Next Target: Clint Barton

8 - New threats

"Just remember to do your parts well and we all get what we want. Hela, you can reclaim the sad pile of rocks you call Asgard after your brother's death. Agatha, you get the Scarlet Witch's magic. Magneto, you'll get to use the stones to create a world dominated by mutants. Mordo, you get the Sorcerer Supreme out of the picture. Harry, you get to kill Spiderman. And Wanda, well, you get what you've always wanted." She gave Wanda an eerie and knowing smile.

Wanda tilted her head and looked into Jean's eyes. She was threatened by her, since accidentally bringing her to this world, she saw everything Jean was capable of and just how ruthless she truly was. She didn't like Jean, something about her made her skin crawl, but she needed Jean. It was the only way for her to get her sons back, though no one in the team knew that but Jean and Agatha, and Agatha only because of the whole Hex fiasco.

"What is it you want, I wonder." Mordo questioned Wanda as she gave him a blank glare.

"Oh yes, what is it you want?" Agatha asked sarcastically, while giving her a cynical smile.

"Sadly, something I need you for." She bit back.

"You know, we all know what everyone here is after except for you, makes me wonder if we can trust you." The remaining villains agreed with Mordo as he questioned Wanda.

Jean looked back at the rest of the group, "Relax, we'll all get what we want in the end... and none of us can do it without one another. So there's nothing to worry about."

They all looked to each other and nodded in understanding, though slightly reluctant, as they settled down from the previous argument.

Jean looked to Harry to ask him a question. "How much longer till you can get the rest of the Pym Particles?"

"I can have them by the end of tomorrow." He said with a toothy grin.

"Great, you can all go back to sulking in your rooms now."

"Oh goody." Agatha clapped her hands as she started walking back to her room.

Everyone walked out and Wanda was left alone with Jean.

"They don't trust me... why is it that you do?" Wanda asked with genuine curiosity and a little bit of caution. Sure, Jean knew that she wanted her family back, but she also knew about the time she had spent with the Avengers and the bonds she developed with a few of its members. The fact that she couldn't read Jean's mind made her just that much more wary of her.

Jean let out a muffled laugh, "I've seen what love does to a person, what it can make you do and just how far off the edge it can push you."

Wanda swallowed a hard gulp.

"It's not that I trust you, Wanda... I trust the love you have for your boys."

She turned on her heels and walked out the room, a memory consuming her thoughts.

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"Jean! Jean! Hey, just look at me. I believe in you."

She let out a small yelp of pain as the orange veins grew across her skin and the voices in her head became louder.

'You are weak. Give in.'

"NO!" She held one hand up to her temple as she brought the other up to stop the man from coming any closer; he seemed to be around the same age as her, with dark brown eyes under a  futuristic pair of red single lens glasses. "Please Scott, don't come any closer."

"Hey, it's gonna be okay." He took a step towards her, with his hands up. "I'm not gonna leave you."

'You'll kill him.'

She let out another groan. "AH, please, not him." She looked up at him before closing her eyes again. "Please Scott... I don't wanna hurt you." She begged him helplessly.

He took a few more steps towards her, until he was within arms reach of her. "You can beat this Jean, I am here for you. I love you."

The orange veins began to fade. It was the first time he said it to her and even though she couldn't muster the words in the moment, he knew she felt the same. She took her hands off the sides of her head to look into his eyes. He smiled at her and she returned it along with a laugh.

'Fool.'

Jean's eyes widened and she tensed up when she heard the voice again. Before either one of them could react a blast of orange energy was brutally released from her; it sent Scott flying to the other side of the room where he was slammed against the wall, leaving a dent in the cement. His body fell to the floor, but he didn't get up. His glasses had been knocked off in the process; his eyes were opened but no heat ray came out of them.

Once the energy had subsided Jean turned to see Scott lying on the floor.

"No... no no no, please." She ran to him and kneeled down to put his head on her lap. She cupped her hands around his face as she began to cry. "Scott! Scott! Please... wake up." She pleaded helplessly. She gasped helplessly as the air began escaping her lungs.

'You did this.' The voice was back.

"No! It wasn't me, I- he- I couldn't have."

'Give in.'

"NEVER!" She protested as the orange veins grew again, but this time they were less painful.

'You don't have to feel this pain anymore.'

Her eyes widened at that statement. She could be free of this pain, of the pain of murdering the love of her life. She closed her eyes as she felt the wave of energy spread to every part of her body, it consumed her. Only this time, it wasn't painful. She didn't fight it, instead she let it flow throughout her. It was warm and comforting in a way.

She closed her eyes as the power inside of her grew and opened them again as they glowed a brilliant orange. She unleashed her new found power and with the flick of her wrist, burned down the entire room she was in. Engulfed it in flames, watching as the steel infrastructure melted away and the wood turned to ash.

She made her way through the entire building, burning and destroying everything in sight, until she got to a large pair of double doors.

She looked back one last time to see the building engulfed in flames and the bodies of her victims laying, lifelessly on the charred floor; the body of a woman with ghost-white hair and a man with a shaved head and a wheelchair beside him were the easiest to spot, along with countless children and teenagers.

She walked out the doors and turned back to look at the sign in front of the school one last time; "Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters" it read.

She turned to a strange sound to her left. She saw a red aura in the air, it started out as a small sphere and became bigger as the power spread through the air, till it had become a flat oval, taller than her.

She looked back at the destroyed school and stepped into the portal and out into what looked like a small cabin.

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She pushed the thought from her head and walked out of the meeting room.

"Get ready Wanda, those familial ties may be stronger than you think."

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Sorry this one's shorter than my usual updates, it's been a crazy week. I'll try my best to make up for it in the next update.  That one's a big one ;)

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Thanks for reading!