Wanda/Elizabeth One-Shots

Lost and Found (W.M) Part 1

"Alright team, here's the plan," Steve said, looking around at the assembled Avengers. "We're infiltrating this Hydra base to retrieve stolen Chitauri weaponry. Stark and Barton, you two enter from the roof. Maximoff, you're with me through the front. Everyone clear?"

The team nodded, gearing up for the mission. Everyone except Ethan Stark, that is. He was fiddling with the high tech Stark Industries watch on his wrist instead of paying attention.

"Yo, Stark! Get your head in the game," Clint said, snapping his fingers in front of Ethan's face.

"Huh? Oh yeah, hit Hydra goons, grab alien tech, got it Cap," Ethan rattled off breezily.

Steve just shook his head. "Let's move out."

Soon Ethan and Clint were perched on the roof of the Hydra facility as the others got into position.

"Alright kid, just stick close to me and try not to get us both killed," Clint muttered.

"Relax Hawkeye, this'll be a cakewalk," Ethan scoffed.

He blasted open the roof access hatch and they slipped inside, immediately confronting a squad of armed Hydra soldiers.

"You just had to say cakewalk!" Clint grumbled, diving behind a crate to avoid the barrage of laser fire.

Ethan spun wildly, firing repulsor beams. "I got this!" he yelled over the noise.

But more soldiers kept coming. "There's too many, we gotta split up!" Clint called. "Meet back at the quinjet!"

He grappled up a wall and disappeared into a vent. Ethan fired off a few more repulsor blasts for cover before turning and sprinting down a random corridor.

"Okay, time to find my way out of this maze," he muttered to himself. Lefts, rights, another right? Ethan quickly lost track of all the twists and turns he took.

By the time he stopped running, he was thoroughly lost in a forgotten corner of the sprawling facility. "Uh oh," he gulped. Without Clint to guide him, he was hopeless.

Ethan tapped futilely at the StarkTech navigation holo watch, but nothing came up. "Stupid useless gadget!"

Swearing under his breath, he randomly picked a hallway and started walking. But he only got more confused, everything looking identical in the dreary underground base.

"Hello? Anyone? A little help here?" Ethan called out as he wandered past endless rows of locked doors. His radio earpiece remained stubbornly silent.

After what felt like hours of fruitlessly rambling the maze-like hallways, Ethan slumped against a wall in despair. "Welp, I live here now," he declared dramatically.

Just then, he heard faint voices approaching. Perking up, he scurried toward them eagerly. "Oh thank Thor, I'm saved!"

But as he rounded the corner, he skidded to a halt. The voices belonged to a dozen heavily armed Hydra soldiers!

"Target acquired. Eliminate Stark!" their leader barked. Ethan yelped and turned tail, sprinting away as searing laser blasts pursued him.

"Stupid Hydra jerks, I was lost before you showed up!" he yelled over his shoulder. Zig-zagging haphazardly through narrow passageways, he finally managed to evade them.

Gasping to catch his breath, Ethan looked around desperately for any clue where to go. A small air vent in the corner caught his eye. It would be a tight squeeze...but it was his only option.

Laying on his back, Ethan shimmied and wiggled his way into the vent, using his elbows to slowly army-crawl forward. "Just like...Die Hard..." he panted, cobwebs sticking to his face.

After what felt like an eternity squirming through the cramped metal space, a pinprick of light appeared ahead of him. With a final mighty shove, Ethan tumbled out of the vent, gulping fresh air.

He found himself outside the facility, blessed sunlight warming his face. "Haha, freedom!" Ethan cheered, punching the sky in triumph.

But glancing around, he quickly deflated. The quinjet was nowhere in sight. Miles of empty forest stretched around him. He had no clue which way to go.

"Well, this superhero is officially screwed," Ethan declared, plopping down on the grass. "Guess I'll just wait for someone to find me."

Pulling out a protein bar, he resigned himself to his fate. As long as no Hydra goons or wild bears showed up, he was content to hang out in nature.

A few hours later though, boredom had fully set in. Ethan was belting out the chorus of "All By Myself" at the top of his lungs when he finally heard the blessed sound of repulsor jets.

Iron Man touched down in front of him. His mask flipped up, revealing Tony's supremely annoyed face.

"What the hell, Ethan? We've been searching for you for hours!" he exclaimed.

Ethan leapt up, elated. "Dad! Oh man, am I glad to see you. I got lost in there like immediately."

Tony groaned. "Unbelievable. Just like Budapest all over again. How do you have zero sense of direction?"

"Hey, at least I made it out in one piece this time!" Ethan said indignantly, following Tony back to the quinjet.

Wanda was waiting inside, practically vibrating with worry. "Ethan!" she cried, tackling him in a frantic hug. "Are you okay? What happened in there?"

"Babe, you're never gonna believe this crazy story," Ethan launched eagerly into a dramatic recounting of his adventure.

Wanda's relief at seeing him safe quickly shifted to bewildered frustration. "That's it. I'm putting a tracker on you for missions from now on," she declared, smacking his arm.

"Aw come on, have a little faith!" Ethan protested. "I always find my way back to you eventually." He punctuated his point with a cheeky grin and wink.

Despite herself, Wanda felt the corners of her mouth quirk upward. She could never stay mad at the disaster magnet that was Ethan Stark. Not when he looked at her with those big, pleading eyes.

"What am I going to do with you?" she sighed, pulling him in for a kiss.

"Pretty please don't put me on a child leash?" Ethan bargained playfully when they finally broke apart.

Wanda rolled her eyes but relented with a laugh. "Fine. But you owe me huge for all the stress, Stark."

Ethan happily agreed, just thrilled to be back safe in the arms of the woman he loved, his navigationally-challenged spirit unbroken. After all, he thought proudly, any mission you can walk away from is a success in his book.