PURE AND TAINTED ( wanda maximoff )

fifty-seven → i would've cleaned myself up

PURE AND TAINTED
CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN
( i would've cleaned myself up )

TONY DIDN'T KNOW WHAT HE was supposed to expect. He knew that they'd broken the law and what they'd done could have possibly locked them up for good, but he expected some kind of small jail cell in a government building on... well, land. But instead, in order to speak with any of them, he'd been forced to arrive via helicopter to a base located in the middle of the ocean. It didn't sound right or even feel right. The moment he stepped through the door, he could feel his stomach fall to his feet and his mouth go dry. His friends and former teammates were all lined up behind their cells, a thick glass wall revealing the inside. He took slow steady steps, gritting his teeth as soon as he heard Clint's voice shouting throughout the room. "The futurist, gentlemen!" he cried. "The futurist is here! He sees all. He knows what's best for you whether you like it or not." He gave a hefty and sarcastic applause as Tony stopped in front of his cell.

"Give me a break, Barton," Tony tried, sighing and shaking his head. "I had no idea they'd put you in here, come on."

Leaning towards Tony, Clint gave him an angry look. "Yeah, well, you knew they'd put us somewhere, Tony."

Tony gestured to their surroundings. "Yeah, but not some super max floating ocean pokey. You know this place is for maniacs, this place is for..." he trailed off, biting his tongue as he looked back at the archer.

"Criminals?" Clint finished, lifting a brow. "Criminals, Tony. I think that's the word you're looking for, right? It ain't used to mean me, or Sam, or Wanda, or Aline. But here we are." He could see the regret in Tony's eyes but that didn't stop his anger seething through; they all had heard the torment they'd been putting Aline through and the tears Wanda had shed because of it. 

"'Cause you broke the law," Tony said.

"Yeah."

"I didn't make you."

Clint muttered under his breath, rolling his eyes. "The law, the law."

"You read it, you broke it," Tony continued as Clint repeated the same words over and over again. "All right, you're all grownups. You got a wife and kids. I don't understand; why didn't you think about them before you chose the wrong side?" He stepped away, starting to walk to the next person's cell when Clint's voice nearly made him stop in his tracks.

"You better watch your back on this guy! Chances are he's gonna break it."

It felt like a small jab towards Rhodey and it took everything in him not to turn and lash out, instead passing by Scott, who grumbled, "Hank Pym always said you can never trust a Stark."

Tony almost rolled his eyes. "Who are you?" he retorted, cocking his head to the side as he didn't bother stopping. 

But he froze the moment he saw Aline. She sat against one of the walls, her head limply leaning back against it, causing her dark tangled hair to fall around her. Purple bags hung under her eyes, too dark against her too pale skin. She looked exhausted, much too tired to move her arms or even her head to look at Tony. Instead she just flicked her eyes to look at him. Unlike the others, where their suits had been normal, Aline's was ripped along her stomach and legs, and he could see the dry blood on her skin. There were an assortment of cuts across her body, and he gulped. Him and the others had never truly worried about Aline during missions simply because even if she had gotten shot in the head or had her heart ripped out, she'd heal and be back stronger than ever. But she wasn't healing. Instead the wounds remained and the blood dried. What the hell had Ross done to her?

"Well," Aline said, her voice raspy and hoarse, "didn't know the Devil was coming to visit. If I did, then I would've cleaned myself up." She chuckled to herself, then cut herself off. The tribrid squeezed her eyes shut and groaned, as if the simple act of laughter made her hurt. A tiny wheeze of breath flew past her lips.

"Ali," Tony started.

She cut him off instantly, voice coming out more like a hiss. "Don't you even start with that 'Ali' crap. Like Clint said, you knew the kind of place they'd put us in. Where they'd put me."

"What did they do?"

Aline looked up at the ceiling. "What didn't they do?" she said rhetorically. "Ross said it was to find my weaknesses, see if they could make more of me to help win wars. Honestly... I think it's more because he hates my guts." She shook her head weakly, then turned to look at Tony. "As soon as we got here, they took me into their lab and cut me up. Blood samples, skin tissue, even bone marrow. You know how they get bone barrow, Tony?" Aline knew he knew the answer to that question, watching as his face fell even further. "Ross wouldn't allow anesthesia. Said he wanted me to remember what being human felt like. I was awake that whole time, screaming for help. I'd never begged for mercy like that before but, my God, did I beg. I've been through some truly painful shit but this? I wouldn't wish this on anybody, no matter how evil."

Tony took a slow step towards her, brows furrowed. "I had no idea 一"

"Does it matter?" she snapped. "Do you honestly think if you knew where we'd be thrown or what they'd do to me, you could've stopped them? Whatever your intentions were, Tony, it doesn't matter. The government's already branded us villains before we even knew it 一 Wanda was called a villain because she couldn't save eleven lives. Eleven, Tony. God knows how many more if she didn't stop Rumlow. Clint can't see his family, not when he's here. And me? I'm being experimented on day after day because I'm too dangerous." She gave a small shrug, looking at the opposite wall. "Then again, can't say I blame them. I've done some pretty awful things. Some might call it monstrous." She spat the word out like venom. He thinks she looks so angry and broken.

"I'm sorry, Aline," he said genuinely.

"Well, sorry doesn't sweeten my tea." With all the strength she could manage, she lifted her hand and gestured to the side for him to move on. She hated Tony seeing her like this. The only plus side of this whole place was that Wanda nor any of her friends would see her like this. "Just... go and talk to Sam, hmm? That's what you're really here for, not for any of us."