Disappeared- {Pietro Maximoff}

Chapter 13

"I'm going to ask Zio to buy me a train." Alex happily sighed, as she texted same thing out to Pietro.

"We don't have a train line."

"And? Put it on the outskirts of the base and I can live there."

Natasha side-eyed Alex, "You'd have no heating. No electricity, water, wifi."

"But I'd live on a train!" Alex accidentally shouted this and a few seats from her and Nat, a child with long blonde hair turned around to look at them. Alex waved, the child, who looked about twelve years old, blushed and held up the book they were reading.

"She lives on a train, in this book." The child mouthed and Alex's eyes widened. She sent a final thumbs up and pulled out her phone to search for the book.

A plump elderly woman, with a wonderful crown of white curls tucked under a light brown cloche, pushed a snack trolley into view and offered Alex a menu, "Anything from the trolley, dears?"

Alex's eyes lit up, she switched off her phone and a wide smile crossed her face, "Oh my god, I love you! They say that in Harry Potter, don't they say that in Harry Potter, Nat?"

"Yes, they do."

"I would like a tea please, dear," Alex tried to copy the accent. The woman, with gloved hands, carefully poured the tea into a cup and passed it to Alex. She accepted it, also taking a packet of sugar and milk but when they both turned to Nat, she waved the elderly lady on.

"Grump."

"Don't you have a Maximoff to message?"

"Bitch."

"Language."

Alex blinked, looking amazed, "You can't say that."

"Don't swear at me then."

"Alright, I'm sorry."

The train was slowing down.

Alex sighed, checking her phone to see if Tony had replied to her before checking Twitter. She wasn't allowed her own official account like Tony and Steve, but she enjoyed having multiple fake accounts to see what was going on.

"Apparently, theorists now think I'm a friendly, male presenting android made by Tony and Bruce. My skin is red and I have wires on show, which is why I wear the mask."

"Have you thought about taking the mask off?"

Alex looked up, shaking her head, "It's safer not to. Sam and I talked about it when I said I wanted to find Tony Stark— that the world would never accept an Asian-Italian, bisexual woman as their hero. It's safer for me to be like this. And now I'm an amputee, so another reason for them to reject me or treat me as less than Steve or Tony."

"You can pass as white and straight. People wouldn't have to know."

"Yeah, but I'd be hiding that part of me. I couldn't do it. I don't mind people not knowing and making assumptions because it's sort of just a game. But I would hate them making assumptions when they've actually seen me, if that makes sense."

"It does. I'm not the right person to talk about this, I know."

"I mean, I'm glad you brought it up. I haven't thought about it for a while. And Sam's an Avenger now, same with Rhodey. Aside from a few comments and constantly shitty people on social media, they've been accepted."

"True. And we'll always protect you."

"I can't wait till I can do that for other people. I'm so pissed it's another year before I can apply to M.I.T."

"Tony could—"

"No."

The train stopped. Alex tried to stand, thinking they were at the stop but Natasha grabbed her by the shoulder and forced her back into her seat. Alex turned, ready to ask why they weren't going when Natasha pointed out the window.

They were just in between some random fields.

Alex shrugged Natasha's hand off, Theundruk teleporting into her hand as she quickly made her way out of the seat. Other people were standing, looking out the windows.

"Everyone," she called, "If you could please remain in your seats, me and—"

"Alex!"

A gun fired as someone ran into Alex from behind, knocking her over. She hit her head on the floor, hard, but still forced herself to roll over.

There was a ringing in Alex's ears, a tinny noise growing louder and louder. She shook her head, eyes closed, and hit her ear with her hand. The noise eased and she opened her eyes.

Natasha was lying on top of her.

Natasha wasn't moving.

Natasha was bleeding.

Bleeding heavily, from a bullet that had just skimmed the left side of her neck, cutting the skin open.

Natasha was bleeding and Alex began screaming; short, wheezing, hysteric screams that came from deep within her. The screams choked her, blinded her, deafened her and it was only when she thought she could not hurt anymore, that Theundruk took control of her body.

Theundruk rolled Natasha off Alex, moving her arms like a marionette. Even her mouth moved with no sound coming out.

As Theundruk made Alex use the table to support herself, Alex noticed her eyes were glowing a bright gold colour in the window's reflection.

Everything seemed to be moving slower. She could feel everyone around her, their hearts and minds frantic with fear. A gun went off, and in the reflection, Alex saw the bullet travelling straight to her head. She did not have to move, a simple breath in and then the bullet was teleported, nicking the shooter's ear.

With another breath, she let Theundruk find and teleport all the innocent civilians off the train. There were about fifty enemies left now and everything was silent, waiting.

Blood from Natasha was soaking her shoes, turned the pale yellow docs to an ugly brown. That body had not been teleported away, and Theundruk was not telling Alex why or letting her even feel if Nat was still alive.

It was an ambush. How they had found her, why they wanted her, Alex didn't know. But she knew one thing, one thought Theundruk kept whispering in her mind,

They needed to pay.

So slowly, Alex turned.

The man still had his gun trained on Alex, but his hands were shaking too much to fire and his face was pale as parts of the train continued to disappear around him.

Theundruk's cackles had dissolved into words of encouragement, relaxing their control. This was what they had been practising, all those months stuck inside the mind stone. Alex had been able to do this for a while now, possibly even since the mind stone chose her, but like a gun, she needed the bullet before the trigger could be pulled and damage be dealt.

A second bullet was fired by the same man who had shot Nat and tried to shoot her. Again, with a simple, lazy wave of her hand, Alex teleported it away.

Her head bowed in a small acceptance; he would do just fine.

Alex teleported and a second later, the screaming began again.