Bella MacLeod's Twilight Fanfiction

The Witch and the Widows

By BetterInTexas

Outtake 07:

Nadeja stared unblinkingly at her current nemeses. Normally she could tolerate her sessions with Dr. Imi. She had enjoyed them before she was split from Nela. The idea of Nela answering questions without her there to make sure she answered correctly bothered her. Nela became easily embarrassed if she got something wrong and it was her job to protect Nela from embarrassment.

Dr. Imi said it was important for both of them and her mama always agreed with Dr. Imi. Nadeja didn’t see the need for them to be apart. The universe obviously wanted them together. They looked exactly like each other. That was a big clue Dr. Imi should pick up on.

“No.”

Imi sighed. “Nadeja, you and Nela are regressing. There have been many changes lately. There are many more people on the grounds than before and…”

“I didn’t ask you to bring more doctors in. You were doing good on your own.” Nadeja interrupted.

Imi frowned. “I thought we had gotten passed interrupting people when they were speaking.”

They had. She had. Mama didn’t like for her to be impolite. “I apologize.”

“Apology accepted. The doctors are for all the new widows. They have made a great sacrifice to come here to help these girls. This is new for them. It is new for the one hundred widows going through very emotional times right now. This is also new for you and Nela.”

Nadeja shrugged. “I don’t care how many people live here as long as they don’t bother me and stay out of our room.”

Imi nodded. “That is what I am speaking of. You were doing so well. You and Nela would walk the mansion, even alone at times, away from your mama and papa. You talked to other widows. You didn’t do it often but you were beginning to. Now you refuse to leave your parents side again. Nela does as well. You need to continue to develop your own identity and become comfortable here again. You are brave and I know you can do this. This is your home. Not just the two room apartment you sleep in and keep your toys but the entire… complex is your home.”

Nadeja shook her head. “I don’t know these girls and they could be dangerous. Mama won’t let me carry weapons. That includes kitchen knives, spoons, toothpicks, room keys, paper weights, spoons, sticks from trees and rocks bigger than my fist. I cannot let Sister… Nela be alone. As long as we stay near Mama and Papa we are safe. We are smallest here beside Billie. Even Tanya and Claudia are taller. That makes us targets. We must stay on alert.”

“If anyone were dangerous your Mama would feel it. She wants this. She believes you can take a stroll by yourself and I do as well.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

“You can’t tell me what to do. You said you would never tell me what to do. You promised.” Nadeja reminded her.

Imi paused. “You are right. If you don’t want to do it, I won’t try to make you. But… your mama… never mind.”

“What about my mama?”

“Wanda was worried about you but I told her I thought you were ready. You are right. It is scary. Maybe I am wrong and you aren’t ready.”

Nadeja clenched her fists. “Mama shouldn’t be worried about me. She knows I am the strong one. It is Nela we worry about.”

Imi shrugged. “Nela has agreed to do it. She is going this afternoon.”

Nadeja’s heart started beating faster. “She has not told me this! She cannot go out there on her own! It could be dangerous! I told her not to go outside without me or Mama and Papa!”

Imi crossed her arms and frowned. “Maybe she is tired of you telling her what to do. You say no one can give you orders but you order her around constantly. We have talked about being your own person and letting her be her own person. She is becoming her own person. What about you, Nadeja? Are you going to become your own person? Can you take this step for me or are you going to continue to hide behind your mama and papa?”

Nadeja sat quietly for a moment, frowning, not happy with this turn of events.

“I will ask Mama about Nela.” she decided. “I don’t think Nela is ready and Mama always agrees with me. She tells me how smart I am.”

Imi laughed. “I know you are smart but Nela is stronger than you think she is. You are going to stop underestimating your sister one day. She is going to do it. I want you to try. If you can’t do it you can go back to your parents. Go out this afternoon. Walk around the mansion and the grounds by yourself and introduce yourself to three new girls. Just three. That should be easy enough. Are you brave enough to do that?”

Nadeja nodded. “Fine. I will go now.”

Nadeja stood up and began to walk off.

“Nadeja we still have thirty minutes!”

Nadeja waved her hand as she continued walking without looking back. “Good session Dr. Imi. See you tomorrow.”

Imi sighed and texted Wanda, reminding her to let the girls go by themselves and not send Bucky to spy on them. She wondered if it would do any good.

Nadeja ran to her room and closed the door quickly, not liking the new faces even on the first floor as they strolled around looking for who knew what. Mama, Papa and Nela were not here. Nela’s cats were gone, meaning Nela hadn’t made her trip around the grounds. She would only take her cats to play with Tanya and Claudia’s cats and maybe Sierra’s cats.

Storm was waiting for her sitting on her hind legs and tail wagging.

“We have a mission, Storm. We have to go out and meet new people. We don’t know what we are facing. We keep our heads on swivels and scout for potential threats. Nela is going out later. We need to secure the area. If we get in trouble and I can’t get away it is important to run to Mama and Papa. Preferably Mama first. She can teleport to me and reign fire on my enemies. Because of recent additions to things I am not allowed to carry, your beautiful ganged jaws are the only defense we have short of hand to hand combat. As he have talked about, that is not something I am very good at.”

She looked down at the dress she had on. It was a bright blue that matched her sneakers. She had a yellow ribbon holding her ponytail and she felt pretty. She loved to feel like this.

Usually.

But this was not the time for pretty. She rushed to her closet and began digging. She found a pair of worn jeans and a pair of combat boots that Papa had bought her. She rolled up the jeans and tucked them into the boots. She then went to her jewelry drawer and pulled out a set of hoop earrings, several necklaces and eight rings. She then grabbed multiple bracelets.

Nadeja put on a black t shirt that showed the Sokovian flag in red trim. She made a final stop at her Mama’s closet, pulling out her short red jacket that was oversized on Nadeja but made her feel secure. She rolled up the sleeves on the jacket then let her hair loose.

Checking herself out on her mama’s closet mirror she felt confident. A part of her wondered if she should put on black lipstick or dark eyeliner or at least paint her nails black.

The problem was she had no idea how to put on makeup other than seeing her mama do it and her mama always painted her nails. She would have to go with her current look. Her mama hardly ever dressed like this anymore but she had seen pictures other widows had shown her from before Nadeja had been found. Her mama had loved dark makeup, red and black leather and vodka. She really loved vodka. It seemed she always had a bottle nearby in the pictures. When she asked if she could have some her mama asked her to swear to never drink. Nadeja did of course. Nadeja always wanted to make her mama happy. If that meant never drinking vodka then she wouldn’t.

Deciding she was as ready as she could be, she opened the door and Storm followed her out. She decided the best place to start would be the back of the property. Her Mama had made the pool and the Southeast wing but they were being wired and as such the areas were not inhabitable for a couple days. That meant most widows were doubling up in rooms. Right now she suspected many were in the backyard or the bunker gym. In the backyard meant Nadeja had multiple points of escape. Meeting new widows in the bunker meant only one point of escape or the hangar where the jets were. Nadeja did not know how to fly.

As she suspected, there were shouts coming from behind the house. She took a wide path and saw a large group of girls playing some sport with bats and balls. Her papa called it baseball. It seemed silly but he got excited talking about it so she pretended to be interested. He was the one who set the field up thinking it would give the girls something to focus on beside their everyday life including horrible memories and nightmares.

A ball was popped in the air and got past the girls. Storm ran for it and grabbed it in her jaws before bringing it back to Nadeja and dropping it at her feet.

She stood still while a stocky muscular girl with short blond hair ran up to her.

“Hi. I’m Nicky. Do you want to play? Your dog thinks you should.” she asked pleasantly. Nadeja tensed. The girl was taller than her, not unusual, but as muscular as Naomi. She would be difficult to defeat in hand to hand combat.

“Hello. I am Nadeja Maximoff Barnes. My sister and I are the only occupants to have three names. My mama is the most powerful and beautiful woman in the universe. She is also the kindest and most vengeful. If I am slightly hurt she will trap you in a never ending loop of nightmares until you beg for death. My papa is Bucky Barnes. You know who he is and what he can do. His arm is vibranium. He can punch through steel and has superhuman reflexes. They are both very protective of me and my sister.”

Nicky’s eyes widened and she fought to keep a smile off her face. “Yeah, I’ve heard of you. Your mom is kind of our hero. Her and Yelena… I heard what they have been doing… I can’t imagine anyone here wanting to hurt you no matter who your mom and dad are. I think we all feel at home here. It’s good to be among those who… understand.”

“Nicky!” another girl, this one appearing Hispanic and thin ran up to them. “Hey, your Wanda’s kid right? The outfit gives it away. Shouldn’t you have your dog on a leash?”

Nadeja’s temper flared. “A dog is not a slave.”

The girl raised her hands. “I didn’t mean that. I just meant she is a puppy and might run off. She looks adorable.”

The girl knelt down and reached for Storm. Nadeja grabbed her wrist.

“You didn’t ask her if you could touch her.” Nadeja told her quietly.

The girl pulled her hand back. “Sorry, I was just going to pet her. She doesn’t bite does she?”

“Fuck around and find out. It is impolite to touch someone without asking their permission. What is your name?”

“I am Rosa. What is your…”

“We have met two, Storm. One more and the mission is done.”

Nadeja walked away with Storm trotting by her side.

“You can play baseball if you want! Or watch?” Rose called out.

Nadeja stopped walking and peered back at the field. Everyone was watching her. There were at least ten widows she had known the entire time. The team at bat had the most, including Yasmine who Nadeja had a soft spot for.

“I will play.”

Nadeja entered the dug out without asking the rules and grabbed a bat then walked out to where the girl who had last hit the ball had been standing. Someone almost mentioned that she should wait her turn but Naomi shook her head, cutting off the comment before it could be made.

Nadeja stood in the box near the diamond mat on the ground with the bat in one hand. The girl on the mound shrugged and threw the ball.

Nadeja slammed the bat down and the ball dropped at her feet. She then continued to pound on the ball, striking it as many times as possible with all her strength until she finally got bored.

“How many times must I strike the ball before it is considered out?”

“Uh…” one of the girls stuttered… “maybe we should teach you some basics…”

Nadeja shook her head. “I have no time for this. One of you tell me your name. The one who threw the ball towards me. What is your name?”

“Heida?” she said uncertainly.

“I am Nadeja Maximoff Barnes. I have now met three new people. Thank you for your cooperation. Let’s go find Mama, Storm.”

The field remained silent as Nadeja walked off, something she appreciated so she could hear if anyone followed. Her phone buzzed.

It was Kristina.

/Watch your language, little Wanda./

She sighed and decided if she were out she may as well get food.

When she reached the kitchen she opened the refrigerator to grab a package of turkey. She had a few slices and handed the rest of the large pack to Storm who ate it in seconds.

“Nadeja, how are you, princess” Anya asked her walking in. She opened her arms and wrapped Nadeja in a hug. Her hugs were almost as good as Mama and Papa’s. “Where is your twin?”

Nadeja sighed. “Dr. Imi wants us to meet new people today on our own. Apparently we are regressing because of the new widows. I don’t like the new people. Instead of building more houses here, can’t Mama and Dima build them somewhere else?”

Anya knelt down. “But this is where they have each other. It is important for all of you to be together.”

“Why?” Nadeja asked, frustrated that her mama had given her the same answer.

“Who else knows what you girls went through better than all of you. You may not be sisters by blood but you are bonded through a horrible tragedy. Something bonds you that the rest of the world cannot and will never be able to understand. You are surrounded by girls who know what the bad medicine did, what it was like being under its control. If you are upset you can look anywhere and find someone whose understands.”

Nadeja shook her head. “My mama understands. She wasn’t mind controlled but she has… she has been through bad things. Sometimes when she sleeps I hear her whisper Pietro and tears fall on her cheek. I kiss them off and it makes her feel better. My papa was mind controlled for a very long time. I have people who understand. I have Aunt Yelena.”

Anya rubbed Nadeja’s cheek. “True. Maybe they aren’t here for you to talk to. Maybe they need to talk to you. Maybe they need you.”

“Why would they need me?”

“Because you have gone through what they are going through. You make your mama feel better when she is sad. Maybe you can make others feel better.”

“Making others feel better is not something I am good at. I would rather work on reading.”

Anya scoffed. “You just told me you kissed your mama’s tears and she felt better. Maybe you should give yourself more credit. You have a big heart, Nadeja. Everyone here loves you. Even the new girls because you are all part of a sisterhood that cannot be unbroken. Even those who are out in the world, living their own lives are still a part of you. You are surrounded by people who would die for you. Never take that for granted. Never.”

Anya kissed her on the cheek. “Go play. Do not hide in your room. Have fun, run outside, watch a movie in the living room. Teah Storm some tricks. Go on.”

Nadeja nodded and ran off, fully planning on going back to the safety of her room and hoping her mama or papa were there.

She stopped on the way there and made a left turn, going out the side door to the area Billie’s sister usually smoked when her tremors became worse. Billie said she was trying to quit but wasn’t sure how Meg was doing.

Meg wasn’t present but the tree lines weren’t far away. Seeing Storm looking at her with longing in her eyes, Madeja nodded and the two ran for the trees.

Though Nadeja still wished her mama was with her, she was becoming more comfortable outside alone surrounded by cover and no widows in sight. That is what she thought.

She heard the soft crying and turned quickly in a fighting stance.

She saw no one. Not liking it, she slowly followed the sound to around a tree.

No one was there.

“You are Wanda’s kid, right?”

Nadeja jumped back with a yelp. A figure moved but she could barely make it out. Then the camouflage was gone that had blended her in with the tree she had been sitting against and the ground she had been sitting on. The helmet came down and the suit turned to black.

“What was that?!”

The dark skinned girl who appeared to be in her later teens shrugged. “My suit came in from Wakanda. I decided to give it a test run. The camouflage works great but I’m not crazy about the…”

“Flaps over the batons, side arms and blades to hide the weapons. It adds two seconds to draw time.” Nadeja finished.

“Yep. You have one?”

“I wish. Mama said I will never fight.”

The girl nodded. “Good for you. It’s a good thing.”

“Why are you crying?” Nadeja asked.

The girl shook her head. “I wasn’t…”

“You are literally crying right now. I know crying. My sister cries a lot.”

She huffed and wiped her eyes. “Your sister, huh? Never you?”

Nadeja nodded and in a small voice said, “I cry too. But my Mama or Papa hugs me and make it better. Who are you?”

“I’m Cameron.”

“Why are you crying, Cameron?”

Cameron shrugged. “Bad memories I guess.”

Despite her earlier desire to be alone, Nadeja sat down against the tree. Cameron took a spot by her.

“They keep coming, don’t they?” Nadeja asked. “You think you remember everything but then you remember something else and you wonder how you could ever forget that, right?”

Cameron’s eyes widened. “I forgot. You and your sister were the youngest to ever be mind controlled. You weren’t freed that long ago.”

“What did you remember?” Nadeja asked.

“I’m not sure if I should say. Your mom may not like me saying things like this and considering she is the reason we are all finally free and not still acting like flying monkeys, I don’t want to upset her.”

“Doctors Imi says if you talk about something it is out in the world and no longer has to stay inside and hurt you. I don’t understand what she means half the time but talking does help me. You won’t talk to anyone else. You don’t want them to see you weak. I already saw you weak. I’m all you got.”

Cameron chuckled and wiped her eyes.

“Thanks… I killed a family on Christmas. He was a spy or something. I’m not sure. I didn’t need to know. I went to sleep in the Red Room and woke up in a hotel receiving orders from my handler. I went to a very nice house and bypassed the security system. I waited in a hall closet and when the family had gathered around the Christmas tree, I stepped out and shot the wife first. I killed three kids, two girls and one boy all under the age of ten after that. I saved him for last. I made him watch them die and then I cut his throat.”

Nadeja shrugged. “Were you under the bad medicine? They told you to, didn’t they?”

Cameron shrugged. “Yes, but… why has it taken me weeks to remember that? I remember every bad thing that was done to me and some of the kills but that was the worst thing I ever did… I think. Why did it take me so long to remember? Did I just not care?”

“Repression… I mean repressed. Yes, repressed memory. Dr. Imi tells me sometimes the worst thing we were made to do we make ourselves not think about it and hope we can pretend it didn’t happen. I didn’t remember the worst thing I ever did until Nela hugged me one morning. I don’t know why I remembered then. I cried and cried. Mama couldn’t calm me down. Do you want to know what I did?”

Cameron booked at her with interest.

“The men let us out of our cages so they could play with us. They made us stand on one leg, then jump over and over, then do handstands. Then they told me to take a gun and put it in my mouth.”

Cameron sighed. “Bastards.”

“Then they made me put it in Nela’s mouth. She had to stand and not move but I could see her eyes. She was so scared. I was close to killing her. All it took was one command and I couldn’t have stopped. Nela is everything good in me. She is the part of me that is kind. She loves everyone. She loves flowers and birds and movies that make her laugh. She reminds me to be good. I love her more than anyone in the world. I almost killed her because of the bad medicine. If I could do that, you didn’t have a chance. Dr. Imi says it was because of the bad men, not because of us. It was the Bad Man’s fault. General Dreykov.”

Nadeja shivered, even the sound of that name giving her a chill.

“I guess you are right.” Cameron said.

“I’m always right. You should go tell this to one of those doctors. Dr. Imi brought them here so they should have to work.”

Cameron chuckled. “I don’t think therapy is for me.”

“But you can say anything, you can cry and yell and scream and its okay. It doesn’t matter if they think we are weak and they can’t say anything to anyone. Nobody knows. I mean… my mama or papa are in there sometimes but that’s okay. Mama says I can be weak with them. They protect me.”

Cameron nodded. “Maybe I’ll give it a shot. Thanks Nadeja. So saying it helps, huh?”

“I think so. Do you feel better saying it to me?”

“I’m kind of worried about your Mom’s reaction if she found out I told you such a violent story.” Cameron admitted.

Nadeja sighed. “What other kind of stories do we have?”

The older girl wasn’t sure. She knew nothing but being a widow.

She couldn’t remember her family. She didn’t know if she had been stolen at birth and raised in the Nursery or came to the Red Room later. She didn’t know if she had dead parents, live parents or worse, parents that didn’t give a damn.

Cameron stood up from the ground and Nadeja followed.

“Thanks for the talk, Nadeja. Could we keep this to ourselves?”

Nadeja nodded. “Yes, it would be best. If it was found out I talked to you the rest would want to talk to me. I don’t want that. Have a good day, Cameron. Find one of those doctors. If they are going to eat our food they should work. Come see Mama if you can’t sleep. Goodbye.”

Nadeja walked back to the house with Storm trailing and didn’t stop until she reached her room. Her Mama and Papa were waiting and it was obvious they were nervous. Her mama pulled her into a hug.

“You are okay.”

“Yes.” Nadeja agreed.

“Your mama was five minutes away from coming to get you, Angel. How did the thing for Dr. Imi go?” Bucky asked.

“I met three widows and played baseball. Also if anyone says I used a bad word, I learned it from Kristina. Where is Nela?”

Nela had just left Dr. Imi’s office and ran straight outside. She didn’t bother finding other widows. Instead she ran straight for the wildflower patch at the south end of the property just before the tree line that led to the base of one of the mountains. She had a cat in each arm while she ran. When she found the perfect spot she let her cats down to stretch out into the sun and began picking flowers to make herself a crown.

“Isn’t this so much fun? No widows ever come out here.” she told the cats.

She picked flowers and played with the cats for the next two hours. Then the warmth she always felt got stronger. Her mama always made her warmer inside when she was close. When her mama was gone she always felt a bit cold inside. Now the warmth was growing and that meant her mama’s astral form was searching for her. That was what Aunt Agatha called it.

She scooped up a cat in each arm and ran towards the mansion and down into the bunker. Once she was there she entered the gym area.

“I need three of your names now!” she shouted.

The widows who were working out all looked at each other and three of them spoke up. Nela smiled and ran off, taking the stairs to the fist floor and racing into her room. Her Mama was on the floor, floating off the ground with her legs crossed. Her red eyes opened when Nela entered the room and she dropped two feet to the floor, groaning when she hit the ground.

“You really need to learn to stick the landing, Doll.” Bucky told her.

“Nela! I was looking for you but you were moving so fast. Where were you?” Wanda asked.

Nela let her cats down. “I had to meet three widows so I did.”

Bucky smirked. “Yeah? What were their names?”

Nela tried to remember but it had happened so fast.

“Emma, Rikki and Cleo.” she happily told her mother.

Wanda was not impressed. “Those are the names of the mermaid girls from Stannic’s favorite show.”

“Nixie, Evie and Mimmi?”

“Mako Mermaids spinoff.” Wanda told her.

“Phoebe, Rachel…”

“You didn’t meet anybody.” Bucky said.

“I didn’t meet anybody. I did make a very pretty crown. The flowers are growing more and there are so many more colors than before! Can I show you tomorrow, Mama?”

Wanda pulled her into a hug. “Of course you can. Guess what? Nadeja made friends.”

Nela looked at her in disbelief. “You did?” she asked doubtfully. “You spoke to new people?”

Nadeja nodded. “I am very social. Everybody loves me. I wore mama’s jacket. I played baseball. I think I killed the ball. I hit it over and over and drove it into the ground but this didn’t count. Papa is going to show me tomorrow how to play. Maybe you should come out. You should meet people, Nela. Stop being so anti… what did Dr. Imi say?”

Nela narrowed her eyes. “She said you are anti-social.”

“Yes, we are anti-social.”

“You.”

“We.”

“You.”

“I met people today. That means it is only you. I said we to make you feel better. Fine, it is you.” Nadeja decided.

Wanda shook her head. “I’ll take you both around tomorrow. I need to check in on the new girls anyway and you can talk to them. We will figure it out. I’m proud of you both for getting out today. It was very brave.”

After putting the girls into their own beds for the first couple hours before they come to bed with Wanda and Bucky, Wanda discussed the merits of Nadeja learning baseball.

“Its good exercise.”

“She could get hit by the ball.” Wanda argued.

“She will wear a helmet.”

“She could become angry and bash one of the girl’s skulls in.”

Bucky laughed. “Do you really think she would do that?”

Wanda stared at him.

“Yeah you are right. I’ll keep an eye on her. So you agreed with Imi about this, didn’t you?”

“Of course.” Wanda told him.

“Then why did you make new flowers grow in Nela’s favorite spot? You lured her out there.”

Wanda sighed. “I’m not sure she is ready. I think I should be there when she meets new people. You know how shy she is.”

“You mean you think Nadeja is tougher.” Bucky clarified.

“Don’t put words in my mouth if you ever want to have sex again. Nela is tough, she is just sensitive. I need to be around her and right now I can’t astral project without her feeling me nearby. Maybe I will scryer tomorrow while you keep your distance but are ready to go if she has a breakdown.”

Bucky crossed his arms, not happy.

“Maybe we can have a little faith and send her out again without you distracting her with flowers.”

Wanda’s shoulders sagged. She knew he was right. Of the two of them, Nela was the most friendly but she was also the most sensitive.

“Fine. Tomorrow. We can send Nadeja out again.”

Bucky smiled, happy with the idea. Wanda had always babied the girls, more so since they became upset about the upcoming mission.

“It’s gonna be okay.” he told her.

Wanda hugged herself then leaned into him. “I’ve never loved anyone like I love them, Bucky.”

“I know.” he told her. “That’s why I know we are going to win. I’ve fought wars with something to lose and fought with nothing to lose. Fighting with something to lose is always better. We aren’t going to lose. We are going to make this world safe for our girls and maybe… just maybe, we can encourage them to run around outside on their own. Think you can handle it?”

Wanda nodded. She didn’t have a choice. She wanted a world that was safe for her girls and she wanted her girls to enjoy that world. It would start here.