Chapter 2
Chapter 2
Wanda had never felt so awkward in her life. She was standing there, hands down at her sides, with her gaze shifting between each of the heroes currently staring at her.
She didn't want to be the first one to speak, wanted to give them the chance to process her first but she didn't expect it to take this long. The group of people in front of her were all looking towards her with varying expressions of fear and shock, with some of them having their weapons slightly raised. Not a real threat, she thought.
Wanda was beginning to get anxious, but just before she could speak and break the excessively long silence, someone else spoke.
"Who are you?" Steve asked her, standing defensively in front of the rest of his team as if he would somehow be able to stop her from hurting them if she wanted to.
"My name is Wanda Maximoff." She replied calmly, not wanting to give them any more reason to be weary or her. "I have been wanting to escape Hydra for some time now. You all gave me that chance, so thank you for that."
They obviously weren't expecting the thank you because Wanda could feel the wave of surprise that washed through the group. She could also feel the increase of caution that came from the team. Mainly from Natasha, although that didn't surprise Wanda.
Natasha was always the most cautious.
"You're Hydra?" Natasha asked, her voice purposely void of emotion, although Wanda could sense the underlying current of fear in her words and aura.
"Not anymore." She started. "You don't need to be afraid."
She probably shouldn't have added that last part, as Natasha's eyes immediately narrowed. "Are you in my head?" She asked, immediately picking up on the undertones in Wanda's voice.
The witch shook her head. "No. Obviously I have powers. " She began, gesturing towards the field of bodies and debris behind her. "A part of them is that I can feel what others are feeling. That, and I'm very observant." She finished, looking towards the redhead sincerely, who's eyes stayed narrowed. Wanda sighed internally. It took her so long to gain Natasha's trust the first time and she really didn't want to do it again.
Although, she was hoping that it wouldn't take as long, since the circumstances were different this time around.
"So... You can read minds, is what you're saying?" Asked Clint from is place next to Natasha, his bow still in hand.
"I can... But I make it a rule not to without permission." She replied. "I can tell you all about it but we should probably leave first. You need to get the scepter far from here."
Steve and Tony shared a look. "Why should we trust that you won't kill us as soon as we leave?" Tony asked, ever the skeptical one.
Wanda couldn't help but roll her eyes at that. "If I wanted you dead, you'd be dead." She said, once again gesturing to the war zone behind her.
Tony's eyes narrowed but he turned to the rest of the team anyway, shrugging his shoulders at them so as to get their opinion.
Natasha was looking right at her, head tilted slightly as if she was trying to figure her out. Wanda kept her expression open and calm, wanting her to know that she was serious. The red-heads left eyebrow rose slightly before she nodded once.
"She's right. We have no reason not to believe her so might as well take her with us and get out of here as soon as we can." Natasha said, still looking towards the witch.
The others were obviously surprised at the Black Widow's easy acceptance but they went along with it anyway, and all of them began to walk back toward the jet, looking over their shoulders at Wanda every few steps.
She kept her hands purposely down by her sides, not wanting to seem threatening and knowing that the team didn't trust her yet.
She wasn't too worried. She would get there.
As soon as they were in the air the questions started.
"Why did you turn against Hydra? Why didn't you do it sooner if you wanted to escape?" Steve asked, sitting in the chair across from her.
They were good questions, Wanda would admit. The one's she would have asked had she been in his position. They were also, however, questions that she would have a hard time answering believably.
Maybe she could tell them. They wouldn't believe her at first but she can show them what was in her head. If they'd let her.
Might as well give it a shot.
Wanda took a deep breath before speaking. "I was sent back in time... From two years in the future." She says, looking around to gauge the expressions of the team.
She got what she expected, eyes narrowed and looks of incredulity.
"Ha! Yeah, and I'm the pope." Scoffed Tony, shaking his head already.
Wanda's eyebrow raised. "It's true, but I get why you wouldn't believe me. But I could prove it. I could tell you some stuff if you want."
Tony and Steve shared a look before turning back towards her. The latter nodded his head once to let her know to continue.
She returned the nod, deciding to start with him. Before she did, however, she turned to speak to the group as a whole. "If you don't want me to tell what I know out loud, we can do it telepathically. If that would make you feel better?" She said the last part looking towards Steve.
Steve looked into her eyes, obviously trying to get a read on her. Wanda didn't mind, she wanted them to trust her as soon as possible.
Apparently Steve had seen something good in his search because he said, "Out loud is fine with me."
Wanda nodded once before figuring out where to start, sifting through her memories of the man to try and find one that she wouldn't know unless he had told her.
"Bucky."
She just said the one word, and everybody in the plane tensed up, Steve the most, immediately getting defensive.
"How do you know that name?" He asked through gritted teeth, even going so far as to raise his shield slightly.
Wanda kept her face calm, so as to not provoke him. "He is in my memories. In my memories of the future."
Steve was already shaking his head. "That doesn't make sense though. Time travel isn't possible."
She would give him that, she would have thought the same thing in his position. But... "Maybe not. But I had an infinity stone."
Apparently Thor was the only one to know of them because his eyes widened immediately before he stepped forward. "You know of the infinity stones?" He asked, not exactly hostile but she could sense the suspicion coming off of him.
Wanda nodded. "I can show you... if you let me?" She said, looking towards him curiously.
Thor shared looks with the rest of the Avengers, most of whom were shaking their heads against it. Thor, however, seemed to come to a different conclusion, because he turned back to her with a nod.
"Okay, you can show me. But if you mess with anything you shouldn't, I will kill you."
"Got it." Wanda said, hands raised in a show of surrender.
"Ready?" She asked, reaching toward him with her fingertips, waiting for him to nod before making contact.
He nodded once, and that was all Wanda needed. She placed her fingers gently at his temples, not that she needed to, but she found it easier when she established contact, and began pushing wisps of her magic out from her.
The rest of the Avengers watched in awe at the deceptively gentle movement of the magic through the air. It was a far cry from the destruction they had seen as a result of them just minutes before.
Wanda pushed her magic into Thor's head, seeing his eyes glow before they were sucked into the story.
When Thor opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was green. Green and trees all around them. Looking to his left, he was a little startled to see the witch standing next to him, looking towards him. When they made eye contact she gestured with her head to the trees in front of them.
Before Thor knew it, they were teleported. They were still surrounded by trees but there was something happening in front of them now. A battle.
There was a figure moving through the trees and Thor's eyes widened immediately. Thanos. He knew who that was. He knew what he did.
He stood and watched as the purple Titan made his way through the forest, making his way through the people trying to stop him with ease.
Thor's eyes widened even more when he realized that the people fighting were none other than his team. His team and others fighting alongside them.
He realized that Thanos seemed to be walking toward something, and turned his head in that direction. To his surprise, it was Wanda, standing across from some sort of android.
They were frantically talking and the android was obviously trying to coerce her into something. As Thor looked at the android he was surprised to see what resided in his forehead. The mind stone.
Just as soon as he thought it, the stone was then engulfed in a cloud of red, with a stream of the magic being aimed directly at it. His eyes widened as he realized that the witch was trying to destroy it. Presumably to keep the Titan from getting it. Thor looked back at the Titan and saw the gauntlet around his left hand.
Five infinity stones. There was no way the girl would be able to stop it, but there was nothing to do as he stood there and watched the fight play out in front of him.
His team was restrained, or just sucker punched all together, and the Titan was closing in on Wanda.
Wanda had both hands aimed at the android, two streams of power pouring straight into the stone. Having seen the Titan's approach, Wanda threw her left hand behind her, redirecting the stream of power towards Thanos instead.
Thor was surprised to see that she was actually able to hold him back. Even with the five infinity stones. He looked to the girl beside him wearily, and was a little surprised to see a slight look of pain on her face, although her gaze didn't stray from the fight.
Thor's own eyes returned to the scene happening in front of him. The witch was standing, one hand destroying the stone in the androids head, and the other holding back a nearly all powerful Titan. Thor had never seen anything like it.
The stand off went on for just a few more moments, when all the sudden there was an explosion. The shockwave expanded along the ground, moving the trees and causing everyone to flinch and cover their faces. Thor couldn't help turning his head away from the approaching shockwave, but almost immediately he turned his head back, not wanting to miss a single thing.
Wanda was on the ground but quickly on her knees, and Thanos was standing above her, having already recovered.
They were far away but Thor could still hear the words spoken between the two.
"I understand, my child." The Titan said, looking at the girl below him in what Thor thought was pity.
She didn't shrink under his gaze, though. She looked him right in the eyes.
"You could never." The witch spat, eyes glowing.
"I lost more than you could ever know. But now is no time for grieving. Now... is no time at all." His first began to close in front of Thor's eyes, and he cringed back slightly, knowing what that meant.
Before anything could happen, however, the witch had obviously seen what he was planning, because a stream of magic was sent at the gauntlet, wrapping around it and keeping it from activating.
The Titan was obviously surprised, and Thor couldn't help the pride he felt for the girl next to him, although they had just met.
The Wanda standing beside him looked up at him with a smirk, feeling the pride coming from the man and glad for it.
The witch fighting Thanos had almost the exact same smirk on her face at knowing she had surprised Thanos.
Turning back to the scene at hand, Thor saw the Titan begin walking towards the witch that had slowly stood from her knelt position, but before he could advance on her any more, another burst of energy was sent at the Titan, stopping him in his tracks.
He could see the red magic pushing into the gauntlet, wrapping around one stone in particular. The time stone.
She was still making sure to keep the gauntlet hand open, very careful not to activate it. Thor watched her magic weave and wind around the stone, until the witch began to close her own fist in an imitation of what Thanos himself would have done.
A few moments passed and there was only the sound of Wanda's magic moving in the air, when all the sudden there was a loud crack, and Thor immediately knew what that meant.
It was just moments later when the Time Stone shattered, and the world was engulfed in green, and then black.
The next scene he was brought to was a cell. A cell barren of any windows or any belongings, save for a single bed in the corner.
He looked towards the bed and was surprised to see Wanda laying in it, eyes alert and confused.
The girl standing next to him spoke up for the first time since they had gotten there. "This was my cell at Hydra. I wasn't sure I hadn't just had a really detailed dream, but my powers were much weaker the first time I was there. Here they're what you saw when I destroyed the stones."
Thor nodded, not speaking and instead watching the scene in front of him. The girl in the bed slowly sat up, still looking around although less confused.
As if she had heard something, she looked towards the door immediately, and Thor was surprised when someone walked through right after.
A grizzly man with a gun slung over his shoulder.
"We can skip this part." The witch next to him said, and immediately the scene changed once again. They were walking down a hallway, the same man from earlier walking with Wanda.
"We were walking back to my cell." Wanda clarified, and Thor nodded in understanding.
They had been walking a few moments when, after realizing they were completely alone, the witch threw her arm out, quickly engulfing the soldier in red and slamming him against the wall, knocking him out before he could even yell.
Thor raised his eyebrows at the girl beside him, who shrugged and said, "He's not dead."
Thor laughed for the first time since he'd met her. "Right. Very good, Maximoff."
Wanda smiled slightly before gesturing for them to run after the her currently running toward the exit. They watched her incapacitate the soldiers between her and the exit until they finally stepped outside.
"Haven't we been here too long?" Asked Thor. "Won't the others think something is wrong?"
Wanda shook her head. "No. When we go back only seconds will have passed. I've done this before."
Thor nodded, deciding to trust her this time. As soon as he thought it, the scene shifted again.
When Thor opened his eyes again he was met with the sight of the witch in front of him, finger tips still on his temples. She stepped back and let her hands drop, looking around the ship.
Nobody was overly hostile so she counted that as a win. Thor was getting his bearings back and turned to his team, making eye contact with each one.
After he was done, he nodded at them as a whole.
"I believe her." He said, and Wanda couldn't help her small triumphant smile.
Hopefully this was going to be easier than she thought.