Too Little Too Late

Wanda Maximoff

Vision was pulling away from her. She could feel it a little bit more every day. They were sharing a special bond. Something that no other could comprehend. The red of their magic was proof of that link. They shared a link to the mind stone but it was more than that. She couldn’t explain it other than love. Steve, Clint and the others were looking at their romance with a smile. Everybody but Stark. Before the civil war, he was looking at them with sadness and a hint of disgust. She had thought that with him disappearing she had finally won. Everything he had, she had took away from him. First, his friends. After Ultron, nobody trusted him anymore. Captain America believed her more than Stark. They made her an avenger and he stepped down. Wanda had access to his money too. Americans were so spoiled. Food, clothes, shoes, technology… They had everything so easily. So, she bought everything and then some. Just because she could. Just because it was Stark’s money. Maybe she went a bit overboard but Stark could afford it. He owed her that much. He was a murderer. He should have been the one in jail not her. What he had to repay her was way beyond what any wealth could procure.

Wanda loved Vision, she really did. But she had to admit that taking him away from Stark was half the fun of it. Everybody knew that the billionaire was considering his creations like his children. So, she took his son away from him. It was only fair really, as he was responsible for her family’s death. Her parents first and then Pietro. Vision was easy to manipulate. He was young and naïve. Even after she had send him through sixteen or seventeen floors, he was still hers. The android was a creation of Stark. As such, she could never fully trust him. Tony Stark had disappeared and with that she had really felt like everything was over. Her hands weren’t the ones to kill him directly but her actions took him there. Wanda had destroyed him. She was free finally. The life she dreamt of so many times was here for the taken. She could be like anybody else, live a normal life in the comfort of her new family.

Life didn’t work that way. Not for her. They came back pardoned, working as Avengers like they should have been. But no more Stark money. And the government wasn’t as generous as they were used to have. No more ridiculous luxuries anymore. Even the basics were difficult to get. It had started on the first day when she had to clean her bedroom. Now, they couldn’t even ask for weapons and armours’ upgrades. For everything they needed, they had to fill a thousand forms and explain why they needed it and how the previous version wasn’t good enough. Once done, someone had to agree to their requirements, they still had to wait for quite some time before getting it. It felt so unproductive to her. Wanda was even scolded because she wanted a replacement for her body armour too often for them. It wasn’t her fault if it wasn’t as resistant as the Stark’s one. And God did she hate thinking that Tony could make things better.
Vision had started to ask questions about her grieving. She missed her parents of course but Pietro’s death hurt more. Talking to Vision about her brother helped her somehow. Wanda suspected he was wondering because he was feeling the loss of his so-called father. As if it meant something. As if anyone would miss that man. Wanda didn’t want to talk about the guy. She told the android to forget about him and to move on. It didn’t work. Vision just stopped asking her. The others didn’t seem to help him that much more than her. Still she thought her bond was still strong. He was making plans for them both. Travelling. She was really excited about it. Scotland would be their first destination. The country attracted Vision a lot. She didn’t mind. Before the avengers, she never really went anywhere with her country in a civil war. They were too poor for that. The U.N. was giving them a salary for avenging. Steve didn’t really like that. He thought that saving the people was not a job but a vocation. At the end of the day, they needed money to eat, for clothes and such. Stark wasn’t providing anymore. What were they supposed to do? Vision wanted also to try new hobbies and even go to college. That was not what she wanted to do. What for? They were avengers now. It was not like they could do any better than that. They already have a full-time job with that. School had never been for her. Too strict, too much work. Such a waste of time really. When she said no, he tried time and time again to convince her. They would go together to the campus and learn side by side. Rent a flat near the university and on weekends enjoy the college life. But no-one told her what to do. No-one. His eyes were full of disappointment after that and he started to drift off. They didn’t want the same things from life but she was sure she could get Vision back to her.