CHAPTER TWO: MAGIC

WANDA - NEW YORK CITY

"Who are you?" A sly smile crept along the woman's lips.

"Agatha Harkness." Wanda eyed her, unsure what to do with the information. It didn't ring a bell with her.

"What do you want?" Wanda shifted as the woman stared at her hungrily.

"Your magic." Wanda's brows furrowed. The way Agatha was watching her was unnerving.

"I don't have 'magic'." Wanda started for the doors but Agatha waved her arms and a purple energy closed them. Wanda's eyes flew to her. This wasn't possible. Her energy had looked just like Wanda's.

"Sorry, I can't let you leave dear." Before Wanda knew what was happening, ropes flew towards her and bound her legs and arms together. She let out a gasp as she was lifted into the air and floated to Agatha. She took a deep breath and called on her abilities but nothing happened. She looked around frantically. She tried again but she couldn't conjure anything.

"What is this?" Agatha had a sickly sweet smile on her face. From this close, Wanda could now see the finer details of the older woman's face. Her eyes held a purple light in them like Wanda's would red. Agatha motioned to a wall and a glowing purple symbol burned into it. She glanced as more symbols appeared on the other walls. Agatha must have noticed her confusion.

"These are runes, Wanda. In a given space, only the witch that cast the runes can use her magic. How do you not know the fundamentals?" Runes? Magic?

"Let me go," Wanda's voice was deadly. She kept pushing herself but her abilities were gone.

"I wouldn't do that." She walked up close to Wanda and ran a hand down her temple. "I need to know where you're getting all of this magic. And how?"

"I don't have magic," Wanda insisted but the woman only laughed.

"I spent years learning spells and tricks that you, my darling, have already mastered and at a larger scale. Your magic is amplified, stronger. I need to know how." Wanda struggled against her ropes.

"I already told you. I don't have magic."

"Mmmm," was all Agatha said before stepping closer. "Well if you won't tell me, your mind will have to." Wanda screamed as Agatha entered her head. Memories flashed by her: her childhood, the bombing that killed her parents, the Hydra experiments, the mind stone. It all flew by her as her heart tore open seeing all of it. She screamed again and the memories ended immediately. She felt herself dropping and hit the floor hard, hitting her head on on the edge of machine. As she blinked, coming back to, she saw Agatha on the floor, holding her head.

"Wanda?" She turned to see Bucky coming up to her. He helped her sit up and brushed some hair out of her face as she moved her arms out of the now loose ropes. "Are you okay?"

"I-I think. What are you doing here?" Her eyes looked into strained, blue ones.

"I noticed her earlier when we were leaving the compound and then again by the performers." They both turned to look at Agatha, slowly sitting up. "I knew my gut was right about her."

"But you weren't smart enough to stay away." Agatha's hand flew up and Bucky went soaring across the room, roughly hitting a brick wall.

"No!" was all Wanda got out before Agatha had her floating and restrained in the air again. "I don't have magic to give you!" Agatha just laughed.

"But you do." Wanda turned around as she heard Bucky groan and shift. "You had no idea you were a witch."

"I'm not a witch." This just made Agatha's smile grow.

"Poor Wanda. To not know what you are is a terrible thing." Wanda just stared at her.

"I'm not giving you anything." Without breaking eye contact, Agatha's hand twitched and Bucky cried out. Wanda's eyes went wide as she watched him twist next to the wall.

"Stop!"

"I can't take this power from you by force. You need to give it to me." She dropped Wanda roughly on the floor. Wanda scurried back and over to Bucky. She cleared some of the drywall off of him that had come off from his impact.

"Hey. Hey." She tried to get Bucky's attention but he just winced in pain. She saw a wound on his arm and his nose was bloody.

"If I let you out now, you might be able to do some damage so, let's make a deal."

"No." Wanda glared at her.

"I'm feeling generous. How about your magic for whatever you desire most in this world." Wanda's stomach twisted at the grin on Agatha's face. This was a trick. Once she got out of this distillery, she'd take her out. "So tell me, what do you want most, Wanda?" Wanda didn't move a muscle. She wasn't falling for this. A jolt hit her and she knew Agatha was in her head again. Memories of Pietro flashed by. "Brother?" She saw her family back when she was a child sitting down for dinners, playing games, watching TV and all the deeply repressed memories she'd locked away. "Family," Agatha said smugly and pulled out of her head. Wanda blinked, tears pooling in her eyes.

"You have no-."

"Family it is." Agatha brought her hands together and a purple ball of energy formed between them. "I can't bring back the dead but I can create. I'll give you the family you desperately need, child." Wanda stared, terror running through her veins as the ball of light grew and Agatha began chanting something.

Bucky yelled beside her. She turned to see his eyes open and look at her. He was lifted into the air just before she was. Wanda cried out as a sharp pain rang through her body. To her horror, she began to see Bucky's blood, that had come from his nose, pool and hang in the air in front of them. Then her blood came from her and she watched it float too. Agatha yelled something and she watched it all combine and begin to glow.

She wanted to scream and stop all of this but she was powerless. Agatha recited one more line before a flash of light filled the room and sent them flying back. She fell on her side, sending a sting through her shoulder. She groaned in pain and began to cough as dirt and dust filled her lungs. She managed to flip onto her back before painfully sitting up. Agatha stood above her. Her hand crept to Wanda's chin as she leaned down.

"Now we have a trade.'' Wanda clenched her teeth but couldn't move her sore muscles. A gunshot rang out and Agatha fell over. Wanda's eyes darted to Bucky who was still laying down but had pulled out a gun. He fired again and Agatha cried out. She sent the gun flying in a purple glow and sent a hex at Bucky. He groaned and he was shifted back. Agatha fumed in front of her and Wanda took the chance to scramble up and run over to Bucky. She kneeled beside him and stared at the witch. Agatha's body floated up. Wanda could now see the wound in her thigh and the other in her arm. Agatha glared at them like she was debating something but clutched at her arm. She let out a wicked laugh.

"When I come back, and I will come back, I'll expect your part." Wanda's heart raced as the woman flew out of sight.

"Wanda?" Bucky shifted to see her and she looked down at her trembling hands, clutching onto his shoulder. What had Agatha done? "What just happened?" His voice was hoarse and he fumbled to sit up. She lifted his arm and helped him lean against the wall.

"I... I have no idea." Her heart felt like it could beat out of her chest. Bucky coughed as he clung to his side.

"Are you okay?" He groaned in an attempt to get up. As sore as she was, she helped him up and dipped under his arm to support him.

"I'll walk it off." They cautiously made their way out. As soon as she left the distillery, she felt her energy surge and her fingers lit up with red light. Wanda eyed everyone and everything nearby suspiciously. She helped Bucky into a cab and to his apartment back in the city.

"You couldn't find a place with an elevator?" She strained under the weight of his arm as they climbed the second flight of stairs.

"We don't exactly get paid to afford that," he grunted. They made it to the third floor and thankfully his apartment was the second door down. He fumbled with his keys before stumbling in. She helped him down onto the couch and he let out a huff of air.

His apartment was small and empty. There was a lone, two seat couch where he sat, an old dining room table with two, small chairs and clear counters. It was bare of any personality.

"Are you sure you don't want to go get looked at?"

"No." He sighed and opened his resting eyes to glance over at her. "I just need to rest."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean for you to get hurt or dragged into that."

"I was the one that followed you and good thing that I had." His eyes narrowed and she knew he was looking her over.

"What did she do?"

"I don't know."

"Are there more like you two?" She let out a laugh and leaned against the dining room table.

"Up until today, I thought I was the only one." Her jaw set, remembering the events.

"She called you a witch. Is that-."

"I'm not a witch." she snapped quickly. His eyes watched hers. "I don't know what I am but my power came from the mind stone. I wasn't born with this." Bucky sighed and leaned forward, wincing.

"Are you sure?" She looked at her hands that fidgeted with the hem of her shirt. "I think you should go in, have SHIELD look at you." Her brow furrowed. "Wanda, she said she'd be back for 'her part'. That means she did something or at least she thinks she did."

"I feel fine." He cocked an eyebrow. "Sore, but fine," she corrected.

"I don't like how she left. She looked so sure of herself." Although Wanda didn't react, she had the same fears. Agatha had done something, that she knew. She just sighed and ran a hand through her hair.

"A witch?" she half whispered. "What else is real?" This made Bucky chuckle and she looked up at him.

"This world gets crazier by the day." She couldn't help but grin, even if it was slight. He held onto his side as he laughed; it was obviously bothering him. "Do you have bandages? Anything? I feel awful." Bucky just shook his head.

"I'm okay, honestly." He lowered his hands. "What are you going to do? She's still out there."

"I don't know. Do I let SHIELD know?"

"You need to, for your own safety. Are you staying on base?"

"No, I can't." She declined to elaborate. He got up and walked to the kitchen. She saw he had a slight limp.

"You shouldn't stay alone." She wouldn't admit it to him but she was terrified. She had been utterly powerless, a feeling she hadn't known since the experiments. Agatha was able to turn her abilities off and control her as Wanda could others. She was aware how dangerous her powers were and the idea of Agatha using that kind of power against her made her shudder.

Bucky pulled out a small washcloth from a drawer and ran it under water. "She seemed pretty hurt, so I don't think she followed you but just in case." He walked over and held the cloth out for her. "For your cheek." She had completely forgotten about her wound from hitting her head. She smiled and took the cloth, surprised by the warm action.

"I'm supposed to be helping you."

"This isn't my first fight. Just glad I was there." Wanda began to nod when she felt a stirring in her lower body. She clutched at her hips but the feeling was gone in a moment. "You need to get looked at." She swallowed hard.

"I will."

"What did those runes mean?" Wanda shrugged.

"I have no idea. Do you have a laptop?" He nodded and pointed by the small TV. She grabbed it and pulled up a browser, looking up runes.

"Anything?" Bucky asked as he got up and walked over to her. He held out a chair and motioned for her to sit down.

"Nothing yet," she replied, half paying attention as she sat down.

"Try viking or... magical?" She browsed a few moments before an image popped up with a rune similar to one they had seen.

"Power?" Bucky asked. Wanda looked it up and they kept digging. Bucky fished out a pen and some old receipts he had in his pockets and they drew the runes, figuring it was better to put them down before they forgot. He had drawn three of them and when he couldn't quite picture the last one, she drew it. She put the pen down and stared at it. Like magic, it began to glow red.

"What are you doing?" Bucky asked cautiously.

"I'm not doing anything." She looked away, focusing on his worried face before looking back to see it was just normal ink on paper. Her hand brushed over it, almost expecting it to feel like anything but the flat paper underneath.

"We have some homework to do." They continued in their search with Bucky writing down anything interesting they found. After a long while, she urged him to go change. His shirt still had blood on it. He had made his way to the room when she heard a few grunts a moment later. She dragged her eyes off the laptop screen and to his bedroom door that was just slightly ajar. She could see him inside struggling to take his shirt off. The guilt twisted in her stomach and she quietly got up. Wanda knocked lightly on his door.

"Can I help?" He looked over. His expression was fixed and strained. She decided to just go in. He wasn't the type to ask for help, she'd noticed. "Here," she said softly as she walked behind him, to spare them both the awkwardness, and rolled up his shirt. As she did, she could see yellow and purple bruising forming along his exposed back. She maneuvered in front of him and pulled the shirt over his head. He grunted in pain as he lifted his arms and the shirt tugged off. She looked at his torso and it was in the same condition as his back.

"I'm so sorry." She looked up just in time to see him swallowing hard. He had to be in so much more pain than he was letting on.

"It's not your fault," he brushed off. But it was. He had only been there in an attempt to watch out for her.

"I should go and let you get some rest." Her voice was lower now, a mixture of guilt and sadness.

"Where are you going to go?" She sighed and shrugged her shoulders. She had nowhere to go. Other than SHIELD, she had no one else to turn to."

"I'm not sure."

"You can stay here," he offered. She looked up to meet his eyes. They seemed genuine. "I don't use this room." Wanda looked around and noticed that it, like the rest of his house, didn't look lived in. The bed was meticulously made with light sheets that looked still fresh out of the store.

"Where do you sleep?" she asked curiously. His eyes darted for just the slightest moment.

"In the living room. I like to have the TV on." She could tell there was more he wasn't saying but knew better than to push him.

"I appreciate it, but I really can't ask you to do that. You already put yourself in danger today for me."

"It's what teammates do." Wanda stared at him for a long moment. She saw a lot of Steve in him. The kindness and loyalty for those around them was in his nature too it seemed.

She swallowed hard. She didn't want to go to the motel she had rented for her stay. For starters, she was terrified it had roaches. But she was also scared to be alone. Scared at the thought of what Agatha could have done. Scared to be alone when Agatha found her again. She looked around at the empty room.

"Are you sure?" His eyes answered for him, of course.