The Life of Hadley Maximoff

The Problem With The Mind Stone

I sleep for a while, and I feel a gentle hand on my back, and I hear Nat's voice say, "Hads, time to wake up! We will be at the compound in a few minutes." I open my eyes and sit up. I see Wanda is already awake, and I get up from my chair and walk over to her. "Good morning Wanda!" I say cheerfully, and I hug her. I have forgiven her for the events of last night. We are sisters no matter what, and whether we get along or not doesn't matter. Family is Forever. I don't hold grudges unless it's against a bad guy.

"Good Morning, Hads!" says Wanda with a bit of surprise in her voice. "Just to let you know, I have completely forgiven you!" I say. "Wow! I expected it to take a lot longer than a few hours," says Wanda. "I took a leaf out of Mom's book. "I don't judge people on their worst mistakes," I say, quoting something that my Mom and Uncle Clint say. Wanda nods, and we land. Wanda and Sam help Vision get off the jet, and Nat, Steve, and I walk off the jet. Technically we are all not supposed to be here because of the Accords. We have been secretly living here until last week.

We walk into the compound and we hear Rhodey's voice coming from Tony's lab. We walk there and see him talking to a hologram of Secretary Ross. I walk in front of Nat and Steve, and Wanda, Vision, and Sam are behind us. "Mr. Secretary," says Steve. "You got some nerve. I'll give you that," says Secretary Ross to Nat and Steve. "You could use some of that right now," says Nat. "The world's on fire. And you think all is forgiven?" says Secretary Ross. I roll my eyes, and Steve says, "I'm not looking for forgiveness. And I'm way past asking for permission. Earth just lost her best defender. So we're here to fight. If you wanna stand in our way, we'll fight you too," says Steve. "Mic drop!" I say, making Nat smirk and Wanda giggle. "Arrest them," Ross tells Rhodey. I know Rhodey won't arrest us, though. "All over it," says Rhodey, and he hangs up on the hologram. "That's a court-martial. It's great to see you, Cap," says Rhodey shaking Steve's hand. "You too, Rhodey," says Steve. Nat and I walk over to him, and Nat hugs Rhodey, and he gives me a fist bump. "Wow. You guys really look like crap," says Rhodey. I walk over to Wanda and hold her free hand, and Sam says, "Well, the government hasn't been our biggest fan lately." "Uh, I think you look great," says a voice I haven't heard in about two years. Bruce Banner walks into the room. "Yeah, I'm back," says Bruce. "Hi, Bruce," says Nat. Bruce nods and says, "Nat." We walk into the living room to talk about the scenario involving Vision's stone. "So we gotta assume they're coming back, right?" says Rhodey looking at a hologram of the aliens from last night. "And they can clearly find us," says Wanda. "We need all hands on deck. Where's Clint?" says Bruce. "After the whole Accords situation, he and Scott took a deal. It was too tough on their families. They're on house arrest," says Nat. At least my family is all the Avengers, I think to myself, and Wanda nods. I keep forgetting that she can read minds. "Who's Scott?" asks Bruce. "Ant-Man," says Steve. "There's an Ant-Man and a Spider-Man?" asks Bruce. "Yes. This why you don't disappear for almost two years. You miss things." I say. And everyone, including Bruce, nods. "Okay, look, Thanos has the biggest army in the universe, and he is not gonna stop until he gets...Vision's stone." "Then we have to protect it," says Nat. "No, we have to destroy it. I've been giving a good deal of thought to this entity in my head. About its nature. But also its composition. I think if it were exposed to a sufficiently powerful energy source something very similar to its own signature, perhaps its molecular integrity could fail." says Vision standing in front of Wanda and me. "Yeah, and you with it. We're not having this conversation," says Wanda. I genuinely feel awful for her right now. If she can't and or won't destroy Vision and his stone, then I will have to because I am the only other person with her powers and on top of that powers from the Mind Stone. "Eliminating the stone is the only way to be certain that Thanos can't get it." says Vision. "That's too high a price," says Wanda. Vison puts his hands on Wanda's cheeks, and he says, "Only you and Hadley have the power to pay it." Wanda's eyes fill with tears, and she walks into the bar with her back to us. I wait a few seconds before walking over to her and hugging her. She puts her arm around me, and I whisper, "It's gonna be okay, Wanda. I'm right here no matter what," "Thanos threatens half the universe. One life cannot stand in the way of defeating him." says Vision making more tears roll down Wanda's cheeks. "But it should. We don't trade lives, Vision," says Steve. "Captain, 70 years ago, you laid down your life to save how many millions of people? Tell me, why is this any different?" says Vision. "Because you might have a choice. Your mind is made up of a complex construct of overlays. Jarvis, Ultron, Tony, me, the stone. All of them mixed together, all of them learning from one another," says Bruce. Wanda and I turn around, and Wanda says, "You're saying Vision isn't just the stone?" asks Wanda. "I'm saying that if we take out the stone, there's still a whole lot of Vision left. Perhaps, the best parts," says Bruce. "Can we do that?" asks Nat. "Not me, not here," says Bruce. "Well, you better find someone and somewhere fast. Ross isn't just gonna let you guys have your old rooms back," says Rhodey. "I know somewhere," says Steve. "Wakanda?" I ask. "Yes. How did you know?" says Steve. "I read some files. They have some very impressive tech! Shuri T'Challa's little sister is a genius, maybe even smarter than Tony, but don't tell him I said that next time we see him." I say. "Dang Nat and Steve, how much downtime do you let her have?" asks Rhodey. "Not too much, but clearly she uses it productively." says Nat. Steve leaves the room to make a call. He comes back a few minutes later, and he says, "Get what you need and suit up. We're going to Wakanda." Wakanda has been a bucket list item for me ever since they opened up to the world.