A Pause in Time

Chapter 2

After the reintroduction in the former Novi Grad square, Wanda scooped Nika into her arms and laughed the two of them into the sky, heading northwest to the Slovakian border. The combination of the pain in her shoulder and the blood loss from the cut on her face knocked Nika completely out. The next thing she knew, she was waking up on the floor of a scraggly cabin in front of a warm wood fire, a pillow under her head and a blanket over her body. Nika sat up, being careful about her arm. She reached her hand up and felt her face where she found a bandage covering the split in her face.

"Glad to see you're awake." Nika jumped as Wanda spoke behind her, bringing in some more logs from outside. "You were asleep so long I thought I might have lost you." She knelt my the fire, taking a small poking stick to play with it for a moment before adding another log and sitting back next to Nika, knees up to her chest, her hands clasped around them. Nika looked a little closer, noticing that her fingertips were completely black.

"So you are real." Nika chuckled quietly. "Honestly I thought I'd dreamed you up. Hoping that it was you but not entirely sure."

"Well here I am." She smiled, nudging Nika slightly.

"How have you been?" Nika asked. "How's Pietro?" Wanda's face fell and she looked away from Nika.

"Pietro's dead. Has been for quite a few years."

"Oh shit, I'm sorry Wanda, I didn't know."

"Of course you wouldn't, it's okay."

"And how are you?" Nika poked. "How are you doing?"

"I've been better." She chuckled, trying to shrug it off. "Fought Thanos. Lost my husband. Used my magic to trap an innocent city in order to get him back. Dreamed up some sons. Destroyed the town and my sanity along with it. Turned evil, then tried to kill a young girl in order to get my children back. Went from super hero to super villain in three seconds flat. Faked my death after that and have been living here ever since." She sighed, irritated at something. "Now I think I'm going to have to undo my death in order to get you help, because I can't do that here."

"What do you mean?"

"I can put bandages on your face, but I'm not a doctor. I don't know what to look for in terms of infection, I can't tell if it's something that's going to need stitches. Not to mention your arm definitely needs a sling at best, surgery at worst." She sighed again, her head flopping into her hands. "I would only feel comfortable bringing you back to the Avengers compound and calling on Steven. The only problem with that is no one is going to allow me within three hundred yards of the compound, not after what I've done."

"You don't know until you try." Nika shrugged. "You're right, I need help. Things are going to go from bad to worse very quickly if I don't get this shit fixed. I would really appreciate an in with a doctor if you have one. I wouldn't have the faintest idea of where to go or what to do." Wanda was nodding, knowing the decision had been made the moment she landed in the square in Sokovia. But she didn't say anything else. Nika rocked a little, wondering if she should ask the next question on her mind. She eventually decided on yes.

"What's the deal with her fingers, Wanda? They're lookin' a little... dead." Wanda hid her fingers at Nika's words, clearly ashamed of them.

"They're from the Darkhold. I let it take ahold of me, and it cursed me. I ended up breaking out of the book's hold and destroyed any mention of the Darkhold, including the physical book, but I'm still marked. I don't think the Avengers would have me back."

"How did they let you in after Ultron?" Nika questioned.

"Clint had my back." Wanda shrugged. "Then it was Steve. In the end, Natasha had my back, too.  Now Clint's the only one that's still here. Natasha sacrificed herself for the world, and Steve took the opportunity to live his life with Peggy as he always wanted before coming back just to pass the buck and fade away. And after Westview and the whole trying to kill America thing, the rest of them don't trust me. I'm not sure they would help you if it was coming from me."