Red Winter: Timeline

Chapter Thirty-Two: Possession

Wanda walked along in front of Happy as he covered Morgan in an attempt to get out of the building safely. Using her magic she threw chairs, tables, plates, anything in her reach to distract the blue woman. Finally Happy made it to the door and looked back at Wanda one last time before picking up Morgan and running through it. Wanda motioned behind her as he threw another table toward the woman, using her back hand to move a large display case in front of the door that they had escaped from. The blue woman jumped over once of the tables Wanda threw at her and lunged, knocking Wanda to the ground. Wanda felt immense pressure in her head as the blue woman grabbed her by the temples and focused her eyes directly into hers. Suddenly Wanda felt weak, like her mind wasn't her own, then she learned quickly her body wasn't her own either. Wanda's red hues began to glow yellow and the blue woman backed away, her eyes still focused on Wanda as though she was controlling the witch's movements...and she was. Possession was new to Wanda, she had no idea what was happening, she began to grow angry that she couldn't fight it away, she wasn't prepared for this.

Sam punched the man with the long teeth but suddenly was struck by a large chair, he fell to the ground and shot a look over to where the chair had come from. Wanda was walking, her hands out, and eyes glowing yellow. They've never done that before, but behind her he could see the blue woman mimicking Wanda's movements. "This can't be good." Sam got up quickly and ran over toward Bucky who was fighting off the pyro guy with Vision. "WATCH OUT!!" Bucky turned to see Sam diving at him, knocking him to the floor as the chandelier began to fall on them, red magic guiding it.

"What the hell?!" Bucky kicked a chair off of him and looked over at the large chandelier now busted on the ground. Sam pointed over to Wanda, her eyes still possessed, "What..."

"I believe the blue woman is controlling her." Vision called over from behind a planter.

"That's not good." Bucky shook his head.

"No." Sam got up and began to run for the blue woman, but a burst of  dishes shattered around him and he fell to the ground, holding his ears. The man with a large 'A' on his chest seemed to have caused the pressure.

Finally back-up arrived, dozens of police and armored men filtered into the room and began to shoot at the attackers. With a sly smirk the long toothed man ran toward the blue woman and grabbed her arm, suddenly she closed her eyes and opened them again, aware once more, and turned to the man with a nod. They two ran out the hole in the wall while the others were brought to their knees and handcuffed, along with a shock color placed around their necks. Nick Fury ran over to catch Wanda who now out of possession was collapsing to the floor, unconscious. "NO!!!!" Maria Hill ran over to the chandelier and began to throw some debris out of the way, revealing Pepper who was passed out under the weight of the large chandelier. "We...we need me-medics...now." Her voice shook. Bucky ran over and lifted the large chandelier with a yell, straining as he lifted more in order for Maria to pull Pepper out from underneath.

It all seemed to run in slow motion, paramedics arrived on the scene and lifted Pepper onto a gurney, they confirmed her pulse was there, but it was weak. Bucky turned and watched as Nick Fury carried Wanda out of the building, his eyes widened as he saw she was not awake. Sam grabbed him by the shoulders before he could run over, "They gotta take her, let them take her." He watched as Nick placed Wanda on another gurney and she was rolled into an ambulance. There were dozens hurt, only a couple dead. Sam and Bucky stood and watched as both ambulance began to drive away. "Come on." He patted Bucky's shoulder.

They arrived at the hospital just as Nick was exiting the emergency room, he could see the urgency in their eyes and he held up his hands, "Pepper went in for surgery. Internal bleeding, but not a lot. She should be fine."

"Wanda." Bucky spoke out, Nick turned to him.

"She's not conscious." He looked down, "But she's alive."

Bucky went to walk past him but Nick grabbed him by the arm, "We have to meet with Professor Xavier."

Bucky shot a look at Sam who felt heavy, not knowing what to say. "She's alive." Sam shrugged, "Let us just see them first."

"We need to know what we are up against." Nick shook his head, "This can't wait."

"The hell it can't." Bucky pulled his arm away from Nick and stormed off toward the entrance. Sam looked at Nick and shook his head, a sorry without words, and began to follow the soldier.

Once inside they were directed to Wanda's room, finding the door closed Bucky stopped. Sam reached forward for him and opened it. Inside she was lying in the bed, her skin pale and dark circles pooled under her eyes. Seeing her like that, Bucky swallowed hard and slowly walked toward the bed, reaching over to touch her hand. "What the hell was that?" He spoke softly.

"We've got a lot to learn." Sam approached his side, "These enhanced...mutants, they're new game. We're not use to this."

"She's the strongest...if that can happen to her..."

"We weren't prepared Buck." Sam shook his head, "We will be next time."

They turned toward the door as a small knock echoed the room, both alert and on edge. "Sorry." The nurse smiled, "Just need to check her vitals."

"Come on, let's meet with Fury." Sam looked over to the soldier, "We will come back for them. Once Pepper is out of surgery." Bucky nodded, he rubbed the back of her hand.

"It's different." Bucky clenched his jaw, "I shouldn't worry about her, she can handle herself."

"That's love man." Sam patted his back, "Come on."