Agony (Wanda Maximoff)

Chapter 28

||Curiosity was getting the best of her.||

"Tell me where he is!" Wanda threatened Steve, holding her hands out to him, her glowing hex ready to strike at any moment. "Tell me!"

Steve moved slowly, and Wanda watched him cautiously. The team surrounded her: Natasha stood near the tree, holding her gun close to her chest; Steve paced slowly in front of her, his Captain America suit stained in blood; Tony and Vision levitated above them, but Vision stared down at Wanda with worried curiosity. He didn't know what she was going to do... none of them did.

--One Day Before--

After resting for hours after her panic attack, Wanda decided to take her usual walk to the cliff, where she'd be able to clear her mind and settle her thoughts. As always, it was early in the morning, and the sun was just peaking up over the trees. 

She worried herself to sleep the night before, angry at herself for letting her emotions run too deep into her memory. She hadn't realized that the gun would send her through such pain, such horror, but it did, and now she didn't know if she'd ever be able to shoot a gun without the memory of her childhood resurfacing. 

Her legs dangled over the edge of the cliff, and the water below trickled by quietly. If she got there early enough, she could see the birds playing near the water, fishing for food. But that morning, they weren't around, nothing was. It was just Wanda and nature, not in unison, but together. 

She looked over her shoulder at the targets, and right in the middle, was the bullet she shot yesterday. She was so concerned with her panic attack that she didn't even realize that she shot a bullseye. Maybe she was better than expected. 

Far in the distance, the sound of a helicopter echoed through the sky. From where she stood, Wanda couldn't see it, but she heard it, and she wondered dubiously where it would be headed. 

With a push, Wanda stood and jogged through the trees and into the woods. She followed the sound of the blades cutting against the air, and within minutes she found herself back in the open field. The helicopter leveled atop of a small one-story building. Wanda kept herself hidden behind a tree, but watched as a young lady stepped out of the helicopter and into the building. The helicopter lifted itself up and flew away. 

The building was something new to Wanda, and she didn't understand how she hadn't realized it was there the whole time. 

She ran through this field that day. That day she saw Pietro. This is where he ran off to. 

It had to be, or else he was simply just her imagination. Whatever the reason, the building seemed out of place, and Wanda wanted to know who was inside. 

She slowly walked down the hill and towards the building, noticing that there weren't any windows. There were a few cameras that seemed to be working perfectly, so Wanda used her hex to shadow herself from them. But once she got close enough to the building, it disappeared. 

Not disappeared, but camouflaged itself. If she wasn't so close, she would have shrugged it off as her mind playing tricks on her, but she saw the crystals of the shield sparkling under the morning sun. The building was hiding itself. But why?

There was no way inside of the building, not with the shield concealing any point of entrance. She wondered if her hex would drop the shield, but it was too risky. What if there was an alarm? What if there was someone inside who didn't want to be found? 

But what if Pietro was in there? What if he needed her help?

She sank to the ground and held her fists. She didn't know what to do believe: the team, or herself.