A few minutes earlier, as the aircraft carrying Wanda and Pietro approached New York airspace, Pietro sat inside clutching a tablet, breathing heavily.
After letting out a long sigh, he turned the screen toward Wanda.
"Are you sure this is our target?"
He pointed repeatedly at Axel's image.
"You've got to be kidding. We're supposed to approach a monster like this? We haven't even avenged Mom and Dad yet, and now we're being sent to die."
The screen replayed footage of Axel effortlessly launching the Hulk out of New York.
Even Pietro couldn't follow Axel's movement. The security cameras only captured one frame before everything was over.
The video then shifted to another recording, Axel walking out of a nuclear explosion off the coast of New York without a scratch.
Wanda stared at the footage and tightened her grip on the long silver case resting across her lap.
"Pietro..."
She spoke quietly.
"This is Baron Strucker's order. We can't refuse him, at least not yet."
She looked down at the case.
"We're not his enemies. We're only delivering a package. We're basically couriers. Nothing should happen... right?"
Even she didn't sound convinced.
Pietro rolled his eyes.
"Come on, Wanda. Do you really believe we're couriers?"
"We're HYDRA."
"The same HYDRA from those Captain America comics Mom and Dad used to buy us."
"If killing Tony Stark weren't so important to us, we never would've joined them."
He tapped the case in Wanda's hands.
"Axel fights people like us. Why would he let us walk away just because we delivered this?"
Without answering, Wanda handed him the case.
Pietro opened it.
Inside rested Loki's Scepter, its gem glowing with crimson light.
After only a glance, he immediately shut the case again.
"Every time I look at this thing, I feel like I want to absorb it."
He frowned.
"This is the source of our powers, isn't it? The same scepter that caused the Battle of New York."
He sighed.
"Why are we giving something this valuable to that lunatic? If we kept using it ourselves, maybe we'd eventually become as strong as Axel."
Wanda shook her head.
"That's impossible."
She looked at her brother seriously.
"It only took me three days after gaining my powers to break free from Strucker's conditioning. Then I helped you break free too."
"That already made him suspicious."
"If hatred for Tony Stark weren't keeping us with HYDRA, they'd probably already be hunting us."
She lowered her voice.
"They don't care how powerful we are."
"They care whether they can control us."
"We're already approaching the limits of what they can control."
"If we become even stronger..."
She sighed.
"They'll decide we're more dangerous than useful."
Pietro looked frustrated.
"So we're disposable already."
He laughed bitterly.
"They're sending us to deliver the scepter because they expect us not to come back."
He already knew the answer before finishing.
"So that's it."
He leaned back.
"HYDRA really is exactly what everyone says."
He clenched his fists.
"But if we're ever going to kill that hypocrite Tony Stark, they're still the only people willing to help."
He reached over and grabbed Wanda's hand.
"When we get there, watch me."
"If Axel attacks, I'll get you out."
"The scepter matters more than we do."
"Once he has it, maybe he won't bother chasing us."
He looked out the window toward New York.
"I just don't understand why someone this ridiculously powerful is hanging around an ordinary school."
...
A few minutes later, inside the gymnasium.
Axel suddenly looked up through the hole in the ceiling.
Peter noticed.
"Uncle, what's..."
His sentence stopped halfway.
A young woman surrounded by crimson energy slowly floated down through the opening.
Red light surrounded both of her hands.
Everyone sheltering inside the gym looked up in astonishment.
Axel raised an eyebrow.
Seeing his expression, Wanda became slightly confused.
Why was he looking at her like that?
She instinctively glanced downward.
...Right.
She couldn't even see her own feet.
His eyes had definitely been focused on her chest.
On the gym floor, Axel looked between Wanda's impressive figure and the young man descending behind her.
To everyone else, Pietro appeared to be falling normally.
But to Axel, Pietro's head was vibrating dozens of times every second as he constantly slipped in and out of super speed.
The sight was unbelievably ridiculous.
Axel couldn't help laughing.
While laughing, he casually waved.
Pietro immediately noticed.
Inside his accelerated perception, where nearly everything stood still, Axel's wave moved naturally.
Pietro instantly canceled his speed.
There was no point showing off anymore.
If Axel could react to him, then his greatest advantage disappeared.
A speedster with ordinary durability wasn't nearly as intimidating.
The twins landed.
Beside Axel, Peter clenched his fists excitedly.
"That was a superhero landing!"
Axel laughed.
"It really was. Completely ignores physics."
He patted Peter's head before walking toward Wanda and Pietro.
Wanda nervously prepared to introduce herself.
Before she could speak, Axel beat her to it.
"So... why are you two here already?"
He looked puzzled.
"The timing's off."
"The Battle of New York just ended."
"You two aren't supposed to show up yet."
"And aren't you both still underage?"
"...Huh?"
Wanda stared blankly.
"You... know us?"
"Of course."
Axel shrugged.
"Wanda and Pietro."
"The unlucky twins."
"One of you can move faster than almost anyone alive and somehow still ends up getting shot."
"The other has one of the strongest abilities on Earth."
He grinned.
"And eventually marries the most expensive husband imaginable."
Without another word, Axel took the case directly from Pietro.
"You really shouldn't have brought me a gift."
He opened it.
"Oh."
"Loki's Scepter."
"Nice collectible."
"I'll keep it."
He removed the glowing gem from the top with brute force.
Holding it in his palm, he briefly felt its psychic energy flow into his mind.
Moments later...
The energy quietly went dormant.
The gem lost its glow entirely.
Axel tossed it toward his chest.
Threads instantly extended from inside his suit, wrapped around the gem, and wove it into an elegant brooch before attaching it neatly to his collar.
Satisfied, Axel casually threw the empty scepter aside.
Halfway through the motion, he paused.
"Hold on."
"Didn't Thanos make this thing?"
"So it's alien metal."
He immediately picked it back up and stuffed it into one of his pockets.
Wanda stared.
Her eyes slowly moved toward his pocket.
How could something that large fit inside something so small?
Axel noticed.
He smirked.
"What are you staring at?"
"Keep looking and I'll start charging admission."
Wanda immediately looked away.
Pietro couldn't help asking,
"You really know us?"
Axel smiled.
"What, should I start listing your embarrassing habits?"
"Like how you secretly watch those 'small guy, tall woman' videos."
"And Wanda likes mechanical-themed romance."
Pietro froze.
"...You even know that?"
Wanda instinctively protested.
"That's nonsense. I only watch yuri..."
She immediately stopped talking.
Axel looked at Pietro with amusement.
"So you really do watch those videos."
"...Damn."
Pietro covered his face.
Nothing about this conversation was going the way he'd expected.
Wanda took several deep breaths before bowing politely.
"Mr. Axel."
"No matter what, Baron Strucker asked us to deliver Loki's Scepter."
"We've completed our mission."
"So... may we leave now?"
Pietro immediately nodded.
"Exactly."
"We've delivered it."
"You can enjoy spending time with your kids."
He smiled awkwardly at Gwen and Peter.
"They're adorable."
Gwen's eyes widened.
Peter quietly tugged on Axel's sleeve.
"Uncle... what's 'small guy, tall woman'?"
"Is it another toy?"
Axel nodded seriously.
"Yep."
"A very fun toy."
Then he poked Pietro in the chest.
"If you want to live longer, pay more attention."
"No wonder someone with your speed still got shot."
"You're blind."
He pointed at himself.
"Does it really look like an Asian guy like me could have a black-haired boy and a blonde little girl as my children?"
Before anyone could answer, an overwhelming burst of rainbow energy crashed through the damaged roof.
The shockwave landed roughly fifty feet away.
As the light faded, Thor stepped forward.
"Axel!"
He waved enthusiastically.
"Heimdall told me Midgard was in trouble again."
"I knew it."
"Without a prince like me leading the way, Tony and Steve could never build a truly legendary team."
He laughed proudly.
"So I came back."
"Once we finish this crisis, we're settling our unfinished fight."
His eyes shifted toward Wanda and Pietro.
"Who are they?"
He frowned.
"Especially her."
"She feels like a sorcerer."
Axel high-fived Thor.
"Their story's simple."
He pointed toward the twins.
"Years ago, their parents were killed during a war by missiles manufactured by Stark Industries."
"So they've dedicated their lives to getting revenge on Tony Stark."
Thor nodded instinctively.
"Then you'd better..."
He suddenly stopped.
His expression became increasingly confused.
He looked directly at Wanda.
"Wait."
"That doesn't make any sense."
"If someone killed your parents using Stark Industries missiles..."
"Why are you chasing the man who manufactured them instead of the people who actually fired them?"
He scratched his head.
"If my brother were stabbed to death..."
"Would I hunt down the blacksmith who forged the sword?"
"Or would I hunt the person who actually used it?"