*ECHO'S POV*
"Okay mini Romanoff, ready to test your new abilities?"
The nickname 'mini Romanoff' was something Stark had thought up just this morning, but by the sounds of it and the grin every time he said it, the name clearly wasn't going away anytime soon.
"Sure, just as long as Bucky doesn't break my arm this time?" I sighed in response.
I half-glanced over to where Bucky was sparring, now holding his hands to his side as he stared awkwardly into the distance, Mama knocking gently against his shoulder as she laughed at him jokingly.
"You said before that you have elemental control, what does that actually entail?" Stark questioned.
"Honestly it's quite new to me so I'm not too sure. But I know can control the flow of wind which means I can move objects and sometimes people."
"Why don't we start out with some small objects for now." he suggested, directing me towards a nearby table scattered randomly with various items.
"You see that fork," he asked as I nodded in confirmation, "try and move it."
"You want me to move the tiny fork, that's it?"
"Hey kid you said yourself you have little to no control over your 'powers' so I'm starting you off with something small."
"Okay then." I shrugged as I turned my attention towards the fork set down neatly on the tablecloth.
Raising my hand slightly from my side I curled my forefinger back towards my palm, simultaneously twisting my hand to face my palm to the ceiling. As I did so the fork I held in my gaze moved up following the movement of my hand, as I glanced towards Stark for his approval. He was clearly correct to start me off with small objects, as when I turned to face him my hand moved with the rest of my body, causing the fork under my control to shoot across the room into the far corner. Everyone gasped as the fork shot an inch into the wall, dropping to the floor as I released my grip in shock.
"So the movement of your hand controls the movement of the object you're trying to move, fascinating."
"That's like my powers." I heard a voice usher from across the room.
I turned to follow the sound, noticing Wanda seated idly on a nearby chair. She shifted off her seat as she moved towards me and Stark, moving her fingers in a fluid motion, lifting the fork up from the ground so effortlessly and placing it swiftly back to its original place on the table.
"I'd be happy to help you get a better control of it, I'm pretty sure I'll understand more than Stark." she offered, cocking her head in Stark's direction almost for approval.
"Be my guest!" he responded hastily as he moved to sit on the ledge of the boxing ring close by.
"Do you think about it in your mind before you move your hands?" she asked me gently, a slight accent coating her voice as she spoke to me.
"Not really no, I just look at what I want to move and then it moves along with my hand."
"Have you ever tried moving anything without using your hands?"
"I didn't think that was possible."
"Anything is possible Echo if you put your mind to it. Your powers, you mentioned before you got them from contact with some sort of stone, it would've been the mind stone, just like me."
"You were experimented on too?"
"Much like you I was an experiment for Hydra, although I offered myself up so it's a little different to you."
I nodded in acknowledgement and slight surprise as she continued to speak to me, I had no idea of her backstory until now.
"Anyways, my point is that the root of your powers lies purely in your mind. It's not your hand that's controlling the object, it's stemming directly from your mind."
"But how do I control it with my mind?"
"It's a skill you will learn to perfect over time I'm sure, but with my help it shouldn't be too hard."
"But why would you want to help me?"
"Well why not? Plus I kind of owe your mom a favour after what happened last year."
"What happened last year?" I asked curiously as Mama looked over from her sparring session towards us.
"That's another story for another time!" she yelled in our direction, Wanda smiling at her jokingly before turning back to face me.
"Before we start, I reckon everyone else should probably leave. I don't know quite what sort of abilities Echo will possess when she's in full control of her own mind." Wanda instructed to the rest of the team.
"I don't like the sound of that." Mama cautioned nervously as she glanced over at Wanda.
"Don't worry Nat I won't let anything bad happen to her."
"Okay I'm trusting you this time, don't make me regret it." she replied sternly wavering a finger in our direction, eventually smiling nervously back at Wanda still obviously apprehensive, before walking out of the door as it shut behind her.
"I want you to keep your hands by your side when you move the fork again. You may think you need them to control it but I can that promise you don't. Once you've gained control of an object you can use your fingers to direct it more effectively, but for now I want you to control the fork using only your mind."
I nodded in understanding as I turned my attention to the same fork from the table before, making sure to keep my hands plastered to my side as Wanda watched closely.
"Don't strain yourself Echo, try to relax your mind. Let go of every other thought racing through your head right now, focus only on the task ahead. Lifting that fork."
"Okay." I responded quietly as I begun to intensify the gaze I held on the fork.
I pictured in my head where I wanted the fork to move to, and just like I'd imagined it to happen, it raised up slowly until it hovered a few feet above the table.
"You got it!"
I relaxed my mind as the fork dropped back down to the table, clattering as it hit the surface. Turning to face Wanda who had a kind and almost comforting smile painted across her face, I grinned back up at her in satisfaction at my success in completing the task.
"It's tiring, even just moving something so small, my head already feels light but so heavy at the same time."
"You'll get used to it kid, don't worry." she assured as she begun clearing away the other items from the table.
Almost in hesitation she turned back to face me momentarily, like she was getting ready to tell me something, and it seemed fairly important.
"Is everything okay?" I asked her in waiting for her response.
"Yeah, you just remind me of someone that's all."
"Who?" I asked slightly intrigued.
"My daughter Rosie."
"You have a daughter?" my voice sounding higher than usual as it was the last thing I expected her to say.
"Yeah, with the help of S.H.I.E.L.D. we've managed to keep her identify safe. I hadn't mentioned it before now because I honestly didn't know whether I could trust you or not. Please don't take it personally I was just trying to protect her."
"No no it's okay, I get why you kept it secret. Does she live here too?"
"Yeah. She goes to the same school as Peter but it just so happens they're on their annual winter trip this week so you won't see either of them until Monday."
"How old is she?"
"13. Same age as you. I'm sure you'll get along well, she's very similar to you trust me."
I smiled up at her as she spoke, relieved to hear I wasn't the only kid apart from Peter in this place.
"We'll pick this up again tomorrow yeah?" she asked, interrupting my trail of thought entirely.
"Sounds good, thanks Wanda, really."
"Of course, I'm happy to help." she grinned back at me as we both walked out of the doors and up the stairs, pacing towards the muffled voices that seemed to be coming from the kitchen.
Glancing briefly at a clock on the way up it read as 12:47pm, perfect timing for lunch.