[ CW: DETAILED SEXUAL CONTENT ]

the old armchair positioned across from the even more ancient wooden chair that the woman sat. He shifted slightly as the cracked maroon leather was rather uncomfortable. The Cloak of Levitation was wrapped around her shoulders, covering as much of her exposed skin as it could. While it was still loyal to Dr. Strange, the fickle relic appeared to have grown a sort of attachment to the witch.

"It's only been a couple of days, Stephen. How did you discover this information so quickly?"

"Time passes differently in other realities. I knew it wasn't on our side in this one so I simply traveled to another. While it's only been two days since we last spoke in this reality, it has been two years in the other."

It took one of the most powerful magic users in the universe two years in another reality to discover even a fraction of the information the two needed to know.

Iris had been under the notion that by using her powers, she was draining her own life source, ultimately killing herself in the process. This notion was wrong - utterly, entirely, completely.

Each time she used her her powers, she was draining the life source of others in a different timeline, in a different reality, in a different universe. She was slowly killing different versions of herself but not the version that ultimately mattered here and now.

"The Book of the Vishanti states that there are 'literally a transfinite number, that is, a number greater than infinity' of universes in the Multiverse. At the time of your birth, a timeline diverged and an infinite number of realities branched into their own timelines. Usually, new universes and dimensions are caused by time traveling yet I found no signs of that being the case when it comes to you," He explained. "You always have been an anomaly, haven't you?"

Her neurons fired rapidly as she tried to process the idea of infinite timelines, realities, and universes. It was a daunting subject that even the most genius of mankind could hardly wrap their heads around, let alone fully understand.

"I don't quite understand how you have the ability draw power from versions of yourselves across the Multiverse but reality is a system of chaos and you are the product of two cosmic entities. Magic is weaved into the very foundation of everything that has ever existed and ever will exist. People such as ourselves are tethered to this magic. We are one with it."

"Stephen, I don't speak magic. I speak to the dead. What are you trying to tell me?" All of the new information he was telling her was swirling inside her brain and becoming a runny mess. She couldn't tell where one thought started and another ended. She couldn't grasp onto what she knew for certain and what she had yet to understand.

"Iris, I'm telling you you're one of the most powerful magic users that has ever existed."

refused to unwind itself from the woman's body even as she placed both of her feet on soft carpet. Strange was yelling for the cloak to return to him, explaining that Madripoor was not where it belonged. "It possess a mind of its own. It's probably drawn to the magic aura you emit."

"Or, hear me out," she suggested, "It just likes me more than you."

"Are you trying to steal my cloak?"

"Is it stealing if it willingly comes with me?" She laughed before physically removing the red material from her shoulders. She whispered something in her native tongue and it seemed to understand as it flew around her body twice before zipping through the portal and levitating next to its chosen master.

"What did you tell it?" Strange inquired, eyebrows furrowed.

"That I'd see it soon."

With a nod of his head, the sorcerer closed the portal and the woman was left alone in an unfamiliar environment. She hadn't thought to ask her friend where he had opened the portal to. He always knew where she was and seemed to know where she needed to be so she gave him the benefit of the doubt.

Upon further inspection, she discovered that she was in an expensively furnished bedroom. Strange must have opened a portal to Sharon Carter's place in High Town. She quietly exited the bedroom, not wanting to linger where she shouldn't be. She was already on thin ice with the ex JCTC agent and didn't need to add anymore enemies to the ever growing list.

The sound of familiar voices drifted down the hall and she followed them until she laid eyes on the four people she had left in Low Town.

"They cleared the bionic staring machine, and he killed almost everybody he's met." Sam was having a heartfelt conversation with Sharon. This definitely wasn't the moment to announce her return.

"I heard that."

"I don't trust charity," she replied, refusing to see eye level with the man she might have once considered a friend.

"All right, a deal then. You help us out, and I get your name cleared." Wilson crossed his arms over his chest, standing his ground. He truly believed that he could help Sharon if she helped them. All he needed was for her to believe it too.

The blonde stared at the man for a few seconds as she weighed her options. She reluctantly placed her hand in his extended one, the pair shaking on it. She exhaled loudly before drowning the rest of her drink in one swallow.

"Well, I sell to some pretty connected people. Lay low, blend in, enjoy the party. Try to stay outta trouble. I'll see what I can find." She paused at the flight of stairs located next to the hallway Iris was waiting in.

"Trouble," Zemo had a smirk on his face, one that seemed to always make an appearance when it probably shouldn't.

Sharon turned her head, eyes immediately glossing over Iris. "It would do you some good to change. There's blood on your dress." Sharon had known Iris was there the whole time. Of course she had.

The brunette stepped out of the dark hallway and into the light of the foyer. The three men looked at her silently while Sharon started up the stairs. "I suggest the Herve Leger on the second rack. It'll compliment your figure." With that, she was gone around the corner.

"Nice turtleneck," she remarked to Sam who had traded his exotic Smiling Tiger suit for a much more subtle option.

Bucky was on his feet in an instant, rushing towards his friend. "Where the fuck have you been?" He demanded, dark embers of fury hidden behind his hickory irises. His large hands settled at the base of her jaw, his forehead leaning against her own. "What happened, doll?"

She hated seeing him like this. He had gone through so much and her actions only added to his pain. He had made it his duty to protect her but he couldn't do so when she was jumping through portals and landing on another continent.

"James, I'm sorry," her voice cracked slightly ash she was forcing herself to hold back tears that threatened to run down her cheeks. "Strange discovered pertinent information that was time sensitive."

"I don't care who discovered what! You can't just disappear without telling me where you're going. You disappeared once and I can't survive that happening again. When Steve told me what happened to you after we fought Thanos, I was crushed. Then he left me too and I was absolutely destroyed. I... I need you. You're the only person I have in this world." His confession was flowing from his lips as he tried to hold back the years of pent up emotions.

"Well, personally, I'm a little offended," Sam piped up, trying to ease some of the tension that had crept into the room.

Zemo wordlessly watched the interaction between the woman he adored and a man he despised. His grip on his whiskey glass tightened as the super soldier kissed her forehead.

"I'm not going anywhere," Iris told her best friend, ignoring Sam's comment. She could feel Zemo's gaze burning a whole through her body and she ignored that too. "Stephen found that I'm not killing myself every time I use my powers. I'm killing different versions of myself across the Multiverse." Bucky gave her a confused look, not fully comprehending what she was telling him. "He told me I'm one of the most powerful magic users to ever exist. Long story short, I'm pretty fucking badass."

"I'll say!" Sam spoke up again, "And are we going to just skip over the fact that she's on a first name basis with the wizard now? I think she's replacing us, Buck."

The mood shifted and the tension eased for the time being. The super soldier rolled his eyes and removed his hands from the woman's face. "One, there is no us, Sam. She's replacing me with the sorcerer. Two, there is no such thing as a wizard. Three, stop calling me that!"

"Whatever man!" Sam argued, addressing the woman now, "Get dressed, traitor. We have a party to attend!" He sent her a playful wink before nudging Bucky's shoulder as he walked past him towards the stairs. "Let's go, bionic boy. She can handle Zemo."

"See you soon, doll face," Bucky said before following after Sam. While he didn't trust Zemo, he trusted Iris. And quite frankly, he had concluded that some time away from the Sokovian that had become nothing more than a thorn in his side would do him some good.

Her two friends took the same flight of stairs that Sharon had and disappeared around the corner in a similar fashion. The person remaining in the room with her no longer burned a hole through her but instead the drink he swirled in his hand.

"Helmut..." she finally spoke, breaking the silence that suffocated them.

"Don't." His tone was sharp, cutting at her heart like a blade. She felt the stab of pain in her chest.

She gave him a curt nod before making her way towards the clothing rack lined with expensive looking garments. She shuffled through the pieces, reading the tags as she searched for the one Sharon had recommended. Two-thirds of the way into the collection, she found it.

The Herve Leger dress was the very definition of designer. The black polyester bodycon mini dress had a sparkle knit finish that reflected under the soft light of the foyer curling. The front of the piece featured a bateau neckline and bustier cup seaming that would surely enhance her silhouette just as the dress owner had claimed. The back was a scoop neck and had a concealed zipper. The long sleeved dress was far more elegant than anything she had ever worn.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" The Baron asked. She hummed in response, not letting him know that she was slightly startled by his close proximity to her. She hadn't heard him stand up, let alone cross the room. "And to think, I could've given you all this and more but you chose the super soldier."

Iris whirled around, a few choice words on the tip of her tongue. However, she fell silent when she came face to face with the man that had provoked her. He was less than a foot away from her. She was taken off guard as she hadn't expected him to be so close.

"Why did you choose him?" His face was no longer blank, all of his expressions were bared before her. "What does have that I don't?"

"Zemo, what are you talking about?" Her free hand reaching for his arm.

He began to spout one sentence after the other in Sokovian, each faster than the other. He was spiraling. He was losing it. He finally managed to speak in English so she could understand, "I see the way you look at him. You love him. Why can't you look at me that way? I've done everything in my power to show you how I feel yet you still choose him!" The man continued as he stepped forward accusingly. "You lied to me in Low Town. Simply told me what I wanted to hear." He had her corberee against the wall with no where to go. "I could have remorsefully accepted rejection, vöglein. But you led me on! Why would you lead me on!"

She realized she had hurt him too when she left Madripoor through a portal. She was his only ally and she had left willingly this time after promising she wouldn't. While she was gone, he had been worried; and then when he saw her Bucky, he had been jealous. His emotions were spiraling out of control and she had to stop it.

She stared into his eyes and mourned the drop of sadness in the ocean of anger that she saw. She dove head first into the ocean to rescue him.

Iris dropped the dress on the ground, no longer caring that it was an expensive designer garment. She grabbed the lapels of his coat and pulled him to her. She titled her head to capture his lips parted with surprise in her own. The kiss was not sweet. It was raw and passionate. It was the scraping teeth and drawing blood.

After ridding himself of his heavy coat, his hands touched many places during the kiss but landed on her hips when he pulled away from her, eyes swarming with emotions. There were so many things he could do with her back pressed against the wall but upon looking down at her heaving chest, he decided to focus his attention there.

"Look at this dress on you," he spoke, his voice low. "And these tits of yours," his hands traveled up her body, cupping under her breasts, "they're just begging to be seen by everyone, aren't they?" He was referencing how scandalous the dress was, especially with the low neckline and cut outs right below her chest. "Oh, I think they are," he cooed, thumbs ghosting over her hardened nipples that poked against the fabric. There was no way to hide how her body reacted to his words with how thin the material was.

"Too bad I'm the only person that's ever going to see them." With a lilt in his voice at the end of the sentence, he grabbed ahold of the neckline with his right hand while the left continued to play with her nipple. "Let me take a peek at the tits that have been teasing me all night." He looked down her dress and a grin spread from ear to ear as he saw her bare chest for the first time. "There they are."

Zemo's words were revealing a side of him to Iris that she hadn't known existed. While it set her on edge it also excited her. The wetness pooling in her lace underwear was a testament to this.

"So fucking beautiful," he mumbled, pulling the neckline down as far as he could. With way the dress was tailored, the crystal studded straps didn't allow for much movement of the top. This lack of elasticity frustrated the man. "Verdammt noch mal!" With one harsh tug at the middle of the neckline, the dainty straps gave in. The material broke at her shoulders and sent crystals scattering noisily onto the wooden floor.

His animalistic actions and brute strength shocked her, "Helmut!"

"I'll buy you another dress," he whispered in her ear before pressing open mouth kisses to the skin of her neck. "I'll buy you anything your heart desires." His lips continued to travel down her neck in the same fashion that his hand pulled her dress down her body. The silk slid over her chest and fell completely once he tugged it past the swell of her breasts as there was no longer anything to hold it.

Once his lips reached her collar bones, he began to suck on her skin. He was smart in the placement of his marks. He sucked, licked, and bit his way down her chest and into the valley between her breasts. "So perfect," he mumbled before sinking his teeth into the pale skin of her right tit. The woman let out a yelp from his sudden actions. "Oh please, you love it," he retorted before attaching his lips to the pink nipple of the same breast.

Iris let out a muffled moan as she covered her mouth with her hand. Zemo alternated between each breast, paying equal attention to both nipples. While he was sucking on one, his fingers were caressing the other. He found a way to be so effortless rough and caring at the same time. It drove her crazy.

She found herself rubbing her legs together, needing some kind of friction to help ease the pressure that was building in her lower abdomen. The man noticed and chuckled darkly, "Poor thing, have I been neglecting your pussy?" His lips slotted between hers once more as his right hand trailed down her body and to the hem line of her panties. "You're such a slut," he hummed, teeth grazing the shell of her ear. "I give your body some attention but it just isn't enough, is it? You have to be given attention everywhere, don't you? Just like a proper whore."

She whined and nodded her head. In the moment, she was willing to agree with whatever he said in order for him to touch her, give her what craved, what she needed.

"Selby made a great point. I too wonder what your cunt tastes like," he said, fingertips dancing around the front of her pubic bone. He was so close but so far from where she needed him. "It's a shame I won't find out tonight."

With those words, he pulled away from her and stepped back a couple feet to admire the state he had left her in. He especially adored the purple bruises that were beginning to take shape across her chest. "Helmut," she practically cried, reaching out for him.

"Poor little baby," he cooed at her, getting off on the power he held over her in the moment. He approached her again, his fingers wrapping around her throat. Squeezing lightly, her full attention was on him as she looked him in the eyes. "You haven't earned the right to call me by name just yet. Think of another, vöglein." His free hand roamed around her body before slapping her clothed entrance. "Think of another in the next three seconds and I'll give you what you need." He counted aloud for her and her brain went fuzzy as she tried to think of a title that would satisfy him.

"One."

"Baron!"

"I already know what I am. Use that pretty little head of yours and get creative. Two."

His fingers began to tighten around her throat as he paused. Her mind was drawing a blank. She could think of nothing to call him. His lips parted and the first syllable of the next number left them as she cut him off. She said the first thing that came to mind though she had no idea where it came from.

"Daddy!"

The man pretended to mull the idea over in his head before nodding his head in satisfaction. "I knew you'd come up with something. You're such a good girl obeying me." His eyes lit up as he got another idea. "Now be the good girl you are and continue to obey me." The thumb of the hand grasping her throat now trailed over her bottom lip. "Open."

She did as she was told and took his thumb in her mouth. She didn't have to be told to suck on it. He was delighted to find her tongue eagerly tasting his skin. "One of the most powerful magic users to ever exist and she's reduced to nothing more than an obedient slut by a mortal man," he laughed deviously. His ego grew and he was riding the high of his power trip. "And that mortal man is me."

She whined - not because of his degradation but because he wasn't fulfilling his end of the deal. She was doing everything he asked and he was not touching her where she needed him to.