LEGACY (T.Stark's Daughter)

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Wanda Maximoff.

Stevie had nightmares for weeks, and for the first time, her father was the face of her fear. She'd always found comfort in his image, seeing as she looked up to him and aspired to be like him, but now something awful twinged in her mind whenever she thought about Tony Stark.

She should've known that he wouldn't want her. She should've stayed away and given up, just like her sister had. And, although she knew that the shadow of Tony from her oh-so-realistic dream was simply a fragment of her own imagination, she couldn't help but believe what he had said.

Pathetic.

The word stung her ears as her heart hammered in her chest. He was right. She was pathetic; spending every waking hour trying to live up to his legacy when she couldn't even bring herself to choose her own path or make her own choices.

She'd applied to MIT, just like he had. She'd taken an interest in science and mechanics, just like he had. She'd lacked a father figure – a good one, at least – just like he had. Why couldn't she start doing things for herself? What was it that was preventing her from being her own person and not just the shadow of a dead man (regardless of how honourable he may have been)?

Well, truth be told, she knew exactly why. Her father had said it to her in her vision and she'd known it all along. She was pathetic. A pathetic excuse for a Stark, a pathetic sister, a pathetic scientist and – most of all – a pathetic daughter.

However, she was (un)fortunate enough to know someone who had felt exactly the same way.

"Grief does strange things to a person." Wanda, who was sat with her legs swung over a backwards chair, stared over at her halfheartedly, "I couldn't look in the mirror for months after what happened in Sokovia. It made me feel weak and- well, you know how it feels, I'm sure." She sighed, resting her head on her hand, "but I didn't feel, as you say, 'pathetic' until after what happened to Vis."

She'd lost all traces of her once-thick Sokovian accent and spoke fluently in an American tongue, almost as if she'd been speaking that way since birth. Her hair constantly fluctuated lengths. Occasionally, it was long enough to reach the tail of her spine, but it currently hung just above her shoulders.

But regardless of how much she'd changed physically, It was obvious to Stevie that Wanda would always struggle when discussing her deceased loved ones. They both knew that talking about such a matter was important; especially in terms of moving on.

In the years that she had known Wanda Maximoff, Stevie noticed just how much stronger the woman became every day. Mentally and emotionally, she'd matured beyond what she thought was capable.

When she was twenty seven-ish, Wanda went to college and learned everything that she should have when she was much younger and being experimented on by Hydra. She studied business, and, a few years later, worked at Stark Industries, but when MJ founded her new art studio, Wanda helped with the business aspects and the two became partners quickly.

Stevie was, in a sense, jealous of Wanda's success. She overcame the death of her twin and her husband-to-be, and not only became happy and healthy but thrived in her career as well as her social life. She didn't want to be selfish, but Stevie thought it to be unfair; the fact that she didn't get even a chance to say goodbye to – let alone meet – the person that she was grieving.

"For a while, I was lost. But your mother, she helped me to get back onto my feet. She showed me everything that I could do with my life, and I ultimately decided that I didn't want to spend the rest of it pitifully. I wanted to be happy. I was young and afraid, just as you are, but one day I promise that you will be left to choose between sorrow or satisfaction, and the choice that you have to make will become clear."

Everything that Wanda said made complete sense. Of course it did – she's a smart woman and she's known more pain than anybody should.

"But you're only fifteen, so I can merely suggest where you should start to build your life from."

"And what would that be?" Asked Stevie, "I've tried so many things. Technology, mechanics, organic chemistry-" Her ramble was short-lived.

"I'm not talking about careers, Stevie." Wanda shook her head, letting a breathy chuckle slip past her lips. "When I was your age, there was nothing that I needed more Pietro – someone who understood me and who'd been through all of the same things that I had."

Stevie nodded along hesitantly, "so you're saying that..."

"You need to rekindle your relationship with your sister. There's nothing that you need more than family."

Of course, Stevie wasn't pleased with this answer. She sat quietly for a moment, pondering whether or not she should take Wanda's suggestion, but it was inevitable that she was right, even if she had just told Stevie the last thing that she wanted to hear.

"I also think that you should go home. Your mother hasn't seen you in days and I don't want to deal with her wrath when she finds out that you've been hiding in my basement..." She grinned, ruffling Stevie's hair.