Maxim exited Dreykov's personal quarters alongside Wanda and Pietro, the distant sounds of Dreykov's screaming in his final moments faded into the background as the Black Widows enacted their revenge, brutally killing him.
Amist all of this, Maxim stood alongside Wanda and Pietro, looking at them. With his recent power up, he could easily sense the level of power Pietro and Wanda had. He could tell they didn't slack off on their training as he could tell their powers had improved.
"I could see you two didn't slack off on your training," Maxim said, and Pietro confidently puffed out his chest proudly while Wanda just chuckled and smiled.
"You two did well." Maxim said, his voice was steady and confident with pride evident in his eyes,"Helping the Black Widows, standing your ground... I'm proud of you both."
Wanda's eyes widened slightly, and then a soft smile spread across her face. "We couldn't have done it without what you've taught us." Pietro nodded with what his sister said.
Wanda tilted her head, curiosity shining in her eyes, "So, what have you been up to while we were out there taking down the Red Room?"
Maxim's lips curled into a sly grin, "Demon hunting," he said, chuckling as he reached into his coat and pulled out two sleek handguns—Ebony and Ivory.
Their polished surfaces gleamed under the dim lights, their intricate designs exuding a dangerous elegance.
Wanda's eyes widened as she took a step closer, studying the weapons. She could feel a unique power emitting from the weapons and looked back towards Maxim, "Demon hunting? Seriously?"
Maxim nodded, twirling the handguns effortlessly before holstering them once more, "Let's just say I've been... expanding my skill set."
Wanda's gaze lingered on Maxim, her eyes narrowing slightly. "I can definitely feel it. You're stronger. Your aura is more intense than before you left."
Maxim's grin widened, "Good. You're starting to sense more than what's on the surface." He glanced at Pietro, who was watching him with a mix of awe and suspicion as he saw Maxim's grin widen, "That means it's time to increase the intensity of your training."
Pietro groaned loudly, throwing his head back, "Come on! We just took down Dreykov and helped free a bunch of Black Widows, and now you want us to train more?"
Maxim crossed his arms, his expression unyielding. "You've done well, but there's always room to grow. Plus, Madripoor is next on the list and there's always danger. You two have Magic, so there must be others out there. You need to be stronger to protect yourselves."
Pietro just sighed, shooting Wanda a pleading look of frustration, "You gonna back me up here?"
Wanda shook her head, smiling softly, "Nope. He's right. If we want to keep up, we need to push ourselves." Pietro listened and just threw his hands up in annoyance, "Fine. But if I drop dead from exhaustion, I'm haunting both of you."
Maxim chuckled, clapping Pietro on the shoulder. "Deal." Before the discussion could continue, the door to Dreykov's quarters finally slid open, and Natasha stepped out, followed by Yelena and the other Black Widows.
The group moved with a newfound sense of purpose, their faces calm but with a quiet fire burning in their eyes. A fire of pride and most importantly, freedom. The freedom of finally being free from Dreykov and his machinations.
Yelena was the first to speak. From the way she moved, Maxim could tell she was nervous, yet she took a brave step forward and spoke with a voice filled with gratitude, "We owe you guys more than words can express. For freeing us... for giving us a second chance." She hesitated before adding, "And for helping us finish him."
The other Black Widows murmured their agreement, all of them nodding in silent thanks towards the trio. To all of these Black Widows, they were their saviors.
Once the thanks were finished, there was a short, awkward silence before Wanda took the step forward, her crimson energy that constantly surrounded her dimmed as she addressed the group, "You're free now. What will you do next?"
Yelena exchanged glances with a few of the Widows who nodded to her before replying, "Most of them have no family left. No homes to return to. We've all spent so long under Dreykov's control that... we don't know where to go."
She paused, then continued, her voice firm, "But we've talked, and we want to stay together. Maybe even work with you to stop people like Dreykov from ever doing this again."
Wanda's eyes softened, and she glanced at Maxim. His expression was unreadable for a moment, but then he gave a slow nod. "I'll work on it," he said.
Yelena's lips curled into a small smile, "Thank you, Sir."
Maxim waved his hand and said, "Just call me Maxim, and you guys just sit tight for now, we'll sort everything out soon." He said and walked away, drifting into the shadows whilst Yelena nodded.
**************
Soon, Maxim arrived in the central control room of the Floating Red Room alongside Wanda and Pietro, the hum of machinery surrounding him. Screens displayed various sections of the facility, showing Black Widows gathering and regrouping.
Some of them went to take a much needed rest in the rooms Dreykov had prepared, while others got together in cliques to discuss Maxim and the twins, and what will happen in the future.
However, Maxim ignore that, instead focusing on on the composed, smooth voice that echoed in his ear, "Maxim," A.N.G.E.L greeted, her voice smooth and composed. "I've taken over the facility's systems. You now have full access to all of the Floating Red Room's facilities."
Maxim nodded, "Good. What about Dreykov's resources?"
"We've already taken over all financial accounts related to the Red Room, totaling Billions worth of liquid cash and assets now under our control." A.N.G.E.L responded.
"Good, now set a course to Sokovia." Maxim ordered.
"Understood," A.N.G.E.L. responded, "This facility will be fully operational under our control. What's the long-term plan for it?"
Maxim immediately responded, already having a plan in mind, "This will be our mobile sanctuary. I already have some ideas to improve the technology here. It'll be turned into a place where my agents can train, and also a mobile center of operations for any missions we go on. Speaking of that, I have some schematics here to give this place a makeover, calculate how expensive all this will be."
A.N.G.E.L immediately scanned the document Maxim had pulled out of his shadow and began running the calculations.
"Your energy signatures have changed from our previous meeting. Want me to run a checkup?" A.N.G.E.L inquired.
"You can if you want, but there's nothing wrong with me, just a little power-up." Maxim said, looking towards his System-Status.
[ Name - Maxim Novikov ]
[ Race - Radiant Nephilim ]
[ Character Integration:
- Vergil: 0%
Fully Integrated Characters:
- Omen: 100%
- Killjoy 100%
- Astra: 100%
- Dante: 100%
After fully integrating Dante, the next choice was obviously Vergil. Maxim hadn't begun training or fought anything since he made his choice, hence why it was still at 0%, but he figured that would change quite soon.
"Also A.N.G.E.L, I have some plans for a company. Draw up the necessary documents, once we take over Madripoor, we'll establish it there to avoid US Taxes, Dreykov's money is finite after all. It'll be a Software and Gaming company." He spoke.
"Gaming?" Wanda chimed in after silently listening to Maxim this entire time, "Are you sure that's the most profitable?" Wanda asked, and Maxim just chuckled.
Since it was early 2012, this world definitely hadn't seen the rise of Gaming like in Maxim's old world, so he didn't mind her question, all he responded with was,
"Have you ever heard of the term, Micro-transactions?"