The Forgotten -Marvel 2-

Chapter 45

There wasn't much Lydia wanted in life. When she was younger, she always wanted to be older. She didn't want to be a kid anymore, just someone others took seriously.

Now she was older. She wasn't a kid anymore. Still, that's what everyone called her.

When she was younger, she wanted to be a hero. All the older adults in her life were heroes: Tony, Natasha, Steve, and Clint. They were heroes. Lydia wanted to be just like them.

But still, she yearned for normalcy. To be normal. To owe nothing more to the world than living. It was hard to be normal and a superhero, but she was young back then. It never crossed her mind.

Now she was older, maybe a little wiser. There was still much for her to learn. She no longer wanted to be older. She no longer wanted to be a hero.

What she wanted now was to go home.

She didn't want to be here. This wasn't her life anymore. Happy must be worried about her. It was yesterday the last time they spoke. Now she's at Kamar-Taj. She missed dinner at Ned's Lola's. She broke her curfew and had no way to contact anyone and explain what was going on. They didn't know if she was safe, alive.

Worst of all, the danger she was facing had a familiar face—the face of Wanda Maximoff.

"We need to get you out of here," Stephen declared. "Now." He waved his hand, preparing to create a portal and get America as far from Wanda as possible.

"What's going on?"

"Kamar-Taj has fallen," Wong explained. Not even Lydia could stop Wanda. There was nothing they could do.

Lydia waited for the portal to open, but it never did. There was a disoriented scream, followed by the door slamming closed. Two more doors slammed shut right after, trapping them inside the room. "Stephen," Lydia said breathlessly. "What's happening?" The awful founds continued.

Suddenly, one of the men inside the room with them fell through the floor. Then so did the other. "Reflections," he muttered. "Wanda's using the reflections. Cover them."

The others moved before she did. They grabbed objects: robes, blankets, and towels, to cover different reflective surfaces. Lydia forced herself to move, to help the others protect America. That was what mattered right now. Not that the person after America was Wanda.

But all Lydia could think about were the memories of who Wanda once was. Of falling asleep in her lap, fingers caressing her scalp. Nights in crappy motels watching movies. Eating breakfast together in Tony's New York facility. Memories of them together when they were happy. When Wanda was still herself, before the corruption, before she lost Vision.

How did Wanda become this?

Lydia forced the memories away. Forced herself to remain in the present. Now was not a time for her mind to spiral. She needed to stay focused. Grabbing a blanket, she threw it over a puddle. The others were desperately covering every surface.

She took a step back, placing a hand on her chest as she forced herself to breathe. "Lydia," Wong was by her side in an instant. "Are you okay?"

As she opened her mouth to respond, a scream cut her off. The two spun around to see America on the ground. Beside her, an arm stuck out of the golden gong. Lydia's eyes widened in horror as Wanda crawled out, entirely deformed. She had never seen anything like it. Stephen pulled America back. Lydia and Wong rushed toward them, crowding together and moving away from Wanda.

Once Wanda was fully through the gong, she stood up, face and body morphing back together. Wong put his arm out, pushing Lydia behind him. "You gave up so many lives in order to keep me from my children," Wanda spoke as she sauntered toward them. Lydia stared at her friend, still unable to understand what she had become.