The elevator chimed softly as Wanda, Natasha, and Talia stepped inside, the chaos of the street protest receding behind the sleek, soundproof walls of Stark Tower. Talia adjusted her bzer with a practiced flick of her wrist, her sharp blue eyes scanning Wanda as if trying to dissect her with sheer curiosity.

  "Let me guess," Talia began, her tone dripping with sarcasm. "You’re here to tell me I’m responsible for global warming, aren’t you?"

  Wanda arched an eyebrow. "No, I’m here because I was told you might actually be useful. So far, the jury’s out."

  Natasha smirked at the exchange, leaning casually against the elevator wall. “You two are going to get along great.”

  The elevator doors slid open, revealing Talia’s sprawling penthouse—a luxurious combination of high-tech minimalism and Stark fir. Sleek furniture, floor-to-ceiling windows with a panoramic view of Manhattan, and an absurdly rge, holographic dispy dominating one wall. But what caught Wanda’s attention was the faint squawking sound coming from a small corner of the room.

  “What’s that?” Wanda asked, gesturing toward a cage containing a brightly colored mechanical bird.

  “Oh, that’s Pecksy—my personal reminder of why I don’t mess with nature anymore,” Talia replied with a nonchant wave. “Well, not too much.”

  Natasha gnced at the bird and then back at Talia, her green eyes narrowing. “Why do you have a robot bird?”

  Talia let out an exaggerated sigh, crossing her arms. “Because the real ones deserved to go extinct. Especially those birds.”

  Wanda tilted her head, intrigued. “What birds?”

  Talia grinned wickedly, as if she’d been waiting to tell this story. “The Greater Crapwing.”

  Wanda blinked. “The... what?”

  “The Greater Crapwing,” Talia repeated with mock solemnity. “It’s an ironic name because all they were known for was crapping on people and their stuff. They were pests, pin and simple. A menace to society.”

  Natasha snorted. “I think I’m going to like where this is going.”

  Talia began pacing as she spoke, clearly enjoying the theatrics. “These birds were relentless. Every morning, without fail, they’d target my car. Not just any birds—those birds. It was like they had a vendetta against me personally. No matter where I parked, they found me. And one day... I snapped.”

  Wanda raised an eyebrow. “What exactly did you do?”

  “I created a virus,” Talia said matter-of-factly. “A highly targeted, biologically engineered virus designed to wipe out the entire species. I called it Operation Fowl Py.”

  Natasha’s ughter burst out before she could stop herself. “You committed avian genocide because of bird poop?”

  “They started it,” Talia shot back defensively. “Do you know how many car washes I had to go through? Do you know the cost of a custom Stark wax job?”

  Wanda’s lips twitched with suppressed amusement. “You’re telling me you wiped out an entire species because they pooped on your car?”

  “Repeatedly,” Talia crified. “Every single day. It was personal.”

  Natasha nodded solemnly. “Absolutely justified. Petty revenge is the cornerstone of civilization.”

  “Exactly!” Talia gestured at Natasha, as if she’d finally found someone who understood. “Is it really so wrong to eliminate an entire bird species for petty revenge?”

  Before Wanda could respond, Natasha added with a smirk, “Those birds deserved their just deserts.”

  Wanda rolled her eyes. “If we’re handing out desserts, they’re probably still waiting for their afterlife buffet.”

  Talia grinned, clearly pleased with herself. “You see? Justice.”

  Wanda shook her head, but her amusement was clear. “Funny you should mention that. We had Greater Crapwings in Sokovia too. They were notorious for dive-bombing the pace. Eska, my second-in-command, said they all mysteriously dropped dead one day. She didn’t say how.”

  Talia smirked knowingly. “You’re welcome.”

  Natasha’s grin widened. “So you’ve already done Sokovia a favor. Look at that, Talia—an international humanitarian.”

  “Don’t encourage her,” Wanda muttered, though she couldn’t help but smile.

  As they moved deeper into the penthouse, Talia gestured for them to follow her toward the central table, where a holographic dispy projected detailed schematics of various devices. “In all seriousness, the eco-terrorists aren’t mad about the birds—at least not entirely.”

  Wanda raised an eyebrow. “Oh? Do tell.”

  Talia sighed, running a hand through her ptinum hair. “They’re upset because Stark Industries’ older weapons caused colteral damage to the environment. I inherited the mess, and apparently, I’m responsible for every forest fire, dead fish, and toxic wastend in the world.”

  Wanda crossed her arms. “You don’t sound very sympathetic.”

  “Because I’m not,” Talia said bluntly. “Most of those weapons were decommissioned years ago. But of course, eco-extremists need a vilin to yell at, and I’m an easy target.”

  “They probably don’t appreciate Operation Fowl Py either,” Natasha quipped.

  Talia shot her a mock gre. “That wasn’t public knowledge, and I intend to keep it that way.”

  Wanda shook her head, gncing at the holograms. “So what are you actually working on now? More bird viruses?”

  “No,” Talia replied with mock indignation. “I’m working on clean energy solutions and advanced technology to prevent unnecessary environmental damage. But does anyone care about that? No. They just want to throw spoiled milk at me.”

  Natasha smirked. “Well, you did try to wipe out an entire species.”

  “Fair point,” Talia admitted, plopping onto a sleek white couch and gesturing for Wanda and Natasha to join her. “Anyway, enough about the birds. Let’s talk about why you’re really here.”

  Wanda sat down gracefully, her crimson coat pooling around her. “We need your expertise, Stark. Sokovia is rebuilding, but we need more than just infrastructure. We need defenses.”

  Talia’s expression turned serious, though her blue eyes still sparkled with interest. “You want my technology.”

  Wanda met her gaze evenly. “I want your brain.”

  Talia smirked. “You’re going to have to be more specific.”

  Natasha, sensing the brewing tension, interjected. “Why don’t we start with a tour of your test projects? It’ll give Wanda a better idea of what you can do.”

  Talia nodded, standing up and gesturing for them to follow her toward the penthouse b. “Fine. But if we’re doing this, you’re both going to owe me.”

  “For what?” Wanda asked, standing.

  “For making me ugh,” Talia replied, her smirk returning. “It’s been a while since anyone’s been able to do that.”

  Wanda rolled her eyes but couldn’t suppress a small smile. “Let’s hope your tech is as impressive as your sense of humor.”

  As Talia led them deeper into the penthouse, the tension between them began to ease, repced by the spark of potential colboration. Wanda didn’t trust Talia—not yet—but she couldn’t deny the brilliance radiating from her every word and gesture. And despite herself, Wanda found that she was curious—about Talia’s work, her sharp wit, and the strange connection that seemed to be forming between them.

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