Carmine Jewels ║ Wanda Maximoff

Chapter 26 - Dancing With Our Hands Tied

Just like she had suspected, it wasn't something ordinary that made Alexandra drag her out of her session with Wanda. Apparently, they needed her at another base, but Keira couldn't help but wonder if it was because she had been too familiar with the Maximoffs. But why not just order her to cut it out? It was strange that they needed to relocate her for that simple reason alone.

Luckily enough, she had been sedated during the flight, so she didn't have to endure the pressure changes, and she hadn't felt like she had been shot with a horse tranquilizer afterward either, which was a bonus, unlike the last time.

But as she now had no one to talk to except Alexandra again, her mind had begun to wander back to her past. She doubted that she'd ever see Natasha, Cap, or any of her friends again. She had been unable to keep track of how much time had passed since HYDRA got their hands on her. And every time she tried to count the days, she lost track after a while.

With her legs crossed and slowly massaging her temples, she had been trying to silence the voices inside her head. But she was failing miserably, and the voices were speaking volumes inside her mind. She had given Wanda's advice a try, to find a new mind palace, but she quickly realized she wasn't at peace enough to do so. The locking mechanism of the door clicked open, and Keira glanced up from her place on the bed.

"Topaz, follow me. I have a mission for you."

It was Alexandra once again, and Keira stood up and followed suit. As they walked through the facility, she couldn't help but notice that this one was in even worse shape than the one in Sokovia. If she guessed correctly, this was one of the bases that would act as cannon fodder if HYDRA needed to avert suspicion.

Keira couldn't help but notice the proud stature of the doctor in front of her and she narrowed her eyes slightly. "May I ask where we're going?" She asked, trying to keep her voice casual. What could possibly have put the doctor in such a good mood?

Alexandra twirled around with a smile on her face. Her mood had improved immensely since they had relocated from Sokovia, and the bags under her eyes were slowly starting to vanish. "Oh, for this little mission, you'll need to look your best, and that's not really possible with the way you're looking right now." She eyed the mutant up and down pointedly, before pushing a door to her left open.

Keira only raised an eyebrow in response and walked through the doorway without further questions. Yes, she was aware that she wasn't looking her best, but she was looking much better now than she had been doing in the beginning when her hair just hung in greasy strands around her face.

Two female agents in a much simpler getup than normal were waiting for her, and she turned around to Alexandra, the question marks shining in her eyes.

"Ladies, make this one-" Alexandra gestured towards the blonde. "-presentable for the mission. I wish her to be beautiful." She finished off, not bothering to answer the mutant's unasked question. As she turned to walk away, she caught herself mid-step and threw a stern gaze at the mutant. "Oh, and Topaz... Behave." And with that, she disappeared as she closed the door behind her.

Keira just stood there, frozen like a statue, staring at the two female agents, who without further ado started to undress her, like it was the most normal thing in the world. Her first response was to protest and cover herself up, but she knew that disagreeing would only cause problems, so she let the agents do their job.

When she was handed a soap, she couldn't help the shadow of a small smile that played in the corner of her lips. She couldn't even recall the last time she was allowed to shower properly, and not just get hosed down like an animal. One of the agents sat her down on a stool, and began to untangle the mess of blonde hair. Not only that, but her hair also got cut so it was now ending just below her shoulders, which felt oddly freeing after having it almost touch her tailbone for so long.