Chapter 2
"Huh... Your base of operations is an old apartment building?" Wanda asked as Vision unlocked the front door and led her inside. "How obvious."
"This is not obvious." Vision said, opening the door for Wanda to walk through. "I mean, my team is operating out of the top floor where we have completely and total control over what's going on."
"Do you not think that people are going to first try the top floor to attack?"
"But if they start at the bottom floor, we have time to gather stuff and leave." Vision said, pressing the elevator button. He cautiously looked over at Wanda as he said, "We're safe here, I promise."
"I'm not worried about that. You are." Wanda said, entering the elevator as soon as the doors opened.
"Well gee, I'm sorry that I'm worried about my frie-" Vision said, pressing the button for the top floor as the doors closed, the elevator groaning to life and the small space lighted by a singular light bulb, the cover for the bulb so old that it bathed the entire area in a sickly green.
"But are we really friends, Victor, if that is your real name?" Wanda interrupted. "You said so yourself, you did what you had to do for the mission. I'm a mission to you, nothing more."
Vision attempted to protest, but the elevator doors opened to reveal the entrance to the penthouse, crumbling ceiling and warped wood floors, all lit by a pale yellow light, and a woman with bright red hair who was standing by the elevator entrance with a tablet, tapping out a couple things on it's smooth surface. "You're back in one piece, Vis?"
Wanda almost instantly felt jealousy well up in her chest as Vision said, "Yeah Natasha, and I brought her highness with me."
Natasha looked up from her tablet, her face softening when she was Wanda. "Aw... You're so much prettier in real life than you are in your profile picture!"
"Um... Okay?" Wanda said nervously.
"What's the status on Clint?" Vision said as he and Natasha walked further into the apartment, Wanda nervously following.
"Still haven't heard from him, and Sersi and I both have tried calling him ten times within the past hour alone." Natasha explained. "Bucky and Sam went out to pick up Chinese food for dinner so we can talk next steps. I hope you don't mind pineapple chicken, your highness, because that's what we ordered you."
"Could you... Not call me that, please?" Wanda asked. "Going by my title makes me uncomfortable."
"Why? I would love to be a literal princess."
"Well, I'm sure that all of you can figure that out since I know for a fact that all of you have read my file at one point or another."
"Ooh... Someone's grumpy." A girl with slightly wavy black hair said, taking off her green jacket and leaving it on a chair. "Need some air? I think a lot's happened today, right?"
"No, Sersi, we are not letting her outside again." Vision said quickly. "In case you forgot, there are people trying to kill her."
"A, we don't know that people are trying to kill me, that's an assumption. We just know that they were trying to take me somewhere." Wanda interjected.
"Yeah. To kill you."
"B, if you think this place is so safe, why not let me go outside? I can protect myself."
"Wanda-"
"I am not someone you can just... Lock away in a tower. I am no Rapunzel and I don't want to be a princess. I didn't want to be one when I was younger and I still don't want to be one now." Wanda said, glancing over at Sersi. "Fresh air sounds great. Show me the way there?"
"Yeah, the balcony is this way." Sersi said, motioning to the balcony door. "I'm Sersi, by the way."
"Wanda." Wanda said, dropping her backpack down by the couch as she followed Sersi outside.
Natasha looked over at Vision, smirking to herself. "So... That's the girl you're madly in love with, Casanova?"
"I am not in love with her, Natalia." Vision argued.
"Yeah... Sure you aren't."
On the balcony, Wanda sat down on the ground, closing her eyes as she smelled the air, the rain smell stronger than it was earlier. Sersi sat down across from her as she asked, "Long day?"
"Yeah... You could say that." Wanda said, staring at the sky when she opened her eyes. "God... Why is this happening?"
"Because you and your twin brother were the only survivors of the Maximoff Massacre." Sersi said bluntly, then noticed that Wanda was uncomfortable. "Sorry... That was rude."
"It's fine. I have to get used to that around this time of year, right?" Wanda asked. "Especially since my stupid twenty first birthday is next week."
"It could be worse." Sersi said gently.
"Yeah, my entire life could blow up, my best friend won't actually be my friend, and all of this would be happening because of something that was out of my control." Wanda said sarcastically. "Oh wait, my life is already like that."
"Ya know, Victor talks about you like... All the time."
"Doesn't he have to whenever he reports back?"
"Well, yeah, but it's our bosses who handle reports, not us... Technically. Like... Once a week, Natasha will have him call just so we still know that he's alive, that's kinda standard fare for us, and when he calls, he will literally drone on for maybe ten minutes just about you."
Wanda tried to act like she wasn't halfway flattered as she looked around the balcony and asked, "What even are you guys?"
"Spies... Technically."
"Yeah, but it looks like you're all about my age. Most people who are spies aren't in their early twenties."
"Well... We were recruited when we were kids. Some people were plucked right out of orphanages, while others were pushed to do this by their parents since their parents are also spies. The program that took us takes kids from all over the world who have a high aptitude for something. We've essentially been training our whole lives for this." Sersi explained. "Technically, I'm not even a part of this team. I was just sent in a little over a year ago because their normal tech analyst, Anthony Stark, has been moved on up to the CIA and they're still working on finding an official replacement. My team usually works on cybersecurity cases, not... Rescuing princesses from probably assassins."
"So what's Vision aptitude in, annoying the crap out of people?"
"No... He's just crazy smart." Sersi said quickly. "And he's unnaturally observant."
"Ah... So yeah, what I said is his aptitude."
"Hey, we got the Chinese." A man with short black hair and the beginnings of a beard said as he and another man, this one with dark skin that almost resembled one of the leaves that was turning brown outside and a buzz cut, walked into the apartment carrying plastic bags.
"Thanks Bucky." Natasha said, getting out the plastic box of silverware they used to eat. "I bet her highness doesn't usually-"
"Okay, knock it off." Vision interrupted. "She literally lives off of plastic ware. I have seen her make those little mac and cheese cups in the microwave to prove it."
The other man, presumably Sam, looked outside to the balcony and saw Wanda and Sersi still talking. "That's her?"
"That's her."
"Wow... Ya know, for being a princess, she isn't giving off princess. In all honesty, she's kinda giving off Y/N right now..."
"Yeah... Kinda the point. She wouldn't want to give off princess vibes because she wouldn't want to attract attention." Vision said, watching as Natasha unpacked the food. "You got my kung-pow chicken?"
"Yeah, right here." Natasha said, holding up a white container, then grabbed a different one. "And here's her highness's pineapple chicken."
"Could you knock that off? She doesn't like being called that." Vision argued, grabbing the food containers. "Now, if you'll all excuse me, I'm going to give Wanda her dinner and attempt to convince her to eat inside."
As Vision walked out to the balcony, Sam shook his head. "So much for not getting too attached, huh?"
Vision opened the door, looking down at Sersi. "Hey, the food's here."
Sersi nodded. "Got it... Message received. I'm going inside to get food."
Vision traded places with Sersi as he handed Wanda her food. Wanda stared at it, tilting her head in confusion. "How do I know it's not poisoned?"
"Okay, now you're being paranoid."
"Oh, I'm being paranoid?" Wanda asked. "I literally just found out that my best friend is a spy. I think I have a right to be a little cautious."
"I know you're angry-"
"Oh, I'm not angry."
"You aren't?"
"No, I'm pissed."
"There it is!" Vision said, rolling his eyes.
"I did not ask for this." Wanda said, motioning to the world around her. "I did not ask to be in this situation. I did not ask to be one of the last remaining people in the Maximoff line."
"Yeah, well, things happen." Vision said gently. "You wanna tell me about your family history?"
"Why should I? You must've read all about it in my file." Wanda said bitterly.
"Look, I'm really sorry, Wanda. I am. I know that how all this happened wasn't exactly the best, but I want to make it up to you. You really are my friend... One of the few I actually have. I just want you to trust me again."
Wanda sighed, then bluntly asked, "How old are you?"
"... What?"
"You said that you want me to trust you again. Easiest way for me to trust you is to know you. Know the real you. So, I repeat, how old are you?"
"Twenty two. We celebrated my birthday together at the beginning of September."
"What is your real name?"
"Victor Abraham Shade. I never lied about that."
"How'd you get in this spy business?"
"My father worked as a spy for British Intelligence. I could solve complicated math problems by age six, so my father gave me over to the junior spy division. I've been a spy ever since."
"What was your first mission?"
"You."
"You're joking."
"No. My first mission assignment was to be your penpal as an extra thing when I'm not with my unit. In between missions with these people, I would write letters to you and read the letters you sent me back. Then, a little more than a year ago, I was told to start attending classes at your college and to go deep under cover to make sure you were safe."
"Do you even like half of the stuff you say you like?"
"I do have some interests, yes."
"Are you the leader?"
"No, not really. Natasha's the leader. I'm more like her second in command."
"You've been training for this for how long?"
"Sixteen years. I could shoot a gun starting at age ten and take down an armed assailant five different ways when I was fifteen."
"Why are you called Vision?"
"I told you that."
"You said that your brother gave you the nickname because you have horrible eyesight. For some reason, I don't believe that."
Vision sighed, staring down at his kung-pow chicken. "One of the older kids in our program gave me that nickname. His name was Tony, he recently got transferred to the CIA, and he gave me the nickname because I was scarily accurate with a gun and I had the vision to always hit my target. One of the other kids I trained with, Clint, he was given the nickname Hawkeye for basically the same reason."
"I always knew there was something more to your nickname." Wanda said, smirking a little.
"Does this mean you trust me again?" Vision asked hopefully.
"Not completely."
"Do you trust me enough to tell me where your brother is?"
"Why would I know where Pietro is?" Wanda asked. "He abandoned me when I was sixteen. I haven't seen him in four years."
"Something tells me that he wouldn't just up and leave you without some sort of indication to where he went." Vision argued.
"What, are you a part of the BAU now too?"
"Wanda, please. The same people who went after you might be going after him. I know that deep down, you don't want him hurt."
Wanda sighed, staring at the sky as she remembered the last conversation she had even had with Pietro.
It was midwinter, the power had gone out in the dorm building, so Wanda was wearing her uniform, a plaid skirt, collared shirt, and blazer jacket, a pair of sweatpants under her skirt and a fluffy red robe Wanda had borrowed from her roommate wrapped around her body as Wanda tried to stay warm. Wanda never liked skirts, shethought that skirts just looked weird on her and that she was showingtoo much skin, but for the first time in a while, Wanda felt comfortable in her school uniform despite how cold it was outside.
Wanda was reading a book when she hard something hitting her window. Confused, Wanda got out of her bed and opened the window to see Pietro standing outside with a handful of rocks, all bundled up for the winter, his brown hairpeeking out of the edges of his dark blue beanie. Wanda had been the first to dye her hair, she first dyed it when they were fourteen because she didn't want the reminder of their past life, and she continued dying it every year. Currently, her hair was a honey blonde, making Wanda completely different to what she did back in Sokovia. Wanda opened up the window, her blonde hair falling over her shoulder, as she asked, "Pietro, what the hell are you doing!?"
"Come on, we'rebusting out of here!" Pietro attempted to quietly yell up to Wanda. "I bought us two plane tickets to Rome, and we need to leave now to catch our flight!"
"What areyoutalking about?"
"Wanda... We're not normal anymore. I know this, you know this, the entire world knows this! Let's start living like we're above normal life! This power outage isn't going to last for long-"
"You caused the power outage!?"
"Yes, now come on."
Wanda thought for a moment. She realized how easy it would be for her to just jump out of the window and join her brother, but outside of the walls of this school, everything was uncertain. At least within the property of the school, Wanda knew that she was safe. Wanda shook her head and said, "No."
"No!?"
"I'm staying here, where it's safe."
"You can't live where it's safe forever!"
"For now, I can."
Pietro sighed, shaking his head. "Wanda-"
"Pietro, you'd be smart to stay here."
"I can't. I'm one more incident away from getting kicked out anyway. I can't stay here. Come with me."
"No."
"You're gonna come find me eventually, Wanda."
"I don't think I will."
"Either way, I'm going to text you my address every time I move to a different area so you know exactly where to find me. I don't want you to stay away forever, Wanda." Pietro said, hearing some security guards yell to each other in the distance. Pietro looked back up at Wanda and yelled, "I'll love you forever, sis!"
Wanda watched as her brother ran away, almost not believing what she was witnessing, as security guards chased after Pietro, onlygivingup when Pietro was over the gate and gone.
"Wanda, are you okay?" Vision asked, Wanda refocusing on the person in front of her, the setting sun casting a shadow on Vision's face.
"Yeah... I'm okay."
"Do you know where he is?" Vision asked. "Wanda, if you know where he is, you have to tell us, for his safety as well as your own. If he gets killed, then everyone is going to be going after you way harder than they did in the coffee shop."
"Why not ask Clint, huh? Wasn't he the one who was supposed to find my brother?"
"We haven't heard from Clint in weeks. Either he's been kidnapped, he lost his phone, or he's dead."
"Wow... Harsh."
"It's how things go with us. Wanda, please, you're our last hope at finding your brother."
Wanda sighed, getting out her phone as she clicked on the text message chain with Pietro, a list of addresses all from Pietro. Wanda read the most recent text message, sighing heavily. "He's in Monaco."
"Monaco?"
"Monaco."
"That is where we last had contact with Clint... Do you know where in Monaco?"
"Some... Casino in Monte Carlo." Wanda admitted. "He texts me his location every single time he moves in case I ever want to join him."
"You have the address?"
"Yeah."
Vision held out his hand. "Can I hand your phone to Natasha so she can worry about plane stuff?"
"Knock yourself out." Wand said, handing Vision her phone, noticing some rain droplets form on the screen.
Vision motioned to the door. "Will you please come inside so I don't have to worry about you catching a cold from earing soggy Chinese food?"
Wanda nodded, standing up and grabbing her food. "I'm still sitting by the door so I can watch the rain, though."
Vision laughed a little, rolling his eyes. "Ya know, I wouldn't expect anything else from you."
"Was that an insult?" Wanda asked, walking back inside the apartment and sat back down by the door.
"No just... A sincere compliment." Vision said, walking over to Natasha, breaking away her conversation with Sam and Bucky. "I know where Pietro is."
"You finally got her inside?" Bucky commented, glancing over at Wanda. "I'll give ya this, Vision, she's quite the looker. Not my type, but very pretty."
"She's a friend, not to mention the person we're protecting." Vision said, sliding Wanda's phone over to Natasha. "Bottom message is where Pietro is right now."
Sam read the message upside down, nodding his head. "Monte Carlo, huh? We gonna get lucky?"
"Lucky in finding Pietro Maximoff. We're going there strictly for business." Vision reminded Sam, then glanced over at Natasha. "You can get the jet for tomorrow, right?"
"I should be able to convince Steve to pilot it for us too."
"Okay. We better get some rest. We need to be vigilant in order to get to Monte Carlo safely."