Pulling Me

Part Forty-Nine. Opening

"Are they there? Can you see anything?" Yelena asked from behind her glass, "And for fuck's sake can someone please let me out already?"

Kate looked over at Clint, shrugging as they failed to find a reason why they wouldn't be allowed to do so. Before they could even ask, Pepper was there opening the door to Yelena's cell. 

"You all are going to need all the help you can get," she stated as she watched the door decompress and slide over. Tony had always said Pepper was one of the best judges of character and everyone had always agreed. If she believed Yelena wouldn't make that mistake again, everyone else knew they could too.

Yelena hugged Kate after flying through the door. Puzzled, Kate looked down wondering why she'd clung to her like this. "Please, just... don't say anything. You still smell like Y/N," she sighed. 

There were a few seconds of silence as they all let Yelena take her first breath out of the cell in a while. Kate thought about hugging her back, but she knew that wasn't what Yelena wanted or possibly even needed. 

Stephen, always annoyed by soft and soppy moments like that, coughed to get everyone's attention back on the portal. All they could see for miles was trees and trees, and then some more trees. There was no sound coming from that side, no movement.

But everyone's body jumped an inch when Stephen threw a crimson band out, catching something that none of them had seen. Ripping his hand back in, they watched as their Wanda flew to the ground. Her hands were bound together as she laid on the ground, speechless.

"HA!" Yelena let out a laugh without realizing. She'd started moving toward her when Kate stepped up to intervene.

She whispered to Yelena, "Don't. Not now. We still don't know where Y/N is..." It wasn't much, but it was enough to get her to step back into place.

"Where's Y/N?" Clint demanded. 

Wanda lay there, still not speaking. She'd finally stopped wiggling, understanding that she would not be getting out of the bands any time soon. 

"Where's Y/N?!" Yelena echoed louder. She was growing more and more impatient. Kate could feel her heating up as she held her hand to keep her back. 

595 kneeled on the ground next to their Wanda. It wasn't until then that she'd noticed that 595 looked just like her, but a bit more put together at this point. Instead of speaking, or even trying to reason with her, 595 just laid her fingertips on Wanda's temple.

Everyone watched as Wanda's eyes rolled back. Her body started shaking slightly at first until more time passed and she began convulsing. 595 held her spot on Wanda's temple, unmoving and unworried about what was going on.

Kate and Yelena looked at Clint, wondering if anyone should step in. Wanda had done a lot to them, to Y/N, but what she was sitting through looked like torture. Before they could step up to stop 595, she pulled off and stood up.

Wanda lay there, still breathing, but mostly still.

"That's how you do it?" Stephen asked in awe. He was the only one who hadn't looked like he wanted to try to step up, to stop her. "How do you make it look so easy?"

595 smiled, "I've been doing it for a lot longer than you realize."

Yelena pushed her head forward, trying to get their attention, "So is anyone going to explain this to us or...?" Her hands flew in front of her like a windmill. Kate bit back her smile watching Yelena talk with her hands. She knew that Yelena was slowly falling back into herself and she'd get to watch it piece by piece.

Stephen kept his eyes on 595, still trying to wrap his head around how she'd done that as he responded, "She just ripped the darkhold corruption from Wanda."

"The what?" Yelena questioned. No one had ever really told her what that was or what it could do.

"The darkhold," 595 started, "is a book filled with ancient evil spells and magic. While it's incredibly powerful, it is also incredibly corruptive. It takes hold of its reader, ripping their soul to pieces bit by bit. That's what you all saw with Wanda. That's why you watched her go from who you knew, to who that was."

Their eyes widened at the news. Even Kate and Clint didn't realize the extent to which the darkhold would take over. Everyone had watched Wanda's decline, but they had no idea that was exactly what was happening.

"So, what now?" Kate asked, looking down at Wanda as her breathing steadied finally.

595 smiled, "You've got your Wanda back."

"But what about the darkhold... thing?" Yelena wondered aloud.

Stephen looked back through the portal, stepping through without answering. He returned with it in his hands, "It's here and 595 is taking it back with her."

"That way you won't have to worry about anyone getting their hands on it," she smiled. "We have a whole set up in our universe to deconstruct these books and make sure that no one is able to use them like this again."

None of them could believe what she was saying. Was it really that easy? Was this all a prank? How could it be so simple, so quick like this? 

But a bigger question hung in the air still, waiting for their Wanda to wake up and let them know. 

Where was Y/N?

"Did you see where Y/N was when you were fixing Wanda?" Kate asked, "I'm not sure if that's how that worked, but we need to figure out where they are. I know there are people still after them, still trying to rip Wanda's life apart."

Sadly, 595's face dropped slightly. "I didn't. That wasn't my priority when I was in there. Wanda would've been much more dangerous had I not gotten to her when I did. I know Y/N is important to you all. They're really important to me in my universe too."

595 looked down at her ring finger, fidgeting the rock that stood on a slim band back and forth. In her universe, they must be married. 

"We're the only universe where the two of us worked out. Every other one was... you," she smiled as she looked at Yelena.