Two of a Kind | Wanda Maximoff

Chapter 6: Regret

Wanda buried her tear-stained face into the chest of the android. She wanted him to leave her there. She wanted to die beside the woman. She wanted to die like her brother. She wanted Vision to go back and grab her savior, but she knew he couldn't. Her heart broke at the thought of this woman's family mourning her death and hating her for not bringing back her body. What difference did it make if people hated her? She hated herself enough. Everything that had happened had been her fault; her and her brother's, but you can't blame the dead.

Wanda wasn't paying attention to where Vision was taking her. Her eyes remained closed as she tried to force herself to stop the tears that came. She never liked crying, especially in front of others, and yet here she was; crying into the chest of an android. After a few minutes, she felt his grip on her loosen. Opening her eyes and turning her face away from his chest, Wanda noticed that they were on the S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier. As he set her down on the runway, Vision knelt beside her and placed and gentle and comforting hand on her leg, while looking into her eyes.

"I am incredibly sorry for your loss," his soft British accent warmed her heart but did nothing to ease the pain. "Your brother and Ms. Jennings deserved much better than the fate that they received. But, it is not your fault, Miss Maximoff. Do not blame yourself. They wouldn't want you to do that to yourself." How would you know what they would want? They're dead, who cares what they think of me? Wanda bit her tongue. She knew the android was just trying to help, but his words didn't take away the regret and guilt that she felt.

As the helicarrier rose a little higher in the air, Vision grabbed Wanda's hand and lifted her up from her spot on the runway. He turned her in the direction of the door that would lead them into the craft and draped his arm around her shoulders, holding her close to him. Her sobbing had stopped, but she was still trembling—though Vision thought it was because of the decrease in temperature and not because of the shock of the day's trauma—and tears still fell from her now red eyes and after every couple of breaths, Vision heard it waver and tremble.

"Come, we must get inside," he said guiding her along. Wanda didn't answer him. She just blindly followed him inside the helicarrier. The inside of the carrier was dark and significantly quieter than the outside where they just were. Vision guided the girl through the darker hallway, leading her into a more open room—the control room. In front of them were large windows that showed the bright open sky ahead of them. There, standing on the little platform a little way away from them, stood a tall bald man. He held a very commanding presence and a sense of authority rolled off of him. Wanda could only guess that he was the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.. Below him were a multitude of computers and people that were stationed at each one, working hard. A tall woman with brown hair pinned up in a professional manner walked through each row, making sure that people were doing their jobs. The rest of the Avengers stood around the man, having not noticed that Wanda and Vision had entered the room. They stood tired after the day's events. They were dirty and battered. Their uniforms had tears and dirt and drying blood stained in spots, and their skin matched. Some of the Avengers had larger wounds then others, but they would all survive. They were lucky.

Clint was the first one to notice their presence. He turned from his spot besides Natasha and ran over to Wanda and Vision.

"Oh, thank God you're safe," he said sighing in relief as he brought the young girl into his arms in a bear hug. The archer held onto her, squeezing her tightly as if she would disappear from him if he let her go. "I thought you were dead." Wanda felt his tears as she heard the worry and fear in his voice. Clint pulled away from her and grabbed her face in his hands. He didn't care that they were still strangers. He felt a bond with the young Maximoff twins, and it only strengthened after Pietro's death.