Broken Wanda

"Wanda, you..." Pietro instinctively took two steps back. "Look at me. Tell me you're still yourself."

Wanda turned her head, her eyes deep crimson as she looked at him. "Pietro, of course I'm still myself. I've just finally understood what kind of person I want to become."

Pietro looked into Wanda's eyes, but he saw not the slightest trace of affection, none of the tenderness she once had for her family.

Shendu stood off to the side with his hands behind his back, a smile on his face that made Pietro's scalp prickle. The way he looked at Wanda was like a mentor looking at his prized pupil.

"Mr. Maximoff, you seem rather nervous?" Shendu's voice was not loud, yet it sounded exceptionally grating to Pietro.

Pietro's gaze kept shifting between Shendu and Wanda. His knees bent slightly. The laboratory door was already broken, and he was confident he could get Wanda out of the lab within a second.

"What did you do to Wanda?" Pietro's voice sank.

Shendu stepped in front of Pietro in a single stride. Pietro instinctively took a step back. "I did something you've both been waiting for. If you want, I can do the same for you."

"Do the same for me?" Pietro sneered. "Turn me into someone like Wanda?"

Wanda rose to her feet and walked to Shendu's side. Pietro noticed that her movements were far more nimble than before, as though the shackles she had worn for years had been removed.

"Pietro, can't you feel it?"

Wanda lowered her head and looked at the energy in her palm. "Before, I couldn't use my power properly. Or rather, my power felt like it didn't belong to me. But now..."

Wanda crossed her fingers in the air, and crimson energy flowed between them. "It's a part of me. Not a tool, not an ability. It is me."

Pietro's voice turned dry. "Do you even know what you're saying? You shouldn't be speaking for him. Look at the soldiers outside—they've been turned into slabs of meat. This man is a demon!"

Wanda's tone turned cold. "Pietro, watch your words. He is a liberator. You think he controlled me, but it's precisely the opposite. He granted me freedom."

Seeing that Pietro wanted to say more, Shendu clapped his hands to interrupt him. "All right, the family gathering ends here. There's another important matter to attend to."

Shendu walked toward Strucker and Doctor Li. The two ninjas released their hold on them.

Strucker instinctively backed away two steps and reached for his waist to draw his pistol. But now, all he pulled out was a banana.

Doctor Li's reaction was completely different from Strucker's. There was no fear in him; his eyes brimmed with excitement. "Incredible. You were actually able to help Wanda awaken her abilities. The Mind Stone—it must have been the Mind Stone. Wanda reacted when Loki invaded before!"

"Doctor Li." Shendu stood before him, looking down at him. "Do you have any insights into my methods?"

Doctor Li realized he had lost his composure. The excitement in his eyes was instantly replaced by fear. "No, no, no. I don't have any insights. I was merely shocked by Wanda's success."

Shendu said slowly, "It is normal for you to be shocked, but shock won't help me find what I want."

Doctor Li's Adam's apple bobbed. He instinctively glanced at Strucker beside him, who was gripping the banana so tightly that it was about to burst.

"There is a stone. With it, one can breathe fire and gain the power of explosions. I know you have it."

Shendu pointed at the space above them. "I don't want to retrieve it myself."

Strucker abruptly raised his head. "How do you know?"

Shendu did not answer. Looking at his expression, Strucker could clearly tell that he considered any further explanation a waste of breath.

Strucker clenched his teeth. "You think I'll tell you? Hydra never bows to anyone."

Shendu snorted coldly. At his signal, Wanda raised her hand, crimson energy spilling from her fingertips.

Strucker's body suddenly stiffened. His eyes widened, and his lips began to tremble uncontrollably. "No... don't..."

Watching this, Pietro tried to stop her. "Wanda, do you know what you're doing? Stop!"

Wanda ignored him. Her red eyes locked onto Strucker's. "He is afraid. Hydra's failure, death... a basement filled with operating tables. He often listened to people scream there."

All color had drained from Strucker's face, cold sweat dripping continuously down his forehead.

"Enough!"

Pietro rushed between Wanda and Strucker. "Stop! If this continues, you'll become..."

"Become what?"

Wanda was displeased that Pietro had interrupted the order Shendu had given her. "I told you, I'm in excellent condition. Better than ever before. For the sake of our family, I don't want to hurt you."

Pietro froze.

Wanda looked back at Strucker. He had already collapsed onto the floor, and there was not the slightest trace of life left in his eyes.

"That stone... is... twenty meters above us... in the room..."

Doctor Li, who had been watching from the side, bit his lip and did not dare make a sound.

"Well done."

Shendu patted Wanda on the shoulder, his tone filled with satisfaction. "See? When you stop fearing yourself, the world will fear you. That is what power should be."

Wanda felt the pressure of his hand on her shoulder. Hearing Shendu's praise, her body stiffened and she began to act unnaturally, like a young girl whose cheeks had flushed after being praised by someone she liked.

Shendu had not expected Wanda to react this way. She had no children yet and had not met Vision. She was only a young woman in her twenties, just beginning to fall in love.

The mark he had left upon Wanda's soul seemed to have produced an unexpected effect. Wanda was broken now.

Pietro watched this scene, and turbulent waves rose in his heart. He had never seen his sister wear such an expression.

"Wanda, you... what are you doing?" Pietro stammered. "You... you couldn't possibly..."

With a blush on her face, Wanda said, "Lord Shendu must not be offended."

Even Shendu was at a loss. As a demon from Hell, he had only one son, who had come from the future.

Shendu cleared his throat, and his tone became imposing again. "Wanda, do you know what you're saying?"

Wanda calmed down and obediently stepped behind Shendu. "As you command, Master."

Wanda's words exploded in Pietro's mind like a bomb. What did she mean, Master? Why was his sister calling this demon her master?

"What exactly did you do to Wanda?!"

Pietro activated his super speed, driving a punch at Shendu's forehead. Yet just before his fist landed, it could not move forward even an inch.

Shendu looked at him with a teasing expression. Pietro looked at the crimson energy wrapped around his wrist, then stared at Wanda in disbelief.

The shyness vanished from Wanda's face, replaced by icy coldness. "Even you cannot disrespect Master!"