My Allegiance (3)

Chapter 16

(Hydra, Y/n's POV)

There he is. All dressed up in his red iron suit, helmet retracted to reveal a tired and unshaven face.

He's here.

He came for me.

"It's really you?" I edge forwards slowly, wondering if this is some mind trick being played by the red-haired girl. Wanda, I think her name is.

"It's really me kid. I'm here."

"How did you find me?" I hug my body, feeling vulnerable.

"We've been storming Hydra bases all over the world. We tried to reach out to you, get in contact, but didn't hear from you. So Banner and I tracked your phone to your house, found the place trashed and without you in it. We uh, also found the bodies of your neighbours."

I close my eyes as I remember that Tom and his children gave their lives for me.

"We figured something had happened to you and put the pieces together."

"How long has it been? It's uh, kinda hard to keep track of time down here," I laugh nervously.

"Yeah I'm um, I'm not quite sure exactly-"

"Just tell me Stark. How long?"

He scratches the back of his neck with his metal finger and clears his throat, "About uh, about five months."

"Five..... Five months? Really?" I lean against the wall before I can fall to the ground. I can't believe he's stolen another five months from me.

"I am so, so sorry. But we're here now, and we will not let him get to you ever again. I will not let him get to you ever again. I swear it."

"Ha, yeah. I wish it were that simple. He always finds a way to get what he wants, so don't make promises you can't keep."

"I can keep this one. Cause I'm gonna kill that son of a bitch."

He turns to go to List, only to find an empty space where his body once was.

"The boy has him," I say. "Probably taken him to a safe space. You won't get to him any time soon."

"You won't get to him, ever," Wanda approaches us, clearly having shaken off Tin Man's blast.

"Wanda, you don't have to do this," I walk towards the young girl. She could be about the same age as me, I can't really tell.

"I know I don't have to. But I want to. This man," she points at Stark, "took my parents from me. Orphaned me and my brother at 10 years old. We were powerless, and we had nothing. Until we came to Doctor List. He helped us, gifted us with these powers, gave us the means necessary to avenge their deaths. You should be grateful for the gift you have been given."

"Come on, you know mine wasn't a gift. I used to see you sat in your chair, passed out after training for an hour, and you looked so peaceful. But you'd wake up to the sounds of screams. My screams. As he'd break another bone or electrocute me again and again. Do you really think that's the sound of someone who's been given a gift?"

"You just don't have the right attitude. It is a wonderful thing he has done for us, you will see. But first, I must deal with him."

"I can't let you do that. If you want him, you'll have to go through me."

She shrugs, uncaring, "Very well."

"Y/n, you don't have to fight for me."

"Shut up Tin Man. I got this."

I'm tired, my body feels spent after everything it's been through, but I can do this.

I brace myself in case of a surprise attack, but we both fire our power at each other at the same time, a steady stream flowing from both of our hands, and connecting in the middle in a ball of red and blue energy.

Sparks are flying in all directions, but I don't relent. I try and push myself, desperate to overpower her.

"Face it," I call out to her, "He's trained us both. We both know the tricks, we both know how to use our power to our advantage."

"So?"

"So we're at a standpoint."

I let out a deep breath as we both drop our hands at the same time.

"Look, Wanda, you can walk away. Okay? I don't doubt that you'll come back at some point and you'll go for him again. But you're not getting him today. So I suggest you turn around and go look for your brother. Got it?"

She stands there, breathing heavily and her eyes flicking between me and Stark.

"This isn't the end," she says before walking away from us, a protective barrier of energy forming around her as she goes.

"I don't doubt that it is."