Carmine Jewels ║ Wanda Maximoff

Chapter 76 - Show, Don't Tell

During her year off-grid, Keira had never once allowed herself to look up what had become of her friends. And while some of them, especially Natasha, had tried to reach her, they all ended up blocked. It was too painful of a reminder.

The fact that it had been her who had abandoned them first was gnawing away at her heart. Not only that, but she had lost herself. Lost every sense of who she was before Thanos. Keira Nowak wasn't a ruthless killer, was she?

No, she was an Avenger, who did everything she could to repent for her bloody past. She didn't kill unless it was truly necessary, and definitely not in cold blood, as she had done the past year. Right...?

Keira dragged the worn laptop closer to her and as she flipped it open, she was forced to squint at the bright screen. She gave her eyes a moment to adjust and she brushed some mahogany strands behind her ears before she started to type the thing she had promised herself to never google.

'The Avengers'

And all thanks to the imaginary voice and touch of Wanda.

The laptop chewed the words for a couple of seconds before it refreshed, and just as expected, millions of results popped up. But the news articles regarding Sokovia, or Lagos, weren't the ones that interested Keira. That was old news. No, it was the most recent ones that caught her interest.

'Where are the Earth's Mightiest Heroes now?'

'What really happened in Wakanda?'

'Why did the Avengers fail to protect the world?'

'Natasha Romanoff, carrying the legacy of our lost heroes on her shoulders.'

At the last headline, Keira felt the lump in her throat grow to such a size it became hard to breathe. "Tasha..." She whispered weakly while blindly reaching for her phone. Not one of her many burner phones, but her real one. The one she always kept charge in the childish hope that she would one day see Wanda's name pop up on it.

As if to make matters worse, her vision blurred even more as her eyes fell on her lock screen. Three women were smiling up at her. A brunette, a blonde, and a redhead. Wanda, Keira herself, and Natasha.

It had been one of those rare days when all three of them had a day off, and like normal, Keira had grown restless within the confines of the compound. But luck turned out to be on her side because at that moment, a carnival just happened to be in town. And what could be a better boredom breaker than such a thing?

To her delight, both Wanda and Natasha had gladly tagged along without complaints.

And when Keira had managed to win the big Toothless plushie, cheered on by both women, how could she resist not taking a victory picture? Since Keira's hands had been busy holding her prize, it was Natasha who had been assigned the title of photographer. Because Wanda was busy holding two cones with blue cotton candy, hers and Natasha's.

All of their smiles stretched wide, but Natasha's most of all.

The fit of laughter that broke out just after the picture was taken was one Keira would never forget. All of them had laughed so much that they nearly cried, their stomachs hurting. And to see Natasha so carefree and happy in public, had made Keira's heart melt.

It had been one of those rare moments when Natasha didn't care if someone saw the real her, something that didn't occur often. Natasha normally kept a very strict façade while around strangers.

Blinking furiously, Keira bit down on her bottom lip to stop it from trembling. What had she done? She had lost Wanda, but instead of staying with her friends, the people who cared about her, she had run away.