Agony (Wanda Maximoff)

Chapter 26

||"A true solder fights. Not because she hates what's in front of her, but because she loves what is behind her."||

"Fighting is art. In order to master it, you have to practice." Natasha placed her two hand-guns on the grass and stepped away. "Strucker had you practice your abilities, but did he ever teach you how to fight?" Wanda never thought she'd have to learn such a thing, not when she had her magic. 

"No," she said, and Natasha peeled off her jacket, revealing her black tank-top. 

"Not all of us are gifted with such extraordinary powers, so we're left with  resorting to the physical things." Natasha kicked down at her guns, sending them flying up to her hands. She shot four bullets at Wanda, and Wanda shielded herself with her hex. The bullets fell to the ground, and Wanda sent a hex ball at Natasha, hoping to hit her on the leg, but Natasha threw herself to the side, shooting another pair of bullets at Wanda. 

Her red hex, slithered through the grass, reaching up to Natasha's shoes and pulling her down. Natasha fell back, hard, but her guns stayed glued to her hands. Wanda dodged the bullets, finally using her hex to pull back the guns. 

They were breathless, but the grin on Natasha's face thrilled Wanda. 

"You're quick. Good, that's good. But you used your magic, and I want to teach you how to use your fists. It'll come in handy one day." The girls walked up to each other, and Wanda handed back Natasha's guns. "I'm not saying that what you can do is bad, I just want to make sure that when you are incapable of using your magic, you'll know what to do with these." Natasha grabbed Wanda's hands and gave them a good squeeze. 

"Will you make me hit you?" Wanda asked her, and Natasha laughed, shaking her head. 

"I'll be teaching you what to do. Your punching bag will be none other than the Captain himself." Wanda looked over and saw Steve walking towards them. He was wearing his sweatpants and his gray t-shirt that hugged him perfectly. Wanda pushed back the images of his face earlier that morning, and forced herself to shake it off. It was no time to be fidgeting. "Steve has kindly volunteered to help out. Him and I are going to do a little segment for you." 

"Go easy on me, will ya?" He stretched his arms and shook his hands, getting into a fighting stance. Natasha wasted no time, and she quickly jumped up, kicking Steve hard on the chest, sending him stumbling backwards. The kick wasn't enough to make him fall, but it caught him by surprise. 

Steve and Natasha fought aggressively, and Wanda watched, carefully taking in the simple moves that Natasha used. 

After minutes of dodging each other's blows, Natasha jumped up, throwing her legs around Steve's shoulders and body slamming him to the ground. The sound of Steve hitting the dirt made Wanda cringe, but he didn't seemed phased by the pain. The two of them began laughing, but eventually, Steve gave Natasha's leg a few taps, and she released him. 

"That's my favorite move," Natasha said, and Wanda held in her laugh as she watched Steve brush off the dirt from his shirt. "Hand to hand combat isn't easy. It's all about prediction and sharpness. You have to be able to read your opponents body language, and predict where their next move is going to be."

"How do I do that?" Wanda asked, baffled. 

"You predicted me shooting at you, it caught you off guard, but you saw it coming. Didn't you?" 

"Yes."

"Then use that mind set in your fighting. You can do this." Natasha moved out of the way and pushed Wanda closer to Steve. Instinctively, her hands glowed red, and she struggled to force it down. This would be the first time she'd fight without her magic, and it was beginning to worry her.