Scars Beneath the Snow
bomb. stuck bam.
In a gym completely filled with all kinds of technology, though most of it was designed and worn specifically for the man training there.
A shirtless man, with much of his body covered in deep, marked scars. Especially on his right arm, which looked as if it had once been burned by flames; though now they were dull and faded, not like in the past, when they always seemed red hot. He also had a scar that ran across his back from arm to arm, along with deep marks on his left wrist and his knuckles.
That man was Owen.
He was there doing his job to recover his strength, since the damage he had taken had been like having his physical strength forcibly reduced. However, his power, far from decreasing, had increased; especially that.
His right fist ignited in flames of reddish tones, mixing with his repulsion power, or vectorial power, depending on how he felt like calling it. He struck the punching bag, which was actually made of a resistant material similar to steel, and it exploded into pieces of molten metal that shot across the entire gym.
Owen let out a breath that looked like hot vapor, as the sweat on his body began to turn into steam and vanish.
He looked at his fist for a moment and clenched it several times, while red energy ran through every strand of muscle fiber for an instant.
"I'm at least eighty percent recovered now," he said, as he ended his physical training for the day and walked toward the shower located to one side of the gym.
Some time later, Owen came out already showered, with a towel around his neck, and walked into the kitchen. He took a soda from the fridge and leaned against the counter to drink it, looking out the window. Outside, a forest covered in snow could be seen, falling softly and turning everything completely white.
"A year already, huh," he said with a serious, silent look.
The home was completely silent behind him. The only thing that could be heard was the fire in the fireplace at the center of the living room, the wood crackling and snapping among the embers.
Owen felt that silence for a moment, before crushing the can in his hand and turning it into what looked like a small aluminum pellet. Then he walked to the closet next to the front door, dressed in warm clothes, and took what looked like an old rifle, an FAL. He slung it over his shoulder and went out.
As soon as he crossed the door, his footsteps crunched against the snow. Outside stretched a completely white forest, with no houses anywhere nearby. The nearby lake was entirely frozen, to the point where one could walk calmly across it.
Owen went into the forest with the FAL over his shoulder, leaving tracks in the snow. At times he closed his eyes, feeling every sound around him. After a moment, he loaded the powder into the rifle, and then the aluminum pellet he had made using nothing but the pressure of his strength and a can.
Without even having anything clearly in sight, he aimed in one direction and fired.
Then he slung the FAL back over his shoulder and walked in that same direction for a couple of minutes, until he reached where a dead deer was waiting for him. Owen watched it in silence for a moment, observing a kind of respectful ritual, before loading it onto his back and heading back toward the house.
As he moved forward, the crunch of the snow remained the only sound in the surroundings. Well, except for Owen, who could hear even the faintest noises of animals sleeping or moving in the distance.
He left the deer in a shed, then took care of removing the usable parts and preparing the meat to feed himself.
After the hunt, which did not last long, he went back into the house and sat on the couch in front of the television, pouring himself a cup of coffee as he turned it on.
The news appeared immediately, showing something that obviously caught Owen's attention. There, the heroes of V.I.T.A.E. were helping civilians in the middle of a battlefield, stopping both armies equally. They kept them frozen in place until the last civilian was removed from the area; whoever attacked first would be annihilated by them. Or at least, that was what they believed.
There was Wanda, using her chaos magic to send tanks that were aiming at civilians back with a simple movement of her hand.
Owen watched her closely for a moment, with a slightly melancholic look.
Meanwhile, the journalists kept talking.
"Do you see the power they have? They can control a war without any problem. What would happen if they suddenly decided to turn their magic or those strange powers against the very civilians they swear to protect? Are you sure you could defend yourselves from something like that?" the man said, pointing at Wanda on the screen.
"Well, they're not the only ones. There are also the Avengers and other hero groups," a woman replied, trying to sound calmer.
"And do you think they don't all know each other? Do you think they would turn against their most loyal friends, or that they wouldn't unite in a crusade? Imagine a world ruled by those… phenomena," the man said, hysterical.
A lot of people watched that channel. In the same way, many were beginning to demand that governments keep control over powerful heroes, just in case one day they were the ones who became the enemies.
Tired of always hearing the same thing every time he turned on the television, of people trying to turn the masses against those who were saving their asses, Owen paused the broadcast right on the image of Wanda softly floating above the soldiers.
"How long has it been since you left?" he said with a hint of sadness, staring at her. He let out a sigh, making the silence of the house feel even heavier.
Just then, the front door creaked open, making Owen turn his head, his eyes lighting up.
"Sweetheart, I brought what you asked for. You should stop drinking so many sodas and drink more water," said the same woman Owen had been watching on the television, smiling happily as she arrived home with large bags in her arms, as if she had simply gone out shopping.
"You took forever," Owen said, giving her a smile.
"Tsk. I was only gone for five hours," she replied, leaning in to kiss him on the forehead. "If you missed me, you could come with me to work," she added before sitting beside him and resting against Owen's arm.
"You're crazy. If I show up there, they'll definitely make me work," Owen said quickly.
"And isn't that what you want? You just like to make yourself hard to get, while Tony and Nicholas know it and that's why they don't call you. Do you think I don't know you spend all your time bored?" she said, amused.
"Ugh. But it would look bad if I'm the one who comes back without being invited, after complaining for so long," Owen replied.
Wanda simply rolled her eyes.
Owen looked away for a moment, checking the exact date, and let out another sigh. "Tony and Rogers?" he asked suddenly.
"They're fine. Why?" Wanda asked, confused.
"No, just asking," Owen replied.
"You're worried about the Barnes problem, right?" she said. "I don't think it's an issue. Even if Tony doesn't like him at all, at least now he's not trying to kill him every time they cross paths; especially since he's actually doing a good job finding those scientific facilities with super soldiers," she added calmly.
"I guess that's a good thing. Still, it's better to keep an eye on them. Both of them can be just as idiotic sometimes," Owen said with a serious look.
"Then you go," Wanda replied simply.
"Ugh. Don't you want to do a favor for your dear future husband?" Owen said with a fake sad expression, while a small engagement ring shone on Wanda's ring finger.
"No," Wanda replied with a playful smile, before giving him a soft kiss and standing up.
Owen returned a faint smile and then looked back at the calendar.
"Ah, what a pain," he muttered, as if he had already made a decision. There were things that could not be changed, but their effects could be minimized. It seemed his retirement had ended just one year later.
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N/A: Well, it seems I took too much of a break from this job, so it's time to get back to the MAOH chapters. I hope you enjoyed this beginning of the new arc. And I tricked you, didn't I? Hahaha.