The Winter Witch - Wanda Maximoff

Chapter 3

This experiment was different to the rest. I was placed in a room by myself, and as I walked into the room, a voice came over the speaker system set up in the space "when you're ready, reach out and touch it," he said as a glowing blue gemstone flew to the centre of the room. I slowly made my way towards the gem and reached my hand out. As my finger touched the blue glow coming from the stone, the light burst open and turned a bright yellow. I stood looking at it as best I could before the light stopped, and I passed out yet again.

I woke up back in my cell with both Wanda and Pietro passed out on the floor. I gathered all the strength I could to pick myself up off the floor and walk over to Wanda, she was breathing slowly, and her heart rate was slow, but she was alive. I then checked Pietro, his breathing was slow, but his heart rate was average. I was confident Pietro would be okay, so I left him and made my way back to Wanda. She was lead near the far wall, so I sat on the floor and put her head in my lap so I could keep an eye on her. I played with her hair to keep my anxious mind occupied and keep her relax if she woke up.

After what felt like hours, Wanda's breathing got faster. I could tell she was panicking about something. She must have been dreaming.

"It's okay, I'm here, you're okay," I said to her, not knowing if she could hear me, but I had to try something, I couldn't wake her up that would cause more panic, and she needed the rest. Her breathing slowed down as I continued to reassure her she was okay and it was just a dream.

"Thank you for watching her," a familiar voice said. I looked up to see Pietro sitting against the wall with a smile on his face.

"how long have you been awake? How do you feel?" I asked with concern in my voice.

He chuckled to himself before answering. "about 5 minutes, and I feel fine, just tired" he looked down at Wanda "she never settles that quick when she panics," he said as I joined him watching her sleep on my lap. I could tell how much he cared for her, and it made me wish I had that.

I told him about her slow heart rate and slow breathing, which had gone back to normal now, I reassured him that she would be fine and told him to get some rest and I would look after her.

He fell asleep almost instantly, making me smile, he trusted me to look after her, and he knew I would. He didn't think I was useless like my dad had. If he did, he didn't say anything. I continued to watch Wanda sleep whilst playing with her hair. After about an hour, she started to wake up. She shot up when she realised where she was, and her breathing got faster. Without wanting to wake Pietro up, I moved in front of her and looked at her.

"hey, look at me, you're okay, and so is Pietro, but you need to calm down," I said I as took her shaking hands in mine "focus on my breathing and copy it, okay" she started to copy my breathing and slowly calming down the whole time reassuring her she was okay.

When she could breathe properly again, she thanked me before leaning herself against the wall next to me. She was still shaking slightly while looking at Pietro worryingly.

"His breathing was slow, but his pulse was fine," I said to her calmly. "you started panicking in your sleep, and he woke up while I was calming you down. He was worried about you" she smiled at the thought of him worrying about her.

"Your breathing and pulse were both shallow, but I told him to rest, and I would keep an eye on you," I said, looking at her. She smiled at me again and then at Pietro as he began to wake up again. They hugged each other, which made me sad. I hadn't had a real hug since I was 4. I had never had anyone care for me that much. I hated that.

"So, tell me about yourselves," I said, holding back the tears in my eyes. I had known them for just over 24 hours at this point, and all I knew was their first names and that they were twins.

"Well, we are Wanda and Pietro Maximoff", Pietro softly spoke as I listened. They told me about their childhood, their parents' death, how they ended up here and that Pietro was older by 12 minutes which he had said with pride in his voice. He received an eye roll from Wanda and a giggle from me.

"What about you?" Wanda spoke, and my body tensed. I took a deep breath before telling them everything, my full name, that the guards call me Winter because of my powers, about my father and that I had been here since I was 8.

"So, how old are you now?" Pietro asked in a slightly sad tone. I didn't know how old I was. I had been here so long I had lost track of time.

"That depends on what year it is," I said, looking down at the floor.

"it's 2019," he said with sadness in his voice. My heart broke, I had been here for ten years, and no one had found me yet, was anyone even looking for me?

"I guess that makes me 18," I said with a few tears rolling down my face, still staring at the floor. I heard quiet movements before a pair of arms wrapped around me, hugging me tightly. I looked up to see Wanda's arms around me. I started sobbing onto her shoulder, trying to keep my breathing steady. "No one cared to look for me", I managed to get out in a whisper. Once I had calmed down and stopped crying, I leant against the wall with one of the twins on each side of me, holding a hand each.

"you have us now," Pietro said, causing me to smile at them both. I finally had people that cared about me. We sat together for a while before weird things started to happen. Wanda's eyes kept turning red, and Pietro was moving faster than usual. Guards came in and moved us into individual glass cells to be observed and be taught to control our new powers. I had been here before, and I wouldn't say I liked it then. I could see Wanda being beaten up for messing something up, and I couldn't do anything to stop it from happening.

Pietro didn't get the same treatment as Wanda and me. He seemed to have super speed, so he was too fast for the guards to catch. Wanda and I, on the other hand, had the same powers. We have telekinesis, mind-reading, mind control and create illusions. Her powers were a bright scarlet red colour while mine were an ice blue colour.

Over the next few months, the three of us grew close. They had started calling me Winter like the guards. The guards didn't like me being called Luna, so everyone had to call me Winter. They were my best friends, my only friends. I wasn't so lonely anymore.