The Destiny of Chaos from Within PT 1
After Natasha left Steve to contemplate his entire life choices, he finished packing his bag and thought of how he was going to start his apology tour. Nat had knocked some sense into him. Literally, he could still feel the bristles from the brush she threw at him. She was right, of course she was, when was she not. He needed to apologize, maybe grovel a bit, and then wait for forgiveness. That’s if he was ever going to get that, not that he deserved it anyways. It wasn’t about him, it was about the people he hurt. It was about him hurting his best friend and his protege. It was about the lies he told and the truth he kept to himself to save himself. He thought he had done it to save them, but in the end, it was to save himself, wasn’t it? He should and could have gone about it a different way, but he hadn’t. He hadn’t, and he regretted it every day. He knew what he had to do to make it alright. He had to make it right, at least some of it.
The first step was that he had to find Tony and somehow manage a conversation without being blasted out of the building and apologize to him. The second step was to somehow convince Tony to let him within at least five feet of his kid and apologize to him. He owed the kid a huge apology.
He shouldn’t have hidden anything from the kid, and part of him knew it. But of course, lately, he’s been famous for making extremely idiotic mistakes. His mistakes cost him a lot, but now, his latest mistake led him to be the cause of a kid being in the medbay, barely hanging on for dear life. All while his friends and family are desperately waiting for him to get better. It was all his fault . Why couldn’t he make the right choices? Why did he always have to hurt the ones he was close to?
Step three and possibly the most likely one to fail: He had to find Bucky and confess to him that he… That he would always be there till the end of the line. That he loved him, that he always has. Of course, once this whole magic-scientist blob thing was over, nothing would stop him this time, not some war and definitely not Hydra. He was going to tell Bucky how he felt and hoped that it would go well or not too bad. He hoped that it wouldn’t break their friendship. That Bucky wouldn’t leave him alone again.
Step fo-
His phone chimed, echoing throughout the empty sparring area and interrupting Steve’s thought process of his apology plan. Steve looked at his phone and saw a new text message. Before he could read it, he heard the elevator chime open and whipped his head up to whoever entered. It was Nat.
“Oh, Nat. Look, I get it, I messed up, and I have to apologize and learn. And I am, a matter of fact I am going through the steps already and already plan to do that right now, so- “
“Shut up, Steve. Get in the elevator right now.”
He looked at Nat and blanched. What he saw was something he hadn’t seen in her in a while.
Fear.
She was afraid. What had happened in the time that he was making up his plan? Was Tony okay?
Leaving his gym bag, he grabbed his phone and ran to the elevator with Nat.
“Friday! To the medbay as fast as you can.”
The medbay?
“The medbay? Nat, what’s going on? Is anyone hurt? Are Tony and Bucky okay?” Question after question spilled out of him. Hundreds of thoughts raced through his head. What was going on? What had happened?
Steve saw Nat’s jaw clench. Something was terribly wrong. Before he could ask a flurry of questions, Nat let out a sharp breath and spoke.
“Clint went down there, texted me saying something was wrong; that we needed to ‘haul our asses down there.’” Nat turned to him with her eyebrows furrowed. His throat tightened; shit, something was really wrong. “I don’t know what it is. But, I think something’s wrong with Tony’s kid. Clint said he heard screaming when he was headed down there. He told me he had to send the kid’s friends back to the living room, just in case…And, I’ve been trying to call him, but he doesn’t pick up. He hasn’t picked up, Steve. Fuck, I don’t know what's wrong, but I don’t think it’s any good.”
Steve’s mouth went dry, his heart pounding out of his chest. Natasha was scared. She was scared of what could have happened. It wasn’t easy to scare her, but she was afraid of something. She’s afraid of– afraid of… She was scared, and that was all he could focus on. Fuck, what if- no- but what if the kid…no, he couldn’t even think of that. He shouldn’t even be thinking of that at all. The kid had some of the best doctors helping him and some of the best superheroes protecting him. He was going to be fine. He had to be. He had to.
They both fell silent, the sounds of their breathing filled the empty space. There was nothing he could do or say to ease Nat or him, especially when they knew nothing.
Steve took a sharp breath and let it out. He needed to focus. He needed to be the calm one. He needed to get them through this. It could be a false alarm after all. Hopefully, it was. Hopefully.
The elevator dinged as they reached their destination. Steve could feel his throat tighten again as the door opened, letting the sounds of yelling flow into his ears. What happened?
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Clint’s stomach dropped at what he saw was the source of all the yelling, Wanda. Shit.
“Wanda! Let Stark go! Put him down!”
This wasn’t what he expected when he heard the screaming. He had thought something worse had happened. Not that this wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t worse than he had thought.
Clint felt a chill go down his spine as he properly assessed what was in front of him. It was almost unbelievable. It was like it was some sort of nightmare.
It was terrifying, no doubt, to see the kind and timid girl he had taken under his wing, look at him with red glowing eyes laced with utter disgust and hatred. It was terrifying to see her use her powers to pin Bucky to the wall, and to make some force field around her and Tony, somehow preventing Vision from reaching either of them. It was even more terrifying to see her choke and crush Tony; with ease, with little to no hesitation. It was like she was a woman possessed by nothing but anger and resentment.
Her voice was thick, and her accent even more present than it had been in months when she snapped her head to him and spoke.
“No! I won’t! Not after what he’s done. He’s going to make up for everything that he’s done. He is going to pay for the harm he has done to him!”
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She could feel his bones snap under her power as she picked him up from the floor. It almost felt good. Good? Good . So good. It was what he deserved after all. It was what they all deserved, even Cl–
“Wanda! Let Stark go! Put him down!” A voice yelled from behind her, interrupting her thoughts. Ah, just the person she was thinking of, Clint Barton, her supposed savior. Her savior. Her savior, who failed to protect her and her brother. He failed them. He failed her . He failed? She snapped her head at him and glared. How dare he try to stop her from seeking justice. The same justice, he promised her. A promise he had broken and failed to keep.
“No! I won’t! Not after what he’s done. He’s going to make up for everything that he’s done. He is going to pay for the harm he has done to him! ”
“ Wanda, please. I know you're angry and afraid, but we can fight or talk about it later! Right now, Jungkook needs us to be here for him. He needs us. So, put Stark down, and we can talk this out. We can figure this out together. Please, this is going to do nothing to help him.” Barton pleaded and begged. Oh, how she could see right through him. He only wanted to help himself. He didn’t want to be caught in the crossfire of his own faults.
Pathetic, truly.The notorious liar begging for the other notorious liar. Just a bunch of liars. All of them! The voices in her head screamed at her. They were right, weren’t they? She was just surrounded by liars who would do anything in the name of self-preservation, in the name of guilt. They would truly do anything to avoid being blamed. To be relieved of the guilt and shame, they so desperately deserved and fought against.
She scoffed at him, and her mouth twisted up in disgust. She just couldn’t believe the sight in front of her. She had thought that he was different. What a fool she was for thinking that he would agree with her. What a fool indeed.
How dare he claim that she was doing nothing to help him?! She was doing everything she could to help him! She would keep him safe by doing this! She wouldn’t lose anyone else if he was- if he was he- if he was h- if he was- j-just gone. She couldn’t lose anyone else, she refused to! And if getting rid of this plague would save him, then so be it. She would do anything to save him. Anything.
“Wanda! Please! We-”
“No! There is no we! There is only me! Only me. This is all because he couldn’t handle a little beeping! So he left Jungkook completely defenseless! Beeping! He couldn't handle a little noise, and he left him! He is not fit to protect him!But I am; I will help him see that I am the only one capable of protecting him. I will save him this time.”
With the flick of her wrist, she sent him flying backward, and she couldn’t bring herself to care where he landed. She had more pressing matters at her hands. She could feel her powers thrum under her fingertips. She could feel-
“How exhilarating, it is to feel this amount of power. Truly magnificent, dear one. You are going to be my vessel.” A ringing and disembodied voice called out to her. It filled her senses and brought her attention to it.
Wanda froze, and the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. Who was that? Was that her? Did that come from her? Who was that? Who?! Fear and panic clawed at her throat. Her hands trembled, the magic flicking under her hand. Who was? What was it? What was she doing? What was going on? Vessel? What vessel? Wheres– How terrifying it was to feel all this power in her… this wasn't supposed to happen. This isn’t what she practiced. This wasn’t what she promised. She promised she wouldn’t hurt anymore. What was she doing? What was she—?
Her feelings of conflict, confusion, and fear were quickly gone as fast as they came, replacing them with a sense of vindication. There would be no doubts as to what she was about to do. There would only be her intended purpose. The fate she was meant to bring all along. A fate that would no longer be stalled. Her fate- his fate would be sealed. Fate? What fate?
Before she could question more, the sounds of more footsteps filled the hallway, for some reason unknown to her she couldn’t care less. She couldn’t afford to care. She knew what needed to be done. No one could stop her .