Damian enjoyed the evening on a planet millions of light years away from Earth, oblivious to all that had happened.

As it was getting dark, Damian casually made a bonfire, and they all sat in front of it to chat, enjoying the gentle warmth it emitted.

"Tell me, is it as good as they say? Or is it just some kind of trick to get more people to join?" Carol whispered to Natasha.

"Why don't you find out? It would be interesting to see what happens when you become a vampire," Natasha replied, chuckling.

"Hm, nah, I'm good as I am," Carol shrugged.

"What's Jane doing?" Ana asked, looking at Monica.

"She muttered something about coordinates. When she goes into scientist mode, it's hard to understand her," Monica said, reclining in a chair while sipping a strange-looking juice.

"Sweetie, you're burning it," Ophelia said after taking a sip of her beer.

Alice, who had marshmallows over the fire, quickly withdrew the stick and saw her marshmallow black and smoking. She couldn't help but pout before tossing it away and getting another one.

Ophelia chuckled before getting up and hugging Alice from behind while holding her hands.

"Look, you have to turn it, not too close, not too far," Ophelia said, showing her. After a few seconds, the marshmallow was half-melted.

"Mommy, I want to try too," Ivy said, approaching with Emma.

Ophelia just laughed before showing them.

Damian took a sip of his drink with a slight smile, watching Ophelia with the girls. Looking at everyone around the bonfire, he couldn't help but think that they had changed. Sometimes he wonders how everything would be if he hadn't existed.

Carol would be somewhere in space, and Sophia and Ana would probably be out of work because of their grandfather's death. Ophelia might still be ruling in Madripoor or might have been replaced.

Maria and Monica would be in SWORD.

Before he could continue his thoughts, Ana sat beside him, laid back, and buried her face in his neck.

Damian caressed her soft cheek with a smile before wrapping his arm around her and pulling her close while holding her hand.

At that moment, Carol approached Maria before starting to whisper, although it was really useless since everyone there could hear her.

"I heard that you spend a lot of time talking to your prisoner. I didn't know you were into that kind of thing," Carol said with a suggestive smile.

Maria just looked at her without words for trying to whisper, especially when her daughter suddenly looked in their direction.

"That's right, I spend a lot of time talking to Loki," Maria said, ignoring the eyes on her.

"So, are you getting him a stepfather for Monica?" Carol asked cheerfully.

Maria couldn't help but sigh, but she took this opportunity to talk about the matter, especially given the intense look her daughter was giving her.

Surely, she would have to endure her lecture for a long time since she didn't tell her.

"I like him, it's interesting to talk to him, especially since his mind has become clear," Maria said without going into details.

"So, do you expect some interesting development?" Carol asked eagerly, already worrying about her friend.

"I don't know, if it happens, fine; if not, it doesn't matter," Maria said casually.

"How boring," Carol grumbled.

"I did tell you everything when I met Damian," Carol complained.

"We're not 24 anymore, grow up," Maria rolled her eyes.

"I'm still 24 in my heart, so it doesn't matter," Carol complained before going with her daughters to eat marshmallows.

Maria internally sighed with relief for having gotten rid of Carol or she would be on her for who knows how long.

At that moment, she saw Damian looking at her with a pensive look, and she couldn't help but feel nervous. Seeing that he finally looked away, she was relieved again.

Her relationship with Loki was ambiguous, but nothing had really happened. He was still a prisoner, although she hadn't informed anyone about his existence except her trusted men.

In short, she just wanted things to stay as they were out of fear. A small part of herself told her that Loki was, after all, known to be the god of deception and lies.

At that moment, Jane arrived with a device resembling a phone with a large antenna.

"I thought you stopped your research to take a break," Damian said, smiling at Jane.

"I built this a few months ago but never tried it. It's a coordinate detector," Jane said, smiling before putting it away. Now she could come whenever she wanted.

Damian just smiled affectionately. His little Jane had become really smart.

"Daddy, can we play something? Like hide and seek?" Alice said, smiling adorably at Damian.

"Sure," Damian said, nodding with a smile. Day or night didn't make much difference to his vision.

The girls quickly convinced everyone except Jane to play. Unlike them, Jane wouldn't see her hand in front of her face in the darkness of the forest in front of them.

It also looked a bit scary.

They quickly drew lots to see who would count first. Everyone agreed to exclude Damian from the process since it would be too easy for him to find them even without using any abilities.

They quickly drew lots, and it was Natasha's turn to count. As a new vampire, she was excited to play and discover the novelties of her body.

Natasha quickly started counting, and everyone ran into the forest to find a place to hide.

Jane just looked with a slight smile at seven adults and three children running into the forest.

Natasha finished counting before venturing into the forest, her red eyes shining in the darkness, moving from side to side, searching.

She began to move slowly through the forest while trying to listen for any out-of-place sounds, but she wasn't used to it, and it was very difficult. The wind, insect sounds, and some birds made it impossible for her to hear anything important.

Remembering the moments when she drank a beer and listened to Damian teach the girls how to detect magic to play better, Natasha began to try to sense the magic that living beings unconsciously emit.

She soon detected a wave of magic in one direction, although it was very vague, and she didn't know the distance. With her red eyes shining, she started running in that direction.

...

Tony quickly flew to New York with his army of armor.

Three of them still carried Maya, Rhodes, and an unconscious Killian.

After a long journey, Tony finally saw the Stark Tower in the distance before landing with all his armor.

Pepper, who received the alert from Jarvis, went out to greet him. She couldn't help but frown a bit seeing that there were only about 23 armors left.

Losing so many meant that the fight was tough.

Tony landed and immediately took off the armor to greet Pepper.

"I'm glad you came back safely," Pepper said softly while hugging Tony.

"Don't worry, everything was resolved," Tony said, hugging Pepper and stroking the back of her head.

Cortana didn't land with Tony on the top of the tower; she entered through a more discreet entrance directly to an empty laboratory that Tony had built for him.

Upon arrival, the armors he controlled opened, letting Maya out. In Killian's case, he fell directly to the floor.

Cortana placed Rhodes on a table; he was unconscious, but fortunately, his body had accepted Extremis.

Maya stretched her body slightly while mentally complaining. She also wondered how Tony could fly for so long without showing any discomfort.

Looking at Killian, she was surprised to see the large hole in his chest, feeling the heat emanating from it, she brought her hand to the wound before quickly withdrawing it because it was too hot.

This event surprised her greatly because it shouldn't happen. Killian should have died; they did many tests, and no matter what, if your heart or brain is destroyed, you're dead.

Although clearly, those experiments were with some rebellious Extremis soldiers who had just started.

Killian's Extremis was extremely developed, giving him much greater power than the others.

As the creator of Extremis, she couldn't help but marvel at the secrets it still hid.

Killian was stronger because he had received more doses; each dose was a test. If you survive, you become stronger; if not, then you explode.

Most only had one dose; a couple of soldiers had received two doses, and only Killian had received three doses.

''He's a tough guy to die for, isn't he?" said Tony, scaring Maya who was lost in thought.

''I'm not sure about the reason either,'' Maya replied honestly.

''Well, I intend to find out,'' Tony said, approaching.

''Cortana, is Damian at home?'' Tony asked, looking at no one in particular.

''No, he went on vacation to a subsidiary planet,'' Cortana said.

''Well, there goes the easy way; we'll have to do it the old-fashioned way,'' Tony sighed before putting on an armor and dragging Killian to a table.

''What's happening?'' Maya asked, confused.

''You see, biology is not really something I specialize in,'' Tony said, starting to activate the scanners.

Maya just glared at Tony, even if she wasn't, the way she saw it seemed like a mockery.

''Tell me, after Extremis injections, was there a drastic increase in the soldiers' appetite?'' Tony asked while waiting for the scanner to finish.

''It was an increase proportional to body weight, nothing exaggerated,'' Maya said. She was also puzzled about that since she didn't understand where the body got the energy to regenerate and increase its temperature.

''Didn't that seem strange to you? If I calculate the calories a body should consume to generate temperatures above 3,000 degrees and at the same time regenerate complete limbs, it gives a really absurd number that even if he ate all day, he wouldn't achieve it,'' Tony said sarcastically while checking his screen.

The scan had finished, and it detected many strange things that Tony didn't fully understand.

''His cells seem to be absorbing energy from nowhere. What's happening?'' Tony frowned as he explored Killian's body.

''I think he could be extracting energy from another dimension,'' Cortana said.

''What do you know?'' Tony asked curiously.

''On Earth, there are sorcerers who have existed for thousands of years. The founder, Agamotto, discovered other dimensions and ways to extract energy from them to perform magic.''

''Although he also discovered dimensions that were hostile to Earth, so he created the sorcerers of the mystic arts, a group of people who protect Earth from dimensional threats,'' Cortana said, according to the data she had.

Tony was surprised, but he could accept it since, in the first place, Damian was a wizard. Unlike Tony, Maya began to doubt life while being totally confused.

Tony frowned and muttered unintelligible words before taking out the USB that Maya had given him and connecting it.

He quickly began to review all the Extremis research and how it affected the body.

''Cortana, how do sorcerers absorb energy from other dimensions?'' Tony asked while reviewing the changes caused by Extremis.

''I don't know,'' Cortana said.

''Hmm,'' Tony hummed as multiple theories formed in his mind.

''Scan Rhodes; I want to see how his body behaves now that he has just accepted Extremis,'' Tony said, approaching another table where Rhodes was.

''His cells behave the same way, only on a much smaller scale. His cells have a lower capacity to extract energy, making a comparison; it's as if Rhodes' cells were a spoon, and Killian's cells are a glass,'' Cortana said.

''Hm, I guess he didn't die because he can extract enough energy to stay alive. In other cases, the energy they extract is not enough, and they die,'' Tony said thoughtfully.

''That's a good theory,'' Cortana said, nodding.

''Anyway, when Damian returns, tell him I'm looking for him,'' Tony said before deciding to stop the matter; magic escapes him a bit, and although he has theories, Damian should confirm it.

''Sure,'' Cortana said, nodding.

''Anyway, thanks for helping me. You made everything easier; otherwise, I would have lost much armor, and who knows in what direction everything would have gone,'' Tony thanked Cortana, not only for helping in combat but also for Jarvis learning from her.

''You're welcome,'' Cortana said with a playful voice before redirecting her attention elsewhere.

''And you... don't leave this laboratory for now. There's a room over there; make yourself comfortable,'' Tony told Maya before leaving and going up the stairs back to his house.

Maya was left speechless, seeing herself alone with two unconscious bodies.

...

Somewhere in Europe.

An Asian woman who appeared to be around 30 years old was looking at her phone with a furrowed brow.

Looking to the side at several tubes with a reddish liquid, she bit her lips, unsure of what to do. Her heightened emotions caused several orange waves on her face.

Killian should have contacted her a while ago, but there's no call.

She quickly started subtly checking the windows for any surveillance.

It all started several months ago when Killian came to her with a formula called Red Dust, which could counteract chemical subjugation.

Out of her love for the other Widows, whom she had actually helped train, she immediately accepted.

In addition, since Natasha's assassination attempt, Dreykov had become increasingly ruthless, and most of the girls he received died in training or in combat against their peers.

Unfortunately, she was discovered, so she had no choice but to escape with Killian's help. Now, she was just waiting for his signal to start an assault and free them all.

Suddenly, she heard a slight creak in the hallway of the apartment where she was staying.

Upon hearing this, she quickly put the tubes in their packaging before preparing to escape.

Suddenly, a figure crossed the door before approaching her at full speed.

The woman quickly twisted her body to dodge before grabbing the table with one hand and using it to hit the figure that she suddenly recognized as Yelena.

Still, her hand didn't stop trying to hit her while, with her other hand, she quickly pulled out a tube.

Yelena ducked before gaining momentum and turning into a blur towards her while extending her hand like a knife, piercing her heart.

The woman endured the pain and quickly sprayed the contents of the tube on Yelena's face.

Yelena's originally icy expression changed as her face became confused while, with her other hand, she touched her forehead.

Suddenly, her expression changed to one of panic as she looked at her forearm buried in her chest.

''It's okay,'' the woman said, caressing Yelena's cheek; she still remembers the day she arrived, so innocent and outgoing.

''Free them all,'' the woman said before starting to lose consciousness.

Yelena looked in horror as the beats she had been feeling on her wrist started to decrease before ceasing completely. She could only stay in shock, looking at her without even daring to remove her hand.

Her state of shock was suddenly interrupted by her communicator asking for a mission report.

She didn't respond and slowly pulled her arm from the woman who trained and cared for her before laying her on the floor.

Grabbing a knife, he suddenly plunged it deep into his own throat before inserting two fingers and pulling out a ball the size of a marble.

It was the tracking and neutralization method that Dreykov used against enhanced Widows like her.

Casually tossing the tracker aside, she looked at the last person she killed against her will before starting to run.

----

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