Bella MacLeod's Twilight Fanfiction

The Witch and the Widows

By BetterInTexas

Chapter 02:

“Yelena Belova.” A male voice called, waking her from her artificially induced slumber.

The blonde sat up from the hard floor wear she had been unconscious. It was standard for all Widows leaving the Red Room to be sedated before they left and not woken until they arrived at mission headquarters.

Yelena stood quickly and began her set up. She took in the room, looked for the exits, observed the occupants and searched for possible weapons and dangers in less than three seconds.

The three men were familiar. She remembered them from past missions as operatives of HYDRA. Her team was also there, six Widows she commonly led into operations.

“Yelena Belova, status report.”

“Active, one hundred percent.”

“Do not move.” The man in front of her said. Yelena didn’t focus on his foul breath, yellow teeth, or unshaven face. She didn’t focus on the taser he had in his hand.

When he shocked her with a thin electric rod, Yelena did as told. She did not move, she did not react, she never considered fighting back. Widows did as they were told.

“Test complete.” The man said. Another man handed Yelena a tablet.

“Study, Belova. This is your target. Her name is Wanda Maximoff, civilian, nineteen years old, native of Sokovia. Maximoff is extremely dangerous. She has been attacking HYDRA operatives and bases for months. She is an enhanced human, a failed experiment with uncontrollable powers, the extent of which are unknown.”

Yelena’s eyebrow twitched, not sure what to make of that. She had never been given this type of target.

“You will wear a camera on your vest. We wish for the kill to be close, and her body returned. A gun is acceptable, but a knife would be preferable. The apartment building is abandoned. She has been there for two weeks. Stealth is important, as is quickness.”

Yelena continued reading the file, taking in all the information.

Telekinesis, flight, mental manipulation, possible mind reading. If she had been allowed she would have asked many questions.

“Move quietly, kill quickly. Questions?” The HYDRA operative asked.

“How should I position my team?”

“Four Widows on sniper points from all directions and two on the ground, one in front and one in back. If you fail, they will kill from a distance. No matter what, Maximoff cannot escape.”

“Understood.” she assured them. Not that an assurance was needed. She did as she was told. She always had. Yelena was told to kill, so she killed. She never failed, a testament to why she was still alive.

She had memories of a time when she didn’t always do as she was told. Though the Red Room had tried their best, she could remember a place far away. She remembered having a family, a mom, dad, and a big sister. Sometimes she found herself whistling a note she wasn’t sure where she had learned but thought it may have come from that place. A strange American song would sometimes stick in her head, repeating over and over in her mind and it was connected to a memory that was just out of reach.

Yelena took a deep breath and began giving orders to her team, then armed herself. When they exited the building, she found she was only four blocks away from the target’s location. She would have preferred to be farther, considering she had no idea of the range of her target’s enhancements.

The sun was setting as the Widows approached. Yelena gave them positions and then prepared to enter the building.

It wasn’t difficult to determine why the building was abandoned. It looked ready to fall apart. It was typical concrete monstrosity that harkened back to the days before the Cold War. Maximoff could have found a better place to hide. Yelena could even tell the floor on which she was likely. A red light glowed from one window on the West side.

“West side primary, do you have visual on target?”

“Negative. Only a red glow. I cannot tell what is causing it.”

Perhaps it was a set up. Someone looking for her would naturally go to that apartment. Of course, if she was worried about someone looking for her why had she came to this building and stayed for weeks?

This felt like a set up. It didn’t matter. Yelena had her orders. She had come to kill Maximoff or die trying and let her team finish the job.

“I’m going in.” Yelena told her team. She took a rappelling gun and fired to the top of the building, ten stories high. The hook secured and she retracted the wire, carrying her up the side of the building. A target would be expecting her to come from the ground. The light was on the fifth floor.

She moved as quietly as a ghost. The sun had gone down and the night was moonless, casting the inside in complete darkness. She activated her night vision goggles and scanned for booby traps.

As she approached the apartment that was lit by the red light, she switched to infrared.

A woman appeared to be sitting cross legged on the other side of the wall.

Not wasting time, Yelena decided not to risk a blade and pulled her handgun, rushing into the door and aiming, finger on the trigger.

Her finger would not move.

In the middle of the room, Wanda Maximoff was sitting cross legged, a red glow surrounding her. She was also floating off the ground by six inches. Her eyes took in Yelena, and she smiled, a grin that shook Yelena to her core.

“I’ve been in this dump for weeks waiting for HYDRA to make a move on me. It took them long enough. I wasn’t expecting someone my age.” Wanda told her.

Wanda disappeared before Yelena’s eyes but almost instantly she heard the girl beside her, whispering in her ear.

“Sleep.” Yelena heard and collapsed.

Wanda caught her in her arms and guided the blonde to the floor. She noted the small camera on Yelena’s vest and smiled, taking it in hand.

“I’m going to need a few minutes alone, boys. I wouldn’t recommend entering the building. Tell your snipers to stand down.”

Message delivered, Wanda placed her hand on Yelena’s forehead and entered her mind. She had done this quite a few times, practicing on HYDRA operatives she had found, invading their minds, planting illusions and suggestions and reading their memories. Every mind she invaded gave her a location of her next target. Every mind showed the victims the operative had killed. She left every mind shattered, in a perpetual state of terror, or in a catatonic state, depending on her mood.

Wanda had become quite good at controlling her powers.

She dove into Yelena’s mind and nearly backed out from the horror she saw.

Wanda saw everything. She saw the young girl as a child in Ohio, believing she had a family, being given to the Red Room.

She saw the torture she was put through. The torture Yelena went through made Wanda’s pale in comparison.

Yelena had watched those like her die during training, had cried so many nights quietly so she wouldn’t be punished, then taught herself to no longer cry, no longer care. They killed the child that had been inside her, the childhood that was ripped from her.

Natasha Romanoff had defected and the Red Room, Dreykov, implemented a new plan to prevent this from happening in the future. Chemical subjugation. Yelena’s blood stream held a chemical that didn’t belong there. Her mind was not her own. Her free will had been taken away. She was a passenger in her own body, aware but unaware at the same time. The memories Wanda had seen were mostly blocked from the girl.

“I’m sorry.” Wanda whispered. “No one should go through that torment. This may not work, it may kill you, but I have to take that chance. I can’t let you go back to that half-life.”

Wanda focused, blocking out the world around her and letting her power flow through Yelena. She could tell some electric current was sending itself to the electrical impulses in her brain, no doubt telling the Widow to execute herself rather than be taken captive. It was fascinating, considering the only piece of equipment in her body was a tracker in her leg. They must have a complete map of every Widow’s unique electrical activity in the brain and send a signal to affect it, much like a subliminal message.

They killed by hacking brainwaves. What sadistic bastards.

She had no time for anger now. Yelena would not kill herself while unconscious and Wanda was about to attempt something she had never done before.

Wanda focused her telekinesis, pulling the chemical in Yelena’s blood stream and in her brain, while trying to do no damage to her mind or the rest of her body.

Yelena rose in the air, wrapped in Wanda’s power, and her eyes turned a deep red then black.

Fluid, a black substance began exiting her body through her pours, soaking underneath her black suit, coloring her hair black, pouring from her eyes to cover her face.

Wanda was purging the chemical from her body. She had never focused this hard in her life. Her previous actions regarding the mind held no concern for the safety and health of her enemies. This was no enemy. This was a lost, abused child who had been stolen, tortured, and used as a weapon by cowards too afraid to fight their own battles. She continued to focus on the foreign substance in the body, straining to leave all else behind.

The black substance began soaking Yelena’s outfit and dripping onto the floor. Her face and hair were covered in black.

Wanda wound her way through the body, keeping a link with Yelena’s mind to monitor it while using her telekinesis to perform a complicated surgery. She was relieved that her powers were behaving once again and knew what she wanted. The more she used them, the more powerful she became but also more in control. They became a part of her, obeying her thoughts without hesitation. She had no way of pulling chemicals from the blood while leaving the blood behind, but her powers knew this was important. She was guiding them as much as they were guiding her.

When she felt the chemical gone from Yelena’s body, she let the girl down gently.

Yelena lay, her eyes open, yet not awake. With the chemical gone, the widow’s eyes closed once again.

Wanda grabbed the camera and ripped it from Yelena’s chest then winced at what she had to do next.

“I am sorry, but this is necessary.” She said to the unconscious girl.

Wanda pulled Yelena’s knife then stabbed her in the leg. Yelena’s eyes opened and she sat up, with a scream.

“Sleep.” Wanda told her once more and Yelena slumped back down.

Wanda used her telekinesis to pull the tracker out and dropped it on the floor.

“Time to go little spider.” she whispered and picked Yelena up in her arms, using her power to assist her and wrapped a bubble around the two. She took off out the hole surrounded by concrete that once was a window many years ago.

Shots fired, but none affected her, the bullets turning to dust as soon as they hit the energy bubble surrounding her and Yelena.

Wanda flew from Germany, leaving the Black Widows behind as well as the HYDRA operatives. It had been her plan to capture all the assassins sent after her who would fall in her trap, open their minds for information and continue on from there.

That was before she had read the mind of this blonde girl. Wanda never gave much thought to where Natasha Romanoff had come from or how she got her name. She kept up with the Avengers to monitor their whereabouts but so long as they left her alone, she didn’t bother with them. Tony Stark was no longer showing up in the field, supposedly retiring, so her only true interest was watching his business and industrial plants for any thing that could be used to make an AI being built.

She had seen Natasha’s worst nightmare when in her head, something she was ashamed of now, because she did it at the behest of HYDRA. She knew of the ballet studio, the weapons training, the forced surgery, but didn’t stay in her head long enough to truly explore or understand what the Red Room was.

Now she knew. The Red Room was a threat. The Red Room was a human trafficking ring, stealing young girls, turning them into assassins, sharpening them by torture, removing their emotions though psychological manipulation and finally taking their free will, making them passengers in their own bodies, physically unable to turn down orders or deviate from missions.

Yelena had been told to kill Wanda up close. They wanted to evaluate her and were willing to let Yelena die if it meant they learned more.

Wanda hoped they appreciated what they learned. She had learned much as well.

HYDRA remnants and Stark’s manufacturing facilities were no longer her only concern.

Wanda was going to destroy the Red Room and kill Dreykov.

But first she had tasks to accomplish. She needed to find the Red Room and find a way to save all the Widows from mind control. What she had done with Yelena had taken time. She would not be able to go to wherever the Red Room was, face who knew how many widows and take her time extracting chemicals from each one. She was growing stronger every day but had her limits.

Twenty Four Hours Later, Sokovia

Yelena woke slowly, feeling sluggish. She was not used to this feeling, normally alert within seconds of waking, ready for combat or training. Her body was a finely tuned machine. If you wanted to survive in the Red Room it had to be. She also slept lightly, ready to wake at a moment’s notice.

She could tell she had been in a very deep sleep. Her body ached and she was no longer in her combat suit. Yelena sat up slowly and looked at herself. She was on a bed, in cotton shorts and a tank top she did not recognize. She smelt shampoo and assumed her hair had been washed. Her right leg had a bandage around her thigh where her tracker would normally be and ached horribly.

She grabbed her head with both hands, memories suddenly flooding her mind. They raced through her, as if a dam had suddenly broken, a fog was gone. She remembered Ohio, her earliest memories. She remembered her sister, her mother and father and wanted to smile for a moment, remembering happiness.

Then the other memories came. Cuba, her mother dying, her father drugging her, being separated from Natasha then taken to the Red Room.

She cried out as memory after memory of her horrible life came flooding into her. She saw the faces of those she killed, remembered the pain of training, the nothingness she felt when those she grew up with died. Yelena remembered fighting some to the death, snapping necks and stabbing when necessary.

“No!” the blonde continued to scream, tears streaming down her face, her stomach clenching in pain as so many emotions crashed into her at once.

A woman with dark red hair had ran in but it took a while before Yelena had composed herself to notice her standing at the side of the bed, looking very concerned but not touching her. She was Yelena’s last target. She was the enhanced one. Yelena remembered seeing her and then… nothing.

The woman leaned towards Yelena and reached out her hands, touching Yelena’s shoulders. Normally the widow would kill her, but she was too overcome. She was prepared for death until she felt the girl’s arms wrap around her, sitting next to her on the bed.

“I know it is hard. I’m sorry. There is no other way. Do you want me to try calming you? I could get you milk. Milk is good for calming. My mama gave me warm milk when I had a nightmare.”

The woman spoke in Sokovian, close to Russian but one of the languages Yelena only knew faintly. Considering how many other languages she did know, it was ironic, but Sokovia had never been considered important enough for Widows to infiltrate.

“No.” she whispered, guessing at what was said, understanding milk.

“My Russian is likely as good as your Sokovian. Amazing how close and how far away our languages are. Since I don’t want to offend, I suppose we can both speak our broken English, no?”

Yelena nodded. “What happened? I was supposed to kill you.”

Wanda squeezed her tighter. “You weren’t in control of your actions.”

Yelena took a deep, broken breath and pulled away from Wanda slightly, looking around the room.

“Where are we?”

“My home in Sokovia, ten miles from what used to be Novi Grad. I’m a bit off the grid. I came here for shelter after the fall of the city. Eventually my hut became a house, I found a generator, dug a well and stole a water filtration system. Its taken me a while but I have been busy and am proud of the result. Admittedly I used my powers quite a bit. Especially when digging the well.”

Yelena saw the walls were logs and the floors were sanded wood.

“Why did you bring me here?” she asked. “I tried to kill you.”

Wanda shrugged. “I worked hard to pull that mind control chemical from your body. I wasn’t going to leave you there so they could pump you full of drugs again. I was afraid this would happen when you woke. The cloud in your mind is broken. Memories are rushing back to you. Its going to be hard. Close your eyes and do your best to remain calm. I doubt they will stop any time soon. I’ll be here though. Whatever you need, I’m here.

Yelena closed her eyes and uncharacteristically let this girl hold her. Normally she would never do this, but everything was too much. The memories, the exhaustion her body felt, the pain in her leg and feeling alive. She felt alive despite her exhaustion. She felt in control of herself.

She was also terrified. How long had it been since she let herself acknowledge feeling frightened?

“Your name is Wanda.” Yelena finally said, remembering the mission that led her here with more clarity.

The girl laid her chin on top of Yelena’s head and hugged her closer, trying to offer some warmth and kindness. “Yes.”

Yelena took a deep breath.

“You have powers. Why didn’t you kill me?”

Wanda sighed, understanding her question. Yelena had lived in a world of kill or be killed. It was natural for her to be confused. “I do not believe myself to be a hero. I am not monster though. I read your mind, saw your past. I do not kill innocents.”

Yelena huffed. “I am not innocent.”

“None of us are, but you are no monster. You were stolen, lied to, betrayed, tortured and mind controlled. I wasn’t sure I could save you, but I had to try. I couldn’t leave you like that.”

Yelena closed her eyes and pulled away again, looking down at herself.

“Whose clothes are these?” taking in the t shirt and cotton shorts once again.

Wanda winced. “I’m sorry, but I had to wash you. The chemicals that came out of your body came from your pores, eyes, nose, and mouth… basically anywhere a fluid could leave the body. It was black. Your body was covered in the chemical and I didn’t want to chance it finding its way back into you. I would have asked your permission, but time was limited, and I couldn’t wake you. I washed your hair as well. A few times. Quite a few times so you are blonde again. What matters is you are up now. The process exhausted you. You have been sleeping for over twenty four hours.”

Twenty four hours. Yelena would have been killed for sleeping longer than six in the Red Room.

“I also had to stab your leg and remove your tracker. No one can find us here, but I had to be sure. I can help you walk until you feel better. I was just cooking breakfast. I hope you like pancakes? Unless you would rather stay in here? How is your head feeling?”

“My head hurts. I feel… not lightheaded. I can’t stop thinking. How did a chemical… these memories. I don’t want them. Can you make them go away?”

Wanda winced. “I wish I could. I usually only enter minds to put someone to sleep, or in the case of HYDRA operatives, rip memories from their head violently and then leave them in an irreparable catatonic state. I don’t think I should be trying to remove memories. I can try to sooth your emotions, but it may be best to go through this on your own.”

“Thank you… for not killing me and… this.” Yelena told her, feeling very vulnerable, not sure what to do with this kindness. “The clothes and care. I am not used to it. I am hungry.. I would like something else to focus on.”

Wanda nodded and stood up, offering a hand to Yelena. Yelena took it and stood on her good leg then tried out her injured leg.

“Let me help you. My stitches might not be the best.”

“I can manage. I’ve had much worse injuries. I will clean the wound again later and restitch if I need to, but they feel fine.”

Before Wanda could argue, Yelena limped from the bedroom and into a living room that opened up to a kitchen. Another door led from the living room to what she thought was a bathroom or another bedroom.

“That is the bathroom. There is only one bedroom. I’ve been sleeping on the couch. I never expected guests. I’ve hidden this place quite well. I have no idea how, but I heard Tony Stark in his Iron Man suit flying overhead one day, a few months back. I covered the place with my power, hoping he couldn’t break through, or my dome would stop his weapons. I did not know what he wanted and had no desire to talk. I also didn’t have complete control of my powers and knew if he wanted a fight it would be messy, so I refrained from attacking.

“He never saw me.” Wanda finished. “He landed about twenty meters away with a clear line of sight. When he walked towards me, he began walking around the house, never moving into my dome. I couldn’t believe it, but my home was invisible. I don’t think he realized he was even walking around it. Hikers came a few weeks after that and did the same. They walked around without noticing. I’m not sure how I did it, but I know it is safe. As long as we are inside it, we can’t be found, even by Iron Man’s technology.”

Yelena was fascinated. She remembered reading about Wanda’s powers, including the part about unknown powers. How much more could she do?

“Why was Tony Stark looking for you?”

“He is afraid of me.”

“Why is he afraid of you?”

“Because he is smart.” Wanda said with a smirk. “What do you know of the battle of Sokovia, the Avengers, Ultron, any of it?”

Yelena shrugged. “I have no idea. If it didn’t pertain to a mission I was on, I wasn’t told. I heard the Avengers name spoken of once but was given no information. I heard the name Captain America whispered in the halls and a Black Widow who was one of them. I have no idea how that happened. It wasn’t something I would ask even if I were able to ask questions.”

Wanda sat a stack of pancakes in front of Yelena and a bottle of syrup.

“Sorry I have no butter. I am not a fan and wasn’t expecting a guest.”

“I haven’t had anything besides rations since I was six years old I think.” Yelena pointed out.

Wanda stepped away and brought back a cup of coffee. “How long has it been since coffee?”

Yelena reached for the cup and took a large drink. “Not long ago. We drank it on stakeouts to help us focus.”

Wanda grabbed her own cup of coffee and began talking. She told Yelena everything she knew, from the Stark bomb the United States dropped on her home, killing her parents and then went on to talk about the alien Invasion of New York and the Avengers assembling for the first time to defeat the aliens.

Yelena had many questions concerning them when she heard one particular name.

“Natasha?”

Wanda nodded. “When I was in your head I saw your life. I know she was important to you. She is important to you.”

“She got out.” Yelena whispered. “She was the one that defected.”

Wanda nodded once more.

“She never came back for me.” Yelena finally said, her voice breaking a bit.

Wanda gave her a moment and made no comment. That was something Yelena need to work out herself and Wanda’s opinion didn’t matter nor was it warranted.

After a few moments, Wanda spoke again. “Would you like me to continue, or do you need time?”

“Continue, please.”

“I will if you eat while I do. You look like I just pulled chemicals out of your body through your orifices and then stabbed you in the leg. You need food.”

Yelena began eating but kept her eyes on Wanda.

Wanda took a moment then continued. She spoke of what she knew at the time in regard to SHIELD and its fall including Natasha and Captain America’s involvement. She talked about her, and her twin being recruited by HYDRA.

Wanda held nothing back. She told Yelena of every sin she committed, her actions in helping Ultron, her, and her brother’s realization of what he was doing and turning on the AI and her brother’s death. She told her of her anger at Tony Stark for creating not only the bombs that killed her parents and nearly killed her and her twin but for creating Ultron in the first place and her careful watch on him.

“I am sorry for your loss. I can see how badly it still hurts.”

“I am glad it hurts.” Wanda said. “I never want it to stop hurting. It keeps me focused. HYDRA was hurt by the fall of SHIELD, but it is never gone. Like its namesake it has many heads and when one is cut off, another two grow. My goal is to keep them down, kill the heads as they grow. I hope with enough damage they can be so ruined that the heads grow smaller and smaller until they are a harmless lizard.”

Yelena chuckled sadly. “No wonder they want you dead, Wanda. Their weapon has turned on them and is more powerful than they thought. Your goal is refreshing. And Stark?”

“Is not important right now. All I can do is watch for any new manufacturing facilities to open up that deal in anything possibly related to Artificial Intelligence or his so called Iron Legion being manufactured on a mass scale. Even HYDRA must wait. I have a new goal. One that cannot wait, and I will not rest until it is done.”

Yelena raised an eyebrow, swallowing the last bite of her pancakes and washing it down with coffee.

“Are you going to keep me in suspense?”

“I’m not sure I want to tell you. I have stolen much money from HYDRA bases and learned account numbers from operative’s heads. I have quite a bit saved up. I can give you enough to start a new life. I don’t know anyone who can make false identities but… perhaps you would want to find Natasha. She could help you start a new life.”

“Or I could help the woman who saved my life.” Yelena pointed out. “What is your next target? Another Hydra base?”

“No. Hydra can wait. What I saw in your head cannot be unseen. I have a new mission that takes precedence overall else. Kill, Dreykov, end the Red Room and free all the widows under mind control.”

Yelena was quiet for a moment.

“I don’t know where the Red Room is.” she said, regretfully.

“I know.”

“I don’t know how to free the widows, short of what you did to me. You wouldn’t have time to do that to all of them, even if we found the Red Room. There are many widows there. You would need help, or it would be a suicide mission, even for one such as you. You are talking about hundreds of guards, perhaps thirty or more widows at the Red Room at any given time. Then there is the Taskmaster. Destroying the Red Room is one thing I have no doubt you could do. Saving the widows is another problem entirely.”

Wanda had the same thought over the past day. She was powerful. She had crushed many HYDRA bases easily. The idea of crushing a base like the Red Room, at the same time, trying not to kill the innocent victims who were skilled assassins and would be doing their best to kill her, seemed impossible.

“We need more help. We need an antidote, and we need more widows, fighting on our side. The two of us won’t be enough.” Yelena decided.

Wanda smiled. “The two of us?”

Yelena nodded. “You saved my life. I want to make sure you don’t lose yours.”

Wanda became serious. “Yelena, I can find a way without you. You don’t owe me anything. You really can start a new life. Don’t do this because…”

“I would rather spend my life fighting beside the woman who didn’t leave me than run back to the one who did and ask her for help. I am tired, I need more pancakes then more sleep. When I wake we can begin planning.”

Wanda stood up and reached out her hand which Yelena took. “Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me. I want this as badly as you. You can do something for me while I sleep.”

Wanda nodded. “Anything I can.”

“I need guns and Vodka. The Vodka is more important than the guns, but I would appreciate both.”

Wanda laughed heartily. “I can manage that. Let’s work on more pancakes first. I’m hungry now as well. We have a long road ahead of us, partner and you are going to need a lot of rest over the next few days. Dreykov is dead. He just doesn’t know it yet.