Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 1729 Houston

"We've all forgotten one person."

Bayonetta looked coldly at the Scarlet Witch. The powerful red-haired witch's cheeks were almost as red as her hair, because the witch always spoke so frankly about her private matters. "You two are quite close, Wanda," the witch said. "Natasha Romanoff, have you heard anything about her lately?"

"No." Wanda shook her head.

Although she didn't officially join the Avengers, that didn't mean she had a bad relationship with the Avengers members. Most of the time, Salomon didn't have time to manage her life, and her personal assistant, Ms. Dinah, was also very busy. Only Natasha Romanoff, who was also a woman and lived in New York State, could help her with many of her daily problems, such as getting a driver's license and withdrawing money from the bank. Naturally, she and Wanda became acquainted.

Despite her still strained relationship with Tony Stark, Wanda Maximoff no longer resisted interacting with the Avengers, the American group. She didn't mind participating in some Avengers activities and using her own strength—a suggestion from Pietro, who believed that staying in the penthouse all the time would damage her mind and body—and she was troubled by Pietro's softened attitude towards Tony Stark. However, she knew the real culprit wasn't the Stark name, and she didn't need to draw strength from hatred.

Over time, the resentment lessened, and she even had a room at the Avengers' base, right next to Natasha Romanoff's. Late-night conversations between women are often quite explicit, and Natasha Romanoff was no exception; those topics always made Wanda blush.

It seemed that because Salomon had bought Wanda a luxurious penthouse overlooking Central Park in Manhattan, Natasha began to suspect a relationship between Wanda and Salomon. With just a little manipulation, Natasha Romanoff heard the truth from Wanda. On one occasion, when Salomon went to the penthouse to check on Wanda's mental state, he happened to run into the red-haired spy who was also there for a visit.

At her invitation, they spent a truly perfect evening...

After this incident, Wanda and Natasha Romanoff became ridiculously close. The only problem was ordering a bed big enough to be delivered to their penthouse, and they weren't allowed to use magic. Wanda had already guessed that Bayonetta would find out about this, but she hadn't expected the black-haired witch to tell her so readily. She didn't know if Salomon was being too honest or if the witch had her own intelligence network.

Wanda only now realized that she hadn't been in contact with Natasha for a long time.

Part of the reason was that everyone was busy searching for Salomon after his disappearance, and Wanda was no exception. She spent a month in her penthouse doing divination, during which time she had no contact with the outside world. Another reason was that Natasha Romanoff was a professional agent. After the collapse of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the disbandment of the Avengers, as an agent who possessed many secrets, she lost her protection. Many intelligence agencies, including the US government, were trying to find the remaining S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, and even Wanda discovered agents tailing her more than once. It wasn't until she turned those agents into sheep that this blatant surveillance subsided.

So Natasha Romanoff went into hiding, contacting the outside world only through a few channels. Only a small number of people knew her whereabouts or whether she was on a secret mission. Now these secret communication networks have also fallen silent. Wanda had initially thought that Natasha Romanoff was on a mission to hunt down Hydra remnants as usual, but now she realized that this time the loss of contact had lasted for far too long.

Why would you suspect Natasha knows where the teacher is?

"His social circle is that simple," Bayonetta shook her head. "He has no interest in socializing with irrelevant people."

“Victoria Hand doesn’t know anything about her either. Maybe Victoria Hand knows, but doesn’t want to tell me,” Bayonetta said. She knew what she was doing—she was extending her reach into Salomon’s organization, and as a witch without power, she was bound to face opposition from powerful figures, including former S.H.I.E.L.D. Level 8 agent Victoria Hand and Yugoslav Regent Viktor von Doom.

Bayonetta had always been ignorant of the organization Salomon had established, knowing only that Salomon now completely controlled Kamar-Taj; she knew nothing about the Immortal City or Yugoslavia. But now, the emperor of Yugoslavia, the Immortal City, and Mars had vanished. As matriarchs, Bayonetta and Joan of Arc were not the type to prepare pasta and mattresses for the men before war; they would take up swords and pistols to confront their family's enemies, whether from within or without.

The most trusted force at present is actually the series of enterprises controlled by the Order established by Baldr in this timeline—Beyond's mad father. Over five hundred years of operation, this vast group, spread throughout Europe, has provided Bayonetta and Joan of Arc with a continuous stream of wealth and political resources.

A large portion of this wealth was used to operate the Immortal City and the Martian Foundry. Even Maya Hansen's genetic laboratory received funding from the witch; otherwise, Salomon, who didn't have a thousand dollars in his bank account, wouldn't have had the power to rebuild the Immortal City.

In other words, Bayonetta and Joan of Arc were the Emperor's biggest financial providers. Kamar-Taj's funds were used to defend against extradimensional invasions, support adventurers and archaeologists, and cultivate relationships with politicians and the media. As a result, even though the Emperor was the ruler of Kamar-Taj, he did not receive much funding to support his own endeavors. What he truly owned were the personal assets left by the Sorcerer Supreme, including numerous properties in New York.

Now Bayonetta wants to see where her money went, and no one can refuse. This process is accompanied by the Guardians—the portion of the Imperial Guard that the Emperor did not take with him; otherwise, Victor von Doom would never have been in this position, given that his secret plan with the Emperor violated every rule established by Kamar-Taj.

"If Salomon lived in this era, he would definitely be in contact with someone. He didn't contact Victor von Doom or Athena, so by process of elimination from his social circle, I can only assume he contacted Natasha Romanoff. After all, she was his first woman. And then there's Nick Fury; his first contact with mortal society was with these agents, and who knows what kind of schemes they might pull..."

The black-haired witch gave a disdainful snort, expressing her contempt and anger. "At least I hope that's how it is, otherwise we'd be dragging him out of a bunch of bikini-clad college girls' pool in some villa in Massachusetts."

"I can make a prophecy," Wanda quickly said. "Bird divination and internal organ divination should be able to find her."

Wanda is in a panic because she and Natasha Romanoff had made a promise to have a new life together.

"Don't be nervous, I have no hostility towards you, Wanda. Do you think Joan and I can handle that 12-pound cannon?" Bayonetta shook her head helplessly. "Now we should have lunch first. The only thing we can be sure of is that he is hiding in this era and is not in mortal danger—there are very few things in this world that can threaten him, and everything would attract Kamar-Taj's attention—no matter what we do, that fact will not change."

Bayonetta casually tossed the roll of parchment onto the long table in the living room, discarding this treasure, coveted by countless archaeologists and paleographers of the Immortal City, like trash. "Maybe he's somewhere, comfortably waiting for us to solve the mystery! That damned man, he assigned me a mountain of work before he disappeared!"

The excavation work continues.

To be precise, the excavation work has never stopped.

Under the supervision of two guards remaining in the Immortal City, several long-sealed chambers were opened, and artifacts from various eras and civilizations were unearthed. The city's size expanded with each excavation, even surpassing the boundaries of Rome overhead. Laura Crawford, Richard Crawford's daughter, joined the latest phase of the excavation—she located the ancient chamber containing the Euphrates Blood Pact with divine guidance. These relics were compiled into archives and sent either to experts within the Immortal City's research departments or to research institutes supported by external affiliates (such as Hydra).

For these experts dedicated to filling in the gaps in forgotten history, the discovery of the Immortal City has completely overturned their understanding of the origins of human civilization. If there's any regret, it's that not only can these research findings not be published, but they themselves, after signing confidentiality agreements, are forbidden from leaving a single word in their work logs.

Bayonetta values ​​this excavation work highly; she wants to know exactly how many organizations and families throughout history have signed the Euphrates Pact. This is an accounting task, and on her orders, actuaries from Wakanda have also joined the operation. Legally, these organizations and families are members of the Brotherhood of the Shield and possess the right to inherit the Immortal City.

After the Brotherhood of the Shield was destroyed by the Celestial Spawn in the last century, these organizations and families that obtained funds and technology from the Immortal City lost their contacts, including the Stark family. Now, these documents and the DNA on the Euphrates Pact prove that the Emperor is the true owner of the Immortal City, and Bayonetta is entitled to demand that the rebuilt Brotherhood of the Shield reclaim its assets, or that those organizations and families reaffirm their allegiance.

However, it's impossible to force these organizations, which constitute modern financial conglomerates, military-industrial complexes, and ocean shipping giants, to submit with just a contract. But Bayonetta doesn't care. She only needs to test the attitudes of these organizations. As for how to deal with these treacherous organizations, that's the Emperor and Victor von Doom's problem; they have plenty of experience in this area.

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Woodway Avenue, Houston, Texas.

This name is practically etched into the soul of every real estate agent in Houston. Just hearing this name means a hefty commission, because the area is home to a large number of mansions exceeding five million dollars in size, with an average price of over five million dollars. Only Houston's true elite can afford to purchase fixed assets here.

Luxury cars are common here. A deep red Lamborghini Huracan Evo RWD, which might attract attention elsewhere, quietly drove into villa number 5412, worth $800 million. A beautiful redhead parked the car under the villa's massive marble vaulted ceiling, hands on hips, surveying the European-style building. Before coming here, she had researched the house's previous owners. This white marble building appeared to have been purchased by an oil company family that had lived in Houston for many years. This family had resided in Houston since the westward expansion era and now served on the boards of energy giants such as ConocoPhillips, Baker Hughes, and Halliburton.

Despite their illustrious reputation, members of this family rarely appear at gatherings of local tycoons. Almost all business operations are handled by professionals, and they are so low-key that people almost think the family line has died out. Only some old and dying individuals can meet with this mysterious family patriarch and reach business cooperation agreements.

That was all the information she knew. Even when S.H.I.E.L.D. was still in existence, she wouldn't dare to provoke these families that were deeply rooted in the nation's foundation—until she saw information about a descendant of a fallen family selling family paintings and albums online. She recognized a familiar face in one of the photos. She contacted the seller online and paid one hundred dollars. The original owner of the album enthusiastically told her a legend passed down in the family. The person in the legend was the first patriarch of this mysterious family.

Legend has it that the first head of this family, armed with two revolvers, built a vast gang during the westward expansion. With the advent of industrialization, they used their military might to seize large oil fields and transform into an oil company. Natasha Romanoff pursed her lips; she was certain this story was a fabrication by the family head, all information a smokescreen. Although she didn't know why someone living in the 21st century would become an American energy family, the information Nick Fury revealed suggested that the family head was involved in some research related to time.

The only thing she was certain of was that there had always been only one person in this family.

"You must be Ms. Romanov. The master informed me that we have an important guest today." The gray-haired butler, dressed casually, stood at the door to greet the woman in a business suit. "The master has been waiting for you for a long time."

A flawless version after careful inspection!

"How long have you served your master?"

"Our family has served our masters for generations, a history spanning 130 years."

"Do you know him?" Natasha Romanov handed the car keys to the butler.

“I know him well, Ms. Romanoff, which is why we follow him.” The butler took the keys and said meaningfully, “He’s very busy and spends very little time in Houston.”

"And now?" Natasha Romanov asked. "What is he doing?"

The butler did not answer, but opened the door and bowed slightly to her politely. "He is waiting for you in the study, madam."

Natasha Romanov entered the foyer, where two classically curved marble staircases connected to the second floor. Bright sunlight streamed in from the floor-to-ceiling windows on both floors, and a huge European-style chandelier studded with crystals glittered overhead. She saw several lawyers in suits descending the other staircase, carrying documents, completely ignoring her presence.

She stood on the second floor, overlooking the fountain and pool in the backyard. Further away were expanses of green space and a tennis court, their dense hedges shielding the area from outside prying eyes. Based on experience, she judged that these hedges were undoubtedly equipped with hidden sensors; the most advanced security system protected the area in an unseen way. Moreover, the owner of this villa must possess an arsenal filled with active-duty equipment. As a "dictator" considered an enemy by the entire capitalist society, one would certainly be well-prepared when in enemy territory.

A moment later, the villa fell silent again. The lawyer and actuary who had come to report had disappeared, and a tall, white-haired girl in a European-style maid's dress appeared silently behind her—Dinah. In the S.H.I.E.L.D. files, she was described as a powerful android. Natasha Romanoff nodded to her—Natasha and Dinah had met more than once, and the appearance of this android further confirmed her suspicions, because Dinah would never leave her master.

"Why don't you come in?"

A familiar voice sounded behind her, and Natasha Romanov turned to look at the legendary vanished man. If the US government knew he was here, the National Guard would have been out in force to arrest him, but he had remained untouched for nearly two centuries. "The CIA would never expect to see you here," Natasha Romanov said, hands on her hips, scrutinizing the man before her. "But I'm even more interested in your secret to eternal youth. Would you mind sharing it with me?"

“You know, wizards can live a very long time, just like Nick Fury suspected.” Salomon went up and hugged her—he had to bend down slightly because of the height difference—then handed Natasha a key card. “You’re safe here. The FBI, CIA, and MI6 can’t find this place. There are only the two of us in this villa now; the butler has left.”

Diana nodded to her master and walked down the stairs without saying a word.

"I have so many questions now," Natasha said, brushing a strand of red hair behind her ear. "How long have you actually lived? Was the way we met a lie?"

"I assure you, I was not even twenty when I first met you, which means you committed a federal felony, Natasha."

Hearing this answer, Natasha Romanov breathed a sigh of relief. Salomon's jokes were as clumsy as ever, proving that his personality remained the same as she knew. She smiled. "Although I still have questions to ask, now is not the time. We have plenty of time now, don't we?"

"Yes, I owe you a gift. I'm going to fulfill this long-delayed promise."

"What promise... Oh, you still owe me a child, Salomon, you're so cute." Natasha looked up into his eyes. She found no trace of his former vigor, only pain and torment—the curse of time. Salomon was only in his early twenties according to his birthdate; such eyes didn't belong to a young man. "When our passion fades, you must tell me properly what you've been through. I have a feeling you've become stronger."

"You can't imagine what price I paid."

"I'll know." She stood on tiptoe, tracing circles on Salomon's chest with her fingertips. "You know, I have plenty of experience interrogating people in bed."