The Magus In Marvel

The aftermath of Deadpool's sudden and chaotic appearance left Rin standing in stunned silence, still processing the absolute absurdity of what had just transpired. Tony, who had been casually sipping his coffee in the background, finally broke the silence.

"So… are we just going to ignore that? Or should I start preparing for more masked lunatics teleporting into my living room?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Rin let out a deep sigh, rubbing her temples. "At this point, I'm just accepting that reality is broken."

Tony smirked. "That's the spirit. Now, who the hell was that guy?"

"Hell if I know," Rin muttered, still staring at the spot where the man had disappeared. "Well, moving on…"

Tony blinked. "That was fast."

"Please, I already tolerate Zelretch on a daily basis. You get used to such shenanigans after some time," Rin replied dryly. "So, as I was saying, Tony, how would you deal with someone who has uploaded his brain into an old computer and has hidden himself in some abandoned military base while monitoring and interfering with the entire world?"

Tony set his cup down, his interest piqued. "Sounds like a villain straight out of a sci-fi novel. Are we talking theoretical, or should I be worried?"

Rin gave him a look. "Arnim Zola. He's real, and he's still out there. Well, technically, his body is long gone, but his consciousness isn't. He's been pulling strings from the shadows, influencing global events for decades."

Tony's expression darkened slightly. "That's… disturbing. And you're sure about this?"

"Dead sure," Rin affirmed. "He's hiding in an old S.H.I.E.L.D. base that got repurposed over time. No one realizes he's still active because they assume he died with the fall of Hydra, but he's been sitting there, biding his time."

Tony exhaled sharply, already running calculations in his head. "Alright. If this guy is half as dangerous as you make him sound, then we need to find him before he becomes a problem. Any ideas on how to flush him out?"

Rin smirked. "I thought you'd never ask. I know where he is, but we might need to wait a bit. He's tied to something far more complicated than just another hidden Hydra remnant, and having the whole team assembled would be the best way to handle this."

Tony leaned back in his chair, thoughtful. "If you say so. No need to rush into this alone. So, what do we do in the meantime?"

Rin shrugged. "I don't know. Just go build some more suits. Don't you have a company to run?"

Tony scoffed. "Oh, sure. I'll just go invent something groundbreaking while waiting for the next supervillain to pop up. No big deal."

As they were about to dissolve into another childish argument, the sound of heels clicking against the marble floor announced Pepper Potts' arrival. She walked in with an air of practiced authority, her gaze flicking between the two of them before settling on Tony with a raised eyebrow.

"Should I be concerned that the two of you always look like you're plotting something questionable?" she asked, crossing her arms.

Tony grinned. "Depends. Would you be more or less concerned if I said we were discussing a digitized Nazi brain running a secret global surveillance operation?"

Pepper sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Why do I even ask?"

She walked over to the couch and grabbed the remote, switching on the TV as she sat down. Expecting to catch up on news or maybe check stock updates, she instead found herself staring at something far more ridiculous.

On the screen, an old man—half-naked, with wild hair and an even wilder expression—was running in circles around Stonehenge, flailing his arms and shouting what sounded like scientific jargon. The news ticker at the bottom identified him as a renowned astrophysicist.

Tony, Rin, and Pepper all stared at the screen in silence.

Tony finally broke it. "Well, that's new."

Pepper slowly turned to look at Rin. "Please tell me this isn't related to you."

Rin groaned, feeling yet another headache coming on. "Someone really needs to hand me a proper canonical timeline for these events because things are starting to blur together in the worst way possible."

Rin fell into deep thought, carefully weighing the implications of interfering with this event. On one hand, there weren't any major casualties in the movie that would drastically impact future battles. Even the Reality Stone, currently out in the open, was eventually entrusted to the Collector. Despite his unimpressive demeanor, Rin distinctly remembered—accurately, of course—that he was an Elder of the Universe, just like the Grandmaster. That had to mean something, especially since Thanos chose to attack Xandar for the Power Stone rather than stealing the Reality Stone from a single man.

The only major upside to intervening seemed to be ensuring Frigga's survival and saving a handful of unnamed Asgardians. However, if things went wrong, the entire plot could unravel, making everything unpredictable. And as a magus, Rin prided herself on making rational, calculated decisions—reckless heroics were Shirou's job, after all.

She stood there, chewing her lip in deep conflict, her fingers tapping against her crossed arms. The weight of the decision loomed over her like a storm cloud, pressing down with quiet intensity. Tony noticed the hesitation, his brow furrowing slightly as he observed her.

"Alright, spill it," he said, folding his arms. "You're overthinking something again."

Rin huffed. "It's called being cautious, Stark. You should try it sometime."

"Nah, where's the fun in that?" he shot back with a smirk. "But seriously, what's got you all contemplative?"

She exhaled, rubbing the back of her neck. "Just debating if meddling with this mess is worth the risk."

Tony raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that, like, half of what you do anyway? Meddle with things you probably shouldn't?"

She rolled her eyes. "Says the man who built a flying death machine in a cave."

"Touché."

A heavy pause settled between them before Rin straightened up, resolve setting in. "Alright, Tony. Change of plans. We're going to London."

Tony blinked, then sighed dramatically. "And here I thought we'd get a quiet week."

Pepper groaned. "Why do I have a bad feeling about this?"