Wanda's eyes were wide as she stared at the man named Vision. Vision smiled at her and stepped forward closer to her; his arms outstretched.
"Wanda," he said as he embraced her. Wanda reluctantly hugged him back, her eyes still wide and filled with confusion. She hadn't seen him since the airport battle in Germany; what was he doing here. "It is good to see you, Wanda."
"Vision. What are you doing here?" Wanda asked pulling out of the hug and taking a step back closer to Claire. Claire opened her arm to Wanda, holding her gently.
"Who is this?" Claire asked, her eyes narrowing and a low growl vibrating through her chest. Wanda held up her hand, grazing Claire chest, telling her to stand down. Claire relaxed a little, but still stood her ground. Vision looked at her and tilted his head.
"I am Vision, an associate of Ms. Maximoff. Might I ask who you are?"
"Don't worry about who I am."
"Vision." Wanda's voice pulled them both out of their mini conversation. "What are you doing here? Did—did Stark send you?" Fear flooded Wanda at the idea of Tony finding out their location and sending the U.S. government to take them and send them back to the Raft. Claire's arm tightened around Wanda.
"Mr. Stark is unaware of my intentions on seeing you. But I'm afraid that I'm here for more than a reunion. Is there somewhere we can talk in private?" Jemma left the room and the sound of a door closing was heard in the distance. Vision looked over past Wanda and at Claire expectantly, waiting for her to leave also. Claire caught on and another growl left her lips.
"Whatever you can say to her you can say to me." Wanda turned around in her hold and placed a hand on her cheek. Vision nodded his head and ran a hand against the back of his neck.
"I'm afraid that I'm here with some rather unfortunate news. You're in danger, Wanda." Claire growled again, louder than before and her eyes glowed a light purple.
"What do you mean she's in danger?" Claire asked.
"What are you talking about, Vision? What's happening?" Vision stepped back and lightly touched the stone in his head, causing it to glow a light yellow.
"The stone has warned me of a threat. Someone is looking for the stone, and I'm afraid that they mixed up your energy signature with that of the stone. I...I saw them come here. I saw you, Wanda, and you need to leave before they get here."
Just then, an explosion shook the cabin. Dust, pieces of roofing, and wood clattered to the ground as two giant figures dropped into the cabin from the gaping hole in the ceiling. Wanda let out a scream as Claire shoved her behind her back and take a protective stance. Vision straightened his back, readying for a fight.
The figures skulked towards the three of them. The one on the left, a woman, was tall with blue hair and small black horns that stood above her head starting from her eyes. Her eyes were a copper color and stared at the three of them with an intense glare. Armor covered every inch of her visible skin except her pale face and she held a glowing staff in her hand. The one next to her, a male, stood about the same height as the woman with a dark hooded helmet over his head. His armor was dark and his long grey face was contorted in a menacing scowl. Like the woman he held a long staff with sharp spears on both ends.
He growled at them as he looked at Claire, who growled right back. Wanda rested her hands on Claire's tense shoulders, a scarlet mist appearing. Claire could feel Wanda trembling behind her and her wolf stirred, begging to be let out.
"We're here for the stone," the woman said looking at Wanda.
"She doesn't have it," Claire said. The man growled again.
"We know she does. We tracked it here, to her. Its signature; it calls to us. Now hand it over." He bared his teeth at her. Claire sent him a smirk as her eyes glowed brighter.
"I don't think so." Claire straightened her back as her bones cracked and groaned, repositioning into her wolf form. She stood tall, towering over the man, and roared in anger before ramming her head into him, sending him flying through the walls. From her room, Jemma screamed as the man flew through and Vision took off in that direction. Claire turned towards the woman and growled, baring her fangs.
The woman pointed her staff at her and charged. Claire jumped out of the way and grabbed the staff with her teeth. She tried to pull the staff out of the woman's grip, but she jumped up and kicked Claire hard in the nose, making her let go. Claire fell back into the pile of rubble on the floor under the hole in the ceiling, her shoulder landing on a sharp piece of wood. The woman stood up and charged at Wanda. She thrusted her staff at her and Wanda deflected, integrating her magic with her hand-to-hand combat. Wanda was quick as she dodged and deflected the staff, but the woman was faster; her attacks coming quickly, overwhelming her. She watched as Wanda moved, and when she faltered, she shot a blast at her from her staff, sending Wanda flying through the front window of the cabin.
Claire shifted back into her human form and got up from the pile of rubble, wincing in pain as a piece of wood stuck out in her shoulder. She gritted her teeth as she grasped it and pulled it out of her shoulder. Groaning in pain, she rolled her shoulders and neck, her bones creaking and she stepped towards the broken window. Before she could leave, the man entered the living room from the holes in the walls where Claire knocked him into. He ran over to her and before Claire could move to defend herself, he struck her with his spear, hitting her hard on the head. She stumbled and fell to the ground and brought her hand up to where he hit her, feeling the warm liquid of blood ooze out of a long gash. The man took advantage of her slow response time, and jumped onto her back, bringing his spear around Claire's head, resting it just blow her neck, and thrusting upwards, choking her.
He pulled at her, picking her up from the ground, still choking her with his spear, and carried her through the broken window and onto the porch. He applied more pressure causing Claire to gasp and gag as she fought hard to bring air into her screaming lungs. Her hands flew up to her neck, searching for his, clawing at him, desperately trying to get him to let go. She grasped at the spear, pulling it with all her might, though it didn't budge.
The woman pounced on top of Wanda, pinning her to the ground, her staff glowing as it inched closer to her face. Wanda's hands sat under it, keeping it from touching her. The woman leaned down closer to her, her copper eyes burning into Wanda's green ones.
"Give us the stone, and she lives." The woman tilted her head towards the porch where the man stood, his spear pressed against Claire's neck. Wanda could see her face turning a light blue as he applied more pressure. Claire's eyes met hers and despite the spear, she shook her head, begging—pleading that Wanda didn't give in.
Blood oozed from Claire's head and shoulder and the lack of oxygen was starting to get to her. Her eyes started to flutter as she fought to stay awake and fight against the man's hold on her, but her body started to sway beneath her, her legs going weak. Just then, a sudden blast of yellow light shot the man, knocking him and Claire off the porch. She landed hard on the grass, coughing violently and wheezing as she brought air back into her lungs. Vision came outside and sent another blast towards the woman, knocking her off of Wanda. She stood up and ran over to Claire, kneeling beside her, inspecting her wounds.
"Are you okay?" she asked out of breath. Claire coughed and tried to sit up, but Wanda's hands stopped her and pushed her back down. "Stay down." Claire ignored her command.
"I will be. Wanda, please leave."
"I'm not leaving you," Wanda said as she looked deep into her purple eyes. Claire grimaced as a wave of pain hit her. She needed Wanda to leave, to be safe. She didn't care what happened to her, but Wanda needed to stay safe. Her eyes traveled up Wanda's face as she studied every detail, but she flinched a bit and a twinge of anger sparked in her when she caught sight of the small cut above Wanda's left eyebrow.
"They'll kill you," Claire gasped as Wanda applied pressure to her shoulder wound.
"And what do you think they'll do to you?"
Claire didn't answer and instead laid her head down on the grass, staring up at the sky. She heard shuffling from in front of her and Wanda looked, watching as the man and woman stood up and ready. Wanda let go of Claire and stood up, waving her hands and igniting her magic, staring at the two in determination and a small hint of fear. She was ready to do all she could to protect Claire; she would return the favor.
Before they could advance, a long shadow spread across the small field and over the cabin. All of them froze and looked up as a ship moved over the area, blocking out the sun. The woman aimed her staff at the ship and fired, but it came right back, striking the ground a couple inches next to her foot. Two figures jumped from the ship and landed on the ground in front of Claire and Wanda, standing in between them and the two invaders. Wanda smiled and Claire let out a relieved laugh as Captain America and Black Widow stood up before them.
The woman growled and threw her staff at Steve, but he leaned to the right, dodging it, and grabbed it before it flew past him. Him and Natasha charged at them and engaged in hand-to-hand combat. They passed the woman's staff back and forth, using it to deflect against the man's spear. Steve took the staff and lodged it deep into the man's side. He let out a loud groan of pain and fell to the ground. Natasha took the staff out and pointed it at the woman who ran over to the man's side.
"Get up," she said. The man groaned and tried to lean forward but fell back in pain.
"I can't." He clutched his wound and the woman placed a hand on top of his. Natasha stands before them, readying her weapons.
"We don't wanna kill you. But we will," she said as the woman summoned her weapon.
She glared at the Black Widow and said, "You'll never get the chance again." She tapped a small button on her armor, and a bright blue light flooded down on them, and the mysterious couple rose into the air and disappeared, with the man's spear following them.
Vision walked over to Claire, and carefully helped her stand up, making sure to not touch or move her shoulder. Claire groaned and breathed heavily as the pain ate at her. Steve and Natasha turned towards the three of them sighing and looking relieved to see they weren't hurt too bad. Wanda turned and crashed into Claire's arms, embracing her tightly though being wary of her wounds.
"I'm okay," Claire said as she wrapped an arm around Wanda as Vision held the other to keep her up. Steve and Natasha walked over to them and Natasha gave them both a smile. "Thank you."
"Can you walk?" Steve asked, directing his question to Claire. She nodded and gave a breathless chuckle.
"Well enough."
"What...the...fuck...just...happened?!" Jemma yelled as she ran out of the cabin. Wanda left Claire's side and ran to Jemma, wrapping her arms around her. Jemma reciprocated and planted a tiny kiss on her cheek.
"We need to leave," Natasha said looking up at the ship above them.
"New Quinjet?" Claire asked trying to make the situation lighter. Steve nodded. "Thought it looked bigger." Steve chuckled as he took Claire's other arm and draped it over his shoulders, straightening her out. The Quinjet landed a few feet in front of them and the hatch opened revealing Sam with a bright smile on his face. He helped his friends onto the jet, making sure that Claire was comfortable before he took out the first aid kit and tended to her wounds.
Wanda sat beside her, taking her hand into hers and placed a small kiss on her bloody knuckles. Sam pulled the collar of her shirt down until he saw the wound, a gaping hole in her shoulder. Wanda gasped and shuddered at the sight and gulped. Claire's grip tightened on her hand, but her eyes remained straight. Sam took a piece of cloth and dipped it into a disinfectant.
Hovering his hand and the cloth over her wound he said, "This is gonna sting."
Claire gritted her teeth and breathed heavily, anticipating the pain. Sam dapped the cloth against her wound and Claire screamed in pain. Wanda closed her eyes and grasped Claire's hand tighter. Once Sam was done cleaning the wound and bandaging it, he moved onto the gash on her head. That one didn't hurt as much and soon Claire relaxed as best as she could into her seat. Wanda leaned closer to her and kissed her cheek. When he was done he put the kit back where he found it and walked to the cockpit.
"Are you okay?"
"I will be. Just give it a couple hours and I'll be as good as new," Claire said giving Wanda a toothy smile. Wanda chuckled and nuzzled into Claire's side.
"I'm glad you're alright. I don't know what I'd do if something happened to you."
"I don't know what I'd do if something happened to you." Claire looked above Wanda's eyes, focusing her attention on Wanda's cut and sighed. "I wish you listened to me. They could've killed you; would've killed you. You should've ran."
"And leave you there with them? No way. Claire, you're always trying to protect me and you do a damn fine job of it, but for once, I wanted to protect you. I wasn't going to sit by and let them hurt you."
"I love you," Claire mumbled. Wanda smiled and kissed her, her hand touching her cheek. Natasha smiled at them briefly before turning and standing next to Steve. "Thank you again for coming."
Steve turned his head towards her and nodded. "Of course."
"How did you know what was happening?" Jemma raised her hand.
"I called them. Once that...thing came crashing into my room, I grabbed your tracker thing and called them. Who were they?" Jemma asked, directing the last bit to Steve.
"I'm not sure. Did they say anything to you?"
"They said they came for 'the stone'. I don't know what they were talking about, but they thought Wanda had it." Vision shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
"Vision? What is it?" Wanda asked, looking at him with concern. The rest of the team followed her eyes.
"They were after the Mind Stone. For what I do not know, but they mustn't get it."
"Agreed," Steve said nodding his head.
"Where to, Cap?" Sam asked from the pilot's chair.
"Home."
○○○
The Quinjet flew past the familiar New York cityscape, and Claire smiled, remembering the short time that her and Bucky lived there, and as they passed over Hell's Kitchen, a brief glimmer of an old friend passed in her mind. She hadn't thought about Blackout in so long, but she was filled with the sudden sense to call her and see how she was doing, maybe see if she could offer her a hand, despite the fact that she had her own problems to deal with at the moment. She hadn't seen her in the news lately—not that she had been paying attention because the only thing to grace the local news stations were her and the rest of the fugitive Avengers—but she still hoped that she was alright. She's tough, I'm sure she can take care of herself.
It didn't take long to fly back to the compound upstate, and Sam soon landed the jet outside on the lawn. They all stood up and left the jet, Claire hobbling off with the help of Wanda and Sam. Once she was off the jet, Sam took over, much to Wanda's disagreement.
"Don't worry, Little Red, I'm keeping my hands where you can see 'em," Sam said smirking at her. Claire grinned at Wanda, though she was still in pain, and winked at her.
"It's okay, baby. I only got eyes for you."
"Yeah, yeah." Wanda started to walk away.
"I'm serious, Wanda. He doesn't do it for me the way you do." Claire's grin turned into a sly smirk as Sam laughed and Wanda's face turned red.
The small group of fugitive heroes and Jemma walked into the compound. Wanda wrapped her arms around herself as they walked through the familiar halls. She paused a bit as they passed one of the living areas, and Wanda was greeted to a memory of the whole team sitting together laughing and talking like family.
She could hear the obnoxious sound of Clint's laugh, or the overconfident undertone in Tony's voice as he tried to outsmart Steve. She could see Natasha's eyes roll they got into a little argument over something stupid and she could see Sam and Rhodey sitting off to the side taking bets to see which one of them would win. She saw herself, sitting off to the side, pressing her back into the cushioned seats of the couch, hoping to just disappear; her jacket sleeves pulled all the way past her wrists as she looked away from the happy group, stale tears in her red eyes, her face red and puffy from the frequent crying, her cheekbones more defined from the weight loss due to the fact that she didn't eat as much as she should have. It was a depressing sight, and one that Wanda never wanted to remember.
She exhaled a shaky breath as she tried to forget her early days here in the compound. After Ultron's attack, she wasn't in the best shape, and if she was totally honest, she still wasn't but she was trying. And she had Claire to help her, and she was glad, because while she had Jemma and was thankful for Jemma and everything she had done for her, Claire understood her in a way that Jemma never could and never would.
"Wanda?" Claire's voice said, cutting through her thoughts, tearing her away from the depressing mental image of Wanda's depressed self. "Are you coming?"
"Yeah," she mumbled as she looked back at the couches one last time before following after Claire and Sam.
"You okay, Little Red?" Claire asked when Wanda caught up with them and walked beside them. She eyed her with a confused look and a small smile.
"'Little Red'? Is that my name now?" she asked with a laugh. Claire shrugged her shoulders, laughing though it soon turned into a hiss as she aggravated her bad shoulder.
"I like it. I think it suits you." Wanda smiled and Sam cleared his throat.
"Not to ruin the moment, but I came up with 'Little Red'. Don't think you can just come up in here and steal my nickname." Claire scoffed and rolled her eyes.
"Don't even start, Sap. You stole 'Bicky' from me, so consider this payback." Claire playfully stuck her tongue out at Sam causing Wanda to giggle.
"Don't laugh Wanda. And Stowell, you better stop before I drop you down a flight of steps. You'll have more than a hurt shoulder to worry about," Sam warned, winking at the both of them.
They followed Steve, Vision, Jemma and Natasha into a conference room where Rhodey stood pacing in his bionic leg braces talking to a hologram of Secretary Ross. Wanda looked down, shifted her weight to her other foot and played with her rings while one of her hands flew up to the scar on her neck. Claire caught the movement and moved to stand straight off of Sam, standing in front of Wanda to block her view of him and let out a low protective growl.
"Mr. Secretary," Steve said, announcing their presence. Wanda placed a hand on Claire's upper arm and stepped out from behind her just a tiny bit. Ross looked over at them and frowned. Claire's skin started to heat up and her eyes glowed brighter. Wanda gripped her tight and Claire relaxed under her touch, though she continued to stare hard at Ross.
"You got some nerve. I'll give you that," Ross said glaring at them. His eyes landed on Claire and Wanda and his glare hardened. "I see you two have gotten closer since the last time I saw you. It's sad that they'll let anyone be together, especially a powder keg and a lighted match."
Claire growled loudly and walked towards his hologram, ignoring Wanda's cries. Steve stepped in front of her and held her back, though it would do nothing since Ross was, for now, only a hologram. Her eyes were now a light lavender and her fangs had elongated and poked out from her lips.
"Let it go," Steve whispered in his ear. Wanda came up behind her girlfriend and wrapped her arms around her waist, pulling her away. When he was sure that Wanda had her, he let his arms slip from her and turned back towards Ross. The hologram scoffed and rolled his eyes; he wasn't surprised that this happened.
"You could use some of that right now," Natasha said, a smug look on her face.
"The world's on fire. And you think, all is forgiven?" Ross asked, giving them a questioning look. Claire scoffed and rolled her eyes, turning away from him. Wanda rubbed her back in a comforting manner, careful to avoid the area around her shoulder, though she was pretty much healed by now.
"I'm not looking for forgiveness. And I'm way past asking for permission. Earth just lost her best defender. So we're here to fight," Steve said with a straight face as he stepped towards Ross's hologram. "And if you wanna stand in our way...we'll fight you, too." Claire's wolf yelped happily at Steve's words and she cracked a smile that only Wanda could see. Ross's frown grew and he turned back to Rhodey, clearly done with speaking with the Captain.
"Arrest them."
"All over it," Rhodey said as he waved his hand in the air, disconnecting the hologram. He turned towards the group of fugitives and a computer off to the side beeped twice. "That's a court-martial. It's great to see you, Cap." Steve smiled as he stepped towards Rhodey and hugged him.
"You too, Rhodey." Natasha stepped over to him and embraced him too with a smile on her face. He hugged her back, smiling also. When they pulled away, Rhodey shot Wanda a small smile, who returned it.
"Well. You guys really look like crap," Rhodey said in a joking manner as he gestured to Steve's long and disheveled hair and grown out beard. "Must've been a rough couple of years."
"Yeah, well, the hotels weren't exactly five star." Claire snorted at Sam's comment and bit her lip when he looked at her, smirking. Wanda pulled Claire's arm opened and stepped into the open space, letting the arm that she moved fall around her, circling her waist. Claire turned her head and lightly pressed her lips to the tip of Wanda's forehead right before her hairline.
"So...I see you two are...together," Rhodey said gesturing to Claire and Wanda. They both looked at him with questioning looks. "I gotta say, I didn't see that coming." Wanda smiled a little and rested her head against Claire's chest.
"Uh, I think you look great," a voice says from behind Rhodey. They all look over at Bruce who looks fairly awkward. Wanda stiffens a little bit. "Uh...heh...Yeah. I'm back." All eyes—except for Claire's and Wanda's—pointed at Natasha as she stared at Bruce Banner. Tension filled the air.
"Hi, Bruce," she said.
"Nat," he said after minute. Sam lowered his eyes away from the two.
"This is awkward," he mumbled. Claire looked over at him, her brows furrowed.
"Why?" she whispered.
"Him and Tasha briefly had a thing; until he disappeared after Sokovia. They haven't seen each other since. Don't think he even made contact until now."
Rhodey led the fugitives throughout the compound, bringing them into an empty conference room, though this one was less formal than the previous room. Entering the room, Wanda sat Claire down in one of the available chairs against Claire's protests. Wanda stood beside Claire's chair, her hands in the pockets of her jeans. The others scattered around the room, enlightening Rhodey on their situation.
"So we gotta assume they're coming back, right?" he asked looking between Claire and Steve.
"And they can clearly find us," Wanda added. Claire looked up at her and pulled her into her lap. Bruce stepped up looking fidgety
"We need all hands on deck. Where's Clint?"
"After the whole Accords situation, he and Scott took a deal. It was too tough on their families, they're on house arrest," Natasha said turning from one of the windows. Bruce knitted his brows together.
"Who's Scott?"
"Ant-Man," Steve said. Wanda rolled her eyes but smiled at the squirrely man that she and Clint picked up the night they went to meet Steve. She was still a little mad at him for trying to talk to her the whole way there and not letting her get any sleep.
"There's an Ant-Man and a Spider-Man?" Bruce asked.
"Yeah, everybody's got a gimmick now," Claire muttered and Wanda lightly hit her arm, causing the redhead to laugh.
"Okay, look...Thanos has the biggest army in the universe. And he is not gonna stop until he...he gets...Vision's Stone."
"Well then, we have to protect it," Natasha said folding her arms across her chest, as if it was that simple. Vision cleared his throat and turned from the window he was looking out and took a step closer to everyone.
"No, we have to destroy it." Wanda stood up from Claire's lap and walked closer to Vision. "I've been giving a good deal of thought to this entity in my head, about its nature. But also, its composition. I think if it were exposed to a sufficiently powerful energy source, something, very similar to its own signature, perhaps... its molecular integrity could fail." He addressed Wanda as he finished and looked deep into her eyes. Wanda stood frozen in her place, her mind reeling with what Vision was asking her to do.
"And you, with it. We're not having this conversation."
"Eliminating the stone is the only way to be certain that Thanos can't get it," Vision pleaded with Wanda. Claire watched as her face remained unchanged, except for her bottom lip which started to tremble.
"That's too high a price," she said in a whisper. Vision took her face in his red hands, forcing her eyes to look at him. "I can't lose you too, Vision. I've lost too much."
"Only you have the power to pay it." Wanda walked away from him; distress clearly written on her face. Claire frowned and stood up from her chair, walking up to her and bringing her into her arms. Steve's face was sad as he thought about what this would mean. Jemma and Natasha put their heads down, not liking the idea of causing Wanda anymore pain. Vision continued, addressing the rest of the room. "Thanos threatens half the universe. One life cannot stand in the way of defeating him." Steve cast his eyes downward.
"But it should." He lifted his eyes to meet Vision's. "We don't trade lives, Vision."
"Captain, 70 years ago, you laid down your life to save how many millions of people. Tell me, why is this different?" Vision asked as he stepped towards Steve. Bruce spoke quickly, wagging his finger as if he had an idea.
"Because you might have a choice. Your mind is made up of a complex construct of overlays. J.A.R.V.I.S., Ultron, Tony, me, the Stone. All of them mixed together. All of them learning from one another."
"You're saying Vision isn't just the stone?" Wanda asked from Claire's embrace. Bruce looked at her and then at the rest of the group.
"I'm saying that if we take out the stone, there's still a whole lot of Vision left. Perhaps the best parts." Wanda looked down, considering this. Claire leaned her head down and whispered soothing things into her ear, still sensing that she was in distress.
"Can we do that?" Natasha asked.
"Not me. Not here."
"You better find someone, and somewhere fast. Ross isn't exactly gonna let you guys have your old rooms back," Rhodey said folding his arms over his chest. Claire lifted her head up as the metaphorical lightbulb appeared over her head. She smiled and looked at Steve who raised a brow at her curiously.
"We know somewhere. And someone," she said. Bruce looked between them and shrugged, waiting for her to continue.
"Who?"
"A scientific genius."
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Author's Note
Blackout is an original character from "Blackout | Daredevil" by Artic_Sky. Check it out.