A Haunting Past: an Avengers/x-men fanfiction

Maximoff

I sat in the passenger seat of Natasha's car as we drove back up to the Avengers compound.  I spent much of that time reading a book as I tried to avoid talking about what happened at Sam's.  However, I knew that Natasha would want me to come to her if anything else happened to me. 

"Has Tony told you about the Avenger's initiative yet?"  Nat asks and I close my book.

"Yeah, he was kind of telling me about it but do you really think it would be a good idea to have me go recruit people?  I mean I'm just a kid and people might not take me seriously."  I tell her and she sighs.

"We think people would find you less threatening and thus be willing to talk to you about it.  However if you don't want to, then that's fine.  We're just trying to keep you busy while you're here." She says.  "If you're busy things might go more smoothly for you."  I get where she's coming from.

"I'll think about it." I reply as I see the Avenger's compound come into view.  My stomach did flips as I thought about people finding out about my emotional breakdown.  We parked the car and when I got out, I could see everyone waiting for me.  I was only gone for three days but they made it seem like I'd been gone for a lot longer than that.

"Look who's finally come back." Tony says as I come over.

"I wasn't gone for that long Tony." I reply as Captain hugs me gently.

"Welcome back kid."  Captain tells me and I nod.  Maybe they don't need to know what happened and maybe they know to not ask me any questions about what happened in my past.  "Let's head inside before it gets too cold out." I follow everyone inside.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Two weeks passed without incident and my lungs felt almost back to normal.  Snow was generously covering the ground outside and the compound was warmer than it needed to be.  I had convinced Tony to get me a pair of ice skates but the hard part was getting outside without anyone noticing.  Everyone is still babying me even though I told them that I'm ok now.   However today is going to be the day that I sneak out.  Everyone is in meetings discussing some recent terrorist attacks around the world.

"This would be a good time to sneak off." I hear Tony say behind me and I turn around.  "Just be careful and I left a cell phone on your bedside table so if you need anything just call me."  I nod as I run to my room.  I change into a pair of lose fitting sweat pants and a light jacket before I grab my skates and sneak out of the compound.

I found the lake that I had happened upon a week ago.  It was completely frozen and it was perfect for skating on.  I change into my skates as I try to remember everything about ice skating that people have taught me over the years.  Stryker hated me but he occasionally let me do things as a reward for being good. 

The skates gently glide across the ice and everything comes back to me.  I spend several hours dancing on the frozen lake and for a moment I forgot all my problems. When the sun started to set, I knew I should probably head back and when I got to the edge of the lake, Tony was already waiting for me.

"You're pretty at that." He tells me as he offers me a hand to get off the ice.

"Thanks.  Did anyone notice I was gone?" I ask and he nods so I quickly take off my skates and put my boots back on.  "Are they mad?" We start the walk back up to the compound.

"No but Captain wants you to tell him next time you want to head out there by yourself."  Tony tells me and I nod in agreement.  That won't be that big of a deal.  I go back to my room when we get back and I take off my jacket because of the warmth that seems to be present in every room.

"Standing in my doorway is kind of annoying." I say before I even turn around.  I had a feeling it was Tony but when I looked around I see a girl in her early twenties watching me.   I attempt to read her mind but I can't.

"Captain told me a lot about you."  The girl says and I bite my lip wondering what that's  supposed to mean.  "You are cute, weak but I will work on that."

"Wait I'm not weak and second of all who exactly are you?"I demand and she laughs.

"Wanda Maximoff."  Her Eastern European accent makes me kind of cringe.

"You're the Scarlet Witch?"  I ask and she nods.  "Compared to you then, I am weak but I'm still working on it."  I tell her.