A Tale of Mischief and Mutants part 2

Someone Else

—-Sam—-

I sit in silence listening to Thor and the other Asgardians in the room discuss what to do. I'm too bogged down by worry to talk much other than when they ask me a question. They go on and on about who could've possibly done this but nobody has anything but shaky theories.

It's decided that Amora will need to be questioned as she's our prime suspect right now, and yeah even if Fury assured me she's still locked up tight in the Raft I have to agree a sorceress of her skill could've escaped un noticed leaving an illusion in her place.

Thor's going to be visiting the Raft while I am going to meet up with the Avengers in upstate New York then we're both going to visit the sanctum. It feels smarter to hold a meeting with the Avengers before bothering the masters of the mystic arts with whatever multidimensional threat they're probably dealing with at the moment.

They'll need to focus on guarding the sanctums, maybe Wanda can help us somehow. Heimdall's being left in charge while we're busy with this crisis. Finally our meeting wraps up and Thor takes me to the compound before leaving for the Raft. Sensing my lingering anxiety he gently places a hand on my upper arm.

"You'll be okay explaining everything?

I nod wanting to ease his worry about me he should just focus on finding Loki right now not on my emotional wreckage.

"Yeah I feel a bit more steady now... make sure Amora knows we mean business."

He nods curtly taking a few steps back.

"I will."

He takes off through the bifrost and I head inside taking deep breaths to steady my nerves. I survey the room as I enter notably Peter is absent meaning he's in the middle of a crisis with one of his villains. I'll call him tomorrow and fill him in on everything. Everyone is really concerned about me, I must look like a wreck. Everybody is also of course worried about Loki my heart is warmed when absolutely nobody is skeptical about these circumstances, everyone here knows now that Loki wouldn't bail like this.

A couple years ago this wouldn't've been the case they likely would've jumped to the conclusion that he was up to something sinister but now it's beyond clear he's earned their respect, trust, and most importantly gained their love. He's not just someone the Avengers tolerate on missions anymore but a fellow Avenger, friend, and an essential member of this chaotic family.

Everyone is hell bent on finding him and offering up various ways they can help with the search when I'm done explaining. Vision, Pepper, and Bruce offer to search for any technological signatures indicating Doom was involved, Bucky, Sam, and Cap are gonna kick up some more neo Hydra affiliates for information. The next to offer up a search method is Natasha.

"Clint, Kate, Yelena, and I'll bust some heads in Madripoor for information."

I don't know Yelena personally as she has just recently started working with the Avengers and I haven't been on a mission with her yet but I know she's Nat's sister, Kate on the other hand I hadn't heard anything about yet.

"Kate?"

Clint responds.

"She's my new self proclaimed protege. I don't know about letting Kate come to Madripoor Nat."

Nat jabs him with her elbow playfully.

"Oh come on! It'll be good practice for her, besides Yelena and her are, to quote Yelena, 'besties' so she'll have a Widow watching her back the entire time."

Clint shakes his head still looking worried.

"We'll talk about it on the way to pick up Yelena."

He looks at me seriously.

"But yeah, Sam, we'll definitely go see what we can dig up."

I nod thankfully. It's a huge deal to me that Clint, the guy who most despised my husband, is now committing to doing what he can to bring him home safely. Wanda is next with a suggestion.

"When Thor gets back I should talk to him about speaking with Amora. She's going to be tough to read but if I try hard enough and long enough I should be able to tell if she's behind this eventually."

I nod gratefully.

"That would actually be really helpful if he can't get her to admit to anything."

She nods and shifts her position as she does her Avengers pin falls off of her costume she grabs it in the air before it hits the floor and she pricks her finger as she does.

"Jао! Stupid thing keeps falling off! I need to get it replaced!"

She sticks her bleeding finger in her mouth nursing the wounded digit. Without even thinking about it I grab her free hand to take the small wound, as I do though there's something strange. Nothing's wrong my abilities work fine as I feel a poke in my finger and it starts to bleed but there's something with Wanda. It's almost like there's someone else... no, two someone elses there too. I furrow my eyebrows in confusion. Wanda notices my puzzled expression.

"Sam I thank you, but whats wrong?"

I shake my head in bewilderment letting her hand go.

"There's just something odd, nothing bad I don't think, but just weird... It feels like I'm touching more than one person..."

Wanda has a realization and she glances at Vision as if asking 'should we tell?' He nods slightly smiling softly. She smiles at me.

"That's because you are."

'What...??' 'Wait!!' 'She's pregnant?!' For just a split second I forget about everything happening overcome with excitement for Wanda. She's always wanted to be a mom and now she's going to be!

"You're pregnant?! How- Did you get a donor? Did you adopt an embryo or is it yours?!"

The entire team's attention is caught by my excitement. Wanda smiles yet again at my enthusiasm and glances at Vision at which he comes to her side. She answers practically glowing with excitement.

"They're ours in vitro... thanks to Wakanda's technology, specifically Shuri. She was able to synthesize zygotes containing both his synthetic DNA and my natural DNA then implant them into my womb. We decided we wanted two and to just have them both at once."

"So there are two! I can just sense them I guess..."

I guess I've never taken anything from a pregnant woman before and just didn't know what that felt like. I take her hand again sensing the unborn fetuses probably too early along to even have a heartbeat nevertheless they feel comfortable, healthy, and whole in an odd sort of way.

"They feel real healthy Wanda."

A tear falls down her cheek and she smiles her eyes watering up even more.

"Sam thank you, I needed to hear that. I was worried they didn't take. It's been two weeks I've been waiting for our 4 week checkup to see if there are heartbeats as they're still too small to check up on with an ultrasound. I haven't been having very big mood swings or cravings... I've been worried it didn't work... that they didn't make it. That's why we hadn't told anyone yet."

I smile reassuringly.

"Well small as they are they definitely did take, and they couldn't be more safe and comfortable than right where they are."

She beams at me with tears on her face before leaning into a hug with Vision. He smiles at me too in thanks this must've been weighing heavily on Wanda for these past two weeks. Everyone is excited at this and the very somber mood in the room is put on pause for a moment as words of congratulations are directed at the couple. I smile slightly though my heart is heavy with worry for my husband I'm glad I was able to lift Wanda's worry over her children.