To The Moon and Back (A Marvel Fanfiction)

#7 Anger and Acceptance

The lights flicker in the Avengers compound. Tony, Clint, and Steve are messing around in the lab, trying to perfect a new kind of arrow.

"What was that?" Asks Clint, suddenly looking up from his work.

Tony urgently touches his ear. "Friday tell me what's happening."

"It seems that there was an energy surge upst-" Starts Friday, and then the power goes out completely, throwing the Avengers into darkness..

"What the-" Asks Steve, taking a defensive stance. "That's not supposed to happen."

Clint and Steve exchange a glance. "Katya."

The trio grabs some gear and flashlights and books it upstairs.

All the pain, all the hurt. It finally rushes in. The lights flicker with my emotions. Like the moon pulls the oceans. And then all at once, the lights go out. I feel a comforting presence in my mind, it holds me tightly, but doesn't touch me physically. It tells me it will be ok. I let the voice in more.

"It will be ok." The voice materializes into a body. It's Wanda. No surprise there.

I groan in disgust.

"Why are you always in my head?" I grit my teeth.

"Because I know how it feels to be you. I know how lonely it can be. I know how it feels to lose someone close to you."

"Your brother, right?"

"Yes. And I grieved so hard I vaporized a robot army."

"I feel like I could level a forest."

"All in due time. Your grief is what saved your life, Vulcan helped you escape by lighting the fire under your soul." Wanda pleads.

"I would've rather died with him there then lived without him." I huff.

"And tarnish his memory?"

There's a pause.

"No..."

"Do not let his death be in vain." Says Wanda.

"How? I can't bring him back. I can't go back and redo our botched escape."

"Let yourself grieve. Let yourself show weakness. You can trust these people, you can trust us, we're the good guys."

"It's hard for me to do that."

"I know. But it's not too late to change your ways. You're 13, your personality is not set in stone."

"It feels like it is. I feel like a grownup sometimes."

"You're not. Let it out. Cry. Even the most hardened warriors cry sometimes. Even Natasha cries, but don't tell her I said that. You've been living in the cold for so long you've forgotten what warmth feels like."

Says Wanda.

"It was warm with him. We used to curl up together when we could, clean each other up. We used to take turns watching over each other as we slept."

"He is not the only source of warmth and light you will encounter in your life." Says Wanda. "We all grieve. No matter what wrongs have been done to us we all have the innate desire to mourn our lost loved ones."

"Even someone as messed up as me?" I look at her ghostly form. I must look pitiful.

"It is not you who is messed up. It is the world. Just because wrong has been done to you doesn't mean you are wrong." Says Wanda. And slowly, slowly she fades away.

I blink my eyes open and wail. There's a whole crowd of people around me. Natasha looks at me with big eyes. Wanda pulls me close to her and holds me. After a couple of seconds of tensing I melt into her arms because this is way less invasive then her entering my mind.