Home ¥ Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch

Prologue

"Thank you, have a nice day." Mr. Richards kindly bid me a farewell, as I began walking in the direction of the shop door. I smiled and nodded, wishing him the same.

Stepping outside, I was met with a tall, angry-looking man. I found myself squinting my eyes and purposefully standing still, ensuring I was stood right in his way. He grunted, obviously irritated and stepped forwards, shoving past me on his way inside.

Just as I had wanted, his shoulder roughly barged against mine on his way. I felt my eyes widen with shock, as he made his way over to the counter. I could leave. Attracting unnecessary attention was the last thing I wanted right now.

I knew realistically that was the safest option for me. Who was I kidding? I never did what was best for me. My own life and problems were the least of my worries. Everyone else had to deal with so much worse and I could see it.

Ignoring every logical part of my brain that told me to just leave, I pushed the door to a close and sighed. "Gimee everything in the register!" I heard the same man yell, rounding the corner to find him waving a gun in the air.

"Don't." I ordered, revealing myself to both him and Mr. Richards. "Don't open it." I repeated, staring the man down. He didn't want to do this and I knew that. He wasn't a bad person. He was a good man dealt the wrong cards.

"Open it!" He shouted, pointing his gun straight towards Mr. Richards's chest. He was inexperienced and didn't know what he was doing, that much was obvious. Mr. Richard's eyes frantically darted between the two of us. He was understandably terrified.

"Look, I know who you are." I explained, using my hands to show him I wasn't here to get him in trouble. "I'm not going to let him give you that money and you don't have much time before someone comes in here."

"Oh, yeah? What if I shoot you both, huh? You gonna stop me then?" He challenged, licking his lips and now pointing the gun towards me. I took a step towards the gun, proving to him that I wasn't afraid of him.

"You're not going to shoot me. You're not going to shoot anyone." I told him, confidently. Taking one last step forward, I felt the cool metal of the weapon gun against my forehead. I made sure my light blue eyes were locked with his.

"What makes you so sure?" He continued to push, his voice becoming lower and lower, as did his confidence. I made sure there was no emotion displayed on my face as I spoke my next words. The last thing I wanted to do was make him feel threatened.

"Because if you do, you're going to get put away for a long time and you know you can't do that to your daughter. She needs you." I reminded him, watching as all the colour drained from his face. He recovered from the shock after a few seconds, pushing the gun hard against my head until it caused pain.

"How do you know that?!" His voice boomed, filled both with insecurity and anger. His daughter was the most important thing to him in the world and I knew that.

"Here." I mumbled, reaching into my pocket and pulling out my wallet. "How much do you need for her treatment?" I asked, staring up at him with a look that proved I was serious. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion, curious as to why a person would do such a thing for a stranger.

He slowly lowered the gun, though he kept it out in his hand. I knew about his daughter, but that didn't mean he trusted me. "I said how much?" I repeated, showing him how sorry I was with my eyes. He had been through so much and deserved none of it.

"Two hundred." He finally answered, to which I promptly pulled the cash out. It was a lot of money to give to someone I barely knew, but I was sure I wouldn't regret it. He needed it more than I did anyway. "Why-"

"Take this and get her what she needs." I advised, tucking my wallet safely back in my pocket. "Don't ever think of doing something like this again." I warned, before snatching the gun from out of his grasp and replacing it with the money.

As I touched his hand, I felt myself shudder. He needed a new mindset and I was happy to give him one. "Do better for your daughter." I ordered, staring up into his eyes and watching as they momentarily zoned out. My work here was done.

"Don't call the police." I instructed a shaking Mr. Richards, seeing him nod. He knew better than to ignore my orders. With that, I swiflty turned on my heel and left. The chances of anyone seeing me or reporting anything were low, but that wasn't a risk I was willing to take.

However, as I stepped outside, I came to the realisation of just how high the chances had been. "Daniella Barnes. I'm Director Fury." A man called out, as he approached me. He was wearing a long, leather jacket and an eyepatch.

"Can I help you?" I replied, standing tall as I scanned the several blacked-out vehicles surrounding me. This was it. This was everything I had been running from my entire life. I was scared to death of these people, but I'd never let them see that.

"Actually, I have a feeling we might be able to help you." He explained, crossing his arms over his chest. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion, wondering what on Earth this man possibly thought he had to offer me.

Right as I was about to ask, he turned his head to the side and motioned towards a woman standing nearby. "Tell Barnes we found her." He ordered, causing my heart rate to quicken. The woman nodded, speaking into her ear piece to god knows who.

"How did you find me?" I asked, hating how shaky my voice had become at just the mere mention of a name. I knew it couldn't be who I thought it was, but that didn't make me any less nervous.

"Let's just say it wasn't easy." The man answered. He felt sorry for me - I could feel it even from a foot away. I wanted to touch him, to find out everything he was feeling. Every part of me except my brain was telling me he was one of the good guys. My mind, however, was telling me to run. As it always did.

I was about to ask more questions when a bright red light caught my attention. Above me, floating in mid air, was a woman. A scarlet glow was surrounding both her and a man, to which she slowly lowered to the ground.

I recognised him before he even turned to face me. The second my eyes met his, a humongous smile took over his features. I found myself running towards the man I'd never forget: James Buchanan Barnes. Bucky.

He opened his arms and I threw myself into them, feeling tears form in the corner of my eyes. "Hey, Princess. You're so big now." He greeted, placing his large hand on the back of my head as he held me. Silent tears rolled down my cheeks, feeling safer than I ever had in my entire life. I did my best to conceal them.

"Dad." I whispered, squeezing onto him tighter than ever before. "I thought I'd never see you again." I cried, gripping tightly onto his shirt and staying there. He rubbed my back soothingly, attempting to calm me down.

"I'm here." He told me, clutching me with the same force I was using. Memories of so much warmth and happiness came flooding back. Memories that weren't my own. He had missed me too. My name was associated with nothing but happiness in his mind, as well as grief. He thought I was dead.

After around five minutes of just hugging him tightly, he pulled back. "Let me bring you home." He suggested and I noticed tear marks running down his cheeks. He was so afraid I would reject him.

Instead, I nodded, wiping away at my own tears. It had been a long time since I had felt that anywhere was a home. I could barely remember ever having one.