Color scheme | Pietro Maximoff

Chapter 21

Pietro picked up his sister and dashed out of the room, their main target was Tony, along with anyone else around him. Elizabeth and Bucky's main target was Steve, along with his group as well.

The two ran mindlessly through the hallways, searching for Steve and the others. Though Elizabeth had no free will, she did vaguely feel as if she was spectating her own life. She heard thoughts that didn't belong to her, and watched as her body moved against her will. She felt helpless. She felt less in control than when she was shoved into a trunk at only five years old. She watched as her arm grabbed a knife from a lifeless HYDRA soldier, and shuddered internally at the thought of using it against a friend. She was about to hurt the only people that ever showed her kindness after being abducted by HYDRA.

———

     Pietro and Wanda spotted a wave of soldiers falling one by one. As the soldiers were cleared out, the two spotted Tony, Rhodey, and Vision.

     "There you two are! We've been looking all over for you since your comms cut out," Tony stated.

     Wanda picked Tony up, her scarlet powers lacing around him. A wave of confusion washed over Tony's face before he was launched into a wall.

     "Are you two okay? What's going on?" Rhodey asked as he shakily rose his arm, hesitant to fire. Pietro sprinted after him, knocking Rhodey to the ground. Vision quickly flew far from the ground, out of Pietro's reach.

     However, despite the apparent danger, Vision dropped back down to the ground next to Wanda. He gently grabbed her shoulders, looking deep into her eyes.

     "Wanda, what is going on? We are your friends."

     "Vision! HYDRA must have messed with their minds, leave her alone!" Tony ordered in attempt to protect his friend. Vision ignored his friend's protests, and placed a hand on Wanda's cheek.

     "I am not afraid," he spoke towards Tony, then drew his attention back to Wanda. "I just feel you."

     A tear fell rolled down her cheek as Wanda gathered up a ball of energy, and blasted vision away from her. Seeing Vision's failure, Tony quickly called Steve and the others over the comms.

     "HYDRA messed with Pietro and Wanda, and now they're attacking us," he rushed his sentences. "Watch out for Eliza and Bucky, HYDRA probably got to them too," his warning was cut short when he received a punch to the face from Pietro. He fired a single shot at Pietro, trying to blast him away from him. He watched as Rhodey fired a few warning shots at Wanda, leading to her throwing him across the room. "Rogers, what do we do?"

———

     Elizabeth and Bucky were about to turn a corner when she heard footsteps approaching in the distance. She held up a hand telling Bucky to stop, and continued listening to her surroundings. She picked up on a few familiar voices, the most distinct coming from none other than Steve Rogers. Once their friends were only a few steps away, Elizabeth signaled for Bucky to attack. Bucky threw his metal fist into Steve's face, throwing him off balance. Elizabeth dashed towards Natasha, who luckily managed to block Eliza's knife. Natasha swept Elizabeth off her feet, but she quickly recovered, heading for Clint.

     Steve and Bucky threw a few punches at each other, Steve of course still being careful not to hurt his friend. Though Elizabeth and Bucky were outnumbered, they were fighting for blood while the group of four was only fighting to defend. They didn't want to hurt their friends, and that was their disadvantage.

     Elizabeth kicked Clint into a wall, then swung her knife aiming for his head. He barely dodged her attack, and pushed Elizabeth away by shoving her in the stomach. She stumbled into Sam, who held her in a choke hold. Luckily, she dropped her knife while trying to escape his grasp.

     "I don't wanna hurt you, Eliza. Snap out of it!" Though she struggled, Elizabeth managed to kick Sam in his shin, loosening his grip on her. She took her opportunity and grabbed his arm, flipping him over her shoulder. Natasha ran after her, but Elizabeth kicked her into Clint, knocking both of them off of their feet. Eliza noticed that Steve had taken down Bucky, temporarily. She dashed after him, throwing a fist towards his face. Steve caught her fist, and twisted her arm. The two struggled, their strength equally matching the other's.

     "Eliza, I know you're in there. You can fight it," he struggled to speak. Elizabeth's eyes widened as she realized she was slowly regaining control of her mind. Though she could not control her body, she finally had free will.

     "Steve," she whimpered. "I don't know what's happening," she threw another punch at Steve's face, who luckily was able to block it.

     "See, I told you that you could fight it," Steve smiled as he shielded another attack.

     "But I can't fight it. I don't know how long I can stay in control," she spoke as she kicked into his shield.

     "It's fine, we'll just wait until whatever they did wears off," she landed a punch in his gut.

     "I don't know if it will," a tear fell rolled down her face as Steve caught another punch. "You have to leave without us. We might end up killing you, or you will have to kill us."

     "I'm not leaving anyone behind, that's not an option," she kicked him in his stomach and pinned him up against a wall.

     "Please, we'll find a way out. I don't want to fight you anymore, none of us do," for a second, she managed to fight the serum and loosened her grip on him. "If you care about us, please. Just go," Steve stared deep into her eyes, pondering over his next action. He looked towards Bucky, who was fighting off three of his friends.

     "If you don't make it out of here on your own, we'll come and get you," Steve's eyes were glossed over, clearly holding back tears. "We need to get out of here. We'll make sure Eliza, Bucky, Pietro, and Wanda get out of here once they aren't being controlled. Fall out now," Steve spoke over the comms.

     Elizabeth began to lose control again as she chased after Steve, who was trying to evacuate the building. Sam, Natasha, and Clint began to follow after him, heading for the Quinjet. Elizabeth and Bucky weren't far behind, which led Clint to firing an exploding arrow next to the two. They were caught by heavy dust, unable to see where their friends escaped to.

———

     Tony followed Steve's orders, and tried thinking of a way to escape his friends. Pietro would be easy to escape, because the three could fly and he could not. Wanda on the other hand, could fly as well as knock them out of the air. Though he knew it would upset Vision, Tony fired a shot at Wanda to distract her from their escape. Tony and Rhodey quickly flew away, with Vision lingering behind. He stared at Wanda, debating his next action. He hesitantly began to fly away, regret filling his mind.

———

     The four that remained listened as the leader spoke into the base's speakers.

     "Well, the four of you mostly did a good job. But you were only a trial, so I must say that I am pleased with the results. Nothing a few experiments can't fix," she cleared her throat. "Your task for the day is done. Go to sleep," and just as commanded, Elizabeth and the others immediately collapsed onto the ground.