Agony (Wanda Maximoff)

Chapter 10

||"I will never leave you behind."||

There was something in the way Steve held Wanda that made her skin crawl with comfort. His muscles felt like armor against her body, and she realized she had never felt this safe except with Pietro. The feeling began to overwhelm her, and she found herself pulling away from Steve's embrace. She blinked away the odd feeling and smiled up at him, and his handsome face lit up with happiness. 

"I do not wish to purposely anger you, and if I did, I apologize. All I wanted was to be somewhere other than this place. I feel like I am suffocating. I don't know how long I can stay hidden up here." 

"All you had to do was ask me, and I would have taken you anywhere. This city is beautiful, but it's also dangerous. A lot can happen in just one day."

"Do you not think I can protect myself?" The question caused Steve to bite down on his lip, but he quickly recovered, shaking his head. 

"I know you're strong, we all do. But sometimes we wonder if you're too strong. What you can do is breathtaking, but there are consequences that can come out of your gift. Those people out there aren't ready to see someone like you, it will only bring up more questions that we just can't answer. They know the Avengers, but they haven't met you yet, and I don't think that time will be soon." Wanda thought of the people she met today; of how they were so normal compared to her. She knew Steve was right, but it didn't hurt any less. 

"They would think I'm a monster. I would bring only fear and pain. I understand." 

"That's not what I mean, Wanda." Steve ran his hands through his hair and sighed. "I mean you're too good for them." 

"I am nothing without my brother." The words came out quietly out of Wanda's mouth, and she took Steve's silence as her cue to leave. She walked down the hall to her room and locked the door, sliding down onto the floor and bringing her knees up to her chest. There was something that they weren't telling her, she could feel it in her bones. The worst part about it was that she couldn't talk to anyone about it, because the one person who always listened to her was dead. 

With a push, Wanda stood back up off of the floor and began to get ready for a shower. Her hair had gotten all knotted in the rain, and she desperately wanted to sit under hot water for comfort. She walked into the bathroom and closed the door behind her, glancing briefly at herself in the mirror. Three months ago, Wanda's eyes never left the shade of red. She was always angry, and she'd always take out her anger on missions. It was the only way. 

As the water ran over his skin, she rested her head against the steel wall and closed her eyes. 

I want to talk to Wanda

Wanda's eyes opened at the sound of her brother's voice, and when she realized she was still in the shower, she laughed quietly to herself. She knew it was probably just her gloomy mind playing tricks on her, and she closed her eyes again and tried to enjoy the feel of warm water over her skin. 

___

"I want to talk to Wanda," Pietro had asked Bruce for the third time. He understood that he couldn't leave his designated room, but he knew he was able to talk on the phone, and he wondered why Bruce wouldn't allow him to call Wanda. "What is going on?" he asked more urgently, and Bruce looked over at Dr. Cho and motioned her to get an anesthetic ready. 

"You need some rest, and when you wake up, I'll have Nat call me."

"I have been resting for three months; I would like to talk to my sister...now." Dr. Cho inserted the needle into Pietro's neck, and after a few seconds, he was back asleep. Bruce let out an exasperated sigh and stalked out of the room. Ever since Pietro woke, it's been getting harder and harder for him to keep the boy occupied. There was only so much he could do to a bed ridden guy with the power of speed. Pietro could easily sneak out of the building and find his way back to New York. If he did, not only would he be putting himself in danger, but also his sister. The whole plan of keeping the twins apart was slowly crumbling. 

"You should call the others, they need to know how impatient he's getting," Dr. Cho gave Bruce her phone and walked down the hall. Bruce dialed Natasha's number and leaned against the cold wall. 

"Is everything alright?" she asked immediately. 

"I can't keep him out of the loop for another three months, and if I keep injecting him with anesthetics, then he might die. His body heals quickly so he's beginning to wake up after only a few hours instead of days. We need to find another way to keep him away from Wanda." Bruce heard Natasha talking to someone through the phone and he rubbed his temples as he waited for her to respond. There was no way that Bruce could do this on his own, they needed to move him to a secure place, where he wouldn't be able to get out. At least that would make sure he'd stay away from his sister. 

"I'm sure I can call Maria and get her to find us a location to keep him in. I'll call you as soon as I find a place to transfer him to. Until then, try your best to keep him sedated. I don't need him running over here and killing himself along with her." Natasha ended the call and Bruce walked to his lab to try and busy himself. Finding a secure place could take days, if not a week at most. Hopefully Pietro wouldn't try anything stupid in the mean time. 

___

Steve stepped out of the elevator and onto Tony's floor after Wanda went to her room. His shirt was still dripping with water, and he quickly peeled if off and grabbed one of Tony's sweaters from the closet. It was a little tight, but it was the closest thing near him.

"We have a problem," Natasha walked in from outside and walked over to Steve. "He's asking question, and Bruce doesn't think he can keep him over there for much longer. I called Maria and asked her if she could find us a place to transfer him to, but that could take a while." Steve sat down on the couch and rested stared up at the ceiling. "We weren't prepared for any of this."

"We?" Steve retorted. "You got yourself into this mess, along with Stark and Banner. I don't know why you guys thought keeping those two apart was a good idea."

"We had no choice, Steve. How many times do I have to tell you that? If they get into any kind of contact within these next three months, they're going to die. Do you want them to die?" Steve's fists clenched shut and he groaned to himself in irritation. 

"Of course I don't."

"Then you'll help us keep them away from each other."

"Wanda knows that we're keeping something from her, and if she finds out what it is, I'm not going to be able to stop what she does after that. She's stronger than all of us combined; she's a ticking time bomb waiting to explode." 

"I'll have her talk to someone. We have to make her believe that these feelings inside of her are just part of her grief. And you could help her move on...for now. She's had a brother all of her life, and now she doesn't, and you're the perfect replacement."

"You want me to be her pretend brother? That's a great idea, Natasha, please, continue." Natasha rolled her eyes and threw the pillow beside her at him.

"Not a pretend brother, but a male figure. As independent as this society is becoming, deep down we all need someone in our life. Whether it be a parent, sibling, child or even a lover, we need it. It's in our nature."

Steve let Natasha's words flow into his head, and when she stood up and walked away, he found himself thinking about his role in Wanda's life, and how important it was to keep doing whatever it is he was doing to protect her. Even though it hurt him to keep the truth from her, he knew it was for the best.