught" Mordo muses in his mind "Poor souls who just can't understand what lies beyond their simple minds" the officers are completely unaware that the man in front of them is Karl Mordo, a very powerful sorcerer. The group of officers keep him surrounded, while their leader keeps walking towards him, aiming his gun at his position, but as he draws closer, Mordo has concentrated enough to discover what he was looking for "Found them" he whispers as he suddenly opens his eyes and then begins to glow with red energy around him.

"FREEZE!" the officer aims his gun while he sees him standing up "You are surrounded! You're under arrest for the murder of…" the officer tries to makes his work and arrest him, but the burst of energy starts to glow brighter than before, engulfing them in a red aura.

"Korana Fana Muusta!" Mordo chants and just like that the souls of the people around him leave their bodies and fly towards Mordo who catches them with his hands "This time, you'll serve a different purpose" he mutters while he concentrates and brings the accumulated souls towards his body, feeling the level grow within and with that he moves his hands to summon a teleportation spell, strong enough to attune to the location of what he was looking for.

MEANWHILE, ON THE ROAD

Once they left Battle Creek, they decided to focus head on the road to New Orleans. The plan is simple: Head to the Strange Academy, ensure the protection of Anna and find a way to either drain the magic out of the Soul Reaper Medallion or lock it away. However, in Anna's mind there is another thought and is about what she discovered hours earlier when she poked inside Bucky's room and found him in bed with Wanda.

"So…How was last night?" Anna throws in the question, startling both Wanda and Bucky, who keeps his hands on the wheel.

"What do you mean with 'How was last night', Anna?" Wanda asks her feigning ignorance, trying to hide the embarrassment of the scenario, but Anna tries to stifle her laugh.

"Come on, you guys know this was gonna become an awkward conversation at some point on the road" Anna replies, prompting Wanda to cover her face to hide her blushing while Bucky frowns his face.

"I'd say it's more inappropriate than awkward" Bucky comments with an annoyed tone.

"Hey, it's not like I'm asking how good last night was" Anna tries to defend herself "At least I'm thankful that those walls were thick enough, and besides, both of you are here, right? That means it was good last night" she points out, although it makes the conversation much more awkward than before.

"It…just happened, alright?" Bucky replies, trying to restrain himself from the embarrassment while Wanda looks away to hide her face blushing.

"Wanda, don't think I'm unaware that you're blushing" Anna teases her, prompting her to laugh in spite of the embarrassment.

"I understand that we need to get in a good mood, given the circumstances" Wanda tries to retake a serious semblance "But could we please focus on the road ahead and the plan?" she poses the question.

"I know, I know, we're going to New Orleans to visit Doctor Strange, which I have to ask, is he almost as much of an #$%&+*% than Tony Stark?" Anna asks, causing Wanda to gasp.

"Anna!" Wanda starts to scold her "That was rude!"

"And yet, she's not that far…" Bucky replies, surprising both women "From my experiences with Strange, he's not an #$%&+*%, he's more of a…condescending prick" he adds, while Wanda tries to find an argument to defend Strange, but she fails to find one.

"Alright, I'll admit that one" Wanda murmurs, much to her chagrin.

"So Tony's the #$%&+*%, got it" Anna comments, but when she turns her sights to the front of the road, a burst of energy explodes right in front of them, forcing Bucky to swerve the truck off the road, and as consequence the vehicle begins to flip over in a barrel roll.

Bucky holds on the wheel while Wanda reacts in time to use her hexes to cause the car to land on its wheels, albeit already severely damaged due to the impact caused by the swerve. All three of them end up dizzy and Anna passes out for a while, yet Bucky and Wanda are the ones who start to slowly react.

"Bucky? Anna? Is anyone there?" Wanda asks but then she turns her sights to her right, finding out a figure standing a few feet away, glowing in a red energy aura around him "Who is that…?" she whispers while she manages to break the seat belt and get out of the truck.

"You have something that belongs to me…" the Grand Master speaks with a serious tone "And I'm here to take it back, so the more you fight, the worse it'll be your death" he then fires a blast of energy that Wanda manages to block and divert.

Meanwhile, Bucky fully recovers, only to witness the ongoing battle, prompting him to cut off both his and Anna's seatbelts and start to pull her out of the truck, just when she is starting to come back to consciousness.

"Huh? What happened?" Anna asks in her dizzy state.

"Someone intercepted us, Wanda's trying to contain him while I get you out of here" Bucky replies while he finally pulls her out of the car, but then she pokes her head to see who is the one who intercepted them, just to discover to her dismay the identity of the attacker.

"Oh #$%&!" Anna exclaims "That's the guy I stole this medallion from!" she adds, starting to feel afraid while Wanda still battles against the Grand Master.

"Your power is good, but not strong enough!" Wanda exclaims, pushing a barrage of hexes that affect the electric posts from the highway, causing them to explode and release the wires down to the ground, landing near her rival to create a massive electroshock that pushes him a few feet away "Get her out of here Bucky!" she calls them out while she gives her rival another barrage of magic energy, but he breaks it with a large burst of his own energy, causing a shockwave that topples the group down to the floor.

"Anna, stay put!" Bucky exclaims to the young girl, telling her to keep getting covered while he grabs his modified Luger and crouches in position, preparing to shoot at him and create a diversion strong enough for Wanda to capitalize and strike him back.

Mordo and Wanda exchange magic blasts which they both block, yet Wanda keeps pushing him, showing her superiority in terms of magic level, but the Grand Master employs underhanded tactics, such as casting a spell to alter the ground she is standing on. Bucky sees the opportunity to make his move and shoot at the Grand Master's shoulder.

"AGH!" the sorcerer screams as he gets wounded, and right then Wanda takes advantage and casts a powerful shockwave that pushes him farther, knocking down his hood to reveal his face upon them, one that Wanda immediately recognizes.

"That's Karl Mordo…I knew this was bad already" Wanda thinks as she stands defensively

"Wanda, we have to move now!" Bucky warns her about the situation, knowing their need to escape, but right then Wanda has another thought in her mind.

"If that man follows us to New Orleans, Mordo would make a very personal strike against Stephen by hurting the students, I can't allow that to happen" Wanda thinks, reasoning that she cannot risk the lives of the Strange Academy's students "I was hoping to never use this, but this is a last resort" she then begins to cast her spell, creating an energy tether that connects her with Bucky and Anna, her energy growing at every second, just as Mordo tries to stand up.

"No…she cannot escape again…NO, SHE CANNOT!" Mordo tries to cast a counterspell, but before he could strike her, Wanda already created a large energy sphere around her.

"Bucky? What's going on?" Anna asks nervously, breathing agitatedly while Bucky tries to reason with Wanda.

"Wanda! What's happening?" Bucky tries to ask what is she doing, but the answers come when a large white light engulfs the surroundings and in a matter of seconds, she vanishes alongside Bucky and Anna, leaving Mordo down and alone.

"NO!" Mordo screams as the light fades out and he slowly regains his vision "You are just delaying the inevitable Maximoff…I will get back what's mine" he mutters, promising his retribution against her.

AT ANOTHER LOCATION

A sudden flash of light emerges at the rooftop of a brownstone building and the three figures emerge from it, all falling down to the floor. Wanda is the first one to react, with Bucky and Anna slowly standing up after her.

"What the #$%& was that!?" Anna exclaims after she shakes her head.

"It was a teleporting spell" Wanda replies while she catches her breath.

"A teleporting spell? You could do that?" Anna asks with a combination of amazement and annoyance "Why didn't you use it when we left and saved a lot of trouble?"

"Because it was a last resort" Wanda replies, visibly upset by her behavior "That man is a very powerful man and I couldn't risk to have him follows us to New Orleans" she tries to explain, yet Anna remains visibly annoyed.

"Didn't you say that he was the leader of this cult?" Bucky asks Anna "The man you stole that medallion from?" he points at her, knowing that she is still carrying the medallion in her backpack, which she is holding on tightly, then he looks at Wanda, trying to find some answers of his own "How dangerous is that man, Wanda?"

"I saw his face; I know who that is…" Wanda resumes her explanation "That man is Karl Mordo, a very powerful sorcerer" she then looks at Bucky "To make it simpler, he is to Doctor Strange what the Red Skull is to Steve" she uses the allegory to make easier the analogy for Bucky, something he quickly understands.

"A perennial enemy, apparently" Bucky comments, to which Wanda nods in response.

"If I allowed him to continue his chase, I'd be risking the lives of the students, something Mordo would take advantage of" Wanda points out the reason why she changed the gameplan, which Bucky understands.

"You made the right choice Wanda, it became a dangerous situation" Bucky replies, but Anna remains unsatisfied.

"So I guess we're not in New Orleans, so where are we?" Anna asks the important question.

"I attuned my teleportation spell to someone else who could help us, or at least be a bridge with Strange and stick to the original plan" Wanda replies "My mentor…"

"And someone who does not like to receive unannounced visitors" a female voice interrupts Wanda, prompting the group to stand in guard until they see where it comes from, revealing to be sorceress Agatha Harkness, former mentor of Wanda in the Mystic Arts "But I understand the circumstances, and for that I'll allow it" she explains as she walks towards Wanda "It's good to see you again dear" she smiles at her former protégé and then looks at Bucky "Barnes? You're part of this situation too?" she asks him.

"It's a long story Harkness" Bucky replies, while both Anna and Wanda look surprised at this piece of information.

"You two know each other?" Wanda asks, still surprised at the scene.

"I'm part of a group called the 'Daughters of Liberty', that group is led by Steve Rogers' girlfriend Sharon Carter" Agatha explains.

"We worked together to help Steve dealing with an organization called the 'Power Elite', but I honestly didn't know the connection with you two" Bucky replies, pointing out his honest surprise at the discovery that Wanda was Agatha's protégé.

"And who's that girl?" Agatha asks about Anna.

"Just like Bucky said, it's a long story" Wanda replies "We'll explain everything when we get inside"

"Very well" Agatha comments, gesturing to invite the group to enter the building.

"This only answers half of my question" Anna points out "When I asked 'Where are we' I meant where in the country are we?" she points out that detail, prompting Agatha to laugh.

"Oh dear, you didn't realize" Agatha looks at Anna "You're not in America anymore, you're in my 'Tourist House' in Manchester, I hope you brought something for the cold weather" she reveals their location, shocking Anna to the point of leaving her mouth agape.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait…" Anna still tries to get out of the shock "Manchester as in Manchester, England!?"

"Is there any other Manchester?" Agatha asks her, raising an eyebrow as she looks at her.

"But…but I don't even have my passport!" Anna exclaims, to which Agatha sighs in frustration.

"Given the circumstances, lacking your passport should be the least of your concerns" Agatha replies and then she looks at Wanda "This could be a good time to start explaining to me the whole situation" she points out that detail and then looks at Bucky "And you can explain what's your role in all of this"

Wanda and Bucky look at each other, knowing that they must work now that they gained a long distance to avoid Mordo, but still they must find a solution to the problem of the medallion and end this threat once and for all.

Like the chapter's title said, there's an abrupt change of plans: Instead of New Orleans, the group headed to England to gain the assistance of Wanda's former mentor Agatha Harkness. Things have definitively change, but that doesn't mean that they're out of the woods yet, and knowing Mordo, he will find a way to catch them, even if he has to absorb hundreds of souls to accomplish it.

NEXT CHAPTER: FIXING THE TROUBLE…AT A COST!