Wakanda was deadly silent when they arrived, an almost crusty dust covered the whole atmosphere.
They appeared by the computer, the place seemed untouched, Wanda looked at the keyboard and only noticed a bit of sweat on the last letters that typed their message.
Loki put a finger to his lips and signaled her to crouch down, they both did.
He lifted his index and with flowing but controlled green magic he sliced the air.
Wanda understood.
Don't she whispered inside his mind let him think he has full control of this reality.
He looked back at her frowning.
She took a deep breath and went to him, her eyes red as well as her hands, she touched each side of his head and tore Thano's vision for his eyes to see, as well as hers.
The office door was destroyed, and noise came from outside.
Wanda reached from her mind, Thanos was outside waiting for his trap to work, he was taking Thor as hostage.
She communicated with Loki.
Does his axe work? He asked
She focused again and went inside Thor's mind, he was thinking of reaching for the weapon, he could with a distraction, it was only under Thanos feet.
She told Loki.
The God of Mischief began to stand up, she grabbed him down.
We only have this chance, I'll go, you sneak behind. She told him
Loki nodded.
This was probably it, they both knew it, they had been lived and felt too much for so little and too long. They looked at eachother.
It was Wanda who reached for his hand. He nodded.
Wanda stood up, a swift but powerful hit, that's all she needed. She thought of Vision, she thought of Pietro, her parents, the Avengers, and...Loki.
A powerful and unknown force, the vision she had had, took over her and without thinking about it, she lifted from the ground and went to Thanos with the speed and certainty as a lightning ray in a storm.
Thanos lifted his arm to fight back but she had already hit him, he was sent flying away, hurt, he fired back but she fought back, green, purple, yellow, rays flew at her, she was hit, dodged, she heard noise around her, as if many had also waited for a diversion to be able to continue fighting, she went inside his mind, to hurt him.
"WITCH YOU ARE NO MATCH TO ME" Thanos yelled.
She continued, she felt blood down her face, didn't know where it came from, but she couldn't let herself feel any pain.
A purple ray had hit her, she crashed against a wall.
Breathing, she needed to breath.
Another ray came for her, she was suddenly lifted up and saved.
"I've got you Wanda" Peter reassured her.
She smiled.
In the blink of an eye Stephen Strange was throwing spells at Thanos.
Loki killed a child of Thanos, he went back to Thor who had been stabbed, the God of Thunder took a few steps back and reached for his Hammer, Loki reappeared the space stone.
Thor lifted his axe and crushed the stone.
An explosion filled the room, Thanos cried from behind, he reached for his left hand and touched the Time Stone.
Loki killed a child of Thanos, he went back to Thor who had been stabbed, the God of Thunder took a few steps back and reached for his Hammer, Loki reappeared the space stone.
Thanos launched himself for him. Loki saw him and disappeared. Thor stayed unaware and with Thanos above him.
Wanda flew and put herself between them, a red force met the alien, he blocked it and grabbed her by neck, her red magic began fading. Thor stabbed Thanos on his side, the alien let her go and cried in pain, he shot back at Thor, Captain America's shield covered him.
Wanda was pulled to safety by Stephen.
"He has the Time Stone and will change back time as much as he needs to, take the Space Stone away" he yelled
Wanda reached for Loki's mind, he was hiding near them, she stood up and ran to him amongst the chaos.
"He can control time" she stopped him from retuning to the fight
He couldn't keep standing up, and let his legs plump down on the ground.
"It's worthless" he said to himself as he sat on the floor.
"Take it" Wanda knelt next to him "take the stone, and take Thor, go to the Lake, keep on moving, never stop."
"Wanda" he began
"I trust you" she repeated
"I don't" he whispered, not a sight of his signature confident mask, he was scared, so was her.
"I'll do it for both of us" she promised him.
"Wanda..."
She did only what felt right, she kissed him.
A blissful moment of hope, of complete ignorance of reality, of solitude and companionship, of understanding love.
He was the one who broke the kiss, and nodded.
Wanda left the room, and continued her attack on Thanos.
"Thor!" Loki found Thor taking a break, he grabbed his side, clearly hurt.
The brothers teleported to the furthest place on the fight ground
"We need to destroy this stone and manage to take the Time Stone too" Loki told him "Wanda told me to run away with you, but I won't, so we need another plan"
Thor smiled "There he is"
"Who?"
"My brother"
Loki smiled "Please, keep the nice things to yourself"
Wanda went inside Stephen's mind and told him that Loki and Thor had taken the stone. He nodded at her from the fighting ground.
They needed to focus on the Time Stone.
"Chaos magic" Stephen called her "create an illusion, a big one"
She was confused but understood, from her pocket she took out a replica of the Space Stone, and lifted it up enough to grab Thanos attention, he looked at her and fired her way. Wanda flew out of his reach and to an open space, some of Thanos army followed her, she saw Sam and Tony taking care of them. Stephen caught up with her and they alternated carrying the fake stone, Thanos right behind them.
She was hit down, the stone on her hand, she began crawling away but he had taken her, he summoned the stone, and with a devilish grin placed it on his gauntlet.
"At last" he spoke triumphantly.
Wanda returned the smile and turned that stone into melting hot fire, his gauntlet began to melt.
Thor stroke lightning to his gauntlet, the heat continuing to melt the metal. Thanos cried in pain and began recollecting the stones, as they fell to the floor.
Loki jumped on his back and stabbed him, the Hulk joined.
Stephen began casting spells to force him down.
"Thor!" She yelled as she saw a few stones falling to the ground
"GREEN"
The God of Thunder grabbed his Hammer and destroyed the Green stone.
The explosion made everyone fly away.
Thanos was free again he yelled and launched himself for the rest of the stones, Steve tried to stop him, but it was too late, he had grabber them and growled. He closed his fist around them and a light blinded them.
Wanda looked up, his arm seemed burned but he smiled.
Thor yelled and launched himself towards him.
His attack never arrived, he disappeared.
Wanda stared in shock.
"No" she heard Loki yell.
Another blinding light her mind buzzed, everyone around either fell to their knees or disappeared.
He summoned his spaceship and disappeared.
The buzz stopped. She fainted.
She didn't believe it at first, it didn't make sense, Natasha sat them down and explained what Gamora had told them about Thano's plan to kill half the population, he hadn't been able to succeed completely, but he did affect a portion he had intended to, he hadn't won, and somehow Thor, Peter, Nebula, Steve, Shuri, Drax, among so much more were gone.
"Wanda" a soft voice called her, she had to blink a couple of times.
She was pulled to reality, Sam was crouching down in front of her, a concerned look on his face
"Wanda"
It wasn't Sam's voice this time, she looked around and saw Loki on a far corner looking at her.
"Wanda" Sam said once more, she took a deep breath and focused on him
"Yes"
"Did you listen to T'Challa?" He asked
She saw the King a few feet from her, he was also sitting down, his face to the ground.
Sam gently reached for her hand and spoke softly as ever "Vision, my sister disappeared before she could finish gathering the Stone's essence"
"Can I see him?"
Sam looked over at T'Challa, the King nodded and they lead her to a capsule, Vision was sleeping.
She found herself nodding "open it"
"Wanda" Sam began
"Open the capsule" she ordered
"We can't do anything now, Shuri's plan didn't work" T'Challa tried to explain, he sounded as heartbroken as her, he had lost his sister.
"Open it" she almost shouted. She could feel her eyes turning red.
He finally sighed and opened the capsule, Vision laid with his eyes closed in a strange liquid, she could wake him up.
Slowly Wanda touched the center of his head were the stone used to be, closing her eyes she focused on the power she had received from the stone and passed it to him.
The water began creating strange looking threads of electricity, Wanda began sinking down on the floor next to him.
"Wanda stop" Sam called her, he tried reaching for her but as soon as he touched her shoulder, his hand was in pain.
"She's not strong enough to do that" Stephen said "you will only harm yourself!"
She didn't listen, she could do it, she was tired, Vision was what mattered, he sacrificed himself, now it was her turn, she ignored the cries from her friends.
Just as she felt about to vanish a pair of hands pulled her away, she was so close, she was about to protest when she saw Vision, he seemed completely unfaced by her power, she had expected him to absorb the power of the stone...
"Close it" a voice ordered behind her, he was holding her, both of them sitting on the ground.
T'Challa closed the capsule and ordered some of his people to move it away.
Her surroundings were blurry but she could feel tears pouring down her eyes.
"He sacrificed himself for you, would he want to see you die?" Loki whispered on her mind, or was it on her ear?
"He's gone" she answered in a whisper "and we failed"
Wanda had been ready to die the day her brother did, Vision had saved her instead, and now with him also gone there wasn't another reason.
"There is" Loki added, this time she was sure he said it out loud
What?
"I do not know"
Was it comforting? No, but it felt honest.
"We'll find one" he added
"Why?"
"Because you helped me find mine"
"Thor is gone"
"But you are the reason I tried to avoid it, you're the reason I was selfless for once in my life"
"What was the point?"
"Doing what was right"
She let herself be held by him. They all had lost so much, she felt selfish creating a whole show while T'Challa had also lost his sister, while they were as lonely as her.
Times passed slow and blurry, she didn't notice her head had received stitches, or that she had changed clothes, eaten, slept.
"You still have the Space Stone?" Stephen suddenly asked her.
They were sitting in an improvised cafeteria, an untouched water cup on her hand.
"Yes" she answered "Loki does"
Stephen seemed worried "He'll come back, four stones won't be enough if he knows there's a fifth one"
"I'll tell him to give it to you" she assured him
"No" he answered "it's safer with you"
"I don't want it"
"I know" he said softly "but you're the right choice"
Wanda sighed and nodded, for Vision.
"You did well" Stephen suddenly added "your power is unimaginable and untrained, but I admire you"
He suddenly put his hands on the table and appeared an old book.
"Take it" he told her "you'll understand yourself better"
Wanda nodded, feeling conscious for the first time since the fight
"Thank you"
Stephen offered her a small smile and stood from the table.
Wanda finally stood up and went to find Loki, she found him outside, sitting under a tree, she joined him quietly.
"Thank you" she said after a while "I was... you comforted me while being hurt as well"
He nodded and reached inside his pocket, he took out the stone and placed it on her palm.
"Thor was glad when I told him we were staying to fight. You made me be at peace with my brother"
"I didn't do anything, it was you"
Loki nodded to himself and smiled sadly
"Thank you"
She leaned her head against his shoulder, his head leaned against hers.