Escaping Maximoff

You're a part of me

Wanda Maximoff was completely and utterly alone. She'd been at peace with this fact for a while, but up until this point, she hadn't fully accepted it. While watching the blur of frost-covered trees and rocky mountains fly past the windshield, she embraced that emptiness with the hope for a new beginning in a new village with a new name: Elizabeth. Unlike Wanda, Elizabeth would never use her powers to hurt anyone; she wouldn't lay awake at night thinking about the people she'd killed or the family she'd watched die. She would have the luxury of never knowing loss. At least Wanda would pretend to be that woman, that version of herself who was a good person. A really good person, not a monster who ran from their problems.

Wanda Maximoff knew she was a monster. The whole world knew it, which was why she chose to escape to the most remote village in the Rocky Mountains. She hoped the lack of outsiders would mean that news of Avengers taking towns hostage wouldn't reach the cluster of houses she would soon reside in. She hadn't allowed herself to lose her worries in soft tunes from the album sitting in the CD player, Wanda wanted to be alone with her own thoughts for what she assumed would be the last time. No matter how powerful she was, other people's voices always seemed to snake their way into her head, especially at night when thoughts ran rampant. That was something she had immediately noticed after gaining her powers. The first night was pain unlike anything you could possibly imagine; she was convinced that her head was being split open from within, with the screams of other test subjects and the laughter of sadistic guards severing the connection she had with her own thinking. She'd struggled to open her eyes the day after that. She still did sometimes.

Wanda knew she was close when she felt the warm, fuzzy presence of someone else threatening to enter the outskirts of her mind. The Witch shut it down quickly and instead decided to focus on the straight road ahead, which led up to what she thought must be the most beautiful place she had ever seen. Her fingertips twitched with the warmth of new company as she passed the first building; a cattle shed with a tin roof and a strong wooden structure. She drove through the village and took note of the small supermarket, café and to her surprise a charming library which she would definitely be checking out as soon as she had the time.

Rays from the sun shone down on the cute houses and their front gardens which would be full of colourful flowers in spring. It was like the kind of scene that would be depicted in a painting, one that would have hung in Tony's fancy art collection. At least it did until she reached the edge of the village where the trees either side of the road were more built up. She drove slowly down the path, admiring the orange leaves on thick branches which created a canopy overhead and a muted yellow light which illuminated her surroundings. The road offered a left turn which she took, ending up in front of a small cottage which she would be calling home for the foreseeable future.

Maximoff lifted her suitcase out of the car and walked along the cobblestone path which crunched underneath her shoes. Vines crept up the walls of her new house, twisting and knotting with arms of green leaves. A slightly faded blue door opened with the use of a key, and the emptiness inside welcomed her arrival. She didn't have any furniture so the house was almost completely empty, but with a quick flick of her wrist this was instantly changed. Red exploded from her hands and spread around the room in ribbons of crimson energy. The old yellow wallpaper was stripped away and replaced by a light green, while furniture appeared around her new home. The house was suddenly brighter with the addition of long glass windows which allowed sun to enter the room, and the few belongings she did have were put in their rightful place. The Witch smiled, happy with her work which left the cottage looking cosy and modern, but she vowed not to use her powers again unless she had to.

Wanda grabbed her coat which was hanging on a rack by the door and headed out, planning to buy some groceries from the supermarket in the village. She loved cooking, so food was the only thing she never wanted to use magic to make, she'd always thought it hadn't tasted the same –like she could tell it wasn't real. Wanda hoped the people in the village didn't think the same thing about her. She shrugged off the thought and pulled her coat tighter around herself, imagining it was a warm hug from the loving arms she had lost.