Control - Book 1

The Training Room

"Good morning miss y/l/n". Jarvis' voice spoke softly, causing me to wake up gently. Looking over at the clock I could see it was 6.30 am. "Everyone is having breakfast in the dining room before training. Mr Stark has invited you to join".

I stretched my arms and rolled out of bed, habitually making it neat before anything else. I looked around the room to try and work out where I should look to talk to Jarvis.

"Um, hello?" I three my voice out to the room.

"Hello miss y/l/n" he replied.

"You can just call me y/n if that's alright" I was still looking around at the walls and ceiling.

"Very well y/n. Mr Stark has left a box outside of your door containing your things". I opened the door and just like he said saw a large cardboard box filled with clothes, books and trinkets from the apartment. "He sent a few of the agents last night."

"Why would he do that?" My mind was still focused on being called property, and these were parts that came with me.

"He said it might help you feel more at home". I figured Jarvis wasn't tuned into emotions or guessed behaviours.

I brought the box in and placed it on a small table near the window, pulling out a short black dress. Digging through the box further I found my old photo album. Sitting down on the armchair nearby I began flicking through the pages. Pictures of Mark and I broke my heart. I quickly realised that comparing the pictures showed how I had changed over the 5 years. More make up to cover bruises, a skinnier face from the diet and my smile was emptier and emptier.

By the time I scowled through the album and looked at the time it was 7.15. I had completely missed breakfast with everyone but remembered Steve's invitation from yesterday. I put the album in a drawer next to my bed and headed down to the training room, with a little help from Jarvis.

I timidly opened the door to the training room and saw everyone hard at work. Natasha was practising her kicks on a wooden dummy to the left, with Peter aiming at targets with his web next to her. Bucky was going at a punching bag. Thor was lifting weights with Tony spotting him.

I jumped as Steve came up next to me. "Missed you at breakfast". He raised an eyebrow, "most important meal of the day."

"I'll have something later I promise" I reassured him.

"Want to try anything in here?"

"Oh, me? No, I couldn't" I chuckled. The thought of me next to everyone and even attempting to keep up was laughable. Glancing around the room once again I caught Bucky staring at me. He quickly turned back to his bag and began punching even harder. I felt like I had made him mad somehow. First last night and now this?

I heard Wanda skipping toward me before I even saw her. "Hey, power pal!" She beamed at me, "want to check out the cooler training room?". She turned and walked towards a metal door at the far end of the gym.

Steve shrugged his shoulders "Don't ask permission remember?" I nodded in response and followed Wanda.

She opened the heavy door to reveal a plain white room with nothing but a glass window on the side. The window looked into an observation room where I saw Bruce with a headset on and a clipboard. He waved at me and reached to his ear. "Good morning! How did you sleep?"

I hesitated to tell him about my nightmare, although I was sure Tony would have kept him up to date. "Broken but I got a few hours". I replied.

"And those cuts on your legs, are those from the icicles?  Do you need me to take a look?" He offered. I hadn't even thought about the cuts Mark had given me a few days ago when I put on my dress. I started pulling at it to go lower.

"No it's okay, I must have fallen or something, I'm so clumsy" I laughed it off trying to break the tension. "What is this place, Wanda?"

"This is our safe place. I train like the others sure, but my powers need as much practice as my body." I picked up on her subtle language to convince me that I train mine with her. "I used to hate my powers. They were used for evil things until I decided that my mind was my own." Her hands and eyes began to glow red as she lifted off the ground a few inches. "Control is key."

I looked over at Bruce who was making notes, "Okay Wanda let's try that new spell you've been working". He suggested over the speakers.

Wanda flew higher and began contorting her hands into symbols, causing rays of yellow to appear. "That's good keep it steady". Suddenly, the room began to heat up fast. "Okay Wanda lower it down".

The room continued to rise in temperature and Wanda zoned out to his instructions. Bruce put his clipboard down and began turning things on a control panel below the window. Vibrations bounced around the room, bringing Wanda back to the present.

"What was that?" I asked both of them.

"Bruce observes the room while I train, and if I do lose control he can counteract it with ... science stuff." She laughed.

"But why?" I couldn't understand why anyone would risk letting go completely like that.

"The more you know, the more you grow" She walked towards me and reached out, silently asking permission to lift my hand. I nodded and lifted my arm. "Now y/n, I want you to try and make something. Anything."

I was terrified. I'd never used my powers on purpose before. What if Bruce couldn't hold me back? What if I hurt someone? My arm snapped back by my side. "I ... I'm s-sorry. I'm just n-n-not ready." I stammered out and swiftly left the white room.

I headed to the bench on the side of the room and sat down to face away from everyone. Wanda soon joined me.

"Hey, that's okay. There's no rush. Just remember that you are in control okay? Not Bruce. Not Mark. Not even me. You." She stood up and held her hand out to me. "I'm sorry I tried to rush you." I took her hand and smiled. "A little iron birdy tells me that you like to cook. Why don't you help me prepare lunch?".

I tucked my hair behind my ears and we both stood up to make our way through the gym. "What do you think?" Steve caught up to us before we left.

"She didn't feel up to it today Steve. We're just going to prep some food." Wanda spoke for us both.

"Alright well, I'll see you ladies later then, happy cooking". Steve saluted, before setting off running. As we left I heard him yell "on your left", followed by Sam grunting.