Broken in Half - Avengers

Chapter 2 - The Missing

Dedicated to TheLadyWithTheWand
Elytra was sitting in Wanda's room, eating a bowl of ice cream, while Wanda flipped through the channels on the tv, landing on the news. It showed a burning building in Vienna. "Isn't Natasha in Vienna?" Elytra asked, and Wanda nodded. Their eyes were glued to the screen, as a news lady narrated the scene.
"The bombing in Vienna has left twelve dead, including the Wakandan king. The bomber has been identified as James Buchanan Barnes, the Winter Soldier-"
Wanda looked up as Elytra turned the tv off. "Bucky." She breathed, "Why?"
"He's under their control again." Wanda stated, glancing up at her, and gently taking the remote out of her hand. "Why don't we see what Vision's up to, hmm?"
A mouth-watering scent hit the girls as the elevator doors opened, and Elytra saw Vision cooking at the stove in the kitchen. "Is that paprika?" Wanda asked, coming over to stand beside Vision. "I thought it might lift your spirits." Elytra got a glass out of the cabinet and filled it with water, before sitting down on one of the stools across from the two.
Wanda laughed, taking the spoon from the pot, blowing on it before tasting. "Spirits lifted."
"In my defense, I've never actually eaten anything before, so-" Vision said. Wanda took over cooking as Elytra made little snowflakes appear on the counter.
"Wanda?" Vision asked, "No one dislikes you Wanda."
"Thanks?"
"Oh, you're welcome." Vision continued, "No, It's an involuntary response in their brain, they can't help be afraid of you."
"Are you?" She asked, looking up at him.
"My amygdala is synthetic, so..." Wanda laughed, stirring the pot. "I used to think of myself one way, but, after this, I am something else." She waved the red energy in her hand, staring at it. "I'm still me I think, but... that's not what everyone else sees."
"Do you know, I don't know what this is, not really." Vision gestured to the yellow stone on his forehead. "I know it's not of this world...it powered Loki's staff, gave you your abilities but, its true nature is a mystery." Elytra glanced up at him, unintentionally letting snowflakes glide up the surface of the counter in front of him. "And yet it is part of me."
He gave Elytra a quick look, almost a smile, tracing one of the flakes with his finger.
"Are you afraid of it?" Elytra whispered, letting frost crawl up her arms. "I wish to understand it." He replied, "The more I do, the less it controls me. One day, who knows? I may even control it."
Wanda gesture to the pot. "I don't know what's in this, but it's not paprika. I'm gonna go to the store." She reached over and grabbed Elytra's cloak off the hook. "Would you like to come?" She asked Elytra, and she nodded, making the snowflakes and frost disappear. Wanda wrapped the black fabric around Elytra, pinning it at her neck. "We'll be back in twenty minutes."
They were about to leave, when Vision slipped in front of them, almost defensively. "Alternatively, we could order a pizza." He was acting suspicious, and Wanda motioned for Elytra to step aside, so she walked over to the window, looking out over the city. Her eyes were fixed on the outside, but her ears were listening to the two. "Vision," Wanda started, "are you not letting us leave?"
He looked down, guiltily. "It is a question of safety."
"Elytra and I can take care of ourselves." She said, trying to get around him, but Vision wouldn't move. He put an arm out to block her. "Not yours."
"Mr. Stark would like to avoid the possibility of another public incident. Until the Accords are on a more secure foundation."
"And what do you want?" Wanda asked, glaring up at him angrily.
"For people to see you, as I do." He replied.
Elytra unfastened her cloak, hanging it back on the hook by the elevator. She walked with silent footsteps over to the couch, sitting with her legs folded. She put her hand out, making little snowflakes form a girl in a leotard. A ballerina, like Natasha had told her she once was, a long time ago. Natasha, along with everyone but Wanda and Vision, had left two days ago, and wouldn't tell her where. The only thing Steve said, "Stay out of trouble, El. I'll be back soon."
Elytra waved her hands, making the girl dance in moves Natasha had shown her. Elytra would do it herself, but her leg wouldn't allow her to move like Natasha did. The ice ballerina was graceful, twirling in a triple pirouette. Elytra watched the girl dance, for hours on end.
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Something wasn't right, Elytra could feel it. It settled far within her, next to the cold feeling she had always had. She looked up, letting the ice dissolve into the air. Wanda had been sitting next to her, and asked, quietly, "Do you feel that?" Elytra nodded, taking one of her throwing knifes out of her boot. She ran her finger over it, lacing it with ice, and gripped it with an iron fist. Wanda's eyes glowed red, and energy pulsed between her hands. Vision looked up from the chair he was in. "Stay here please." He said calmly, getting up and looking out the window. He melted through the wall, and in the split second after, Elytra had flown to the opposite side of the room, with her knife pointed at the intruder's neck, and Wanda had another knife positioned in the air, both right at an unfazed Clint. "Guess I should've knocked." He said, taking a hand and pushing Elytra's knife away from his neck. "Clint?!" Elytra asked, dropping her knife. "What are you doing here?" Wanda said, looking out to where Vision had went moments before. "Disappointing my kids." He stated. "How you holding up El?"
He wrapped an arm around her, as she pressed her body against him. "I'll take that as a not so well." He ruffled her hair, looking up at Wanda. He took his bow and shot arrows at various places in the room. "Cap needs our help, come on." He took Elytra's hand, Wanda at their heels, but the three whipped around as Vision passed through the wall. "Clint!"
"You should not be here." He warned.
"Really?" Clint asked, "I retire for what, five minutes, and it all goes to shit."
"Please consider the consequences of your actions." Vision advised, stepping forward. Elytra pressed against Clint's side, like a scared child. "Okay, they're considered."
The arrows Clint had shot into the walls flared, sending electricity towards Vision. "Okay, we gotta go." Clint grabbed the girls' hands, turning to the door, but Wanda didn't follow. "Stay over here." Clint told Elytra, jogging back to stand beside Wanda. "I've caused enough problems." She said.
"You gotta help me Wanda. You wanna mope, you can go to high school. You wanna make amends, you get off your ass."
He turned to look at Vision. "Shit." He cursed, as Vision broke free of the electric bindings. He pushed Clint to the ground, and Clint grabbed the taser from his back. "I knew I should've stretched." He sighed.
They fought for a few moments, but Vision was significantly stronger than Clint, and soon had him in a headlock. "Clint, you can not overpower me." Vision attempted to reason with him.
"I know I can't, but she can." Clint jerked his head towards at Wanda, whose eyes went ablaze, red flickering between her hands.
"Vision, that's enough, let him go." Wanda said, a red ball of energy surging in front of her. "I'm leaving."
"I can't let you."
Her power grew, and Clint fell through Vision's arm as he became transparent, growing weaker with each prolonging second. "I'm sorry."
Elytra watched as Vision was pushed to the ground, and the tile broke beneath him. "If you do this," He said, "They will never stop being afraid of you."
"I can't control their fear." Wanda breathed, "Only my own." Vision broke through the floor, as Wanda's power forced him down deeper until they could no longer see him.
Clint looked down. "Come on, we've got one more stop."
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Elytra ducked into the back of the van, while Wanda sat in the passenger's seat. Clint passed her a pillow and blanket, before getting into the driver's seat and starting the engine. She curled her wings around her body, and tucked the pillow beneath her head, letting her legs droop off the seat. Elytra stuck her hand in front of her, letting ice pool out onto the floor of the car. She made the ballerina again, but smaller because of the limited space. Moving her hand to make the girl plié and stand on her toes, Wanda looked back at her with sad eyes. "You wish you could do that, don't you?"
Elytra nodded, letting the ice jump into the air and land perfectly on her toes, bringing her arms above her head. "Natasha showed me."
Clint looked in the rear-view mirror, astonished. "Tasha showed you that?"
She nodded again, the girl jumping up to the compartment between the two front seats, sitting down between Clint and Wanda. The ice evaporated, and Elytra let her hand rest under her head. Her eyes drooped, and the last thing she saw was the city fading into the distance.
She woke in a dark, eerie room. Elytra looked around, and a light flickered on above her. A robotic voice echoed from the darkness, "Elentiya Laufeyson, daughter of Loki."
"Who the hell are you, and how do you know my name?" She struggled against the restraints on her wrists, and felt her wings weighed down by chains as well. Her metal leg had been removed, and her other leg was strapped down to the table. Elytra looked up into the dark, eyes scanning it for signs of life. A faceless man came out into the light surrounding the table, with a tray of objects. Two, she recognized. A shock collar, and magic-restricting gloves. The same kind as the burn cuffs used on her at Hydra.
"No!" Elytra screamed, pulling against the chains, trying to use her powers to break out, but the faceless man opened the collar and thrust it around her neck. It latched closed, and as she screamed and moved, it sent numerous painful shocks of electricity through her body. Elytra fought for as long as she could, as the pain sent her back into the dark.
Elytra woke with eyes wide, sucking in a painful breath of air. Clint and Wanda both glanced back at her fearfully, as they pulled up to a large, cozy-looking house. "Stay here." Clint said, getting out of the van and shutting the door. He returned a few minutes later with another man, who was carrying a duffel bag and a mask. "El, Wanda, this is Scott." Wanda said hello, while Elytra stared at the ground, waving her hands to form a small Chitauri snake. "You brought a kid?" Scott questioned, looking at her with surprise. "She's done more than you think." Wanda replied, "Who do you think saved New York?"
"That was her?" Scott's jaw dropped, as El scooted over to let him sit in the other seat. Clint nodded, glancing back at her with worry, before sliding into the driver's seat and pulling out. Elytra didn't say anything, just let the snake slither around the floor. "That is so cool!" Scott chuckled, and she let a small grin slip. Wanda motioned for him to continue, as he was obviously cheering the trembling girl up. Frost grew up Elytra's arms as she concentrated on the snake spinning on the floor, slowly pulling a knife out of her boot with the other hand. "No throwing knives in the car, El." Clint joked, looking back at her with a smirk on his face. "Save that for later."
Elytra continued to let the little Chitauri spin on the floor, before letting it morph into a dragon, the small creature crawling up to sit on her lap. "Is that your pet?" Scott asked, reaching out to scratch Tundra's icy head. "No." She replied. "He's my brother. Not by blood, though."
"Oh." Scott replied, "How many siblings do you have?"
"One that was blood. Over three hundred that are not."
"Three hundred! Wait, what do you mean 'was'?"
Wanda quickly made a gesture that said, "Don't mention it or I will slit your throat," but Elytra quickly replied, "He's gone."
"I'm sorry." Scott said, patting Tundra's head. Tundra looked up at him with icy blue eyes, hopping off of Elytra's lap and curling up in the middle of the seat. "He likes you, Scott." She said, turning her head to look out the window. Tundra suddenly growled, as Clint drove the van into an airport parking garage. "El, you have your knives, but don't use them unless absolutely necessary, okay? We've all seen what you can do with them. Steve is going to explain what's going on, all right?" Clint turned into a parking space, and Elytra saw a small old-fashioned blue car parked a few spaces over.
"Something's wrong, isn't it?" She said, sensing the danger in the air. "Yes, Elytra, it is." Wanda agreed, stepping out of the car, sliding the door open for her. Elytra stepped out, and as her feet hit the ground, she sensed something so strong her wings flared and her horns appeared. Her knives were at her sides in seconds. "Steve. What's going on?" She impulsively gripped the handles tighter, ears pricked, but a voice caused the weapons to slip and fall to the ground, clattering against the asphalt.
"El?"
"Bucky?"
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Word count: 2301