Bella MacLeod's Twilight Fanfiction

The Witch and the Widows

By BetterInTexas

Chapter 52:

Wanda sat across from the doctor waiting to hear the news. The three had spoken to the doctor about the events of the night before. Wanda had assured them once again that she had not been attacked and had spoken to them about not overreacting. Then Wanda had walked out to leave them alone with the doctor.

Unlike other times rather than going to the kitchen for coffee she texted Bucky and he brought her a cup. He had also volunteered to take the kids outside while she was with Zaru. The session the girls had with the doctor took over an hour and they looked tired when they walked out. They went with Bucky willingly and the promise of playing outside seemed to brighten their mood.

Now it was her turn to talk about her… the twins. She had a feeling this wouldn’t be the short twenty minute session it normally was.

“They had a rough night.”

Wanda almost rolled her eyes. “I hadn’t noticed.”

Imi smiled, appreciating her lighthearted sarcasm.

“I would like to say last night was a one off. Things will go back to normal in the house and they will begin to adapt once again. Tanya and Sierra seemed to have relaxed quite a bit. Nela is frightened and Nadeja is hiding her fright behind false anger and bravado. That isn’t the case. A dam burst open last night and the house will take time to heal. I listened to the meeting.”

Wanda nodded. “I could feel you outside. Steve was in the hangar listening with his super hearing. Bucky was with the girls. I have a feeling if he still had long hair he would have let them braid it. I never would have guessed he would be so good with them.”

Imi sighed. “Do you know why they feel you will protect them? Why they know how powerful you are? Why have they become so comfortable around Bucky and trust Yelena so easily and wanted two names like she had?”

Wanda nodded. “Bucky is gentle with them and Yelena is… Yelena. She is a born leader. As far as me, they can feel the comfort I give off because of my power.”

Imi nodded. “That’s what I thought. So I asked them why they felt you were in danger with all your power. They have said before to me and others that no one can hurt them when you are near and you punish people who hurt them.”

Wanda had heard them say that many times.

“They believe you punish people that hurt them. No one has tried to hurt them since they were rescued. Why do you think they believe you will punish their tormentors?”

Wanda shrugged. “You would have to ask them.”

“I did. I found out something interesting. When you, Bucky and Yelena entered the room they were held in they were asleep.”

“Yes, we had gassed the apartment complex before we entered. We didn’t want to risk a firefight with the girls caught in the crossfire.”

“Nadeja is tough. They used gas on the girls before to transport them. She developed a slight tolerance to it. It wasn’t enough to stay awake long but she saw enough. She saw you torturing the men who kept them captive.”

The blood drained from Wanda’s face.

“They were asleep.”

Imi nodded. “Most of the time. Nela never saw anything. Nadeja saw you as an avenging angel angry at the Peyton guy and hurting him, terrifying him. She saw Bucky beating one of the men. She saw Yelena kill another. She passed out again shortly after but that memory stuck with her. When she next woke she was confused, out of sorts and lashed out. But she felt your power then. Both of them felt your warmth and when you left for the states, they craved it. Nadeja thought you had left because she kicked you and wouldn’t let you heal her. She wanted you back. You three were her and her sister’s savior. You didn’t just kill or beat. You terrified the man and it gave her a savage sort of satisfaction. You were the first person to ever hurt someone who hurt them.”

Wanda began shaking. “I thought she was asleep.”

“Wanda, relax. You three gave those men what they deserved. If you had known they were awake the girls would have been taken out. I am just telling you this, so you understand how deep a bond she and Nela have with you. Yelena and Bucky hurt killed those men but you terrified them. You made them scream with a touch of your hand. You were the answer to their prayers. Nadeja is the protector. She is always the aggressor. When she perceives you to be in danger, she will strike out lethally. It is in her psychological make up. It will take years to remove it and her first instinct when someone she loves is in danger will probably always be to attack, especially in regard to you and her sister.”

Wanda shook her head. “What do I tell her? I can’t say good job, Nadeja, stick her eight times and go for a faster kill next time. I told her she wasn’t supposed to have weapons and she told me a butcher knife was a kitchen utensil. What do I say to that? Am I supposed to put her in a time out or something? I can’t do that! The last thing she needs is to be told she can’t leave her room. You said it yourself, she doesn’t think what she did was wrong. The thought hasn’t occurred to her! What am I supposed to do?!”

Imi leaned forward. “First of all, breathe. You are doing good. Hell, Wanda, you are doing an outstanding job. As horrible as it was for Nadeja to see what happened in that apartment, in a warped way it gave her a sense of security now. It has also allowed her to trust a man. She was leery of Bucky but remembered what he did and saw you liked him. Now she sees him as a protector as well. She also likes Everett Ross and thinks Dima is a funny man with a funny laugh. Just relax. I told you this would take years. Honestly it could take a lifetime. They aren’t the only ones who will need a lifetime of therapy.”

Wanda knew that. “Yes, Staci, Sierra, Tanya, probably Stannic…”

“Wanda over twenty of the widows have been meeting with me regularly. I spend most of my time sneaking into rooms all night so the others don’t know they are talking to me. Four more asked me last night after the meeting. All of them need help. Honestly, I expected them to avoid therapy at all costs when I arrived but they have been receptive. They are reaching out because they want help but don’t want anyone else to know. Nadeja and Nela will need help the rest of their lives. They would not be getting it if not for you.”

Wanda was shocked. She had no idea that many widows had been talking to Zaru.

“You saw what happened last night coming, didn’t you?”

Imi sighed. “I didn’t expect it to happen so soon or with a near murder but yes, I sensed a blow up was coming. You did what needed to be done last night. You became a leader. You gave direction. Direction is what is needed now.”

“You don’t understand. This is not so easy to do. Directions and rules are what got us into this mess. I let outsiders come in and change us.”

“Yes you did. You let them change you all. You didn’t change them, you let others. Last night you changed them yourself. You made a decision. No votes, no long discussions, just you telling them how it is going to be. You told them all to stay quiet and they did. They had been at each other’s throats but when you spoke, they didn’t say a word. Do you wonder why that is? Why they listen to you. You weren’t mind controlled. You didn’t grow up in the Red Room. You aren’t one of them.”

Wanda knew what she meant. It was something that had always been in her mind. They were her sisters and she felt bonded to them but she never forgot that as horrible as her life had been, she hadn’t shared their experiences.

“I know.” she told her, looking at the floor.

Imi understood what Wanda was thinking. “I don’t think you really do. You aren’t one of them and that is a good thing. The younger ones are upset with Yelena. They felt like she sold out to impress Eleanor or didn’t care as much about them as she did Natasha. The older ones supported Yelena’s desire to keep the younger ones out of harm’s way. It was a divide. There is one thing on which they are not divided. You. You are the one person they all agree on. The ones I have talked to all tell me the same thing. You are their hero, Wanda.”

Wanda shook her head. “I don’t want to be their hero or angel… I just want to be one of the girls. They are my family. I don’t want to be put on a pedestal.”

Imi shrugged. “I’m sorry, but what do you expect? When Aino is dying, you are there, bringing her back to life. When there is an A.I.M. base underground you rip the earth above them. When a ship splits in half you bring it back together and save hundreds of lives. You heal them, you comfort them, you erase their scars and you are not afraid to show yours inside and out. You never act better than them. You have demonstrated you are willing to die for them. You brought an entire damn city back to life! You made fresh water, electricity, food grow from the ground in seconds!

“Last week you projected yourself across the universe and destroyed a spaceship after trash talking an alien warlord. Wanda, the only thing every girl in this house agrees on is you. They never doubt your love or commitment. You and Bucky have a sort of romantic relationship but you don’t sleep together because you know girls like to sleep in your room to have relief from their nightmares. You always put them first even over your own wants. If anyone can enact change they will all accept it is you. Not Eleanor Bishop, not Natasha Romanoff and not even Yelena for that matter. You are the one person they all look up to and never doubt your loyalty to them.”

Wanda sat back in her chair and closed her eyes. “I don’t want that.”

Imi could understand. It was a tremendous amount of pressure to put on a person. “How often have you gotten what you wanted in life? I wanted to be the next Dr. Phil. You see how that has worked out for me. Yelena has to walk a fine line. If she begins giving orders she is afraid she will become a handler. Somehow these girls have gotten the idea that if someone gives orders outside an operation they are a handler. I hate that word. A handler and a leader are two different things. Last night not one of them thought of you as a handler. You showed you understood how they felt, you showed them both sides and then you made a decision. You are going to have to do more of that. Last night was a good start, but they will need more.”

“Like what?”

“Take this as an example. If they believe Eleanor Bishop or Natasha Romanoff do not want them to drink and are using Yelena as a mouthpiece, some may stop. They will resent being told what to do but some may stop drinking and others will do it because they don’t care or out of spite. If you tell them they should stop drinking they will do it to impress you. They want to do it because they want you to be happy with them. You make them want to be better.”

Wanda rubbed her forehead and scowled. “I am so tired of the drinking thing. Everytime I hear it all I want to do is drink!”

“That is only an example. I watched you on our girls day out in Sokovia.”

Wanda smirked. “Yes, I noticed. You weren’t as subtle as you think you are. Those are my streets. I don’t need powers to know when I am being watched.”

“A couple of boys tried to flirt with Staci and Aino and asked them if they wanted to get high. They knocked the boys unconscious in an alley and took their weed to give it a go. You found them, took it from them, threw it on the ground and stomped on it and told them to never touch it again.”

Wanda winced, remembering that. “I overreacted. One of the guys in the orphanage who used to… he used to rape… he smoked it all the time. I still remember that horrible smell on his breath when he was on top of me… I had a flashback. I didn’t want that stench over those two sweet… I overreacted. I shouldn’t have taken it from them and snapped.”

“You think you overreacted? Staci and Aino didn’t get angry or say they could do what they wanted. They apologized to you. They will never touch that again because they know you don’t want them to. They will never touch any drug because they know you don’t approve. They don’t consider you a handler. They consider you having their best interest at heart. That’s something none of these girls had until you came along. You are more than their hero. You are who they want to be. Unless most of the girls always wore leather jackets and pants before they met you. Face it, you are their role model.”

Wanda disagreed. “I am no role model.”

“Then why haven’t I seen one of the famous Wanda Maximoff outfits since the first time we met? The first time I met you, I saw Wanda Maximoff, bad ass European antihero, tight leather pants, black corset with cleavage on display, four earrings in each ear, so many necklaces, rings and bracelets, stiletto boots and that long red leather jacket. I was intimidated. You oozed danger. You were a dark, brooding, exotic woman with a look that dared you to pick a fight and told the world to go to hell with her eyes. Since that time all I see you wear are t shirts and old blue jeans. You hardly wear makeup. Where is Wanda Maximoff, the Scarlet Witch, bad ass street beauty with the smoldering sexuality and the dangerous aura?”

“I’m not dressing like that around the…”

Imi waited.

“Yes?”

“Around the twins.” Wanda admitted.

“Because you don’t want them to dress that way?”

“I dressed like I do for a reason. At least it started out as a reason, then it became a habit. If guys were looking at my breasts, they didn’t see the knife in my hand or Pietro swinging a pipe at them from behind. I didn’t always dress like that but I always showed as much skin as weather permitted. It drew predators in but also allowed Pietro to take them out with little opposition. He hated it but it was the way things were. It was the way the streets worked. The twins aren’t homeless and no one will hurt them or make them feel like they have to fight and kill to survive. Not as long as I am alive. So no, I don’t dress like that around them. Sierra and Tanya don’t need to dress like Sokovian street rats either.”

“No matter how you phrase it, you are being a role model. Only you can get away with that in this house. You are the only one who can set the tone, make the rules and there will be no discussion or animosity. You need to embrace that, not only with the twins but all of the girls.”

Wanda shook her head. “They have been told what to do all their lives. They weren’t even told. They were made to do things.”

Imi sighed and sat back. “One of the girls lovingly called you the Queen of Chaos. Chaos is cool. Chaos is powerful. This mansion doesn’t feel so big anymore though, does it? Chaos isn’t cool right now. All these personalities, new additions, new troubles, new stressors, is leading to a state of constant chaos. Chaos led to things like last night where Naomi was seconds away from death. If Naomi had hit Sonia, the youngest would have left no matter what you said. If Agatha had been away Naomi would have died. You cannot have this many people doing their own thing under one roof. Sonia and the youngest’s’ feelings were hurt and Naomi lost her temper. You were hurt as a result and by a stroke of luck, Naomi didn’t die. If Naomi loses her temper in a situation like that, how does she stay calm leading missions? You have to step up. You have to make rules and solve disputes and when things happen like last night you have to go to each person and discuss this with them.

Wanda wanted to argue. She really did. She didn’t want to admit that what Imi said made sense. She didn’t want to admit that she already knew this inside.

“Any idea where to start?”

“Go with your instincts. Don’t lose that fire you had last night. Bring Yelena back because these girls need her and her self esteem is at it’s lowest and you are the only one who can make her feel strong again. As far as the girls, keep being what they need. Don’t try to force Nadeja to apologize. She wouldn’t mean it regardless. Have conversations about how they respond to threats. We had a good one today. Tell them to do as you say, not as you do, as hypocritical as that sounds. You live in a violent world and are trying to keep them out of it while holding them close. Not easy. Explain that butcher knives are weapons as well as forks, spoons, pencils and anything else they have been trained to kill with, including fingers.”

Wanda nodded.

“Warn Bucky they may ask him to be their papa.”

Wanda’s eyes widened. “What?!”

Imi nodded. “Yes, they mentioned that to me. You see, they know you are not old enough to be their mama but they also know that Bucky is old enough to be their father. They have noticed the relationship between you two. The girls reason if Bucky is their papa then you will get married and they can call you mama.”

Wanda closed her eyes. “They told you this?”

“Yes, they have given quite a bit of thought to this. They are uneducated and their emotional development is at the level of an eight year old at most but they are very intelligent. It’s kind of a parent trap operation. Did you let Staci show them a movie about twins? It was mentioned.”

“What am I supposed to do?!”

Imi shrugged. “I don’t have all the answers for you. They want a mother and they have identified you as that person. You are the first person they have both felt genuine love for in their entire short lives. It isn’t fair to you. Nothing about your life or these girls lives are fair, but it’s the role they have put you in. You can either accept it or not. The choice is yours.”

Wanda shook her head and laughed. She had faced down all manner of evil but this was the one thing that had her frightened.

“Anything else?”

Imi nodded. “The kittens will be good. They will give the twins something to care for outside of themselves. Do not buy the cats from pet store or adopt from a pound. You and Bucky can do it and surprise them.”

Wanda raised an eyebrow but then quickly understood. The girls would not want to rescue two animals from cages without letting them all out. Seeing living creatures in cages was not what they needed now and could be a trigger to who knew what reaction.

Wanda stood and walked to the door but stopped and turned back to the doctor.

“You are already busy seeing girls all the time, aren’t you? Should I tell them to stop asking for your time so you can have a break?”

Imi shook her head. “This is my job. This is what I came here to do and I do not regret it. I truly believe I am right where I am meant to be. I have time for everyone in this house and will always be available. You aren’t wondering if I need a break. You asked for a different reason, right?”

Wanda smirked. “I thought I was the mind reader.”

Imi waited.

“There are things I don’t want to talk about. My brother… I do not want to talk about his death. I don’t want to talk about my parents death. It brings me too much pain. The less I think of it the better I am.”

“I doubt that but okay.”

“You must understand there are things I do not want to talk about. Maybe I do need to but I am not ready. I don’t know if I ever will be.”

Imi nodded. “Why don’t we do this. You come to my room after the twins go to sleep. We can sit and talk about whatever you want. You talk, I will listen and if you want to know my opinion or know what I am thinking then ask me. If not I will just shut up and listen. No pressure. You can talk about the weather if you want.”

Wanda gave that some thought. “I do that with Eleanor sometimes. Only she always gives her opinion.” she finished with a small laugh.

“Talking to me gives you something you won’t get from talking to Eleanor or Yelena. They know you. They have a history with you. You and Yelena are closer than any two people I could imagine being. I sense you have a somewhat maternal connection to Eleanor in some ways. I don’t know you, Wanda. I won’t judge you. I would like to get to know you but I will never judge you. Let’s start with one time. If you don’t like it, we never do it again. If you do, we try a second time and see where it goes from there.”

Wanda nodded. “I would like that. I will see you after I read to my girls. Thank you, Dr. Zaru. You are a good woman. I wish there were more people like you in this world.”

Wanda found the twins waiting in the hallway as usual. She didn’t need her powers to know they were more tense than usual. The hallways and rooms of the mansion weren’t full as they usually were. She thought most of the girls were still trying to recover from the blow up the night before.

She walked the girls to their room and asked them if they would be okay for a while. Instead of arguing or ignoring the question and following her, Najeda confirmed they would be. Wanda was a bit skeptical of her acquiescence but took it. She needed to find Yelena. The night before, after the meeting, Wanda had waited in Yelena’s room. After twenty minutes she searched for her presence and realized she was in her mama and papa’s room, fast asleep so Wanda left her be.

Wanda knocked on the door and a worried Anya opened it.

“Yelena left this morning. I don’t know where she is. She won’t answer her phone.”

Wanda reached out with her mind and found Yelena’s location. She was sitting by her favorite tree with Fanny.

“I know where she is. I will bring her back. What time is Oksana going to do the ultrasound?”

Anya shrugged. “She said whenever I want. I thought maybe we hold off. Things are tense and Yelena is so sad.”

Wanda disagreed. “That is why we need something to celebrate. This baby is important to us all, Anya. The girls need to remember we are a family. Your child will be an integral part of our family. He or she may not have a normal childhood but they will have a happy one where they never have to fight, will always be safe and never worry about money or love. He or she is going to have a cool older sister and a lot of other sisters as well. Set it up for an hour. The twins want to be there. I’ll get Yelena.”

Wanda found her where she expected, leaning back against the large tree. What she didn’t expect was the bottle in Yelena’s hand. Wanda didn’t recognize the brand or what type but it was obviously alcohol.

“Mind sharing?” Wanda asked. Yelena hadn’t heard her approach and jumped when the bottle was taken from her hand and flew to Wanda’s.

“What are you doing?!”

Wanda pulled the top off. “Having a drink. Since when do we not share? What is this anyway?” she asked, sniffing the bottle.

Yelena’s shoulders sagged. “It’s Boukha, from Wakanda. Thirty seven and a half percent alcohol and no odor. Give it back.”

Wanda shook her head. “I said we could share. Where did you get it from?”

“I took it from Ana’s room. She does poor job of pretending not to drink. She has many more. She will miss it but she won’t ask me if I took it.”

Wanda moved to drink but Yelena grabbed the bottle and ripped it from her hand. “What are you doing?! You work so hard and that’s it? You see me drink and you say screw it, I will too. You can’t!”

Wanda took the bottle back.

“I can do what I want. If you go down, I go down with you. Ride or die, Belova.”

Yelena and Wanda locked eyes, neither looking away. Fanny waited patiently, watching the two have a battle of wills.

“Fine! Keep it! You want to drink, you explain to your twin babies you got drunk because Yelena is a failure.”

Yelena sat took her place on the ground and leaned back. Fanny laid her head on Yelena’s lap and Wanda had a seat on her other side.

“I am failure. I let this happen. How did I fuck this up so bad, Wanda? Why am I so blind? I risked it all for Natasha. Why? Am I holding on to that fake childhood so much that I refused to let her go, no matter what it did to us? What is wrong with me?”

Wanda didn’t answer. Yelena didn’t need to feel judged and she didn’t need some platitude like nothing is wrong with you. She needed to get it out.

“You say she owes it to the girls to fight but I don’t see how she can stay here without causing trouble. After last night… when she leaves we will lose Stannic.”

“We lost Stannic long ago.” Wanda told her. “We thought Stannic needed sisters. What she needed was a mother none of us were prepared to be. Natasha stepped into that role. She became what Stannic needed. I told Natasha she owed it to the girls to fight but that decision is yours.”

Yelena sighed. “You hate her.”

“I love you more than I hate her. I wasn’t lying last night. If Ultron hadn’t gone nuts, I would have stayed by his side until the Avengers were discredited, insane and then dead. I respect Steve for standing up to Stark and I admire Clint’s attitude, his heroic nature, but I would have killed them all. My hate was so deep, I set Bruce Banner loose on a city to make the Avengers and the Hulk look out of control. I didn’t care how much damage he did or who or how many he killed. I purposely set a monster on a city. I did something horrible because of that hate inside me.”

“Why? I get why you hated Stark, but why the rest of them?”

Wanda huffed. “Why did I hate Stark’s boy band and his token female in tight black spandex selling t shirts, posters and lunchboxes, bringing destruction everywhere they went and calling themselves heroes? Let’s just call it guilt by association. They made me sick. As far as Nat, there are many reasons I hate her. Most of them have to do with you, the way she looked down on us and judged us when she arrived, the way she never thanked any of us for saving her ass, but instead began changing us. If we are being honest, every time she speaks I literally want to make her mouth disappear. But that’s me. When she joined, none of the girls liked her. A lot of them hated her. Now some like her. She is making progress. Maybe you just moved too fast. Maybe some of us will never like her no matter what she does. Sometimes it happens. You wanted to work her into being a leader but you can’t force this. She is a good tactical leader. As a leader of the house she is not so good. I should have seen this coming but I was too wrapped up in myself to care.”

“You did good.” Yelena told her. “You saved us from breaking up. Maybe Steve and Natasha can move to another city and work missions from there. They could be their own team. You are right, we have lost Stannic. I moved Nat in and we lost Stannic. I don’t know how to lead anymore. I don’t think I can keep us together. It is up to you now.”

Wanda bumped Yelena’s shoulder.

“I told you before that I had thought of suicide when I lived alone in the woods. I never told you I tried.”

Yelena raised an eyebrow. “When?”

“A couple weeks before I met you. I wasn’t even drunk. I hadn’t left the cabin in days, not even to eat. I didn’t see a point to any of it. I was destroying HYDRA bases but why? I wasn’t going to take the whole organization down myself. Truthfully, I was upset Van Strucker gave up so easily and yes our training was brutal but he did deliver the one thing he promised me. He lied about the nature of HYDRA but he did give me and Pietro the power to kill the Avengers. I knew they did horrible things like what they did to Bucky from being in Steve’s head, but I think I was really just unleashing my rage and they made a convenient target.

“I went into the remains of the city and found rope. I worked for hours until I made the perfect noose. I was too afraid of guns and I didn’t want to overdose but accidentally screw it up and live some half life. I didn’t even know where to find any poison so I decided to hang myself. I tied the rope to a branch next to my house, climbed my roof and fit it snuggly around my neck. I didn’t even think about it. I closed my eyes and jumped. I didn’t feel a thing. When I opened my eyes my body was glowing red and I was floating in the air. I couldn’t fall, I couldn’t control my power and make it stop. I couldn’t die. My magic wouldn’t let me.”

Yelena shuddered listening to Wanda’s retelling.

“I decided it would have to be a gun. I set myself up in that abandoned building in Germany waiting to be found. I would invade the assassin’s mind, find one more base, turn it into a fiery tribute to my existence then take one of the guns and blow my head off. I even spent hours contemplating if I should fire into the side of my head, under my chin or inside my mouth. As you know, I’m not schooled in the finer points of killing. I’m more of a rip apart and burn kind of girl.”

Tears fell from Yelena’s eyes.

“Then I found you. I healed you and watched you sleep. I knew I had to kill Dreykov before I could end my own life. I knew you would likely go to Natasha and I would be alone again. I would go back to doing what I did best. Killing. After him and the Red Room was gone, it would be the end of my story.

“I was surprised you wanted to stay with me. I expected everyday you would call Natasha and her Avengers to come get you but you never did. Saving you was the first good thing I had ever done in my life. Everything that has come from it all comes from you not leaving me. You carried me through this. When the world was dark and all the colors were black, you kept me going. You are the reason I am still alive.”

Yelena leaned her head on Wanda’s shoulder.

“Last night sucked.” Wanda admitted. “Did you really think we would never make mistakes? How many times did you pull me out of the fire? You are Yelena Belova. Every one of those girls looks up to you. They may not like Natasha, they may feel you put her above them but you will fix that. I believe that. I believe in you and always will. Look at the good we have accomplished. We aren’t going to let one incident keep us down.”

The blonde sighed. “Incident? Naomi almost died and I was so shocked I could only stand there. She was bleeding, you were unconscious on the ground, and I couldn’t move. I froze.”

“At least you didn’t get knocked out like I did.” Wanda pointed out. “If Naomi hadn’t lost her temper none of that would have happened. Sonia would have walked out and we could have talked about it. We are both going to talk to her about her temper. She will learn to control it before she leads any more teams or is considered a leader. I’d hate for my kids to have to deal with her again.”

Yelena snorted then began laughing.

“That sounds better.” Wanda told her.

“Your kids, huh?”

Wanda didn’t deny it. “They seem to have picked me whether I like it or not. I’m finding I don’t mind as much. But those other kids need us too. They all do. They need you, Yelena. They need you strong. So do your parents. They went through hell for fourteen years until you found them. You delivered them from that hell.”

Yelena stood up shakily. “I don’t know where to start.”

“Talk to the girls, individually. I will also. We both need to talk to them more. I can’t remember when I asked Bea how her day was, or complimented Rowan on her art. I don’t know what Sophie’s favorite color is or what kind of music she likes or if she has even listened to enough music to know what she likes. We are so used to seeing us all as one big group, we forget as leaders that they are individuals. Most of the girls are seeing Imi for therapy and I didn’t know. She probably knows more about their day to day than we do and we are the ones they look to for direction. We just need to remind each of them that we love them.”

Yelena wiped the tears from her cheeks. “I think maybe Natasha should go. I can’t let her lead anymore teams. I… if she goes that means Rogers goes and Bucky won’t have his friend. Stannic will leave with Natasha.”

Wanda shrugged. “I’ll back whatever decision you make. Just think about it for a little while. How drunk are you? Can you hold it together for us to find out the sex of the smallest Belova?”

Yelena sighed. “I haven’t drank. Fanny stares at me when I try and makes me feel guilty. I should get it back to Ana’s room before she notices it is gone.”

Wanda snapped her fingers and the bottle disappeared. “She will be okay with it gone. We probably need to talk to her.”

“Tell her not to drink?”

“No, to find out why she is. Something is wrong if she is hoarding that much alcohol. I know what it is like to drown pain in a bottle. If she is drinking because she just wants to, that is fine, but if she is hurting we need to know. We aren’t going to assume everything is fine with everyone just because it seems that way. We have this, Yelena. Me and you. Not Eleanor, not Natasha, Antonia, or Steve. Me and you. We are going to do what we started out doing. We are going to help them. For now, I want to know if you are having a little brother or a little sister. Think we can handle that?”

Yelena smiled for the first time that morning. “Yes, I would like that.”

An hour later the widows had gathered downstairs along with the other occupants of the house, except for Nat who was with Stannic in their room.

Oksana was running the ultrasound over Anya’s abdomen and then found the baby.

“Okay… are you sure you want to know?” Oksana asked her in a teasing tone.

“Yes!” Nela shouted, causing laughter.

Oksana grinned but turned her attention back to Anya and Dima.

“We want to know.” Dima assured her.

“You are having a boy.”

A round of applause and cheers ran through the underground bunker.

“A boy?” Nadeja asked dejectedly. “Can you try again?”

Dima ruffled the girls hair and looked to Wanda. “Yelena told me your father’s name was Erik.”

Wanda nodded, not sure why it mattered.

“Then look at this screen and meet Erik Belova.”

The emotions of the past few days caught up to her and tears flowed from her eyes. Dima wrapped her in his big arms.

“Don’t cry, Маленький красный ангел. You bring so much good to us and the world. Your papa raised a strong girl and we will raise a strong boy in his honor. Such strong big sisters and all these aunts, he will grow up tough, just like Wanda and Yelena.”

Wanda squeezed him harder. “Thank you.”

Yelena hugged her mother and father and stared at her little baby brother on the screen. “It’s a miracle, right?” she asked Wanda.

“It’s happened because you faced your fears, faced your past and brought happiness to your parents. Let’s celebrate. Everett and Agatha made many big cakes, some pink and some blue, so everybody to the dining area!”

The party slowly moved upstairs. The atmosphere was much lighter than it had been in the morning. It had been tense and the widows kept their distances from each other and didn’t spar together in training that morning. No one fired any firearms and the gym was mostly empty.

Bucky watched Wanda and Yelena hugging and taking print outs of the baby. Nadeja and Nela came to him and grabbed his hands.

“Are you going to eat cake or work on more bedrooms with Dima?” Nela asked.

“I’ll be up there. Let’s wait for Wanda and we can go together.”

The twins ran back to Wanda, subtly trying to pull her towards the elevator. They had only had cake in their life twice and both times were since they were rescued. Both found they liked it quite a bit.

“You are good with them.” Anastasia told him.

Bucky grinned. “They are good kids, protective, strong, and loving. They may be confused about a lot in life but they are doing good. They can still love and that is the most important thing. Everything else can be learned.”

Anastasia grinned. “Speaking of love, can I ask you a question?”

“Go for it.”

“What is it like loving someone but not knowing if she really loves you in return? Does it bother you or do you just push it from your mind?”

Bucky was shocked at the question but hid it well, not showing any reaction. “Why would I think Wanda doesn’t love me?”

Anastasia shrugged. “I guess if it were me, I would always be bothered by it. Think about it. She does a favor for you. She saves your life and then goes into your head to free you from HYDRA’s triggers. But something happens. She got lost in your mind and she brought you into hers. That is what I heard happened. It was an accident. She never meant to let you into her head or to see her life. Is that true?”

Bucky nodded.

“Then how do you know what she is feeling isn’t some accident or residual effect of what she did for you? She put herself out there to do you a favor and then she is suddenly in love with you. That doesn’t seem weird to you. How do you know she really loves you and it isn’t an accident or maybe you did something while in her head without realizing it? It really doesn’t bother you?”

Bucky was silent, digesting her words.

Anastasia sighed then smiled. “I’m sorry Bucky. My mind goes to crazy places. I was just curious how you dealt with it. Whatever caused her feelings for you is none of my business. I’m sure if you thought she had no choice in the matter and you were taking advantage of her you would leave. Forget I asked. I would appreciate it if you wouldn’t tell Wanda about this. It would be embarrassing for me. I just worry about her.”

Anastasia walked off, leaving Bucky alone. He sighed and his stoic face fell.

Steve had been watching and listening to Wanda from a distance. When he turned Bucky’s way he saw Anatasia walk away. Bucky looked pained and Steve had missed what was said.

“What was that about?” Steve asked, walking up to him.

Bucky shook his head. “Nothing important.”

“Bucky.”

“Steve. I said it is nothing important. Worry about Nat. You should be with her now.”

“She wanted to know the sex of the baby but didn’t think it would be best for her to leave her room right now. You sure you don’t want to talk about it?”

Bucky smiled and patted him on the shoulder. “I’m good, pal. She just had a question. Sometimes people come to me for my wisdom. It comes with being an old man.”

He wasn’t going to tell Steve what she said. He wasn’t going to tell Steve or anybody what she didn’t say. Anastasia was in love with Wanda. Wanda was never going to return that love in a romantic fashion and Anastasia knew it.

It all made sense to him now. Yelena hadn’t been the only one who noticed Ana drinking most of the time. He paid close attention to the girls. He knew who was in more pain than usual from day to day. He listened to their cries at night, not just the screams but the sniffles, the quiet tears and the ones who couldn’t sleep and paced their rooms every night.

He had no idea what to do to help her. He wasn’t the one to but who could? If he told anyone she would be embarrassed and he didn’t want that to happen to her. The poor kid was apparently going through enough.

Steve cleared his throat. “Last night… Wanda said some things about the Avengers and… has she ever made you think she… hates me?”

Bucky shook his head. “Wanda likes you, pal. If she didn’t, you wouldn’t be here.”

“Wanda hates Nat and she is here.”

Bucky laughed. “Good point. She has never told me she hated you. She wasn’t crazy when you criticized her handling of the C.I.A and the United States and to be honest, I wasn’t either. You need to stop seeing the world through red, white and blue lenses. This isn’t the forties anymore. The good guys and bad guys aren’t so clear cut anymore.

“Last night was a messed up night and some serious emotional stuff was being thrown around. That’s why I stayed with the children upstairs. I wouldn’t pay much mind to what was said. You know Wanda can be fiery at times. If you are that concerned, why don’t you just ask her?”

Steve looked her way and shook his head. “Maybe another time. I don’t think she would be happy to know I was listening in to a widows meeting.”

“You think she doesn’t know?” Bucky asked humorously.

“I’m going to go check on Nat and Stannic and you go stuff your face with your kids. Don’t forget we have insulation to install this afternoon.”

“I’ll be there.”

After the cake, Wanda and the twins retreated to her bedroom where she hoped they would take naps so she could talk to some of the girls.

Stannic was waiting at her bedroom door.

“Can we talk?”

Wanda nodded. “Go lay down girls. If you lay in your own beds and take a nap we can stay up late and Staci and I can take you into the Little Mermaid hex.”

The girls ran excitedly into the room.

“Want to go to your room?” Wanda asked her.

Wanda followed Stannic into her bedroom. It had no bed but many shelves and collectible cases filled with dolls or what Stannic called action figures. Stannic sat on a pillow on the floor in front of the television and Wanda sat next to her on a similar pillow.

“Nat talked a couple weeks ago about taking me to Barton’s farm for a few days, maybe a week or two. I would like to go.”

Wanda was surprised by the request. “You don’t need my permission.”

Stannic shrugged. “You did kind of put a spell on Nat that will cause her extreme pain if she walks out of the house. Do you think you could remove that?”

Wanda almost laughed but held it together, knowing nothing about this situation was funny to Stannic. “I just told her that. There is no spell or curse. Are you… are you coming back?”

Stannic shrugged. “I guess it depends on what Nat wants to do.”

“I understand.” Wanda told her.

“They didn’t even ask me!” Stannic snapped.

Wanda’s eyes widened. “What? Who?”

“The girls! The ones left behind. I wanted to fight. I didn’t like being sidelined but they didn’t even ask me to leave with them. Nobody said a word to me! I thought they were my sisters!”

Wanda took a breath.

“Would you have gone with them, even knowing they didn’t want Nat around them?”

Stannic was silent.

“They could have at least asked me.” she finally said.

Wanda nodded. “I can understand your point of view. I would be hurt too. Try to understand their point of view. They know how close you are to Nat. They wouldn’t want to take that away and Nat has a tendency to involve herself in things. If they wanted to make plans before the others knew about it, they would have thought you would tell Nat and she would have told Yelena. Were they wrong? Would you have kept this from Nat?”

Stannic sighed.

“I guess not. When did it become us and them in this house? Let me guess. When Nat showed up. Why can’t they just accept her like…”

Wanda knew what she meant. “Like you did, like Ava did and some of the others? You know why. It wasn’t just Nat. It was Eleanor, and to a lesser degree Steve. Do you know why Dima, Anya, Agatha and Bucky were accepted so easily?”

“Because they weren’t Avengers?”

Wanda chuckled. “No, because they didn’t come in, take a look at us and try to change us. Yelena’s dad never told her to stop drinking. He just warned her about alcoholism running in the family. He gave her information and she made her own decision, not to make him happy but for herself. Bucky never said a word. He stayed out of our business. He stayed out of missions until he was invited in. He took the lead in Rwanda because we asked him to. He knew this was our house and he was a guest. He was asked to help Dima and did so without complaint. He has even become a very good carpenter. Bucky didn’t try to change us. Nat made a poor choice and though you all respect Eleanor, you do not see her as one of you. You see her as a partner but not the parent she wanted to be to all of you. The situation wasn’t handled well by anyone and you have been caught in the crossfire. I am sorry. It isn’t fair to you.”

Wanda sighed. “When they had that meeting, I should have put a stop to it instead of just losing my temper. Yelena wanted to make Kate’s mom and her own parents happy. She wanted to show Natasha she could be a leader. In doing so she allowed herself to be led. We had our problems. We did drink too much, we probably shouldn’t have let anyone but me and Yelena torture enemies. But we should have worked our problems out on our own. Neither I nor Yelena stepped up on our own before. After that meeting, I was furious and because of Yelena’s relationship with Kate and Nat, she was… what do you girls call it?”

“Compromised. No one knew if what she was saying was from her mouth or Eleanor’s or Nat’s mouths. You were closer to Eleanor but everybody knew you weren’t happy and were just going along to make Yelena happy. I think we were all waiting until you had enough and kicked them out. I didn’t want Nat to go but I thought everyday would be the day you had enough and told her to leave.”

Wanda was surprised at how much Stannic understood though she shouldn’t have been. No matter her feelings on Natasha Romanoff, Wanda could admit she was good for Stannic and Stannic was a smart girl who held on to her individuality no matter what the others thought.

“I haven’t told you how proud I have been of you. You comforted the young girls, shared your clothes and stayed by them. The hot headed loose cannon I first met has grown up quickly. You have done well. I want you to know if Nat has to leave or wants to leave, you have choices. If you wish to go with her no one will judge you for it. You will always be part of us and you can come back anytime. I hope you stay but I understand if you feel you must go.”

“You are going to make her leave, aren’t you?” Stannic asked quietly.

Wanda shook her head. “That is not my decision. That is Yelena’s call. She will talk to the girls. We both will. This has to be fixed. As far as going to Barton’s farm, that is your choice. That is what we fight for every day, isn’t it? Choice? The right all of you have to make decisions for yourself with no one else telling you what is right or wrong for you. Take one of the Reapers. Just promise to bring it back. I have a feeling we will need it and more in the fights that are coming.”

Stannic nodded and hugged Wanda.

“Do you think you will ever like her?”

Wanda didn’t want to tell her it was very doubtful. “Stannic… I don’t know. I am sure she isn’t my biggest fan either. I did some bad things to her when we first met. I manipulated her mind, caused her to see her worst nightmare. I did some bad things to all of them. I doubt they are my biggest fans. Barton felt sorry for me and Steve wanted to make me into an all American superhero and I didn’t want either. Vision became obsessed with me. I kind of got that feeling from Ultron too. I must be some kind of fetish for artificial intelligences powered by Infinity Stones. I never would have guessed cleavage was the way to seduce rogue vibranium A.I.s.”

Stannic began laughing for the first time since the conversation started. The two stood and walked to the door.

“Take some time, Stannic. You are young and you have plenty of it. Nothing you do is irreversible. The choices in your life will always be yours. You have had to grow up quickly. You know what is right and what is wrong. I know you will make the best choices for yourself.”

When Wanda opened Stannic’s door, the twins ran away quickly. When Wanda reached their room, Nadeja almost fell from trying to jump to the top bunk. She nevertheless persevered when Nela held her foot as Nadeja lifted herself up before ducking under her own covers. Wanda watched them poorly pretend to be asleep.

She sat on the window seat and looked out at the mountains surrounding their home. They looked as if they provided a natural protective barrier to the outside world but Wanda knew better. The world was always a danger no matter where they were but the biggest danger came from within their own walls and their own hearts and souls. These were still the traumatized young girls living in what amounted to a very fancy group home. Wanda had expected more widows by this time but in a way was glad there weren’t. The turmoil inside the house needed to be settled before more came into their fold. That meant it needed to be settled quickly because there were more widows in the world under the control of Red Room remnants or other organizations they were sold to.

“Wanda?” Nela called out.

“Yes Angel?”

“What is a fetish?”

Wanda closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead.

“It is a word little girls hear when they stand by doors and eavesdrop into conversation that isn’t their business. I don’t suppose you two want to see what is under the sea or hang with Sebastion tonight?”

“We do!” Nadeja assured her. “Nela is looking forward to it.”

“Just Nela, huh?”

“She likes cartoons.”

“Staci said they are not cartoons. They are animated movies.” Nela countered. “And you like them too.” she finished quietly.

“Take naps and we still might spend a night under the sea. I need to go next door to speak to Yelena. We have some people to visit and you won’t feel my power for a while. This won’t bother you because you will be taking a nap.”

“Bucky said we would be on a sugar high the rest of the day.” Nadeja told her. “Can we sleep with sugar high?”

Wanda groaned, not having though about that.

“If you can’t sleep, lay quietly and thing of beautiful things in the forest. I want to hear what you have thought of when I return, okay?”

“Yes mama.” Nadeja grumbled.

Wanda stiffened at the word then forced herself to relax.

“Sorry.” Nadeja said, realizing her mistake.

“Don’t be, Angel. I will be back.”

Wanda entered Yelena’s room as Naomi was walking out. She stopped when she saw Wanda.

“I’m sorry, Wanda.” the girl told her.

Wanda hugged her. “Its not the first time I have been hit in the jaw. I should have protected myself better. I doubt Thanos is going to pull his punches.”

“It was my fault. I lost my temper, grabbed Sonia and tried to hit her.”

“And you got stabbed seven or eight times. I doubt it will ever happen again. We all learned lessons. Its time to move on. Maybe you should apologize to Sonia though. I think you two need to talk. We can’t have this divide in the family.”

Naomi nodded and smiled. “I was on my way to her now.”

Wanda closed the door behind Yelena and changed into her Scarlet Witch garb in a second.

Yelena rolled her eyes. “Show off. Always flexing.”

“Are you sure you are ready for this?”

“Are you sure you can do this?” Yelena asked in return.

“Ninety percent sure. More like a strong eighty percent.”

Yelena raised an eyebrow, not impressed.

“I’ve practiced this with Agatha. Since I brought you to watch that planet be destroyed, I felt your soul. Just try to relax and let me take control.”

“Ugh. Relax she says. Let me take control. It sounds like you are seducing me. I said almost the same thing to my Kate…”

“Enough! I don’t want to hear about that. You called Sable, T’Challa and Shuri. They will be there?”

“Yes. Couldn’t we find google and email others?”

Wanda shrugged. “I suppose but this is much more fun and I want to look them in the eyes. I can do this myself.”

Yelena took her hand and they both lay down next to each other.

“Take me for a ride, my witch.”

New York City

Danny Rand had suffered another day of boredom. Since he had decided to take the helm of his family company, he realized quickly it was not fun nor was he making the same difference he thought he would make during the day that he was at night. Night was falling, he would soon be home and him and Colleen Wing would go out to protect their city. Tonight’s plans involved tracking possible Fisk locations and watching the beginning of construction of the new Midland Circle building to ascertain it’s secretive new owners.

He reached home as Colleen was bringing out dinner.

“Good day at the office, honey?” she asked sarcastically. “I have been cleaning and preparing dinner for my man when he gets home from a long day at the office like a good housewife should.”

Danny rolled his eyes. “Yeah, right. Took you a long time to pour water in the noodles and microwave them, right?”

“No, I have spent most of my day hitting dead ends on the new owners of Midland Circle land. If the Hand survived we have to know and cut it off before it thrives again. Did you have any luck?’

Danny shook his head. “I have a team of real estate lawyers looking into it but nothing. Matt is investigating City Hall permits office and that’s a dead end. The whole thing is suspect. How the hell does building begin over a confirmed sinkhole in New York and no one notices and not even the police question it? We need to go in.”

“The hole has been covered for years.” Colleen reminded him.

“Then we need to buy the buildings near the place and tunnel to the bottom. Count skeletons, see if the wall is still intact. We have to do something.”

“Hello Danny and Colleen.”

Colleen stepped to the corner and threw a katana at the sound of the female voice. It flew through her and struck the wall.

“I told you no likes to be snuck up on. You should use your power to knock.” A Russian accented female voice told her.

“This is so much more fun. Danny Rand, Colleen Wing. My name is Wanda Maximoff and this is Yelena Belova.”

Danny stood, his fist glowing.

“I know who you are. Some say you are heroes. Some say you are monsters.”

“And what do you say?” Wanda asked.

“I… don’t know. Jessica Jones and Matt Murdoch say you are honorable and heroes even if Matt does not agree with your methods. I trust them.”

“Then put your fist out, glow bug.” Yelena told him. “Write down this address in Switzerland. Give your friends a ride. It is a neutral site where many other will meet. This world will need all the heroes it can find soon. You want to help save the universe, be there.”

“The universe?” Colleen asked. “How do we know this isn’t a trap?”

“Why would I want to trap you?” Wanda asked. “If I wanted you dead you couldn’t stop me. There is one person in this universe who can. It was his alien army that was unleashed on New York City. He has many more and he is coming. We will have one chance to stop him when he arrives. Are you in?”

Rand looked at Colleen who nodded. “Give us the address.”

Alias Investigations

Jessica Jones was halfway through a bottle while reading a case file when she felt she was not alone.

She looked up quickly and saw Wanda Maximoff dressed as she had last seen her and Yelena Belova in a much more advanced suit than she lost saw her in.

“If you girls are here this can’t be good.”

“Understatement of the century.” Wanda told her. “We need you in Switzerland in two days. Danny Rand will give you a lift.”

“What is it this time? Super soldiers, Stark killer robots, ninja zombies or just run of the mill ninjas?”

“Aliens.” Yelena told her. “We would appreciate it if you would bring your lawyer and the one with unbreakable skin.”

Jessica saluted them with her bottle. “You bitches are never dull. See you in Switzerland.”

Stark Tower

Tony Stark and Pepper were in the gym exercising as part of their renewed commitment to their health. Stark did his best to not be surprised when the image of Wanda and Yelena appeared before him.

“What the hell?!”

Pepper was not as calm.

“Is it time? Is he here?” Tony asked.

Yelena shook her head. “No but we know he is gathering the Infinity Stones. He has already ravaged one planet to retrieve one. He will wait until he has three more before he attempts to take these. The Infinity Stones call out to Wanda when he nears them. She will know when he is ready to attack. Switzerland in two days. Write down these coordinates.”

“You could have emailed me.”

“And given you a chance to track our location?” Wanda asked. “No thanks. Bring your spider kid.”

Tony shook his head. “Is that really necessary? He still has a lot to learn. I’ve been thinking of ways to cut into the Chitauri life support system and hack their motherships.”

“The Chitauri are not the only problem. He has hundreds of thousands of almost mindless monsters that only follow him. Large space dogs, humanoid beasts and enhanced aliens all killing at his word. This isn’t a fight. This is war. Prepare Spider Boy quickly. We have girls younger than him prepared to fight. We may have weeks or years but we must be ready.”

Tony nodded. “We will be. The Airforce has been bugging me about building a new suit for Rhodey. I told them no. I have no plans to give them any weapons and Rhodey and I aren’t on the best of terms. Should I build one for him? Do we need him?”

Yelena wasn’t certain. “We need everyone who can fight enhanced aliens. We don’t need the military getting in the way, firing ineffective nuclear bombs on top of us as we fight. Thanos won’t be caught by surprise again. If Rhodes can keep his mouth shut and not report this to his superiors, let him in. If you don’t trust him, don’t tell him. We don’t need to kill hundreds of thousands. We just need to keep them away from Wanda and Dr. Strange until they can kill Thanos.”

“Dr who?”

Wanda smiled. “Stephen Strange. I think the two of you will love each other.”

China, Ten Rings Compound

“Hello Xu Wenwu.” Yelena greeted the man as he sat at his desk in his study.

“Yelena. You must be the lovely Wanda Maximoff. I would offer you a seat but I sense you are astral projecting. If you have gone through the trouble, something tells me this isn’t a social call.”

Yelena nodded. “We need your help, Wenwu. The entire universe does. We need the power of the master of the ten rings. An enemy is coming from beyond the stars. He seeks the Infinity Stones. Have you heard of them?”

He nodded, becoming very serious. “I know the Ancient One had one. I assume it is in the care of the current Sorcerer Supreme. There is likely another that was carried by the Vision. I understand it was taken to Wakanda.”

“You are well informed.” Wanda told him. “An alien warlord named Thanos is collecting the other four in the universe, then he will come to Earth for ours. He plans to use all six to wipe out half the life in the universe. Perhaps all life. He has already destroyed one planet to take a stone. We aren’t sure when he is coming here but he will ravage this Earth to take the Sorcerer Supreme’s stone and the one in Wakanda. We wish to meet with all who have the power to oppose his army in two days’ time in Switzerland at a neutral location. We hope you can join us.”

“I suppose we will be needed to keep this army at bay while the Scarlet Witch and the Sorcerer Supreme battle this warlord and his four Infinity Stones.” Wenwu reasoned then smiled. “It has been many years since I fought a proper war. It will be interesting to fight one not for my own glory but for the planet. I look forward to fighting by your sides. I will be there. Give me the coordinates. I’ll also make sure Mattias behaves.”

Yelena and Wanda continued to astral project around the world. They spoke to Sam Wilson in Louisiana, and a physicist named Hank Pym and his daughter Hope in San Francisco.

In New Orleans they introduced themselves to Tammy Bowen and Tyrone Johnson. Wanda and Agatha’s spell had pointed them to these kids of extraordinary power who were just beginning to learn control.

Their final stop was a surprise Yelena and Wanda had kept to themselves. It was a secluded farmhouse. Inside were the long believed dead Phil Coulson and the woman they came to speak to, Daisy Johnson.

“Oh shit.” Coulson mumbled when he saw the two women in the kitchen where he had been baking bread.

“We have been called worse. You may call me Yelena and this is Wanda Maximoff.”

“I know who you are. Why are you here?”

“Congratulations. I hear the government is considering making S.H.I.E.L.D an officially sanctioned organization again.” Wanda told him.

Phil stepped back. “I can imagine that doesn’t make you happy. If you plan to kill me please get on with it. I would prefer a quick death to being turned into a drooling mess like you did to the former C.I.A. director.”

At that time, a woman ran into the room with her hand in front of her. Vibrations tore through the air, going through Maximoff and Yelena and striking the kitchen wall, blowing it apart.

Daisy looked at them with wide eyes.

“That usually works.” she mumbled.

“It would have hurt if our bodies were here!” Yelena shouted. “Irrational American! We have fifteen year olds who have more discipline and skill with no fancy power!”

Wanda shook her head.

“We haven’t come to kill you or drive you insane Agent Coulson. We have come to ask you and Miss Johnson to join us and many others in Switzerland in two days’ time. A war is coming soon and the Universe is at stake. We need to be prepared. Daisy, we could use your power. Coulson, we understand you have connections to individuals S.H.I.E.L.D. and S.W.O.R.D. call Inhumans who trust you and not the government. We need all the power we can gather to fight this invader and his army. We can’t trust the militaries of the world not to panic. It must be us.”

“Panic?” Daisy asked. “Panic like they did when they were attacked by you two and the Winter Soldier?”

“No I mean panic like the World Security Council did when they launched a nuclear missile at New York City before determining if the Avengers and the National Guard had a chance.” Wanda told her. “You may not like us or our methods, but this is bigger than personal feelings. We all have a personal stake in keeping this planet whole and all life in the universe safe. I am not exaggerating when I say the lives of trillions of sentient beings relies on us stopping him.” Wanda told them both.

She raised her hand and the wall that had been destroyed came back together as if had never been touched. She burned the coordinates onto the wood.

“Come or don’t come. The choice is ours.” Yelena told them. “But if you are the people Agent Ross believes you to be, you will be there.”

Yelena and Wanda gasped and sat up after returning to their bodies. The room was gathered with widows.

Agatha, Nadeja and Nela were next to Wanda.

“You said a few minutes.” Nadeja reminded her. “That was last night. Bucky had to read to us. You didn’t take us into Little Mermaid hex. We have been waiting all night and slept on floor in sleeping bags. Nela tried to feed you breakfast.”

Wanda wiped her lips and found crusted oatmeal.

“Bucky told us to stop and said it might not be a good idea.” Nadeja explained. “Today we go to Paris. They pick up weapons but we buy kittens.”

“You promised.” Nela reminded her.

Wanda groaned, stiff from laying flat on her back on the floor all night. She hadn’t expected it to take so long.

Bucky handed them two cups of coffee.

“How did it go?”

Wanda grinned. “I think we have an army.”