The cold winds of Sokovia greeted Maxim as he stepped out of the vehicle. Nightfall had already cast a shroud of darkness over the environment, making it perfect for Maxim to move around, and not draw too much attention to himself.
For the past couple days while traveling to Sokovia, he had been communicating with Captain America incognito, trading valuable information about taking down Hydra.
Simultaneously, he had also stopped at any library or book-store he could potentially find, taking any books related to engineering, robotics, computer technology and anything of the sort.
Reading these books, his integration with Killjoy's template had swiftly increased, reaching over 45% already, and he had already obtained Nano-swarms and Turrets which he could obtain a limited amount from the system whenever he wanted.
Now he had finally arrived in Sokovia with one goal, to find the Maximoff twins and recruit them. Wanda and Pietro, from Alex's memories, were a pair of twins with immense potential, but pathetically weak compared to that potential.
It had been said dozens of times before, but how pathetic is it that a speedster dies to a normal gunshot? Embarrassing, and then for Wanda, who had potential reality warping powers spent most of her time only able to do some light spiritual magic and energy blasts.
It was an embarrassing display in the MCU, and Maxim knew he needed to give the twins a grueling training regime once he recruited them to allow them to reach their full potential, and become strong assets to him.
Maxim knelt to the ground and inhaled deeply, his senses rapidly expanding beyond the physical, allowing him to pick up on the faint pulses of energy that ran across the war-torn land.
He tried to focus on that energy, losing its trace occasionally, but after a while, Maxim finally had a firm connection to it. The energy was chaotic, raw, but incredibly potent. It was like a beacon when it came into contact with Maxim's Astral energy.
Once he obtained a firm connection with the energy, which was located in the heart of the main City, Maxim started moving towards it. At this point in the MCU Timeline, the twins should still just be protesters who would soon be manipulated by Hydra.
Maxim needed to reach to them first, gain their trust using irrefutable proof, and awaken their powers. His form was barely visible was he toggled his incorporeal state, shuttling through like a shadow.
The streets were littered with debris from bombings and constant conflict, tension high as people constantly remained on their feet. As Maxim moved closer and closer, he continued to release his Astral energy, allowing his consciousness to move out and pinpoint the Chaos Magic.
A crumbling building near the outskirts of the city, not far from where Sokovian resistance fighters were stationed. The Maximoffs were hiding, or more likely, surviving.
As he approached the building, Maxim reformed near the entrance, his body coalescing from the darkness. Now that he was basically right next to them, he could sense the immense pulse of Chaos energy within Wanda, and a much smaller pulse within Pietro.
Maxim wondered if he could just awaken their powers using the abilities he inherited from Astra, and decided to put that on the list of things to test. He walked slowly into the open, making no attempt to hide his presence now.
The moment he stepped into view, he spotted Pietro holding a knife, protecting Wanda behind him as he looked towards Maxim with fierce, untrusting eyes.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Maxim said, his voice low but commanding, "I'm not your enemy."
"Who are you?" Pietro demanded, his voice sharp as he tightened his grip around the knife, "And why shouldn't I destroy you where you stand?"
Maxim held up a hand, his expression calm, but his voice carried weight, "My name is Maxim, and I'm here to stop you from making a mistake."
Pietro scoffed, "Big talk from a guy we've never seen before. Why should we care?"
"Because," Maxim said, his gaze locking onto Wanda's, "I know you guys think Stark killed your parents, but that's not true. Stark didn't authorize your parents' death. You're being manipulated. The real enemy is far closer than you think, and you're walking straight into their hands."
"LIAR!" Pietro roared out angrily, "We saw his name on the missile, he KILLED THEM, he ruined everything!"
"Stark doesn't authorize all of his weapon's uses, the real culprit was actually already captured you know?" Maxim said, taking a step forward slowly and deliberately.
Maxim reached into his coat and pulled out a small, weathered file, "This," he said, "is everything your real enemies doesn't want you to know. About your parents, about how they're planning to take over Sokovia."
Pietro slowly and steadily walked forward, calling for the file to which Maxim threw it at him. Pietro caught it, and steadily walked back to Wanda's side, "Nice story," he said, "but how can we be sure you're truthful?"
"Because the people who are exploiting Sokovia also harmed me too," Maxim replied, his voice cold. "And because I'm offering you something more than just revenge. I'm offering you power. Power to protect yourselves, power to free your people, and power to destroy the real enemy, the one hiding in the shadows."
Wanda's eyes narrowed further, "What enemy?"
"A group that works in the darkness, they have bases and informants everywhere. They've been sowing discord all over Sokovia, funding the wars here. Most of the death and destruction here is directly related to them. I even have info that says they were planning to lie and recruit you two. Can you imagine that, unknowingly working under the people destroying your home?"
Pietro listened to Maxim's words and flipped open the file, skimming through the documents, his eyes widening as he read, "Wanda, look at this," he muttered, handing the file to his sister.
Wanda took the file, her expression growing more serious as she read through the pages.
"How do we know this isn't just another manipulation?" she asked, her voice quieter now but still filled with caution.
Maxim stepped closer, lowering his voice. "I've been in your position, used and exploited by Hydra. If we don't stop them, Sokovia won't survive. It'll be exploited into dust."
Pietro looked at his sister, concern evident in his eyes as he saw her emotions becoming potentially unstable, "What do we do, Wanda?"
Maxim took that moment to push forward. "I'm not asking you to forgive Stark. He did build those weapons even if he didn't authorize them.I'm not asking you to forget what happened. I'm asking you to see the bigger picture. If we work together, we can tear down the real enemy, free Sokovia. But we can't do it if you're blinded by a lie."
Wanda's eyes locked onto his, and for a long, tense moment, silence stretched between them. Then, slowly, she nodded.
"Show us what you know," she said, her voice steady but tinged with the uncertainty of a decision just made. "If you're telling the truth… then we'll listen."
Maxim smiled, feeling the weight of his plan starting to fall into place. He gestured for them to follow him into the darkness, "First, we need to stop Hydra's operations in Sokovia. They have a base located here. I'll destroy it and prove it to you. Then, I'll work on making you two more powerful."
"Powerful?" Wanda said curiously, "Powerful how?"
Maxim's smile widened slightly at Wanda's question. He turned to face the twins, stepping closer as the shadows around them seemed to respond to his presence, shifting and curling like tendrils of living darkness. His eyes glinted with a quiet confidence.
"Like this," he said simply.
With a flick of his wrist, the shadows around him twisted into a vortex of black mist that swirled around his body. Maxim's form wavered, dissolving into the darkness, then reappeared several feet away in the blink of an eye, without a sound.
Wanda's eyes widened, and Pietro blinked, his usual cocky demeanor replaced by silent awe. Maxim didn't react to the expression, he just lifted a hand, and in an instant, the temperature around them seemed to drop.
The darkness thickened, coalescing into tangible, inky-black tendrils that rose from the ground and extended outward, surrounding him like a protective cocoon, "I can help you unlock your true potential, obtain powers of your own to allow you to protect yourselves, and your own people." Maxim said.
Pietro grinned, his excitement barely contained, "You mean, we could be like that? Like, super?"
Maxim nodded slowly, his voice dripping with promise, "Stronger than you've ever imagined."
Wanda's lips parted, her eyes filled with wonder. The temptation of power was unmistakable
"You help me stop Hydra," Maxim said, his tone persuasive, "and in return, I'll give you the power to make sure no one ever hurts you, or Sokovia, again."
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How is everyone enjoying the story so far?
As for future plans, I have ideas I'll list below, tell me your thoughts of them:
#1 - Breaking Hela out of Odin's dimension, potential Wife. Keeping Hela's ruthlessness and power, but making her more intelligent and less of a bland genocidal maniac.
#2 - Taking over Madripoor, turning it into a Kingdom. Madripoor will be MC's own power, filled with his allies, leaving him out of the touch of corrupt international governments and organizations.
#3 - Taking down Red Room, recruiting the Black Widows
#4 - Potential War with Namor ( this would be way in the future of the story )