Steve Reflects
“Ultron cannot tell the difference between protecting the world or destroying the world. Where do you think he gets that from” Wanda asked as Steve struggled with the idea that he was about to come to blows with Tony, his friend and teammate. He was disappointed, but that didn’t erase all of the good things Tony had done in the past.
“Well, Jarvis is great,” Steve said suddenly, straightening up from his crouched position and looking down at Wanda. She was so young, but did that make her innocent? Did it make her right? She had attacked him and the other Avengers just recently. Sure, she had helped him save those civilians on the train, but she had also set the Hulk loose on civilians in the same day. And she had kidnapped Cho and worked alongside Ultron as well. Was he really looking to her for advice?
“Tony Stark is a murderer, Steve! He killed my parents,” she said angrily, upset that he was thinking to question her now.
Steve looked at Wanda seriously.
“Wanda, I’m a soldier. Soldiers use weapons to fight wars that are sometimes necessary. Somebody had to stop the Nazis. And it was Howard Stark that gave me what I needed to do that. Tony did the same thing for a long time too when he provided weapons to the U.S. military. That doesn’t make him a murderer, it makes him a patriot. If you want to know who killed your parents, you should look at who was actually dropping those bombs. That’s a harsh truth, and I’m sorry for what you suffered, but I’ve watched Tony risk his life for others more than once. Those aren’t the actions of a murderer. That’s why I can stand here beside you in spite of fighting against you before,” he added softly, laying a gentle hand on her shoulder.
Wanda knocked his hand off angrily.
“Then suffer alongside your precious teammate,” she hissed as her eyes began to glow a dangerous red. Steve had seen this before. He quickly slammed his shield down on Wanda’s head being sure that his force would knock her out without killing her. By the time he looked in the lab, a new . . . being . . . was standing alongside Thor and holding Mjolner!
“Captain,” Thor said seriously. “I saw in a vision that this new shield brother would fight alongside us to defeat Ultron. Steve nodded and picked Wanda up, laying her on a chair nearby. Tony was looking at her suspiciously.
“Why are you bridal carrying a Hydra agent,” Tony asked sarcastically.
“She and her brother helped me save a group of civilians while we were trying to hunt down Ultron. They turned on him and want to help. Her brother is outside.”
“Uh, if they turned on Ultron, what’s stopping them from turning on us? Not the warm fuzzies they have for the Avengers, I’m guessing.”
Steve thought for a moment. Wanda had said that Tony didn’t know the difference between protecting the world and endangering it. But she had also joined Hydra, claiming that she thought it was SHIELD. If D.C. taught him anything it was that SHIELD was like Hydra in that both groups used the same methods to achieve different goals—they were essentially the same even though he knew good people who worked for SHIELD. So, you couldn’t tell the good guys from the bad guys. Even good SHIELD agents had that problem, as Nat demonstrated. So, maybe Wanda needed the same kind of help?
“I think she just doesn’t understand who are the good guys and who are the bad guys. She still wants to help people. And I want to show her how,” he added.
“Well, not now, certainly,” Bruce said incredulously. They didn’t have time to fight over whether or not Maximoff was a lost cause or not. Personally, he thought the Hulk was likely to smash her the first chance he got.