Lost at Sea ✔

Chapter 5

Lost at Sea

Chapter 5

New Me

     After that fateful meeting; Alene, Wanda, and Pietro became inseparable. They trained, ate, and roomed together. Despite popular belief, their lives at HYDRA weren't torturous. They were treated somewhat fairly, were fed three meals a day, and their bedchambers were kept warm throughout Sokovia's harsh winters.

     However, that's not saying there weren't horrors. There were a lot of horrors that children- or really anyone shouldn't see.

     "Why do I need medication?" Wanda asked a doctor as he was injecting a blue liquid into her arm.

     "So you'll get stronger," The doctor replied. "For the wellbeing of the world, you need to be stronger." But he didn't say she'll have to go through a hell of a lot of pain for that to happen. Everyone was injected with 'medication'.

     Wanda and Pietro always worried whenever Alene was taken away to receive her medication. Her condition when she was brought back to their room always varied. Sometimes she'll be very sick while others she would literally be bouncing off the walls in hyperexcitement.

     One day when she was nine-years-old, Alene returned to their room feeling fine. To others that would be a good sign, but the Maximoff's were uncertain. She's never been just fine before. Strucker told them she was probably used to her medication, but they weren't sure. All too soon 'fine' was the furthermost term to call her condition.

     Alene started having severe seizures. Her eyes would be unblinking and unseeing as Wanda stood over her. She would be crying and begging Alene to wake up before doctors ripped her away.

     "For your safety," Strucker said before locking her and Pietro inside cells. He said 'your' instead of 'our'. The Maximoff twins' medication had succeeded in making them stronger, but Alene would be stronger. Wanda and Pietro tried everything they could to break out and race to Alene's side, but they were still weak.

     No one in the facility slept that night. Everyone could hear the muffled screams coming from behind the locked iron doors. There were a ton of crashes and things breaking. Come morning, everything was spookily silent.

     The sound footsteps occupied the drip-dropping of water from the ceiling. Wanda and Pietro looked out the cell door, trying to see who the sound of footsteps belonged to. They were shocked to see Alene, up and well, standing in front of their cells. She seemed to be alright, but there was something very new from her.

     Maybe it was the new clothes she wore. Maybe it was the way her long brown hair laid down instead of in pigtails. Maybe it was the way she carried herself with confidence. Maybe she looked different because instead of the soothing emerald-colored eyes, bright magenta orbs pierced through their souls.

     Even the way she spoke was different. It was more mature sounding. "Hello, Wanda, Pietro. I've returned."

     Pietro quickly asked, "How are you feeling, Alene?" His voice shook a bit.

     Alene smiled- no smirked. Gone was the innocence in her eyes. Her magenta eyes swirled with possibility and screamed danger. "I've never felt more alive." She replied. "My medication finally made me stronger." Purple dust-like psionic matter fell from her fingers and slithered to their cell doors. The doors opened with a 'bang'. Wanda and Pietro hesitantly came out and approached the girl they've come to call sister.

     "We're finally strong enough," Alene told them, "Now we can start our training to shake the Earth to its core upon our arrival." 

~{++}~

10 years after the plane crash,

     "Come on! Give me one hundred percent!" Alene yelled in joy at her brother and sister. They were currently in the base's training room on a sparring mat. They came down here regularly to practice hand-to-hand combat and to test their abilities against each other.

     Pietro smirked at Alene. "You sure you want one hundred percent?"

     Alene laughed, anxious to begin. "Yeah!"

     Her brother shook his head but was still smiling. "Okay. Don't say I didn't warn you." They all crouched down into a defensive stance.

     "On the count of three," Wanda announced. "One,"

     "You both know y'all can call it quits now right?" Alene teased. "I won't make fun of you too bad."

     "Two!"

     "Ha! You wish!" Pietro responded to the youngers nagging. "You'll be the one begging us to stop."

     The room became dead silent before Wanda cried out, "Three!"

     Pietro and Wanda attacked Alene at once, hoping to catch her off guard. They didn't.

     She was ready for them. Psionic matter started to float in the air around Alene. She smirked as her brother sprinted towards her. The second he was before her, Alene brought her hands up and before anyone could blink, he was blasted into the wall. Behind her, Wanda used her magic to boost herself into the air. Alene quickly turned around and did the same maneuver to her.

     This repeated for about fifteen minutes. Pietro and Wanda kept trying to land a hit on her, but she was simply too fast and too strong for them.

     Pietro tried to knock her off her feet, but she would always flip over him and hit him in the back before he could realize she was no longer in front of him. Wanda kept trying to use her magic to manipulate Alene's, but the latter would always be one step ahead of her.

     Alene did great holding her ground against both of them, but they started to get ahead of her. They started coming at her faster and faster and Alene was having a hard time catching up. Soon, Wanda saw an opening.

     She brought her hands up and shot her magic towards her while her back was turned, too busy fending off an attack by Pietro. Alene suddenly froze. Her eyes turned bright red.

     Pietro smiled when he saw Wanda walking behind Alene using her magic.

     As Wanda got closer, Alene slowly sank to the floor. Her eyes were unfocused as she stared off into space. Wanda and Pietro stood over her and smiled down at her. If she could, she'll be glaring daggers at them.

     Wanda held her hand out to her, "Defeated?"

     "Defeated." Alene allowed herself to be pulled to her feet.

     Pietro wrapped an arm around her. "Hey, you did really well. Even against our best attacks, you stood your ground. Very impressive."

     Alene smiled up at him. "You think so?"

     Wanda smiled and wrapped her arm around the girl as well. "We know so." The three smiled at each other before embracing.

     Their hug, however, was interrupted when an alarm went off and a voice boomed over the speakers.

     "Report to your battle stations immediately. This is not a drill. We are under attack. We are under attack."

Word count: 1,130