The Sokovian Shadow

Chapter 7

TW:
- Fighting
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I returned to see the twins multiple times over the next few weeks. They were progressing steadily regarding their control over their powers. Pietro could move at the speed of light and left a haze of light blue whenever he ran at full speed. Wanda had telekinesis and telepathy, often taking the form of red mist pouring from her hands and lighting her eyes. One of her favourite tricks was messing with the minds of whichever guards got on her bad side.

She couldn't control it at first though, so within the first 24 hours of getting her powers and being released from her cell, almost half the men in the HYDRA base were sent to the infirmary mumbling under their breath. Wanda often threatened to do the same to anyone who tried to separate her and her brother.

A few months passed like this, and I was getting more and more anxious. I'd sensed the souls of the Avengers getting steadily closer to Sokovia, and I was willing to fight to kill to protect them. But I also knew that I had to take Stark alive; Sokovia deserved to decide what happened to him. Letting Stark get away with everything he'd done to Sokovia was going to be difficult, but I made up for it by promising myself I'd bring him to the citizens alive, but not unscathed.

I'd spent more and more time at the HYDRA base, afraid that if I wasn't there, the Avengers would find some way to take the twins with them when they left. I recently discovered that the experiments done on Wanda and Pietro had been powered by an artifact called "Loki's Scepter", and I wondered if that was what the Avengers were after. If that was the case, I might be able to get the twins away from the Avengers and help them gain further control of their powers, something that would have been rather important considering Wanda still didn't know the full extent of her powers.

I was brought back to the present when an explosion sounded not far from the compound. I sent out my soul sense immediately, which had gotten easier the more I used it. I smiled and stood up from my perch on the roof of the base. The Avengers were here. I pulled up my mask and hood and folded my wings into my back; if anyone saw me in this battle, I wanted them to assume I was just a girl. They shouldn't be surprised; they'd fought aliens.

I jumped off the roof of the building, grabbing onto window frames to slow my fall. I dropped the last 20 feet and rolled to absorb impact before rising to my feet and sprinting towards the trees. I didn't need to be in the air to be agile. As I sprinted through the trees, jumping over tree roots, and weaving between tree trunks, I saw a flash of light to my left and froze in the shadow of a tree trunk. The glow of Stark's repulsors was unmistakable. I gritted my teeth beneath my mask and waited for him to pass. I turned on the spot and started climbing the tree. I blamed my falcon instincts, but I'd always loved being in the trees.

When I reached the top, I realized how far I'd run and blinked in shock. Can I blame this on not having to breathe? I asked Celes with a wry grin on my face. I felt her mirth and leapt to the nearest tree branch. I continued traveling across the treetops, occasionally unfolding my wings to help me make the longer jumps. As I went, I heard a female voice and knew that my only equal in the physical world was on the playing field.

'At long last is lasting a little long boys.' Claimed the Black Widow as she shot out a couple of HYDRA agents. I smiled. I held some semblance of respect for the female Avenger since I could understand her, having gone through what she went through. Hell, if I hadn't been stillborn, I could have been her sister. I heard a muffled voice as I moved on but though I couldn't make out what it said, I could easily recognize Stark's snarky comment. On the ground below the tree I was perched on, I watched as Captain America hurled his motorcycle into the midst of a group of HYDRA agents.

'It just slipped out' He said. I was thoroughly confused and shook my head before dropping to the ground and sprinting back to the HYDRA compound I was about halfway there when something rammed into me, knocking me to the ground. I rolled on impact and was on my feet in an instant, knives in hand.

'Knives? Of all the weapons you could choose, you chose knives?' Asked Pietro Maximoff

I answered in Sokovian. 'They might not be your weapon of choice, but they work well for me.'

'You can speak Sokovian?' I laughed at the look on his face as he realized I could speak his native tongue.

'Yep. Not Sokovian by birth, but I moved here when I was young, so I was raised to speak Sokovian as well as English. It took me longer than usual to learn both languages, but it was worth it.'

The speedster laughed. 'I would not have picked that.'

'No one does,' was my response. Pietro looked at me quizzically. 'And before you try to disarm me, I can summon those knives back to my hands, so unless you want to lose your fingers, I'd suggest letting me keep them.' I smirked at the look on his face, and it turned into a snarl as he sped towards me and instead pulled down my hood. My hair tumbled over my shoulders, and I made a show of flicking my wrist to retract the knife before using the empty one to flick the black sheet over my shoulder again.

I froze for a minute, then pulled my hood back over my hair and ducked into the shadows as I heard someone coming. Pietro opened his mouth but shut it before he said anything as he heard it too. He ran off and a few moments later, Captain America himself walked into the clearing. I stopped breathing. He stopped in the centre of the clearing and looked around. A blue blur shot through the clearing, knocking his feet out from underneath him. He did a flip in the air and landed flat on his feet again, looking around for a moment. 'We have an enhanced in the field.' He said to his earpiece as he jogged out of the clearing, nearly touching me as he came close to my tree.

I ducked from shadow to shadow, making my way back to the base. I could sense Stark, Wanda, and Strucker inside the building, and I was determined to make sure that Wanda was safe. It took me a while, but I arrived back at the compound. After that, traveling was much easier. At some point, Captain America had arrived here too, but I passed him by and tracked down Stark. After a while, I realized I was being followed. It took a conscious effort to open my thoughts to the female Maximoff.

Hello there. I began.

You're the one who was hiding her thoughts from me. She accused.

Straight to the point I see. Yes, that was me, though of no conscious effort of my own. That wasn't entirely untrue. Celes had been the one focused on keeping Wanda out of my head.

I'm impressed. Not even the strongest of Strucker's men could keep me out. She informed me.

Thanks. Now do you want to help me track down Stark or not? I inquired. She could be straight to the point so could I.

I have a better idea. I can't wait for you to see what else I can do. I caught a brief flash of Tony Stark with red eyes and I grinned.

After this, I can help you control how much of your mind other people see. I'm not the only other telepath.

Thanks, but no thanks. My brother and I have only survived this long because we haven't let anyone else join us. I'll talk to him about it, but I don't think he'll say yes. He's not exactly the most trusting type. She sounded genuinely regretful.

Don't worry about it. I understand completely. I only survived for as long as I did the same way. If you do convince your brother I can join you, meet me back here. I replied.

I will. Now watch this.

At some point, she'd passed me and made it to Stark before I did. I watched from the shadows as she did indeed hex Stark. For a few moments, they were both quiet. I watched from the shadows, spreading my soul sense out to keep watch for any extra souls, noting that Pietro had entered the base and was on his way here. Wanda's mist faded and she stepped back into the shadows. Less than thirty seconds later, Stark snapped out of his trance, visibly shaken. He looked over his shoulder, and I tilted my head at him. He turned back to the scepter, sticking out his right hand as he walked towards it.

'We're just gonna let him take it?' I turned back to the twins to see that Pietro had arrived and wasn't very happy with his twin's decision. Wanda had closed her mind, but I could tell she was up to something. She started smiling to herself as Stark's glove attached itself to his hand and he grabbed the scepter.