Chaos (Sequel to Agony)

Chapter 51

||"The truth is a matter of circumstances, it's not all things to all people all the time, and neither am I."||

They never got the opportunity to visit Trask like they wanted to, which for Wanda, was a relief.

She didn't want to see him, not really, but she also knew that missing a chance to speak with him would cost them.

After three days passed after the incident with her nightmare, she was finally able to get a full nights rest, of course, with the help of Emma and Jean.

"It's hard to dream of terrifying things when you're too exhausted to dream at all," Jean said as she walked Emma and Wanda to the car.

Wanda's shirt was stained with sweat after her long morning of training with Jean, and she found her eyelids growing heavy with sleep as she climbed in the car.

"Tea and a hot bath helps, of course," Wanda added, thinking of Nik.

He'd been extra helpful the last three days, making sure she was training and resting. There were days when she sometimes forgot her body wasn't at it's full strength yet. Yes, her body was physically stronger, but that didn't mean her body was ready to handle all of her power yet. There was still so much to learn...so much to gain.

"Should I expect you at the same time tomorrow? I know there are...issues weighing down on your team. I'd hope these training sessions weren't causing too much stress on you. That is the last thing the Professor and I would want."

Jean leaned down so she was looking through the window, and Emma climbed into the car as well and smiled at her. "It's up to Wanda whether or not she wants to continue," Emma said.

As she buckled herself in, Wanda nodded her head.

"Then I'll see you tomorrow morning. Have a good day, and please be safe."

Wanda watched as Jean headed back into the school, and as they began to drive away, she stared at the gardens that lined the driveway and at the tall hedges and dark grass. It always felt like a different world when she came to the school. Things felt different being on this land—it felt safer.

It had been weeks since Markus had announced he was coming for blood, and with each day that went by that he didn't fulfill his promise, the more unsettled Wanda grew.

For over a year she's been struggling with this shift in the way her magic listened to her; for a year she's been learning control and containing this angry part of her magic. And now, it finally felt like she was arriving at the end of the line.

There was only so much strength she could build up, only so much rest she could get, before she hit a dead end.

"Wanda?" Emma's voice startled her, and Wanda noticed they were still driving. "What's going through your mind?"

"Oh," Wanda turned on the heat and ran her fingers over the ventilation as the warm air began to pour out, "it's nothing."

"Nothing always means something," Emma told her, and Wanda stared out the window and sighed.

"I'm worried about Markus, and, I'm worried about myself—about the team and the danger that I might be putting them in just by being around them. You know, I was with Steve last night, and I looked at him in the eyes—really looked at him—and I just knew that he was so confused about what he felt toward me and whether or not he should be afraid. I see that same look in Natasha and in Crystal and even Tony. I see it in everyone except for Pietro."