Pulling Me

Part Forty-Three. Circles

"Dammit. I KNEW she did something while I was getting their vitals set. I couldn't talk her down at all. She barely even looked at me," Bruce shook his head as he recollected everything that had happened that night. His thoughts were racing and replaying each and every thing that happened to try and see what he could remember. "It was scary, but I was more focused on getting Y/N stable than worrying about what Wanda was doing..."

She laid her hand on his shoulder, "You did the right thing. It's not your job to control or watch Wanda. She should've been helping them, not removing a part of them that wasn't harmful."

His head hung a bit as he thought over it all. How Wanda was able to do something like that without him noticing was adding to his anxiety. What else had she done? What else had she changed in their head?

From what Kate had told him, it sounded as though she'd only erased Yelena from their memory. He was nervous that she may have tried to manipulate them to have feelings for her again, but only time would tell. They'd have to keep Wanda from Y/N in order to preserve themselves.

The only issue was that Wanda was much stronger, much more powerful than anyone on the compound. If she wanted in, she would make her way there. If she wanted to make sure that Y/N only believed what she told them, she could. Dr. Strange had warned them of this when they all set out to help her with Y/N.

"She was exposed to the darkhold whenever Westview was destroyed. If you allow her to do any magic of that sort, it will take over. You will lose her," he reminded them. Wanda had promised over and over again that she would not use it and that she was done with the darkhold, but this type of magic wasn't her.

Whatever she was using was dark magic and not at all who Wanda truly was. The only person that would be able to help with this now was Dr. Strange himself. 

"I need to talk to Nick. You stay here and sit with Y/N until I get back. Make sure they stay safe and that Wanda does not enter. If you need someone to distract her, call me," Bruce patted her arm and offered a small smile before taking off.

Kate sat, thinking over all the possibilities and things to do from here. If Yelena found out and was able to get within reach of Wanda, it would be her end. But, at the same time, if this isn't truly Wanda and is just the darkhold corrupting her... 

"FUCK!" she yelled in frustration. I am so sick of this shit. Why is everything so fucking hard? She thought.

As she stood from her spot, she paced back and forth until a crackling sound caught her attention. She couldn't figure out where it was from or how it was getting louder. At this point, she was sure she was going insane.

It would make sense. Maybe this was all a really shitty dream and she was about to wake up to her mom making eggs and bacon. If that was the crackling, she was ready to wake up now. She closed her eyes, envisioning a world where all of this stressful shit fell away.

She'd be with Yelena, Y/N, and Mariah. They'd all be together, relaxing and not worried about any sort of Avengers level danger. Yelena would make them all mac and cheese, Y/N would make everyone drinks, and Mariah would be in charge of the music.

A normal life. It's all she wanted.

But she also loved this life. She loved getting to know Clint and working by his side. She loved helping people and doing everything she could to keep people safe. The only thing that was tearing her apart now was the idea that Y/N was caught in the crossfire.

At least they're alive, she reminded herself. At this point, it was the only thing that was going to be able to keep her going.

Her pacing and daydreaming finally ceased when she started seeing a small yellow circle in front of her that was now accompanying the crackling sound she'd heard. It began growing bigger and bigger just in front of her, but she was too stunned by it to move. She'd never seen anything like it.

Before she knew it, the circle had grown twice her size and a figure stood on the other side of it. It'd become like a door and she could see wherever it was. The figure moved forward, stepping into the light as the circle closed behind it, leaving its own place behind.

Kate's eyes adjusted as she finally saw that the figure was a human. A tall man with dark hair and white streaks on the side stood in front of her. The first thing she noticed after his hair was the cape that stood tall over his shoulders too. 

"I came as quickly as I could after Bruce called. Where is Y/N?" the man asked, looking around.

Her eyebrows furrowed until it clicked, "Dr. Strange?"

"Yes, now show me where they are please," he hurried.

Kate nodded, rushing him over to their room. He took no time flying next to them and placing each of his hands next to their head. Stephen took his index fingers and thumbs and rubbed them together next to their temples.

"What... are you doing?" she asked. It was clear to her that he was seeing something. She'd never met Stephen before and was unsure of what he was able to do. No one had ever explained his position with the Avengers to her.

His head rocked back and forth as he continued searching, "I'm sifting through the pieces of their brain that contain memories. The spell Wanda used would have a specific block over it that I'm looking... for..." His voice trailed off. Her heart sank as he took a deep breath in. 

He finally dropped his hands from where they were and looked over at Kate, "Do you want the good news or the bad news first?"