Two

I sat in my cell, ripping threads from the frayed edges of the pillowcase, attempting to relieve my boredom until I was allowed to see Pietro and Wanda again. My only sources of entertainment in this dreadful place were the twins and pranking the guards whenever the opportunity presented itself. Wanda warned me that it was dangerous, but I had yet to be caught. They may have their suspicions, but they could never prove that the sudden muscle twitches or inconsolable itches were caused by me. Even if they did, I could simply claim it was a practice session gone wrong.

While I sat further ruining the fabric of my pillowcase, annoyingly loud alarms suddenly sounded as the building shook. I was barely standing from the bed before my door was flung open to reveal a guard standing there. "Come with me."

Acclimatized to the general rude behavior of every employee here, I simply followed after the man as he led me through the plain concrete corridors. Whatever had caused the explosion, it was certainly causing a stir. Every scientist, engineer and hired soldier was scrambling about the base yelling nonsense about deleting files and covering their tracks.

I didn't bother to ask what was happening until I reached my destination- none of these people would have answered anyway. Standing off to the side were the twins, huddled together and watching the proceedings in front of them. I abandoned my chaperone to walk up to them, sighing in relief that they were unharmed. It was a silly fear, but a deep-rooted one all the same. One I knew we shared by the expressions on their faces when they saw me walking up to them.

Wanda took my hand in hers, which I squeezed gratefully, and Pietro rested the hand he didn't have around Wanda's waist on the small of my back. There was rarely a time the three of us weren't in contact- constantly assuring ourselves that we were safe. As long as we were together, nothing could harm us. "What's happening?"

"It is the Avengers," Wanda answered with a scowl. "They have come to take the scepter."

The Avengers. The twins and I held the same simple opinion of the group- idiots. Every war they have had to fight has been one they have caused on their own. It seems they were willing to start yet another.

Dr. List, Strucker's right hand man, entered the room then and walked straight up to the Baron. "We should send the little family out. It's what they signed up for."

"My men can hold them," Strucker insisted, turning his back on List and continuing his work on the computers.

List persisted his attempts to release us, but we were no longer eavesdropping, instead turning to each other. We didn't need their permission to fight. One look between the three of us was enough to agree on this fact, and it was wordlessly decided that we would do just so.

"You stay here and guard the scepter," I told Wanda. She nodded and slipped into the shadows, away from the prying eyes of any who might wonder where she had gone. As I watched her disappear, I felt myself being lifted into the air. In the blink of an eye, I was in the snow covered forest outside.

Pietro set me down, moving his hands from under me to cradle my cheeks and stare down at me. "You will stay safe." It wasn't a question.

I returned the gesture, smiling reassuringly and placing my hands over his. "All is well, Lyubovka. Worry about yourself." He nodded, and I turned my head to kiss the palm of his hand before stepping back and nodding towards the woods. He understood the signal and dashed into the forest, gone before I saw the direction he was headed.

"Finally some freedom." I smiled to myself and walked further into the forest, following the sounds of battle.

I felt them before I saw them. I could feel the buzzing of every nerve in their bodies, mapped out just under the skin and whizzing frantically as they fought the Baron's soldiers. The fascinating thing about the nervous system is that it's the same in almost every living thing- even non-living things occasionally- which meant it was nearly impossible for me to meet somebody able to resist my power.

The first people I met were two men, one in red white and blue, and the other wearing a cape. Captain America and Thor. I watched Thor swing his hammer for a moment, intrigued. Apparently only those worthy could lift it. But what about manipulating one who was worthy?

I flexed my fingers out in front of me, focusing easily on the nerve endings trailing down his arms, and Thor froze mid-swing. When the Captain saw that his friend was unable to move, he scanned the area with his eyes. He saw me smirking from my spot only a few feet away from them, but before he could move I twitched my hand to the left, causing Thor's arm holding the hammer to swing at him.

The Captain flew back until he crashed into a tree, and I couldn't help but laugh. That truly was one mighty hammer. "Does this mean I am worthy?" I called out to Thor, who was very visibly trying to struggle against my grip. He could struggle all he wanted- his body wasn't going to listen.

An unnatural gust of wind alerted me to a new presence behind me, but I didn't have to turn to see who it was. As if the amazing speed wasn't enough to know, strong arms wrapped around my middle, pulling me back into his chest. "Having fun?"

"More than I have had in years." Captain America was standing from his spot on the ground, and I considered forcing him back down, but the effort it took to control more than one person at a time was exhausting, and I didn't see the need for it at the moment. "We should return to Wanda."

"For you?" Pietro swept me up into his arms, and I dropped the hand controlling Thor to wrap my arms around his neck. "Anything."

I am sure the god came after us, but nobody could catch up to Pietro if he didn't want them to. As much as I may hate Strucker for keeping me and my family locked up, I thanked him every day for giving us these gifts. Without them, we would most likely still be rioting street urchins. But with them, I took down two Avengers in mere seconds with nothing more than a flick of my wrist.

We dashed back to the base, and I was somewhat surprised to see it abandoned. It made sense that Strucker would want to run from the Avengers, but I had expected him to hold out a bit longer than he did. Always a disappointment, that man.

I saw Wanda hiding behind a pillar and nudged Pietro, pointing at her. He set me down but kept us connected by holding my hand firmly in his as we walked up behind her. When we were at her side I could see what she was watching.

A man was standing in front of the scepter used to give us our powers, staring intently at it. I didn't recognize him until a red metal glove appeared out of seemingly nowhere, attaching itself to his hand.

Tony Stark.

I wanted to run forward and inflict the worst pain I could imagine on him, but I was held back by Pietro's hand on mine. I looked up to him, practically begging with my eyes. I could see that he held the same hatred for the man, but he shook his head and looked pointedly at Wanda. She was grinning widely at the man, looking more joyful than I had seen her in a long time.

I couldn't understand why seeing him brought her such happiness, but I knew by now to trust her. Out of the three of us, she was by far the most grounded. So I held myself back, simply watching as Stark grabbed the scepter from its stand and walked out of the warehouse. "We are just going to let him take it?" I clarified, looking back and forth between the twins.

Neither replied, and when the building shook again Pietro pulled Wanda and I closer to him. "We should go." He had to practically drag his sister, but the three of us left our temporary home behind, determined to find a new one soon. We had trained. We were better, faster, stronger.

And now we had a reason to be.