||There is great power in her—I feel it when she walks; it is there when she breathes, and it's intwined in her words when she speaks.||
*9 months ago*
Anger pumped through her frozen body as she stood in the corner of Tony's apartment, unsure of what to do with herself. She watched the Avengers move carefully around the large area, obviously trying their best to be calm around her.
It wasn't working.
She could sense their stress all the way from where she stood, and it made her want to scream.
Hours had passed since they left the broken city of Sokovia, only hours had passed since she lost the only person in her life who still loved her. Nothing mattered to her anymore, nothing at all. She couldn't feel him in her heart like she used to; there was no more life in her brother, and that tore her apart.
When she realized the room had grown completely quiet, she looked up, and saw each and every one of the Avengers staring at her. They had their hands up, walking towards her slowly, but she didn't understand. She could see Tony mouthing something, but she couldn't hear anything.
From the window beside her, she could see her reflection, and in her reflection, she saw her hands—the scarlet red of her hex glowing from her skin. With a grunt, she managed to calm herself down, and her hex quickly vanished. When she looked up at the team again, they were still staring.
Tony looked terribly uncomfortable, as if he didn't know what to do; Thor and Clint stood near the bar, their heads down in defeat; Natasha didn't look away from Wanda, she just stared at her with tears in her eyes; Steve stood the closest, his shoulders tense and his eyes wide. They all looked so terrified of her, and Wanda didn't know how to change that.
Wanda took a step forward, and everyone took a step back. It was clear that the only person who wasn't afraid of her was Pietro, and now he was gone. "I'm sorry," she spoke, and she could feel the sting of her tears in her eyes. "I shouldn't be here," she began to walk towards the elevator, and she drowned out the sounds of their protests, knowing very well that she'd only cause trouble if she stayed.
When she reached the elevator, she brought up her shaking hand to press the button, and when the doors opened, she stepped in.
"Wanda, wait," someone called out, but she kept her eyes down as she pressed the button for the first floor.
Sokovia was her home, and that's where she would go. She'd make a living for herself, perhaps even have a family some day. But staying in New York wasn't going to do her any good.
Before the elevator doors could close, someone slipped inside.
He knelt down on one knee in order to catch her attention, and she had no choice but to look down at him. The Captain was a handsome man, very, very handsome. She was aware of it from the moment she laid eyes on him, and even now, when her vision blurred with her tears, she still acknowledged his beauty.
"You can stay with us," he told her, and she took in a deep breath, trying to slow her thoughts down. "You haven't slept since yesterday, and I won't let you leave until you've rested." Wanda crossed her arms, leaning against the elevator wall. "I know you're hurting, and I know how much it hurts, but please stay."
He moved closer to her, and all she could do was close her eyes and avoid his gaze.
"You're scared of me," she whispered, feeling the warmth of is body grazing her skin. "All of you are scared of me."
"That's not true..."
"But it is," she opened her eyes, and she could see his beautiful face through her glowing irises. Steve swallowed hard, standing back up. Wanda had to lift her head up to look up at him, but he didn't move away. He was captivating for many reasons, but Wanda found that his placid personality was something she admired already. It was soothing.
The elevator pinged when they reached the first floor, and Wanda looked passed Steve, out to the busy lobby ahead of her. If she wanted, she could leave and never come back. But all she wanted to do was curl up in a dark room and sleep forever. She wanted to sleep and never wake up again.
"Tony has a room ready for you," he moved aside, giving her a clean opening to the lobby. "That's only if you want to stay."
People walked by the elevator, some stopping momentarily to walk in, but quickly leaving when they saw who was inside. How could she possibly survive around people who feared her? How could she live without her brother? Her reason to live was because of him, and now that he was gone, she had no reason to be alive anymore.
"I'm tired," she said in a quiet voice, feeling the defeat of her exhausted body beginning to take over.
Steve pushed one of the glowing buttons in the elevator and Wanda closed her eyes once again. She could feel Steve watching her, but she didn't care. She would go to the room and she would sleep and sleep and sleep until she no longer felt pain.
___
She had fallen asleep an hour ago, and he knew he should wake her up, but he didn't want to disrupt her. Instead, Pietro just sat beside her and watched her sleep, wanting nothing more than to let his sister rest.
"Can I join?" Pietro jumped in his seat, startled by the girl with the tail. She crouched forward and sat down on the floor, beside Pietro. "You know, she's not so scary when she's sleeping," Sharon giggled, but quickly stopped when Pietro glared at her. "Sorry."
"Shouldn't you be with the others?" he asked her, and she shrugged her shoulders.
"I love them to pieces, I do, but you're a lot more interesting. Plus, we're marching into battle soon, and who knows what'll happen there. It's crazy, you know, one minute were out in the real world trying to make a living and then the next minute were fighting a war we never wanted. That Trask man is ruthless to his bone, it's a shame really. I can't imagine ever being so angry that I would purposely try and kill a bunch of people. I can't even see myself hurting a fly, well, that's unless the fly was trying to kill me, then we'd have a problem."
He couldn't understand how someone could just keep on talking without stopping to let the other person say a word. But then again, he didn't mind listening, she had an interesting voice, and it didn't seem to bother Wanda, so he just let her go on.
"--a lot of them actually, but I wouldn't trade them for the world. Though Havok does have a tendency to get on my nerves, oh boy, I was so close to swinging my tail at him. You should've seen it, I stood on that table and I put them all in place. Very invigorating, I'll tell you that." Sharon hushed for a moment, looking up at Pietro. "You haven't told me to shut up yet," she broke out in a smile, "I must be getting on your good side."
"I wouldn't count on it," he retorted, and her tail twirled playfully behind her, soaking in the banter.
"Can she really show people their greatest fears?" she asked him, and he looked at Wanda, who was still sound asleep. Her dark hair surrounded her young face like a halo, and even then, after months of pain and torture, she still looked as heavenly as she always had.
"My sister can do anything," he answered, grinning. "If you're looking to be on someone's good side, it should be her's." He glanced down at her striking eyes, and lost his train of thought for a moment.
"How do you think this is all going to play out?" she asked.
"I don't really know," he told her, and he sat back against the chair and kept his eyes on Wanda. He knew he'd have to wake her soon, which killed him, but they would need to prepare. For one, he would need to shower, and eat something. Running at full speed burned off too many calories, and if he wasn't full of food before a fight, there was a good chance he might pass out.
But for the time being, he'd sit beside the girl with the tail, and listen to her talk. And he'd make sure his sister got as much sleep as possible, because if they were planning on winning this war, they would need the Scarlet Witch at her best.
___
While the mutants gathered around Emma to discuss their plan of attack, Sapphire walked Katarina over to one of the tables in the corner. For the longest time, she had accepted the fact that she would never see her daughter again, but as she stared into Katarina's gold eyes, she felt so much emotion swimming inside of her like a river.
"You're so beautiful," she said, touching Katarina's face. "I am so proud of the woman you've become, my princess--my queen. You are the greatest joy that has ever blessed my life. Never forget that."
Katarina held onto her mother's hands, and they both leaned into each other, embracing each other's presence.
"Where did you go?" Katarina asked, her voice cracking slightly. "What did he make you do?"
"I left to keep you safe, and I have nothing to regret. I would do it a million times more if it meant you'd be safe."
"But... how? How did he know?"
Sapphire frowned, remembering the day that Trask ruined her life forever. It was a long time ago, but it felt so fresh in her memory that she thought about it almost daily.
"You had just shown me your flames for the first time, and it was the best moment of my life. Just knowing that you were like me, it made me feel so special, but mind you, your father, he... he had no idea of what I was. I lived a lie, because I fell in love with a human. I was young and I loved the idea of being in love." Sapphire paused, shaking out a breath before continuing. "It was just a few months after we got married that I found out I was pregnant."
"Did you know?" she asked her mother. "Did you know I was like you before I was even born?"
"I had my suspicions, but I didn't know for sure. Sometimes I would feel my stomach grow hot, and then at night, I would glow. I used to think it was just my own body dealing with huge changes, but now I know it was you." They smiled at each other, and Sapphire could feel her flames glowing in her eyes with joy. "That day you showed me your mutation, your father was so--he was upset. He had heard of mutants, but he had encountered one. So you can only imagine the fear that he felt when he saw me for who I really was."
"How could he be scared of the woman he loved?" Sapphire stopped, and looked closely at her daughter. She could tell that Katarina loved her father dearly, and what they were about to do was not going to be easy, but it was hard for Sapphire not to think about the man she once loved. Before everything went wrong, Larry was kind, and he was loving. Katarina still saw that part of him, even if she didn't want to admit it.
"He loved me once, but, a man will put his beliefs before anything and anyone else. And your father believed mutants were a disgrace to this world. That is what ruined him." Sapphire released her daughter's hand and rubbed her eyes. She had traveled night and day to find Katarina, and she was starting to feel her light dying out inside of her. It had been a very long time since she'd used her flames for a long period of time.
"Come on, I'll bring you to my room," Katarina said after noticing her mother's heavy eyes. "I think it's best you're not around when the team gets back," she added, and Sapphire sighed, thinking of the man who she mistakenly impaled with a broken pipe. "Especially Natasha."
___
The doctor performing the surgery on Bucky specifically asked the team to wait out int he waiting room until she was finished, and all Natasha could do was sit in one of the uncomfortable seats and wait.
Somehow, Clint managed to talk her into going inside, and she was happy he did, because she was closer to Bucky inside than she was out.
"I brought you some coffee," Bruce sat beside her in the adjacent seat, but Natasha shook her head. He set down the cup on the table in front of them, and she stared at it, watching the steam rise up. "Can I do anything?" he asked her, but she didn't answer. She didn't know what to say, or even how to explain what she was feeling.
But as Bruce stood up to walk away, she grabbed his arm, and pulled him back. When he sat down again, she stood up, curling up in his lap and resting her head on his shoulder. He felt so warm and soft beneath her, and she reminded herself that she loved him. She loved Bruce Banner and she loved the gentleness of his soul, because he was everything she wasn't.
He loved her even after knowing how merciless she could be; he loved her even when she lied; he loved her even when she was angry and cruel. Bruce never despised one single thing about her, and she would never comprehend why.
"It's going to be okay," he whispered to her, holding her tightly as she dozed off against him. "I'm here."
And as Natasha fell into a worried sleep, she thought of the people in her life who meant so much to her. She thought of Bucky, and how he made her feel so important; she thought of Clint, and their unbreakable friendship; she thought of Bruce, and how he loved her no matter what; she thought of Steve, and how he always had her back; she thought of Thor, and how he treated her like an equal, even though he was a god.
And she thought of Fury, and how he loved her like a daughter.
She thought of the twins, and how everything they were doing was to protect them, because she knew how special they were, and how very rare it was to come across not one, but two, unbelievably loving people. Everything that had happened was all for the twins, and Natasha knew that there was more blood to come, and she'd be willing to do anything to put others before herself for the first time in her life.
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A/N: Why is everyone falling asleep in this chapter? Lmao
I just re-watched the Civil War trailer like three times and I kinda just feel like walking in front of a bus:D:D:D