Hello. Back for chapter number 14. I have been wanting to write this chapter for a while, so i hope you enjoy! I also want to let everyone know i now have a youtube channel, so PM me for detail;s if you want to subscribe to my channel!
Enjoy the story.
To say that Xander was scared was a bit of an understatement. He was just a normal kid who did normal things with nothing special to really make him stand out in a crowd. He was no hero. So it wasn't hard for him to be shocked to see Wanda stand up from her seat at the table so that she could be the one to save him and everyone in this entire complex when two armed gunman appeared to wreck everyone's day. When the first one appeared it was his first instinct to get under the table, even though Wanda took care of him before anything bad could happen. Of course, seeing his girlfriend take care of the situation was completely unexpected; he had never seen anything like it. He had heard rumors of a "witch" joining the Avengers but he never thought for a moment that it would be Wanda Maximoff! She was the one who fought in the battle of Sokovia against that robot a few months ago! Well she had a very good reason not to tell him the truth so he wasn't too angry, he couldn't imagine being a celebrity, but if she was an Avenger then what was she doing with him? He was nobody special. Didn't she deserve to go out with someone more her style? Oh well, given she had just saved him from the potential threat of a gunman, he supposed he could ask her later. The way she moved and the way she fought made her look so elegant and beautiful. He might not be a fighter but she definitely was.
It was from this position that he heard Wanda growl with a ferocity that he did not expect "I try to have a day off…" she began her voice dripping with rage "try to have a semblance of a normal life…." Despite his anxiety, Xander poked his head out from under the table to see Wanda a few yards away her back turned to him as she continued to threaten the poor man. Not that he could feel sorry for him though. "but you had to pick today to pull something."
However, as he began to stand up, believing it safe, a movement out of the corner off his eyes shifted his attention towards the entrance of the complex where he saw a second gunman pointing his weapon right at Wanda's head. His eyes widened and he quickly looked between Wanda and the gunman. Wanda it seemed didn't notice the gunman and before Xander could consider the consequences of his actions, his mouth opened and he let out a panicked shout. "Wanda, watch out!"
That definitely got Wanda's attention for she turned in the direction of his voice, but his had the unintended side effect of getting the gunmans attention. Startled, the gunman swiveled in Xander's direction, the barrel of his gun aimed right at Xander's head! Xander barely had enough time to duck as the gun went off. Xander threw his hands over his head as he fell to the floor like a rock, avoiding the bullet, which embedded itself in the wall. Xander looked where the bullet landed his eyes widened. If he hadn't moved that bullet would have been stuck in his neck. Paralyzed wit fear, Xander just lay on the floor, deciding to wait until Wanda gave the ok to get back up.
Wanda's eyes blazed with rage as she watched the scene before her. A second gunman shot at her boyfriend! Keeping the first gunman down with her powers, Wanda raised her other Hand, shaking with fury, she focused her power and shot a blast of red mist at the gunman, who went flying off his feet and into the air. Unable to resist the temptation, Wanda began to focus her powers , compressing the mans chest into itself, causing the man to choke as his bones began to be crushed under the weight of Wandas mind. A sickening crack was heard as the mans rib cage snapped in two puncturing his lungs. Growling in disgust,, Wanda flung her wrist to the side and the man followed tumbling into the wall, and slumping to the ground, unconscious. Turning to the first gunman, Wanda growled, "Get out of here!" the man nodded, as the red mist keeping him in place dissipated and he took off running. Wanda ignored him, for her concern was her boyfriend. She ran towards the table Xander was under, only to find him curled up in a fetal position, obviously scared.. Wanda quickly got down on one knee and gently shook Xander to get his attention. "Xander?" she whispered gently. Xander flinched from her touch, but upon realizing that there was no danger, slowly turned his head to look at Wanda. His breathing was quick, clearly still affected by the shock off what just happened. Wanda gave him a smile, trying to tell him it was alright. "Its over." She said moving her hand to his and gripping it tightly. Xander nodded, his face marred by fear. As much as he hated this for affecting his mood, he no longer wanted to go and watch the movie. "would it be alright if we took a walk?"
Wanda nodded, sensing that Xander was to afraid to remain in the theater. She stood up, gently pulling Xander with her. Once he was on his feet. Wanda threw her arms around him and tried her best to comfort the poor boy. Forget telling him she was an Avenger she needed to get him to calm down. "its alright." She whispered in his ear." She then took his hand again and began leading him out of the theater. She could use some fresh air too. Especially since their date was effectively ruined. However before either of them could move a gunshot rang through the air and Wanda felt a piercing pain in her back. She screamed, having just enough clarity to turn and see the same gunman she let go pointing a gun at her head. He must have had a second gun hidden, as Wanda could just make out the outline of a gun on the floor not far away. It was lucky she was in motion when the bullet hit her for the wound , while painful, missed vital spots.
Growling at her stupidity, Wanda shot her hand forward, ready to crush this mans skull in retaliation, but she wasn't fast enough. The man fired a second shot. But to Wandas surprise, she felt Xander push her to the side and she began to fall to the floor. Unfortunately the unexpected motion caused her to flail her arms in an attempt to balance herself. She was unable to regain her footing and she fell to the floor. It was a good thing Xander pushed her down for the bullet went fling past where she had been standing before. However when she looked up, she saw Xander flying towards the ceiling, his eyes wide with terror. Their eyes met and before Wanda could so much as scream, Xander hit the ceiling before his head snapped back and hit the heard surface with a blood freezing bang. Wanda could just barely make out his face as it did so. So many emotions went through his mind. Fear, anger, suffering all passing through him in what felt like a microsecond, before his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he went out cold.
Gravity then kicked in and his body then fell to the floor and hit the ground with a loud sickening crack. He lay there, broken and unmoving. The last thing that went through his mind before told blackness washed over him was 'Wanda….'
Wanda gasped, her eyes locked on Xander's body, which looked like a rag doll. His head was bleeding, no doubt a result of hitting his head. Fear for him coursed through her veins but that fear turned to hatred and ignoring the wound in her back she stood up, only to see the gunman cackling. "Oh this is too perfect!" he said in a Sokovian accent "I come here hoping to kill you and instead…." He gestured to Xander's body "I suppose its poetic justice. I lost my family to you, you lost someone you love to me." He got ready to fire another shot, obviously hoping to get lucky, but Wanda was faster this time and in the blink of an eye, a red mist shot out of her hand and enveloped itself around the mans head, the man suddenly dropped his gun and fell to his knees, screaming in agony. Wanda was making him see his greatest fear, whatever that was. After a few moments the man passed out, falling to the floor with a look of terror on his face.
With both gunmen taken care of, Wanda scrambled over to Xander's body to make sure he was alright. Wishful thinking considering the circumstances, but it was the only way she could calm her heart. When she was close enough to see the injuries Xander had sustained it almost made her gag. His head wasn't just bleeding, it was gushing red. He must have hit the ceiling harder than she thought. Wanda fell to her knees, pressing her hand on the wound in an attempt to stop the bleeding. Blood stained her hands but she didn't care. Instead she looked around, and screamed "someone call an ambulance!" before looking at Xander. "Hold on! Xander please hold on!"
Later that day, Wanda, dressed in a hospital gown and patched up after having the bullet removed from her back waited outside the ER. She would have been in her room but Wanda couldn't sit still because of her worry for Xander. After the ambulance arrived, they quickly sped to the nearest hospital with Xander in tow. Wanda had insisted on coming with, partially because she refused to leave Xander and partially because the paramedics insisted she get the bullet removed from her back. That didn't take too long at all, but now that she was out of her situation all she could think about was Xander. He was obviously not out of the woods yet for he was in surgery for what felt like hours. Every passing moment made Wanda feel more and more terrible. The way he flew into the air… that meant that he had been hit by a wave of her powers when she lost her balance, but where was he hit? The thought alone made her nauseous.
To make matters worse, her actions were video taped by many people, even when she was put in the paramedics. That meant that the world saw what she did to those gunman. Excessive? Yes. But she was willing to do anything to protect her loved ones. Xander was no different. But she would unfortunately have to deal with the fallout both from the media and her team. Speaking of her team…
The door to the ER opened and who else should walk in but the Star Spangled Man with a Plan himself, Captain America. Wanda didn't need powers to know that he was rather pissed. Whether it was because Wanda used excessive force or because he was angry that she got hurt and they were friends Wanda wasn't sure but she wasn't going to happy with either outcome. He was followed by Black Widow, who had a much better expression on her face, but that was just because she was hiding it. In any case, Wanda just wished that the floor would just swallow her up. Or that Clint was here. She could only hope that he was, but it was going to be a long trip from Mississippi Steve looked around wildly, before he spotted Wanda sitting in a chair a melancholy look on her face. He stomped over to her and before Wanda could react, Steve pulled her into a hug. This was sort of unlike the captain but he must have felt at least partially responsible for her condition, even though it wasn't really his fault. "thank god you're OK." He said, before pulling away, resting his hands on her shoulders. Wanda shook her head, before looking at her feet. She was far from alright. But Steve wouldn't be able to understand. "I'm not OK Captain," she mumbled. She pulled away from him then stared at Natasha for a brief moment before turning her back on her comrades "How can I be aright when I'm responsible for Xander's condition!" she snapped her voice rising angrily. She stared at her palms which were cleaned prior to her surgery, but she still had blood on her hands regardless of whether it was cleaned up or not. "this was supposed to be a fun day for the both of us and instead Xander was hurt just like Pietro!" OK that was a bit of an exaggeration but the point was that she was unable to protect Xander when he needed her too. And she couldn't bear the thought that he would die because of her. Sure those gunmen were responsible but it was her powers that had him flying into the air, not their bullets. She rounded on the captain who looked ready to speak and roared "Don't tell me that I'm OK because I'm not!" she then turned and stomped away from the two senior avengers ready to burst through the ER door and demand a status update on Xander, when the Doctor herself showed up. Christine Palmer a kind young woman who was the first on the scene once Wanda made it to the hospital. She had assured Wanda that Xander would be in safe hands once he was taken away for surgery but the look on her face made Wanda think the worst. The doctor gave a little yelp upon opening the door and seeing Wanda right outside of it. But she was able to brush it off and return to a more poise demeanor. Wanda however was in no mood to be polite and practically snapped at her. "Is he alright?!" she shouted her eyes blazing with anger and worry.. undaunted, Doctor Palmer ran a hand through her hair before looking at Wanda, then at the other two Avengers walking towards them so they could also hear the news. Doctor Palmer cleared her throat and said "He's stable." She told them gently "but he is still unconscious. We managed to stop the bleeding and stitch him but, but considering what you told me. We are going to run a few tests on him, so he isn't out of the woods yet we still have to determine how much damage he sustained with that head wound of his. He is lucky that all he had besides that was a few broken ribs from when he landed"
Wanda let out a breath that she hadn't realized she was holding. Doctor Palmer was right, Xander could have been shot or killed during this incident, but it was his quick thinking and reflexes that saved his life for the most part.
Xander was safe at least for now. But the doctor had a point; they didn't know the full extent of his injuries but for now he was alive and that's what mattered to Wanda. "Can we see him?" she asked "when he is out of the scan?" her face broke into a sad look, hopeful that the doctor would listen to her pleas. Thankfully, Doctor Palmer nodded "once he is done with the scans you'll be able to see him, but there wont be any guarantee that he will be awake before that. In any case he'll need rest.
Wanda sighed in response. This was going to be a very long day… "I understand" she said biting her lip. Doctor Palmer gave Wanda a warm smile and place a hand on her shoulder. "that boy is lucky to have someone like you care for him." She said. Unable to resist, Wanda returned the smile and thanked the doctor, before returning to her room, Steve and Natasha in tow. Right now there was nothing else they could do but wait.
The next hour crawled by agonizingly slow for the young Sokovian, who lay in her comfy hospital bed, Natasha by her side with Steve out in the hall awaiting the doctors return. Thankfully, the hospital kept Wanda isolated from a majority of the hospital to keep her out of the public eye as much as possible, but still not to far from Xander, who still appeared unconscious as there was no word from the doctors during the hour. The only good news that came was in the form of a few Police officers who came in to inform Wanda that the courts would handle the would be assassins and neither she nor Xander would need to testify based on the evidence that they had already. That was a relief as Wanda didn't want to deal with that. All she wanted to do was help Xander recover from this ordeal. That being said, the two gunmen were apparently fanatics who blamed Wanda and the others for the destruction of Sokovia, mirroring how Wanda felt about the situation before Clint gave her a pep talk. She just couldn't believe someone had the audacity to try and assassinate her in broad daylight. She could at least console herself with the fact that they couldn't hurt Xander anymore. Other than that she was basically waiting to hear from the doctors about Xander's condition.
"I'm sorry Wanda…" Natasha told the young girl , causing Wanda to look at her friend, who seemed far more somber than usual, not that Wanda could blame her. Natasha spent all that time trying to help her plan the date and it was utterly ruined by a raving lunatic out for revenge against something that Was the fault of a robotic megalomaniac. But it wasn't Natasha's fault that she was in this situation. It wasn't anyone's fault really. If anything it was Wanda's for not being able to handle the situation better. After what happened in Novi Grad she should have known better, but her emotions had gotten the better of her. There was nothing that could be done except learn from it. The problem was, Wanda hoped that she could still keep her relationship with Xander, if he even could forgive her. She was planning on telling him the truth that very moment. She should have told him sooner. All she could do now was hope.
Wanda shook her head. "No Natasha this…" she chocked the full weight of emotions finally causing her to break…. "This is… my fault!" she cried throwing her head in her hands "Xander's hurt and its all my fault. We never should have gone to that theater! We gave those men the exact chance that they needed…"
Before Wanda could continue there was a knock at the door, getting their attention. The two woman looked at the door to see Steve a pensive look on his face. "Doctors here." He said. Eyes widening, Wanda pulled the covers off of her bed and leaped out of it, running out of the room and right past Steve to meet the Doctor. Doctor Palmer stopped as soon as soon as she saw the young woman speed towards her; thankfully Wanda stopped just short of her, but before Doctor Palmer could say a word, Wanda already asked if Xander was OK. "How were the tests?" she asked "Is Xander OK." Doctor Palmer didn't say anything for a moment. Instead she looked behind Wanda and said "I think its best if I talk to your companions about this." She explained gently. It was clear that Whatever it was, she didn't want to explain to Wanda.
Wanda felt her stomach drop like a stone and twist around in a knot. That was definitely something that she didn't want to hear and her eyes flashed dangerously as she gave the doctor a fierce glare, very close to strangling her in anger "What!?" she screeched furiously, her voice carrying across the entire floor. She raised her hands ready to make do on her threat, but before she could Natasha grabbed her from behind in a choke hold and pulled her back ,before bringing her mouth close to Wanda's ear "Not here Wanda!" she whispered "I know you care about Xander but we cannot cause a scene here" Wanda struggled in Natasha's grasp but the woman was stronger than she looked. She didn't care about her image here. Hell she would be ready to quit the Avengers if she had too! No one was going to get between her and Xander! Problem was if she attacked, then Steve would no doubt jump in to save Natasha from Wanda's own onslaught. Wanda would have no trouble defending herself from them both physically and mentally, but there would be no saving innocent civilians if she went all out against her companions and she could not have those deaths on her conscious, so she reluctantly stopped struggling and waited for Natasha to let her go. After a few moments Natasha released her. The Doctor cleared her throat clearly bemused by what she saw, but was doing her best to hide it. It wasn't every day anyone normal interacted with the Avengers after all and there were more important things to worry about at the moment; namely her patient. Instead of questioning the matter, she simply gestured For Steve and Natasha to follow her. Steve looked at Wanda and without any room to argue told her "wait in your room…" with a deep authoritative growl in his tone. It was not unlike how Clint acted with his children when they did something naughty during Wanda's time at the Barton farm
Wanda glared at him in response but said nothing, instead turning around and stomping back to her room, ready to slam the door in response, but was able to collect herself before she lost her temper. Instead she just turned and looked back at the doctor "Get me when he wakes up." She growled threateningly doing nothing to hide the derision in her tone. She was fed up with all the secrecy already. Why wouldn't anyone just tell her what was going on?! Xander was hurt and it was all her fault. She had a right to know the extent of his injuries.
If Doctor Palmer noticed the underlying threat upon her life, she didn't show it, instead opting to gesture for Steve and Natasha to follow her. Silently the Trio left for what Wanda assumed was Xander's room or some medical examination room anywhere where Wanda wasn't permitted to go. Fuming, Wanda walked into her room and sat on her bed, groaning and putting her face in her hands. She hated feeling like this. Completely and utterly helpless. She didn't mind the fact she was being treated like a child since when she thought about it, she was emotionally distressed. But that was the overall point! she was emotionally distressed because she was upset about a lack of knowledge on Xander's condition and no one was telling her anything! It was practically suffocating and all this waiting was making her feel worse! She wouldn't be able to rest until someone told her Xander was going to be alright. Lifting her head and placing her hands on her bed, Wanda leaned back on her bed, shifting her position so that she was lying on her back, her head resting on her pillow and she gripped the sheets tightly, almost to the point where she felt like she was going to rip the fabric right off the bed in her annoyance. With nothing to do but stare at the blank white ceiling, Wanda just waited…. And waited. She didn't feel tired and she was too frazzled to relax whatsoever. Why didn't the Doctor want to talk too her?
"Xander…." She whispered. Before closing her eyes. She closed her eyes. Imagining that she was anywhere else but in the room that felt like a prison.
A knock on the door startled Wanda out of her thoughts. She snapped her eyes open, sitting up straight in her bed and turned to see Steve wit a uncharacteristically somber look on his face, like there was something that he was dreading. It was a rather odd sight for the young Sokovian and she never though she would see that kind of look on his face at all, since he was usually an optimistic kind of guy. "what's wrong" Wanda asked unable to keep the warble out of her voice. If possible, Steve's face turned even more miserable "Come with me." He muttered. Wanda hopped out of her bed and walked toward the Captain, who turned and walked down the hall, Wanda following him every step of the way. "Your boyfriend is still unconscious." Steve began, "but he is close to waking up according to the Doctor…" he stopped and looked even worse than he did before. It was like the more he thought about whatever it was he had to say, the more he didn't want to.
Wanda resisted the urge to read the captains mind and practically growled "I want to see him Steve! He is my boyfriend and I have been going crazy just waiting for answers. Don't forget that I blame myself for whatever condition he is in and I cant rest until I know that he is OK!" that made Steve stop in his tracks for a brief moment, before he resumed on the path he was taking Wanda "that's why the Doctor wants you to see him Wanda." He told her his voice barely above a whisper. Wanda didn't question his words, even for a minute. Xander was awake and she was on her way to see him. That was good enough for her. Whatever it was, she was sure Xander would tell her.
The two made their way to a hospital room, where Natasha and Doctor Palmer were standing outside of, clearly waiting for the others. Natasha sensed that they were in a similar mood that Steve was in, she could practically feel the dread in the air. Whatever it was, Wanda was starting to get the feeling that it wasn't good. She walked right up to the Doctor, who stiffened as Wanda closed in on them. Wanda's eyes narrowed. "What?!" she snapped at the doctor, completely forgetting about manners. "my Leader said that you wanted to see me, so what is it you want to tell me?"
To her surprise, Doctor Palmer shook her head "go inside. Mr. Dawson is waiting for you." She said though it sounded like she loathed having to do so. Wanda ignored her and brushed past her, entering the room closing the door as she did so.
Inside, she saw none other than Xander lying down in his hospital bed his head wrapped in bandages, but his eyes blinking open, as if he had just woken up perhaps disturbed by Wanda's entrance. Wanda could help but run towards the poor boy and draw him into her arms, crying for the first time since she had seen him. "Oh Xander!" she cried burying her face into his chest "I'm so glad you are OK!" she then pulled away from him and gently cupped his face, looking into his eyes with a small smile on her face.
Xander's gaze was disoriented as he tried to focus on Wanda's face, but the moment he did, his face broke into a wide smile. "Wanda…." He said
Or at least he tried too. For when he opened his mouth to speak, nothing came out, making Wanda's eyes widen in horror.
Now thats a cliffhanger! Whats wrong with Xander? you'll just have to wait and see. As always leave your thoughts. and remember check out and subscribe to my youtube channel!
