mad woman | wanda maximoff

two.

MAD WOMAN | ii.
"WANT TO TAKE A ROAD-TRIP?"
Rhode Island | 2025

Athena was really trying to put what happened at the bar the other night behind her, but she couldn't help but wonder what was going on. She knew that there would always be threats, but she'd hoped that the threats would be Captain America's problem or Spiderman. Athena just wanted peace. Why did the universe not want to give her that?

"Papers!" Athena exclaims, "For those of you that wanted to see your papers riddled in red, please pass them to the front. For those of you that submitted it online, I do hope you love text bubbles."

Lilly's hand went up, "Dr. Choi-"

"You have until next week, Lilly," Athena says as she collects the papers from the students in the front row.

"Thank you," Lilly tells her, and Athena gives her a nod.

"Okay everyone today's lecture is going to be on behavior modification in children. Now show of hands, who wants kids?"

About half of the lecture halls hands went up and Athena nods her head as she observes the sea of hands, "Well I'm just going to tell you all that you have your work cut out for you. It'll be easy encouraging positive behaviors because that's when you can reward your child. Discouraging the negative? Hard. The normal adult human brain has a hard time punishing children because we know that they truly don't understand what they're doing, it's even harder when you take into account that you love them."

A hand flies up and Athena points to the student.

"Do you have kids, Dr. Choi?"

The question stings as Athena drops her gaze slightly, but she recovers with a short laugh, "Do I look like a mother?"

The student, a member of one of the frats on campus, shrugs, "I mean I'd call you mommy."

A few students in the lecture hall snicker and Athena smirks.

"So would my wife," Athena states.

The remark earns several Ooos from the lecture hall and she watches as he sinks a little in his seat. Athena smiles, "Let's try to keep the question to the lecture and not my personal life."

"Do you want them, though?" someone asks.

"Sure," Athena says.

"I think you'd make a great mom," another student states. Athena exhales a shaky breath, feeling as though she should have picked another topic to teach today. Also why did students always care about the lives of their professors?

Athena actually knew the answer to that question, but still.

"Thank you," Athena says with a smile, "Now behavior modification. How do you encourage your kid using their manners versus sticking their hand in a toilet or constantly calling you old."

The lecture hall laughs and Athena pulls up the slides presentation. She gets through the lecture without any more inappropriate questions or comments, and she opts on dismissing everyone twenty minutes early.

In a weird episode of mindless thoughts, Athena began looking at adoption agencies. Before realizing what she was doing and quickly clicked out of it. There was no way that anyone would entrust them with their child. It was amusing to Athena how she'd never really thought about children and how Wanda's Hex had changed everything for her. How she actively wanted to be a mom.

"You look deep in thought for someone who is on a break."

Athena looks up and instantly smiles when she sees Wanda. She closes her laptop and makes her way over to her wife, "What are you doing here?"