Winter's Sister

9

Wanda and I avoided Vision as much as we could. But when, late at night, we heard on the news that Steve, Sam, Bucky, and the new Wakandan king had gone missing, the synthetic red man was our only real option.

"Vision, what happened?" I asked, anger at his earlier efforts to keep us 'safe' creeping into my voice. "Where are Steve and Sam? What happened to my brother?"

Vision sighed. "I wish I could tell you I knew," he said.

"Liar!" I yelled. "Stark, or even Natasha, would have called you. You are the only one here with us. You have to know. Tell me!"

"I was given orders to keep you, specifically, in the dark, Ms. Barnes," Vision said. "The last thing we need in all of this, is for someone to go rogue."

"What, you think I would go after them?" I questioned. "They're halfway around the world!" Tears came to my eyes. "I just want to know that my brother and my friends are ok."

"Vision, we need answers," Wanda said softly, taking a kinder approach than I had. "Right now, you are the only one who can give them."

"Wanda, Maureen, they are in the safest of hands, I assure you," Vision said gently, standing right in front of me.

I took a tentative step back. I didn't like him, or anyone, standing so close. It reminded me of Mr. Killicks. A shiver ran down my spine, and I took another step closer to Wanda, who was watching me in concern.

"Mr. Stark will do all he can to keep everyone out of harms way," Vision continued, keeping his face blank.

"And yet he left us here with you," I whispered, turning away from him. "You know as well as anyone that I have had a really hard time learning to trust all of you. But Stark broke what trust was there when he had you keep Wanda and I locked up here."

Suddenly, there was an explosion outside the compound. I gasped and ran to Wanda, as Vision left to check it out, telling us to stay put. Wanda held me close to her side. I hadn't realized I was shaking.

Suddenly, Wanda whipped around, using her powers to send a knife flying at a man with a bow and a quiver on his back. He looked somewhat alarmed, but didn't fight back. Upon seeing him, I barred my sharp canines and held up my claws, staying by Wanda's side.

"Guess I should've knocked," he chuckled, pushing the point of the knife away.

"Oh my gosh," Wanda said, dropping her stance. I nervously followed suit. "What are you doing here?"

"Disappointing my kids," he said, walking past her and drawing an arrow.

Thinking he was about to aim for me, I ran across the room to Wanda, grabbing her arm. Instead, he shot the arrows in two apparently random places.

"It's ok, Ree," Wanda assured me. "He is a friend. To me and Steve."

"Supposed to go water skiing," he continued, grabbing Wanda's hand, who, in turn, pulled me along. "Cap needs our help. Come on."

"Clint," called Vision's voice, making all three of us stop in our tracks. "You should not be here."

"Really," the man, Clint, said. "I retire for what, like five minutes, and it all goes to crap."

"Please consider the consequences of your actions," Vision requested, stepping forward.

"Ok, they're considered," Clint said.

For a moment, I thought he was really just going to leave, before the arrows let out an electric current that shocked Vision.

"Ok, we gotta go," Clint announced, sounding nervous. He began running off, but turned back when he realized we weren't following. "It's this way," he pointed.

"I've caused enough problems," Wanda answered.

"I've never been in a fight like this," I admitted. "I shouldn't even be alive."

Clint came back to us. "You gotta help me, Wanda, Ree," he said. "Look, you wanna mope, you can go to high school. You want to make amends, you get off your ***. And Ree, Steve told me about you. You're more than you think. With claws like that, I'd be scared. Sometimes, that's all you need."

Clint cursed again as Vision escaped his electrical current. He tried to fight, but it's hard to fight someone who you keep passing straight through. Soon, Vision had Clint in a choke hold.

"Clint, you can't overpower me," he stated calmly.

"I know I can't," Clint acknowledged. He looked to Wanda. "But she can."

"Vision, that's enough," Wanda said, moving to stand in front of the two. "Let him go. We're leaving."

"I can't let you," Vision answered.

Wanda used her powers to free Clint. "I'm sorry," she told Vision. Then, she began to push him down into the floor.

"If you do this," he said, "they will never stop being afraid of you."

"I can't control their fear, only my own," Wanda concluded. She pushed him down through the floor and deep into the earth below.

"Woah," Clint sighed, looking into the deep hole. Then, looking at us, he said, "Come on. We've got one more stop."

We followed Clint out to a white van. Wanda sat in the passenger seat, and I sat right behind her. We went to pick up a man named Scott, who said he was also called 'Ant-Man'. I had never heard of him. He passed out in the seat beside me, and I edged as far away as I could get while remaining in the van.

"Kid, we're not the people who want to hurt you, " Clint said, looking back at me. "None of the other guys really want to hurt you, either. This is, mostly, just between Stark and Cap. You don't have to worry about us."

Wanda put her hand on his arm. "Drive," she said. "I've got this." She turned to face me and continued in a hushed tone, but I knew Clint could still hear. "Ree, the people we are with, and even the ones we are against, they are not like Hydra. They will not hurt you like they did. And they will definitely not lay a finger on you like Killicks did."

I flinched at the name, and Wanda reached back and took my hand. "Ree, if anyone even tries to do what he did to you, they will have to face me, Steve, your brother, Sam, Natasha, even Rhodey and Stark. We are all your family now. Sometimes family fights, but we also protect each other."

"Hey, I don't know who this guy is," Clint put in, "but I've got a daughter, so you should know I'm here for you, too, kid."

"Thank you," I said.

We had pulled into a space in an empty parking garage. Now, we just had to wait.