||I'll be here for you, always and forever.||
The White Queen--Emma Frost--was stunning. Wanda found herself captivated by her shimmering skin; the icy tone to her aura was glorifying. Wanda had never seen such beauty.
And she tried, forcefully, to get into Emma's head, but she failed each time. The woman wasn't letting Wanda in.
"Stop it," Pietro told her once they both left Bruce's lab. They were headed to the cafeteria for food, but Wanda couldn't stop herself from looking back. "I don't trust her."
"You don't trust anyone," Wanda said, finally looking forward.
"I trust you."
"That's a given," she said, smiling up at her brother. "She's tantalizing, I can't see inside of her mind. She won't let me. It's frustrating."
"Maybe that is a good thing. I doubt someone who can turn into a diamond has nice thoughts. But... she is here to help, so that's better than nothing." The twins pushed the cafeteria doors opened and Wanda took a seat at one of the round tables. There were no windows in the cafeteria, but Wanda could hear the rain that was pouring outside. The sound of raindrops splattering against the roof was loud enough to let anyone know it was raining outside.
She could also feel the wet air seeping in through the thick walls.
"I'll get us some food," Pietro said, leaving Wanda by herself in the corner. She watched her brother stride over to the food, and she felt herself relax. Wanda couldn't even remember the last time they had a meal together. When her eyes roamed around the cafeteria, she saw a group of nurses sitting down together, all smiling and giggling as they stared at Pietro.
One of them caught Wanda's eyes, and they all immediately stopped giggling, pretending to be focused on their food instead of Pietro. Was she that intimidating? Was everyone afraid of her?
The clatter of a tray startled her, and she looked down to see her food. Pietro took the seat in front of her and sat down. She really did believe he needed a haircut.
"Do you think they will come?" she asked her brother, grabbing the fork beside her plate and digging it into the baked macaroni. Her stomach growled with delight, and she shut her eyes as it melted inside of her mouth.
"I don't know anymore," he answered, opening up the water bottle beside him and sliding it over to Wanda. "Drink," he said, and she grabbed it, letting the water smooth out the cheese inside of her mouth. "You look skinny, tired, and weak. You need to keep yourself healthy, Wanda."
She knew he was right, and he was the only person in the world who would tell her that face to face. Over the months she had noticed her weight loss, it was minimal, but enough to notice. Her cheeks were hollowed, and the darkness under her eyes more poignant. Wanda didn't do it on purpose, she just never worried about it.
But Pietro was back, and that meant he was going to make sure she got back into shape. The thought of it almost made her laugh.
"What did it feel like?" she asked him after minutes of silence. "Death?"
Pietro put his fork down, and she worried that she'd asked him a horrible question. But she wanted to know, she needed to know if the pain she felt when he died was equally as painful for him.
"Quiet," he said, and she reached out, resting her fingers on his. She urged him to go on, and he wrapped is fingers around her dainty hand, holding it firmly. "I heard you scream. That was the worst part about it. Just before everything faded, I heard your cry. It coiled around me, making the pain of the bullets feel like nothing."
Her fingers trembled, and she felt her heart freeze over.
Pietro felt her pain just as much as she felt his.
"Then I woke up in some hospital room three months later. It felt like I had just woken up from a long nap. It didn't feel like I died."
"Lucky you," she said, dropping her eyes.
"Wanda," he said to her softly. "I will never leave you again. I promise you that, my sister."
___
"Does he know?" she heard him ask from behind. Slowly, she pushed her bag full of weapons under her bed and stood, turning around to face Clint.
"No," she answered. "He can't."
"Nat..."
"I don't need this right now, Clint." Natasha zipped up her black sweater and walked out of her room, where Clint proceeded to follow her. "The only person who does know is you and I'm starting to regret that decision."
"Remember Budapest?" she stopped walking, looking around and then turning to face him. She stepped forward, eyes narrowing on him. "I told Laura," he muttered, and Natasha brought her hands up, pushing him back.
"Why in the hell would you tell her about Budapest?"
"She's my wife!"
"I don't care! We said we'd never bring that up, not to anyone." Natasha groaned, slamming her fist against the wall beside her. The bang echoed through the hall, causing a group of Agents down the hall to stop and look at her. She glared at them, and they quickly hurried off. "I have secrets, Clint, that is what makes me who I am."
Clint straightened his shoulders, giving Natasha a guilty look. "You're my best friend, Nat, and I love you, I always have. I just want to see you happy for once." He turned, walking away from her, and she quickly ran back to her room, locking the door. She dropped to her knees and held her face in her hands, crying silent tears.
"Are you okay?" Natasha was on her feet in seconds, the pocket knife in her boot already clenched in her palm. When she realized Wanda was sitting on her bed, she sighed, stuffing the knife back in her boot. She wiped away the tears that stained her face and walked over to the mini fridge in the corner.
"I didn't see you there," she finally said, grabbing a water bottle.
"I wanted to see you," Wanda said, standing up. "But I can come back."
"No, stay, I'm fine. It's just one of those days."
Natasha sat down on her bed and motioned Wanda to follow. Natasha chugged down half of the water and tried to gather her thoughts, because she knew eventually she'd have to talk.
"Are you sure? You seem... busy," Wanda asked her hesitantly.
"I'm far from busy," Natasha answered, and Wanda finally sat down beside her.
"You were crying." Natasha smiled down at her hands, the water swishing inside of the bottle as her hands shook lightly. "I never see you cry," she added, making Natasha feel like an emotionless mess.
"I cried in front of you, once, a couple of months ago. You were asleep, and I just sat there beside you and thought of how much you were going to hate me after you found out the truth." The water bottle slipped from her fingers, but Wanda's hex caught it just in time. "Nice reflexes," Natasha commented.
"I used to think that I hated you, that is what Ultron made me believe," she said, lowering the bottle onto the floor. "But I don't, not even after the lies. I know it was for the best." She allowed the remnants of her hex to float around the room before letting them disappear. "Why were you crying?"
There was no moving past it, so Natasha did what she rarely did, and told the truth.
___
They spread out once they arrived at the coordinates Trask gave them. There nothing around for miles, only a small farm house not too far off, but there weren't any visible signs of mutants inside.
Markus waved his hand forward, signaling his men to move down the small hill that led to a large open field.
His team camped out a few hours away the day before, cleaning out their weapons and preparing a tactical plan. They knew the coordinates that Trask gave them were most likely going to be a dead end, but they didn't question their boss, not when they were being greatly compensated. Markus for instance, hated mutants to his core. They were creatures that didn't deserve a place in this world.
To him, no one should hold the power of super strength or invisibility. It didn't seem right.
"Five minutes from location, Alpha," one of the men said over the comm. All seven of them moved briskly through the trees, careful not to make much noise. The sun had since gone down, giving them enough darkness to walk freely without being spotted.
"Copy," Markus answered. He walked a few feet behind his men, incase anyone or anything decided to attack.
"One minute, Alpha."
"Holbrook and Jonas, take west. Smith and Martinez, go east. Allen and Rosen keep forward. Meet up at the mark, these mutant dogs are here somewhere." Markus perched his rifle up and followed Allen and Rosen quietly, keeping his eyes focused out in front of him.
The field clearing came into view and Markus ordered Allen and Rosen to fall back while he inspected. The bracelet on his wrist gave him the exact coordinates that Trask gave him, and he was confused to find nothing but open field. There were no mutants around.
From his left he saw Holbrook and Jonas move down towards the field, and a few seconds later he saw Smith and Martinez do the same from his right. Trask gave them orders to search the area and find any mutants in sight, and Markus had a good sense of how powerful mutants can be, so he wasn't going to take any chances.
"Keep look out for any sign of them. Kill on sight." Markus slung his rifle over his shoulder and turned, motioning Allen and Rosen to join the rest of the team. He pressed down on his comm and dialed Trask. "Your coordinates brought us to an empty field. No sign of mutant or human life."
"Continue searching, I know they're there." Trask ended the call and Markus tightened his lips.
"Alpha, we've got eyes on something," Martinez said over comm. Markus turned, running down the hill to meet up with his men, who were standing in the middle of the field, staring up at nothing. "Night vision, Sir," Martinez told him, and Markus switched on the night vision on his glasses and stumbled back. A building stood in front of them, one story, shielded in some sort of invisible cloak.
"Spread out and find me an entrance," he ordered, and his team obliged, moving swiftly around the building. He couldn't hear anything from inside, but he was sure there were mutants in there, he could sense it.
___
She walked around the lab, running her fingers across the shiny exteriors of the counters and computers. Emma had spent the majority of her day speaking with Tony and Bruce, trying to establish their trust. Even with her history with Tony, she knew he didn't trust her, not in the way she wanted him to.
Emma Frost didn't necessarily need anyone's trust, but when she saw the young Maximoff girl, and how corrupt her mind had become over the last few months, it made her wish that she had been there when the girl needed her most.
And she wouldn't be able to get near the girl if the rest of the Avengers didn't trust her, especially the boy. Pietro.
"You can read minds?" Emma glanced up to see Pietro standing near the entry way.
Yes. I can do many things
She watched him look up, as if her words had come from the sky. "I can communicate with you without ever having to speak a word. Neat, isn't it?" She blinked, and then, in milliseconds, he was right in front of her, glaring. "Speed of light, perhaps even faster," she said, smiling. "I do have to admit that you and your sister are quite the spectacle. I saw video of the both of you fighting during the battle with Ultron, and I must say, it was exhilarating."
Emma moved to the side and took a seat beside him. Her skin began to tingle, but before she could think too much on it, he spoke.
"What do you want from us?" he asked her, and she scoffed, offended.
"I don't want anything, not from anyone. What I do want is to protect the remaining mutants in this world, that includes the both of you." She turned her head to the wall and focused slightly on the winds that were blowing by outside. Something felt off, as if there were more thoughts in the area then there were when she arrived. Slowly, Emma stood, walking over to the computers and pressing down on a key.
The screen lit up, and she found the live footage of the cameras outside.
"What's wrong?" Pietro asked her, looking down at the screen.
"We have company," she said, clenching her fists.