Carmine Jewels ║ Wanda Maximoff

Chapter 28 - Do I Know You?

"Stop sulking. It's not a pretty look." Topaz eyed the agent lying flat on his back on the mat, holding out a hand for him to grab.

"Says you, with superstrength." The man grumbled, smacking away the blonde's hand and getting back up on his own.

Topaz just rolled her eyes and withdrew her hand. Men and their fragile egos. "For your information, I've been ordered to hold back. It's not my fault you can't keep your defenses up even if your life depended on it." She shrugged.

The agent just mumbled a few incoherent words under his breath, no doubt cursing her, and avoided her eyes before throwing himself at her, hoping to catch her off guard.

But the blonde had seen the move coming from a mile away. He wasn't aware of it, but he always moved his right foot back just a little before launching any form of attack, making it easy to block him. "As I said, you're too easy and I could take you down without even trying." She taunted as she blocked his flying fists. Without even breaking a sweat, she ducked down and swiped his feet out from under him once again. He landed on his back with a hard thud, the air leaving his lungs momentarily.

"Topaz!" Alexandra's clear voice rang out and the blonde turned her attention to the approaching woman instead of her opponent on the mat.

Topaz immediately backed away from the mat with her hands behind her back, bowing her head. What had she done this time? Overworked her opponent? No, she had been fair and had held back both strength and speed like she was ordered to. She racked her brain for anything that she might've done wrong, but she couldn't really think of something, so all she could do was wait and see.

Alexandra marched over to the mutant and gently caressed her cheek with a manicured nail. It was a relief to see that Topaz had finally been subdued. Sure, it had taken a long time and for a while, she hadn't been sure if the blonde's brain would be able to take all the electricity. But it had worked out in the end, and now, Topaz was better than ever.

Obeying every order she got without question, and upon seeing the pictures of her friends again, she had shown no recognition. She had only stated their names and aliases, nothing more. Which was exactly the reason as to why Alexandra was certain that she was ready for the upcoming mission.

"Topaz, I need you to go to the conference room. You have a visitor." She said vaguely, gently guiding the mutant away from the training room and down a dimly lit corridor, staying behind as the blonde walked away.

Topaz let herself be pushed, not questioning the direction she was being led in, but merely followed the instructions she got of where the conference room would be located. She had never been there herself, and considering that this base was a small maze, she was in need of directions.

Eventually, she turned a corner and a big wooden door greeted her. With just the slightest hesitation, she turned the door handle and let the door swing open, revealing a big, open room within. It was bathed in darkness, only illuminated by the light coming from the corridor but Topaz could still make out the picture frames hanging on the walls and the big, oval table standing in the middle.

A man was sitting at the end of the table, his fingers interlinked as he rested his elbows on top of the wooden surface.

"Well, I'll give you points for dramatics." She said, leaning against the doorway with her arms crossed over her chest.

The man's face was lined, and he was dressed in a suit, so he was clearly not someone who did the dirty work, but rather ordered someone else to do it for him. At her words, he pushed himself from the table and approached her with his hands in his front pockets. She caught a mischievous glint in his eyes, and she had to admit that she was a bit perplexed. Unlike every other person she had encountered so far, she couldn't feel his thoughts reaching out towards her, begging to be read. No, it was rather as though they recoiled, trying to protect themselves. The man was guarded, very guarded.