Chapter Text
[1999, Sokovia]
For a moment, there was nothing but the ringing in Wanda’s ears to remind her that she was still alive. The smoke was so thick, she couldn’t tell if her eyes were open or closed. She wanted nothing more than to let it swallow her, to simply lay down and dream away the sweltering heat and the sounds of blasts that were slowly returning with her hearing. As the smoke cleared, she saw her home reduced to nothing more than a pile of rubble, her parents nowhere to be seen. Although deep down she knew it was a futile thought, she imagined that her parents had made it out alive, that somehow they knew what was coming for them and would soon return to their children.
“Wanda! Wanda!”
Wanda’s trance was broken as Pietro pulled her away and under their parents' bed. Before she had time to react, a second bomb fell into the rubble only a few feet from the bed, causing her and her brother to jump. She braced for the impact of another explosion, holding on to Pietro as tight as she could. Pietro tried to convince Wanda to flee, but she knew there was no hope; eventually the bomb would go off.
For two days, the twins waited for the shell to explode. They whispered stories to each other, desperately trying to get their minds somewhere better, happier. Wanda knew that if they did not make a move, they would die here anyway with dry mouths and empty bellies.
“Over here! I think we’ve got survivors!”
Wanda nudged her brother awake from his troubled sleep, as she saw the movement of several pairs of boots trudging around to the rubble, to the twins’ shelter.
“Here! Here!” Wanda called out, using what little english she knew.
“I’ve got you. It’s going to be okay,” she heard a woman’s voice call out and she was pulled out from under the bed. She made sure her brother was safe before wrapping her arms around the stranger’s neck and drifting off into an uneasy sleep, tears still streaming their way down her face.
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[2013, Sokovia]
Wanda knew what this mission was really for. It was a test of not only her tactical skills in the field, but a test of her emotional strength as well. She knew the dangers of becoming too emotionally involved in a mission, the way it made you a risk to yourself and others. She also knew this was why Fury had decided to grant her and Pietro this assignment. It was supposed to be a simple mission to gather intel. The problem was that this mission took place in her home country, where she and her brother had not been since they had been rescued from the fallout of the attack that killed her parents. S.H.I.E.L.D had been following rumors regarding the location of Loki’s lost Scepter as well as whispers of unethical human experimentation.
As much as she had wanted to prove her strength, in the days approaching the mission she was overcome with anxiety and flooded with nightmares. However, when the time came to fly out to Sokovia, both her and Pietro had felt their training kick in and it became like any other assignment. Yet, this was not any other assignment. When the twins had arrived along with the rest of their S.H.I.E.L.D team, the group was swiftly outnumbered and the twins were separated from the team. Back at S.H.I.E.L.D headquarters, the twins had officially been reported missing and many assumed them to be dead.
When they discovered a facility hidden deep in the woods, Wanda and Pietro believed that they were going to go back to Fury presenting their discoveries and finally be awarded the trust they deserved as well as the chance to take on more serious assignments.
“Something seems wrong about this,” Wanda tried to warn Pietro as they walked deeper into what appeared to be an abandoned laboratory. Suddenly, a scream tore through the silence and Wanda immediately ran towards the sound. Wanda watched in horror as several scientists observed a woman collapse to the ground after coming in contact with what she recognized as the Scepter. The last thing she saw was the woman’s lifeless body before she was struck suddenly with a sharp pain and her vision went black.
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“You can’t do this!” Wanda screamed as she banged her hands helplessly on the glass.
“Touch the sample, or watch your brother die. We will have you, one way or another” One of the scientists spat back as a large guard held a gun to Pietro’s head.
She slowly stepped towards the Scepter, shaking with fear. The cerulean stone shot out of its place in the Scepter suddenly and seemed to flow to her like a magnet. She reached only a finger out to touch the stone and when she came in contact with it, it burst into a bright yellow flare in which she saw a vision of an unknown figure who overwhelmed her with their power, which she could feel coursing through her own body.
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Wanda’s eyes opened gradually. She could see several agents that she recognized, including Director Fury. She felt the slight shake of the familiar S.H.I.E.L.D aircraft.
“You’re safe, Wanda,” Fury said in a whisper, placing a warm hand on her shoulder. Wanda had never known Fury to be a comforting presence, or to speak so softly as this. Shouldn’t she be reprimanded for the way the mission had gone so wrong? Hadn’t she and Pietro failed Fury?
Pietro.
Wanda bolted up suddenly, a pit forming in her stomach and she stumbled around looking for any sign of her twin.
“Pietro!” She called out, her chest heaving, desperately searching for him. Wanda’s knees buckled and she fell to the cold metal floor of the plane. “How could you?” she cried out at Fury. If Pietro wasn’t with her, right beside her, then she realized that he was still there in the hands of those wretched men.
“We did what we could. There was no way we could get both of you out.”
“Is he alive?” Wanda demanded, hanging on to hope.
“Yes, but I’m afraid we have no idea where he is now. Another team was sent to do recon on the facility after we were able to rescue you. The lab was cleared out. All that was left were bodies.”
Wanda sensed the anger rise in her and at once a blast of energy left her body knocking down several crates of weapons and supplies as well as knocking out several other passengers. Wanda looked on in alarm and the damage she had caused and collapsed in burning sobs.
“It’s going to be okay, Wanda. It’s going to be okay.”