And here we go again folks! Things grew tense for our heroes, and Mordo took advantage of it by striking them in the open, taking Anna hostage and leaving with the medallion, so that leaves Bucky and Wanda reeling and pissed off, so they'll need to call for backup if they want to prevail. Let's head to our story to see how will that unfold!
Enjoy the reading!
SCARLET WINTER
Chapter 13: Down, but not out
They were caught off guard and they paid the price. Anna escaped the apartment and in spite of the best efforts of Bucky, Wanda and Agatha Harkness, Karl Mordo succeeded in his goal of recovering the Soul Reaper Medallion, as well as capturing Anna as his hostage. They put up a fight against Mordo's remaining acolytes, now spread on the floor as soulless bodies due to Mordo's dark magic, and now they must make a new plan, but they still have to let go the bottled up anger.
"This wouldn't have happened if she stayed at the apartment" Harkness coldly comments as she approaches Bucky.
"She heard you talking" Bucky replies while he looks at Harkness with anger in his eyes "She heard you calling her a burden" he walks towards her, keeping his eyes fixed on the sorceress "She didn't trust in you, and after this, I can say that it was with good reason"
"You said that Mordo wouldn't target her and look at what happened" Wanda steps in, adding to Bucky's argument.
"You really believed that Mordo wouldn't go for retribution?" Bucky throws another question, shooting all the anger a Harkness.
"I knew it…" Wanda mutters, recalling how she did not like Harkness' original thoughts about Anna, and now they know why.
"You want me to take responsibility for her abduction? Fine" Harkness replies with a serious tone "But we shouldn't be wasting time pointing the blame when we should get moving" she points at both of them and then turns to see the fallen bodies of the acolytes "Especially since I'm sure the police will blame us for the death of these Children of…" she then starts to realize what Mordo said, how he called them, and that name is one she heard before "Of course…" she whispers "Of course!" she finally exclaims.
"Wh-What's going on?" Wanda asks her, showing concern about her sudden behavior.
"Now I know what we're dealing with" Harkness replies "Let's go back" she says, using her magic to recreate the teleporting spell, sending the three of them back to the apartment, just in time to avoid being captured by the police, as the sound of their sirens echo in the distance signaling their arrival.
BACK AT AGATHA'S APARTMENT
Once the group returns, Harkness heads to her study, reaching out her books of Hell Lords and search the information she needs, prompting Bucky and Wanda to follow her.
"Care to tell us what's going on?" Wanda asks her with concern, yet slightly upset.
"Just realized of something" Harkness replies while she checks the books "He called his acolytes 'Children of Kurios', and right then is when I recalled hearing that name before" she flips the pages as she searches for what she needs, finding a drawing of a pentagram very similar to the medallion "Look familiar to you?" she then shows the page to Wanda and Bucky, both of them acting surprised when they see the design.
"It…it does resemble the medallion" Wanda whispers, looking back at Harkness.
"Now we know to whom is connected to" Harkness replies "To a former Hell Lord called Marduk Kurios" she adds, causing Wanda to gasp.
"Kurios…Dear God…" Wanda whispers, prompting Bucky to approach her.
"You know who this Kurios guy is?" Bucky asks with concern in his voice.
"Marduk Kurios used to be a Hell Lord, but still has a major influence in the dark magic circles" Wanda replies, looking at her mentor.
"Not to mention that he's the father of the Hellstrom siblings" Harkness adds to Wanda's response, pointing out a detail that Bucky did not wanted to hear.
"Hells…Are you #$%&+*$%# kidding me!?" Bucky asks, surprised and annoyed "This involves Daimon as well?" he throws another question, prompting Harkness to raise an eyebrow.
"I take it that you know him" Harkness comments with her dry wit in her voice.
"Yes…" Bucky replies "I've been trying to contact him ever since this started" he adds, visibly frustrated.
"Understandable" Harkness replies, showing a surprising reasoning since she knows about Daimon's attitude "Now that we know what we're dealing with, is time to bring in reinforcements, so is time to call that pompous arrogant magician" she looks at Wanda as she says those last words.
"I'll call him" Wanda comments, leaving the room while Harkness keeps checking the books, while Bucky simply stares at her.
"If you're expecting for me to apologize, it's not happening" Harkness comments while she keeps her eyes on the books.
"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to" Bucky replies, pointing out that Anna is the one she should be apologizing to "But I hope you do take responsibility for your part in this flaw" he adds, leaving the room as well, taking the same route Wanda took, finding her trying to contain the tears "Wanda?" he calls for her name.
"Bucky?" Wanda turns her sights to him, quickly wiping the tears off her face, prompting him to come closer to her "I feel like this is also my fault, I disagreed with Agatha about her being a burden but…"
"Shhhh" Bucky shushes her as he gives her a comforting hug "This wasn't your fault…" he whispers as he keeps her close to him "We will make it up once we get her back" he tells her as he looks into her eyes.
"We will deliver that promise" Wanda replies, to which Bucky nods his head in agreement "Thank you…" she whispers, slowly smiling and then approaching to him so she could give him a short, loving kiss on his lips, but suddenly she gasps ad then she stands paralyzed.
"Wanda? Wanda!?" Bucky asks with concern, yet unbeknownst to him, Wanda has just been summoned to the Astral Plane, just as she was planning to do.
BACK IN THE UNITED STATES
A flash of light emerges right in the center of the room, bringing Karl Mordo back where it all started, but this time he brings the things he was chasing after: The Soul Reaper Medallion and the young girl who stole it in the first place.
"Get off me, you #$%&+*#&% #$%&+*#&%!" Anna exclaims while she struggles against Mordo's hold, but he keeps a tight pressure on her arms as he drags her into the pentagram.
"Save that strength for the moment of your death, girl" Mordo replies as he summons a group of acolytes, five men walking towards Mordo with each holding a limb from Anna in order to tie her up into the pentagram.
"No…No…" Anna tries to fight but the acolytes begin to tie her up firmly "Dear God…Bucky, Wanda…where are you?" she ponders in her mind, fearing that she has reached her end.
"The time will come…" Mordo mutters as he contemplates his acolytes working on Anna, tying her up into the pentagram, setting her up for the ritual.
"It seems that you finally succeeded" the voice of Kurios is heard in Mordo's mind.
"As I promised my Lord" Mordo replies "I have the medallion, and also…I brought you the girl who brought so many inconveniences" he then looks at Anna "Her soul will be just the first one of your feast of today" he shows an evil grin as he speaks.
"Then let's not haste and begin the procedures" the voice of Kurios calls for his feast and Mordo replies with a reverence.
"It will be done" he then turns to his acolytes "Bring everyone you can, gather them from every corner…tonight, we shall have our long delayed gathering of souls".
MEANWHILE, AT THE ASTRAL PLANE
Wanda was suddenly pulled into the Astral Plane, meaning that someone else has summoned her, and as she drifts afloat across the plane, she searches for the source of this summoning, finding a blue glow in the process.
"I assume that you're no longer proceeding with what we agreed upon" the glow speaks, revealing the figure of Doctor Strange.
"Stephen, we went through complications, right now we need all the help we can muster" Wanda replies with deep concern in her voice.
"Are you coming to New Orleans or not?" Strange asks her, with his typical condescending tone.
"Stephen, like I said, we ran into complications…their Grand Master is Mordo" Wanda reveals the identity of the Grand Master, prompting Strange to react with astonishment.
"Mordo's back?" Strange asks her, now showing concern as well.
"That's why I didn't wanted to come to New Orleans" Wanda replies "I wouldn't risk the lives of the student giving Mordo a new excuse to strike you personally" she adds, knowing Strange's enmity with Mordo.
"Where are you?" Strange poses another question.
"Manchester, England" Wanda replies "I had to resort to my mentor" she adds, prompting Strange to rub his eyes and pinch his nose.
"Dear Eye of Agamotto" Strange mutters "You chose to resort to that elitist excuse of a sorceress?" he asks her, since he has major disagreements with Agatha Harkness, but before Wanda could reply, he makes a long sigh "Very well, I'll meet you there" he replies, disappearing in a blinding flash of light, sending Wanda immediately back to the real world.
THEN, AT NEW ORLEANS
Strange knew that things would be complicated in the case he asked Wanda to take care of, but he never imagined that he once again had to deal with his eternal rival Karl Mordo. While he acknowledges that Wanda made the right decision about not coming to New Orleans and avoid risking the lives of the students, he does not want to deal with the ego of Agatha Harkness, and he knows that the feeling is mutual.
"Zelma, tell Jericho to prepare the staff and watch the academy for me, I'll be travelling to England" Strange tells his fellow staffer Zelma Stanton to keep an eye on the students.
"Will do Stephen, although the teachers are, at the moment, dispersed" Zelma comments to Strange "Nico Minoru is back with her team, Magik is dealing with some stuff in Krakoa, Shaman is back in Canada and I still haven't reached Hellstrom" she explains the situation of the teachers to the Sorcerer Supreme, but as if it was on cue, a wall of flames bursts nearby and from it, the Son of Satan himself emerges "Scratch that last one" she whispers as she sees Hellstrom appear.
"Hey Strange!" Hellstrom approaches him, passing by Zelma who is trying to talk to him "Where you going?"
"I'm heading to attend a personal matter Daimon, whatever you need, either wait for it or talk to Zelma" Strange replies as he prepares to teleport, but Hellstrom steps into his face.
"Let me guess, this thing involves Maximoff and a Soul Reaper Medallion" Hellstrom tells Strange, genuinely surprising him "Yeah, I #$%&+*$% knew it" he comments with a smirk on his face "I have an acquaintance working with her"
"Barnes?" Strange asks Hellstrom, who raises an eyebrow wondering how did he know about that.
"Yeah, the guy sent me the Intel and as it turns out, the Soul Reaper Medallion belongs to my #$%&+*$% father" Hellstrom explains his motives to join him "So whether you want it or not, I'm coming with you" he adds, poking at his chest, to which Strange frowns at him and then sighs in frustration.
"Very well Daimon" Strange replies, moving his hands to prepare the teleportation spell "Zelma, the academy is in yours and Jericho's hands" he tells Zelma as they both vanish in a flash of light, finally teleporting to their destination.
BACK IN ENGLAND
"Wanda?" Bucky asks while he sees Wanda practically paralyzed, but suddenly she gasps, the sign that she is back in her body "Whoa!"
"Hnnnn" Wanda starts to recover, taking a deep breath to relax.
"You OK?" Bucky asks with a hint of concern, to which Wanda nods in response.
"Yeah, yeah, I went to the Astral Plane" Wanda replies, explaining what just happened "Doctor Strange summoned me"
"You talked to Strange?" Bucky asks her "What happened then?" he throws another question but then a burst of blue light emerges in the room, revealing the figures of Doctor Strange and Daimon Hellstrom.
"What happened is that we finally arrived" Strange replies, and right then Harkness opens the door of the room.
"Alright Wanda, have you already…?" Harkness was about to ask if she had made the call "Oh great…I expected the personification of arrogance, but not the one about annoyance" she comments with her dry wit.
"Harkness" Strange mutters with visible disdain.
"Old #$%&+" Hellstrom makes his distinctive salute.
"Look who finally decided to react to this" Bucky comments with frustration in his voice.
"Hey, my cellphone was dead and I barely had a charger, so cut the #$%&+*$& and save it" Hellstrom replies, avoiding to deal with Bucky's incoming scolding.
"Right now we have more pressing matters" Strange comments, then looking at Wanda and Bucky "I'm already aware that Karl Mordo is leading this black magic cult and is in possession of a Soul Reaper Medallion"
"One that belongs to the Hell Circle led by my #$%&+*$& father" Hellstrom adds to Strange's comments "So let's cut the pleasantries and cut to the #$%&+*$& chase, where's the medallion so we could destroy it?"
"Mordo has it" Wanda replies, prompting Hellstrom to growl in anger while Strange facepalms.
"Why didn't you tell me that at the Astral Plane?" Strange asks with visible annoyance.
"How about if you stop being the condescending prick that you are and do your thing to help, Huh!?" Bucky steps in "Wanda already made a lot of work doing the favor you asked her to do, not to mention that right now, Mordo not only has the medallion, he has a hostage, the same girl who stole the medallion from him in the first place" he adds, keeping his serious tone.
"We both promised to help her, she lost her family to that cult, so while we need your help to stop them, we want you to be more understanding" Wanda comments, adding to Bucky's words.
"That's my girl" Harkness whispers with a smirk on her face "Kudos to you too, Barnes" she adds while she approaches the group "We know who's the enemy and what's at stake, so now that we have bigger numbers, how about if instead of just planning a strategy, we go for the 'Blunt Force Trauma' plan of action and bring the fight to them?" she comments to the group, and while Strange shows his reservations about teaming up with Harkness and Bucky, he seems to agree.
"Agreed, although Barnes, this is something way out of your league, so I must warn you…" Strange tries to warn him, but Bucky cuts him off.
"Don't care, I'm coming with you" Bucky replies with a serious tone.
"There's something I can do" Hellstrom interjects "Give me that arm" he tells Bucky, but the Winter Soldier shows restraint.
"What're you gonna do?" Bucky asks him, raising a eyebrow.
"Give your arm" Daimon tells him again, but Bucky refuses "I could do it with your arm still attached but it's gonna hurt you like Hell, trust me, I know" he points out, but Bucky remains determined.
"Do it" Bucky replies, extending his arm while Wanda holds his hand, then Hellstrom starts chanting words in Latin and executes a spell that makes Bucky's bionic arm glow. Bucky groans and grunts in pain as he squeezes Wanda's hand, but after a few seconds the spell ends, Bucky starts breathing agitatedly but slowly relaxing and notices his arm now glowing with a golden-orange tint.
"There ya go…now you're packing a magic punch" Hellstrom replies while Bucky looks at his bionic arm, now magically enhanced to go toe-to-toe with the acolytes and even Mordo himself.
"Alright…" Bucky replies, now looking at the crew with determination "Let's do this #$%&".
Here we go, folks! We have a cranky sorceress, an arrogant Sorcerer Supreme, a powerful witch, a demonic exorcist and a very pissed off trained assassin ready to bring the fight to a dark magic cult. I'll guarantee you one thing: Mordo is heading to a losing battle…so stay tuned to find out how badly it will end up for him
NEXT CHAPTER: A FIVE-ON-ONE HANDICAP MATCH!