PURE AND TAINTED ( wanda maximoff )

seventeen → you

PURE AND TAINTED
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
( you )

AFTER TAKING OUT SEVERAL HYDRA soldiers, Aline had started to grow bored. There was just no more entertainment in breaking guns and snapping necks... She let out an annoyed huff and pressed her finger against the comm in her ear. "Tony, please tell me you got it," Aline said. "I'm bored. Like, tempted-to-break-something-or-pick-a-fight, bored."

Tony's response came a few seconds later. "Uh... yeah," he said. He sounded distracted, like he had no clue as to who he was talking to. "West side, you'll find me."

She gave a curt nod before flitting across the castle. To the agents that hadn't gotten in her way, she had hit them upside the face with the butt of their own gun or thrown them against the wall. They deserved it after all; they had all willing joined an organization that tortured and experimented on people. Why should they deserve their pity?

When she eventually arrived in the west side of the castle, she searched all over for Tony. She eventually found his suit in one of the offices; it was filled with all sorts of different files and a man was lying unconscious on the ground. On the opposite wall was a hallway leading downwards and she assumed that Tony had gone down it. The tribrid nearly rolled her eyes; God, couldn't he just wait for her? Or literally anyone? She could hear Tony's heartbeat, quick and erratic, but there was a second one. This one was oddly calm, beating at the normal pace. Who else was down there?

She walked down the stairs, twisting through the hallways before stepping into a much larger room. She stifled her gasp as she gazed upon its contents, a hand pressed to her mouth.

There were several remnants of New York from two years ago, with Chitauri weapons scattered along several tables. One of the Leviathans hung from the ceiling, its jaws open mid-roar, and she was surprised HYDRA had found something to hold the large thing up. She didn't have nightmares about New York, but she did think back on it often; it was an unsettling battle. Realizing that aliens were real had totally messed with Aline's head. Though, she supposed it was nothing compared to what everyone else was dealing with 一 not only did they know that aliens were real, but now the supernatural.

Along a few other tables looked to be scrapped Iron Man suits, or suits designed similar to Tony's. Her eyes scanned the room's contents, satisfied when she spotted Loki's scepter glowing on a table, Tony standing a few feet from it.

"Thor, I got eyes on the prize," Tony said and he took a step towards it.

Aline failed to call out to Tony just as a girl appeared in her vision. She stalked Tony quietly and put her hands on either side of his head, wiggling her fingers. A red mist-like substance dispersed from her fingertips, moving somewhat like a snake as it disappeared into Tony's head.

The tribrid stepped forward, hand held out in warning. "Get away from him now!" Aline shouted, eyes narrowed. She was ready to throw a spell if need be.

The girl had slowly turned, both hands up in surrender as she looked towards Aline. She had brown hair that fell down in waves down her back, framing her pale face. She had pretty green eyes tinged with red, but the latter disappeared almost in an instant. "How can you defend him?" she retorted, speaking in a tone of disgust. She spoke with an Eastern European accent, so Aline only assumed that the girl was native to Sokovia.

Aline froze, her hand starting to waver. It was her. She had said the words Aline had traced and read dozens of times, the ones that had appeared not so long ago. For the past few months, Aline had wondered who her person would be. Where they came from, what they looked like, and so on. And here she was, looking beautiful and poised and dangerous, attacking her friend.

"You," Aline whispered, barely audible to the other girl's ears. "It's you?"

The other girl gave her a sad smile before Aline was tossed to the ground. She felt a sharp pain erupt in her forehead and soon, a bit of red had covered her eye and she knew she was bleeding. Dots started dancing across her vision and she elicited a groan. "Ow," she grunted and rolled onto her back. When she looked around, she saw that the girl and whoever it was that had pushed her were gone or hiding in the shadows. Either way, Aline pushed herself to her feet.

She wrapped an arm around herself as she started to walk towards Tony. "Hey," she said and gave him a small nudge. Using the back of her hand, she pressed it against the wound.

Tony nearly jumped, his eyes wide as saucers, and if Aline listened hard enough, she'd have heard his sharp intake of breath. He looked to her, giving a look of something mixed with pity, regret, and guilt.

"Hey, you feeling okay, Tony?" she asked.

He nodded and held out one of his hands. The hand to his suit instantly latched itself to his hand. Tony walked towards the table and swiped the scepter off of it, ripping it from its pedestal. He didn't look at Aline as he passed by her. "C'mon, let's go."

___

"Was that her?" Pietro asked, an arm slung around his sister's shoulders.

Wanda nodded, her arms hugging her body. It pained her to know that her soulmate was working alongside that monster she had called friend. But it hurt her even more to have Pietro hurt her. "Do you think it'll be okay?" she asked, her boots squishing against the snow.

Pietro grinned. "Of course it will. If it doesn't, well..." He paused, thinking to himself. "Well, it doesn't matter because it definitely will work out. She is going to love you, sestra." He pressed a chaste kiss to her forehead, still leading her through the forest.