Even Nolan hadn't expected Wanda to show such rapid progress.
She'd not only stabilized her Chaos Magic mid-battle, she'd channeled it. With just a flash of focus and the meditation techniques he'd taught her, she'd transformed her raw chaos into a weaponized spell.
The scarlet whip she conjured?
It resembled the Whip of Cyttorak, the same spell Strange had once used to lash Thanos.
And it had power behind it. Enough that even Nick Fury looked shaken.
He turned toward Nolan, eyes narrowed.
Nolan just gave a nonchalant shrug. "She was always gifted. Your precious S.H.I.E.L.D. just never understood what kind of power she actually possessed."
Most of the superhumans under S.H.I.E.L.D.'s watch were from the physical world, genetic mutations, tech enhancements, maybe a little Asgardian rune science if they were lucky. But true magic?
That was out of their league.
Asgard's "magic" was more like advanced science accessible only to gods and Vanir bloodlines. And before Doctor Strange, there wasn't a single true sorcerer affiliated with the Avengers.
Even K'un-Lun's mystics, Iron Fist, and Shang-Chi had operated in a completely separate sphere. Kamar-Taj had been an independent neutral force until Strange chose to step out of hiding and engage with the world, unlike the Ancient One before him.
Wanda's strike had stopped the battle cold.
If Vision had gone down from just one strike, what chance did the others have? Maybe Peter could dodge it... But the rest?
They'd be obliterated.
Fury couldn't believe it. One woman, barely trained, had just shut down what could have been the most devastating superhero conflict on Earth.
And the one who trained her?
"Alright, show's over," Nolan called out, stretching. "Max, time to go."
He glanced once at Fury, then turned to Wanda.
"Get back to training later. And next time someone tells you what to do, think first. If you're unsure, ask me."
With a sigh, he bent his knees—
Cracks spiderwebbed beneath his feet as he launched skyward. Max transformed into a bolt of lightning and followed.
In the silence that followed, all eyes turned toward the vanishing trail of energy in the sky.
Nolan hadn't thrown a single punch today. But the ripple effect of his training was undeniable.
If Wanda could do this after just a few sessions...
Maybe the plans to isolate him had just backfired.
Back at Oscorp, Nolan wasted no time.
He summoned Norman Osborn immediately. While he usually ignored the government's political maneuvering, there came a point when background noise became intolerable.
Time to squash the flies.
"Norman," Nolan said, sliding him a data tablet. "Start digging. Everything related to the Hero Registration Act. I want to know who's behind it."
"On it," Norman replied, already turning to leave.
Once alone, Nolan let out a slow breath. Enough distractions. It was time to focus.
He was strong, capable of exerting nearly 200 tons of pressure in combat bursts.
But compared to the truly divine beings, Thor, Sentry, or even the Celestials, he still wasn't satisfied.
"Sunspot. Human Torch. Sebastian Shaw. Red Hulk..."
He scribbled four names down.
Originally, there were just three. But then he remembered: in the original MCU drafts, Thaddeus Ross was intended to become the Red Hulk. He was even positioned as a major figure during the Civil War.
If Nolan's improved Steel Body project caught Ross's attention...
The transformation might still happen.
"Better keep an eye on Ross."
He circled Sunspot and Human Torch. Both were prime candidates for energy templates, but both came with baggage.
One belonged to the X-Men, the other to the Fantastic Four.
He paused, then drew a tighter circle around Sunspot.
That one was accessible. The key?
But that was for later.
For now, he had more urgent toys to study Mystique's DNA and the Space Stone fragment.
Xavier would come to him eventually.
Because Charles was smart.
Nolan stood in his private lab, watching the glittering shards of Tesseract crystal, the fractured remains of the Space Stone.
Dr. Otto Octavius stood beside him, carefully manipulating the fragments with laser instruments. Beams of radiation probed their structure while high-resolution scanners mapped their dimensional emissions.
These fragments weren't pure Infinity Stones.
They were derivative stabilized versions of Tesseract energy. Used not for power, but for containment.
During World War II, Hydra had attempted similar research. They couldn't access the core of the Space Stone, but its leaking radiation was more than enough.
Those derivative fragments helped Hydra develop energy weapons decades ahead of their time. They nearly won the war until the Allies countered with their own genius.
The man who salvaged the Tesseract when Steve went down into the ice. The man who discovered how to harness that power through isotopes.
The same isotopes that powered Tony's arc reactor.
Tony didn't invent infinite energy. He just miniaturized it.
Nolan stared at the crystalline glow.
"Howard worked with this stuff for years. No issues," he muttered. "Fury gets his hands on it for five minutes, and everything goes to hell."
Good thing the real Tesseract was now sealed in Asgard, under Odin's watch. Thanos wouldn't be getting his hands on it just yet.
Odin wasn't looking too good these days. The old gods were fading.
With the Ancient One and Odin both gone, Earth had become a playground for cosmic threats.
"Maybe," Nolan mused, "this was the Ancient One's plan all along..."
He stared deeper into the crystal.
Maybe he'd just walked right into it.
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