Agony (Wanda Maximoff)

Chapter 33

||There's something tragic about you. Something magic about you.||

Wanda sealed the door, leaving Natasha in the room to scramble around on the floor. Through the glass, Wanda watched as Natasha struggled to differentiate what was real and what wasn't. Through Wanda's mental manipulation, Natasha seemed to gather enough strength to look up, and Wanda knelt down to meet her eyes. The glass between them was thick, but Wanda knew Natasha would hear her.

"I'm just trying to protect you," she said in a deceiving voice, and Natasha fell back, holding her head in her hands as the memories hammered through her brain. Wanda stood and ran down the hall, hoping to find her brother somewhere.

The room where she was being kept in was underground, and she could feel the energy of Pietro pulling at her. The anticipation of seeing him was gnawing at her nerves, and her body kept shivering as she quietly made her way through the halls. At the end of one hall was a concealed door, which needed a key. Wanda knew Pietro was behind it, but she didn't know how she was going to get it open.

The entire building seemed to be made of steel, and if she pulled the place apart, she'd alert the rest of the team, and she was in no mood to fight again. 

"Can I help you?" a girl's voice startled Wanda, and she clenched her fists in reaction. "This is an enclosed area. I'd need to see a pass from Dr. Banner to allow you entry." The girl was young, and Wanda gave her brightest smile and sighed. 

"Sorry, I completely forgot," she spoke in her best American accent, and the young girl pulled out her tablet, opening up something on the screen. "I was just here, on behalf of the Avengers, checking up on the young man on the other side of that door. Bruce was so caught up with his conversation, he just forgot to hand me a pass." 

The young girl looked down at her tablet, smiling broadly. "Yeah, Bruce does that sometimes," she answered, swiping her finger across the screen. "I'll just dial him up real quick." 

"That won't be necessary," Wanda said, projecting her hex into the girl's head. "Just go to sleep, and dream. I won't be long," she placed the girl on the floor, dragging her to the corner. Wanda grabbed the girl's card and swiped it across the scanner, and after the steel door opened, Wanda walked back over to the girl and dragged her in. 

"Are you here to talk to me about Wanda, or are you just here to feed me more pills to put me to sleep?" The sound of Pietro's voice forced Wanda to stop breathing. The key card slipped from her hands and fell against the body of the dreaming girl. If she stepped a few feet further, she'd be able to see him, but she was still far back down the hall, and out of sight. "Hello?" he called out, and she heard the sound of his feet moving towards the glass wall, and her heart began to beat faster and faster. 

With shaking hands, Wanda moved up, taking careful steps towards her brother. 

Five months, almost six, without seeing Pietro, and now, under horrible circumstances, she was finally going to be able to see him. 

It didn't feel real, none of it did, and as she took one final step in front of the glass, she felt herself cleanse itself of the torture and agony she had been through for so long. 

Pietro was standing in front of her, his fluffy hair had grown so much since she last saw him, and he looked stronger, bigger than before. She blinked at him, reaching up to touch him, but failing when the glass between them prohibited such actions. 

Everything inside of her came alive, and the feeling began to overwhelm her.

"Wanda?" Pietro asked, his eyes shocked and unmoving. "What are you doing here?! Leave! You can't be here, Wanda! Get out!" Pietro sped over to the comm near the door and pressed it, signaling some alarm. He turned his back away from her and Wanda felt the nerves inside of her body diminish.