Bella MacLeod's Twilight Fanfiction

The Witch and the Widows

By BetterInTexas

Chapter 55:

Wanda and Yelena stepped into the diner across the street, keeping their eyes on the woman in question. She was a beautiful, raven haired woman who appeared to be in her late twenties. She was dressed down and wore minimal make up. She had on a black denim jacket over a Rolling Stones t shirt and stone washed jeans over combat boots similar to Wanda’s. The sleeves of her jacket were baggy and it wasn’t hard to guess why.

Yelena and Wanda slid into the booth directly across from her.

“Gabrielle Dunham.” Yelena greeted her.

“The girls call me Gabby.” she told them with a smile that hoped to convey she was at ease.

“Gabby. I like that.” Wanda said. “I like it a lot more than the widow bites on your wrists.”

“Or the handgun in the right shoulder holster.” Yelena added. “I have a suspicion the left boot under the table has a retractable blade. You said you were unarmed. You lied.”

Gabby nodded. “I had planned to be, but the girls refused to allow me to come alone unless I was lightly armed. I wasn’t sure if I would be dealing with you two or some of your more volatile members. For instance, I had no desire to meet with Winter Soldier or Romanoff if they received the message and elected not to tell you. Barnes and Romanoff are with you, right? I know they left with you in Germany and I made a friend in UNICEF who said Captain America and the Black Widow were along for that small war as well as Wakandans. If you don’t want to speak to me I understand. I can leave and we can meet again after I have disarmed myself. I doubt you are worried about my small array. How many guns do you have on me now?”

Yelena snorted. “Beside the one I have aimed at your gut at the moment? Enough. See the drunk middle aged floozy at the bar?”

Gabby nodded and sighed. “She has been hard to miss. I didn’t know American housewives came to Novi Grad to pick up bartenders.”

Wanda smirked. “She is a three hundred and seventy seven year old witch named Agatha Harkness who can break a blood vessel in your brain with a blink of her eye or a wiggle of her nose. You know what I am capable of. You brought your girls anyway. You aren’t off to a very honest start, Gabrielle.”

Gabby frowned and looked towards Agatha with a new perspective. Agatha smiled and waved her fingers at the black widow. “The girls are back in the safe house.” she argued.

“Even the blonde with short, spiky hair and purple tips, wearing black spike stud earrings and an eyebrow piercing four tables behind you?” Yelena asked. “Sokovian street kids are big on jewelry but not so much on body piercing. Too much chance of infection and no doctors or medicine to treat it.”

Gabby groaned and rubbed her forehead then slowly turned around.

“Cin! I told you to stay behind!”

The girl met her eyes and shrugged uncaringly, then went back to looking out the window as if bored.

“Cindy I am guessing?” Wanda asked.

Gabby rolled her eyes. “She likes Cin. She says she loves to commit it. She is full of it. She is a sweet kid, even if she refuses to admit it to anyone.”

Yelena wasn’t amused by the girl or her disregard for orders but could appreciate her loyalty.

“What of the Chinese girl my sniper on the street across the building found perched in the position she wanted. What is her name?” Yelena asked.

“Shit! Damn hardheaded, brats! They say they will follow my lead and then do whatever the hell they want!” Gabby whispered angrily. “Her name is Huan. If she is out there, two more are as well. I hope one stayed with Claudia.”

Yelena nodded, tapping on her earpiece. “Short redhead across the street and long haired redhead on the roof of diner.”

Gabby groaned. “Iris and Penny.”

“Are they secure?” Yelena asked into her com.

“Please don’t hurt them. They have good intentions. They were all field agents though. They haven’t exactly gelled as a combat unit. None of them were on strike teams and I was always a solo act. I was brought in to supervise them while they were controlled by Hydra on individual assignments. I was supposed to make them a strike team but luckily it never got that far and I stopped their training when they were free of Hydra.”

“I make it a point to never use my powers on people that aren’t an enemy without their permission.” Wanda told her. “I’m reading your mind. I won’t invade your every thought but I have to know you are legitimate and sincere.”

Gabby was surprised and anxious. “It’s true? You can read minds? I thought maybe you just drove people insane… is this going to drive me insane?”

Wanda shook her head. “No. I would recommend you relax and not resist. I won’t go deep. You shouldn’t feel a thing. I just have to know if you are being honest.”

Wanda’s eyes glowed slightly red and Gabby stiffened then forced herself to relax.

After a minute she let out a breath and Wanda’s eyes returned to normal.

“I didn’t go deeply. I would have to dig and it would be unpleasant. Her thoughts are well concealed but she is legit. There is no deception I can pick up.”

Yelena shrugged. “Sometimes you are shit at reading people, especially a spy trained to beat a lie detector and convince herself of her own lies over and over so she can’t break. I spoke to Oksana. She said she didn’t know you well but always thought of you as a Dreykov loyalist.” she told Gabby.

“We all were. We weren’t given a choice. I could say the same of her and Romanoff.” Gabby reminded her. “Besides, by the time I realized that maybe I did have a place in the world and Dreykov and Madame B lied it was too late. I could have defected like Romanoff. Natasha had been gone for two years already. I needed an escape plan that didn’t involve SHIELD, so it took me longer. Then, I saw something that changed everything. I saw something that made it impossible for me to leave.”

Yelena and Wanda waited.

“A mind controlled widow. I was told she would be my partner. It took me a moment to realize that she wasn’t following my orders because she was well trained. Her eyes were dull and she did as I told her without hesitation. We got into hot water and had to make an improvised escape. She broke her fibula after we jumped a wall. I helped her, carried her but was told to leave her behind by my handler. I refused but the girl stepped away from me on a broken leg, put her widow bite to the side of her head and killed herself. Dreykov made her kill herself from the Red Room.

“I could have left then but I knew she couldn’t be the only one. I stayed, getting an idea of the numbers. It became clear to me what was going on and how widespread it was among younger widows. I waited for a chance to do something to do about it but had no luck. Then the Hydra team lead got a call and told me the Red Room had been destroyed.

“Apparently it had always been in the skies over Russia. They still had the drugs and tech to control them. They wanted to cut me in on hiring the girls out for individual jobs or as a strike team. I killed the four of them, destroyed the drug refills we had and took the girls to my safe house in Germany. I had already accumulated my evacuation fund and we have been living off that. Eventually the girls began having nightmares and were beginning to ask questions. I told them what I knew. They went through hell. For months memories kept coming back but somewhere around the six month mark they were clear headed. All except poor Claudia.”

The pain in Gabby’s voice when she spoke of the girls and Claudia was obvious, as was the pain in her eyes. Widows were great actresses but if this were an act, she was doing an amazing job even for a widow.

“We tried tracking your movements but had no luck. Then after Wanda Maximoff rebuilt Novi Grad and Yelena Belova was seen walking the streets with her, we moved here. We made contacts at the airport and in the government offices and waited for you to return.”

“Nice to know our government isn’t compromised.” Wanda mumbled, rolling her eyes.

“Told you. Spies everywhere. You need to start reading more minds.” Yelena pointed out. “A lone black widow has infiltrated the government and found out where we are staying.”

“That was actually Cin.” Gabby corrected. “She has a network of street kids who give her info for cash. She had them combing the streets. You aren’t having autograph sessions in the city square but you aren’t exactly hiding either.”

Wanda shrugged. While they hadn’t advertised their location and tried to dress as inconspicuously as possible, they weren’t hiding their location using elaborate disguises and veils. Many of the widows weren’t known at all and had blended in fine. As far as Yelena and Wanda, she was pretty sure they wouldn’t be walking anywhere in the world and not be noticed. Considering neither wanted fame when they started out and preferred to be in the shadows, their plan had failed miserably. Sokovia was also supposed to be a safe place for Red Widows. Sokovia was their country. They may live in the wilds of France, but this country had adopted them.

Yelena looked towards Agatha who nodded and had a seat across the table from the suddenly nervous Cin.

“Claudia was given a second generation drug, meant to keep widows under thrall longer without the need for repeated injections.” Wanda told her. “We rescued a girl not long ago who also couldn’t speak. It is a side effect of the drug. Unfortunately, we gave her an antidote we used to free widows that Oksana made. Because the drug was a different variety, our antidote caused further brain damage.”

Gabby cringed. “Poor kid. How bad is it?”

“It is not. Oksana adopted her today. Tanya became very attached to Oksana after Wanda healed her.”

Gabby smiled at the thought of a widow being adopted but then realized what Yelena had said. “Wanda healed her from brain damage?!”

Wanda brushed it off. “It won’t come to that. We found the breakdown of the new drug and Oksana developed an antidote for it. It should cure her of the drug and fix the problem she has with some speech therapy. So long as the antidote works and no further damage occurs, it is reversible.”

Gabby wasn’t crazy about the idea. “As long as the antidote works. You haven’t tried it?”

Yelena shook her head. “We haven’t got chance. If it does not work, Wanda will fix her. Usually, once she does something, it becomes easier every time. She is very good at healing. Sonia, who is with the children?”

Yelena waited for an answer.

“Ask Bucky to speak to the hotel manager and reserve us the conference room on the fifth floor. We need a place to talk and we need to give Claudia the antidote. We can make plans to regroup at home once the mission is complete.”

Yelena sat back. “You want to go get your Claudia and the others. My girls are letting them go. Meet us in big conference room on fifth floor in two hours. We will be waiting.”

Gabby nodded. “A mission? You are on a mission? I thought perhaps you were just visiting. May I ask what mission you are on?”

Yelena snorted. “You have passed these steps and seem okay. Don’t push it. Just because Wanda doesn’t feel you are lying doesn’t mean you aren’t withholding truths. Unless you want her to read your mind and go into your deepest thoughts, play it cool. That hurts people.”

“Are my girls going to be in danger because of this mission?” Gabby pushed.

“Are you their handler?”

“No, I’m the woman who swore to protect them. I believed getting them to you was the best way but they aren’t a field ready team. If you are expecting combat, I would prefer to meet you elsewhere, after whatever this mission you have is done.”

Wanda had enough and got to the point. “There was some combat today. We went to the dentist. All of us. Some of us did better than others. It has been a stressful day. My kids want me back, so meet us in the hotel.”

Gabby shook her head in disbelief. “All the Red Widows are here to go to the dentist?”

Yelena remained stone faced. “Tooth decay is no laughing matter, Gabrielle Dunham. Most of us, are going back for more work tomorrow. Not me. Sparkling strong teeth. You should get your team checked out. The dentists give free toothbrushes to good girls. Only half our team got free toothbrushes. It is very sad but you cannot attack dentist with metal toothpick and expect to get free toothbrush.”

“You have kids Wanda?” Gabby asked, surprised and trying to hide it.

“Yes. Two children we rescued the same night we rescued Tanya, in a different location. They became very attached to me as Tanya became attached to Oksana. I have adopted them.”

Gabby found this slightly unbelievable. “You can’t be much older than they are.”

“I am older than I look. I have lived a couple of lifetimes.”

Yelena nodded. “Yes, she lived the life of the fossil she is screwing and knows what slop tasted like in World War 2. She is very wise and so forth. We are all very impressed. Meet us in two hours. Your girls are heading to the streets now. Ensure you are not followed. We will have building covered to check your rear.”

Gabby nodded. “We will be there. You can give Claudia her mind back? Maybe her speech? She can’t be older than thirteen. She is probably younger.”

“She is twelve if she is part of Tanya’s second generation test subjects. Be there.” Wanda told her.

Agatha stood and ruffled Cin’s hair to the girl’s annoyance and followed them out.

“What do you think?” Wanda asked Yelena.

Yelena shrugged. “I think we don’t have a choice. They are formerly mind controlled widows. We take in formerly mind controlled widows, many cats and dogs, old black widows and super soldier fossils. We must meet them at least and give girls the choice.”

“And her?”

Yelena shook her head. “Life is never easy, is it? Maybe we leave them be and the two of us can go build another cabin in woods? You can dress like homeless seductress, I can wear old jeans and my green vest and we drink until bad jokes are funny.”

Wanda nodded. “Oh to be young again. It feels like centuries ago. Now you have a child bride and I am a parent and trophy girlfriend.”

Two hours later, the Red Widows, Bucky and Agatha were waiting in the conference room with the exception of Ingrid and Michiko who were on the roof and Antha who had stationed herself at the hotel bar where she could watch the elevator and stairs.

Six girls walked inside along with Gabby.

The girls were surprised by the number of widows in the room but played it cool as best they could.

“Thank you all for seeing us. This is Cindy…”

“Cin.”

Gabby sighed. “Cin, Huan, Iris, Penny, Meadow and Claudia.”

The girls gave them slight waves except for Claudia who had the lifelessness of one under mind control with no orders. The door opened and Bucky, Agatha and the twins came inside.

The twins looked at Gabrielle and screamed, running to Wanda and standing behind her. Nadeja gripped the waist band of Wanda’s jeans and pulled Nela behind her.

“Bad lady!” Nadeja shouted. “Make her go away, Mama!”

Wanda’s eyes turned completely red and she looked to Gabrielle.

“You have the twins?” Gabby asked quietly.

Wanda raised her hand and Gabriele was levitated into the air, unable to move while red energy wrapped around her throat.

“What did you do to them?!” Wanda shouted.

The widows who had been with Gabby pulled weapons and aimed them at Wanda. The Red Widows stood in front of Wanda and the girls’ guns, their own weapons raised.

“Put the guns down girls.” Yelena told them, hoping they would all listen.

“Put Gabby down!” Cindy shouted, showing no signs of backing down despite being outnumbered and outgunned.

Wanda tilted her head and the widows prepared to hear limbs being ripped off or the sounds of a woman being slowly choked and some began pulling on their triggers.

“What did she do, Nadeja?” Wanda asked.

Nadeja wrapped her arms around Wanda from behind and looked at the woman with a combination of fear and anger.

“She was in the bad room with the men with masks, while Sister and me were given the black stuff. It burned, we screamed, and she stood there and watched!”

There was a collective gasp from the widows.

“You were awake for the process?” Antonia asked, feeling sick. None of the others, as far as she knew, remembered being given the drug that took away their free will.

“Sister screamed!” Nadeja said. “She screamed for help! You did nothing! You stood by the bad man! He had his arm around you! You watched the entire time! Our brains hurt! Sister was scared! You did nothing! I swear I will kill you! Mama let me kill her! I am not scared of her now!”

Nadeja was in tears and verging on hysterical. She turned and grabbed a knife from Kristina’s boot and ran towards the woman. Bucky stepped in front of her and picked her up.

“Protect Sister! I will kill her! Let me go, Papa!”

Bucky held her tighter and Wanda dropped Gabby who hit the ground hard.

“Put down your guns now!” Yelena shouted at the new widows. “We do not threaten our own anymore!”

The girls recognized the authority in Yelena’s voice, lowered their weapons and crowded around Gabby protectively.

Wanda took Nadeja from Bucky’s arms and the girl dropped the knife and wrapped both arms around Wanda’s neck.

“Kill her Mama! It hurt! She was with the bad man! He took me away from myself! He took Sister away from me! Bad medicine!”

Wanda knelt down to put Nadeja on her feet but kept a tight hold on her. Nela was still behind Wanda so she turned and brought both girls into her arms.

Then she looked at Gabby and her eyes glowed again.

“You have a short time to explain yourself. New girls, if you pull any guns in the direction of my daughters again I will not hesitate to kill you.”

Gabby rubbed her throat.

“I’m sorry. I couldn’t do anything.” she told the twins.

Bucky stepped closer to Gabby and one of the girls lifted her gun again. Bucky took it from her with one swift move, crushed it with his vibranium hand and dropped the pieces to the floor.

“Why were you there? Who is the bad man?” he asked.

Gabby brought herself to one knee and her eyes were glistening with unshed tears. “I told you, after I found out about the mind control, I couldn’t leave. I was recalled back to the Red Room. When I woke, Dreykov was waiting for me. I was one of his favorite… toys, at least until I became too old for him. By that I mean over nineteen. I asked him about the girl and how it was possible. I didn’t know he would show me. He told me he had two test subjects and took me to medical. That was when I first saw the twins.”

Gabby wiped her eyes. “I couldn’t do anything. I didn’t know the layout of the Red Room and never guessed we would be in the sky. There were guards everywhere. If I tried to stop it he would have likely done the same to me and I would have been no good to anyone.”

One of the red heads, the one with short strawberry hair and an athletic build, sneered at the group. “At least she didn’t leave us like some Black Widows.”

Yelena moaned. “Not this shit again. Romanoff left, get the hell over it already. Old ground, been covered and blown up time and time again over and over. It is done. She feels bad, some hate her, some got over it, you get over it before it becomes a thing. Of all the shit that has happened in your lives you worry about Romanoff leaving. Blame Dreykov for what happened to you. He is right, Wanda. There was nothing she could have done.”

Nadeja peaked around Wanda’s waist to look at Gabby then slowly moved towards her. “The bad man is dead. I will kill you too. I will never stop until you are dead.”

Wanda sighed and pulled Nadeja back to her. She then looked at Gabby.

“I’m afraid I am going to need to go deeper. This is going to hurt.”

Gabby nodded. “Do what you need to do. Girls do not try to stop her.”

‘Gab…”

“For once, listen to me!” she shouted at the one named Huan then turned back to Wanda. “I’m ready. Do what you need to do.”

Wanda passed the twins to Bucky who lifted them in his arms.

She reached out with her mind and Gabby stiffened and her eyes turned red and rolled back into her skull.

Wanda sorted and sifted through her memories, separating lies from truth and diving deeper into her psyche.

It was familiar. She had the same upbringing as Romanoff, Oksana and even Yelena before Yelena was turned into Dreykov’s drone.

She felt her emotions and the disgust rolling off of her when she saw what mind control could do. She felt the woman’s anger and fear at watching the twins undergoing the chemical subjugation process, unable to do anything, fear for herself and fear for the children. She felt her anguish watching the twins.

Wanda also saw her taking her chance and killing the Hydra operatives, praying that their information was correct and the Red Room was gone. Even with the control equipment Hydra had, she knew Dreykov had the main controls and could turn the girls against her or make them terminate themselves if he were still alive.

Her mind kept going back to watching the twins undergoing the chemical process. They were strapped down, with multiple IVs running into their little veins. Nela just screamed but Nadeja begged for mercy, begged them to let Nela free, promised she would be good, apologized over and over to the General. She didn’t even know what she was supposed to have done wrong but thought it must have been something.

Wanda’s anger was growing at these images and the confines of Gabby’s mind were stretching painfully with her rage. It wasn’t her fault and Wanda exited as smoothly as possible before her anger went out of control and destroyed the black widow’s mind.

When she was conscious of the world around her, she realized she was in her Scarlet Witch outfit. She had dragged Gabby to her raised hand and was pressing her palm against Gabby’s forehead. Rather than threatening her, the newest widows were terrified.

Wanda immediately drew her power back into herself, but it was too late. The new girls had seen the Scarlet Witch. These weren’t the girls she had fought beside and nearly died with, in the Red Room and countless other missions. These weren’t the girls she lived with, bonded with and healed. These were strangers who had just witnessed a tangible manifestation of her rage and raw power and they were terrified of her.

“I’m sorry.” she whispered. “I had to be sure.”

Wanda turned to Yelena. “She speaks the truth. I need to get my girls to our room. Can you handle this?”

Yelena nodded and patted her on the shoulder.

Once she had left the room with Bucky and the girls in his arms, The one named Iris looked to Gabby.

“I am not living with that crazy demon bitch!” Penny shouted.

Antonia and several others stepped up but Staci was the one who pushed her to the ground and stood over her with her fist raised.

“Watch your mouth!” she shouted at the girl on the floor. “None of us would be free if not for Wanda! None of us! She isn’t crazy! She takes care of us! What did you expect her to do?! We have killed five black widows who were using mind controlled black widows as assassins after the Red Room fell! You think we trust every black widow who wasn’t mind controlled?! Do you know who protects us?! Wanda does!”

“Everyone, we need to all calm down. This is weird situation for us. Gabby understands, don’t you? Staci, get off the redhead. We have more redheads than Russians now. I am sad for the world. Reasonable Red Widows are becoming fewer and fiery redheads are taking over.” Yelena realized.

Gabby nodded to her girls. “If you saw what I saw, you would understand why they want me dead and why Wanda became so angry. I wish I could have stopped it but I couldn’t.”

Yelena nodded. “I know. If you could have stopped it and didn’t you would be torn to pieces right now. Few survive the costume change and the Sokovian head tilt. You may be only second one.”

Gabby wondered if she heard that right. “The Sokovian head tilt?”

“You ever played Mortal Kombat? It’s Wanda’s finishing move.” Ava told her. “You have no idea what Wanda has given up for us and the lengths she goes to keep us safe. Yes, she can be a little extra sometimes but only when it comes to protecting us. She will be the same around you. Even after aiming weapons at her, she would die for you girls. If she says Gabby is good, that’s good enough for me. You are part of us now.”

Huan spoke up for the first time. “We didn’t come to join up. We just came to get help for Claudia.”

Gabby stood and shook her head in an attempt to clear her mind. “That isn’t true. I brought you to be with them, as well as get help for Claudia. We all want the same thing. You girls need to be around others who understand what you have gone through.”

“We are staying with you!” Penny said then turned to Yelena. “For all your saving widows, Gabby is the one who rescued us instead of using us! We only join you if she does. We aren’t living somewhere a psycho kid is constantly trying to kill her.”

Yelena snorted. “Watch how you speak of Nadeja or I will plant you in the ground. I said we do not threaten each other anymore. The children are the exception. Let us all sit. We have much to discuss but first Oksana has antidote for Claudia. Then we will tell you our story and you can tell us yours. Maybe we all need to understand each other better and we won’t turn this hotel into a warzone. Novi Grad has seen enough war. It doesn’t need a widow fight.”

Gabby nodded. “Yeah, talking would be good. There has been enough… talking would be very good. I am so sick of violence.”

Yelena chuckled. “Then you will love when we get to part of our story about Thanos. First, let us get Claudia awake and talking again.”

Downstairs in their suite, Wanda sat on the bed with the girls’ heads in her lap, clutching her tightly and crying inconsolably. She wasn’t sure what to do and judging by Bucky’s pained face he didn’t have a clue either.

Agatha gently knocked on the door.

“Hey dolls. Look who Aunt Agatha has!”

Agatha held her phone up. She had called Anya and had the kittens on the screen. The twins looked at them.

“I want to go home!” Nela screamed louder. “I want my kittens!”

Agatha winced and looked apologetically at Wanda. “Should I conjure them here?”

Wanda shook her head. “Probably not the best idea. Transporting building supplies from one location to another seems safer than transporting actual living beings.”

Bucky nodded. “Right. Can you imagine if they turned into demon cats on the flight over or however you do it?”

“What is going to happen to kitties?!” Nadeja asked.

“Nothing! Nothing at all. They are safe at home where we will get you two as soon as we can but… you have cavities that need filling.” Agatha reminded them.

Nadeja sniffed. “Is the bad woman going away? Did you make her leave?” she asked Wanda.

Agatha raised her hands. “Okay loving couple. You wanted to be parents, this is where the fun aunt steps out. Text if you need me. But only if you really need me.”

Bucky rolled his eyes and sat on the bed with the twins between him and Wanda.

“You know girls, not everything is always as it seems. You know Wanda read her mind, right?”

Nela nodded. “She changed into her scary, pretty clothes and her eyes glowed and the bad woman flew across the room into her hand.”

“Do you know why that woman is still alive? Do you think if she meant to hurt you, Wanda would have let her live?”

Nadeja and Nela looked at Wanda.

“Why did you let her live? She hurt us.” Nela asked.

Wanda took a breath. “I saw everything she saw. I saw what they did to you and I became very angry. I changed clothes because I do that sometimes when I am angry. Girls, the bad man ordered those other bad men to do that to you. Gabby was brought down by the bad man to watch. She couldn’t help you. If she had, she would have been killed. If she had been killed, she wouldn’t have been able to rescue the other girls she has saved. I could feel it in her heart. If she thought she could have killed everyone to get you out, she would have.”

“You would have.” Nadeja told her. “You and Bucky and Yelena killed all the men that had us.”

Wanda kissed her forehead and held her tight. “Sweetie, not everybody has our powers. Not everybody can do the things we can do. Yelena and I have worked together for a very long time and Bucky is very strong and fast. Most people do not have our skills. Do you know that when we raided the base and killed the bad man to free all the girls, Yelena and I couldn’t do it alone? Oksana was ready to help us but she wasn’t enough either. Even we had to call for help. I didn’t want to but I knew we couldn’t do it alone, just like Gabby couldn’t have saved you alone.”

The girls were surprised, having it in their heads that Wanda could do anything. “Who helped you?”

“Steve and Natasha were there. There was a nice fisherman named Sam who had metal wings and could fly. There was a man who was really good with a bow and arrow. There were a few other assholes we needed… damn it, language… sorry. There were a few others who volunteered to help. It took all of us to free the girls. My point is, Gabby couldn’t have done anything at the time but she was trying to find a way to stop it. She followed the bad man but when she found out what he was doing to the girls she decided to turn on him, just like Oksana did. Gabby hated that she couldn’t do anything. I felt her emotions in that moment. She was angry and sickened and full of despair. The bad man had his arm around her. She didn’t have her arm around him.”

Nadeja sighed. “I don’t want her… she… she… it hurt! I remember her!”

Wanda let out a breath. “I know. You don’t have to see her. Maybe we can build a house for just us at the back end of the property by the mountain. You won’t have to see her…”

“I don’t care if I see her.” Nela said quietly.

Nadeja looked at her angrily. “She will make you remember!”

“I can never forget anyway!” Nela shouted. “I thought I was dying! I thought I was going to hell because the men in helmets said I killed people and little girls like me go to hell. They told me what hell was! I will never forget that. I was stuck in my head and couldn’t move and it hurt but it was worse when it didn’t hurt. I kept waiting for the devil but he never came. How can you not think about it every day?! Do you need to see her to remember?!”

Wanda and Bucky looked at each other in disbelief. Nela had never raised her voice at Nadeja or expressed her feelings this passionately.

“Of course I remember.” Nadeja admitted quietly.

“You can’t kill people or grab knives!” Nela shouted. “You promised you wouldn’t! When we made our wish on the star you said if it came true you would be good! It came true. Wanda is our mama! Why do you still want to kill all the time?!”

Nadeja looked as if she had been betrayed. “I learned to fight to protect you! I did it because you couldn’t! You were always getting hurt. If I didn’t fight we were punished. I had to kill to keep you from getting hurt!”

“I got hurt anyway! So did you!” Nela said. “They never stopped hurting us no matter what you did! The woman never hurt us! I don’t want you to kill! I want you to be nice! Our wish came true and I just want to be a good girl and make Mama happy! I want to learn to read and count and play with kitties and watch TV and listen to Harry Potter. I want to run outside and listen to birds and pick flowers for my hair! I don’t want to see you doing bad things and threatening people. That reminds me of everything that happened! Not her! You still act bad and you promised you wouldn’t! You said if star gave wish you would be good daughter! Our wish might go away if you don’t stop being bad!”

Nadeja dropped her head. “I want to be good. I just don’t know how.”

Wanda cleared her throat and touched their cheeks with her hands.

“That wish is never going to go away. Nadeja, you are doing the best you can and getting better. Nela, I am proud of you for saying what you feel. This is good and we can talk more about this with Dr. Imi. Nadeja, I know you are trying. You aren’t going to be able to control your temper overnight. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t keep trying. I don’t know how to be a good mama, but we are going to figure all this out together. We are family now and family is forever. The first step you need to take is no more violence. No matter how angry you are, you talk to me before you act. If something needs to be done, I will do it. If something happens to me, Bucky and Yelena will protect us. The Red Widows and Aunt Agatha will protect us. That is what family does. We fight so you don’t have to.”

Nadeja looked over toward Nela.

“I’m sorry, Sister. I don’t want to scare you.”

Nela shrugged. “I love you, Sister. I just want to be nice. I like being happy. I don’t want to be scared.”

Wanda shook her head slowly and touched Nela’s hand. “What did Dr. Imi say? We use our names because we are individuals, right? Nadeja and Nela. I know you use Sister when you are both upset but you must always remember who you are and respect that. You are my daughters now. Nela and Nadeja Maximoff.”

“Yes Mama.” they both told her.

Wanda kissed them both on the cheek.

“Let us talk about the woman, Gabby. I know you are upset and I understand why. There is something you need to understand about forgiveness. There is no shame in asking for it or giving it. That is something I never learned in life until I was shot in the gut.”

The girls gasped. “You were shot?”

Wanda nodded. “Remember I told you we needed help to take the Red Room down? I am going to tell you something and I don’t want you asking her about it. She doesn’t like to talk about it. Antonia was the bad man’s daughter.”

Both twins eyes widened.

“She was caught in a fire when she was close to your age and horribly hurt. Her father, the bad man, gave her the black medicine. He made her do what he said and she had no choice. He abused her for years.”

“Did she forgive him?” Nela asked.

Wanda shook her head quickly. “No, she cut that bastard’s head off. But the first time I met Antonia, she shot me. She didn’t have a choice, but she was freed a few moments later with the red dust. Do you know what she did? She came over to apologize. It wasn’t her fault. She had no choice but she still apologized.”

Nadeja said nothing, appearing deep in thought.

“Did it hurt? Being shot?”

Wanda shook her head. “Not really. I guess I was so surprised and then I just kind of felt numb. I don’t remember much. I remember waking up after Oksana saved my life and Antonia was there. She told me she was sorry again and I told her there was nothing to be sorry about. It wasn’t her fault she was put in that situation. It wasn’t Gabby’s fault that she had to be there and watch that.”

Wanda sighed. “I know Gabby will be a reminder and I meant what I said. I can build us a house separate from the mansion so you don’t have to see her.”

Nadeja squeezed Wanda’s hand. “Were you scared when you got shot?”

Wanda nodded. “Yes, I guess a part of me was.”

“When you see Antonia, does she remind you of getting shot?”

Wanda shook her head. “Maybe sometimes I remember but that isn’t what I think of when I see Antonia. I think of all the lost widows she comforts when we rescue them. I think of how protective of us she is and how much she loves all of us. I think of a battle in a German Airport where I first met Bucky. After I destroyed this really bad robot I looked over my sisters before I passed out. She was there on the runway with Staci in her arms because Staci hurt her knee and couldn’t run. Antonia’s armor was burnt and it was obvious she had been hit several times. Many of the girls told me later after I woke up that she saved their lives, pushing them out of the way, taking shots for them. That is what I think of when I see Antonia. That is what I am reminded of every time I look at her. I see her on that runway. I see a woman who had every excuse in the world to turn into a monster but turned into a loving, caring sister instead. She is one of my biggest heroes. I wish I was more like her.”

Nadeja sighed and lay down on the mattress. Nela curled up next to her and they held each other quietly until they fell asleep from exhaustion.”

“You know, for not knowing how to be a mom, you seem like a natural.” Bucky whispered.

Wanda blushed. “I hope what I said helped. I’m not sure what to do. I don’t want the twins reminded every time they look at her but those girls belong with us and they aren’t coming without her. Truthfully, I think she needs us too and we could use her. You know you could have joined in.”

Bucky shook his head. “Nadeja likes that I don’t talk much. You handled it better than I ever could.”

“We will find out when they wake. If we do have to build a new place you going to move in with us?”

Bucky gasped. “Wanda Maximoff, you bad girl. Are you suggesting we live in sin? What would our parents think?”

Wanda laughed quietly. “They would be happy we managed to get a nice house without a mortgage.”

Bucky nodded, admitting that was true. “Try to keep me away. Just give me a mattress on the floor at the foot of your bed and make a separate room for Staci and Aino and anyone else who wants to stay. Give the twins their own room, even if they will never use it, and give the kittens a giant room filled with climbing towers.”

“You want a man cave?” Wanda asked.

“Is that code for a place Bucky and Wanda can spend alone time? If it is then yes, I would like a man cave.”

“I think man cave is room for men to watch sports. I know you love baseball.”

Bucky shook his head. “I gave up on baseball the first time I watched a modern game and found out the pitcher was making thirty six million dollars a season. I think I am done with sports.”

Wanda smiled widely. “Good answer.”

They sat in silence for the next hour. Wanda softly ran her hands through the twins hair, enjoying the feel and watching them sleep peacefully. Bucky enjoyed watching the three of them wrapped up in each other. It was one of the most perfect sights he had ever seen.

Nadeja was the first to wake.

“I don’t want to move.”

Wanda nodded. “Okay.”

“I will apologize.”

Wanda was shocked but didn’t let it show.

“Why?”

“Sister… Nela needs to be happy. I did promise her if the wish came true I would be nice. I would be good. I don’t want to scare her.”

Wanda sighed. “My angel, you cannot apologize because you want to make someone else happy. Do you want her to move in or should I tell them no?”

Nadeja looked at Nela then back at Wanda. “They are Red Widows. Nela is right. I will never forget. Maybe I will think of nice things when I see her, like you think of Antonia. I do not want to fight anymore. I am so tired of fighting, Mama.”

Wanda pulled her into a hug and kissed her forehead not letting go. “I am so glad to hear that. You should never have to fight. I will keep you safe. I will fight for you both. Just be kids. I love you.”

“I love you too, Mama.”

In the conference room, Yelena had finished her tale of the Red Widows’ history including Thanos and the twins and Tanya and even Sierra. They probably wouldn’t have believe the stories about Wanda if they hadn’t seen her power up close. They had seen her acts on television but seeing her up close was very different.

“Sorry.” Huan said, looking towards Staci. “I shouldn’t have said that about Wanda.”

“I’m sorry for throwing you to the ground like a rag doll and making you my bit…”

“Staci!” Yelena called out her name.

Staci smiled. “I mean I am sorry for pushing you.”

“We aren’t leaving Gabby.” Penny said to Yelena.

Gabby was having none of it. “Look, you are all sisters. You are all bonded by something no one else in the world will understand. I won’t be a constant reminder to those little girls of one of the worst moments of their lives. I will move nearby. I won’t disappear.”

The door opened and the twins, Wanda and Bucky entered.

The room quieted.

“I would like to say I am sorry for my… display of power.” Wanda started. “I saw what Gabby saw when she was in the medical room and I became very angry at what I was seeing, not at her. My power can be frightening. I usually keep my emotions under control but I didn’t this time and I hurt you, Gabby.”

Gabby grinned. “It wasn’t that bad.”

“You were seconds away from insanity.” Ava told her. “Seconds. Five seconds at most. Completely insane, curled up in the corner of a padded room in a straitjacket drooling, covered in your own filth and barking like a dog. No joke. I’ve seen her do it.”

Wanda closed her eyes in frustration. “Thank you for that, Ava.”

“Always happy to help people understand your special brand of crazy I love so much.” Ava responded, giving her a thumbs up.

Nadeja stepped forward and the room tensed. She moved towards the chair where Gabby was seated. Everyone in the room secured their weapons on their bodies so she wouldn’t have a chance to grab one.

“I am sorry for saying I would never stop trying to kill you as long as I live. It wasn’t very nice. I no longer want to watch you bleed out on the floor. That wasn’t very nice of me. I would like you to move into the Mansion.”

Gabby was surprised to hear this as were the rest in the room. “Are you certain? I don’t want to remind you of everything.”

“You will remind me of other things soon. Maybe nice things. It is right. Naomi still lives there, even though I am sure seeing me reminds her of me stabbing her in the gut over and over, then looking up at me from the ground as she was dying…”

“Nadeja.” Wanda chided softly.

Nadeja closed her eyes and took a breath. “I apologize. The new girls should get to have a black widow. Stannic has one. Tanya has one, we have kittens and Yelena has Fanny. It is only fair they keep their black widow.”

Wanda groaned and put her hand on Nadeja’s shoulder but was satisfied. It would be the closest to a sincere apology as Nadeja was capable of, even if she did refer to Gabby as a pet or possession. Nadeja looked up at her with a big smile.

“I did good?”

“Yeah, you did good. I’m not sure if these girls want to live with a couple crazy witches though.”

Meadow brushed it off. “We are all crazy. At least if you are crazy you are on our side. I think it would be cool to ride with you guys for a while. Do we get those crazy vibranium costumes?”

“Of course you do…” Yelena answered then picked up her buzzing phone.

“It’s Everett. Hello Secret Agent Man. Did you hire a secretary yet?”

Yelena listened for a few moments. “I will be there tonight. Tell Carter to hold position for a few hours and send me rundown of target area while we are in flight.”

Yelena ended the call.

“One of the old nursery sites that Eleanor tracked was picked up by Everett. He sent Carter to investigate. There is activity inside and the electricity is on. The location is Hong Kong.”

Wanda nodded. “I’m ready.”

Yelena raised her hand. “You stay here and get cavities filled and mountains changed. Whatever widows do not need work done in morning, if you want to join me, suit up. We are raiding it and taking prisoners for interrogation. If we can’t make them talk, we will call you to rip their heads open, Wanda. We got this.”

Wanda almost argued. She almost pointed out that she could be there in astral form when the raid happened but she didn’t.

This was a pivotal moment. She didn’t need her power to read Yelena’s mind.

The new girls had to see Yelena in control. They had to see her take action. If Wanda told Yelena not to go without her, the new girls would think Yelena couldn’t make a move without Wanda. If Wanda did it herself, they would think the girls could not fight without her.

“Go get them, Red 1.” she told Yelena.

Yuen Long, Hong Kong

The building was unremarkable. It was one of several buildings in the neighborhood that were nearly identical to each other. The small city was considered quaint and charming by visitors but it had a seedier side few tourists knew about.

This area was a Triad stronghold, which had several street gangs that recruited children from the city constantly. Corrupt village heads often looked the other way or took money to actively hide criminal enterprises.

Here in Wang Chau village, the primary gangs were Wo Shing Wo triad and 14 K triad and they made their presence known after dark. Of course, the widows kept their presence quiet as always.

“I have gang activity two blocks from target building.” Yelena reported from the roof of the tallest building, watching the neighborhood through the HUD on her mask. The Red Widows, along with Sharon Carter who had already been here, were moving in on the target building. It was the site of one of the old Red Room nurseries or at least Everett believed so. Carter had arrived earlier that day and believed the activity in and around it was suspicious and got close enough that she swore she could hear babies crying.

Yelena wasn’t sure who ran the building. They thought it belonged or was at least connected in some way to the Hand. The only security they could see were the gang members and it was impossible to tell if they were protecting the building or simply around it because this was their area. None of them seemed particularly protective of the place.

If she could avoid it, Yelena had no desire to kill the gang members here. No doubt they were criminals but it wasn’t the Red Widows style. They captured and killed slavers. Those slavers would have to be inside.

“I’ve got a drone looking into the building with infrared.” Ava said. “My mommy buys me the best toys… oh shit.”

Yelena shivered. It must have been something bad to make Ava concerned.

“Care to elaborate?” Yelena asked.

“The third floor is empty, but I am picking up six moving forms on the second and six on the first.”

Yelena let out a breath. “I thought you saw something bad.”

“I am. Those moving forms are around fifteen hotspots on the first and sixteen on the second.”

“Oh shit.” Yelena echoed Ava’s words.

“Thirty one babies. Looks like you defintely heard crying, Sharon.” Ingrid told her. “What do we do, boss?”

Yelena took a look around the area once again.

“Sonia, you take the third and make it silent. We only need a few alive so kill any ones making their way up. Ava, send drone infrared spots to Sonia’s HUD. Is there a breach location?”

“Explosives?” Ava asked.

“I don’t want them stuck in a bad stairwell. If the third isn’t being used it is possible it is structurally unsound. The windows and roof door are likely wired. Madison, you have your boom boom kit?”

“I got it Red 1. They can’t have complicated explosives. Shouldn’t be a problem to snip.”

“Ava, is there a spot your team can breach from the roof to the second? Five lines. Kill at first sight. Our prisoners can be taken from the first. You, Maria and Helena breach the windows on the second opposite of breach side if possible. Carter wait for me downstairs and we will breach the first from the west side. Antha, meet us in front. I am going to put some misguided youths to sleep before we attack, Sharon. I do not want to be surprised by stupid triad amateurs spraying ammo into building while we are inside with babies.”

“I can help clear. I’m within reach of six of them.” Carter responded.

“Copy. Kristina, do you have an LZ? I would prefer the streets so we can have access to bikes. Don’t land on any roofs. I’m not certain any can take the pressure.”

“I’ve got a parking lot. May have to crush some cars but they look like they belong to baby triad posers.”

Yelena wasn’t completely satisfied but it was as best she could do. Considering what Carter had given them on the history of the building and the last inspection ten years ago she was reasonably confident it would hold. The breach explosives should only take out a small three foot circle for the girls to drop in from. If the Hand or some other criminal organization was using the building it was likely in decent shape.

The presence of so many babies bothered her. What the hell were they doing with so many kids in one place.

“Carter are you sure this isn’t a trap?”

“Yes, Red 1.” she said, her annoyance clear. “They have no idea we are here.”

“Copy, Red 2 and 3 let me know when you are in place. Zarola are you in back?”

“Affirmative.”

“Then we commence operation on my mark. Ensure wire and breach explosives are in place.”

Yelena made her way to the ground, silently and nonlethally taking out several teens who were walking the streets looking for trouble when trouble found them. Yelena gave them quick searches and was convinced they were not guarding the building. Only one of them had a very old revolver with three bullets. The rest carried steel bars and old knives.

She met up with Antha at the front and Carter joined them from across the street.

“Carter you follow us in.” Yelena told her. “We need to get you better body armor.”

Carter smirked. “Do I get one of the badass Red Widow vibranium uniforms?”

Yelena chuckled. “Maybe we can get you one of Sable’s Kevlar suits. Red Widow uniforms are not just given to anybody. If you survive twenty missions with us, we can talk.”

“Speaking of body armor, I read an article about the cost of medical bills and I am going to need medical insurance after all. Also if you could set up a 401K retirement account so I can transfer the one I had with the C.I.A. to the Widows that would be great. I expect you to match more than eight percent.”

Yelena sighed. “I don’t know what any of that means but I have changed my mind. You go first, Carter. Then you won’t need to worry about retirement. Red 2 and Red 3. Are we ready?”

“We are ready.” Sonia reported. “Doors weren’t wired and I am not seeing any bombs. Looks like they are cocky.”

“Zarola, any potential problems breaching the back?”

“Sophia and I are ready.”

“Overwatch, cover front and back. Stay mobile on roof. Anyone comes out of the building take them down alive if you can. If anyone comes towards the building, blow their damn head off.”

“Copy, Red 1. Looking forward to it.” Ingrid told her.

Yelena took a couple deep breaths, pulled her gun and looked at Antha. She nodded and Yelena kicked the door in and went low with Antha aiming over her head. Carter came quickly behind them.

It happened in an instant. Small explosions went off above them, widows were shattering, gunfire roared. The men on the first stood frozen. Antha took down two with her widow bites, leaving them paralyzed on the floor. Yelena shot one in the chest. He looked particularly dumb so she doubted he would know much.

Another was a woman. She was not a warrior. She dropped to her knees and screamed when the noise started and didn’t appear to be an immediate threat. The babies began to cry.

It had gone from quiet to chaos in a second.

It took two seconds for two of the men to fire back. Yelena and Sharon shot at the same man and the two bullets took most of his head off. One bullet from the other man, clipped Antha in the shoulder and threw her to her side but her suit held strong and she never lost her footing.

The man who had shot Antha met Yelena’s eyes for a second and smiled.

He was the one they needed. He was running this operation. He wasn’t afraid of death. He was a member of the Hand.

She knew this in a second. She raised her arm to fire a widow bite but he was gone.

“Zarola, hostile enroute to you. He is deadly and needs to be captured. I am right behind him.”

Yelena ran into a storage room and saw he had not gone out the back. The bastard kicked some board that had been patching a hole and escaped. Yelena went after him.

“Red 1 in pursuit west side of hostile. He is fleeing by car. Ava, you are Red 1.”

Yelena saw him getting into a black car and wave to her before he took off. She ran after him until she came to an intersection. Luckily for her a motorcycle was riding by. She stiff armed the driver and slid onto the bike before it slid then melted into traffic in pursuit.

It only took seconds to find him. He saw her in the rear view mirror and his eyes widened and the smile was gone.

Yelena stayed low and directly behind him, not giving him a target to fire at as he drove.

When they reached a deserted block, he slid his car to the side and she hit him head on, unable to stop. She flew over the car and her gun was lost as soon as she hit the ground.

Shaking her head to clear it, she saw him swinging a katana at her head as she lay on the ground.

She rolled back and regained her feet, blinking a few times to clear her vision. He came at her again and she pulled her batons, forming a staff and dodged his strike then countered with an electrified blow to his head.

To her surprise he recovered quickly and seemed to shake it off. He swung again and when she moved to block the blow barely missed her nose as the blade cleanly sliced through her staff. She was definitely glad she had on vibranium.

Yelena moved to strike him with a widow bite to the head delivered in a short strike but he countered, ripped her bracelet off and tossed her to the ground.

She stood quickly, keeping an eye on him as she rose. He was different. He was fast, had seen battle and probably fought a Black widow before if he could disarm a widow bracelet at close range like he had.

He twirled his katana and began circling her.

Yelena grinned behind her mask. She pulled her blade.

The two danced, neither landing a strike. His strokes kept her at a distance and though she knew his sword couldn’t penetrate her suit, her senses told her to stay away form it. It shouldn’t have sliced through her staff and she was cautious. After a minute, she finally worked her way inside enough to slash his face from cheek to chin.

He kicked her back from him. She moved towards him again but he ducked and spun, took to the ground and stabbed her then stood up from his knees.

As he rose, Yelena realized he was holding his katana and it had pierced her body, right though her lower left lung.

Then he twisted.

She was having trouble breathing and took one shaky hand to touch the button that dropped her helmet.

“Did you think Agatha Harkness was the only one who could enchant weapons, Belova? I want to watch you die on this blade so I will keep you company until the life leaves your eyes. Don’t worry about being lonely in hell. I’ll be sending Maximoff there soon to keep you company.”

Yelena gripped her knife tightly. She was too far away to strike him with her much smaller blade.

So she used her other hand to grab the katana blade and shoved it farther into herself and out her back, sliding along the blade until she was close enough to him to strike. His eyes widened for a split second then her knife drove into his eye socket and pierced his brain, killing him instantly.

He let go of the katana and his body dropped.

“Ты первый, мудак” she told him and spit blood on the man.

Yelena dropped to her knees holding the katana by the blade and trying to breath.

She barely noticed Ava running up to her. At some point Charlize must have dropped out of the jet above because she was yelling to Ava not to remove the blade as she held her up.

“Cut this asshole’s hands and feet off and take him in.” she said weakly.

“He’s dead, Yelena.” someone told her.

“I don’t think he will stay that way. Me on the other hand…”

Yelena closed her eyes.

“Damn it!” Ava screamed. She pressed her com. “Wong, I need you now. Find me!”

Ava was still holding Yelena in her arms while Charlize was packing the wound when Wong opened the portal. He didn’t hesitate, having been prepared for anything. Not much made Ava sound panicked. He picked Yelena up and opened another portal to Sokovia.

In the hotel, Wanda was ready, having kept up with the mission on the coms. The entire team was present in the conference hall they had been using earlier. Luckily Tanya, Sierra and the twins had gone to bed and Bucky was watching them.

Oksana had ran to her room as soon as they heard Yelena having trouble breathing and was rushing back in with medical equipment. Wanda almost passed out when she saw Wong covered in blood holding Yelena in front of him with a katana sticking out of her. He lay Yelena on a table on her side.

She was barely breathing and spitting up blood.

Wanda looked or Agatha and drew strength from her presence. She could do this. Yelena was swallowing blood and gurgling but she was alive.

Oksana glanced at Wanda who nodded. The older widow pulled the katana out and pressed a large wad of bandages to Yelena’s back and Wanda touched her front. The hole began closing as Wanda’s magic flowed into her.

Then Wanda felt a blast of heat and a searing pain in her entire body. She seized up and was thrown back.

She picked herself off the ground quickly.

Yelena was breathing better and the wound was closing but it was still glowing with a fierce green energy around it. It was starting to open again.

“Wanda?” Oksana asked.

“I don’t know! That’s never happened!”

“Charlize, I need suction and pressure on her back wound. Her lung is pierced. I won’t know what other organs until I go inside. I need an intubation tube.” Oksana ordered, not hesitating to take up her role as emergency surgeon again.

Wanda’s hands were glowing green as well.

“Agatha, what is this?! Why didn’t the wound heal completely?”

Agatha looked at the katana and the hole in Yelena’s indestructible suit.

“This wound was caused by magic, the same kind I used on your ammunition so it could break any metal. This isn’t my magic though. This is even darker. This is… demonic. Did she fight a demon?” Agatha asked Ava.

Ava stepped away and spoke to Sonia.

“No, they just cut off his hands and feet and are bringing him in but he looks human.” Ava told her.

“Why are they bringing him in?” Agatha asked. “Something must be different.”

Ava shrugged. “Yelena said he might not stay dead before she passed out. It must be the Hand. Carter and Sonia are cutting off feet and hands and taking some of the other bodies to see if they return to life. We have prisoners but they aren’t talking. We haven’t started interrogating them yet. They are taking the bodies and prisoners to Mom’s. compound.”

Wanda grabbed Agatha. “I’m the most powerful magic user of all time. That’s what everyone says. Why can’t I heal her? I should beat this! I’m the goddamn Scarlet Witch!”

Agatha took her hand. “Wanda, you need to calm yourself. You can heal her but this magic… this is demonic magic. You have the Book of Vishanti’s knowledge in your soul. You know the spells. In the time when man was first born demons ruled the Earth and gathered human followers. They fought wars and many wounds were magical in nature. The first magic users learned to heal these wounds and wrote the spells in the Book. Humans were able to take the Earth from the demons because they learned to fight the demons’ magic. You need to go deep into the book. Go to it’s earliest pages. Go to the pages not all can see.”

Wanda shook her head. “I need the book. I don’t have it…”

“Every spell you need is in your head and heart. You chose the book of light over the book of death and it planted its spells into you. Search deep inside yourself. The book is there or a line that can send you to it. Find the answer.”

Oksana was hooking up bags of saline and a blood transfusion line running from Ava to Yelena. The other girls who had the same type of blood as Yelena or were universal donors were ready behind her. Unfortunately this type of field transfusion was a drill they had practiced in the past for this situation.

“I can keep her alive and breathing for about twenty minutes. Not to put a clock on it, Wanda, but you need to have an answer by then. If I can’t close up the front wound completely she is going to bleed out no matter how much blood we give her.” Oksana said. “Her lung is barely inflating.”

Wanda stood up and walked away from the crowd. The widows parted for her. She sat cross legged on the floor and changed. The wind swirled around her, her eyes turned red and her clothes changed. She began hovering over the floor as soon as she closed her eyes.

Wanda was in a different state. She had gone into other peoples’ minds many times but had never gone into herself this deeply on her own. She had brought Bucky here accidentally and brought Tony Stark to only her surface thoughts so they could speak in Siberia but never dug so far inside her own psyche on purpose.

She found her darkness. It chilled her to feel but this time, it wasn’t as dark. Images of people she loved, moments she burned into her memory provide sparks of light in the black. She saw Yelena, Bucky, Staci and Aino wearing Mickey Mouse ears in Disneyland. She saw all the Red Widows at times when they were happiest or seemed happiest.

She saw Tanya smiling at her from below when Wanda had healed her mind, Antha suddenly turning shy in Switzerland around Matt Murdock and Wanda realizing that Antha actually didn’t want just sex anymore. She wanted more and it made Wanda so happy.

Yelena was there so close to her center, holding her at night in their shared cell bedroom at the Sokovian bunker just after the Red Room fell.

In her center she saw Nadeja and Nela. They were holding each other in bed. Nadeja was behind Nela, with her arms around her and Nela’s back pressed against her. Nela was curled up and sucking her thumb, something Wanda knew she would have to stop eventually.

Floating just above them like a protective sentinel was the Book of Vishanti.

Wanda took the book and began going through the pages quickly until she reached the back where the oldest spells were kept.

“Show me what I need!”

The book flipped to a blank page. Wanda touched it and symbols lit up that she had never seen but instinctively understood. This was the first language spoken by humankind.

She touched the letters and was transported to a barren world. It was Earth but it looked as if it were scorched. All around her men and women with crude weapons battled each other while demons stood to the side and shouted, barking orders or just enjoying the show.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?”

She turned to the demon who had spoken to her. He appeared to be a middle aged man just under 1.8 meters tall with short brown hair wearing an inexpensive suit. He was unremarkable in every way except for his solid midnight blue eyes.

“How can you talk to me?” she asked.

“How can anyone understand you? You have been around English speakers for a year and still have an accent so thick you sound like a phone sex worker. I think you are holding onto that accent stubbornly. You are so scared of becoming an American you refuse to speak the language properly.”

“Fuck you. Is that proper enough?”

The demon chuckled. “There is the foul mouthed, murderous street rat who dresses like a hooker that I expect. Wanda Maximoff. Do you really think your wardrobe had to do with survival or did the constant rapes make it too hard to see yourself as anything other than a sex doll? Forget I said that. I don’t want to spoil the lies you tell yourself.”

“How are you here?!” Wanda shouted, reaching out to him with her power but having no effect.

“I’m not. I’m with the actual Book of Vishanti. I can’t touch it but I suspected you would be reaching out to it and established a connection. I suppose you could say we are at a crossroads in the metaphysical realm. Since you are here I guess one of the Hand assassins got a piece of one of your girls. Magical wounds of the demonic variety are difficult aren’t they? They tend to bite back, even more than that pain you absorbed from Kate Bishop’s crushed body. I think you are a useless, stupid tramp who doesn’t deserve your power but I will never say you aren’t tough. Of course considering you have been beaten, starved, raped, had bombs dropped on you and fought a vibranium robot you would have to be. Maybe you are a cockroach. Cockroaches don’t ever seem to die. They are my favorite insects. I’m not sure you will be my favorite witch though. I like my witches wicked, not wicked but pretending to be good.”

Wanda’s forced herself to calm down no matter how difficult it was. Twenty minutes. She wasn’t sure how time worked in her head or whatever realm she found herself in but regardless she needed to hurry.

“You did this to Yelena? Why? Why are you helping the Hand?”

The demon laughed. “I could care less about the Hand. I just wanted to see if they could hurt you or even better, someone you love. You see I can’t hurt any human. I can’t even hurt you. I can influence though. If I am summoned and find it in myself to care, then I will make deals. That foolish warlock in the Congo wanted black magic. Then he wanted a page from the Darkhold. I gave it to him in exchange for his black soul but I didn’t make him use it. I just wanted to watch how you responded to him and unlike your life you weren’t a disappointment. Harkness is doing a good job with you. Turning teenage street trash into the most powerful witch in existence cannot be easy.”

The ground began shaking.

“The Book of Vishanti doesn’t like me hijacking a metaphysical connection. I can’t hold it long but I wanted to meet you. The old man on the rock standing above the battle can give you what you need. I will continue to watch you, Wanda Maximoff. I have a feeling the two of us are going to hate each other.”

“I’m already there.” Wanda told him.

“It isn’t easy to visit you here. Now that the book knows me it won’t let me back in. You are its champion after all. It has to look out for you as undeserving as you are. The next time we meet, let’s make it my place. We can see if you have become more of a fighter than you were in the orphanage. See you around, poor little orphan girl. By the way, the name is Mephisto. Don’t forget it. Whether Thanos kills you or not, we will see each other again.”

The demon burned before her eyes. His human clothes and skin melted away and she saw his true red skin underneath. He grew in height and his feet turned into hooves, then he was gone.

She wasted no more time, rushing to the man the demon had indicated, knowing in her heart that wasn’t a lie. He held the answers.

The old, weathered man wearing animal skins looked at her and nodded, then placed a hand on her forehead.

Wanda opened her eyes and dropped her to knees as he unlocked the page she needed in her mind. She woke in an instant, fell to the ground then rushed to Yelena and lay hands on her wound.

“Maṉitap piṛaviyiṉar čakalarum čutantiramākavē piṛakkiṉṛaṉar avarkaḷ matippilum urimaikaḷilum čamamāṉavarka!”

A red flash lit up the room and Yelena sat up. Oksana pulled the tube from her chest quickly and her wounds behind and in the front began to close. Her breathing was no longer labored. Yelena looked around, saw Wanda then touched her side where she had been stabbed.

“Whoa.” Yelena muttered then turned to Ava. “Did you cut his hands and feet off and take him?”

Ava laughed in hysterical relief.

“I’ll take that as a yes. See new girls? Always follow Yelena Belova in battle and you get to bring home dead asshole with no hands and feet who might come alive again so we can torture him all over.”

Yelena took Wanda in. “Always saving my ass almost as much as I save yours.”

She then noticed Wanda’s pale face and that she was holding her side. Her t shirt looked wet and her hand was covered in fresh blood.

“Wanda?”

“The curse is gone from the wound. Unfortunately there was a cost to healing you. Agatha, I would appreciate if you could heal me before I bleed out in a cheap Sokovian hotel conference room. The irony would be too sad even for my life.”

Wanda fell back into Antonia’s arms and passed out. Oksana pulled her shirt up and saw Yelena’s wounds had transferred to Wanda.

Agathe groaned. “You better be glad I am immortal, brat. What would you do if I retired someday? Step aside, I need to save our Scarlet Witch. Take a look new girls. You are being led by reckless idiots with no regard for their own lives. You are lucky to be signing up with them.”

Agatha got to work healing Wanda.

By the time it was done, the new widows marched off to recently acquired rooms.

“What the hell have we gotten ourselves into?” Cindy asked. “Psycho twins, scary witches, magically cursed blades, a raid on a worldwide criminal syndicate stealing infants, a sorcerer who makes portals anywhere, ancient spell books and transferring wounds from one person to another. We have known them less than twelve hours!”

“I think its going to be fun.” Penny told her.

Cindy grinned. “Yeah, me too.”