Another round of Scarlet America. I'm in the market for new prompts or ideas so if anyone's interested send me a PM.
Enjoy.
Growing up on the war torn streets of Sokovia meant Wanda had not been around all that many mechanical things. The most complicated device she encountered on a regular basis had been various kinds of vehicles. Most of which were falling apart even while they were fixed.
Now the woman found herself surrounded by technology on all sides. Whether it was the tablet she was assigned, the equipment used by some of her fellow Avengers and their enemies, or like right now the robot army they were in the process of demolishing.
At least these were nothing like Ultron's. There was a greater intelligence leading them but nothing like Ultron himself was. These acted more like a swarm of ants as opposed to a cohesive military force.
Also like insects, they were not all that tough for complicated for the most part. Most moved on three legs with a circular disc as the main body and small arms covered in sharp blades. They were fairly quick but fragile. Wanda herself was decimating swaths of the drones with each passing moment.
The only issue was the damn things sheer numbers!
Wanda had lost count amid the chaos when she reached robot number eighty, and that was just her own kill count. God only knew how many the Avengers as a whole had demolished.
It had been almost ironic when they found out about this laboratory. The machines may not have been as strong as Ultron's but their creation was based on a similar concept. Some idiot had the exact same idea Stark had. In fact, Steve's first response when they found out was to call up Stark and ask if he hadn't learned his lesson the first time.
Needless to say everyone was a little surprised to find out Stark wasn't responsible. The man didn't even take offense at their suspicions. "I would have been my first guess for such an awesome idea" had been Stark's exact words.
Unlike Stark, the machines first victim was their creator and his staff. It was how they remained undetected for so long. After their small coup, they began building more of each other. The robots may not have been that intelligent but self-propagation had apparently been built into their systems.
It actually reminded Wanda of a film that Sam and Steve had convinced her to watch recently, Wanda couldn't remember the name of it but during it the machines had taken over most of the world. After battling Ultron and with that movie in mind, Wanda had been the first onboard the quinjet.
"How many of the damn things are there?!" Sam groaned into the radio in Wanda's ear. The aforementioned man flew over Wanda's head strafing the machines before her using his electroshock rounds. It was a good thing Stark had upgraded his equipment recently.
Wanda couldn't help roll her eyes. Apparently she wasn't the only one annoyed.
Lifting another group of the robots up with a pulse of telekinetic energy, Wanda crushed them in her grip before flinging them toward another group. The second they were destroyed even more rushed forth to take their place.
Sam's voice suddenly screamed over the radio. The three words making Wanda's blood run cold.
"Cap is down!"
When the robots first started pouring from the underground lab, most of the Avengers were on demolition duty. Natasha and Steve had been assisting in the evacuation, they were to rejoin the battle once they were finished. The rest of the Avengers were the greater threat, few strays should have come at them. Nothing the super soldier alone couldn't have handled even if Natasha wasn't backing him up.
The panic was rising in Wanda's chest faster than a falling comet. To make matters worse, her powers were directly tied to her emotions. Wanda's focus was all but shot the moment she heard Steve was hurt. All she could imagine or think about was the super soldier hurt and being swarmed by the machines as he lay defenseless.
The red mist swirled around Wanda wildly but she couldn't control it. Bolts of energy were flying in random directions and objects were being tossed about just as haphazardly.
Just as another horde tried to rush Wanda, a bolt of lightning came from the sky directly into the center of the swarm. Almost all were instantly fried in place, the few that weren't had to deal with the swinging hammer of an Asgardian prince. They didn't last long.
Thor seemed to be having the time of his life as he swatted the robots aside like flies. Being an Asgardian, they practically were to him. Until something much bigger whacked him like a fly and sent him sailing into a nearby building.
Wanda caught the movement from the corner of her eye. It was far larger than the other machines, perhaps a leader of some kind. It was also designed differently. Instead of three, it stood on two legs at least fifteen foot tall. In one hand it held a large lance while the other held a club of some kind.
It was a possibility they had considered. Being machines, they would undoubtedly try to augment and upgrade themselves. Adding new designs to their army would be a good step in that direction.
Wanda tried her hardest, but failed, to ignore the possibility that the red smeared all over the tip of the spear could be Steve's blood. With all the chaos around the area it could have been anyone's or not even blood. All Wanda's mind could envision however was that it was Steve's.
The sight made Wanda freeze for a second too long.
The club in the robot's hand was already swinging toward her.
Marshaling what little control over her powers she had left, Wanda threw up a shield to block the hit but the force of the impact still sent her flying through the air like Thor moments before. She even crashed into the same building as the Asgardian.
The force of the impact should have shattered her bones on impact. Since she still had a barrier up instead of broken bones she only felt part of the trauma.
The large machine must have assumed he killed both of them because he didn't follow them into the building. It no doubt was in search of other prey.
Thor was helping her back to her feet instantly. "Are you injured Lady Maximoff?"
Wanda didn't even hear the words of her teammate. She couldn't even think, a bolt of energy knocked Thor back before she could even try to stop it. Without waiting for a response, Wanda rushed out into the street.
As she did, Wanda tripped on a brick and almost landed flat on her face. Her hand landed on something solid and heavy. She needed to get to Steve and she couldn't trust her own abilities to do so. When asked later, Wanda would have said her powers were completely haywire and unreliable, so that was why she picked up the weapon.
Ordinarily Wanda was opposed to direct physical combat like what Thor and Steve preferred. She simply lacked the ability or desire for it. Especially when her powers were already so strong.
Wanda at the time assumed her impromptu weapon was a piece of rebar with concrete at the end. The club was very heavy but it was a better alternative to her bare hands against the machines.
What little rational part of her mind that was still operating told her she should wait for Thor and have him back her up but the rest of her mind blocked the thoughts out.
Running for the streets, Wanda found more machines blocking her path. Her powers may have been out of control, but it still created a tempest of unstable energy all around her body. Hurricane like winds swirled around her, whipping her hair all about. Bolts of energy were flung every which way like the lightning of a storm.
Most of the machines that attempted to get close were all but vaporized, some were simply torn apart by the gale force winds. Barely a handful actually managed to, by pure luck most likely, get close enough to avoid the energy bolts and winds. They were knocked away by her weapon with extreme prejudice.
Get to my Steve.
The words were being repeated like a mantra within Wanda's mind as she tore through the machines in her path with a fury even Wanda herself didn't know she had.
It wasn't long before she found Steve. The super soldier was on top of a wrecked car, limp and unmoving. Blood ran down the sides of the vehicle from a large stab wound in his abdomen.
Wanda's rage quadrupled at the sight.
In a surge of power Wanda hadn't felt since the death of her twin, Wanda screamed at the top of her lungs and doubled her speed. The machines were not just torn apart by the cloud around her.
They were utterly disintegrated.
Just before Wanda could reach Steve, that large robot barred her path.
The young woman didn't even break her stride as she continued her blind charge. Wanda's body crashed into the machine but met resistance for only a fraction of a second before its metallic body was shredded like tissue paper.
Finally having reached Steve, Wanda climbed up onto the car with him. Dropping her rebar club weapon while she did so. Her first response was to cradle his head in her hands, moving it so that he was resting on her lap. The super soldier's body was heavy but she barely noticed.
The storm surrounding her, the same that had been slaughtering the robots, moved over Steve but left him completely unharmed. It's winds surrounding both man and woman in a cocoon of protection.
Leaning down, Wanda pressed a soft kiss to Steve's sweaty forehead followed by another to his lips. Her relief was uncontainable at that point.
In that moment, she made several realizations at once.
The first being that Steve's injuries were nowhere near as severe as she thought. The serum in his blood already quickly healing the already now small wound. In fact, the dark fluid running down the car wasn't even his blood. It was the fluid that ran through the machines, Steve's uniform was splattered in the stuff. It resembled blood but only from a distance.
Wanda had completely panicked for trivial reasons.
Now that she knew Steve was alright, the swirling tempest created by her out of control powers had already began to calm down.
The second, Wanda only noticed now that she knew Steve was safe. In her rush to reach the super soldier Wanda had completely decimated the robots all around them.
So much so that the rest of the Avengers were practically right on top of her having no more machines to put down. They were surrounding her and Steve. No doubt they had witnessed her charge.
They had also seen her kiss Steve.
On the lips.
There was no denying her and Steve's secret was out now. Steve had once joked that the rest of the Avengers might be onto them but Wanda had brushed it off and told him they were careful.
Regardless, it didn't matter now.
"Lady Maximoff?" Thor of all people spoke first, his voice sounded baffled.
"Y... yes?" Wanda tried to mentally force her flush down but of course failed miserably. The possibility of escaping mortification had already flew way out the window.
The demigod had kneeled down to pick up the weapon she had been using to reach Steve. When he lifted it up she understood why he was doing so, and why everyone was looking at her in total shock.
It hadn't been a piece of rebar at all, nor was it concrete. It wasn't even made of steel or iron.
It was Thor's hammer.
No this is not it, I decided to make this a two-shot instead of making one super chapter.
If any of my readers know Latin, you already understand the title of the story. It is the same as an old text written in 1486, the title in English pretty much translates to "The Hammer of Witches". I actually had the title in mind before I wrote the story.
Let me know what you all think.