Agony (Wanda Maximoff)

Chapter 60

||"You'll find that you're not the first person who was ever confused and frightened and even sickened by human behavior."||

Wanda looked up to the night sky and allowed her mind to bring her back to the day Ultron killed her brother. She needed those feelings to resurface, so she could use it as a weapon, instead of her weakness. And so she closed her eyes and set her mind free...

"Get the people on the boats," Wanda ordered, feeling the heat of her magic still fresh in her veins. 

"I'm not going to leave you here."

"I can handle this," she exclaimed, shooting a ball of hex at a running robot. It deteriorated instantly, and Pietro shrugged in agreement. "Come back for me when everyone is off, not before." Pietro shook his head, beginning to make his way out. "Do you understand?" she asked him, gaining his attention. 

"You know, I'm 12 minutes older than you," he said, smirking. 

Wanda smiled, nodding her head. "Go," she told him, and he listened, as he always did, speeding off to save the people of Sokovia before it was too late. The last she saw of him was the blue streak that he always left behind. 

Her eyes opened up, and she was back in reality. Pietro's face as he smirked at her was still stitched in her mind, and as she watched everyone pile into the jet, she caught the sight of her brother's silver hair, and then his face, and then the smile she knew so well. 

He was talking to Katarina, smiling with each word. Wanda adored his smile, because the only time she ever did see it--his true smile--was when they were alone. But now, as she watched him give that same smile to Katarina, she felt a little better about the night. That anger she wanted was still there, but she felt... good. 

"Do you think you can bring the same energy you had that day you beat me up to this fight?" Steve came up beside her, his hand resting gently on her lower back. "Because if you do, those Sentinels won't stand a chance." 

"I'll see what I can do," she answered, turning her body slightly so that it met with his. For a second, she thought of getting on her toes to kiss him, but she was so consciously aware of everything around her that she forced herself to hold back. When he met her eyes, she nearly felt her knees give out, and in response, she draped her arm across his waist and held on. 

"You okay to walk?" he joked, and Wanda pushed him away, laughing as she hurried off to the jet.  

She felt the eyes of every single mutant on her as she neared the jet, fully aware of her loud laughter. Then, returning to her state of anger, climbed in and took a seat in between Natasha and Bucky. 

Steve joined everyone just a few seconds after, moving straight for the cockpit to join Tony and Clint. 

As the jet lifted off of the ground, Wanda felt the energy slip into something rough; a dark ora of worried energy lifting off of everyone. The energy was so strong that Wanda accidentally flinched, earning an awkward glance from Bucky. 

He sat beside her, his body leaning forward a bit, and his hand resting gently on his wound. The seatbelt that was fastened around his waist and chest probably made things worse for Bucky, but he didn't say a word. 

"Are you sure you can fight?" she asked him quietly, making sure no one was listening. He turned slightly to look at her, and she nodded down to his wound. "You don't have to fight."

"I'll fight," he said, barely allowing the words to escape past his lips. "I'm already healing," he added, slouching back against the seat. She couldn't tell if that was true, but she let it be. He looked capable of handling himself, and if he wanted to join them, then he had every right to do so.