Bella MacLeod's Twilight Fanfiction

The Witch and the Widows

By BetterInTexas

Chapter 21:

Yelena stood over Aino with her arms crossed, squeezing herself trying to hold it together, watching the unconscious sweating girl.

Ava laid a hand on her shoulder and whispered words of reassurance in her ear but the blonde paid them no mind.

The widow they had rescued was named Antha and she was awake, being watched by the others.

Antha was a five foot ten blonde who looked like a runway model. She was slim and did not scream out deadly assassin, but her kind was the most dangerous. Unlike Yelena who looked like a fighter, Antha looked like a fantasy and acted as one until the second she stabbed her prey.

She couldn’t come to terms with what was happening. The fog was lifting, her mind clear for the first time in ages, horrible memories came flooding into her mind, yet she could only watch Yelena.

Yelena was the handler. She was team leader. After Antha was given the antidote, two widows stayed with her at Yelena’s orders, while the rest were ordered to chase Ida. Yelena gave the orders and she was obeyed.

So why was she focused on one injured widow? The girl was obviously dying. Widows who were broken were discarded. A doctor did not treat something as fatal as poisoning. Widows were replaceable. If one fell, others were always ready to take their place.

But Yelena had tears in her eyes and the others did as well. They had emotions and they cared. She didn’t understand. One of them named Michiko had tried to give her a situational briefing on the ground before they left and she had gotten the gist of the mind control, but then Yelena’s voice ordered them to pull out. Someone else tried to talk to her on the jet and told her to do her best to remain calm until they reached home.

Home? Antha did not know what a home was. She understood safe houses, headquarters and bases. Home were for the people widows pretended to be.

Then the widow called Aino had fallen. Antha watched the oldest widow check her, do her best to save her and then tell the others it was poison.

Someone named Wanda was on her way to heal the girl.

“I’m confused.” Antha told Michiko.

The Japanese girl nodded. “I know.”

Antha shook her head. “Why are they crying. Why are you crying? Why do you care? Why do any of you care?”

Michiko didn’t take offense to the questions. She understood. While it may have seemed cold and callous, Antha did not mean it that way. She was truly confused because this love was a little known concept among black widows.

“We are not black widows. We have made a family with each other. One of our family is suffering. We are all important to each other. We do not want her to die.”

“She is not replaceable?”

Michiko shook her head. “None of us are. Not me, not Aino and not you.”

Antha was quiet for a moment, taking it all in. “Who is this Wanda she was speaking to? Is Wanda a black widow?”

Michiko shook her head. “Wanda is our savior. It is because of her we are free. I will explain when we reach home. For now try to relax. I know this is strange but you must forget everything you think you know. This is a new world.”

Antha nodded but couldn’t relax. The tension was thick in the large fancy jet. She wasn’t sure what to do. She felt so many emotions and one major emotion was fear for the girl on the ground. Knowing she wasn’t disposable made Antha want her to live and she had never felt like that before.

Yelena shook her head and leaned into Ava. “I should have just shot Ida. I made a mistake.”

Ava heled her closer. “No, you didn’t. She tortured Aino for her own entertainment, knowing she couldn’t fight back. Aino had every right to kill her. None of us could have known the blade was poisoned.”

Yelena was not comforted by the words. She knew Ava was right. Yelena had been ready to give her life several times over if it meant she could have revenge on those who harmed her. This was different. This was not her life. This was a life entrusted to her. These girls looked to her on missions. They counted on her to make sure they were not only successful but they could all make it home. This wasn’t the Red Room. No one was expendable.

She had made one bad decision. They could have taken Ida down at any time. Any of them could have shot her. Aino was the one who asked to fight her and told her reasons to the group. So Yelena made the call. They fired on Ida, ensuring she ran, using well placed shots to force her into a dead end alley where Aino was waiting for her. The rest of them surrounded Ida and Yelena disarmed her, leaving her only with a knife.

Less than a minute later Aino was standing over the shredded corpse of the black widow. She had tears in her eyes but a savage grin on her blood sprayed face. She had escaped without any major injury.

Or so Yelena had thought.

“Please, Wanda. Please hurry.” She begged.

The heart monitor that Oksana had attached to the girl flatlined.

“Stay back.”

Oksana charged the paddles and placed them on Aino’s chest.

“Clear!”

The first shock did nothing.

Neither did the second.

After the third shock failed to start her heart, Oksana closed her eyes and Yelena dropped to her knees and wailed.

Then the cockpit was bathed in red light and Wanda’s hands were on the girl’s chest, sending energy through her.

Aino’s heart started beating again.

“Wanda?” Yelena whispered, relief flooding her so strongly she couldn’t breathe.

“Not today, kid. You are not dying. Not today.” Wanda whispered.

Wanda blocked out all outside stimuli. The last time she had tried this, she had gone into Yelena’s head and learned about the mind control then focused on her bloodstream and brain.

This time Wanda connected her power to Aino’s entire body, manually pumping her heart, forcing her to breathe until the girl began to do so on her own. Then she focused on her blood.

She could feel it running slowly through Aino’s body. Her blood was thickening. She could barely sense the poison. Unlike the drug in Yelena’s blood, this was feint and only a small amount but the damage was massive. Unlike the drug Yelena had in her body, this one did not saturate the brain.

Wanda thought the bulk of the poison might be in one of her organs. She had never learned much biology before her mother was killed and didn’t bother to learn about it since then. She knew she had been shot in the liver before but that along with the heart and lungs was the limit of her expertise.

The heart was finally pumping without her power but she could not find the toxin. It was too small an amount, deadly but nothing compared to a drug constantly in the blood stream and brain.

Wanda told herself to relax. Her mind ran over the spells on healing she had studied from the book of Vishanti. None of them came to mind. She didn’t have the time to draw runes or gather ingredients for cures. All she had was chaos, that raging storm of magic that was her constant ally.

Agatha had told her often, the key was not forcing chaos magic to her will but bending it. The more she fought it the stronger it became. The more she accepted it the easier it was to bend to her will.

She was looking at this all wrong. She was trying to use her telekinesis to separate something from blood and organs like she did with Yelena. Those were the powers given to her by the Mind Stone. She needed her inherent magic.

The poison had already done its job.

Wanda stopped attempting to use her telekinesis to keep the girl alive.

She opened herself up to the magic surrounding her. Rather than fighting to control it, she guided it and let it flow from her to Aino wrapping them both in its protective barrier.

A feeling of peace was overcame her. For once, her magic did not feel like a violent storm. Her entire being focused on healing. She thought of the time she had spent with the girl. At fifteen, Aino was only a few months older than Stannic. Unlike Stannic who showed her trauma through a quick temper, nightmares and anxiety attacks, Aino was a quiet girl. At night when she sought comfort, rather than sleeping on the extra bed in Wanda’s room, she would curl under the covers of Wanda’s midsize bed press into her and ask to be held. Her requests when she was half asleep were more like those of a small child than a hardened child soldier and it made Wanda love her more.

Wanda could see the inner fire in Aino during training. She fought with an intensity that one would never suspect from a girl shorter than Yelena and very slim. She refused to give up, refused to tap out and most of the time the widows she trained with, rolled her off the mat to stop the fight if she was losing.

She had haunted brown eyes with a touch of grey. Her hair was brown with streaks of auburn when the sun hit it just right. She was beautiful and would only grow more beautiful as she aged.

Wanda shared her feelings of love with the girl as they cocooned into the magic pulling them together. She thought of every table snack Aino had snuck Fanny when Yelena wasn’t looking and how she grinned when Wanda noticed but said nothing. She thought of Aino constantly asking to braid Bea’s extremely long hair and watching YouTube videos with Stannic and Staci, acting like normal fifteen year olds at rare and beautiful times. After the widows learned it was okay to be vulnerable in front of each other, the younger widows came out of their shells and Aino was just getting to the point where her distinctively personality was breaking through the clouds of her past. She was becoming more outspoken and confident in her own choices.

Wanda’s tears fell on the girl’s face and a jolt ran through her body as she connected with Aino on a metaphysical level. She let her power wash Aino’s body of toxins, healing her injuries and cleaning her blood. Wanda thought she could feel her soul. As painful as Pietro’s death had been, this was the opposite. The feeling was so encompassing she couldn’t and didn’t need to find the word.

Once she was certain it was done, Wanda drew the power back into herself and closed her eyes for a moment.

When she opened them, she found herself laying on her back with Aino on top of her wrapped in her arms. She rolled over gently and laid Aino on the floor. The girl’s eyes were wide open and a beautiful smile graced her face. Her eyes were shining with unshed tears.

“Hey there, pretty girl. You shouldn’t scare Yelena like that. You know how she acts like a mother hen.”

“Thank you.” Aino whispered.

Wanda bent over and kissed her forehead.

“There is no need for thanks. We are family. If you want to thank me you can braid my hair this weekend.”

Yelena bent over Aino and picked her up squeezing her close, tears running free and sobs racking her body.

Wanda rubbed Yelena’s back. Yelena looked back at her, speechless, her eyes conveying her love.

Wanda shakily stood up and was surrounded by the other widows, looking from Aino to her in awe. Like Yelena, they were speechless, having no words to describe the literal miracle they had just seen. They all knew the story of how Wanda had saved Yelena, but they had never seen her do such a thing in person. When Wanda gathered Aino in her arms the two girls could barely be seen as they were surrounded by warm read light. Unlike Wanda’s usual powerful displays, this was not fear inducing but ae inducing. It made her earlier feat of moving thousands of tons of earth, seem small in comparison.

“Reaper 5 to Reaper 4. Aino is out of danger. Return to home base. We will take flank.”

As the jet took off, the other widows were still hugging Aino.

Yelena walked to Wanda and fell into her arms.

“I almost lost her. I made a mistake. I almost killed her.”

Wanda rubbed Yelena’s back and hugged her close. “You didn’t almost kill her. We all knew what we were signing up for. We know the risks. Its okay, Yelena. If anyone has made mistakes that have gotten people killed, its me. I played a part in so many innocent lives being ended too soon. But we can’t look back, only forward. We survived. That’s what matters. A short Russian taught me that.”

Yelena pulled back. “You are a smart witch sometimes. Thank you, Wanda.”

“You and I never have to thank each other, Yelena. Ride or die. Isn’t that what Kate says?”

Yelena wiped her eyes and smiled. “Yes, very true. Ride or die. I prefer we ride.”

Wanda nodded. “Me too. If you really want to thank me try some ice cream I make with magic tonight.”

Yelena shook her head. “One of us has already been poisoned tonight. That is enough for me.”

Wanda laughed and walked towards the cockpit when a blonde she had never seen before stepped in front of her. Yelena tensed and stepped beside Wanda, not knowing what to expect or how the new widow would react.

“What are you?” the girl asked Wanda, then looked at Yelena. “What are all of you? You save widows lives. You freed my mind. You care. You all care. Who are you?”

Yelena looked behind her, seeing her sisters making Aino laugh while Oksana took her vitals.

“We are the Red Widows. We are kind of a big deal. We took down the Red Room and killed Dreykov and the handlers. We continue to free mind controlled widows around the world. We stop human traffickers and organizations that experiment on children.

“Most importantly, we are a family. We are sisters stronger than any blood bond. You could be one of us as well, if you choose so.” Yelena told her.

“I have a choice?”

“Everyone does.” Wanda told her. “Your life is your own now. What is your name?”

“I’m Antha.”

“I’m Wanda. I am glad you are okay now. You are safe with us.”

“Are you an angel? You must be an angel. She died and you brought her back to life! How did you do that?”

Wanda shook her head. “I am no angel. I’m a nineteen year old Sokovian witch who was lucky enough to find this family. I hope you will join us. You should rest. We will tell you more when we get home and make sure Aino is alright.”

“Home? You mean a base?”

“We mean a home.” Yelena told her. “You have much to learn, Antha. You will have time and you will have us, if you want. For now, relax. We all need to catch our breath. It has been a stressful night.

Three weeks later

Wanda sat on her bed, her nose buried in the Book of Vishanti as usual, Yelena in the corner going over notes Wanda often took, while Agatha sat against the wall on her bed, reading a guns and ammo magazine she had found Fanny chewing on in Yelena’s room.

Agatha finally decided to bring up the topic Wanda had refused to, since telling her about healing Aino.

“You are ready.” Agatha told her.

Wanda shook her head. “Ten more minutes. I found a chapter on something called…”

“That isn’t what I am talking about.”

Wanda looked up from the book confused. The two had practiced many things over the past three weeks. Wanda had become better at all sorts of hexes, changing the inside of their mansion’s décor in an alternate reality, managing to avoid sitcoms and changing the girls’ clothes into television characters. She still hadn’t figured out the beach thing but was confident she would be successful eventually. Yelena had been talking about finding a real private island and the had certainly earned it.

Things had slowed down since Everett Ross had placed a warrant on Osborn, who was still free but being hunted by every law enforcement agency in the world. A vacation would be good but Wanda wanted another week with the book since Yelena told her she could not take it with her.

“What are you talking about? Is there some sort of final witchcraft test? I am not ready for that. How would we even do it? I don’t want to fight you. I won’t.”

Agatha shook her head. “You felt the one thing the Darkhold could never teach you. You healed with love. That feeling is the reason you will turn away the Darkhold if it ever tempts you again. Now it is time to heal again. You have wanted to for a while. Every time you look at her, I can see it on your face.”

Wanda knew exactly who she was talking about. It was something that often consumed her thoughts.

“It’s not the same. Aino was dying and I was able to share my magic to bring life back into her. This is different. Healing a damaged eye and removing scars requires much more finesse. If I screw up I could do worse damage.”

Agatha rolled her eyes.

“All the things you have done, all the power you have used and the control you have gained you are still so full of self doubt. Why do the people in this huge mansion believe in you more than you believe in yourself? Why do I believe in you more than you believe in yourself? I’ve been doing this a long time, kid. I know when you are ready but no matter what I say you won’t trust yourself.”

Wanda looked towards Yelena who shrugged. “I will always believe in you.” Yelena told her. “It isn’t my decision. She would never ask you, but I know she wants to be asked by you.”

Agatha shook her head sadly. “Twenty one year old. Almost killed in an explosion, turned away and tortured by her own father, mind controlled, used as a weapon, had a chip put in her head. Yelena, why doesn’t Antonia just stop using the software to download more skills?”

Yelena answered without hesitation. Everyone knew the answer. “She believes the better she is, the more effectively she can protect us.”

“Wanda, you have wanted to do this since you learned about the Book of Vishanti. You have looked up dozens of spells to heal. What is holding you back?”

Wanda sighed and closed her eyes, her stomach rolling. Yes, she had researched more than a dozen spells. Healing Antonia, was one of the things that helped her turn away from the Darkhold. The woman deserved so much more than she received in life. She had it as bad and perhaps worse than any of the widows. Yet, she was one of the most caring of them all. She was a protector and a rock they all had leaned on at one time or another. She never asked anything for herself.

She was such a good person.

“Fear.” Wanda admitted. “With Aino, I didn’t have time to be afraid. I lived in the moment. Now I can think about it. I can think of everything that could go wrong. I could make it worse. What if I disfigured all her face or ruined her other eye? She would be completely blind.”

“So don’t.” Yelena told her. “I won’t sit here and tell you that you can do it over and over. You know you can. The only question is, how much longer Antonia will have to live like she lives, until you gather the courage to do what needs to be done. The burn scars cover half her body. She lives in pain every day. Only you can decide how much longer she lives in pain.”

Wanda stood up angrily. “That isn’t fair to put that on me!”

Yelena stood up, walked to Wanda and bopped her on nose with her rolled up magazine. Don’t be a bad witch or I will send you to time out with Fanny. Stop… being… scared.”

Wanda calmed herself, knowing Yelena was right to call her out. Fear could not constantly hold her back. She had the knowledge needed to do what needed to be done and she had the skill. Healing was much easier in theory than casting probability and reality hexes.

“Will you be in the room with me?” she asked Agatha.

Agatha shook her head. “Not a chance in hell. I’m going to be outside, meditating.”

“Not naked.” Yelena grumbled.

“Don’t act like you don’t love it, short stack.”

Yelena grimaced. “I do not. I truly do not.”

Agatha snorted. “We can’t all be sixteen year old gymnasts in purple spandex. Yes, the girls showed me her Instagram page. I will keep a robe on so much, Short Stack. Wanda, you have work to do. Don’t call me if you need help. This is you. This is your life, your power and your decision on how to use it. The training wheels are off, Red. You pull this off and I might stop calling you Sabrina.”

Agatha walked out and Yelena patted Wanda on the shoulder and followed, leaving the red head alone.

She gathered her thoughts, gathered her courage and called Maria in the bunker on her com.

“Is Antonia in her download room?” Wanda asked, referring to the space set aside underground for her tech, so she could continue to learn new skills.

“No, I believe she is in her room.” Maria answered.

Wanda closed her eyes and thanked her then slowly made the trek. It wasn’t a long walk. Despite the size of the mansion, all the bedrooms were on the second and third floors. Antonia’s room was only eight doors away from Wanda’s.

It felt like eight miles now. With every step Wanda second guessed herself. She asked herself over and over if she were ready. Yelena believed in her. Agatha had never let her try something she wasn’t ready for. She may not have gotten the harder skills right the first time, but Agatha was there to reign her in. Agatha also left her alone when she was ready. Now she was being left alone.

Wanda stopped outside the door, took a deep breath then knocked.

Antonia opened the door.

“Hello Wanda. How can I help you?”

Antonia always answered the door like this. How can I help you. It was who she was. If anyone had the right to become a bloodthirsty, bitter, rage fueled, killing machine, it was Antonia Dreykov.

By some miracle, she was kind. She didn’t even blame Natasha and Clint for her physical state.

“May I come inside?”

“Of course.”

Antonia stepped aside and Wanda entered the room. Unlike her room, Antonia had put some effort into her own space. She had plants on her windowsill and framed posters on her wall. The posters were of waterfalls and views from the top of mountains. There was also one of the Golden Gate bridge.

On another wall were framed poems by poets she had read since being freed.

There was also a dresser without a mirror. In the corner was a combination rifle and grenade launcher that she had explained to Wanda but the witch couldn’t remember what it was called. In the other corner, a retractable bow was leaned against the wall next to a quiver full of arrows that reminded Wanda of Hawkeye’s quiver. Wanda had seen Antonia with that bow nd suspected she was nearly as good as Clint. She did learn from him after all.

Wanda sat in a chair in front of the dresser while Antonia stood a respectable distance away.

“You can talk to me, Wanda. Tell me what is bothering you.”

Wanda’s chest tightened as she forced the words out. “I want to heal you but I am afraid.”

Rather than reacting excitedly, Antonia knelt in front of her and took her hands.

“What are you afraid of?” she asked gently.

Wanda shook her head. “How can you be so kind?”

Antonia smiled, half her face resembling a grimace. “How are any of us? You have seen what I do to our enemies. I am not kind. I save my heart for my family. It is your choice, Wanda. I can understand how frightening it could be. You are not the only one with great power who fears it. I still have dreams at night of being my father’s slave, of killing innocents and their faces when they look at me and see a monster in a grinning mask that resembles death. I know what I have been and what I could easily become again. Our family is all that keeps me from darkness.”

Wanda understood. Everyone in the Mansion felt the same. Even Antha was fitting in and though it was all new to her, she was trying to trust those around her but a part of her was always on guard. It was to be expected and would go away with time.

“Take it slow. If we have to stop, we will.” Antonia suggested.

“You want this?”

Antonia nodded. “More than you can imagine.”

“Why did you never ask me?”

“It isn’t my power. It is yours to use how you see fit. I also knew you were afraid. You are not good at hiding your emotions. I love that about you.”

Wanda laughed quietly. She definitely knew better than to play poker with the red widows.

Wanda took a deep breath and stood.

“This is going to sound awkward but I need you to undress and lie on the bed.”

Antonia laughed. “Not even buy me dinner first. You are a good sister but not so much a good date.”

Wanda spent the rest of the afternoon with Antonia into the night. She poured her magic into the woman’s body. Unlike what she did to Aino Wanda had to take it slowly, only healing one part at a time.

Despite the intensity of the act, Wanda never asked for a break. The only breaks she had were the few second when Antonia had to roll over. Yelena had been right. The scarring on her body was much worse than just her face. It was so thick in areas, Wanda wondered how she bent over or even sat without pain.

Wanda became more confident as she went but never hurried.

Day turned into night but neither felt the need to sleep.

Wanda had worked her way down Antonia’s body until the last scar had been erased from her foot.

Then she returned to her eye.

Antonia had tears leaking from her good eye.

“Are you in pain?” Wanda asked.

“I’m not.” She answered. “That is why I am crying.”

Wanda smiled kindly and caressed her newly smooth cheek. “I think this is…”

“You can do it.”

Wanda nodded and took a breath. She stood on her feet and placed her hand over Antonia’s dead eye.

Dozens of spells from the Book of Vishanti. She remembered the rules, played them over in her mind, found the commonalities and discarded the differences. She ran what was left in her mind, while her energy reached out of her palm into Antonia’s eye. It was gentle but it caused Antonia to momentarily stiffen. When Wanda realized what was happening she pulled the power back into herself.

“Antonia? Are you okay?”

Antonia opened her eyes and rather than one dead foggy one looking at her, both eyes were green now.

Antonia sat up and blinked then looked around the room. She closed her previously only good eye and took in her surroundings, then placed a hand over her mouth to contain a sob.

“I can see.”

Wanda let out a breath of relief. When Antonia stiffened she had been sure she sent a shock to her brain or something equally as horrible.

Antonia stood up and squeezed Wanda tightly.

“Thank you!”

“You are welcome. I’m going to step outside and let you get dressed. You should go to the bathroom and look in the mirror.” Wanda told her. “You look as beautiful on the outside as you are on the inside.”

Antonia rushed to the bathroom and shouted in joy and broke down.

Wanda took the opportunity to walk out and then stood against the hallway wall and slid down until she was sitting on the floor and began crying from happiness, relief and exhaustion.

Yelena walked to her and sat beside her, taking her hand and staying quiet.

“I need to go to bed.” Wanda decided, feeling incredibly tired.

Yelena stood and helped her stand, then walked her to the bedroom. Agatha wasn’t there but that was not unusual. It was only midnight and Agatha liked to roam the Mansion and the bunker underneath at all hours of the night. At first it had kept them all on edge but eventually they became used to it, deciding it was one of her many quirks.

Wanda fell asleep almost immediately. Yelena pulled her boots off and pulled a blanket over her, then left. She met Antonia in the hallway and forgot how to speak for a moment.

Antonia was gorgeous. There was no other way to describe her. Yelena, finally, saw the woman the little girl would have grown into, if not for the botched attempt on her father’s life.

“Is this real?” Antonia asked.

Yelena nodded, unable to say anything else.

“Let us show our family what has been done. We do not want them to think an intruder has entered our midst.” Yelena finally said.

After a call for all widows to report to the living room, tears were plenty. The only one who did not cry was Antha. She looked on in awe. She had heard of what Wanda could do from the other widows. They had told her the story of her and Yelena’s mission to free them all. Antha wouldn’t have believed it if she hadn’t seen Wanda save Aino’s life.

Looking at this woman who had been horribly scarred erased any doubts about Wanda’s power.

Seeing former black widows shedding tears of joy over the healing of one of their own, made her understand. This was a family. Antha hadn’t been sure she fit in though she desperately wanted to. All the widows had been welcoming and supportive but they had gone through so much together, she wasn’t sure where she fit.

She vowed she would follow Wanda Maximoff through hell and she would give her life for this family. Despite not knowing her very well, Antha approached Antonia and hugged her. The woman returned the hug without hesitation and Antha knew she belonged.

Three days later

As the sun was setting, Yelena was in the front yard, throwing a ball with Fanny. The dog had gotten very good at catching it in the air and Yelena promised herself the next time she was in a city she would buy frisbees and see what other tricks Fanny could learn.

Her phone rang and she smiled, happy to hear from Kate as usual. It was six PM meaning it was noon in New York and Kate usually called her at lunch.

“Hello, Little Archer. How has your morning been?”

“Yelena, this is Eleanor. I need you.”

Yelena felt sick on her stomach immediately. Something was very wrong. Eleanor was not supposed to know how often Kate and her spoke and if she had taken Kate’s phone to call her something very bad had happened.

“Eleanor, what is wrong?” she asked, dreading the answer.

“Last night, Kate was jogging through Central Park on her way home from fencing practice. A woman was being assaulted and Kate intervened. The woman ran but she told police Kate was hit in the head with a steal pipe he had been carrying. Yelena… it took hours to find her. The damn woman couldn’t remember her location or she had been moved. She was… she was beaten badly. She is in a coma.”

“No.” Yelena whimpered.

Eleanor took a breath. “I know you do more than check on her occasionally. I know what you two mean to each other. I know my daughter. I have never minded because I know you are the one person on earth who can protect her and does not want her in danger. She needs you here and I need you here for more than comfort. The man hasn’t been caught. This isn’t his first time. I need you and Wanda to find this monster and capture him so I can kill him myself. Do you understand?”

Hearing the question snapped her out of her despair.

“I will torture him first.” Said quietly, fear warring with rage.

“So long as I am there.”

“Agreed. I will be there in six hours… Eleanor, she will live, right?”

Eleanor was quiet for a moment and Yelena could hear her trying to control her breathing.

“She is in critical condition, Yelena. She has multiple broken bones and her skull is cracked. She is stable but they aren’t sure when she will wake up. She is in Mt. Sinai Hospital CCU. Please hurry.”

Yelena read the meaning behind those words. They weren’t sure if she would wake up.

“We are on our way.”

Yelena ended the call and sounded the alarm when she entered the mansion, then used the intercom to assemble all the red widows in the bunker.

Once they had gathered, including Agatha, Yelena began speaking.

Wanda felt sick listening to her words. She barely made it to a trash can to vomit as Yelena described her injuries.

“Eleanor Bishop wants us to find this man so she can kill him. We torture him first. Some need to stay back but I want at least fifteen of us to go. It may take all our efforts to find him. He is no doubt in hiding.”

“It won’t be hard to find him.” Agatha said. “I will perform a tracking spell when we reach New York. I will lead us straight to him. He can’t hide from me.”

Yelena was surprised. Agatha had accompanied them on missions and watched but never gotten involved.

“You will come?”

“Try to stop me, short stack. Your girl has been hurt and I have more experience torturing people than even you girls have.”

Yelena nodded, grateful. “Thank you. Volunteers?”

Every hand in the room rose.

“Some of you must stay back. Antonia, draw names or something. With Agatha’s spell only ten of us are needed, mostly for cover and distraction when we take him. Gear up. We leave in ten minutes. Bring civilian clothes and combat suits as well and United States I.D.s. It is a six hour flight and then we must find a hidden landing spot and arrange transportation.”

Ava cleared her throat. “There is another way we can get there.”

Yelena stilled, understanding what she was saying. She looked around the room. The newer ones and some of the young ones stayed quiet, waiting for word that they had been chosen for the mission. The older ones were in deeper thought.

Wanda looked towards Agatha who shook her head. “The great Ancient One won’t get involved in something like this. He will though. He would for her.” Agatha pointed at Ava.

Yelena and Wanda glanced at each other, then to Ava who looked confident and hopeful.

“This is all our decision.” Yelena told them. “Agatha and the Ancient One are the only ones who know our location. Ava, do you trust him to keep our secret, no matter the cost?”

“Yes.” she answered immediately. Ava had taken multiple trips to Paris and met Wong there each time. Her and Wong talked daily. Everyone knew how they felt about one another, but having a fling and sharing the location of their home were two very different things.

Yelena was desperate to be by Kate’s side but she held it together. She couldn’t make this call on her own.

“Everybody in favor?” Sasha asked, raising her hand.

Every hand went up including Wanda’s.

“If he betrays us, we can always kill him.” The witch pointed out to Yelena.

Yelena nodded. “Ava full transparency. He deserves to know we are going to New York to brutally murder someone. He may not wish to be involved even as little as getting us there.”

Ava nodded and dialed Wong.

“Hi. Are you going back to Paris? Maybe this time I could portal us from Paris to Hawaii.”

“Wong, I need your help. We need your help. We need to get to New York City, quickly. Yelena’s girlfriend has been beaten and is in a coma. Full disclosure, when we find this guy, we are going to kill him. I understand if you don’t want to be a part of that. Yelena will understand too. We can fly and be there in six hours…”

“Are you in Paris?” Wong interrupted her.

“No. We are at our base.”

“Do you want me there?” he asked.

“Yes”

“Are you sure? Is everyone okay with this?”

Ava sighed. “Everyone has agreed. Will you help us?”

“Of course. Give me your coordinates. I can look at it from Google Earth and portal to the outside of the base.”

Ava gave him the coordinates and waited for him to find them.

He didn’t waste time with words, hanging up and opening a portal in front of her. He walked out and took in the mansion.

“I had images of you in some cave, monitoring the world for threats.” he said, taking in the sprawling mansion.

“We have one of those as well. You can never give our location to anyone, Wong. You swear to me?”

Wong touched her cheek and she leaned into it. “I swear. I would never betray you, Ava. Take me inside so we can go. I cannot portal you into the sanctum. The Order cannot be involved.”

“Will you get in trouble?”

Wong shrugged. “I can deal with it. You and your family need me. That is what is important. Let’s go.”

Wong’s eyes widened when he reached the underground bunker. He had met Yelena and Wanda of course but only heard about the others. Now he was standing in front of twenty four women whose expressions ranged from anger to horror and despair.

“Where are we going? I can’t take you to the sanctum. We need a place we can step out, without being noticed. The easiest way are one of the old, abandoned subway stations. If you tell me where you need to be, I can take us to the one closest.”

“The one closest to Mt. Sinai hospital.” Yelena told him.

Wanda, Yelena, a very tall brunette, Agatha Harkness and six others, including Ava, grabbed very heavy bags. They were all dressed like casual teenagers who would blend into the background. You would never know they were the deadliest women in the world.

Wong opened the portal and stepped aside. Some looked with trepidation but they only hesitated a second. They didn’t lack bravery when it came to the weird.

When they had all arrived in the darkened area, Wanda tossed a ball of red energy from her hand into the air, illuminating the large station.

As they walked out, Yelena called Natasha.

“Yelena, hello. I haven’t heard from you in days. You will give me your number one day. I didn’t get to congratulate you on Osborn. I’m sure he will be caught soon.”

“Natasha, I am in New York City. I need a safe house close to Mount Sinai Hospital. Do you have one?”

There was silence on the other end.

“Yelena, your voice is trembling. Tell me what is going on.”

“Kate saved a girl from being attacked in Central Park but was attacked herself. She was beaten and left for dead. She is in a coma. I need a place for my sisters to stay and prepare for the hunt, while I go to hospital.”

“Damn it.” Nat whispered. “722 Eighty eight street. It is within walking distance of the hospital. Pick the lock. When you open the door there is another steel door three feet inside. The code is 45634459. How many are with you?”

“It doesn’t matter. We will fit. Where are you? Can you come to hospital?”

Nat sighed. “I’m sorry, Yelena. We are over the ocean, flying to Lagos. We have a credible sighting of Brock Rumlow and his team and a chance to take him down. When we reach the ground, I will fly back immediately.”

“No.” Yelena told her. “It is better you are not involved. Be careful, Natasha.”

“I will be there as soon as I can, младшая сестра.”

An hour later, Wanda and Yelena ran into the CCU unit. They had placed on photostatic veils to disguise their faces and Eleanor did not recognize them when they first entered.

“How is she?” Yelena asked.

Eleanor raised an eyebrow, recognizing the voice. “Yelena?”

The girl nodded.

Eleanor pulled her into a hug, surprising her. She then hugged who she assumed was Wanda.

“I thought you said six hours.”

“We caught a magical ride. Hard to explain but Wanda’s magic has gotten very good. Take us to her and Wanda can heal her. She brought a girl who almost died back to life. She healed severe old scars. She can fix Kate.”

Eleanor nodded. “I don’t doubt that, but I have to get her home first. The doctors are going to notice something is off, if she suddenly makes a miraculous recovery in seconds. But could you… could you wake her?”

Wanda looked at Yelena. She wasn’t sure how this would work but she knew she had to. She had yet to mend bones and Kate’s brain was swollen.

“Why is she in a coma?” Wanda asked. “Physically, what is the reason?”

“Traumatic brain injury causing bruising to the brain and a cracked skull.”

“Damage to the brain.” Wanda looked at Yelena. “Is there swelling?”

Eleanor nodded.

“Do they expect it to go down?”

The woman nodded again.

Wanda sat down in one of the waiting room chairs.

“Wanda?”

“Yelena… I think we should wait and see if the swelling goes down on its own. I’ll try to wake her but if I can’t completely heal her right now, she will be in a lot of pain. I’m… we are talking about her brain. I can try but I need to heal her all at once like I did for Aino. We would need to move her out of here or she will have a miraculous recovery. That’s assuming I don’t screw this up.”

The women were quiet for a few minutes in deep thought.

“I need to talk to Agatha.” Wanda decided.

Eleanor raised an eyebrow. “Your magic teacher is here?” She asked, having kept up with Wanda’s progress. Her and Wanda talked often and Eleanor, sometimes, offered her advice. She had been surprised the first time Wanda had called her just to talk or ask a question but enjoyed the chats.

“She is here. She has a spell that will take us right to the man who did this. I need something that belongs to Kate. Something she has a strong emotional attachment to.”

Eleanor paused, then handed Kate’s special phone that she contacted Yelena to Wanda. “This is probably her most precious belonging.” Eleanor told Wanda.

“When we take him, we will bring him to the abandoned subway tunnel we arrived in.” Yelena told her. “We will have our pound of flesh, then you can end him.”

“I look forward to it. Would you like to see her?”

Yelena nodded.

“It is bad, Yelena. It is going to be difficult to contain your emotions.” Eleanor warned her. “The next visiting period is in one minute. Be prepared.”

When Yelena saw Kate, she realized there was no way she could have been prepared. Kate wore an oxygen mask and had several wires attached. Her eyes were swollen shut and her arms were in casts and hung above her by straps. A cast was also on her right leg.

“How did you survive my beloved?” Yelena asked, taking a seat next to the bed, upset that she couldn’t even hold her hand. She wanted to touch her cheek but it was bruised and swollen. How many other bruises did her hospital gown cover?

“I have been betrayed by my parents, abandoned, mind controlled, abused, tortured and raped.” Yelena said quietly.

“No one has ever had the power to hurt me like you do, Kate Bishop. I can’t do this without you. You are my special star. You cannot leave me. You may be very upset with me but I am going to ensure no one ever hurts you again for the rest of my life.

Yelena sat quietly, watching each breath Kate took, until the nurse told her it was time to leave.

Yelena leaned over and whisperer ear.

“I will find him and hurt him worse than I have ever hurt anyone in my life, my love. When I come back, your swelling will have gone down and Wanda will fix you. You will be okay. I will make sure you are okay from now on. Nothing will ever hurt you again.”

Yelena stood and walked out, her mind already dreaming of what she would do the man who had beaten her heart.