For the Love of a Father ✓

I'm With You

I step inside the compound, having flown there from Boston. "What the hell happened?" I whisper to Steve when he meets me in the entryway. "No one clocked him as suicidal."

"I'm not sure. I didn't think he would be."

"How's Wanda?"

"She's refusing to leave her room."

"I'll try and talk to her." I say, placing a quick kiss on his cheek before heading upstairs. I see her in her room watching the news and I turn it off. "Stop it. Stop torturing yourself."

"Why? Soon they'll be calling for it."

"And they'll have to plow through my cold dead body to get to you." She refuses to look at me. "Ok, come on. Get up."

"I really don't want to."

"Luckily for me, I don't care." I say, pulling her up. "We're going outside."

Fifteen minutes later we're both sitting in the grass out behind the compound, with nothing surrounding us for miles. "Let it out." I tell her.

"What?"

"It's pulsing within you. It heightens with your emotions. I can feel it from here. Let it out."

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"Every time I do, someone gets hurt."

"Who's out here to get hurt? The trees? The grass?"

"I could hurt you."

"Please." I laugh. "I'm a lot more indestructible than I look. And my powers are exactly like yours. We'll be ok."

She screams and her power rips through her and out into the open field. I watch as it stretches all the way to the tree line. Wanda falls to the ground, exhausted. "Do you feel better?" She nods. "Your powers are not destructive. The media needs someone to blame and Brock Rumlow is dead so they go for the next best thing. They need someone living to cling to and they fear what they do not understand. Don't be like them. Learn about your powers, learn to control them, so they don't control you." She hugs me and I hold onto her tightly, letting her feel that she's not alone.

*1 Month Later*

The attack in Lagos was still the only thing the news outlets wanted to talk about. Blame was still being placed at the Avenger's feet. I hadn't seen Dad since that day at MIT, he was busy working on something Happy told me. Wanda's moods would ebb and flow, depending on how badly they were dragging her name, but I did notice that she seemed to brighten up whenever Vision spent time with her.

"How are you holding up?" I ask as her and I sit in her room, purposefully ignoring the television.

"It's hard still. They don't seem to realize that we lost too."

"I know. We're supposed to somehow be above it all. Know exactly how to stop something that we've never even seen before." My face turns dark.

"What's wrong?"

"Just something that happened with Dad right before the team got back from Lagos." Before I could answer Vision walks through the wall.

"Miss Stark, Mr. Stark has arrived."

"Ok, we'll be right there."

"Oh, and apparently, he's brought a guest."

"Do I want to know who?"

"The Secretary of State." He leaves and I groan.

"I'd rather go up against an alien army." I grumble, causing Wanda to laugh a little. "Let's go see what the devil wants."