||"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."
Emma's hands stayed gripped around the steering wheel, and Wanda pulled her hands away from the vents and sat back.
"Sometimes I see it in you," Wanda added.
Emma veered off of the side of the road, then shut the car down.
They were on an empty strip of road, both sides surrounded by tall, thick trees. The road was wet from the dew and the birds and squirrels were causing the branches to dance, making them sway.
Even from inside of the car Wanda could tell there wasn't any wind.
The day felt a little lifeless.
"I want you to know that there is nothing chimerical about who you are and what you can do. But to people who aren't like us—who can't fathom the amount of power and fear we sometimes feel—it can be to them. We're even sometimes looked at as monstrosities, even to our own kind."
Emma took a breath, and Wanda could see Emma's sparkling hands reaching up for the necklace around her neck.
"I just don't want you to fear yourself because others fear you. We're all different in some way, the only difference is is that you're magical. That should never be a bad thing."
"Other people, even like us, don't fear you. They look up to you, they admire you."
Emma scoffed, and Wanda turned her head to look at her.
"I wasn't always loved and admired, Wanda. It took me a very, very long time to get to where I am right now."
"How long before you became the White Queen?" Wanda asked.
Emma turned and met her gaze, but Wanda was surprised to see that there was a smile beginning to form on her lips. "It was my brother who told me I looked good in white—that it was my color. I think in some way, that's when the title started to form itself. But it wasn't until I joined this club that I was appointed as the White Queen."
Wanda bowed her head in a half-nod, and Emma reached over and touched the rings on her hand. Her cool finger felt like a cool breeze against Wanda's skin, but it wasn't cold enough to cause a shiver.
"There have been White Queens before me, Wanda, but never has there been a Scarlet Witch," Wanda watched Emma admiringly, just like she always had, as she twisted the ring on her middle finger around. "There has never been someone like you, and that is why people fear you at first. You're something new, something unique that they feel needs to be studied. Humans do that—they study things that don't make sense to them."
"And mutants? What do they do?"
Emma smiled to herself, and Wanda wondered what she was thinking.
"They adjust," she answered, and Wanda thought long and hard on that answer because she knew Emma was right. "Alright, let's head back before Markus storms into that place without us there. God knows the team wouldn't stand a chance without us."
Wanda grinned wickedly, and she touched her rings one more time before looking back out the window.
___
Natasha pointed her gun at the target, but as she tilted her head slightly, the bruising on her neck went sore.
She hissed, bringing her gun down and setting it back on the table.
The bruising Steve had caused was starting to fade, but the pain was still there. It would be weeks before the actual discoloration on her neck and the pain actually went away.
While walking into the locker room, she picked up on the presence of someone following her, but she pretended like she didn't notice. Without much thought, she turned on one of the sinks and splashed water on her face, trying not to strain her neck too much.
The person following her stopped at the door, still hidden in the shadows.
"Mind handing me my towel?" she asked loudly, and after a few beats, Crystal emerged from the corner.
"You wanna teach me how to do that?" Crystal asked, grabbing Natasha's towel from her bag and bringing it over. Natasha looked at the girl through the mirror and shook her hands over the sink before turning around.
"Learning to listen to my surroundings became second nature to me after years of practice. It's not something you learn in one sitting."
Crystal sat down on one of the benches in front of the lockers, picking at her sweats, and Natasha slung the towel over her shoulder and took a good look at the girl sitting in front of her.
She'd only known Crystal for a few weeks, but in that time Natasha picked up on the girl's routine: intensive mental training in the mornings, physical training in the afternoon, rest at night. Everything else in between consisted of talking with the others and bothering Pietro to pass time.
"I guess another time," Crystal said, looking back up at Natasha.
Though Natasha had seen many faces in her lifetime, there was something different about Crystal. The green-eyed girl was trying so hard to put on a hard face for the world—a cold personality—that in some way, it's what she was becoming.
Natasha knew that face, she knew it too well.
"I can't teach you that trick, not without time and patience, but I can tell you that if you ever want to sneak up on people or follow them, try your best to become part of the surroundings. It's easier to go unnoticed when you blend in."
"Become? What do you mean?"
"I mean," Natasha walked over and sat down beside Crystal, keeping her head straight so that her neck wouldn't strain, "if you're following someone in the dark, become part of the darkness; if you're following someone in a quiet area, become part of the silence. It's all about embodying what you can in order to get what you want."
Natasha could easily remember all of her training as if it were yesterday, which on some days could either be bad or good.
As of lately, she didn't really have time to think about the past.
There were a lot of emotions involved with her past, a lot of hate and anger. It was rare to ever associate her past with something happy, but, there were some instances in her life when she thought to believe she was genuinely content.
"Well, I guess if I ever got outed I could just set the person on fire," Crystal said, and Natasha blew out a whistle before dragging the towel down her sweaty face.
"That's always an option," she said, chuckling a bit. "But, if you are ever in that situation, try and talk your way through before going lethal. People are people, and sometimes we have to hear them out."
"And if they don't give me the chance?" she asked, and Natasha looked to her side, furrowing her brows slightly.
"What is this about?" Natasha asked.
Crystal gave a sheepish shrug, then pushed herself off of the bench dramatically before turning back to Natasha. "There are people where I come from that don't deserve to be heard, and the only option is to just end it. And no, I'm not speaking from experience. At least not yet."
Natasha straightened her shoulders and kept her expression blank.
"Then I hope the people who have done you wrong beg for mercy."
Crystal smiled. "I hope so, too."
___
The whistling of the wind soothed Nik as he sat down on one of the many balconies around the building.
But he couldn't quite imagine himself in Sokovia. The air, to him, was different here. Not quite as light and scented as it was back home.
Home.
He'd been gone for three weeks, but it felt like it had only been days.
But oh how grateful he was for being here with Wanda again. Yes, very grateful. After her and Pietro had left Sokovia so suddenly a few weeks back, he wasn't sure when he'd see her again. But here he was, with her and with other gifted people. It was a dream.
The sliding doors behind him slid open as someone stepped out, and Nik turned to find Cas taking a seat beside him.
"I've been training here for over year, but, I never did get the chance to see this side of the compound. Almost feels like a whole new place."
Nik crossed his legs and slouched a bit, now listening to sound of Cas' steady breathing than the wind.
"I've already explored every inch of this land; perhaps you should too. It really is magnificent."
Cas chuckled, and Nik found the dark-haired boy shaking his head. "I don't think I have the patience for that."
Nik scrunched his nose up in response. "Everyone has the ability to build up their patience, especially when it comes to wandering unknown areas for the first time. I actually wasn't a very patient boy growing up, so my mother had me learn how to sit down without being too jumpy or stay silent without interrupting someone. But eventually I realized I could only do one thing at a time, you see, I sometimes speak too much and other times I move too much, but...never all at once."
Then there were those rare moments where he didn't do anything at all.
"I think they have a name for people like you," Cas said, smiling at Nik.
"Everyone has a name for themselves," Nik replied, and Cas took a second to think on it, then agreed. "So, is there a reason you stayed? I know Mr. Stark and Sam tried getting you to leave two days ago."
Cas moved up, scooting himself to the balcony railing, then turned so that he was facing Nik. "I decided to stay."
"That's a bit risky noting the situation," Nik said, and Cas sighed, resting his head back against the railing.
"Yeah, well, I guess I've been putting my life at risk for a long time now. It's what I do best."
"But...you'll get hurt if you stay. From what I've gathered, the men who are coming are very dangerous, and I'm sure you're a great fighter, but there is no guarantee that you'll come out of this alive."
Nik was babbling, because in truth, he was nervous, and he didn't like speaking so solemnly about any situation, but this was different.
"You're staying," Cas told him, and Nik raised his head and stared at him. "You're at risk just as much as I am, if not, more. So what's your excuse?"
Nik pulled his stare away from the dark-haired boy and thought for a moment.
After a few minutes passed, he answered.
"I knew what I signed up for the day I met Wanda. As her friend, I plan on staying by her side, aiding her in every way I can, until she asks me to leave," he paused, taking a breath. "That's why I'm staying."
Cas craned his neck back and Nik peeked up at him as he stared up at the sky, and he found himself taking pleasure at the boy's tan skin and ink-black hair. A handsome young man he was.
"I guess we'll see how everything goes down when these men finally come by."
"Those men won't win," Nik said, biting the inside of his cheek.
"Oh, I know they won't win, but that doesn't mean they won't leave behind blood. Men like them don't survive very long in their line of work, but they do leave behind quite a mess."
Mess was a broad word, Nik thought, but he knew what Cas meant.
Markus and his men left behind bodies, and Nik was sure they wouldn't leave this compound without at least taking one.
*****************************
A/N: Yes. Markus and his men are going to try their very best to leave a "mess."
That is going to be a very fun chapter to write...ha, not really.
Alright, I hope you guys had a great weekend, and I hope you enjoyed the chapter as well!
Talk later xx