Marvel: The Ultimate Superman-Chapter 148. Wanda’s Disappointment

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A few days after Nolan returned to Oscorp, Wanda appeared again, her red leather coat swaying as she entered the lab.

"I heard from Norman," she said softly. "You've stopped training lately?"

Nolan, hunched over his notes, barely looked up. "Kamar-Taj doesn't require constant attendance. I just drop by the library... or ask the Ancient One a few questions. Honestly, there's not much left for me to learn from them now."

His gaze flicked to her. "You seem down."

Wanda hesitated. "...You said Chaos Magic could be used to bring back the dead. But I tried... and it didn't work."

"You were trying to bring back your brother?"

"...Yes."

Nolan exhaled and leaned back. "You've barely scratched the surface of Chaos Magic. Did you really think you'd mastered it already?"

Wanda bristled. "I'm the strongest Avenger now."

Nolan scoffed. "The Avengers? Have you seen that sorry lineup recently? Beating them doesn't mean much."

Before she could reply, he raised his hand, an orange glow flashing across his fingers as he snapped.

In an instant, the Mirror Dimension expanded around them.

Wanda floated, weightless, confused. "What is this?!"

She reached for the lab table, but it shattered into a thousand glass-like pieces. The room folded open like an apple being peeled.

Suddenly, they weren't in Oscorp anymore; they were floating outside. Yet, no one was around. Then, Nolan conjured a glowing portal disc and flung it through the air.

The world whirled around them.

They landed atop Stark Tower.

Wanda was speechless. "How... how did we get here?" fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm

Another snap.

Reality shattered like stained glass—and they were back in the lab, exactly where they started.

Wanda stood frozen. "How... how did you do all that?"

"This is magic," Nolan said calmly. "The true kind drawn from the Vishanti. And your power, Chaos Magic, is just as potent. Maybe even more. You just haven't unlocked it yet."

"...Can you teach me?" Wanda blurted, then quickly looked down, cheeks flushed.

Nolan chuckled. "I can. But it'll take time."

A thought crossed his mind: What if Wanda became the next Sorcerer Supreme? Or would the Vishanti reject her entirely because she was already aligned with another cosmic force?

Still, Wanda was clearly in awe. Compared to her raw force and explosive power, Nolan's dimensional manipulation seemed like true sorcery.

"I'll teach you a new method of meditation," he said. "It'll help you better attune to dimensional forces. The more you understand, the more your Chaos Magic will evolve into what you want it to become."

"...Thank you."

...

After Wanda left, Nolan sat alone in the lab, reflecting on the session. Through teaching her, he'd secretly collected traces of her magical energy and recorded its dimensional signature.

He wasn't just helping Wanda. He was researching how to use Vishanti's power to simulate the resonance of Chthon's followers, those who drew from dark, chaotic forces.

If he could thread that needle... he might wield not just Vishanti's light, but Chthon's shadows as well.

In meditation, he touched the edge of an immense, boundless presence. Compared to it, even the demonic aura of the Beast felt like a firefly under a full moon.

He shuddered. "That... that's what true power feels like?"

Too dangerous. He cut off the connection immediately.

"Let's focus on something else for now."

His gaze turned toward the screen.

Wanda... the Pym Particle... and Project Red Hulk.

He pulled up the latest surveillance feed.

...

At a classified military base...

General Ross sat shirtless in a reinforced chair. His chiseled, aged physique was the result of constant training and his newly completed Steel Body Serum.

He'd been thinking a lot about Nolan lately.

That man had stirred the pot more than once, and the recent proposal of the Superhuman Registration Act, along with Stark's Illuminati concept, had drawn clear battle lines.

Ross, ever the soldier, firmly believed in government oversight. But Washington didn't have enough powerful assets to enforce it.

If I had the strength of the Hulk, he thought, I could lead this initiative... dominate it.

He'd lost face after the Hulk fiasco years ago. But this time? He'd get it right.

There was only one way to do that: more power. Power to rival not just Bruce Banner, but Abomination, that arrogant monster.

"Begin the gamma procedure," he said at last.

Dr. Jason adjusted his glasses. "Should we contact Dr. Nolan?"

Ross scowled. "This is top secret. I've brought in someone else just as smart as Nolan, and even more specialized in gamma research."

Out from the shadows stepped a green-skinned figure with an abnormally large cranium.

"Dr. Samuel Sterns," he grinned. "Always happy to serve, General."

Years ago, Sterns had injected Emil Blonsky with Hulk's blood. That accident turned him into The Leader, one of the few humans permanently transformed by gamma radiation.

Ross knew Nolan could almost guarantee success.

But if Nolan learned the full blueprint of creating another Hulk, no one in America would be able to stop him.

No, this experiment had to remain under his control.

"Commence Project: Red Hulk."

Ross lay back into a cylindrical pod, submerged in nutrient fluid. His pulse slowed.

Jason began calibrating the chamber.

"Gamma radiation set to 765 nanometers. Boost intensity triple the standard protocol."

"Injecting adrenaline... stimulating the cerebellum..."

Dozens of technicians moved around the lab in pristine white coats as Sterns issued instructions.

"Begin exposure."

Brilliant emerald energy surged into the chamber.

Ross screamed.

The pain was unlike anything he'd ever felt—like magma pumping through his veins, burning away every ounce of flesh and blood.

"Hold on... Betty... this is all for you!"

His roar echoed across the lab. Muscles bulged. Bones cracked and reformed. His skin turned a deep crimson hue.

His will, the very thing that drove him, was the only thing keeping him from blacking out.

He wasn't just enduring the pain.

He was becoming it.

Red Hulk... was being born.

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