The Wizard and the Void - Chapter Thirty-Two

Author: Milady Dragon

Pepper hated waiting.

After all the excitement, she was feeling jittery, as if she'd had too much of Ianto's excellent coffee. Things certainly hadn't turned out the way they'd all talked about, but perhaps this was for the best. Phil's past was out in the open, and now they could deal with the ramifications. She could only hope things would work in their favor.

She was quite surprised about Pietro and Wanda Maximoff. She hadn't questioned the youngsters' own pasts, only knowing that there had been some sort of drama in their family when they'd been toddlers, but knowing now that they'd been taken by Wolfgang von Strucker and experimented on…she wanted to hug them both and feed them cookies.

Pepper never wanted to feed anyone cookies. Not even Tony, after a two-day bender in his workshop when he looked at his most pathetic and exhausted. No, Tony she wanted to sigh in exasperation at and then get him to the nearest bathtub.

Although, Ana's cookies were works of art. If she spent more time at home, Pepper would be twice her current weight, just from the pastries alone.

Shaking her head, Pepper knew she was going to have to have a talk with Grand Master Stephen about this, because it was obvious he'd gone searching for survivors of Buda-Pest, just in case of emergency. It seemed like Ianto had been kept in the dark as she had, judging from his reaction. She'd had no idea that Stephen was such a sneaky bastard, and she approved wholeheartedly.

She'd been thinking that Wanda would be a good fit for a Novice for Phil and, seeing them together, the Cardinal Wizard knew she'd been correct. Phil was practically doting on her, as if he'd adopted her as well as Daisy, and Pepper figured it would only take a small bug in his ear to have him stepping forward. Now, she'd just have to work on Ianto taking on Pietro, because she was certain they'd be a good fit as well. Perhaps she could speak to Jack about it…

Daisy had joined them, and it was obvious she was introducing herself and her friends to the newcomers. Pepper had hopes for this, as well; for Daisy to accept these two children into her group of friends, even though they were considerably younger than the others. Daisy was a good person to know, and she'd be happy to protect them, as she did her current friends. Pepper really was proud to be that young Wizard's teaching Master. Phil had done an excellent job in raising her.

"You know," Maria said from her side, "I'd heard what had happened at Buda-Pest from Nick, and I still didn't quite believe it."

"And you do now?"

She glanced over at her fellow Head of Order. Maria was staring at the Maximoff twins, as they shyly spoke to Daisy and her crew, Phil looking on like an indulgent parent as Jemma and Leo chattered on at the two newcomers, their dragons poking their snouts toward Wanda and Pietro, demanding attention, while Wanda nodded in agreement with whatever they'd told her. Skye was on Daisy's shoulders, looking very content, and the twin's own dragons clambering all over the pair of Elven Novices…as dragons were wont to do when Elves were involved. Daisy's young man, Lincoln, had taken it upon himself to speak to Pietro, and Antoine Triplett, who apparently didn't feel like he needed to join the rest of the Voids in their deliberations, laughed at something Lincoln said, Pietro joining in. Master Mack was hovering, not involved in the conversations, but very much a part of the group, introducing himself to Phil in a spare moment when the older Wizard wasn't having his time monopolized by the Novices surrounding him.

As she watched, Clint joined the group. Wanda smiled up at him, and while Pepper couldn't hear what she said, she had a feeling it was about his own participation in the events that had led to hers and her brother's freedom. Clint nodded at Wanda as he accepted his due as well from the collected dragons, laughing at something Pietro said to him, Lincoln poking Trip in the ribs.

"I just…" Maria sighed. "For so long, I had this impression of the razing of Buda-Pest being a bad thing, that innocent people had suffered because the Dark One and his minions had decided to burn the kingdom to the ground…but now, I'm beginning to wonder if everything I heard was a lie."

"Phil told me that no one innocent in what Wolfgang was doing was harmed. They just couldn't let those children be hurt. Things were…exaggerated, after the fact, but I can understand why. I understand it looked very bad at the time."

"How much of what the Dark One did has been blown up all out of proportion?"

"Oh, Phil will be the first one to tell you he wasn't innocent. But he's really ashamed of what he's done and, if what he said was true, then this is his punishment."

"To live long past his loved ones."

Maria sounded lost. Pepper couldn't blame her. Her entire worldview seemed to have been turned on its ear in the last four days, and it had to have been hard for her to accept.

Pepper was lost, as well. Her heart was breaking for Phil, who was destined to outlive everyone he knew. Yes, Ianto and Jack would take care of him when the time came, but to know that he could possibly live forever…it truly was a punishment. And she had to question if what Phil had done truly warranted such eventual pain.

"Maria," she turned toward her Great counterpart, using her name without the title for the possibly the first time ever, "you pride yourself on your sense of justice."

Maria nodded.

"Can you see the justice in this situation? Can you see that Phil is going to be penalized for what he'd done when he was younger? That the Void has taken care of the matter and you can let it lie? Do you think you can work with him, if the Voids do decide to uphold their original nomination?"

Her face thoughtful, Maria's eyes darted toward the gathering by the dais. Ianto, Jack, Grand Master Stephen, and Baron Nick had all joined the group, and they were all chatting together, resembling people who'd known each other for years, instead of the short amount of time some of them had had. It was hope for the future, she believed.

"From the moment I learned that Master Phil was once the Dark One," Maria answered slowly, "I've been trying to come up with a way to condemn him without bringing Nick into it, and I've come to realize that there's just no way to do it, mainly because Nick is just so damned loyal to him. To see it taken out of my hands, just because Hydra didn't want to lose…it's galling, in a way. But, at the same time…I wish it hadn't happened the way it did."

She took a deep breath. "I've seen people come forward to defend him, people that knew just who Master Phil Coulson had been and hadn't cared. There's a part of me that believes that's wrong somehow, but I think there's two reasons for it: the love of family because that will always blind a person to their loved one's faults; and the knowledge that no one really had to pass any sort of judgement on him…the Void already did just that." She snorted. "I'm not sure how I feel about the Void knowing to do it, but it did and I don't think mortal justice could have done anything that would have measured up to what the Dark One had done. At the same time, this sentence might have actually been a bit too harsh, but the balance needs to be maintained."

"You're right, it does," Pepper agreed.

"As for working with him…" Maria shrugged. "We'll see."

"At least you're not dismissing it out of hand."

"Well, I can't promise my attitudes will change overnight, but I've been given a lot to think about."

"That's all we can ask, in the end…that you think about it."

"I think everyone's right though, about those children being our future. It's going to be in good hands."

Pepper beamed. Maybe there was some hope for Maria Hill yet.

"How long do you think the Voids will take?" Maria mused.

"They have a lot to deliberate," Nick had joined them, and Pepper smiled up at him in greeting.

"That was a rather nice speech you gave," she congratulated. "It's too bad we never even considered taking that tack before now."

The Baron shrugged. "Thanks. It really just came to me. But it makes sense, doesn't it? The Dark One died. He's been dead for over a decade. It's time to let him rest in peace."

Pepper agreed. The Dark One and Phil Coulson really were two completely different people. "And you weren't just rationalizing it. The Dark One really did die, and Phil was born in his place."

"Exactly. And I've seen both versions. They really are different. I've always credited Daisy for the change, but now I'm wondering if that first death had something to do with it as well."

"We've been calling it a death," Maria put in, "but are we really sure? If Master Phil isn't really like the Deathless, then he can't have really died."

"Well, he was as dead as I think a person can be, and still be brought back," Nick replied. "No pulse…no breathing…and the bleeding had pretty much stopped, not that there was a lot of blood left in that corpse. Now, I didn't check the wound, and from what we know about Grand Master Ianto, the Deep Ways heals any wounds he gets, and it's pretty fucking obvious when it does. I'm guessing the Void does the same thing with Phil, and that we'd be able to tell."

"I think, though, we can truly say the Dark One is dead," Ianto added. He, Jack, and Stephen had also joined their group. "He might not have completely died physically, but he's no longer a part of the man we know as Phil Coulson."

"Exactly," Stephen agreed. "I doubt the Dark One would be practically adopting a pack of students just because they enjoy hanging around his daughter."

"You think we could talk him into taking a few Novices?" the Grand Cardinal Wizard asked teasingly.

"I'm going to try and talk him into that very thing," Pepper promised. "I was thinking young Wanda would fit him perfectly, and that was before I knew he'd saved her life. Also," she turned to Ianto, "I was going to try and convince you to accept Pietro, Ianto."

Jack laughed. "It's been a long time since you've had a Novice. You can't tell me you haven't missed it."

"Perhaps," Ianto said noncommittally, but his eyes were sparkling.

"Don't you think we need to see what the Voids decide first?" Maria asked. "They may decide something different from what you all have planned."

Maria had a point, Pepper knew. Common sense said that they'd follow along with the idea that the Dark One truly was dead, and accept Phil as the new Grand Master of Voids. After all, he was the most powerful among them, able to keep the seat against all comers. He was also the only one they could be absolutely certain wasn't Hydra, and that had to be taken into consideration.

Alright, she knew he'd only accepted the original nomination on a temporary basis, even though that wasn't actually stated in the open Quorum, but Pepper could foresee a time when the position would be his for a very long time, just as Ianto had been nominated due to his power levels and his functional immortality. He could still be killed, but the Deep Ways would have something to say about it, just as the Void would for Phil.

"There really isn't much of a choice," Grand Master Stephen said. "Their discussions are really only for form, so they don't have to accept the inevitable while looking as if they were actually considering something different."

Jack pursed his lips. "Still, people are contrary. Who knows what they might decide."

"Yeah, well Phil wouldn't object if they didn't choose him," Baron Nick commented.

"Looks like we don't have to wait much longer." Grand Master Stephen was looking toward the section of the hall where the Void Order was congregated.

"That was faster than I thought it would be," Ianto commented.

Pepper glanced over toward the Voids, noticing that the Privacy spell was gone once more. Mistress Elena and a group of Voids had moved toward Phil, which had Daisy, her friends, and Clint Barton standing in front of the man, ready to protect him. Wanda and Pietro had joined them, which didn't surprise Pepper at all considering what they'd just heard about their past.

"We have come to a decision," the Head of Void Order for the Southern Confederacies announced.