Enough of Robots
the song that I think will fits the scene : Precipitation (it's a song from a game named Cytus)
Learning from his mistake over creating Ultron, Tony makes sure that Vision, his other sophisticated robot, never touches AI and the mind stone again. With the help of Shuri, they took out the mind stone from Vision’s forehead and made a special vault to store the mind stone inside Wakanda’s best safe house, heavily guarded by Dora Milaje. Vision remains as a powerful weapon and Tony considers it as one of his Iron Man armies. It goes under Tony’s command, just like his other iron man suits.
By the time their fight with Ultron was finished, Wanda lost her only family member, Pietro Maximoff. His sacrifice to protect Hawkeye and a civilian didn’t go in vain. Despite her grieves over losing her only family, she fought until the end with the Avenger to destroy Ultron. Wanda then moves to the Avenger’s compound, Natasha volunteers to take care of her since she knows how does it feels to lose something important. She knows Wanda will have to deal with the steps of grieving and she hopes that being by her side will helps her gets through it
Just like how Natasha has predicted, Wanda is very closed up and never really wants to come out from her room. Natasha moved her room to be near her and asked for everyone to clear out the whole floor, giving Wanda some space for herself. They understood and did as she requested. The room itself wasn’t the warmest home that anyone could imagine to have but Natasha had seen how Wanda lived during her time serving Hydra to be their experimental object so this room probably something that feels familiar to Wanda, maybe something that Wanda would call home .
Knock knock
“Hey Wanda, I just want to let you know that I have food here, I’m gonna place it on the table outside your room. Have something to eat. If you need anything I’ll be in my room. I’ve asked everyone else to move so it’s just us on this floor or if you prefer me to move away too, just say the word” Natasha’s voice coming from the other side of the door of Wanda’s room. Wanda listened to every word Natasha said, she looked around the room and felt the familiarity of the steel doors and walls, it felt safe. She remembers how she often had a talk with Pietro living next door, or when Pietro made sounds here and there, just some noises that made her feel less lonely to get through the day.
“Are you living next to my room?” Wanda asks softly
“Yes, are you not comfortable with that, Wanda?”
“No.. that’s okay, just stay there.. Thank you, Natasha.”
Natasha smiles and she walks towards her bedroom. Natasha doesn’t really do much, she just diligently places food for Wanda, 3 times a day on the table outside her bedroom, for weeks that turns into a month in no time. Wanda never really answers but Natasha knows based on the food tray that is getting emptier means Wanda is starting to relax a bit and enjoy the food. Wanda never forgot to say thank you to Natasha everytime she came to place the tray. Natasha knows it’s a good thing to have a routine, to help you get through the stages and not fall too deep.
She develop a routine where she would be out there to hang out with the other avengers or to train early in the morning until lunch time and then stays inside her bedroom to accompany Wanda until dinner, whether by reading books, listening to music, making plans, doing some administrative works, or do nothing at all, the point is for her to stay in that room and make sure to create some sound that would help to make the atmosphere less lonely. After she cleans up the dishes of Wanda’s dinner, she would take showers and then she would tell the stories of her days or other things that she found might be interesting for Wanda to hear. She would sit on the bed, leaning her back to the shared wall that separates their rooms then she would start the story time.
There are lots of topics she goes through and it’s almost like a random topic. She could talk about what’s going on that day in the Avengers compound, the story about how the Falcon spilled milk on Winter Soldier’s clothes and almost started a fight over it, only by Steve’s wise intervention that they manage to cool off. Another day’s story is when Thor took Hulk’s sandwiches and angered him as the green companion inside him took over, almost ruining the whole kitchen. Another day’s story is Natasha telling her how she sometimes dreams about how she misses her sister whom she assumed dead. Another day’s story is Natasha trying to get to know Wanda’s favorite food and she would deliver that to her door the next day.
At first that routine kind of irritates Wanda because she just wanted to be alone in silence but soon after that, she’s drawn more into Natasha’s stories, whether it’s because of how Natasha tells the story or because it’s Natasha. Wanda slowly gets closer to the walls where she can feel Natasha is sitting on the other side while she listens to the stories Natasha shared everyday, she moves her bed to take that side of the wall so she can sit on her bed while they share that time. She loves the soothing sound of Natasha’s voice that vibrates through the wall, she can feel them using her magic, it brings her a lot of comfort.
Wanda often lets out small chuckles or laughter while listening to everything, which will always make Natasha thrilled to hear that. Wanda is giving more reaction to her story, whether it’s in a form of question or rephrasing her statement in a more interesting way. Natasha never asked about Wanda’s personal life or past, she gave that decision fully to Wanda, whether she wanted to share it or not. Alas, she only cares about Wanda’s well being.
For a month and 2 weeks, Natasha did everything she could to make Wanda feel comfortable. Natasha knew that it requires a lot of patience to gain Wanda’s trust. Without her realizing, Wanda started to feel more attached to the friendship they have together. She loves their routines and always looks forward to what tales Natasha has that day.
However, One day, Wanda was already waiting for Natasha to come. Her clock already showing it’s 12, Natasha never late on her schedule without heads up or something happened. It slightly worries Wanda on what happened to Natasha, she waited anxiously and kept glancing at the clock on her wall until 15 minutes later when she finally heard footsteps from a distance. It’s not Natasha’s footsteps, it’s someone else’s, but she recognizes them since he sometimes is in charge to deliver her the food when Natasha has to skip lunch.
“Hey Wanda, it’s Steve. I’ve brought you lunch, sorry if I’m late. I’m gonna leave it here and pick up the tray later.” Steve said in his deep voice, he gently placed the food on the table.
Wanda is a bit confused and disappointed at the same time that Natasha is not here. Natasha always gives her heads up but what happens now? She contemplates whether she should ask Steve about Natasha’s whereabouts but before she even asks, Steve continues to deliver Natasha’s message.
“She left you a letter and an apology for not being able to deliver the food for the next few days. She gave a food list for you and I’ll follow that. Hope you enjoy it”
Wanda placed her palm on the metal door and thanked him in a soft voice. She waits until Steve is not in the perimeter before she quietly opens the door and grabs the tray from the small side table near the door. Wanda places the food tray on her table and quickly opens the handwritten letter.
Hello Wanda,
I’m sorry that I had to leave abruptly and ask Steve to deliver the food to your room. Something is up and I have to take care of that real quick. I’m sorry if I leave too suddenly and not giving you heads up, I will be back in a week and tell you more stories.
Sincerely,
Nat
Wanda frowns upon reading the letter, it sounds too ambiguous for her. She has a lot of questions inside her head on whether it was a dangerous mission or just a casual meeting or what is it. Wanda sighed as she had no other option other than waiting for her return.
Upon having a whole week on her own, she understood that all these times she was taking Natasha’s presence for granted. She missed every single activity they already have as their routine. Wanda couldn’t fall asleep, she couldn’t feel Natasha’s calming energy on the other side of the wall, she couldn’t hear the soft steady breathing from Natasha as she was asleep, she couldn’t hear the soft music that Natasha often plays in her bedroom while they’re having their respective time to just be present for each other.
For the first 3 days, Wanda felt agitated and restless. She’s tempted to phase through Natasha’s room but she doesn’t want to violate Natasha’s privacy. In the middle of the night when everyone is asleep, Wanda phase through the wall to the training room below and she peeks inside Natasha’s locker, she finds a black leather jacket stored inside. She bit her lower lips, I will return them when she’s back. She thought to herself and took the jacket with her into her room and hugged it. The jacket helps her to feel at ease and falls asleep while hugging it close to her chest.
Steve tries his best to fill the gap that Natasha left him dealing with Wanda. Natasha gave him a specific timeline that is part of their routine, he sticks to it perfectly but it wasn’t the same, he’s not Natasha. He also tried to do the story time but from outside Wanda’s door, it was an interesting take but she just feels something is missing. She’s thankful that Steve is patient enough to try everything but she needs Natasha.
A week finally passed, Wanda anxiously waits for any news from Steve of Natasha’s arrival. Wanda can faintly feel Natasha’s energy near the compound, she opens the door abruptly, startling Steve as he brought a tray of food in his hands.
“Wanda, hey. I was about to inform you that Natasha is back safely but she’ll need to undergo some mandatory check up at the medical center on the east wing.”
“Is she okay? Something happened to her? Her energy doesn’t feel the same.” Wanda asks worriedly
“Generally speaking, she’s been in a worse condition before so this was just like a small cut. She said she’ll be here as soon as the doctor lets her be, which I assume it’s gonna take a day or two. Do you prefer to go there instead?” Steve offers
Wanda nodded and she followed Steve around as he returned the tray first to the kitchen before they both headed to the east wing. A familiar sterilized scent came to her nostrils as soon as they arrived at the medical center. They stopped at a room where Natasha is currently talking to the doctor, visibly annoyed with the whole procedure that the doctor was trying to do to her.
Natasha saw Wanda and she got up from the bed almost immediately, thinking that something happened to Wanda, but her movements were stopped by Wanda’s magic, glowing red around Natasha’s body, pinning her down to the bed. Steve clenched his fist in reflex, ready to intervene if Wanda tried to do something bad to Natasha but Natasha looked at him and shook her head a bit, asking him to stand down. The doctor is ready to grab some sedative syringe just in case things get awful, not that she had a chance with the Scarlet Witch, but it’s the only thing she could think of.
“You’re not supposed to move.” Wanda said softly as she approached Natasha with concerned eyes, she scanned through Natasha’s body to check on any possible serious injuries. She makes another mental note that she hates seeing Natasha wearing a hospital gown.
“Wanda, hey, I’m okay.” Natasha said softly, her brain is in high alert but she remained calm
Wanda’s magic slowly dissipates into thin air as her eyes return to normal state. Natasha gave her a small smile as Wanda arrived on the side of her bed, looking at where the cuts and bruises are located.
“You’re not okay.” Wanda said, in a bit of a scolding tone
Natasha’s eyes trained on Wanda’s movement, she’s a bit nervous but somehow her heart said to just trust her. Wanda’s slender fingers softly trace Natasha’s cheekbone that is slightly bruised, the touch is so delicate and gentle, small wisps of reds trailing over Wanda’s fingers, caressing Natasha’s cheeks like it tries to take away the pain from her. She gets closer to get a better look on the bruise and frowns, knowing that Natasha must’ve got more than that all over her body.
Natasha was a bit surprised by this new growing concern from Wanda. She never knew that Wanda can use her magic this way, the same magic that can throw huge rocks violently, destroying them into dust. The same magic is now touching her cheek so gently like a feather touching her skin.
Natasha can see tears almost escape Wanda’s dimmed red eyes, she wants to hold Wanda’s hand, caress her cheek as well, and reassure her that she’s fine but she’s afraid that her touches might scare the woman. “Wanda, it’s just a small cut, I’ll be okay.” Natasha whispers softly in the soothing tone that Wanda used to hear, the same tone she always uses when she tells stories, Wanda missed that voice more than anything. Natasha didn’t make any move, just words. She doesn’t want to startle Wanda for the sudden physical contacts.
“Thank you for coming back alive.” Wanda smiles as she retreats herself back
“I’m sorry to make you worried.” Natasha smiles as she speaks Sokovian, in hope to make the Scarlet Witch at ease. Wanda’s gaze turned into a soft warm gaze.
Wanda nodded and she asked permission to stay in the room with Natasha until she recovered. The doctor looks at Steve and Natasha for their approval, Steve raises his eyebrows to make sure Natasha is okay with this, she gives a soft nod and the doctor does a final check before they both leave the room.
Wanda took a seat next to the bed in silence, Natasha staring at her and decided to break the silence between them.
“What makes you decide to go here? I can just go to you in a day or two.”
“Steve sucks.”
Natasha lets out a hearty laughter as she hears the remarks from Wanda. She can imagine that Steve is probably trying to give some motivational speech to replace the story time Natasha used to have with Wanda. Seems like Wanda wasn’t satisfied with that.
“Did he not prepare the food like I told him?”
“No, the food was great, he keeps the routine going as we always do, but his stories weren't as interesting as yours.” I missed you - is the thing Wanda wanted to say but never came out from her lips. Natasha can notice that she is a black widow, that kind of messages wasn’t hard to decipher
“Well I do have some stories that I can tell you. Do you wanna hear them?” I missed you too - Natasha replies to Wanda with the same intention. Wanda nodded slowly and she leaned her head on the side of the bed near Natasha’s hand, she wants to feel Natasha’s warmth to make sure that she’s really here and alive.
Natasha picks that as a hint that Wanda wants her to pat her head so she asks if that’s what Wanda wants, Wanda hesitated at first before she nodded. Natasha began telling her stories about boring meetings she had to go to and how she was targeted by some people who wanted to get even with what happened to them in the past.
She continues telling the story until she can sense that Wanda is no longer responsive with her sentences so she checks on her and finds that she’s asleep. Wanda uses Natasha’s hand as a pillow and Natasha just let it be, finally the tiredness from her flight catching up with her and she falls into a deep slumber.
The door opened and Wanda’s body stiffened, her body still leaning to the bed but her eyes glowing red, she held whoever opens the door with her magic by the throat before she turn her head to see who that was. The doctor yelps in shock as she felt Wanda’s energy gripping on her neck, it’s slowly closing her breathing path.
Natasha immediately squeeze Wanda's hand gently in an attempt to calm her down from her alerted stage. Wanda whips her head to see who hold her hand and her eyes immediately turn back into hazel as she can see it’s Natasha. Her grip on the doctor also loosen and finally dissipates. The doctor holds her chest, trying to calm her pacing heart.
“I’m sorry.” Wanda said apologetically
“It’s okay, I know what I’m getting into when I accept this job. It’s not the first time I almost lost my life trying to save one soul.” the doctor joked as she checks on Natasha’s vitals and her cuts.
Wanda tilts her head a bit curiously, she looks at the doctor, waiting for her to elaborate more about her experience. “Well, for starter, Ms. Romanoff here almost killed me once by throwing a dagger to my head in her half conscious state. If it wasn’t because of Mr. Barton’s great reflex to deflect the dagger, I would not be here." The doctor lets out a chuckle and scribbles some sentences on her paper and tells them that Natasha’s condition is already in far better condition before she excuses herself out of the room and make a mental note of Scarlet Witch’s response so she could be prepared next time.
“You put a spell on the door?”
Wanda looks away before she nodded, “we never know who wants to kill any of us. You being here is one of the example.” she muttered softly
Natasha understood this situation, she was also designed to do the same, to be able to put a dagger on someone’s head without fully conscious. It made her scared of herself, she doesn’t want to accidentally kill someone. Natasha caress Wanda’s face gently and brings her chin towards her so she can look at Wanda’s eyes.
“Thank you for keeping us safe.” Natasha appreciate the thought that Wanda put when she did what she did. It makes both of them realized how similar they are over this.
A few weeks after Natasha was discharged from the ward, they’ve returned to their rooms. Wanda had come to terms with losing Pietro, she will honor his name by living her life. Wanda grow closer to Natasha and sometimes sleeps in her bedroom when she had nightmares. Natasha feels quite happy with their progress and she grows fonder over the Scarlet Witch.
Natasha encourage her to hang out with the others as well and Wanda follows her suggestion. Wanda starts to talk to the other avengers during certain times but she will always stick by Natasha’s side at all times when Natasha is in the perimeter. Natasha agrees to help her with her training especially with hand in hand combats. They add this routine to their list and they’re happy with it. Natasha is proud of what Wanda has achieved so far, how quickly she follows her steps. Despite she barely knows about how to use magic, Wanda seems to know what to do with it after knowing the purpose of each training. She utilize her magic and incorporate them into her moves, sometimes she experiments with it as well and ask Natasha to supervise.
“At this point, you might as well replace me as her partner on the field. I’m going to retire soon anyways.” Clint joked as he sips on his bottle of beer after finishing his regular morning train.
“I will train for that and she’s my mentor, so I think it’s a possibilities.” Wanda chuckles as she drinks her water after doing her training routine that Natasha made for her. Natasha chuckles from the side and throw her dirty gloves to Barton’s direction.
“Who says that you’re my partner?” Natasha raised her eyebrows, teasing Clint, Wanda gave her a glass of water and Natasha gladly accepts it.
Barton made a fake offended face, “well I’m sorry to assume that I am, after all those mission together even before the avengers.” Barton throws back the gloves towards Natasha but Wanda catches the gloves mid-air with her magic before it reaches Natasha and put it down on the table.
“See Barton, she’s getting good.” Natasha grins as she looks at Wanda and nudge her proudly, faint blush appears on Wanda’s cheeks as she looks away, pretend to be cool with it
Vision entered the room and looked at them blankly, Tony followed from behind as he adjusted something on his tablet. “Anyone wants to put this guy on a test? I just had an upgrade on him.”
“Wands?” Natasha raised her eyebrows with a smirk
“Me? You sure?” Wanda asks confusedly
“You’re up for it? I think it’ll be an interesting experience.”
Wanda looks back and forth between the floating idle Vision and Natasha before finally giving in.
“You sure this is a good idea..?” Clint asks as he whispers to Natasha when they’re walking back to the training room. Natasha nodded in confidence, she knows that Wanda can take Vision down easily, her power is more superb than Vision’s.
“Hey Tony, he’s not going to go rampage like Ultron right?” Natasha asks to make sure that this friendly match is safe for both of them.
“I have wipe his data and register a new one, not connected to the internet but still has the ability to learn opponent’s movement to calculate their next steps, also the mind stone is no longer there, so I’m sure it’s going to be okay. I just add an enhancement on his strength and efficiency on the laser blast. It’ll be boring if I just test him on a shooting range.”
Natasha nodded as he trust Tony, she asked Wanda once again before they starts the match, to make sure Wanda is sure about this. Wanda gave a thumbs up with a smile on her face, she wears the training suits and look at Natasha “you’ll watch closely on me to evaluate my movements aren’t you? I hope you’ll be proud.” Wanda chuckles before she enter the training ground. Vision already waiting inside, feet glued on the ground, his face remain stoic and lifeless like other robots.
Tony, Clint, and Natasha steps inside the observation deck. Tony clicks some buttons swiftly on his tablet and Vision goes into a combat stance. Wanda prepares herself as her eyes glow in red, wisps of magic dancing around her fingers.
“Okay go.” Tony presses the button and announces it on the microphone and Vision lounges himself to attack Wanda.
Wanda skillfully deflected the direction of his attack somewhere else and he fell on the side. He goes back up, slightly floating and calculates his next move before starting his series of attacks, interchanging between the yellow laser on his forehead to the physical punches. Wanda remembers Natasha’s lesson of observing the opponents’ movement, waiting and looking for the right opportunity to do the counter.
Natasha crosses her arms, filled with pride that Wanda did as she was taught, her movements are similar to Natasha when it comes to hand in hand combat, she utilizes her magic to be the extension of her arms and feet. She combines between shooting her magic towards Vision and throwing real punches, she soars high as she tries to match Vision’s movements in the air.
As the match goes in a very interesting way, Tony’s tablet gives a notification of something weird going on with Vision. He tries to check on it but whatever he is trying to do, it doesn't work. Natasha moves to the window, to see them closer, she notices that Vision’s movement has changed, similar to Ultron.
“Tony, make it stop.” Natasha said as she can see the amount of power Vision displays are greater than they’re supposed to be. Natasha began to worry about Wanda’s safety as he relentlessly attacking her in full strength, though she knows that Wanda is stronger but she worries for her.
Wanda’s eyes glowing in bright red, somehow, something inside Vision felt familiar to her, it’s like communicating with her. She can hear it in her mind, it feels just like the mind stone, she can see a faint yellow glow that is different from his usual laser on his forehead.
Wanda makes a distance between them and she looks at him in a more aggressive stance, Vision stares deeply into her eyes and his forehead glows in yellow. Wanda was transferred into an illusion of the battle of Sokovia where she faced Ultron. She tries to analyze the situation and try to remain calm. She recognizes that this is not real, she can feel the magic energy around her that resonates with her chaos magic.
“Sokovia huh? I thought the mind stone was kept somewhere else?” Wanda said, in attempt to stall while her brain is processing
“Yes it is.”
“Then what is this?”
“You’re the one who calls out for me, Wanda. You spoke to me in your dreams.”
“I am not talking to the mind stone.”
“Who says I am the mind stone?” Vision smirks and begins his other series of attacks, his eyes glowing dark and his forehead shooting lasers far stronger than before. Wanda was taken aback with the whole new thing, her strong barrier prevents the laser to get straight through her body, but it deviates in the process, scraping her upper arm. She winces a bit as she saw it’s bleeding, she gritted her teeth in annoyance. Vision had finished analyzing her moves so whatever she does, Vision will get one step ahead to either counter or to block her. Vision manage to overrule her and kick her hard on the stomach.
Wanda crouches on the floor, holding her stomach, thankfully the training suits are made by Shuri, it absorbs any physical impacts up to 80%, but it still damn hurt. Her demeanor starts to change, from her head grows scarlet head ornaments, resembling a horn. She starts to push him back with her newly found power that course through her veins. Her magic changes color from bright red to dark scarlet red. She blasts him to the other side, destroying an old building in that illusion. She flies to follow him and starts attacking him with the same amount of power that he threw at her. Vision change the scenery to where the bombing happened, Wanda’s body stiffened as she saw her surrounding.
“You and your crappy illusion, I’m going to destroy you, whatever you are.” Wanda said in full determination as she jumps and tries to land a punch on his face
He smirks and immediately changes his look into Natasha’s, Wanda stops her movements immediately as she was shocked with the sudden changes, he takes it as an opportunity to kicks her away to the other side. Her back hits the wall, her mouth taste like iron as her blood seeping through the corner of her lips.
“I thought you’re strong, Wanda. I’ve seen the potential you have with the chaos magic but here you are, a weak human who falls into this little trick. You let your emotion clouded your judgment, you know this isn’t real yet you can’t land a hit on me.”
“Shut up” she spats as she prepares to lounge another attack on him
“Perhaps you need more motivation to unlock your full potential.” Vision said in Sokovian as he changed himself into Pietro and a bullet holes on his body, bloods starts to sips through the hole, Wanda knows it’s just an illusion but she couldn’t help herself from the guilt, tears streaming down her cheeks “Don’t you dare to use Pietro on me.” she screams in Sokovian, she collects all the power in her hands to blast this robot.
Natasha understood everything she said, her eyes widened as she saw how Wanda is going to lose control. She tries to call out her name but Wanda couldn’t hear anything.
Clint had to forcefully pulls her away as far as he could because he knows that it’s going to be a very dangerous explosion for their fragile human bodies. Natasha’s eyes locked to Wanda as she hears a screeching scream from her and she release that powerful blast to Vision’s direction.
Wanda felt drained after that blast, she couldn’t move a muscle, her vision slowly getting darker and she saw Natasha running towards her with that worried look in her eyes, why is she looking at me like that? Is she crying? Wanda wondered as she can feel her world is pulling her to one direction, she can see the ground is getting closer to her body but she couldn’t register what’s happening.
“Natasha..” she calls out for her name in her last breath before her world turned dark
The illusion fades and reveals that they’re outside the training room, down to the fields. Some of their blast, destroying the wall and there is a huge holes on the ground where they drag each other around. The ornaments on Wanda’s head disappeared as she faints.
Natasha catches her before she touches the floor, calling for her name worriedly but Wanda doesn't give any response, she checks on Wanda’s vital and relieved that she’s still breathing and her heart is still beating. Natasha rushed her to the east wing so she could have a proper treatment.
Tony immediately tried to disable Vision after that blast. Vision’s vibranium skin that covered his entire body disintegrated into dust as if it was nothing, leaving his internal machinery exposed and a bit sparks of electricity came from his wires,
“See you soon.” a robotic voice coming out from his mouth before Hawkeye’s arrow pierced through his head where the mind stone used to resides. Steve pulls his head off the body.
“So much violence guys, now how am I supposed to fix him” Tony said while making an annoyed had movement. Steve and Clint looking at Tony in disbelief of what they just heard.
“He almost got us killed and you’re concerned on how to fix this thing?? Seriously Tony?? Didn’t you see what he’s done to Wanda?? You’re an asshole Tony.” Clint annoyedly stab another arrow on Vision headless body, twisting it to break it even more. Tony rolled his eyes as he look at both of them.
“You owe Natasha an apology, as well as Wanda, if she can make it through.” Steve said sternly as he point his fingers on Tony and walk passed him, purposely bumped his shoulder hard to Tony’s, making him to stumbles a bit.
“Fine, fine I’ll say sorry to her. It’s not like the first time we had an accident in this compound.” he mumbles annoyedly. Clint knows that Natasha would kill him the second she saw her so he follows Tony to the east wing just to make sure they don’t end up having another headless body in the compound.
Natasha waits outside the emergency room, pacing back and forth worriedly. Tony came to apologize but as soon as he shows his face in Natasha’s perimeter, she storms towards him and pin him on his neck with a blade to the wall and the other hand is pointing her widow bite to Tony’s temple ready to zap him with a dangerously high voltage that could melt his brain. Tony raised his both hands in reflex.
“Look what you’ve done Tony. Your toy loses control, AGAIN. I did asked you if it is safe, you said it is but look at where we are now! That is why I told you to melt him down. You’re just creating another ULTRON.” Natasha said in her full murderous intent, she gritted her teeth.
“Nat, I need you to calm down.” Clint tried to tone down the murderous aura from Natasha
“Don’t talk to me, Barton.” She spats
Clint shuts his mouth immediately and raise both his hands, not wanting to be in the crossfire with a black widow.
“Nat.. I’m sorry, okay. I didn’t know what happened, he is not connected to FRIDAY nor the mind stone, he is just the same as my other robots.” Tony tries to defend himself, Natasha knew his hand movement, he’s trying to summon his suits to protect himself.
Clint notice that as well “I wont do that if I were you, Tony. she’ll kill you before any of your metal scraps arrived.”
Tony sighed and surrender his fate to this deadly black widow.
“Look Nat, I’m sorry. I didn’t meant any of this happened and it was just an accident. Vision was programmed like how my other robots function.”
“Accident?” Natasha lets out a sarcastic laughs as she pushes Tony further to the wall and half choking him. “Should I kill you and declare to everyone that it was an accident ? I can definitely do that.” she challenged him, Tony gulps in fear as he shakes his head slowly.
“Do these look the same robots to you?! You heard her yourself, Tony. She said Pietro and Sokovia, she saw Pietro AND Sokovia. That is something only the mind stone can do.”
“I know! but you saw it yourself that we’ve extracted the mind stone from him in Wakanda.” Tony also frustrated with the whole thing happened, he was so sure that he programed Vision to be one of his army and it was okay until it came contact with Wanda’s magic so he thought maybe the culprit is Wanda’s magic. “Maybe something to do with Wanda’s magic that trigger something inside Vision’s body. I’ll need to do more research on that bu–” his blabber getting cut off by annoyed Natasha.
Clint massage his forehead and shakes his head, Tony can be a genius, an asshole, and a dumbass at the same time. He couldn’t believe that Tony have the gut to blame this on Wanda.
“Listen to me, Stark. Don’t you dare to put a blame on her, she’s the one who is lying down on the hospital bed right now, not your robot” Natasha pushes the blade on his neck and setting the widow bite to a maximum voltage.
“But the dead one is Vision and Wanda survives.” Tony still trying to make excuse to make himself not look guilty
Natasha with every little patience she has left, choke Tony on the neck and throws him to the ground harshly. Clint watch everything unfold and ready to tranquilize Natasha if she is going to murder Tony. Natasha grabs Tony’s shirt collar and slams him to the ground, Tony grunts in pain. He was about to blast Natasha with the core on his chest but as he was pinned on the ground, he saw Natasha’s tears escape from her eyes. That moment he knew he fucked up, Natasha never cries, not in front of the others at least. He lets Natasha do whatever she wants to him, whether it’s to punch him on the face or make him limp for weeks.
Natasha screams and stab the blade near Tony’s ear. He winces as he can feel how close the blade is to stabbed on his ears. “If something happens to her, you’ll be joining your robot to your death. Now fuck off, I don’t want to see any of you.” Natasha said as she took her blade and hide it in her pockets, leaving him laying on the ground. Tony lets out a heavy sigh, he was still a bit shocked to see Natasha shedding tears over this. Clint helps him gets up from the ground and they both walk to the field where the incident took place.
Natasha waited outside the room, filled with anger and frustration. She should’ve not agreed with this in the first place, guilt starts crawling in her bones. She sobs in silence as she waits for the doctor to came out of the room. Steve came and ask if he could sit next to her, Natasha would care less about it.
“You have feelings for her?” He asks softly and gave a cup of water
“ That is the thing you’re gonna ask me right after you saw everything? You’re not going to ask, why do I almost killed Tony or Wanda turned Vibranium into dusts, or lecture me about how am I not listening to your warning about her instability when I take her in?” Natasha looks at him in disbelief as she took the cup of water and chugs it all in
“Hey, I’m just worried about my best friend. I saw you when she collapsed, the horror in your eyes like your whole life flashes before you. You rarely show any emotion but in that moment, it’s just like a floodgate opened wide. You never look at someone else that way and I know you can handle physical pain way better than emotional pain.” Steve lets out a small chuckles
Natasha sighed as she thought about Steve’s question and trying to map the feelings that has been going all over the place that is so unlike her. She always can sort things out and emotions are not the thing that she finds it hard to dismiss, but as she tries to trace back the moment of seeing Wanda lose her consciousness after that huge explosion, it made her heart sinks deeper than Mariana trench. The thought of losing Wanda devastates her, she remembers how Wanda’s body is all limp and weak in her arms, she couldn’t feel the warm tingles of her red energy that often radiates around her.
“Yes” Natasha paused as she was processing what she just said “Maybe I am.. Though I’m not sure about her, but I know I want to be by her side as long as time allows me to.” she lets out a small smile as she curls her fist into a tight ball, collecting all the courage she has to say the truth.
Steve was surprised with the answer as much as Natasha is surprised with herself. Steve smiles and pats Natasha’s hand gently, “Thank you for answering my question. I’m sure she’ll fight through. I’m not going to lecture you because I know it’s the right thing to do, to take her in. We’re responsible for her loss.”
Natasha lets out a heavy sigh. Steve just sits next to her in silence, he offers comforting presence, to let Natasha know that she’s not on her own, she still has her teammates to help her out. The light on the door turned off, and the doctor came out from behind that door. Natasha jumps from her seats and walks towards the doctor, worries are evident in her eyes.
“She’ll be alright. we’ve handled the internal bleeding and she should be on bed rest for a couple of weeks. As for her mental stability, we need her to wake up in order to assess that. We’ve transferred her to the other room, you may visit her now.”
Natasha lets out a sigh of relief before thanking the doctor and rushed to the designated room. Wanda is there, unconscious, covered in bandages. Natasha’s hands trying to reach out to her, to touch her gently, checking if she’s really still alive but she is afraid.
“Call me if you need anything, I’ll keep Tony away from both of you. Just focus yourself on supporting her, she’ll need you when she wakes up and maybe you guys want to talk about that soon, be honest with her. With our line of work, we never knew what would happen to us in the next few seconds.” Steve said softly before he walked away from the room, leaving Natasha and Wanda all by themselves.
Natasha leans her forehead on Wanda’s “Wake up soon, Wands. I’ll cook your favorite foods for a week, we can watch your favorite sitcoms every night, I’ll read you books, tell you stories, anything you want. Please just come back to me. Natasha whispers as she kisses Wanda’s forehead deeply.
“You mean that…?” a hoarse voice coming from Wanda’s lips
“Wands..?” Natasha retreats slowly to checks on Wanda’s condition, she wanted to call the doctor but Wanda’s gentle tug stops her
“Nat.. stay.. Please” Wanda’s voice is very thin and she looks at Natasha pleadingly. Natasha nodded and sits next to the bed, Wanda’s hand holding her weakly. She doesn’t need anything but to know Natasha is safe is enough.
“I’m sorry” Natasha apologize as she squeeze Wanda’s hand gently. Wanda shakes her head and smiles at her, reassure that it wasn't’ her fault.
They stay in comforting silence for a while until the doctor came to do regular check up came inside the room. Natasha immediately turn around and use her body as shield in reflex, the doctor slightly amused with the situation, she came prepared with a Kevlar and a helmet this time just in case Natasha did what she always did in a fight or flight situation. Natasha relaxed as she saw it’s the doctor, Wanda looks at the direction of the door, unable to cast any magic because she feels completely drained.
“I thought I’ll be greeted by a dagger or something, I’m glad it’s not the case. Hello Ms. Maximoff, I’m going to do some check up okay? Care to explain why you haven’t called me the moment she’s awake?” the doctor glances at Natasha
“Wanda asks me to stay and I know you’ll be checking on her soon, it wasn’t that long from her awaken time. Beside, I have done the basic check up and find nothing alarming.” Natasha explains briefly
The doctor nodded and smiles “I know you’re good at taking care of others and patch yourself up, but I want you to less worried about that one because I’m here. I got paid to take care of everyone in this building. As she said, nothing to worry about physically. A therapist will check on both of you as soon as you’re available, it’s part of Ms. Potts wellness program, I can’t put you off that.” she gave an apologetic smile before excusing herself out from the room and leave them to have more privacy
Wanda smiles and stretch her hand out to touch Natasha’s frowning face, Natasha turn around and hold her hand gently before pushing her cheek to her palm. “We’ll be fine. Now tell me those stories.” Wanda smiles excitedly as she moves slightly from the bed to make space so Natasha can lay down with her.
“I’m sweaty and full of dust, Wanda. How about, let me clean up first then I’ll get back here with your favorite snacks and a laptop. So we can either watch your faves or story time hmm?” Natasha chuckles as she covers Wanda’s body with a blanket. Wanda lets out a disappointed sigh but she lets Natasha go to clean up. She still can feel the exhaustion and soreness coursing through her veins and muscles. She tries her best to stay awake, waiting for Natasha but the drowsiness is unbearable. She fell into a deep slumber while waiting for Natasha to return.
Natasha return around 20 minutes later, she glance at the small window on the door and found that Wanda is asleep. She stealthily opens the door and gets inside with her silent footsteps. She fix Wanda’s blanket and wanting to move to the nearby sofa to have a seat but Wanda grabs her hand gently. Natasha stiffened as she thought she woke her up from her sleep,
“your feet glide like an owl, there is no sound of it but I can feel your energy, so I know you’re here.” Wanda opens her eyes slightly and smiles, “Could you lay by my side?” I feel lonely - that’s what Wanda wants to say but never said it, Natasha understand that and she obliged.
Natasha place down the snacks and other things that she brought for Wanda on the table then squeeze herself on the bed to lay by her side. The bed is not that big so to have 2 adults laying down on it is kind of cramped but both feels like it’s a comforting squeeze. Wanda asks if Natasha can turn around so she can lean her head on Natasha’s back, she complies. Wanda rests her head on Natasha’s back and wraps her arms around Natasha’s waist loosely. Natasha isn’t the type to have this close physical contact with anyone, but everything feels right when it comes to Wanda.
“When I was fighting with Vision, he changed his face into yours, it caught me off guard. That’s why he can land a hit on me that hard when I already manage to pin him down. He called me weak for that. When I was trying to regain my composure..” Wanda mumbles on Natasha’s back, her grip tightens on Natasha’s shirt as she recalls the situation, Natasha brings Wanda’s hand intertwined with hers around her waist, she squeezes it gently.
“he change his features to Pietro.” Natasha finishes the story after she didn’t hear Wanda saying anything for a while, Wanda nods.
“I should’ve not fell for that trick but I still did. I am weak.”
Natasha shakes her head, disagreeing with that sentence. Wanda lets out a heavy sigh. Natasha rubs her thumbs in a circular motion on Wanda’s hand to ease the storm in Wanda’s head. They fall into silence as Natasha tries to formulate her sentence well but she doesn't know how to say things she wanted to say.
She asks Wanda if it is okay for her to turn around so she can see her, Wanda nodded and their faces are just a few inches away. She can see that Wanda is holding everything inside.
“Is it going to strain you if you use magic to read mind? Will you be able to see that vividly just like how I see it vividly for the nightmares?”
Wanda was a bit confused with the sudden question, she blinks a few times before trying to explain how it works, “Well.. reading one’s mind isn’t something too straining for me, I can do it like it’s my second nature. How I see other’s mind is depends on the person. Sometimes it’s just voices, sometimes it’s pictures, sometimes it’s like a movie. It’s easier to trap a nightmares in someone's head because nightmares tends to be embedded in their brain. I’m sorry for what I’ve put you through though..” Wanda felt bad about it
“That’s not what I’m trying to say, you had to do what you’ve been told or what you believed back then, you’re with me now so that’s what matters now. Would you like to dive into my head?”
“You want me to dive into your head..now…?” Wanda asks confusedly since she never have someone asked her to get inside their head voluntarily
Natasha nodded, “but not too deep, will it be too draining for you?”
Wanda tries to feel the energy within her, she calculates it and knows it can at least sustain her for an hour or two to do mind reading. She shakes her head as she shows the red wisps on her fingers to show Natasha that she already got some of her powers back. “Why do you want me to do that to you?”
“I have to show you something but I can’t really put it into words.”
Wanda nodded in understanding, “It’ll hurt a lot if you’re resistant so just tell me to stop instead of trying to push me away from your mind, I’ll stop immediately. Please let me know if it starts to hurt.” Wanda places her fingers on Natasha’s temple and a glimpse of red wisps glimmers around her fingers, she closes her eyes to concentrate diving into Natasha’s mind.
Wanda can feel that she’s inside Natasha’s head right now, she can see there are boxes of red and black, she wonders which box that she should open. “Nat, what am I looking for? Could you navigate me there?” Wanda whispers softly as she look around inside her head. Natasha can feel Wanda is trying to navigate her way inside her head, she can see it from a distance. She imagined herself to pick the memories that she wanted to show Wanda.
Wanda saw a faint glows on one of the piles and she picks it up to open it, she’s transported to when they first have their room arrangements. Wanda is now watching it from Natasha’s point of view, she can hear Natasha’ train of thoughts in that memory. Then comes the time when Natasha had her nightmares and Wanda can see herself pulling Natasha out of it with her magic. Natasha touches the wall and thanked her for it. Wanda remembers that moment.
Then the memories travels down to where they’re having their trainings and how Natasha can feel the thrill and joy training her. Wanda can feel Natasha’s pride as she saw how good she is fighting with Vision before everything goes to the other side. There is a strong emotions emerge within Natasha when she saw Wanda fighting with Vision, come on Wands, you’re strong, don’t die on me. - Wanda heard Natasha’s voice echoes as her eyes always trained to follow Wanda’s every move and keep shouting to Tony to shut Vision down.
Then she saw that Natasha being pulled away forcefully by clint to avoid the explosion from her, that blow was strong, strong enough to do a real damage to everything around it and Vision was obliterated. Wanda can hear Natasha keep repeating her name, her devastation is heart shattering. Then she saw how Natasha almost killed Stark while she was in the ER and how protective she is towards her. Wanda feel touched on how Natasha is trying to protect her. Then comes the scene where she sat down and Steve coming in.
“Stop.” Natasha said and Wanda removes her hand from her temple immediately and they both back in the present time. Natasha lets out a sigh of relief as she can stop it before the next scene unfold.
“It was beautiful memories but I still don’t see it how it would be correlated with me not being weak.”
“Wands, you’ve seen it yourself how powerful you are from my eyes. You’re far from being weak, you fight that damned robot till the end on your own. Him being obliterated into pieces were one of the evident how strong you are. Vision was made out of the strongest metal this earth can find and you blast it like it was nothing. You are strong, Wands. You manage to keep up with me even though we just had a few trainings, I don’t even have to go easy on you, you just outdo yourself.”
“Did I made you cry after the blast..?” Wanda asks as she remember the devastation that Natasha felt inside her when she collapsed
“Yes, but that’s okay. It means that I’m still human.” Natasha smiles “you’re definitely not weak and try not to die on me.” she chuckles and put a strand of Wanda’s hair behind her ear“Thank you, Nat. You keep helping me through my unstable mind. Is it hurting when I dive into your head?”
“It just felt a bit weird like someone is trying to dissect your head, but it wasn't’ painful.” Natasha lets out a soft laughter. Wanda said that she’s trying to be as gentle as possible, usually she’ll rip apart someone’s mind when she’s trying to dig information that is required by Hydra.
They spent another few minutes talking about trivial things to ease the mood between them and it was a good conversation. Wanda’s eyes finally gave up in the middle of Natasha’s rambles about beers, she fell into a deep slumber. She hunched a bit like hugging herself while falling asleep, Natasha lets out a content sigh. “Sleep well, Wands.” Natasha kiss Wanda’s forehead gently before turning around to get some sleep too. Wanda unconsciously wraps her arms around Natasha’s waist and pulls her close as she seeks for more warmth and the familiar vibration from Natasha’s steady breathing. Natasha’s body stiffened a bit but relaxed soon after she can hear Wanda’s soft snores on her back.
What to do with you, my little witch? - Natasha shakes her head and her lips curved into a smile as she enjoyed being this close to Wanda.
The doctor was about to do her regular check up but she saw the beautiful view of both of them sleeping soundly so she decided to just read the monitors from the system and not bother them from their sleep, they need that more than the check up.
“I don’t understand why Natasha were so furious about it and she cried?? She cried Steve! Natasha Romanoff, the black widow, cried for an accident like this. It’s not like we never saw someone dying and Wanda is a new addition to this household, she just talk to her for like 2 months? Banner once got toasts by Thor’s thunder and she’s okay with that even though he’s sent to the ER with critical condition.” Tony still upsets that his robot is completely damaged beyond repair and he dislike the guilt that is eating him up from making Natasha cry. Steve calmly drinks his cup of coffee, listening to Tony’s rambling while he’s reading some newspaper.
“Wont you do the same if it’s Pepper?” Steve asks casually
“Of course, as much as I never really say it explicitly but I’m fond of Pepper. I’ll kill anyone who is trying to hurt her..” Tony said without hesitation. Steve raise his eyebrows, waiting for Tony to make sense on what he’s saying then Tony covers her mouth as he realized where this conversation goes. “Shit… Wanda is her Pepper. Well that explains everything now.”
“There we go. Be grateful that Nat didn’t torture and decapitate you.” Steve finish his cup of coffee and goes to the sink to wash the cup “I highly suggest you not come near them for at least a month. I can’t guarantee your life if you mess up again with any of them. Also, stop making new robots, Tony. You’re gonna end up creating one Ultron after another.”
Tony nodded and threw the last scraps that he could find from his lab that is related to Vision to the furnace and melt them down completely.