Chapter 5
When Wanda had recovered enough to walk, Matt helped her limp back to try and find the others. Now that she could see--albeit a bit blearily--they had been down in a ditch that was on the other side of the treeline.
Matt cocked his head to the side as they were making their way. "No gunfire. I guess either the men left, or someone else took care of it."
Wanda shrugged. Off in the distance, she could barely see the quinjet and a few colorful blurs rushing around outside it. As they got closer, she saw Natasha directing Sam and Rhodey as they loaded up what looked to be cannisters of chemicals. When Natasha saw them coming, she left Sam and Rhodey and rushed over. "Wanda? You alright?" she called, and though she didn't touch her teammate, her eyes scanned her carefully, searching for injuries.
Wanda managed a smile. "Fine. Thanks to Daredevil, at least."
Natasha glanced at the vigilante in question. "Thanks for that," she said, and there was genuine gratitude in her voice. Matt dipped his head, acknowledging the thanks with a slight smile. "My pleasure. I take it we have custody of the chemicals?"
Natasha nodded. "Vision wasn't affected by the cloud, so he went after the HYDRA grunts. He'll be back here in ten minutes and then we're headed back to the base." Natasha nodded towards the quinjet. "You guys can go ahead and get loaded, if you want. I'll be in in a sec." The two of them nodded and headed inside.
Sam and Rhodey had placed the cannisters in a corner and had secured them upright. Steve was seated on the bench, his eyes red from the haze outside, but otherwise unharmed. He glanced up at Wanda and Matt, looking relieved. "Glad to see you two made it. Great work taking out the device. I'm not sure what we would've done if not for you two."
"Agreed," Vision said as he stepped into the quinjet, Natasha right behind him. "I confess I am curious, however. How did the chemicals have no effect on you?"
Matt shrugged, and Wanda could feel him becoming slightly stressed. "It had the respiratory affect on me, but I was trained to rely on my other senses."
"Hmm. Maybe you could give the rest of us a lesson," Steve said wryly. Matt chuckled. "There are other ways to see."
The quinjet began to rumble in advance of take-off. "Tony is apparently waiting for us," Natasha yelled back over the sound.
"Oh boy. I can't wait to hear all the science." Sam mumbled, leaning back against the wall. "Wake me when we're back."
***
Sure enough, Tony was waiting when they landed back at the base. "Well, well, look what the cat dragged in," He called. "You guys bring me any treats?"
"Something on the order of fifteen cannisters of various toxins," Sam replied tiredly, helping Vision wheel them down the ramp. "Have fun sciencing."
"Oh, I shall." Tony raised his eyebrows when he saw Daredevil descending from the jet with the others. "I see your playdate went well."
"Well as could be expected," Steve nodded, stopping with the others in front of Tony. Tony extended a hand. "Daredevil. It's a genuine pleasure."
Matt accepted the shake. "Likewise, Mister Stark."
"The suit is even more impressive in person," Tony said dryly, scanning him up and down. "Seems a bit easy to pierce, though. It'd be useless against bullets."
"Or shurikens, as I found out," Matt responded. "The leather offers a bit more protection, but bulletproof material would be too thick and heavy for me to maneuver in."
"Not anymore," Tony said seriously. "I can have you a suit of this thickness and weight made in a couple days. It can even look the same as the last one, if you'd like. It might not be bulletproof, but it can be slice proof."
Matt's jaw dropped a little bit. Wanda chuckled softly when she saw it. He recovered quickly, though. "Um. Wow. That's very generous of you, but I can't afford..."
"Money is of no object. We justice defenders need to stick together. Besides, I'd feel guilty sending anyone into Hell's Kitchen without some form of protection."
Matt nodded. "If you're offering...it would make a huge difference in my ability to do this daily. So...I really appreciate it."
Tony shrugged. "Least I can do, really."
Whenever Tony was around, Wanda could almost taste guilt. It seemed to follow him around in a cloud. Even when she'd first encountered him, she had seen his guilt was his greatest weakness. He was always trying to compensate for past wrongs. At first, she had drank in the feeling with a horrid glee at feeling him so small and weak. And now she wasn't ever sure if she respected him or resented him. When he was like this, it was so, so hard to hate him.
"What size do you wear, though? XL? Ripped? Batman?"
Matt actually cackled at that one. It surprised Wanda, with how sudden and loud and careless it was. More surprising was the mental aura of plain old joy.
She had known joy once. Feeling it was strange. Early in the experimentation, and again now that her anchor was gone, she had ridden the coattails of other people's emotions; it made it simpler for her to calm down before she really lost her mind. But it was always fake, shallow. A facade.
Now she remembered, for what seemed like the first time in forever, what joy truly felt like. And she had missed it.
It was silly, and made her feel like some sort of hormonal lunatic. But she felt happier just hearing the sound. She felt slightly vindicated when Tony smiled, as well. I'm basing my degree of sanity on Tony Stark, she thought suddenly, and then she laughed.
She suddenly realized how quiet it was, and she glanced at the others. Everyone but Matt was staring at her, and she felt her smile falter slightly. "What...?"
"Nothing," Tony immediately said.
"Nothing." Steve repeated, but she had already read their surface thoughts without meaning to. She had never, ever laughed in their presence. Not once.
She glanced back at the others. They had all returned to their previous conversations, but she saw Natasha smiling at her. Unbidden, Hawkeye's words returned to her. What he'd said after her brother had died and he was sitting with her while she sobbed. "I told you, if you stepped out the door, you were an Avenger. We have your back. I promise."
She felt the smile return.
Tony spoke up. "Oh, forgot to say, there's fried chicken waiting for you guys inside."
"Conveniently forgot that little detail, did you?" Sam snarked.
"Yep. Help yourselves, all."
***
"So, I was just thinking," Tony said, after everyone had mostly finished eating.
"Oh no, what now?" Steve said.
"Geez, Rogers. It's nothing like that," Tony said in mock annoyance. "I was thinking, maybe it would be a good idea to exchange phone numbers. You know, just in case anything comes up."
"You guys still use phones here?" Matt asked wryly. "No super-high-tech stuff?"
"I use a phone when I must," Tony insisted indignantly. "And stop changing the subject."
Matt sighed and dug in his pocket for a moment before handing Tony his burner phone. "You still use a flip-phone?" Tony asked in disgust. "Look at this dinosaur. It's almost as old as Steve is." There was a sharp crack of laughter at that one. "This is the Indominus Rex of old technology. This is a sight to behold. We should put it in a museum."
Matt laughed. "You've made your point."
Tony programmed his number into the phone and handed it off to Steve with a remark of "Should be easy for you, Steve, the technology's hardly different." As they were passing the phone around, Matt turned to Wanda. "Do you want to put your number in, as well?"
Wanda shrugged. "I have a phone. Stark gave it to me. I don't use it much, though. Just for emergencies."
"Yeah, I get you. I was just...wondering."
Wanda arched an eyebrow. "Wondering what?"
"Wondering...if maybe you'd like to come down to Hell's Kitchen again. Sometime. I uh...I heard from Foggy that you showed a lot of promise."
"His words?" Wanda laughed.
"Both of ours," Matt smiled. "But...yeah, I was wondering if you were...maybe...interested in..."
Wanda couldn't stifle her smile as Matt continued to pause. "I think this is a bit past an appropriate silence," she remarked gently.
"Yeah, I'm...trying to figure out how to word this." Matt pursed his lips. Just as Wanda wondered if he was going to ever speak, he blurted, "I don't have a lot of friends. I kind of...in my line of work, it's dangerous. I know it's probably stupid, and will come back to haunt me, probably, but I just..." he groaned.
"Take what you can get?" Wanda offered.
"That...kind of sounds terrible, but yeah." Matt sighed.
"No, I'm the same way." Wanda responded.
"So...?" Matt hesitated.
Wanda brushed a stray lock of hair back. "I'm usually free on Friday evenings. Barring a plot to destroy the world."
Matt smiled. "Alright then." He handed her an iphone. "If you want, you can put your number in there, too."
She began typing the digits in. "What'll you tell Karen about how we met?"
"Oh, I can start with the truth, like how you saved my ass," Matt said cheerfully. Wanda's lips curved in a grin as she handed the phone back. "Or I could just tell her this week and have her never speak to me again."
Wanda glanced at him. "Are you sure it would be that bad?"
"...Maybe more like a week or so." Matt shrugged ruefully.
"So, Daredevil," Tony wandered back over with the phone. "Here's your brick back. I put us all in as our names, just to be careful."
"Thanks." Matt tucked the phone back into his pocket.
"So. You hanging out a while longer, or do you need to head back?"
Matt sighed. "I should probably go. Just in case I wind up having to head out there tonight. But this has been fun. I'm glad I could help."
Tony shook his hand. "Watch out for those dumpsters. I hear you have issues with them."
"I'll do my best," Matt said wryly. He nodded to the other Avengers. "It's been a pleasure. Until next time." With that, he turned and walked off, headed out onto the tarmac to head back to the city.
***
Wanda had finished training on Wednesday evening and was just getting out of the shower when her phone rang. She paused in toweling off her hair to check and see who it was, mildly curious. The caller id read "Matt Murdock," so she slid her thumb across the screen to accept it. "Hello?"
"Wanda, hi, it's Matt."
"Hello, Matt," she smiled. "How are you?"
"Oh, I'm doing well, thank you. We've got a steady number of clients coming in, now, so Foggy's happy. Oh, and I told Karen."
"You did?" Wanda sat down on her bed. "What did she say?"
"She swore at me and told me I was a bad friend and didn't speak to me for a couple days, after which she came in and immediately hugged me and apologized and admitted that we all have secrets. Then Foggy came in and we all had a big cry-fest. It was great."
Wanda laughed. "It sounds like fun."
"Yeah," Matt said. "Speaking of which, Foggy was wondering if you'd be interested in coming to the city this weekend. There's a big festival for the start of Fall, and there's a fair and a parade and such. He thought it would make for a nice time off."
"It sounds nice," Wanda said, "but you may have few takers, unfortunately. Steve, Natasha, and I think possibly Clint are all gone searching for Steve's friend again. Rhodey and Sam are both home for break, so it is a bit lonely here."
"Ah. Clint?"
"Hawkeye," she said wryly. "It seems a lot of people forget about him."
"Yeah, sorry. They hardly ever talk about him, so I don't remember him much," Matt said apologetically. "Steve's friend?"
"It's top-secret," Wanda said a bit awkwardly. "I only know it because I accidentally overheard Clint and Natasha discussing it at the time. I think Clint may have had his hearing aids out, because he was...loud."
"I see." Matt was quiet for a second. "Anyway, I don't know if anyone will come, but you all are certainly welcome to."
"I'll try to be there. The only other person around is Vision. I'll ask him." She reached out mentally until she found him in his room, doing his meditation or whatever it was. Would you like to go to the city this weekend? She felt him gently press back and take in all the details in her mind, and in a moment he responded, I would be delighted to, Ms. Maximoff.
It's Wanda, she reminded him gently as she redirected herself to the phone. "He says he'd love to."
"Okay then, we'll be glad to have him," Matt said. "I didn't actually hear you saying anything, though, which is unusual for me. Telepathy?"
"Yes," Wanda said sheepishly.
"We really need to talk about how your powers work when you come," Matt laughed. "I would enjoy doing likewise," Wanda chuckled. "So, when should we meet you?"
"Let's see...things don't really start until around 10:00. So, 9:45 should be fine. And we're meeting at our office, since there's good parking and such around it."
"Very well. We will hopefully see you then. Thank you for inviting us."
"Oh, it's no trouble. Hopefully it'll be fun. See you then."
"See you. Goodbye."
"Yeah, bye." The connection clicked off.
***
Saturday morning, she and Vision arrived outside the firm at 9:45. The day was bright, clear, and cool, which made a huge difference to the neighborhood--at least in Wanda's opinion. The streets were still relatively quiet, but there were people visibly walking around. Wanda led the way into the building, and when they got to the office she only had the chance to knock once before the door opened.
"Wanda, hi! Glad you could make it," Karen said brightly. She nodded cheerfully to Vision and pulled the door a bit wider. "Come in, come in." Wanda nodded with a smile and stepped inside, lifting her head and taking a deep breath and relishing how nice it was. Karen had apparently opened up the windows, because it smelled fresh and there was a cool breeze drifting in. Foggy was there already, leaning against the table near the coffeepot and enjoying a mug full of the stuff. "Hi, Wanda. Good to see you again," he said, extending a hand.
Wanda accepted the shake, smiling. "Likewise. This is my friend, Vision," she gestured to the android, who was politely hanging back and examining the room curiously.
"Pleasure to meet you, Vision," Foggy said, shaking his hand as well. "Wow. An android. Heard you had built-in Internet access."
"I suppose that would be the simplest way to put it," Vision said.
"Cool. Does your Wifi ever conk out? Ours does it all the time. It gets old."
"I am...actually not certain," Vision said, sounding faintly surprised. "If it does, it has not yet happened."
"That's good. Oh, um, I don't know if you've been introduced to Karen yet. Karen, say hi! And quit cleaning! It's our day off!" Karen giggled and waved from behind a stack of boxes she was carrying out of the room. Vision looked interested, and with some hesitation made a very tentative wave back. "I think we're just waiting for Matt. He should be here any minute now." Foggy glanced at his watch.
"Can he walk here from his place?" Wanda asked.
"I suppose he could, but it's usually easier to just take a taxi," Foggy said. "He doesn't have a car, for....obvious reasons."
Wanda winced. "Ah. Yes."
"Anyway. That's probably him now." Wanda heard the door opening down the hall. Sure enough, Matt stepped into the room a moment later. He wore a pair of khakis and a clean, dusty blue shirt. "Hello, all," he said. "Beautiful morning, isn't it?"
"You can say that again, pal," Foggy said. Matt smiled in his best friend's direction, then walked over to Wanda. "Good to see you again, Wanda."
"It is good to see you, too," she said. "I'd like you to meet Vision. One of my teammates, and a friend."
"Vision," Matt shook his hand. "Good to meet you."
"Likewise, Mr. Murdock."
"Not to be rude, but I've been told you're an android. I almost couldn't tell. Your skin is very believable."
Vision smiled. "Yes, Miss Cho did her work well."
"It would seem so." Matt turned to Foggy. "When would you like us to head out?"
"Oh, in the next fifteen minutes should be fine. The parade doesn't start until 10:30." He coughed slightly. "One thing, though."
"What's that?" Matt asked, inclining his head in Foggy's direction.
"Well, it's just that...I don't know exactly how concerned you guys are. About...secret identities, that is," Foggy nodded towards Wanda, "...and Vision is a bit...conspicuous."
"I see." Vision said. He seemed to consider for a moment, then his body glowed quickly as he triggered his capabilities. A moment later, he was transformed from his usual facial structure and color to a demure looking man.
"Wow. Just...whoa." Foggy said, stunned, blinking slightly. "That was impressive."
"Thank you," Vision said humbly.
"You look vaguely familiar..." Karen said.
"Ah. Yes. Well, I've been doing some...er...research for awhile on my...predecessor, as it were," Vision said, seeming slightly shy. "Edwin Jarvis, sirs' butler when he was younger. I...it may be silly, but I view him in a similar way to how you would view a grandfather. So, I chose a human form to be close to what his familial descendants would look like."
"That's amazing," Matt said. "Although with a name like Vision, everyone will believe your parents were hippies or something."
Vision nodded. "I can see how one would reach that conclusion." He fell silent, and took on the expression he did when he was searching the web. Then he flashed again, and he wore a tie-dyed t-shirt in place of the plain polo shirt he had been wearing before.
Foggy fell backwards against the table, he was laughing so hard, and Karen did likewise. Wanda was giggling, but then she saw Matt glancing around, looking vaguely amused but obviously out of the joke. She bumped elbows with him. "He changed to tie dye."
Matt laughed as well, so she smiled.
***
When they set off, the streets were bustling. People were parking cars, emerging from buildings, and coming up from the subway, all of them carrying fold-up chairs or baskets full of food. Foggy led the way to a house on a streetcorner which was apparently owned by a relative of his. They were lucky enough to even have a small front yard with a little tree in it. There was an old, mossy bench beneath the tree. Wanda, Matt, and Vision sat down on the bench, while Foggy and Karen went further towards the house and sat on the front step.
Matt tilted his head. "Sounds like it won't be long."
He didn't talk about his abilities around other people much, Wanda noticed. She could hear music not too far away.
"I have never witnessed a parade before," Vision said. "This will be most fascinating."
Matt smiled. "It probably will. The kids at the local school usually come up with some pretty creative floats."
"This is Foggy's cousin's house?" Wanda asked.
"Yep. He's got thousands of cousins. It's kind of amazing." Matt laughed. "Christmas is pretty entertaining."
Wanda was quiet for a moment. "I've never actually celebrated Christmas," she finally said.
Matt raised his eyebrows. "Really?"
"I'm Jewish," she said awkwardly. "Or, I was. Still am. I don't know."
"Ah," Matt said, wrapping his fingers around his cane. "I'm Catholic."
"A good deal of the population of my home country was, as well," Wanda said. "That was the only time I have seen anything like a parade. They had a procession for Easter. I only watched it out the window."
"Wow. That must be an interesting memory," Matt remarked.
She thought about the hundreds of people, whole families, the women in their colorful shawls and all the men carrying the large baskets full of the food to be blessed for the Easter dinner. The children would sing in the streets, and throw flowers. She had been friends with some of them. Only a couple years later, the war started, and many of them had to go into hiding. Some of them were killed in the bombings. Some moved away.
"It is," she finally said quietly.
By now the parade had started, and float after float passed by, full of store employees, giggling children who threw candy or toys or pencils towards the crowd, painted backgrounds that were set up on the trailers. They sat and smiled, and waved at some of the people on the floats. Matt sat and listened, she guessed. When the last of the floats had passed, Foggy and Karen got up and came and joined them under the tree. "What would you guys like to do now?" Foggy asked. "There's a fair of sorts set up in the town square."
"Let's go walk around for a bit," Karen suggested. "There's probably a bunch of open houses in the stores and such, as well." The others agreed, so they left the house and walked a few blocks into town.
The square was packed with people of all ages. There was music playing from somewhere, food was cooking in dozens of trucks and stalls, and there were tents set up for shopkeepers and the like. Vision decided to go with Karen and Foggy to look at an art exhibit, while Wanda stayed behind with Matt. When the others were a good distance off, she sighed a bit.
"Not used to socializing much?" Matt asked with a hint of amusement.
"Not really," Wanda said.
"Well, if you would rather not talk just let me know," he said. "What would you like to do now? Walk around? Try to find something to eat?"
"Eating sounds good," she admitted. She sighed again.
"What?" Matt asked.
"I was just wishing I could find some food from home." She shrugged. "I almost thought I could smell it, earlier."
"Maybe you did," Matt remarked. "This is New York City, after all." He paused. "Actually, I might be able to help you with that one. What does it smell like?"
She thought for a moment. "Mutton. Roasted, usually. With paprika and white pepper. Possibly goat cheese, too. And a type of sour flatbread."
"Right." Matt inhaled deeply for a moment, and stood quietly. Wanda waited. When he raised his head again, he turned in her direction and smiled. "You weren't imagining it. I smell some close by. Within a couple blocks, maybe. You wantt to go looking?"
She nodded before remembering. "Um, I nodded."
He chuckled. "No problem." He held out his arm, before adding, "If you don't mind...?"
"Of course," Wanda said, accepting the grasp and starting off across the square.
"So, food from home?" he asked after a minute of silence. Wanda supposed she must have unconsciously had some sort of adverse reaction, because he immediately said "You don't have to tell me anything if you'd rather not."
"No, it's alright," she said finally. "Sam nags me about this often. Talking about it makes it better, yeah?"
"Sounds like a therapist sort of thing," Matt nodded.
"Right." She blew out a breath. "I am from Sokovia. You know where that is?"
Matt nodded. "In Eastern Europe. Very small country bordering Belarus, the Ukraine, and Russia."
She glanced at him, impressed. "Not many people know that."
He shrugged. "In grade school there was this sister who was my teacher. Sister Frances Xaivier. Originally wanted to be a missionary. Turned out that wasn't her vocation, so she made up for it by making everyone study way more than usual about other countries and cultures." He smiled ruefully. "It actually came in handy for me, a few times."
"I see. Anyway, I was from Bohuslav. It wasn't the capitol city, but it had larger population and area than the capitol. I lived with my parents, in tiny apartment with my brother."
Matt nodded. "I know you mentioned him before."
"Right. So, my мамочка was an immigrant. Sort of. Or at least her family was not originally from Sokovia. They left Russia during the pogroms in 1904. мамочка was not alive then, but she talked about it often. Her grandmother was alive then, and it always had a sort of...effect on our family. We all...felt the weight of what had happened, if you understand." Matt nodded, looking thoughtful. Wanda continued, "My батя was a native Sokovian. His family had been there hundreds of years. He and мамочка met at a mutual friend's bar mitzvah. They married young. Pietro..and I were born when they were nineteen and twenty."
"Wow," Matt remarked. "That's an impressive family history. I bet they had a lot of interesting stories to tell."
"Yes, they did." Wanda sighed. Matt was quiet as they kept walking. Wanda really didn't want to relive what was coming, but she had started this conversation, and so she had to struggle through to the ending. "When Pietro and I were ten, there was a lot of tension. There were wars going on all across Eastern Europe, and everyone was afraid it would carry over to us. A lot of people moved away. They were the smart ones."
"I remember one night, мамочка was putting us to bed, and I asked her if we were going to die. I don't know why I thought it; nothing had really happened, and the whispering had come and gone before. мамочка responded as she always did to questions like this, 'everyone dies eventually, малышка. The only question is when and what they do until that day.'" She shrugged, face hard. "The next week, we were eating dinner in our apartment when the first shelling started. One of them hit our apartment and the floor opened up and took them both. Pietro grabbed me and pulled me under our bed. The next one hit and landed three feet from us, but didn't go off. We lay there for hours, waiting for rescue. It didn't come for a long time, because all of the people rescuing were our neighbors; normal people. None of them wanted to set it off. We had to wait for the military to come in with technicians to disarm it and get us out." She fell silent, and Matt didn't speak for a while as they kept walking. "What happened to you two? I mean, afterward."
She shrugged. "We were just another pair of orphans in a city full of them overnight. A bunch of men from the government came to us and expressed deepest sympathies or some болтовня like that. We were shuttled off to an orphanage, where the people running it were bribed to make it look nice when cameras came around. The rest of the time, they did nothing. They provided some food, but that was it. The good stuff came from other places. Pietro and I left the place often and lived on the streets. Eventually the police would always catch us and bring us back, but in between we stole and fought and were generally very bad children. Until we were seventeen. That was when HYDRA found us."
"HYDRA?" Matt asked. "That Nazi cult that was really deep in the intelligence here in the U.S.?"
"Yes," Wanda said, "although they didn't tell us that. My brother and I had been joining the riots by the people against the government. It was a well-known fact that nearly everyone in the leadership were good friends with arms dealers and cartels. That was the whole reason the bombings started; because a warring faction got wind of the fact that they had been hiding arms in the country. Anyway, we rioted. It was fun, except that it was dangerous. Sometimes we got carried away, and sometimes the police did. When they did, my brother always, always intervened. Never could stand to see someone beaten up. He did it at the wrong time, and got arrested and beaten badly. They were going to throw him in jail. Then a man comes to us in his cell. He looks nice; handsome, in clean suit, American. He tells us they are doing a refugee rehab program for a military operation. Says they want to give people here a chance to turn things around. They promise good pay. Pietro accepted. I didn't. We had a big fight about it. I went off to a friend's place and lived for a while, but eventually I worried, because even if he was mad at me, he would write. He would tell me something. So I asked around, and there was no movement program. No name for the man. No one had seen him. I hunted for a month before I found someone who delivered food. They told me they'd heard strange sounds inside the castle they were delivering it to, but they were paid to keep quiet. I sneak in there one morning." She glanced at Matt. "When I find him, he is strapped to a table, screaming, while they use some type of alien artifact on him."
"Holy shit," Matt murmured.
"I was stupid. I ran right to him. They caught me and locked me up, too. He didn't know me for a while. When he finally recognized me, he seemed relieved, but it only lasted little while. They separated us, and then they started using it on me. I start to hear things. At first, all I heard was Pietro. I scared him when I spoke in his mind for the first time," she chuckled. "But then it evolved to hearing, feeling, everything other people were. I don't know exactly how much it was, but I think when they first started I could hear everything within a ten-mile area."
There was another beat of silence. "And you were seventeen and they were doing this to you?" Matt asked incredulously.
"Yes."
"And how old are you, now?"
"I turned nineteen a few weeks ago," she admitted.
"Holy shit." Matt mumbled. There was silence again for a moment. "I'm not intending to be rude, I'm just trying to think of some response to hearing of this treatment other than hoping those sadistic bastards cook in Purgatory. And that's uncharitable."
Wanda laughed. "I do not mind."
"Good. Oh, I think we might be close to that food now. Look around and see if anything's obvious." Wanda obediently scanned the square. She gave a little cry of happiness when she saw a truck plastered with familiar cyrillic lettering. "Thank you, Matt Murdock," she said as she led him over. "один из баранины одеяло, пожалуйста."
"конечно. приятно видеть сестру," the young man in the truck said cheerfully. He called back to someone else working in the kitchen, and she almost felt like she was home again, smelling all of the foods she'd loved when she was a child.
"Smells fantastic," Matt remarked. She smiled at him. "What would you suggest?"
"What I ordered is called a mutton blanket. It is sort of like a sandwich. It is very good."
"I'll take your word for it. One, please." The boy nodded as he handed Wanda her order, wrapped neatly in brown paper just like her мамочка had done. She might have been more emotional over it if she hadn't been so hungry. She eagerly unwrapped the paper, handing the boy the money Tony had given her. She bit out of the corner, dribbling juice down her chin. Oh well. Her companion was a blind man. It didn't matter. Though she giggled with her mouth full at the thought of his expression if he could see.
Actually, maybe he already knew, because he looked amused. "Now you have to explain that to me," she said.
"Hmm?" Matt glanced at her quizzically as he accepted his food from the boy and handed over a bill.
"How you do that...thing." she gestured pointlessly with her sandwich.
"Oh." He unwrapped the paper carefully, feeling it with his fingers to get the seam. He took a bite and looked surprised. "This really is fantastic."
"Of course it is," Wanda insisted playfully. "The knowing what I am thinking thing."
"Ah." Matt swallowed before answering. "That's a long story."
***
Matt led her to an old, brick church, which seemed very quiet and secluded in spite of all the people still wandering around the streets. There was a little yard in front of the church, and a mossy wooden bench. Matt sat down, placing his cane next to his knee. Wanda sat beside him a bit shyly. "So," Matt began, folding the paper neatly on his knee. "I was born in Hell's Kitchen. Lived here all my life. You already know my dad was a boxer. I don't remember whether I told you that I was blinded in an accident."
Wanda shook her head. "No, you didn't."
"Okay. Well, I was nine, and there was a car wreck? Honestly, the accident itself is kinda blurry for me. Anyway, the most important fact is, it was a chemical spill. Those chemicals took my sight. However, as I started to adjust to being blind, I noticed that my hearing was good. Even better than it ought to be with my sight gone. I didn't know what that meant, until after my dad died."
"There was this guy. Stick. He was like me. I mean, I don't know if he was an orphan or how he was blinded, but he was blind. He saw some sort of...promise in me. For what, I don't know for sure. But he taught me how to use my senses. To build a...picture, of sorts."
"And that is how you fight?"
"Basically."
"What do you...see...right now?" Wanda asked curiously.
"Well..." Matt hesitated a moment, concentrating. "There's something about two feet tall beneath me. I know it's wooden because I can feel it and I can hear it. The same with the church. I know there are trees because I can hear the wind in their leaves. I know you're sitting beside me because the air is displaced. You're a bit shorter than you usually are. I think you're sitting cross-legged and slouching. There are a bunch of people milling around about a mile from here, and there's Italian, Sokovian, and Polish food in that corner of the square."
Wanda made a quiet sound of astonishment. She sighed. "I would ask you how you stand it, but I think I know already."
"Yeah. I...honestly that's one of the reasons I don't go to hospitals," he said tightly. "I mean, of course because of the secret identity...but also because it's loud and awful. I'm sure it's worse for you."
Wanda couldn't think of anything to say. She hesitated, then reached out and tentatively grasped Matt's hand where he had bunched up the fabric of his pants near his knee. His fingers were stiff against hers at first, but when she gently squeezed his hand he shifted and intertwined their fingers.
Even though Wanda knew people, could read them, could see through them as easily as through glass, she never quite knew how to express what she saw. She and Pietro had never needed it; they had come into existence as part of the other, and all they needed was a glance, a touch, to explain everything. She wasn't sure if she'd touched anyone since he'd left.
So she gave it to Matt, and somehow, she knew it was enough.
Matt smiled softly. "Thanks." The word was quiet, but it spoke volumes. She smiled back, hoping that even if he couldn't see it, he could at least feel it.
"Good afternoon, Matthew."
Wanda spun around and saw a man in a black robe approaching the bench. He smiled amiably at her and stopped beside them.
"Oh, hello Father Lantom," Matt said, surprised.
"Lovely day, isn't it?" the priest remarked, leaning against the brick wall of the church.
"Yes. Oh, um, this is Wanda Maximoff, an associate of mine," Matt said, gesturing to her. He glanced her direction, tilting his head slightly, "...and, maybe a friend?"
She smiled as she accepted Father Lantom's handshake. "Definitely, a friend," she said firmly.