VENGEANCE | MAXIMOFF TWINS

↪one.

VENGEANCE
(CHAPTER ONE)

The explosion changed my life. Of course, that's no shocker. It changed the lives of everyone in Sokovia. But the way it changed me is different. It showed me a whole new world: a cruel, dark world filled with hate and selfishness. But at the same time, it showed me a world filled with magic and possibility. A world where anything was possible.

Of course, I was only six when it happened. I barely knew anything about the world as it was. I hadn't even left my home country of Sokovia, and hardly ever left Novi Grad, its biggest city and my hometown. I spent most of my time with my parents, as they were the only friends I had. I was just barely in school, and I didn't talk to my classmates. Instead, I went directly home after school and helped my mother clean our apartment, cook dinner, and wash clothes.

It was a lot for a six-year-old to do, but I didn't mind. My mother always called me "Môj Malý Pomocník", which meant "My Little Helper".

But then it was that faithful day. That damned day that changed my whole life. I will never, ever forget the day the bombs hit my building.

It was early evening. My mother was just setting dinner on the table, and I was running to climb up in my chair. My father had recently deemed me old enough to sit in the creaky wooden chairs with them, rather than the high chair made of wicker that was so loosely woven, the pointy edges often poked me. "Mama!" I squealed excitedly, clapping my hands. "Are we having paprikash again?" Paprikash was one of my favorite meals at the time. I knew how to make it from a very young age.

"Indeed, we are, dcéra," my mother replied with a smile, setting the warm plates in our places. My father sat down at the head of the table with a smile, his chair creaking underneath his weight. "Paprikash, just the way you like it."

I giggled happily, clapping my hands as I inhaled the fresh scent of food. I was hungry. We weren't able to afford much, so I'd had to skip lunch that day, unfortunately. I waited excitedly as my father said grace, listening to his words. I honestly had no idea what he was saying, but I remember it was in a language called Hebrew. Once he finished, he simply said, "Time to eat!" I cheered, immediately digging in.

It was delicious, as paprikash always is. I could make a whole one-hundred page essay about how wonderful paprikash is, if I had the time, of course. But, unfortunately, I didn't get to enjoy much of it. I was only a few bites in when they finally hit.

At first, there was just a shaking. The whole table suddenly began to shake, dishes clattering and scooting their way toward the edges and falling off. I whimpered and screamed as my plate fell onto my little lap, my eyes wide in utter fear. I didn't know what to do. "Mama! Papa!"

"Get somewhere safe, dcéra!" My father shouted, looking around nervously as he got to his feet. I don't remember much else from this part, other than everyone being scared. My mother was clutching her Star of David necklace in terror.

I screamed once more as soon as the ceiling fell through. A massive missile shot through at a high speed, landing directly into the middle of our table, creating a massive hole in it. I scrambled away in time, able to escape the massive vessel before it could crush me, but my parents weren't as lucky.

I remember screaming from my spot, moving to come peer down the hole in an attempt to see them, or at least their bodies. However, as I moved forward, a piece of debris dropped down on me, pinning me to the ground. I couldn't move.

Trembling in fear and sadness, I quietly grieved the deaths of my parents. They had been crushed by debris that had fallen into the hole with them after they'd fallen on top of the missile. I had never gotten to see their bodies. Instead, I was stuck seeing the weapon that had caused their deaths, along with a name written on it. The name of my parents' killer's company: Stark Industries.

I remember being trapped under the debris for days. I'm not even sure how many, but I know it felt like a long time. I'd spent most of it crying for my mother, wanting her to come back and hold me. To save me.

But she never would. Because of Tony Stark.