The burning Red Room helicarrier was dropping down more and more as Maggie and Dimitri fought to kill each other. Dimitri had landed a few good hits, successfully breaking two of Maggie's ribs and four fingers. But, Maggie had landed more. She'd broken his nose, had torn his newly constructed ear off the charred side of his face and had stabbed him twice in the thigh.
Still, Dimitri wasn't giving up. Maggie knew this would be a fight to the death and it was one fight Maggie didn't know if she would survive.
She was too weak to use her powers for more than a few seconds, but she could keep her head clear because she knew Wanda was still watching. She couldn't let Wanda see her die. She couldn't let that haunt Wanda, for her to have to be the one to tell Natasha and Yelena what happened if they got out of this death trap and Maggie didn't.
She didn't want to die and leave her family, so Maggie kept fighting.
Maggie stumbled to her feet and grabbed the batons she'd dropped when he'd tackled her a few minutes ago. She put them together to make one long stick and smacked him across the chest with it.
He spun and fell onto the floor, landing on his back with a grunt. Maggie straddled him quickly and pushed the baton down on his neck to suffocate him.
Dimitri's hands found their way around her neck, squeezing as tightly as she was pushing the baton down on his. Her head was getting fuzzy and she could feel Wanda slowly becoming more and more prominent in her mind.
Dimitri kicked Maggie off him and she skidded across the floor, slamming against the metal walls of the hallway. The breath was knocked out of her and Maggie groaned, coughing the blood out of her lungs and spitting it onto the floor.
Dimitri struggled to his feet and stumbled towards her.
"You're going to die today, Magdalena, and your little family will know the truth about you. You're weak. You're pathetic. You're nothing," Dimitri spat.
Maggie's body started tingling like it did whenever Wanda touched her. She could feel her heart pounding in her head and her eyes opened, flashing red as she glared up at Dimitri.
A red mist started spreading out of her palms and she knew that Wanda was using their connection to channel her magic through to Maggie so that she could keep fighting. Wanda was saving her life, even from halfway across the world.
"Do you trust me, sweetheart?" Wanda's voice echoed in Maggie's head.
"Always."
Maggie's arms rose in the air, the mist in her hands getting greater and greater as she got to her feet again. The corridors around them shook and Maggie heard glass smashing as the fire got closer and closer.
The glass behind Maggie shattered, smashing against her skin, but she couldn't feel it. All she could feel was Wanda, even over the rage that had been burning inside of her. It was just Wanda, Wanda, Wanda, thrumming through her body with every beat of her heart.
It was love, Maggie realised. Of course, though, she thought, she had to realise she was in love with Wanda Maximoff while she was fighting her father to the death in a rapidly burning and descending helicarrier.
Dimitri was backed against the wall and Maggie felt herself walking towards the end of the hallway where the only exit out of the Red Room helicarrier was out of the window. She was going to have to fall if she wanted to get out of this, and then fly, but she didn't think she was strong enough to do that without Wanda's help.
The fire roared behind Dimitri and the red mist in Maggie's hands darted at him. It wrapped around Dimitri like hands, choking him as the fire got closer and closer.
He screamed as the fire completely enveloped him and Maggie saw him falling to his knees in the fire. The screams stopped and the mist retracted back.
"Magdalena, I'm going to get you out of here. You're okay."
"Wanda? I think I'm gonna pass out."
Maggie's eyes fell closed as the fire got close enough to explode the windows behind Maggie.
The red mist in her palms wrapped itself around Maggie like it was Wanda holding Maggie herself. She flew out of the window, the red mist cradling her as it floated her down to a safe space on the ground.
The last thing Maggie could think when she felt the red mist retract was about her family.
"Where the hell is mama, Yelena, Melina and Alexei?"
"Yelena! Maggie!" Natasha yelled as she looked for her sister and her daughter on the ground.
She saw a parachute caught on some metal. Yelena. She raced over quickly. Her sister was lying on the ground, eyes closed. Natasha dropped to her knees, cradling Yelena's face in her hands.
"Yelena?" she asked. Yelena's eyes fluttered open and she blinked up at Natasha a few times.
"We're both upside down," she whispered. Natasha chuckled tearfully. Yelena groaned as she sat herself up.
"Forgive me, little sister," Natasha whispered in Russian, holding Yelena's shoulders so she knew Yelena was paying attention. "I should've come back for you," she said in English.
"You don't have to say that. It's okay," Yelena shook her head, tears in her eyes.
"Hey. Hey. It was real to me, too," Natasha cupped Yelena's cheeks.
She felt like she was reassuring Maggie and she realised that it made so much sense why Yelena and Maggie were so similar. They'd spent five long years together and Yelena had gotten Maggie through some of the worst times of her life before Natasha even knew of her existence.
Natasha rested her forehead against Yelena's. Yelena pulled her into a hug, burying her face in Natasha's neck.
"Thank you," she whispered. Natasha kissed the side of her head.
They pulled back after a moment.
"Wait," Yelena frowned. "Where's Maggie?" she said.
"Shit," Natasha muttered, getting to her feet. She'd accidentally forgotten about Maggie when she'd found Yelena looking half dead.
"Hey," Alexei called, helping Melina limp over.
"We can't see Maggie," Yelena said, getting to her feet.
"What?" Melina said. "Did she make it away from Dimitri?" she said.
"Dimitri was there?" Natasha said sharply.
"She made me go and free the Widows. She stayed to fight him," Yelena whispered, putting her hand over her mouth. "Did she not make it?" she said.
Natasha felt a weird sensation in her forehead, and then heard Wanda's voice in her mind.
"Follow the red."
Natasha looked around, spotting red mist swirling upwards from across the field. Natasha took off, Yelena on her heels. Alexei and Melina followed slowly.
"Maggie?!" Natasha yelled, dropping to her knees beside her unconscious daughter.
She was lying flat on her back but there was blood on her face and forehead from the wounds that had been reopened. There were also bruises forming on her body now, too. Four of her fingers were bent weird and Natasha could already see swelling from Maggie's ribs. She was pale and her skin was clammy, but she was alive.
"Maggie?" Natasha cupped her cheeks, brushing her thumbs over her stained skin. "Malyshka, it's mama. Wake up, please," Natasha whispered.
Maggie hummed quietly, her left hand patting around until she felt Natasha take it.
"Mama?" she mumbled. A tear slid down Natasha's cheek and she leaned down, kissing Maggie's cheeks three times each.
"I'm so glad you're okay, malyshka," Natasha cried.
Maggie blinked her eyes open and wrapped her arms around Natasha in a real hug.
"I did it, mama. I killed him for real," Maggie mumbled.
"I killed Dreykov," Natasha pulled back. "It's over, now," she said. She grabbed Yelena's hand, Maggie grabbing her other one. "It's all over now. They're gone," Natasha said.
Yelena rested her head on Maggie's shoulder, pressing a motherly kiss to her bruising cheek.
"We're okay, Maggie. We made it," Yelena whispered.
"I told you we would," Maggie mumbled back.
That had been something they had said to get through the worst training sessions. They would make it and they would do it together. They would escape and they would be safe. They would make it.
Now? They had done it.
"Everybody good?" Natasha smiled at Melina and Alexei as they finally joined them. Yelena sat up and helped Maggie sit up in a position that didn't cause too much pain.
"I am clearly injured, as is my granddaughter," Melina rolled her eyes. Maggie smiled tiredly.
"You got something to say?" Natasha eyed Alexei.
"I'd just mess it up," Alexei smiled sadly.
"Here comes the cavalry," Maggie motioned to the long trail of trucks driving down the road at the side of the field that belonged to Secretary Ross.
"So, what's our plan?" Melina asked.
"You guys go. I'll stay," Natasha said.
"We'll stay," Maggie corrected her.
"That's insanity. We fight. We fight with you," Alexei said.
"I'll hold them off," Natasha said.
"Natasha, we fight," Alexei said.
"We can't split up. You're so pigheaded," Melina rolled her eyes.
"You guys, go," Natasha said.
"Oh, my God," Melina scoffed.
"Besides, if it can work out with the four of us, five of us with Mags, you know, there may be some hope for the Avengers. Little bit," Natasha smiled. She got to her feet, she and Yelena helping Maggie up, too. She leaned against Natasha tiredly.
"Okay, well, if you're leaving, then I guess you should take this. I know how much you like it," Yelena sighed, shrugging off her jacket and handing it to Natasha.
"Shucks. It does have a lot of pockets," Natasha looked down to hide her smile.
"Very handy pockets, yeah," Yelena chuckled.
"He had widows implanted all over the world. Melina will need to copy the formula, but you should be the one to tell 'em it's over," Natasha handed the last vial of the antidote to Yelena.
There was a loud whirring and they turned to see a plane landing. The doors opened and the Widows that Yelena had freed piled out, walking over to them.
"You came back for us," Yelena said.
"We wouldn't leave you behind," a Widow said in Russian. Yelena squeezed their hands.
"Thank you," she whispered. She turned and looked at Maggie. "We made it, kid," she said.
"We made it," Maggie smiled.
Yelena nodded at Natasha and followed the Widows to the plane again.
"Hey. Hey. You take care of yourself, okay? Both of you," Melina squeezed Natasha's hand, patting Maggie's shoulder gently.
"Don't worry. We got this," Natasha smiled, kissing Maggie's temple.
"I know," Melina smiled.
She and Alexei hobbled off to get the remaining Widows and leave. Maggie watched as they piled on the plane.
Yelena whistled a long note and Maggie smiled as she heard Natasha whistle one back.
All siblings had a code between them. Yelena and Natasha did. Maggie, Johann and Katerina did. It made Maggie smile, and then reconsider the fact that if Natasha had reconnected with her family, maybe Maggie should do the same with her own.
"You should call them when you get back." Wanda's voice was soft and soothing like your warm bed after a long day. Maggie smiled instantly.
"I'm going to. It definitely won't be the weirdest family holiday I take."
"Maybe it will be. It'll be fun either way."
Maggie chuckled and looked up at Natasha as the cars got closer.
"You wanna take a trip soon? Get both of our families out of the way?" she said.
"I'd love to," Natasha smiled.
"Johann will be so excited. He had photos of us all framed in the living room," Maggie said.
Natasha laughed and wrapped her arms carefully around Maggie's waist.
"You're free, malyshka," she whispered.
"No, mama. We're free," Maggie said, kissing Natasha's cheek gratefully. "We're free," she said.
"Yeah. We're free," Natasha smiled.
"This is it, right?" Natasha held Maggie's hand tightly as they turned the corner onto the street that Johann, Claudia, Katerina and Andreas lived in.
It had been a month since they'd seen Yelena. They'd gotten out of trouble with Secretary Ross because Maggie had called T'Challa and asked him to drop the charges against Natasha. He did, so the government had no real reason to keep them because they couldn't figure out what had happened to the Red Room helicarrier.
Maggie had, albeit reluctantly, spent three weeks on bedrest healing and then they'd spent the last day getting their shit together before they would go and see Maggie's siblings.
"This is it," Maggie said.
She frowned when she saw someone walking towards them from beside a parked car, someone who looked too familiar for Maggie to be mad at for being here.
"Wanda?" Maggie said.
Wanda smiled at Maggie sheepishly, tucking her hands into the back pockets of her jeans.
"I couldn't stay away any longer. I'm sorry," Wanda said.
Maggie ran to her and pulled her into a hug. Wanda wrapped her arms around Maggie's shoulders and kissed her forehead three times, saying the three words she longed to say with affection instead of verbally because she wanted to say them to Maggie, not after a fight or time apart. She wanted it to be special and not because of drama.
She wanted it to be real, to mean something. She knew Maggie hadn't had much love until the Avengers and she wanted her love for Maggie to be just as strong as theirs, if not stronger.
"No. I'm glad you're here. I'm so glad you're here," Maggie whispered. Wanda pulled back and cupped Maggie's cheeks.
Her thumb brushed over the still pink scar on Maggie's face. It was barely healed and Wanda knew it would take a long time for the colour to leave it. Still, she couldn't care less. Maggie was beautiful, scars or not, and the scar said she'd survived. Wanda would love Maggie with a million scars if it meant she was alive.
"I missed you," Wanda whispered.
"I missed you more," Maggie mumbled. She leaned in and kissed Wanda softly. Wanda smiled against her lips and Maggie pulled back with a chuckle. "That's not how you do it, remember? You told me that," she whispered.
"Sorry, but you make me too happy," Wanda smirked.
"Alright, lovebirds," Natasha chuckled. They turned and Wanda smiled.
"Hi, Nat," she said, beelining to hug Natasha.
"Hey, little witch," Natasha smiled, kissing Wanda's forehead fondly. "You two ready?" she nodded at Johann's house.
The front door was open and Katerina was staring at them from the step, Andreas on her hip with a massive smile and a toy Ironman helmet in his hands.
Wanda looked at Maggie. She squeezed Wanda's hand in her own, her still wrapped fingers making it impossible for them to intertwine their fingers. She linked her other hand with Natasha's, letting Natasha kiss her forehead.
"Yeah. Let's go and meet the family," Maggie said.
"No way," Johann laughed in disbelief.
"Yes way," Natasha nodded, sipping her tea with a smirk. "She really did set herself on fire trying to cook pancakes," she said.
"I was fourteen, okay? And when you've got Captain America over one shoulder trying to tell you how to flip them and Ironman over the other telling him that isn't how you flip them, it's kind of hard to concentrate," Maggie groaned.
"I remember you freaking out when I set pancakes on fire," Wanda laughed.
"You were seventeen. I was fourteen. Very different circumstances," Maggie pointed at her.
"No, sounds pretty similar to me," Claudia chuckled, bouncing Andreas on her lap.
"Can you cook them now?" Johann asked.
"I tend to avoid the kitchen. I'm terrible at anything domestic," Maggie said.
"Katerina is, too. She can barely work the washing machine," Claudia rolled her eyes fondly. "It's a good thing Andreas keeps her busy," she said.
"Auntie Rina is the best," Andreas mumbled.
A smile spread across Katerina's face and Maggie couldn't help but smile herself.
Katerina truly did look depressed. Her face was pale and slightly sunken in on itself. There were bags under her eyes and she was shaking from too much coffee. But, when she smiled, her eyes seemed to light up. Her cheeks flushed with colour and, for a minute, she forgot about everything bad she was feeling.
Maggie leaned her head against Wanda's shoulder. Wanda kissed her forehead before levitating a toy over to Andreas.
"You have magic?" Andreas gasped.
"She's a red witch, little man," Natasha smiled at him. Andreas grabbed the toy, staring at Wanda in wonder.
"This is aunt Maggie's girlfriend, Andreas. Wanda. Can you say Wanda?" Johann said. Maggie and Wanda both flushed red but didn't correct him.
"Wanda," Andreas said proudly.
"Well done," Katerina chuckled.
"The scar is new," Johann said, nodding at Maggie to say she could tell him to shut up if she wanted to.
"Yeah," Maggie said. "I got it in a car accident running away from some robo bitch that the Red Room were chemically subjugating," she said.
"What?" Claudia frowned.
"Mind control," Natasha said quickly. "We escaped and we gave the robot the antidote. She's okay, now. She's with my parents and my sister," she said.
"Where did you go?" Katerina spoke up for the first time to Maggie. She hadn't uttered a word to her since they'd arrived.
"We went to the Red Room," Maggie said.
"What's that?" Katerina said.
"It's one of the places I was taken as a kid," Maggie said.
"I think I'm going to put the little man down, let you guys talk," Claudia kissed Johann's head as she stood up with Andreas.
"Maggie," Andreas whined. Claudia held him out to Maggie. She carefully took him and sat him on her lap, looking down at the curious child.
"Hi," Maggie said.
"Hi," Andreas smiled. He leaned up and kissed Maggie's cheek loudly. "Night night," he said, hugging her.
"Goodnight," Maggie rubbed his back with a small smile.
"Love you," Andreas said. Maggie tucked his hair out of his face.
"I love you, too," she said.
He hugged Wanda, Natasha, Katerina and Johann before letting Claudia carry him upstairs.
"We'll give you guys some room to talk," Natasha said.
"Thank you," Maggie nodded.
Natasha and Wanda left the table, leaving the siblings sat together. Maggie sighed and looked at the table. It was time to explain what the hell had happened to her.
"When dad abducted me, he was working for an organisation called HYDRA. HYDRA worked against SHIELD in the first world war. It was a German organisation. They experimented on people, even back then. One of my friends, Bucky, he was experimented on back there. So was Steve, Captain America," Maggie said.
"Steve and Bucky, we know about them," Johann nodded.
"Well, dad worked for the organisation that did that. It was hidden within SHIELD but we only found that out a few years ago. Anyway, uh, dad took me to a HYDRA lab and he experimented on me to give me the abilities I have. I was abducted again when I was five and taken to the Red Room. It was a Russian organisation that created Black Widow assassins," Maggie said.
"Natasha's name is Black Widow," Katerina said.
"She trained there, too, before she escaped. The Red Room sold me back to dad when I was ten and he continued experimenting on me in HYDRA. When I was thirteen, I escaped. I thought I'd killed dad, but I didn't. I was on the run for almost a year before Nick Fury, the director of SHIELD, found me and asked me to join the Avengers for the battle in New York," Maggie said.
"With the space monsters," Johann nodded.
"Yeah," Maggie nodded. "I stuck around afterwards. Nat adopted me. I became a SHIELD agent, used my powers for good. And then Bucky came back because HYDRA tried to kill Fury. I thought I'd killed dad again, but I didn't. He almost killed me," Maggie said.
"But he didn't," Katerina said.
"No, he didn't. He disappeared and then we fought against the rest of the HYDRA soldiers in Sokovia. That's where we found Wanda and her twin, Pietro. They'd been experimented on like I had because of dad sharing his methods. We defeated Ultron and about a year later, Bucky was framed for killing the king of Wakanda. There was a whole fight and the Avengers kind of aren't together anymore, but we're gonna fix that. Anyway, uh," Maggie said.
"You went to the Red Room again?" Katerina guessed.
"We were hiding. Nat and me. We got a package from Nat's sister, Yelena. I knew her from my time in the Red Room. The three of us teamed up with their parents to take down the Red Room. Dad was there," Maggie said.
"Did you kill him?" Katerina asked sharply.
"I did," Maggie nodded. "And we took down the organisation. Nat's mom is copying the antidote formula as we speak to free the rest of the Widows across the world," she said.
"Is that why you're here? To tell us you killed Dimitri?" Katerina said.
"No," Maggie shook her head. "Well, partly. But not just that," Maggie said.
"What, then?" Katerina frowned.
Maggie sighed.
"DNA doesn't make a family. I know that better than anyone. I mean, my family is the Avengers. My family are people I met running from my past. But it doesn't make them any less my family because I didn't grow up with them or have the same parents," Maggie said.
"What does that have to do with us?" Katerina said.
"Kat," Johann warned her.
"It's alright," Maggie shook her head. "These past few years, getting to know myself well enough to take control and let myself have the family I never thought I could have, it's made me realise that I don't have to be so closed off. I don't have to ignore my past. I have to embrace it and carry the good parts with me. You two were the good parts that I remembered before Dimitri took me. I don't want to ignore that anymore," Maggie said.
"Is he really gone?" Katerina whispered.
"He's really gone. He was strangled and then burnt in the fire," Maggie said.
Katerina pushed her chair back and bee-lined for Maggie. Maggie jumped up to hit her if Katerina hit her first, but she didn't.
She wrapped her arms around Maggie tightly, crying into her neck.
"I'm sorry, little sister," she cried in Russian. "Forgive me. I'm sorry," Katerina whispered.
Maggie hugged her back, nodding against her shoulder.
"I forgive you," Maggie whispered back in Russian. "I'm sorry, too," she whispered.
Johann stood up and wrapped his arms around his sisters, kissing their foreheads.
"Finally, back together again," Johann mumbled.
Maggie and Katerina pulled back with laughs. They both wiped their tears and smiled shyly at each other.
"Well, I do believe it's time to indulge in a family game night, now we're all together again. What will your mom and girlfriend say?" Johann looked at Maggie.
Maggie knew the answer before she even asked them.
"They're in. But, just so you know, Wanda cheats. She reads your mind to work out what you're gonna do," Maggie said.
"Liar!" Wanda whined from the living room.
The adults all laughed, gathering in the living room to start game night when Claudia returned.
Maggie sat on the couch between Natasha and Wanda, each of them grabbing a hand.
"You okay?" Wanda mumbled, kissing Maggie's cheek softly.
"I'm perfect," Maggie smiled, squeezing Natasha's hand as she kissed Wanda.
"Good," Natasha smiled. "Now pack it in. PDA makes people uncomfortable, remember?" she said.
"I had to watch you and Steve kiss. Let me kiss my girlfriend in peace," Maggie said.
"You kissed Captain America?!" Johann and Katerina gasped.
Natasha groaned loudly but started to explain before they got the wrong idea.
"Girlfriend, hey?"
Maggie turned to Wanda with a grin.
"If you want," she said.
"I do. More than anything," Wanda smiled, kissing her again.