Agony (Wanda Maximoff)

Chapter 63

"I would rather do it on my own...blindfolded." She pushed her hair away from her face and moved in closer to her brother, feeling the immediate warmth of his presence. The shirt he wore still bothered her, but she told herself she'd keep an eye on him. What happened with Ultron that day would never happen again. Because if she could, she'd be there to stop it. 

___

The wind from outside woke him, and Trask groaned in slight pain as he sat up. 

His mouth felt dry and hot, and in his attempt to stand up, he hit his knee against the side table, knocking over the framed photo of Katarina. 

The glass from the frame shattered, and Trask stared down at his daughter's face, remembering the hallucination he had. The medallion around his neck began to burn, and Trask grabbed it and ripped it off. The sound of his medallion smashing against the wall sent a painful roar through the room, forcing Trask to take several steps back. 

Subconsciously, he brought his hand up to his neck, feeling the burn mark his medallion left. His heart raced as he stared down at his daughter's picture, unsure of what had just happened. Never has his medallion burned him in such a way, and never had he suffered from hallucinations--drunk or sober. 

Without stepping on the glass, Trask moved around and headed straight for his desk. The scotch in his throat still lingered, but his mind was clear, and as he searched through his files, he finally came up on a specific folder called "Sapphire."

The file held every piece of information he had on his wife, and of Katarina, and of her growth. Every since he found out about what Katarina was, he took notes of everything she did. When she would eat, he would watch the way she grabbed her fork; when she spoke, he listened to the way her voice wavered or grew; when she was around any type of fire, he watched her body movements, and carefully noted any type of reaction she might have had. 

Watching his daughter grow wasn't about keeping beautiful memories, it was about preventing her from becoming a monster.  

After banishing his wife, he created a pill that would prevent Katarina from summoning her mutation. She was only a young girl when he began feeding her the pill, but it worked, and that is what kept his daughter safe from the monstrous side he knew she possessed. 

Marrying Sapphire was a mistake, he should have known that, but he loved her, at one point. But he loved Katarina more, and keeping Sapphire away was the only possible solution to keeping his daughter safe. 

From what he remembered, Katarina's mutation was fire manipulation, but even as a young girl, when she first discovered her powers, he knew she would be powerful. Sapphire knew it too, and the pill, the one he created specifically for her, would keep her away from that power. 

But there was something about his hallucination that turned his blood cold. The look Katarina had in her eye's wasn't something human; it was a look far more dangerous than he could ever imagine. 

Trask shut his computer down and grabbed his coat. It had been hours since he left his bunker, and he needed to get back to continue working on the Sentinels. Wherever the rebellion group had escaped to, he would find them, even if he had to tear up the city building by building. 

___

Every little sound was a potential threat to her, and her eyes narrowed cautiously around as she surveyed the area. Mentally, she'd kept track of how far they had walked, and so far, they were five miles from the bunker. 

Natasha's hands gripped her gun tightly as she weaved through the thick trees, and to her left, Steve mirrored her exactly. 

Behind her, Emma and her mutants followed, each and every one of them aware of each other. Without having to look, she knew Clint was to her far right, his bow clasped to his back, along with his arrows.