The Witch and the Widows
By BetterInTexas
Chapter 11:
Yelena knelt next to Wanda’s bed so both could be in the video frame of Yelena’s phone. Kate Bishop’s smiling face was on the screen.
“I can’t believe you guys took down the Red Room!” Kate shouted. “I didn’t know the Red Room… those SHIELD documents that were leaked made it seem like they were gone but they aren’t and there are hundreds of black widows and Wanda got shot! Did it hurt? You look like you are in pain.”
Wanda managed not to roll her eyes. “No, having a bullet pierce my liver was surprisingly painless.”
“That’s so cool. I thought it would hurt to be shot in the gut. The movies make it out to be the most painful thing ever, like a horribly slow way to die. I’m glad it’s not true. That’s great, Wanda. Did you do any cool stuff like rip people apart with your mind?”
Wanda shook her head. “Just crawled through some vents, became a Kevlar vest for Yelena, and ripped a large metal door off its hinges. I also knocked out the one who shot me.”
“Tell me about the vents. I’ve been practicing crawling through vents at school. The vents in our building are too small. I’ve been scoping out some buildings under construction to practice in. The rivets and insulation are horrible. I haven’t found any clean ones yet and usually scrape my knees and come out itching like crazy. Did you scrape your knees?”
“Ironically, the suit protected me from scraped knees, but it wasn’t very comfortable.” Wanda told her. “I should probably take a pain pill and rest.”
“Yeah, you definitely need it. I know you are tough, but I think getting shot in the abdominal area would really hurt.”
Wanda did roll her eyes this time. “What gave you that idea?”
“You said it didn’t, but you look very uncomfortable, and Yelena said you had stitches but… oh, you were being sarcastic. Nice one. Classic Wanda.”
Wanda closed her eyes, wondering when her and Kate had known each other long enough for anything to be classic.
“I told you she is funny, Kate Bishop. She has a dry humor that is not for everyone but very clever. As you say, classic Wanda.”
Yelena. Was there anything she didn’t tell Kate Bishop?
“What are you guys going to do now? You said you have a team now.”
“It’s best if you don’t know.” Wanda told her.
“We are going to free the other widows around the world still under mind control and attack the human traffickers who had been supplying the girls to the Red Room. There are other Red Room outposts as well we need to shut down. First we are going to build a brand new secret base. No one will know where it is, unlike Avengers Compound.” Yelena told her as Wanda closed her eyes and wondered how long Kate Bishop would be Yelena’s only weakness.
“Sweet! Can I visit your secret base?”
“Of course you can.” Yelena told her. “I have bad news though. Because Wanda foolishly missed a bullet that ended up inside her, we will likely not make your birthday party in two weeks. She will only be ready to travel tomorrow at earliest and that is a short flight. She will need much time to recover. I promise I will make your archery contest though.”
“You will?! That is so awesome! Can you stay a few days? I can show you around the city. Wanda, you will come too, right?”
Wanda sighed. “I should really take a pain pill.” she said again.
Yelena took her phone outside and continued to talk to Kate. When she stepped out, Clint Barton stepped in. She almost wished for Kate Bishop back, judging by the disapproving look on Clint’s face.
He pulled up a chair beside her bed and brushed some hair off her forehead.
“So…” he started.
“Yes?”
“You came as close to dying as someone can get without dying. I saw that impressive puddle of blood you left behind in the hallway. Cut it close, didn’t you?”
Wanda shrugged then winced, deciding it for the best that she remain as still as possible.
“Family curse. It’s called the curse of Kate Bishop.”
Clint raised an eyebrow, wondering what Kate had to do with anything.
“Pietro died saving her favorite Avenger and I nearly died saving her future wife.” Wanda said, a small grin that Clint did not return.
“No?” she questioned, hoping he would have been humored but seeing she had the opposite effect.
“He shouldn’t have died for me.” Clint said.
Wanda shook her head and took his hand. “It wasn’t your choice to make, Clint. It was his choice. He saw you and a child in danger, and he acted. It was who he was. Don’t dishonor his sacrifice by saying he shouldn’t have done it. As for me, I knew when I took this path that death was a possibility. It still is. I don’t regret it. I will put myself between her and a bullet every time, no matter the outcome. That is my choice to make.
“I am sorry I had to interrupt your retirement. I wanted to keep you all out of it, but the situation became very complicated very quickly.
He shook his head and smiled. “I’m not sorry we got involved, Wanda. I want to be here for you. You are too young for this, Wanda. All you girls are.”
“None of us are young anymore, Clint.” she said sadly.
He nodded. “Yeah, I know. That is what bothers me so much. Me, Steve, and Nat are staying until you are cleared to fly. Oksana seems to think she can keep you alive in the air in a couple of days. Nat wants to see this damn building fall out of the sky. I also thinks she wants as much time with Yelena as possible. I think they both had different ideas of what would happen afterward.”
Wanda looked to the viewing area where a happy Yelena was still chatting with Kate.
She just nodded rather than comment.
“Nat says Yelena won’t tell her where you and your team are going next.”
“Yelena thinks its best no one knows. I defer to her in all things spy craft. I’m sure the Avengers will want to know but I am hoping Steve and Nat can talk Stark out of doing anything stupid like trying to find us. Once we reach our new home, it will be invitation only and whoever shows up unannounced had better become prepared for a fight.”
The man smirked. “Of that, I have no doubt. You, Yelena, Oksana, Antonia Dreykov, and twenty black widows. That’s not a fight I would want to step into.”
Wanda shook her head. “They aren’t black widows anymore.”
Clint shrugged, supposing that made sense. “What are they now?”
Yelena walked in as Clint asked. She walked up to Wanda and stood next to the bed, reaching down and gently twirling a strand of Wanda’s red locks.
“The Red Room and the Black Widow program is dead. We are still widows though. When you hear of slavers, terrorists, warlords being put in the ground by the best assassins in the world, you will know the Red Widows were there. We should let her sleep. I want to get out of this place as soon as possible. Come Clint Barton. Help us scavenge equipment. I am sending out flights this afternoon to our new home carrying necessary arms equipment. You can help.”
Yelena bent down and kissed Wanda on the forehead. “Sleep.”
“Take time to do the same.”
“No rest for the wicked. I will take care of organization. Oksana is handling the medical needs and laboratory equipment. Four jets are leaving in a few hours and will return. We can all fit into one jet and three more can carry more supplies back with us. Just rest, Wanda. I will take care of everything. You have spilled your own blood for us. We can spend our own sweat.”
Yelena and Clint walked out of the room, leaving Wanda to hopefully sleep.
Outside on the runways, there was much work being done. The first two troop carriers had taken off for the former HYDRA base to unload equipment and then return for another run. By tomorrow evening they hoped to all be leaving and blowing the Red Room out of the sky.
“Red Widows, huh?”
“I like the sound of it. It’s our leader’s favorite color.” Yelena told him.
Clint snorted. “Wanda is the leader? Or are you the leader?”
“We both are.” Yelena said. “Wanda started this. She started it when she decided to save me instead of killing me. Everything good we do from now is because of her. As far as planning in the field, her preferred method is still slash and burn. She could use some more experience we can all provide. The girls are looking to me. I didn’t free them to abandon them now that they need a guiding hand. We must stay busy. This is no time or place for emotional breakdowns.”
Clint observed those around him, the young girls in black suits, Antonia Dreykov in her battle suit, all of them carrying box after box, some packed with weapons, others packed with generators, food, wiring, computers.
They were building a new base. Clint suspected it would be in Sokovia. Yelena would not want to be far from Novi Grad. If he had to guess, it would be the HYDRA base they had first encountered the twins. He was certain Nat suspected it as well. He also doubted they would stay there long.
Nether would ever say their suspicion aloud. He doubted it would matter.
Tony had said he looked for Wanda. He should have been able to find her. He couldn’t. Clint suspected that anyone looking for the old HYDRA base would not be able to find it now. He didn’t understand Wanda’s power and doubted she knew the full extent of it, but she had not reached her full potential.
It was a frightening idea. He wasn’t sure if he should be happy that she would be stronger and safer in the future or worried that she couldn’t control it and instead it may control her.
Then he glanced at the short blonde, standing near one of the jets, talking to a group of girls who were hanging on her every word and nodding along with whatever she said. Yelena would keep Wanda from losing herself. The entire team would. Wanda and Yelena weren’t just building a team, they were building a family out of orphans.
Watching how they moved in and out, working together coordinating efforts efficiently and without argument, Clint could tell they already functioned much smoother as a unit than the Avengers. In the last few days Nat had told him about the Avengers, the group dynamics and the worsening relationship between Cap and Tony and Ross’s constant interference as if he wanted them to fail or fracture to the point the government would ask him to take command.
It was best if they didn’t know. Ross was terrified of Wanda and now she had a paramilitary group of the world’s greatest spies and assassins dedicated to her. As they freed more widows their numbers would only grow.
The Red Widows were going to be a force to be reckoned with in this world, perhaps as much as the Avengers were now.
Rather than dwelling on it further he entered the Red Room base and began filling boxes with food and clothing used in undercover missions. If he pretended that the clothes were for the girls going out and enjoying life, it made him feel better. He didn’t dwell on the hell that would come and the burden they had taken on themselves.
Forty eight hours later
The widows had opened the back of the jet as it hovered in the air so they could all see the Red Room from a safe distance away.
They had taken everything of use over the past two days from the floating base. The jets had been back and forth from Russia to Sokovia. They had been checked and triple checked for trackers that any Avenger may have put on their vehicles and made wide looping circles and random paths following each other from a distance to ensure Stark was not watching. They had a stealth mode they had to rely on to protect them from satellites but it in no way made them invisible. The best they could do is stay under cloud over and fly at night to avoid any spy satellites that may trail them.
Now four jets hovered in the sky, three with cockpits facing the Red Room. The Avenger’s jet was somewhere on the other side, waiting for the fireworks.
Yelena stood in the wide door with Wanda beside her in a wheelchair and an IV bag.
Yelena put her finger on the button and only hesitated a second, taking in the magnitude of what she was about to do.
Wanda reached over and took her free hand, squeezing it gently. A small smile on her face.
Yelena pressed the detonator.
It didn’t happen at first. A small explosion could be heard, likely inside the base. Then another and another, louder and louder until the explosives in the engine room were set off.
A huge explosion finished it off, turning the massive metal monster into a giant ball of fire that held steady for a moment then dropped like a meteorite. Ten seconds later another boom was heard, as the base hit the ground.
The jets were quiet. Rather than cheering, many of the widows were hugging each other with tears in their eyes. The past forty eight hours had been difficult. Eventually the tasks at hand had not been enough for the girls to cope with what they had undergone, what they were feeling. Oksana and Yelena helped as best they could. Yelena was better at calming them.
Oksana did her best, but she was a scientist. She didn’t understand what they had gone through, she just understood how to free them. Yelena had spilt many of them into small groups and talked with each separately. They were encouraged to sleep and those who couldn’t, Wanda helped calm.
Of course no one knew this. Yelena didn’t have an idea until she walked in at three AM to check on Wanda and saw her wide awake, her head covered in sweat and eyes glowing. She was sending waves of calm throughout the base, hoping to fight the tide of nightmares.
After Yelena had given her a stern lecture, it had stopped, and the girls began crying out in their sleep. Nat, Clint, and Steve had helped as best they could, but none of them understood. Yelena still wasn’t sure she understood.
Watching the place of their nightmares, the place that shaped them into the weapons they were fall from the sky was a solemn affair.
The door was raised, and Yelena turned to her girls.
“That part is over. We are free. No more handlers, no more trainers, no more torture, punishments, and no more being passengers in our own bodies. What we do from this point on is each of our decision.”
No one said a word.
“Anyone who wants to leave, wishes to start their own life, we will find identification and give you money to start this new life. None of you owe anyone anything. If this is what you want, I do not blame you. We all deserve it.” Yelena told them. “As for me and Wanda, we will continue to fight all remnants of the Red Room, human traffickers, sex slave traders, and HYDRA agents and bases where we find them. It will not be easy. It will be very dangerous. Wanda is very powerful, and she nearly died. That means any of us could die.
“We will be chasing widows who are still under control with no orders. Their natural instinct will be to kill when threatened. We will not kill them, but they will not hesitate to kill us. That in itself is dangerous. There are also many black widows who are older, loyal to Dreykov of their own will who will see us as an enemy and seek to kill us.” Yelena told them.
When Yelena mentioned the older widows many looked toward Oksana. They didn’t look at her threateningly, but more as a reminder of what was out there.
“I truly mean this. If this is not the life you want, please tell me. I want you all to be happy. Tell me now, how is uncertain of their path.
None of the widows or Taskmaster said a word or looked doubtful.
The widow named Sasha stepped up. “We will follow you and Wanda, Yelena. We have already decided.”
Yelena nodded. “Then you are Red Widows now. Our first step is to make a destroyed HYDRA base in Sokovia livable. We will only use the basics. Most of our scavenged gear will be to build a new base. It will not be difficult for the Avengers to find us in Sokovia. We need somewhere hidden, but large enough to hold over two hundred operatives, armories, jets, and cars. We may need to build it in secrecy ourselves. Think on it. No ideas are bad ideas.”
“Can we build one under Disney World?” a widow named Staci asked.
“That was a bad idea.” Yelena told her. “Let me rephrase. Most ideas will not be bad ideas. The idea is to stay out of the public spotlight. Our goal is to remain unseen until we strike.”
A widow in the back raised her hand.
“There is no need to raise hands.” Wanda said.
“Are the Avengers friends or enemies? They helped us but we do not want them to know where we are.”
Yelena and Wanda were quiet for a moment. Yelena looked to Wanda indicating she should take this one.
“The Avengers are not our enemies.” Wanda said.
“At the moment.” she continued. “They have been a great help to us. We have a great amount of gratitude and respect for many of them. Not all of them though.”
Yelena cleared her throat. “The Avengers are compromised. Their own members admit as much. There is internal pressure from the United States Government to place themselves under formal control of the military or politicians.”
“The leadership and structure of the Avengers can change any minute.” Wanda went on to explain. The U.S. will not be happy when they find out about us. The Secretary of State, Thaddeus Ross, has mentioned several times to Avengers that he wants me under their control. They fear my power. They are afraid of me, and they will be very afraid of all of us.
“When I first met the Avengers, I witnessed a disagreement between Tony Stark and Steve Rogers. Tony attacked Steve without hesitation because he wanted to make another AI and Steve wanted to discuss it. Clint Barton is retired. That means if Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanov leave the Avengers for any reason, they could become our enemy quickly.”
Yelena nodded. “I do not trust the robot.”
Wanda was shocked to hear this but didn’t show it. She had thought Yelena liked Vision.
“He is the most powerful. He has told Wanda he will never be her enemy, but things change. If he were to ever agree with Ross or Stark, he will be the only one who can truly challenge Wanda and we could not help her. When we reach our base we will begin developing a database of friends, enemies, and resources. We will also include profiles of those who must be protected at all costs because they are precious. So far there is only one person who qualifies for that section.”
“What of the space god?”
“Gone back into space.” Wanda said.
“And the large green one?”
“Missing since Sokovia was destroyed.” she answered. “Right now, let’s go to our new temporary home.”
Yelena made her way up to the cockpit and sat in the copilots seat. She took the radio.
“Red Widow One to Avengers Quinjet.”
“Avengers Quinjet, over.” Natasha’s voice answered.
“Thank you for your help Avengers. Extended our gratitude to your team. Should you need us, Black Widow, do not hesitate to call. Tell Barton to enjoy his retirement.”
“I will pass on the message. Don’t be a stranger, Red Widow, take care of your witch.”
“I do my best. Safe flight, Avengers. Goodbye for now.”
Yelena turned the channel to the other jets and gave the order to move out.
Two widows helped Wanda out of her chair and strapped her to a stretcher for transport. Oksana stayed by her side, holding an IV bag up with fluids and antibiotics.
Wanda closed her eyes and when she opened them, they were landing at a very familiar place. The jets had landed in the courtyard of a castle on top of a mountain. The castle was only the top defensive turret. The bulk of the base was inside the mountain.1 The courtyard ground sank into the mountain and another platform covered where the jets had been.
Oksana helped Wanda up and tried to put her in her chair, but Wanda refused, limping while holding onto Oksana’s shoulder. Yelena wrapped an arm around her and offered another shoulder. When she stepped out of the jet, she paused, so many memories that she had blocked out, rushing to her.
Despite being used as weapons by HYDRA, Strucker did give the twins what they wanted. He kept them in cages until they had control of their powers, but he did give them the power to kill the Avengers. That was all that had mattered to them at the time. This was where she gained her powers, where she learned to harness them somewhat. This was where she first manipulated Tony Stark’s mind.
It was one of the worst decisions of her life.
“You didn’t make him take the scepter and create Ultron. That was his decision.” Yelena said, deftly knowing what was going through her mind. The other widows were walking out behind and around them while she took in the place.
“I could have stopped him from getting the scepter. I let him have it. I wasn’t sure how he would use it, but I knew he would create something that could kill the Avengers. I saw his nightmare.”
Yelena sighed. “I could tell you that they probably would have gotten the scepter any way, or that he made the decision to take it, not you. None of it will matter. Do you have any idea the number of dead bodies attributed to those of us here.”
“You were all mind controlled.”
“I wasn’t.” Oksana remined her.
“We were controlled by Dreykov. You were controlled by your grief. None of us are controlled any longer. We are all free, even you Wanda. What we do from now on defines us. We have a nice little hospital bed waiting for you, sister. If you insist on walking let us walk, not stand in one place while you brood over the past.”
Wanda grinned and began limping along, leaning on her friends. She was exhausted by the time she reached her bed and as soon as Oksana had placed another IV in her arm, she was back asleep.
Oksana began giving orders. “She has moved too much too soon. I have to watch her vitals and ensure there is no internal bleeding. I need the CT Scanner, and portable X Ray in here.”
Yelena looked over her friend. “I don’t suppose there is any way she could be ready to go to a party in New York in ten or so days, is there?”
Oksana looked at her in disbelief. Yelena raised her hands. “I joke, geez.”
“I would hope so.” Oksana grumbled.
“So that’s a definite maybe?”
Yelena ran out of the room before Oksana could hit her.
She began exploring the base, asking one of the widows who had been delivering supplies to show her around. The portable power sources from the Red Room, were keeping the lights on. Water was still available as the base came self-sustaining.
There was a room that was covered with monitors hooked up to powerful computers. The old HYDRA computers were gone, and the Red Room computers were in their place. The bunks were sparse, utilitarian but functional. The bars to the cells could be taken off to add more sleeping space.
The base had everything they needed. The Avengers had not done very much damage when they raided the base. Blood stains were all over the stone floors but that was nothing.
It had two downfalls. The first was the Avengers would not doubt know they were here. It wasn’t a secret base if the most popular superhero team in the world knew where you were.
The second problem was it looked like a dungeon, even the nicer areas. Yelena had children as young as fourteen living here. The Red Room lodgings were elegant compared to this place. The widows would already have difficulty with nightmares. Putting them in Dracula’s castle would not facilitate good mental health.
Yelena approached Naomi in the makeshift control room. Naomi was a seventeen year old possibly taken from Kenya if her handlers were to be believed.
“What do you think?” she asked her fellow widow.
“It’s a dump, but it is a strong dump. It’s perfect for holding off an assault. For performing the operations we want to undertake, not so much. We need a new base. How do we get it?”
“Dreykov was as richer than cartel heads. That means we are richer than the drug cartels. We will do what they do. Buy a very expensive, easily secured mansion and build a bunker underneath it. We need it to be in Central Europe, hopefully like this, on high ground, modernized and we will bring workers in to complete the work quickly.”
“Who will then know where we are.”
“Not after Wanda is done with them.” Yelena reminded her. “She is getting stronger every day. Split into two teams. Have Sasha lead a team that begins focusing on widows in the wild and finding the human trafficking rings. We can start planning our missions. I want you to lead the team in charge of finding and building a new headquarters. Does that sound reasonable?”
Naomi hesitated, confusion obvious on her face.
“Naomi?”
The girl shook her head. “It is strange to be asked.”
“Get used to it. No one will ever make us do anything we do not want to again.” Yelena told her, no trace of doubt in her voice.
Naomi nodded. “It will be done. I will let… I will ask Sasha if she is okay with handling the mission planning.”
Yelena patted her on the shoulder and walked around the room, impressed that the widows were working already.
“Attention please.”
The entire room quieted, and all eyes turned to her.
“How is everyone feeling?”
No one said anything, other than glancing at those beside them.
“Because after I was freed it took me a few days to regain my bearings. Even then, memories that had been pushed aside by the drug were continuing to hit me. I was not okay. That is fine. We must talk about it with each other. We have no one else. In this base we are all sisters. We are also all each other has. We have to trust each other, talk to each other. No one else will help us.”
Seeing a few heads nodding, Yelena hoped the res understood as well.
“Pull up Kate Bishop’s file.”
A picture of Kate Bishop was on every monitor.
“She is a precious human who must be protected at all costs. If she is in danger, we will be there. Bring up Steve Rogers.”
A photo of Steve replaced Kate.
“Wanda considers him a good man, therefore he is. That is why we also need to study the next profile in detail. Bring up James Buchanan Barnes, aka Bucky Barnes, aka the Winter Solider.”
No one in the room moved. They were all aware of who the Winter Soldier was. He was brought to the Red Room to train them at times and some of the widows had been sent on missions with him. Though not a common occurrence, he was known and not fondly.
“Bucky Barnes has been mind controlled by HYDRA since the forties. He is a super soldier. He has been frozen for most of his life, only thawed out to complete missions and then refrozen, his mind wiped repeatedly. Steve Rogers encountered him in Washington a few years ago. They were best friends as children and served in the war together.
“Bucky Barnes is no longer under mind control. He has been actively hunting and killing HYDRA operatives. His location is unknown but if in our travels we encounter him, do not engage. Contact me or Wanda and we will give the information to Steve Rogers. For now that is enough. Disengage, find a room, find items that will be personal such as clothes, toothbrushes, shower towels and so forth. We will be here for at least six months, so we make the best of the situation. As spooky and poorly lit as this place is, it is our home now.
“After this, let us eat, relax and someone needs to go into the remains of Novi Grad with me to buy alcohol. Much alcohol. We also need many televisions so we can set up streaming accounts. Very important. Tomorrow we wake and begin work. For now, let us… unwind.”
Two months later, Coast of Tunisia
The doors to the closed down fishery building burst open while Red Widows entered from the roof by zip lines, firing handguns at targets, taking them down efficiently.
One tried to run out the back, only to be caught by red energy that pulled him back into the building and hovering in front of Wanda Maximoff.
Wanda had to Yelena’s displeasure gone back to her standard clothing of black pants and corset and the red jacket she had worn in the final battle against Ultron. She considered her outfit her mission clothes. She had been in the field for two weeks.
In the time she had not been in the field, The Red Widows had made no headway in taking out human trafficking rings or finding mind controlled black widows. They had encountered many paid thugs who were left behind but no heads of cells.
News of the Red Room’s demise must have spread through the operatives quickly. Most had disappeared with their assets. Those under deep cover with no handlers had also disappeared from the location they were posted at by Dreykov prior to his death.
They had made no strides in putting a dent into the Red Room’s pipeline and had yet to find a place suitable for a new base.
The man in Wanda’s grasp floated closer to her. Yelena began checking over the targets, checking the vitals so they could be questioned and ensuring they were disarmed.
“We know this is a drop off point for young girls to be shipped to the Red Room. Where are they being held now, and where is the drop off point for the ships transporting them?” Wanda asked.
The shaking man shuddered, and shook his head, speaking in a tongue Wanda did not understand. Frustrated and not wanting to ask one of her sisters if they knew the language, she dropped him to the ground and reached out her hand, tendrils of red energy flowing into his skull.
The man grabbed his head and screamed as she dug around.
Frustrated, she let loose a blast of energy that turned him to bone and made every man in the room feel fear overrunning the pain of their gunshots.
“He knew nothing.” Wanda said. “These men are only here for security to make sure the docks are clear, and the police are paid to stay away. The last transport was two nights ago, and he doesn’t know when the next will be. They are called twenty four hours before a meet.”
Yelena growled and shot the one on the ground in front of her in the head.
“They are taking the girls somewhere! Dreykov is dead, his seconds are dead! What are they doing with them if not selling them to the Red Room!?”
Wanda had no idea. It had been like this since they started. They knew the names of the men likely in control but could not find them. They didn’t have a spy network. They had dossiers and files from the Red Room that were quickly becoming outdated. Thus far, they had found leads through their own investigations online but when they attacked like tonight, the trail had already gone cold. The slavers were covering their tracks well.
Wanda knelt down next to one of the men who had been shot in the leg. She squeezed the bullet wound.
“Tell me, do you know if one of the men was Miles Teller? Did he give a name or did someone call him by that name?”
“I… I… don’t know! Are you going to burn me like him?!” he asked in English.
Wanda nodded. “Most likely. You are involved in the buying and selling of children. What did you think would happen? Did you imagine you would grow old, retire, die in your sleep surrounded by your great grandchildren?”
Yelena snorted. “He most likely did. They do not believe in karma.”
“Answer the question.” Wanda told him, squeezing his leg once more.
“No… yes! Miles… one of the guys said Miles was waiting.”
“Waiting where?”
“I don’t know! A tall blonde one, said Miles expected the delivery the next day. He had a new buyer and didn’t want to disappoint them.”
“Them?” Yelena asked.
“Yes! He said them, not him. I remember. I’m not supposed to listen to things like that, but I pay attention sometimes. The girls were being quiet. Most of them were drugged so it was an easy night. No crying, ya know?”
“Where are you from?” Yelena asked.
“All over.”
“Probably time to do your thing, no?” Yelena asked Wanda.
Wanda nodded but expected what they got was all they would have.
She walked around the room, invading each man’s mind, tearing out their lives and leaving them screaming incoherently on the ground, clawing at their faces.
“Nothing else. Miles was not here himself. Ten girls all ten or younger were placed on an ocean freighter. I have the ship registration, but it is no doubt fake.”
Yelena cursed. “Two nights ago means they could have landed in Greece, Malta, Spain, France, Italy, and already be back on the water under a different registration.”
“Can we hack into the security cameras at every possible dock?” Sasha asked.
The three looked to Maria in the back, one of their resident computer experts. She shrugged her shoulders.
“With our access, I doubt it. We would need a satellite, and a global system. We can barely track widows and the rings now using our Interpol crime statics source. We are having to break into a new firewall each time we try because they introduce new security measures.”
Yelena sighed.
“Kill them all. I’m tired of their screams.”
She shot the first one Wanda had ripped apart and several shots followed as widows ended the slaver’s lives.
“Small time.” Yelena complained.
Wanda watched one of the widows spray paint the black widow symbol in red on the wall. If they couldn’t catch them, they could run them to ground, letting local organized crime give them no harbor if it meant the Red Widows were coming. If nothing else. The red widows had gained a reputation across Europe for the brutal slayings of slave traders. Some were left insane, caught in a loop of their worst nightmares, letting the criminal underworld know Wanda Maximoff, the Witch was a part of them.
Twenty four hours later, the entire compound was sitting around the large television in the common area. Much work had been done between missions to improve the living conditions. Only widows over the age of sixteen were allowed on missions. The others alternated missions with some always staying back to defend the base. Oksana always stayed behind to manufacture antidotes and everyday drugs the girls may need like antibiotics.
Antonia also stayed back more times than not. She had brought the software and interface that allowed her to mimic other fighters methods. Oksana had not been happy, but Antonia insisted. After several tests that determined the interface in her head and the connection to the video was not shortening her life or doing any further damage, they had agreed to not argue with her over her insistence. They convinced her to stay pointing out that she was the best and if the base should come under attack, she could protect the girls.
They were seated on the three large sectional sofas or on pillows on the rug. They had found an American channel televising what they called reality television. This one was about screaming rich wives who hated each other.
When the show was ended, Yelena called for attention.
“A quick meeting, sisters. We have not had much success lately. We have bloodied our way through scum, but scum is never hard to find, easily replaced. What do we need to find our trapped widows and the men behind the pipeline? How can we monitor docks, roads? Money is not an issue. Do we buy stronger computers? Is that word? Stronger?”
Maria shook her head. “Like I said before, we need better infrastructure, data gathering, access to tools only federal agencies have. We cannot put our own satellite in orbit. We could buy faster computers with greater processing speed, but we would still be hacking to get what we need. Its inefficient and we take a chance of our location being tracked every time we do so, especially federal, or international law enforcement agencies. What we need just can’t be bought.”
Yelena sat back against the couch then looked at Wanda who seemed deep in thought but had no idea about computers. It was frustrating her as much as all of them. They were all deadly. She could do terrifying things to their enemies, yet they were making no headway.
Yelena thought about cancelling her trip to the United States three days from now. She had promised Kate that she would be at the archery tournament. The two talked almost everyday and even Kate noticed Yelena’s frustration lately.
If only Kate was the head of Bishop Security.
Yelena’s eyes widened as an idea came to her.
Wanda sensed her excitement. “What are you thinking?”
“What if we had corporate sponsorship? We could have access to a system already in place. We could have satellites, security cameras all over the world, real time updates on crimes around the world, algorithms to search for crime trends, facial recognition, all of it, already in place with no need to hack.”
Maria and a few of the others laughed, but Wanda didn’t.
“Why would she?” Wanda asked, and the rest quieted, realizing Yelena was not joking.
“Because she believes she owes us and because we can offer her something no one else can. A way out when needed.” Yelena said.
Wanda nodded.
Yelena smiled widely. “Looks like Wanda and I will be leaving for New York on the first flight out of Sokovia International. The rest of you, relax, unwind, train if you wish. When we come back, we will have what we need to find those we are looking for.”
Sasha raised her hand. “Who is in charge while you two are gone?”
Yelena and Wanda looked at each other. “We are not in charge of you. Everyone is in charge of yourselves. We are highly trained spies. We do not need bosses.”
Sasha cleared her throat. “Who gets to choose what we watch on the big TV?”
“I think I should choose.” Stannic, the youngest at just fourteen and a half said.
“Where do you get that idea? Do you see? Unless one of you controls this we will be watching that show about the mermaids around that island or nickelodeon. You say she is trained spy, but she throws fit when you are not around to get what she wants.” Sasha pointed out.
“All you want to watch is hospital shows, Sasha. You are no better than her.” Another widow countered. Soon an argument began in the room about who would decided what to watch and when.
“Stop!” Wanda said loudly, catching all their attention. “You each have televisions in your own rooms, yes?”
“Not as big as the big television here.”
Wanda took a breath. “Okay… the big TV is only used for video games during the day, tournament rules apply, and Antonia will decide what is on the big TV in the evening. We have done grocery runs so dinner should be easy…”
Naomi raised her hand. “There were no cookies last trip.”
“There will be no cookies until we start eating actual meals instead of eating cookie for all three meals. We still have missions, we still exercise, we still train. So why must we eat like children?”
“Your such a mom.” Yelena whispered. Wanda glared at her then at the group.
“Behave, all of you. Rest, relax. If we can make headway on our infrastructure and find a place to build a new base, we will take a vacation. Who wants to go to the beach? Maybe we can rent a private island. Wouldn’t that be nice?”
A chorus of agreements led to the group breaking up for the night, leaving Yelena and Wanda alone.
“Maybe we should just put Oksana in charge.” Wanda suggested.
“Oksana refuses.” Yelena told her. “She is afraid if she gives directions no matter how she words it, the widows will start seeing her as a handler and not a sister. We rescued them Wanda. No good deed goes unpunished.”
Wanda snorted. “Believe me, I know. I am roommates with my good deed and am about to travel to America to see her long distance girlfriend shoot arrows at target. The United States. The one country that wants to control or kill me more than any in the world, the home of Tony Stark. I am going there, for you to see his next door neighbor. I know how one can be punished, my good deed.”
“Kate said the hotdogs are very good.” Yelena reminded her.
Wanda admitted that did sound like a treat.
“We need sleep. We must be up early to pack and spend the whole day on a passenger airliner.” Wanda reminded her.
“I will make sure we go first class. Just try to dress the part. Remember, low profile.”
Wanda rolled her eyes, catching Yelena’s underlying meaning. No low cut tops, no long or short leather jackets, and no tight pants or jeans that are ripped in anyway.”
“I know how to maintain a low profile. Are you sure your plan will work?”
“Yes.” Yelena answered. “My plans always work.”
The next night New York City, Bishop Residence Penthouse, 480 Park Avenue
Eleanor Bishop arrived home rather late. Kate was spending the next two nights before her tournament with a teammate so she would have the evening to herself. She poured herself a drink, planning to relax in the living room. As soon as she was inside, she heard laughter coming from outside on the patio.
She panicked, moving to the coffee table to pull a gun but stopped when a voice whispered in her ear to relax.
She did as the quiet, seductive voice told her. Rather than reach for a gun, she took a bottle of bourbon and two extra glasses outside. When she reached the patio she was puzzled to see two women sitting at her table, looking across the way at Stark Tower. The red head was making an unkind gesture with her finger towards it.
They both looked at her.
“Hi!” the blonde said.
The redhead looked a bit sheepish. “Sorry for the suggestion but I thought it would be the easiest way to relax you. We didn’t want to come through the front where anyone might see us.”
Eleanor titled her head, trying to make sense of what the girl was saying.
“If you didn’t come in through the front… how did you break my security system?”
“We flew up here. I flew up here. She caught a ride. Please have a seat. Since you brought two empty glasses and a bottle I suppose I relaxed you more than I thought I would. We would love a drink.”
Eleanor sat across from them and poured two drinks, her relaxation over and anxiety returning.
“What… who are you?”
“I am Wanda Maximoff. This is Yelena Belova. Captain America said wanted to meet us a few months ago.”
Eleanor caught her breath. They were here.
“You saved my daughter.” she whispered.
“Yes.” Yelena confirmed.
“You are so young.” Eleanor said. “How old are you both?”
“I am sixteen, and Wanda is nineteen.”
Eleanor took them in, cataloguing details. Maximoff was in ripped jeans and a plain white t shirt with a red jacket over it. She wore a locket around her neck and had multiple rings on all but her thumbs. She wore dark makeup that highlighted her pale skin.
Yelena was not quite as dark. Her blonde hair and light makeup made her shine. She wore stonewashed jeans, a pink t shirt with some band name on it and her hair hung free with multiple smaller braids.
“Why are you here?”
“We promised Kate we would come see her compete. We learned there was a tournament in a few days and thought we would take in the city.”
“Kate isn’t here.”
“We know.” Yelena told her. “We have come to New York early to talk to you, Eleanor Bishop. We have a business proposition for you.”
Eleanor wasn’t sure what she was expecting but it wasn’t that.
“What sort of business proposition?”
“We want access to all of Bishops Security’s resources globally. We and a team of associates are hunting down and ending very bad men and need the proper equipment to do so more effectively.” Wanda said without hesitation.
“You want to use Bishop Security’s technology to help you hunt down and kill criminals? Do you know what would happen if it was found out that I was assisting a vigilante hit squad?”
Yelena shrugged. “We will give you a remote device that will link into our system. It is untraceable on both ends. Slip it into your servers, and if it ever comes up, you can claim we did it ourselves. You will not be left holding the bag.”
“No matter who takes the blame, it is a very big risk.” Eleanor pointed out. “I appreciate what you did for my daughter, but you are asking me to break several federal and international laws.”
“We said it was a proposition. We are not asking this for free.” Wanda told her.
“What could you offer that would make this a chance worth taking?”
Wanda’s hand lit up and a small ball of light bounced up and down in her palm. She twisted her fingers and Eleanor watched the beautiful glowing red lines dance across her hand and between her fingers impressed with its beauty.
“We have a team of twenty two of the deadliest women in the world.” Wanda said. “Kate competes in Europe often, yes? We would provide security for her and when you need security for her here that you feel your own people are not enough to handle, we send our best to keep her safe and eliminate whatever threat there is to her. You can also consider us an insurance policy. We can do something that you cannot.”
“That would be?”
Yelena answered, locking eyes with Eleanor, her tone no longer playful. The smile on her face disappeared and the change in demeanor took Eleanor by surprise.
“We can kill Fisk if he ever turns on you. If you ever want to get out, he will never let you. He will use Kate’s life to make you play his game. The only way to get rid of him is kill him. He thinks he is untouchable. We can touch anyone.”
“Do we have your attention?” Wanda asked, seeing they had gotten through and made the woman speechless.
Eleanor took that in, thousands of thoughts swirling. What did they know about her and Fisk, how did they know. The most prevalent was the simple fact that a team of assassins and Wanda Maximoff, considered by many politicians and law enforcement agencies to be the most powerful and dangerous woman in the world, would do what no Avenger could do. If Fisk ever turned on her she would have more powerful friends than his entire criminal empire. A partnership with a group of women like that, could go a long way to maintaining her and Kate’s safety.
“Ladies, you have my attention. Let’s talk business.”
Bella MacLeod's Twilight Fanfiction 
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