Chapter 16 – Wanda's Return
Tony blinks as the information on the screen blurs in front of his eyes, he leans back and rubs firmly at them trying to will some life back into his tired body.
'Here,' Peter puts a mug of coffee next to him.
'Thanks champ,' he smiles. 'How much longer do you need here?'
'I'm ready when you are,' he answers. They've stopped off at the facility to check on a few things, Steve and Sam are elsewhere and they're due to leave to go back to the house at Long Island soon.
It's been a month since Wanda and Bucky were taken. A week and a half since Bucky attacked them with Zemo and they moved into the house.
'There's nothing here I can't do back at the house now. Is there anything you want to grab while we're here?' he shuts down the screens, unable to look at any more information. Unable to face their failure for the moment.
Peter shakes his head. 'I tried to go into Wanda's room to see if there was anything that might help us bring her back if she-if they do to her what they did to Bucky but…I couldn't.'
'Pete…you don't have to be strong around us you know,' he says, gripping the teenager's shoulder.
'I know,' Peter sighs, 'but everyone else is feeling the same way so I'm…just trying to hold it in until other people have had a turn?'
Tony isn't sure whether to laugh or cry at that very accurate summary of the entire team at the moment. 'Fair enough.'
'Are you getting any sleep?' the teenager fixes him with a look Tony is pretty sure he stole from Natasha.
'Not a lot,' he decides to admit the truth, 'Steve's been having nightmares and I don't want him sneaking off to deal on his own.'
'Why don't you go for a nap when we get back?' he suggests. 'I'll keep an eye on Steve if you want.'
Tony's heart warms at the gesture. 'We'll see what updates there are when we get back, but I'll take you up on it at some point I promise.'
Peter nods, apparently satisfied when FRIDAY interrupts them. 'Boss? Miss Maximoff has just arrived at the facility. She says she's escaped HYDRA.'
Tony isn't sure what he feels at those words and he and Peter scramble for the door. 'Get her inside FRI!' he shouts as he runs. 'Get Steve and Sam. Go through every single camera she's passed in the last forty-eight hours and make sure she hasn't been followed.'
Peter easily overtakes him, for once not waiting for him to keep up with his enhanced speed, and disappears down the corridor. Tony nearly collides with Steve and Sam on the stairs as they all head towards the front door.
'Go Steve!' Tony shoves his partner forward. 'Sam and I'll catch up.'
Steve nods and takes off out of sight. By the time they catch up with them in the foyer Peter has Wanda locked in a tight hug, and Tony is slightly worried the girl's bones are going to snap.
'Pete let her breathe!' he pants as they come to a stop at the bottom of the stairs. Steve barely lets Peter step away before he's bringing Wanda into his own hug. Wanda, Tony notices, is looking a little lost with all of the attention. 'Let's get you upstairs,' he steps forwards, putting an arm around her shoulders and leading her along, 'and we'll get you something to eat and drink. God it's good to see you, Wanda.'
'What happened?' Sam asks as they head towards the common area.
Tony is worried as Wanda looks around, her eyes a little vacant as though she's walking through a dream. 'Why don't we wait until we see the others to start on the questions?' he suggests. 'Did you want to shower and get changed?' he asks Wanda.
She shakes her head. 'No,' her voice sounds a little tired. 'No, I just want to see everyone.'
'I'll get hold of them and get them over here,' Sam says, taking out his phone. 'We can pause everything else for an hour or two at least.' He goes to make the call to the rest of the team.
'Will Vision come?' she asks.
Tony and Steve share a look. 'Wanda,' Peter's voice is soft, 'Vision isn't here. He's in Wakanda waiting for Shuri to work on him after we faced Thanos.'
A frown of confusion passes over Wanda's face, and for a moment Tony is reminded of the girl they'd first met when fighting Ultron. 'Oh…yes…sorry I just…'
'It must be a bit confusing being back here and us being in your face,' Peter reassures her. 'It's understandable a few things might have got a bit jumbled.'
Wanda nods, and Tony sees her watching Steve out of the corner of her eye while Peter continues to talk to her.
'Something isn't right,' he mumbles to Steve. 'They may not have finished what they started, but she's been through hell.'
'When we spoke to them before Loki lost the link, they seemed to think they were waiting until they'd broken Bucky before they tried to start on Wanda,' Steve mumbles back, 'I would have thought it would have taken longer to have an effect on her.'
'Wanda?' Peter's question pulls Tony and Steve from their conversation, and they see Wanda standing up, backing away from them.
'Wanda? What's wrong sweetheart?' Steve asks.
A snarl crosses Wanda's face, and she raises her hands, scarlet light dancing across her fingers.
'Wanda?' Peter steps closer to her. 'What's wrong?' He says a word in what Tony thinks is Sokovian. The effect on Wanda is terrifying.
'You don't call me that,' she growls at him. Before anyone can react, she's wrapped Peter in her magic and thrown him into the far wall.
'Holy shit!' Sam shouts as he re-enters. 'What the-'
'Wanda!' Steve shouts. She's now glowing in scarlet light, her expression dangerous as her magic seeps out into the rest of the facility.
'Wanda! What are you doing?' Tony shouts, though in his heart he's scared he already knows the answer.
'Hail HYDRA,' she grins, and brings the building down on top of them.
Peter shakes the ringing from his head. He's now thankful for his quick thinking in getting his Iron Spider suit around him as the ceiling started caving in, managing to protect Sam as he did. He lifts the rubble from on top of them and throws it off.
'Thanks, Pete,' Sam coughs through the brick dust. 'Where are the other two?'
Peter looks around, seeing that, thankfully, it's only a small part of the facility that has been brought down on them and the majority is still standing. Already workers are running towards them, and on his HUD he can see Tony and Steve are already finding their way out. Then he catches sight of Wanda, her figure nearing the boundary and starting to disappear.
'Get the others out, I'm going after her,' he tells Sam. 'I'll send you coordinates when we get there!'
'Peter!' Sam shouts after him but he's already running, chasing after Wanda before he loses sight of her.
He's not letting her get away, not when there's a chance she can take him to HYDRA and Bucky.
He knows he owes the fact he's been able to follow Wanda unnoticed thanks to the girl herself. It was something they'd experimented on together with Vision before Thanos had arrived, and obviously whatever had gotten hold of her mind had made her forget. Wanda had placed a spell on his Iron Spider suit, working her power into the nanites which meant he was protected from her mind reading abilities and, they hoped, from others with similar abilities.
Peter watches her enter an old warehouse. 'Alright Karen, send a message to the team and activate the tracking beacon.'
'Are you sure this is a good idea, Peter?' his AI asks. 'Shouldn't you wait for the rest of the team?'
'I'm hoping I can buy some time for them to get here,' he tells her. 'Now wish me luck!'
'I don't think I like it when you say that,' she tells him.
Neither do I, he thinks to himself. Then, taking a deep breath, heads towards the door he's just seen Wanda use. As he walks, he takes in the scans that Karen shows on his HUD. 'What are you planning to do?' Karen asks.
'Buying some time,' he answers, 'by channelling Wade.'
'Are you sure that's a good idea?'
'Nope, but I'm pretty sure I've learned enough about drawing attention to yourself from him that I can keep them busy.'
He's pretty sure his AI just sighed, but he can't be certain. He enters the warehouse, seeing it open straight into a large space. At its centre are a group of people, Wanda being one of them. It seems that she's reporting back to her handlers.
'You were supposed to wait until you could grab one of them!' a British voice is saying.
'They were on to me,' she argues. 'I had to leave. They know how to contain my powers.'
'So this whole thing was pointless?' the man demands
'No,' Wanda argues. 'I found out they aren't staying at the facility, and I damaged the building which should help slow them down.'
'Does it count if she brought me back?' Peter says, walking out towards the group. 'Or am I not as important as the others? Because if so, I've got to say that kinda hurts, guys.'
The look the bald man gives him that's been arguing with Wanda nearly has him break stride. 'Well, well, well. Spider-Man.'
'In the flesh,' he answers, doing a flip to try and convince himself he's as cocky as he's acting. 'I'm here to do a deal with you.'
'And what kind of deal would that be?' the man asks, crossing his arms over his chest.
'Simple really,' Peter swallows down his nerves. 'You let Wanda go.'
The man bursts out laughing, grinning at the other woman standing silently next to him. She's beautiful and tall, with long black hair. 'You want us to let Wanda go. And what are you going to give us in return?'
'Me.'
Peter knows he's taken the man by surprise. After a few moments he bursts out laughing. 'Oh this is fantastic!' he crows. 'Sure, Spider-Man, I'll take your deal. If only because you'll help me get someone else I want. If I have you, Wade Wilson won't be far behind.'
'You're Francis,' Peter realises how much of a mistake he may have just made.
'Ajax,' Francis frowns. 'The name is Ajax, little spider.' Peter grinds his teeth at the nickname but says nothing. 'And I want to make one little stipulation of my own.'
'And what is that?'
'We'll let the little witch go,' Francis pats Wanda on the shoulder, 'on one condition: you beat one of our soldiers.'
'Fine,' Peter agrees, rolling his neck to loosen some of the tension.
Francis' grin turns even more satisfied and motions to someone in the shadows. Peter feels his stomach drop through the floor as the soldier they want him to fight comes fully into the light.
It's Bucky.
A/N: Please don't kill me. I love you all. Please do let me know what you think though I'd love to see your comments!
Love always,
L x
As always here's the sneak peek:
A vibranium hand closes around his throat and drags him up to pin him against the wall. Peter finds himself looking into very familiar dark eyes, currently blank of all emotion.
'You don't seem to have done as well as you thought, little spider,' Francis crows from over Bucky's shoulder. 'So, I think we'll be taking you to add to our little collection. How I am going to love breaking Wade by having him fight you.'
