Agony (Wanda Maximoff)

Chapter 1

||...we're twins, and so we love each other more than other people...||

*3 months later*

The pain was endless for Wanda, and as each day went by, a tiny piece of her soul chipped away. She had mastered the illusion of happiness, and took out all of her rage on every mission. It was a gruesome routine of pretending and avenging.

The day marked three months since the battle with Ultron in Sokovia; three months since Pietro died; three months since Wanda lost herself. It was something she wished she could forget, but then again, forgetting her brother was the last thing she wanted to do. Pietro was a solid memory in her mind, and a painful feeling in her heart.

"Watcha thinking about, kid?" Wanda stood from the couch, startled by Tony's presence. He had some contraption in his hands, and as he toyed with it, Wanda forced her thoughts of her brother out of her head. This was no time to be slipping up, not with Tony around.

"Nothing interesting, I do have that horrible chest pain again. Should I be worried?" Wanda brought her hand up to her chest and rubbed it. The pain had started only a few days prior, but Tony had checked her out and told her it was probably acid traveling down, causing some slight discomfort.

"Just take those pills I gave you, that should keep you going." The contraption in Tony's hand began to move, and Wanda jumped back. "Perfect!" Tony raised his hand in the air and began smiling to himself. Before he went off about whatever the thing was, Wanda slipped away into the shadows and up to her room.

As her hand gripped the steel doorknob, she heard Steve and Natasha talking down the hall, and she stayed close to the wall, making sure to stay hidden, and started making her way towards them.

"How can you tell?" Natasha leaned against the far wall, and Wanda stepped back, afraid that she might be seen. "I've been watching her closely, she seems fine to me." Steve's voice was filled with certainty, but Natasha shook her head.

"Rogers, are you that oblivious? Just because she's smiling doesn't mean she's happy." Wanda watched as Steve scratched his head in confusion. "She's angry but she works hard on our missions. We're lucky to have her." For the first time in a what felt like a long time, Wanda smiled. There was something incredibly exhilarating about getting praise from such a skilled fighter like Natasha, and Wanda felt her cheeks warm up with pride.

Wanda needed to be needed, because with Pietro gone, she felt a bit useless. Being there with the rest of the team made the pain bearable.

"She lost her twin, seems to me that she's handling it better than most people."

"She's strong," Natasha said, and Steve's eyes filled with empathy.

"I'll keep a close eye on her." Wanda fell back into the shadows and walked back to her room. Her hand was still pressed up against her chest, and the pain was beginning to throb. What was wrong with her? The last time she felt such pain in herself was when Pietro died, and Wanda began to wonder that the pain was somehow related to him in some way.

___

Natasha walked down to Tony and Bruce's lab, where she knew they'd be working.

Once in the lab, she saw Bruce on the phone with someone, so she walked over to Tony and began helping him with a remote he'd been working on.

"Is that the doctor?" Natasha asked Tony, and he nodded his head. She knew Dr. Cho had been calling non-stop for the past few days, but she only called during the day, never at night. Something must have been wrong.

"I will, thank you Doc. I'll be over as soon as possible." Bruce ended the call and turned to look at Tony and Natasha. "He's awake," Bruce said, and Natasha's breath hitched and Tony finally looked up from his toy and raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"What?" Natasha's surprise was evident on her face.

"Wow, the kid is stronger than I thought," Tony remarked, and Natasha walked up to Bruce and grabbed his hand.

"You're leaving?" she asked him, her mouth pouting slightly.

"Dr. Cho needs me to help her stabilize him. He's been healing for three months, and right now he's going to be hungry, confused, and desperate."

"Desperate for what?" Natasha asked him.

"Desperate to see his sister. Those two were inseparable, and when he realizes that Wanda isn't there with him he might freak out."

"Should we call Vision?" Tony asked, and Natasha began pacing.

"This isn't right, it's too early. Is Dr. Cho sure he's awake?" Natasha's voice was stirring with panic, but she remained calm.

"He's awake. I'll leave tonight and keep him stabilized for as long as I can, but once he's strong enough to move around, he's coming here for her. We have to call Vision." Bruce began to gather his belongings from his desk and Natasha and Tony kept their eyes on the floor. This isn't how things were supposed to go. Pietro was supposed to stay asleep for another 3 months.

They were supposed to have more time.

********************

A/N: Here is the first chapter of my Wanda Maximoff fanfic!! This plot is going to be extremely complex and I'm not going to lie, it's been really difficult trying to organize it all.

But I've been wanting to post this first chapter for a few days, but I kept working at it, making sure not to give too much away in this chapter. The chapters will start off a tad bit short, but I'll make them longer as the story goes on.

Alright, I hope you enjoyed this chapter!! :D