#dying world

As any sorcerer can tell the lay person, dealing with multiple universes can be tricky. For a certain witch who was known as the Scarlet Sorceress in her old world, but as Dr. Wanda Maximoff in her current one, the stakes were high when she put a plan into motion to save her previous world from a natural disaster that had almost destroyed it centuries before. She was a young woman the first time an asteroid hit the atmosphere of her world, landing in the mid-Atlantic Ocean and sending tsunamis across that vast water that devastated the coastlines of the countries bordering it. Those tsunamis travelled around the world affecting all countries, sending them into a decline that caused chaos and despair, as crops were affected, communications destroyed, technology wiped out and governments toppled. What rose from the remains of the countries regressed to a form of medieval kingdoms, as strong individuals took power, then offered their protection to the population in return for their loyalty and their labour. The churches also prospered, heralding the event as just retribution for turning away from faith. But something else arose from those dark times, as certain people developed the abilities to manipulate aspects of life, including time, health, and the ability to travel between the multiple universes. The magic that the calamity released from eons of repression filled those sensitive individuals and imbued them with powers that could be used for enlightenment or to keep people enslaved.

The Sorceress was one of those individuals who sought enlightenment, and in concert with the others like herself worked hard to prevent the asteroids from impacting their world again. Over the centuries it came at a cost, as their powers became depleted by all that it took to keep the asteroids still orbiting the sun from their destructive paths. One by one, in order to keep from dying themselves, the purveyors of magic found it necessary to leave their world, to begin a life elsewhere in one of the multiple universes that abounded. On the original world, the threat of the asteroids became great again and the Sorceress, one of the few with powers still remaining there, sought to change the fate of her world by drawing in people from the other modern universes, people with knowledge that could benefit and bring about change.

As wars for control of scarce resources raged around her, the Sorceress sought a place where a plan could be set into motion to restore the lost knowledge of the society she was born into. Others of her kind did the same in their lands, but it took a long time for her to find a suitable place, in the Kingdom of the Broken Lands. Originally known as Brooklyn, once a borough of a larger metropolitan area called New York, the name itself meant "broken land," as its original colonizers noticed the large number of streams that cut through it.

When the Sorceress first presented herself to the court of King Joseph, he was old and sick; his only son, Steven, was just a child, and she knew from her own visions that a tyrant was coming to take control. In those same visions, she had seen the young son growing into a just and strong man, who with the help of loyal subjects from all walks of life, would eventually take his kingdom back. It was that kingdom that would be the site of her attempts at the plan that other sorcerers and sorceresses had implemented elsewhere. All they needed was for the young king to be kept safe from harm, and to be raised in secret with a certain farmer, his wife, and their son.

When the Titan despot, known as Thanos, arrived on their shores with his massive army, she convinced the king to let her smuggle his son, then just a small, sickly boy, to a place of safety. He agreed and she disguised herself as a nursemaid, using her magic to slip past the Titan's forces and into the countryside where a farmer and his wife struggled to make ends meet as they eked out a living on their small farm, granted to him after his own service with the king came to an end. His son, James Buchanan Barnes, was only a year older than the young prince, but found a kindred spirit in the sickly, but prankish nature of the boy. With the help of some of her own family line who had the gift of knowledge, the prince was educated, along with the Barnes boy, and both grew up believing their destiny was to restore the kingdom to its rightful heir, Prince Steven Grant Rogers, son of King Joseph Rogers, who had since perished as a prisoner of Thanos.

The years spent in hiding were hard on everyone as Thanos was a cruel master. Under his rule, people were little more than slaves, except for those noblemen who pledged their allegiance to him. Life was hard, people were hungry all the time, and illness claimed many, including the wife of the farmer Barnes, his beloved Winter. Even the young prince wept at her death, for she had been the only mother he ever knew, his own having died giving birth to him. But it steeled something in him, turned his prankish nature into one more determined into taking back what was his. To most of the outside world, Steven and young Bucky, the farmer's son, were little more than serfs, planting the crops that the farmer Barnes grew and harvested, then travelled with him to sell. It was a hard life, but in their travels, they made contact with others who also longed to fight against the Titan. Gradually, the two young men, brothers really, picked up the skills of warriors, learning sword play, becoming proficient in the use of a staff and a pike, and learning to ride a horse with the slightest touch of their knee, or a whispered command. The word went out in secret that the young prince lived and was amassing an army.

By this time there were noblemen who felt the yoke of servitude as too great a price to pay for their allegiance, and several of them, most notably Lord Howard Stark, became involved in supporting the secret army. The neighbouring Kingdom of the Green Lands, who had used magic to present themselves as not worthy of conquest also provided support, as the two young princes of the ruler King Odin, convinced their father the time was right to rise as one against the Titan.

The Sorceress, who had yet to draw any modern people over from the other universes, made her first attempt, bringing a man with knowledge and the ability to fight into her world, making a copy of him when he went through a wormhole in his own universe. What she didn't count on was that he himself had a duality; sometimes he was a reasonable man of science, but other times he was a raging green beast of a monster, uncontrollable in almost every way. The man who arrived in her world was both, but he was definitely not in a mood to cooperate. In desperation, she charged the farmer Barnes to approach him, with the promise of leading the giant, named Bruce, to a remote place where he could live unhindered. Filling the older Barnes with a sense of calmness she sent him to the giant, successfully calming him and ensuring that he would live relatively quietly as a hermit, until he was needed. The farmer continued the tenuous friendship with the giant, and even brought his son, James, with him on occasion, a move that worked out very well, as the giant accepted the young man's presence.

It was at that point, that the Sorceress rethought the plan of bringing in people from modern worlds, realizing that some people were less adaptable than others. As she watched and observed the young king and his foster brother become older, and stronger men, in both look and temperament she presented herself to him, promising to use her magic to assist him. By the time he was the age of 18, he had a formidable army, and the battles began. First, were sorties against the places where the Titan was spread thin, or his army had grown fat and complacent. In a space of three years the young king helped restore other kingdoms to their rightful rulers, never once keeping the land that he freed for himself. All he asked was their help to go against the Titan and free others under his control.

There had been a grievous blow struck against the king when his foster brother, and closest friend, James Buchanan Barnes, Buck to his friends, was captured and thought to be dead. It had been just after the third year of the start of the many battles they fought together. Fearing the growing power that Steven had accumulated, Thanos employed the help of a dark sorcerer, one who lusted for power, into placing a curse on Buck. The curse, where he would be transformed into a wolf who would attack the king on the words, "Buck, my brother," took months to impose on the young warrior, who fought against its implementation. Then they let him escape, knowing he would return to his foster brother's side. As he stumbled into the encampment, almost unrecognizable, there were those who told the king of Buck's return. Rushing out to an open area between the tents he reacted with joy at the sight of the man he had grown up with. Bringing him into his tent, the orders were given to tend to Buck's wounds, to bathe, and clothe him so that he would begin to feel normal again. Unable to tell the king what had been done to him, the younger Barnes could only weep when his king greeted him again with the triggering words and he transformed into a white wolf intent on tearing the young king apart. Backing him into a corner he was prepared to leap for the throat of his king, when Steven did a most extraordinary thing.

"I will not fight you, Buck," he said, calmly. "You have been my brother since I was a sickly boy. Together, we planted the fields with vegetables, and I learned the value of even the lowliest farm worker by working at your side. I saw you picking the lock on the slave boy's cage, then giving him the food that kept him alive as he escaped from a life of misery. I laughed as I watched you struggled to open a container of flour, almost rolling in glee as it covered your face in its white powder. I cried with you when your mother breathed her last. If I am to die by your hand, then I embrace it for we have been together in life, and it is right that we should be together in death."

He dropped his sword, then approached the wolf, reaching out with his hands, grasping the thick fur of its neck, then burying his face into it. The wolf, which had initially growled its threats at him, began to whimper and the small circle of men present in the tent watched in amazement as the enchantment ended and an unclothed Buck was revealed in the clutch of his foster brother's arms. All were sworn to secrecy that day, so that the wolf could not be controlled by any other.

The Sorceress thought long and hard over how the young king had been able to counter the enchantment. Her only answer was love; in this case the love between the two men as brothers, trusting each other completely. It was then she realized that the modern people she had to bring into this world needed the capacity to love and be loved, as well as the knowledge of science and engineering needed to transform her world. Looking around the young king's council, she saw men with potential that could be increased if the right catalyst could encourage those aptitudes. The rest of the modern people brought to this world would be women. It made sense to her, even in this land where women were still seen as belonging to their husband's and fathers. If she chose well the women who came in would prove their worth with their knowledge. If they were not up to the task, then she could return them, disguising their stay as a dream. It would mean she would have to split herself between many universes, but it was also possible to find other sorcerers in those other worlds who would send her the right people.

Her plan was put into motion and over the years the modern women were brought in, as the uncrowned king continued his war against the Mad Titan. After almost ten years of fighting the Titan made one last grasp for victory when he captured a large contingent of Steven's men. Imprisoned in a castle deep in his territory he hoped to draw in the young king, encircle him and kill him outright to secure his hold permanently. Instead, Buck came up with a plan to use the White Wolf against Thanos, slipping past his defences and freeing the men in question. In the process, he would learn the weaknesses of their enemy, returning back to be transformed into himself again. It was risky but it worked, and the men escaped, returning to the king's forces. Buck was not with them, having listened to the call of his wolf brethren and joining them in the forest. Anxious to restore his friend to his human form Steven had traps placed everywhere, finally enticing the ghostly White Wolf into one. As before, he approached him and convinced the wolf to allow the man to appear. Just as Buck appeared, the Titan attacked, taking advantage of his vulnerability. Even without clothes or weapons the younger Barnes fought alongside his brother, receiving a terrible wound to his left arm in the process. Determined to protect his friend to the end, Steven stood over his wounded brother and fought the Titan to the point of almost being defeated himself. The arrival of Prince Thorn, and the new Lord Stark, Anthony, whose father had died in battle the week before, distracted the Titan and together the three fought him, until King Steven picked up Thorn's hammer from where it had fallen and took the tyrant's head off in one fell swoop, ending ten years of war, and many more years of cruelty. The dark sorcerer disappeared, Thanos' remaining army dispersed like dried leaves in the wind, and peace was finally on the land.

Buck, still grievously hurt, prepared to receive the last rites as the priest appeared with the Sorceress. She declared that she could heal his wounds, although the scars would be a testament to his close demise, forever. With the king's insistence, she healed Buck, although it was two more days before he woke up, under the white sheets of a bed in the palace that the young king had called home as a little boy. An offer was made to him to stay as the Knight Commander of the King's Guard, but he declined, wanting to go home and finally marry his love, Hannah. He suggested the Falconer, Sam Wilson, would be a more suitable Knight Commander in the restored kingdom.

After several more days recovery he set out for his homelands, Eden Vale, where his father farmed a large plot under fealty to the Baron, a kind man who would have been part of the contingent helping the young king, except for his infirmity. His son, Helmut Zemo, had been part of the force against Thanos, although he had returned immediately after the death of the tyrant. By the time Buck returned to the land of Eden Vale, after King Steven's coronation, he learned that the younger Zemo had convinced Hannah's father to marry her to him, giving him a large dowry and a large plot of land as a reward. In desperation, Buck offered him everything he owned to divorce her, freeing her from the marriage. But Zemo, always jealous of the bond between king and farmer, declined, citing his right as heir to the elder Baron to choose any woman in his lands as his bride. For a year, he showed off his wife as much as possible, as well as his two mistresses, often when the three women were in the same room. It was humiliating for the young wife, and she took her own life in despair. Buck almost killed the heir to Eden Vale then, but his father convinced him to undergo training for the monastery and the younger Barnes, not yet fully a priest, opted to go to the Holy Lands on a journey across the ocean, trying to wrest control of those lands from those the church called heretics.

It was in those hot, arid lands where Buck, injured and left for dead after a battle was approached by a young, wild black stallion. The horse, whose glossy black coat and long mane marked him as being part of a bloodline long thought lost in the calamity, stood over the fallen soldier, seemingly intrigued by the man. Nudging him several times, he stayed with him until the man aroused once the sun was down. Nickering softly to him in the darkness the great horse watched as the man raised himself in the sands, looking around then spying him.

"Great horse," whispered Buck. "Are you real or are you my steed for the after life?"

Slowly approaching him, the horse lowered its head, nudging the wounded soldier. He inhaled the scent of the man, finding it pleasant and blew his own breath out through his nose. Then he kneeled down on one foreleg, low enough for the injured man to clamber onto his back. Wrapping his hands in the part of the mane closest to him, Buck leaned forward, then whispered in the Latin he had learned as part of his studies to join the priesthood.

"Magnus equus me domum." [Great horse, take me home.]

The horse reared up, as if in joy at finding the one who would ride him, then began to run through the sands. Always steady and sure footed, he brought the man to an oasis, where they both drank their fill from the well. Several date palms were convinced to drop their fruit to replenish his energy, and Buck began to believe that he and the horse were destined to be together. It was reinforced at their arrival at the garrison of his order, when the bishop saw the horse, and in his pride, commanded the young man to relinquish his ownership of it; since he was almost a priest, he should renounce all worldly possessions. When the bishop's stable hands attempted to put a bridle on the magnificent horse and lead him away, he lashed out, almost injuring one of them. Only Buck could calm him, and the bishop reluctantly admitted that God had seen fit to reward the man for his piety. Then he sent them both on a mission, to physically take a message to the bishop of another garrison, one located on the coast. Unknown to Buck, the message informed that bishop that the bearer was a heretic, the horse was his familiar, and both should be killed as enemies of the church. It was fortunate that the bishop at the other garrison was also a sorcerer, who had been part of the same vision that the Sorceress had seen about the younger Barnes' future. Instead of killing him, he told him the king had sent for him. He and the great horse should return back to the Broken Lands as soon as possible. When Buck protested the sorcerer reassured him.

"You and Magnus are needed there," he said, noticing the man's surprise at the name given the stallion. "He chose you because you knew his name already. He envisioned a life with you, one in the green lands of your home. This battle that we fight in this living hell on earth, will never be won, not in our lifetimes. Other battles await you, more important ones. Go, James Barnes, fulfill the destiny that awaits you. You are released from holy orders."

With papers proving his release, Buck and Magnus boarded a sailing ship that took them through the Mediterranean, stopping in what was once Spain. Several breeders of horses attempted to buy Magnus, one even attempted to steal him, but he protected the horse as his most precious possession. By the time they arrived at the port in the Broken Lands, a month had passed, and the two were as close as any human brothers could ever be. His arrival coincided with the news that the young Zemo had become Baron, after the death of his father, and that he had accused the elder Barnes of failure to pay his due for the years of his service to the estate.

"The Baron of the Rocky Woodlands passed away in your absence," said King Steven. "He left no heirs, as they perished during our battles against the Titan. I wish to offer the estate to you, to elevate you formally into a nobleman, as befits your own nature. As Zemo's equal, he cannot deny your request to pay your father's so-called debt, which I have ruled is 20 gold pieces. Take your father home, Buck. Be my Right Hand, by law as you have always been by brotherhood."

"Only if I take the title of Lord, instead. Lord Buchanan, so that my mother's family name still lives on."

He looked steadily at his foster brother who agreed, and the investiture was performed, although there were some, like Lord Dreykov and Lord Pierce, who were not happy at the elevation of a farmer into the nobility. After making their opposition known, they abided by the King's decision and when Lord Buchanan rode the magnificent black stallion, Magnus, onto Zemo's estate to collect his father, he did it with several men from his own garrison. Some of them, like Rhodes, his new garrison commander, were men he had served with during the long war with Thanos.

"Baron Zemo!" he announced from the courtyard, so that all present could hear him. "By order of the king I offer you the settlement of 20 gold pieces to pay any debt that you feel is owed to you by my father. I await my father's presence as required by the law of the Kingdom of the Broken Lands."

He had been coached on what to say by Jarvis, the king's historian, whose knowledge of the laws of the land was unparalleled. It was several minutes before Zemo appeared, standing on a balcony in his sleeping clothes with two women draped over him, both of them scandalously unclothed.

"His debt is much greater," said Zemo, sullenly.

"Not according to your king," stated Buchanan. "With witnesses present I have been authorized to inform you that if you do not accept the king's judgement in this that you will be considered to be in breach of your vow of fealty to him, made in the presence of God, and in the presence of your peers. You will start a civil war which you have no chance of winning. The choice is yours, Zemo."

"You must be enjoying this," said the haughty baron. "All the money I laid out for Hannah's dowry, which she cheated me out of by killing herself just a day after I would be unable to claim it back. Your own father's debt of hundreds of gold coins reduced to just 20."

Buchanan's hand settled on the hilt of his sword. "You do not have the right to talk ill of the dead," he replied, with glowering eyes. "This is my last request for my father. How do you answer?"

The baron looked behind him, nodding at another person. Then he faced Buchanan.

"I accept the king's wisdom," he said. "Your father is being brought up at this moment. Please hand the 20 gold pieces to my steward."

"When I see my father I will give it to you," answered Buchanan, his hand still on his weapon.

Moments later two guards dragged his father out in a sorry state and for a moment Lord Buchanan contemplated taking his own revenge on the arrogance of the baron. His father was filthy, his clothes covered in the excrement of himself and other animals. Rhodes glanced at his lord, then dismounted with another man, and searched the face of the old man who was before him. After several questions, he was convinced it was the elder Buchanan and nodded to the newly invested lord. He gestured to another soldier who left, returning with a small cart, fitted out with a soft bed. Together they helped the old man onto the cart.

Buchanan hefted the pouch with the gold coins in it for a long moment, considering whether to empty it into the horse shit-filled courtyard, but instead he handed it to the steward and turned Magnus around.

"See you at the palace sometime," said Zemo, as a farewell but Buchanan did not respond, wanting only to return with his father to their new home.

As soon as they were past the border of Eden Vale, they stopped at an inn, where more of his garrison waited, along with Mary, the housekeeper of the former lord. She knew both the elder Barnes and the younger man well, having become friends with them as they sold their vegetables. When she saw the condition of the older man she burst into tears.

"It's not right, M'Lord, that the Baron can get away with this," she said. "Why is he so cruel, when his father was a kind and just man?"

"There is darkness in all men, Mary," replied the young lord, as he picked his father up in his arms, and took him inside the inn, where she had already drawn a bath for the man. "Come, let's get him cleaned up." He looked at Rhodes. "See to your men, make sure they have food, drink and a place to sleep for the night. I have rented all the rooms so some may have to double up, but we won't leave until my father is well enough to travel. The Sorceress is on her way?"

"Aye, she is, sir," said Mary. "The falconer said she should be here before the dawn. Six of the King's Guard accompany her, including the Knight Commander."

"Good, they will also make sure that Baron Zemo makes no attempt at retribution against me."

Together they undressed the old man and Buchanan laid him in the metal tub of warm water. While Mary washed his hair, Buchanan washed his father's body, alarmed at the bruises and cuts he had received while in Zemo's dungeons. It stoked his anger and several times he wanted only to mount Magnus and ride back to that castle to challenge the Baron to a duel for his mistreatment of a man the old Baron considered a friend. However, a voice, perhaps of the Sorceress herself, whispered that someday he would have his moment to dispatch the Baron.

Before dawn, as promised, the Sorceress arrived and was ushered into Buchanan's room, where he rested on a mat on the floor next to his father's bed. As he anxiously watched while she placed her cool hands on the old man's face, murmuring incantations, he saw his father's tortured look finally relax. When the Sorceress pulled her hands away, she patted his father on the chest then bid Buchanan to join her outside the room.

"Your father has suffered a damaging injury to his mind," she said. "I have done what I could, but it is permanent, made worse by the treatment he suffered in Zemo's dungeons." Immediately, Buchanan sought his sword, but she stayed his hand. "If you seek revenge now, you will lose to him. You will be killed and all that is planned for you will be for nought."

"Planned for me? What is planned for me?"

"I cannot enlighten you to that," she answered calmly. "Just believe that you are destined for something good and great, that will serve your king and the people not only of this kingdom but all who still live on this planet. That's not to say that there won't be heartbreak along the way because there will be. My Lord Buchanan, you are one of the best men in this kingdom; the king being another. Other men take inspiration from you and will for many years. But, if you give in to your need for immediate revenge now, or in the future, it will rebound back on you tenfold and undo everything good you have accomplished. Please, heed my counsel. Other battles await you, more important ones. Your time to avenge the evil done by Baron Zemo will come and when it does, I will not block your path."

He breathed heavily for several long minutes, considering her words. Other battles await you, more important ones. Those were the exact same words spoken by the bishop in the coastal garrison of the holy lands, words spoken by a man of God, then repeated just now by a holder of the deeper magic. He removed his hand from his sword.

"Very well," he replied. "I will not take my revenge on Baron Zemo until the time is right, until the day when you do not stop me from my path."

"Thank you," she answered, placing her cool hands on his much larger and more calloused ones. "Allow your father to rest until midday, then return to your estate. Give him a garden to plant and tend. It will keep his mind occupied and make him happy. There will be days he knows you but there will be days he doesn't. Be kind, love him, he was and is a good father to you and the king."

"What of you?" he asked. "Will you rest?"

She smiled. "When I have accomplished all that is before me, I will rest. I promise."

Over the next few years, there was peace in the kingdoms, as the various kings and their noblemen set about to restore prosperity to the lands ravaged by Thanos reign and the long war. More modern people arrived, women with knowledge of science, technology, medicine, and engineering. The Sorceress began sharing "visions" of what the women had left behind in their universes and although the inhabitants of this world didn't really understand they saw the visions of great cities of glass and steel, factories that churned out whatever was needed in those worlds, marketplaces filled with all sorts of food. Even television and movies were explained, although not fully understood. The more enlightened lords, like Stark and Buchanan, saw some good in the visions they were given. Stark sought to understand how those great machines could work and when he found the modern woman who would become his wife in his stable, agreed to keep her presence a secret for in her world, there was a history of women with her knowledge being treated as dangerous. Buchanan fell in love with a modern woman, Elena, but he was a possessive husband, and she felt stifled, never happy with her life on the estate. When she expressed a desire to return home or die trying, the Sorceress sent her back, removing the memory of her life in their world. Buchanan, who had awoken alone, was harder to treat, as his love was deep and the only reason he could accept for her leaving was her death, so the Sorceress put that into his mind. She felt terrible for the manipulation and even worse when Baron Zemo overheard her confide that to King Steven's wife, formally Queen Margaret, or Peg as she was commonly called. He used that knowledge to his advantage, keeping both women wondering when he would reveal their shared secret.

Peggy Carter, a British captain in the army, was no fool. A former spy, she was pulled out of her world just before her counterpart died in a suicide bombing in London. Landing in the forest, directly in front of King Steven as he rode to get away from the pressures of ruling, she was recognized as military by him, just by her uniform. Introducing himself, he offered to help her up behind him on his horse, impressed at how she used her own strength as well as his to climb up. Surprised that he didn't seem afraid of her, he told her how there were many modern women appearing in the land, all of them accomplished.

"By your garb, I take it you were a soldier," he said. "You wear cloth breeches and have regalia on your collar and sleeves that mark you as having a commission."

"I am a Captain," she replied. "I saw several tours of combat and can fight against most men, holding my own against them. Do you not have women in your military here?"

"No, although it is an idea I have contemplated," he said. "Certainly, there have been some who managed to live just fine without a husband or male relative to provide for them. They seem to chop wood, hunt, and fish on their own with few difficulties. It stands to reason they could probably fight if they had to. However, there are many more men who still think women should stay at home and take care of their children. Not all women are meant for that however."

"We have a saying in my world for men like that," she ventured. "Fuck the patriarchy."

At first, he was shocked to hear those words come from her lips, then he laughed and looked back at her.

"What would you replace it with?"

"Equality for all sexes," she replied. "You must have men who prefer men, women who prefer women, some that prefer both or several at the same time. Replace the patriarchy with respect for everyone and let them live their lives. As long as no one is hurt, what does it matter?"

"Indeed, what does it matter?"

Over the next few weeks, he found Peg, as she preferred to be called, was more than capable of holding her own against most men, although she didn't know sword play, her staff skills were basic, as were her archery skills. But in hand-to-hand combat, few men could best her. When she saw a carbine, that a pedlar from one of the far-off lands had brought in as personal protection she talked the man into letting her fire several rounds at a target, convincing the king to pay him a gold piece for the opportunity. She hit the target dead centre each time.

"Where did this come from?" she asked. "It has US Army markings on it."

"It is ancient," he said. "I traded for it in the Oklahoma wilderness where the first peoples who were there from the beginning still live. I had some copper wire that I salvaged from another place. They saw it, offered me the carbine, plus a horse. It was a good trade, but I will need more rounds of ammunition for it. I just hope that what I have lasts until I get back there with something else to trade."

She looked at the king. "You have the makings of gunpowder, don't you?" He nodded. "Do you have any blacksmiths or farriers with modern knowledge?" He nodded again. She looked at the pedlar. "I will see if I can duplicate your ammunition. I'll need a single round to measure and weigh the components."

"Another gold piece," he offered.

She looked back at Steven, who nodded, producing a gold piece from a leather pouch. They didn't see each other for two weeks as she worked almost exclusively with the farrier. During that time, she figured out very quickly that the Sorceress had a plan, seeing how she nudged attitudes and decisions towards things that would make life better. The Sorceress also didn't seem surprised with what Peg was doing. When the pedlar stopped at the palace before returning to their land, she presented him with a case of 24 rounds of ammunition.

"That is a gift," she said. "As long as you don't tell anyone where you got them from. It will be our secret. Do you agree?"

"If you know how to make more rounds you should be trading them," he said. "I know many pedlars with carbines that are useless because they ran out of ammunition and haven't found anything the Oklahomans want in trade."

She shrugged. "Let's just say I'm working on something a little easier to carry but it would be better if no one knew about it just yet. When we are ready, we can talk."

The little something she referred to was a hand pistol, easily reloaded, and able to be carried on a holster that fit around the waist. Wanting to demonstrate to the king how effective it could be as an additional weapon she agreed to demonstrate it in the woods, accompanied only by the King and Lord Buchanan, his Right Hand and foster brother. As expected, like other men of their world, they were both of the opinion that her demonstration would not change their minds on the pistol's benefits. When she hit the six-inch diameter target from over a hundred yards away both men very quickly changed their opinion. Giving them both the opportunity to try it for themselves she was gratified when they both agreed it would be a superior weapon to add to their arsenal and plans were made to begin manufacturing them. After Buchanan retired for the night, the King realized that Peg was a woman of exceptional capability, whose mere presence set his heart racing. Impulsively, he asked for her hand in marriage. Just as impulsively, she accepted.

This was the state of the kingdom when it seemed that the influx of modern women suddenly slowed, affecting the rate of change in the home world of the Sorceress. Although she was in communication with her future version, Wanda Maximoff, the Sorceress was worried that just as they were on the brink of a major breakthrough that could save her world, the last few women that were needed to help the process had not yet been found. That was, until a young woman named Ileana, a victim of an assault, was brought in unconscious to the ER. Accompanied by her blind date, named Bucky, who had arrived at the scene of the assault too late to prevent it, Wanda was surprised to find that he was Lord Buchanan's counterpart, while Ileana was another counterpart of the nobleman's deceased wife Elena. Advising the Sorceress of the pair's appearance, they sent this version of Ileana to that world, hoping that this time she would choose to stay. Still, they prepared for the possibility she wouldn't. At the time, both the Sorceress and the doctor believed only one of the two young women would survive. After several tense days that fear proved groundless as both versions chose to stay where they were, binding themselves to their world's James Buchanan Barnes.

In that world that was thrown back in time, Ileana quickly became Lady Buchanan, and joined the Queen's Guard, learning the necessities of sword play, and physical fighting with a staff or pike. Over a longer time, the mother of two daughters and two sons, became an essential part of the Queen's Council, formed of both modern and native-born women in the kingdom. Arising out of an ad hoc strike that formed where the women of the kingdom refused their services unless they received the same rights as men, it spread to a movement to improve health care, educational opportunities in higher learning and trades, and raise the standard of living overall.

Her version of James Buchanan Barnes, Lord Buchanan, remained as the King's Right Hand, his most trusted advisor. He became a leading statesman for the kingdom, travelling across the land and even across the ocean to the east, establishing diplomatic relations with those kingdoms that had survived the calamity there. Remaining allied closely to the Kingdom of the Green Lands, ruled progressively by King Thorn, the Kingdom of Blue Waters, also ruled progressively by Queen Maria, the Confederation of Oklahoma Tribes, led by the Grand Chief Waya, and the Lone Star Republic, governed by a council led by his foster son, Quin Torres-Walker, Buchanan often travelled with their emissaries as a group, showing a unified position to the rest of the world as they sought out the survivors of the calamity, now estimated to have happened almost 700 years before.

For all of his travelling, Buchanan was happiest at home on his estate, with his beloved Ileana. The last of the Sorceress' magic, along with the connection he had with his wife, was what brought him back from the last known appearance of the White Wolf. Although he never transformed into that mystical creature again, it was said that he sometimes rode into the forests of his estate and communed with the wolves there, accompanied by Sky, the black wolf that chose to live with him.

It was more likely to see Buchanan in the company of Dr. Bruce Banner, once known only as Bruce the Giant. Finding his own place in the kingdom as the chief scientific and medical advisor to the king, he lived a mostly quiet life with his wife, Betty, a modern born veterinarian. Able to reclaim his human form, after a moment of realization that he was happy in his situation, he was respected by many and consulted on most endeavours of a scientific nature.

The biggest of those ventures, the coordination of the remaining missiles of destruction, plus others that were located to destroy any remaining asteroids that threatened their world was ambitious. Using the observations of several large telescopes that were discovered and restored, plus the calculations of the supercomputer safely ensconced in the port of the Broken Lands kingdom, a team of modern born scientists, including Banner, and Queen Jane of the Kingdom of the Green Lands, plus several brilliant minds that came from the world as it was, including Lord Anthony Stark, William Harley, and Silas Brenson (still refusing any title offered to him), watched one morning as a coordinated launch of all the missiles was sent into the asteroid cloud. With the cooperation of many to keep the population inside at the moment of impact a great flash was seen from far away, confirming the impact of the missiles on the deadly rocks. Broken up into many smaller, less lethal meteoroids that mostly burned up in the atmosphere, the few that did make it to the ground became treasured souvenirs of the day that their world became free of the threat of destruction from above. For several nights after the event, the night skies glowed as the Northern Lights seemed to celebrate their good fortune. Life for this universe's version of Earth became good and its people prospered.

➿ ➿

In the modern world only a few hours passed between the time Ileana arrived at the emergency room, then woke up and went off into the night with her blind date, Bucky Barnes. The appearance of the Northern Lights so far south as New Orleans, as they walked outside seemed to be a sign that their romance was off to a good start. Certainly, the former Sorceress, now fully integrated into one being, as Dr. Wanda Maximoff, still had enough of her old magic left to give the couple a blessing, ensuring that they would have a good life.

Now just over 700 years old, she had expended all of her supernatural abilities into keeping her old world alive after the calamity that almost destroyed it. It hadn't been just keeping the asteroids at bay, nudging them in space to avoid impact as best she could. It had also been ensuring that the satellites visible in the sky to Lord Buchanan that one night, kept circling the planet without decaying their orbits, especially the International Space Station. Viewing that had confirmed to the modern born women that the backwards world they now found themselves on had once been advanced and could be again. Her powers had also been used to keep batteries charged in the missile silos, long enough for them to be discovered, explored, then powered by solar or wind power developed on site. Countless encounters between modern borns, and native borns, even the pairing of certain native borns had been instigated by her, in the hopes of creating the necessary partnerships that would save the world. The draining of her own powers was freely given, and she was now content to live her life as a mortal, aging normally in this modern world she now found herself in.

Wanda would always remember the moment she first saw the gravely injured Lord Buchanan on the battlefield after the defeat of the Mad Titan, realizing this was the man who could be the linchpin of the great change needed to save her home world. In an instant, she recognized the nobility within him, seeing his whole past and future history flash in her mind. From his beginnings as a lowly born farmer, reluctant but exemplary soldier, and almost priest, to respected lord and statesman, she saw the path laid before him with clarity, a path she could ensure would happen. There would be times of heartbreak, but also great happiness and satisfaction in his life, for he truly saw the greater picture, and was a man who saw duty as an obligation. More than anyone else, she would ensure his survival and his happiness, knowing that he was worthy of the accolades that would be said about him for many years. Because of her, the story of Lord Buchanan, born James Buchanan Barnes, would be part of that world's history forever.

THE END - FINALLY!

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