Karma - W. Maximoff

Chapter Eight

"Three minutes. Get what you need." Steve spoke to the team before walking away. They hadn't come up with much of a plan, but Alex knew there would be plenty of time for that on their way to Sokovia.

Alex beckoned for the twins to follow her to the locker room. She opened her locker and looked for anything they might need. A change of clothes, first.

After the car accident, Alex had kept a lot of the things her family had owned. Not just her brother's things, but some of her parents' things too. She pulled out a random shirt that belonged to her dad and tossed it to Pietro. "See if this fits."

Alex knew her mom's stuff wouldn't fit Wanda, so instead she took off the jacket she was wearing and handed it to her. "You can have this, but I want it back."

"Thank you." Wanda smiled at her. Alex returned the favor and stripped off her remaining clothes to change. Wanda let her eyes linger for a moment before a burning red filled her face and she looked away.

"Do you need some help?" Alex was struggling to hook her bra and Wanda had picked up on it. The white-haired girl nodded and Wanda came up behind her, gently brushing her hair over her shoulder. Alex shuddered at the touch as Wanda stepped away, allowing them both to continue getting ready.

"I never got to thank you, Wanda."

"For what?" Her accent showed through as she sat down, pulling a pair of socks on.

"For saving my life." Alex looked over at her and sat down next to her. "For saving the lives of everyone on that train."

Wanda laughed and shook her head. "I'm not a hero. I joined HYDRA, I helped Ultron..."

"You made a mistake. But I don't judge people on their worst mistakes." The two girls locked eyes and Alex gently smiled. "Maybe after all of this, you can come back to New York. You can be an Avenger and save lives."

Wanda smiled but didn't say anything else. "You know, I was a twin."

"You were?"

"Yes. It was a long time ago but I wouldn't trade it for the world." Alex summoned a small fire that rested on the tips of her fingers. "It was before HYDRA and the Avengers. The accident was one of the reasons I joined the Avengers; to save more people who might be in the same situation as I was."

Alex stood and smiled. "I'm not saying you have to join the Avengers. But if you want to, there's an open room next to mine."

——————

"Ultron knows we're coming. Odds are we'll be riding into heavy fire. And that's what we signed up for. But the people of Sokovia, they didn't. So our priority is getting them out."

The Avengers had finally come up with a plan. Pietro had convinced the police officers in Sokovia to evacuate the city while Wanda went inside the citizens' heads and got them far away from the fight.

Steve and Alex were directing traffic until the fight started. Tony had told them to stay hidden and out of sight until he could get Ultron on a low. He couldn't have them be taken down too quickly because if they were it would be mainly up to him and the Maximoff twins.

"Alex, what's going on?" Wanda spoke to Alex through the coms as she was suddenly knocked off her feet. She was in the middle of the city but could faintly see a cloud of smoke forming at the bridge.

"We're in the air! This is not a drill, Sokovia is being lifted off the ground." Alex knit her eyebrows together as she looked at the ground below. She wasn't a fan of heights.

Alex groaned as a robot came flying at her, knocking her into a nearby car. "White, you got incoming."

"Incoming already came in." Alex rose to her feet, brushing off loose pieces of glass. "Stark, you worry about bringing the city back down safely. The rest of us have one job, tear these things apart. You get hurt, hurt them back."

Alex shot a ball of fire at a robot, turning it into ash and dust. "You get killed, walk it off."

Steve fell to the ground and Alex covered him until he could get back on his feet. He could hear Wanda quietly crying through the coms and he could tell from afar that she was having a panic attack.

Steve took a minute to catch his breath before he turned to the young Avenger. "Go. She needs you."

Alex only nodded before running into the main parts of the city. She pushed past the screaming civilians, looking for the red-headed woman.

She finally found her curled up in a corner of a building, mumbling to herself. Alex rushed through a broken window, kneeling in front of her and putting both hands on the sides of Wanda's face. "Are you okay?"

"How could I let this happen? This is all our fault." Wanda whispered, her panicked eyes jumping around the room.

"Hey, look at me. It's your fault, it's everyone's fault. Who cares? Are you up for this? Are you? Wanda, I don't want you to get hurt, but the city is flying. Okay? Look, the city is flying, we're fighting an army of robots, and I am made of fire. None of this makes sense."

Wanda gasped as holes were formed in the walls and bullets were shot through them. Alex held her face up to the hole, shooting a quick ball of fire at nearby attackers.

Alex ducked back down, turning her attention back to Wanda. "I'm going back out there because it's my job. Okay? And I can't do my job and stay with you, Wanda-"

"No, please don't leave me. I don't want to be alone again."  Wanda cut her off, her eyes growing wide at the thought of being left on her own.

"Hey, look at me." Alex directed Wanda's face to hers and looked into her eyes. "I don't want to leave you, but I'm an Avenger and that's my job. So you can either come out there with me, or I can send your brother up to come get you."

"If you step out that door, you are an Avenger. All right, good chat." Alex tried to get to her feet, but Wanda's hand caught onto hers quicker.

Alex looked down at Wanda as she grabbed the back of her neck, bringing their faces only inches apart. The two looked at each other for what felt like ages before their lips connected and they kissed.

Now this, this was karma.