Tensions are growing as our story rampages on! They were heading to New Orleans, but Mordo's sudden interference forced our heroes to change their location all the way to Europe. Will Agatha Harkness help them out? Will Mordo find a way to catch them again? Will the romance between Bucky and Wanda blossom? Will Anna be more annoyed about being in a different country? Let's find out some of those answers!
Enjoy the reading!
SCARLET WINTER
Chapter 11: A New Strategy Required
The old adage goes 'Not always everything goes according to plan' and it feels worse when it goes the hard way, just like Bucky, Wanda and Anna found out after Mordo suddenly intercepted them, forcing Wanda to teleport them hundreds of miles away from the intended destination. This time they are in Manchester, England, where Wanda's former mentor and Master Sorceress Agatha Harkness provides assistance and shelter for the time being.
Once they all entered the building, Wanda told her part of the story, from Strange's request to search for the magic cult up to the discovery of the Soul Reaper Medallion held by Anna. Bucky on his part, he explained his involvement, Anna's request to extract her from the cult and his task to fulfill the promise to put her away from the danger of the Cult.
"So both of your missions got intertwined" Harkness speaks after she drinks a sip of her cup of tea "But this definitively reeks of dark, even chaotic magic, and that's even beyond the usual grounds of the Sorcerer Supreme" she starts to explain, but then she looks at Bucky "And way out of your league, Barnes".
"I'm here to help the girl, Wanda and I promised to help her in our ways" Bucky replies while Wanda drinks a sip of her tea.
"Our original plan was to go to the Strange Academy in New Orleans, but I felt that Mordo could've followed us over there and risk the lives of the students" Wanda explains her part, to which Harkness listens to it with full attention.
"A reasonable plan, but if Mordo found you once, he can find you again" Harkness points out that detail "You just made it more difficult to accomplish it"
"So what? That means you won't help us?" Bucky asks, visibly frustrated by her earlier comment but Agatha remains calm.
"I will help you, what kind of person do you think I am, Barnes?" Harkness poses the question with her characteristic condescending tone "Now, I can create a protective spell, that should buy us enough time to make a better plan and find a way to either banish or destroy the medallion, preferably the second" she points out.
"I guess we'll remain here for a while, then" Bucky replies "I'll talk to Anna" he then leaves the room, prompting Harkness to look at Wanda.
"You're terribly awful at hiding your feelings Wanda" Harkness comments teasingly.
"W-Wh-What are you talking about?" Wanda asks, sounding a bit nervous.
"You're looking at Barnes as if he were the cover of one of those cliché-filled romantic novels" Harkness replies "While I admit that Barnes is a hunk, you look at him like a schoolgirl with a massive crush"
"What I do with my love life is mine to deal with, Agatha" Wanda replies, unable to hide the blush on her face.
"You just keep giving yourself away, dear" Harkness laughs and then she leaves the room, all the while Wanda remains seated, drinking what is left of her tea.
MEANWHILE
After Bucky left that conversation, he went to search for Anna, finding her lying down on the bed, trying to use her tablet to no avail.
"No internet connection?" Bucky asks her to attract her attention.
"There's Wi-Fi here, but I'll have to ask for it from the 'cranky magic grandma' over there" Anna replies, sighing in frustration.
"She agreed to help us, but I feel that she is holding up something from us" Bucky replies, sensing something off from Harkness.
"So, you're saying that she can't be fully trusted? Because you said that you guys worked together before" Anna replies, remembering Bucky's mentioning of him working with Harkness.
"Not directly with her, she was part of Sharon's crew, which reminds me…" Bucky replies, remembering that he has to contact Sharon to let her know about the current status but when he searches for his phone, what he pulls out is only a piece of it, much to his dismay "Oh #$%&!" he exclaims as he sees his phone badly damaged.
"Uuuugh, sorry Buck" Anna laments at the sight of his damaged phone "I could lend you my tablet but we'd still have to search for an available…" she tries to offer her tablet but then she is cut off by Harkness
"Abracadabra" Harkness speaks, causing Anna and Bucky to look at her with strange eyes.
"What?" Anna asks her, raising an eyebrow.
"Abracadabra" Harkness repeats with a calm demeanor.
"Abracadabra? Seriously?" Anna asks in disbelief "So what? Now we'll have a network available around us just because the Master Sorceress says a very, very old magic word?"
"Abracadabra is the Wi-Fi Password" Harkness replies non-chalantly "Keep your charity case in check, Barnes" she adds, leaving the place as both Bucky and Wanda remain silent after her words.
"Is every magician superhero this condescending?" Anna poses the question while she activates the Wi-Fi on her tablet.
"Thank God Wanda didn't acquire her personality" Bucky mutters, thanking that Wanda does not behave like Harkness does.
"Done, all set, you can call your friend Sharon" Anna comments while she gives Bucky her tablet.
"Thanks" Bucky replies, making the call to Sharon Carter and give her a very belated update.
"Bucky? Is everything OK?" Sharon appears on the tablet's screen, showing slight concern.
"Sorry for the delay, things went complicated" Bucky replies as he walks away from the area to be in a more private environment "We bumped into the Clan's leader, or more like he bumped into us"
"Is the girl OK?" Sharon asks him, to which Bucky nods in response.
"Wanda helped us with a last resort, we teleported away" Bucky explains the situation "And before you ask, no, we're not in New Orleans, we ended up in Manchester, England" he reveals the new location to her "We gained the assistance of her old mentor, you know Harkness, right?"
"Harkness is helping you guys?" Sharon asks a bit surprised "Well, considering her relationship with Wanda, that's good news, but I know you're still a bit wary of her"
"I know" Bucky sighs "At least we hope our other allies are well" he comments in reference of Lieutenant Salt and Sergeant Pepper.
"Speaking of which, I already talked to them, I'm working on the new documents for the girl, especially since given your new location she's not even using her current ones" Sharon replies, pointing out the detail that Anna recalled when they arrived about not having her passport with her.
"Thanks for that" Bucky replies "I'll keep you posted and when you see Steve, tell him to call" he adds, signing off the call.
"Will do Bucky, and take care" Sharon ends the call, now prompting Bucky to search for Anna to give her the tablet back.
BACK IN UNITED STATES…
Mordo had then in his crosshairs, he caught up with them but he did not expect to confront someone of the caliber of the Scarlet Witch. They escaped, but Mordo knew how to find them again thanks to the magic trail she left when they teleported, knowing that they were delaying the inevitable.
In order to catch them again, he must gather greater forces, and for that he returned to his Cult, to gather as many of his acolytes as possible and thus reunite the necessary amount of energy to make his move.
"Children of Kurios" Mordo speaks to the assembled group of at least 20 people, all adults, few seniors amongst the gathered "A great, grave injustice was committed against us, for our connection to our Lord has been severed" he starts to walk around his acolytes, his children, all of them looking at him with absolute devotion "But in order to catch the perpetrator, to bring the traitor and make her pay her debt in blood and soul and to regain our key to our Lord…we must unite as one, we must focus all of our efforts, all of our energies into reaching out to them" he then raises his hands, a gesture that is imitated by all the gathered people "And to truly succeed, we must raise our numbers, so GO, Children of Kurios! Go and bring more acolytes, bring more converts, bring more children!"
"Kurios! Kurios! Kurios! Kurios!" the gathered people start to chant, raising their hands around Mordo as a sign of their loyalty and their complete devotion to the cult, something Mordo truly expected them to do, for he will need a good amount of souls in order to catch them where they are now.
BACK IN ENGLAND
Once things started to get settled, Harkness went to work and created a strong magic protection around the medallion to ensure that whoever is after it, it would have a hard time gaining access to it.
"I can sense a strong dark aura around this" Harkness talks to Wanda who was accompanying her "This is not your typical Soul Reaper, this must be connected to a Hell Lord" she points out thanks to her expertise.
"I had my suspicions, and so did Stephen, but there wasn't a guarantee" Wanda replies, prompting Harkness to frown at her.
"Stephen Strange tangles with Hell Lords but cannot be sure of finding one source through a medallion? He's losing his edge" Harkness replies with disdain.
"He's been busy, which is why he asked me for that favor" Wanda comments, to which Harkness sighs.
"Wanda, dear, I love you, you're like a child to me, but every second you spend with that egotistical glorified magician, you waste more and more of your potential" Harkness shows her 'brutal honesty' about Wanda's status with Strange and his Academy.
"Agatha, please! I chose to make the best out of the opportunity and do something else than just being an Avenger" Wanda argues with Harkness "There's nothing wrong with teaching children and teenagers about reaching their magical potential"
"But that means being surrounded by that arrogant wizard and that low-rate witch doctor" Harkness quips referencing Wanda's ex-boyfriend Brother Voodoo "Which by the way, thank goodness you ended things with him, you deserve better than someone who needs poultry, bones and spices to create a spell" she adds, mocking the art of voodoo itself.
"You really don't like Jericho, don't you?" Wanda asks her, but Harkness simply shrugs her shoulders.
"I don't like a lot of people" Harkness replies "But it seems you already got your eye on that metal armed hunk, so whenever you get the chance, you do it, or to put it more bluntly, do him" she teases her, causing Wanda to blush.
"Can we please go back to being serious?" Wanda poses the question, to which Harkness sighs in response.
"Very well, you will contact Strange to help with this, are you?" Harkness asks, to which Wanda nods in response.
"This concerns him as well" Wanda replies "With this, we can have one weight off our shoulders"
"If you ask me, the only burden you got is that girl and the hunk" Harkness comments, causing Wanda to gasp "The medallion is the only thing Mordo wants, and as long as that girl carries the medallion, the longer she, and everyone around her, is in danger" she points out her perspective, which logically is true, but Wanda refuses to accept it.
"We promised to help her, Agatha" Wanda confronts Harkness about those words, but the sorceress remains calm in front of her.
"The best way to help her is to let her go" Harkness calmly replies "Whether she likes it or not, it's for her own good and for the lives of everyone involved, including both you and Barnes"
"So the price to pay to protect her is to let her go?" Wanda poses the question, but Harkness' eyes say it all, giving Wanda the answer she did not wanted to find "I don't like this…" she mutters, lowering her head.
"It's what happens when you play superhero, these things cost you" Harkness replies, trying in her way to comfort her, but unbeknownst to them, Anna was eavesdropping the conversation, causing her to shed a couple of tears down her face and abruptly leave the place, holding the medallion as she steps away from the room and heads to the backdoor, leaving the house unaware of the danger she is exposing herself unto.
"Anna?" Bucky sees her walking away, surprised that she is abruptly leaving the house, He turns back his sight to the inside and then again at Anna, choosing to follow her instead of telling the others, for he knows that in spite of being in a new location, they are still far from safe.
Another short chapter, I know, but there's not much to address here. The heroes have regrouped but while there is a new strategy, Agatha's words ringing in Anna's ear are not helping at all. Let's hope that Bucky can catch her up and reason with her, but…Mordo may be prepared to strike back, so stay tuned for the next chapter of our story!
NEXT CHAPTER: BIONIC ARMED MAN VS. DARK SORCERER! WHO WILL MAKE IT OUT IN ONE PIECE?