Civil War

Haunting

Tony's Compound

The plane ride back to the compound was deafening. I felt for Wanda, she was young and not very experienced with her powers. She was much stronger than she knew, but her powers scared her immensely, and this was another reason for her to be terrified. She sat by the window as Cap, Sam and I sat, in a semi-circle, Nat flying the plane. I looked to Cap, who looked back, concern in his eyes. It reminded me of the way he looked at me whenever I did something reckless or at least was about to do it.

As we arrive at the compound, Wanda was the first of the plane, walking quickly to her bunker. I followed her next, walking into my own bunker. I decided to let her be alone for a little while and gather her thoughts. I locked my door, peeling off my suit. My wound was completely healed, but dried blood surrounded it. I hopped in the shower and quickly washed off, letting my overheated body cool off. The water felt amazing on my bruised skin. About ten minutes pass as I jump back out. I pull a sports bra, a black tank top and shorts. I decided I was just going to go see if I could find more out about my powers, since I knew so little and it fascinated me to see what I could do.

As I walk out of my room I hear a news report echoing through the hallways. I walk closer to Wanda's room, she was sat on her bed, her eye's glued to the TV. Pictures of Cap were in the introduction as the show starts. I walk in, taking a seat next to her, wanting to watch it. She looks over to me as I nod to her. The title appears as 'WHIH News front, Special report'. I sit back, waiting a moment for it to finally start. 'Breaking News' flashes as Wanda leans closer to the TV. A blonde woman appears on the screen, her name being, Christine Everhart.

"It's been several hours since the incident in Lagos, Nigeria, information is sparse and the full extent of the damage is still unknown." She continues, "News Front correspondent, Jackson Norris, arrived in Lagos moments ago and he joins us now. Jackson?" She asks. The screen changes to a picture of Lagos from an aerial view and a picture of Jackson in a box headed, 'On the line' next to it.

"Christine, I am a few yards away from where the conflict took place, it's still chaotic, several witnesses are confirming that members of the Avengers and unknown combatants were here at the time." His voice was a little staticy and you could hear sirens still blaring in the background. It changes back to Christine. "Now, Jackson, which Avengers where there exactly? Tony Stark?" She asks, moving her hand slightly. "Captain Rogers involvement has been mentioned and corroborated, some accounts indicate Sam Wilson and Natasha Romanoff. But nothing else definitive at this time." Jackson says. It switches to a man named Will Adams as he questions our involvement.

"Do we know why the Avengers were in Lagos, what's read initially brought them there?" His face was sour and seemed heated. "Well that's still unconfirmed, there's also an incident at a military compound. Local media speculation is pointing towards former Shield agent and now mercenary, Brock Rumlow." A picture of Rumlow appears on the screen as Christine starts talking again. "Well given the extent of Rumlow's crimes, are you thinking he was the Avenger's likely target?" Jackson fires back, "Again it's hard to say-" Christine cuts him off, with her hand raised, "Ok, I'm sorry, just uh, Jackson let me interrupt you. Breaking News in from Washington, we now go live to the White House, where President Ellis is speaking." The screen switches to the President, as the caption reads, 'Breaking News: President Ellis addresses attack in Lagos'.

"Good Evening, Ladies and Gentlemen." He takes a deep breath to collect his thoughts. "I've just been briefed on the situation in Lagos, Nigeria. Secretary Ross has contacted their president and assured him that we will do everything it takes to support our friend and ally. It is crucial that we unite and stand together to insure that peace and security prevail over chaos and fear. In the coming days my administration work directly with the United Nations, to find the people responsible for this catastrophe and hold them accountable to the full extent of the law. With courage, and with compassion, the international community will help support Lagos during their time of need. Thank you, and may god bless." It switches back to Christine.

"Well that was President Ellis moments ago, live from the White house issuing a very strong statement about the Avengers." She says, "Now Christine, where you heard a strong statement about the Avengers, I heard President Ellis saying that we need to rally with our allies to support the people that are trying to protect the planet and that is the Avengers." Christine starts to shuffle her papers, hitting them against the desk, annoyance lining her delicate features. Will continues, "That's who we need to actually look to, to protect us in situations like this." Christine interrupts, "Will clearly," Will interrupts, "There's still no proof," Christine interrupts, "No," Will talks again, "It's just, one moment, uh, there's still no proof that this situation would have been avoided if the Avengers weren't there. In fact, the outcome could have been way worse." The camera pans back to Christine, "Should our super heros report to the government? Let us know by google searching WHIH online and follow us on twitter, we'll be back shortly after this." Music plays as the show goes to commercial. I look to Wanda as she leans back.

"I don't think Christine likes us very much," I state as Wanda nods agreeably. A few moments pass, then Wanda turn to me. "Have you ever killed anyone?" She asks suddenly, before I can answer WHIH's theme plays as it pans to Christine.

"In light of new video's obtained from the people of Lagos, we have the full list of Avenger's involved in the incident." A video of me surfaces as it shows me tackling a guy off of Wanda. "It has been confirmed that all involved are, Captain Steve Rogers, Sam Wilson, Natasha Romanoff and two newer faces, Wanda Maximoff and Ivana Quinn. We now show you the cause of the incident, now, I must warn you, it is graphic."

The video starts. It was in a building high up, as the camera zooms in on Steve and I infront of Rumlow. I watch as the guy in the video says to his friend, "The guy has a grenade!" I watch in horror as you see Wanda stop the bomb and levitate Rumlow to the same floor the man was filming on. Loud noises make the screen cut out for a moment. The smoke clears as the man who was filming, coughs and rises of the floor, turning of his camera. A tear falls from Wanda's eyes.

"That was- devastating." Christine says as the camera pans to Will. "Now, if you're confused, that showed, the Avengers confronting Rumlow, he tried a suicide bombing of some sort, and Wanda Maximoff stopped it, but ended up blowing a floor of a building that ended up killing twelve Nigerian relief aid workers, and injuring many more." It goes back to Christine. "It seemed like Captain Rogers and Ivana Quinn were distracted, not noticing Rumlow grabbing the grenade. To me, not only was it Wanda Maximoff's fault, but also Roger's and Quinn's. To me, they failed their initial mission, whatever that was, and caused more destruction than peace." I roll my eyes, we didn't fail, it was a mistake, and we all knew that. "What legal authority does an enhanced individual like Wanda Maximoff have to operate in Nigeria-."

Suddenly the TV shuts off as Cap sets the remote on Wanda's table. "Turn it back on, their being very specific." Wanda says as I nod at Cap. Cap walks in, sitting in a chair across from Wanda. "This is not all on you." He starts, "I should've taken care of that grenade long ago. It's just, he said Bucky and suddenly I was a sixteen year old in Brooklyn again." He finishes. I nod as Wanda turns to face us. "They said I don't have control of my powers, and they were right." She breaths out.

"Look, I still don't have a full understanding of mine, and accidents happen." I say. "In this job, we try to save as many people as we can, sometimes that doesn't mean everybody. If we weren't there, maybe no one would've been saved." Steve says.

Suddenly Vision fades into the room through the wall. "Vis, we talked about this." Wanda spoke. Vision pointed to the door, "Yes but the door was open, so I assumed-" He stumbles over his words as I raise an eyebrow. "Uh, Tony Stark would like us to meet someone upstairs." He states plainly. "Do we know who?" Cap questions, "Secretary Ross," Vision says. I look down at the floor, taking a deep breath. "I'll um, use the door." Cap rises up and walks to the door, leaving. I look over at Wanda.

"To answer your question, I've killed over eighty innocent people when I was with Hydra. I thought I was doing the right thing, but I wasn't." I spoke as Wanda looked over at me. "Does it haunt you?" She asks as I swallow. "Absolutely."