Katherine Wright was an average woman. She was utterly exhausted from caring for her two precarious boys, and though she loved them to bits, she wished that they would just disappear for a few hours. Just a little bit.
She was driving down the street in a faded black Escalade, completely intent on stopping at a relatively new Chinese food place nearby—she definitely wasn't cooking today—when she felt an incredibly strong sense of fear wash over her, ruthlessly paralyzing her senses and making her inevitably numb to the outside world. Katherine could no longer recall the new Chinese place or her two precious little boys sitting in the backseat. Her entire body locked down, her foot mindlessly slamming down on the gas pedal as she wanted to get as far away from the awful feeling as possible, her bladder automatically emptying and drenching the leather seats.
Then the ferocious anger washed over her. She was completely and entirely enraged, ravenous, and bloodthirsty. She wanted to viciously tear and irreparably maim, crush ruthlessly and destroy everything without rational reason. Eagerly, she directed the car towards an unsuspecting throng of people—likely caught somewhere in the middle of the same emotional transitions—determined to injure as many as she could. The car slammed into the people, knocking them aside like they were nothing more than dolls and pulling more than a few underneath, before crashing into the wall behind them. The metal gave in, twisting inwards and tearing into the malleable flesh of Katherine. Behind her, her two boys were screaming loudly, sobs pouring out of their mouths uncontrollably in fear and they jerked forwards violently with the momentum of the crash to pull against the restraint of their seatbelts leaving them with severe chest pains. Outside, others who were also experiencing fierce emotions of rage began to pound on the windows and break out into brawls, not having one specific target. The two continued to wail desperately as the destruction ensued around them.
She stood amongst a crowd of people watching as beautiful, maddening chaos erupted around her. People were brutally beating down other people until there was nothing left except a pile of broken flesh and blood. Fires flared, windows were broken, glass converted into weapons, rocks and metal lobbied against homes and cars, as rabid men dragged young children into alleyways and hysterical women stabbed viciously into their attackers, followed most importantly by screams piercing the warm summer air.
A small smirk adorned the woman's face as she considered watching the unraveling carnage continue unhindered. How easy it was, she thought without remorse, to convince these people to hurt others, to participate in the mindless destruction of their own kind and who was she to impede them from their carnal pleasure? These inferior beings had no consideration for others, their self-preservation instincts guiding and pushing them to act in ways that would ensure their own safety at whatever the cost. She lived for these utterly exquisite moments of brutality, when people finally for the first time stopped pretending and revealed their true nature.
People were born to survive, cruel and vicious, and society made them hide it away. She peeled away society and reveled in what was left.
She walked away laughing, her spirits lifted by the carnage and feeling entirely rejuvenated. Nothing else mattered in this moment. Nothing.
A.I.M. Priority Transmission 091325H-01
Encryption Code: Zeta
From: Dr. Fleischer, Medical Officer, ID: 042961-019-PH
To: Dr. Ackerman, Chief Medical Officer
Subject: Experimental Success
/start file/
Despite all biological and chemical risks imposed upon subject 158, subject has achieved field success in Operation: BLITZ. View attached file for city damage reports, number of casualties, experimental duration, countermeasures taken, and subject side effects.
Recommendation: Attached in file 010794: list of procedures, venoms, hormones, steroids, chemicals, training procedures involved with subject 158, along with synopsis of side effects and conditions. Use with caution.
/end file/
Wanda groggily got up the next morning, sitting up and rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. She had revisited that dreadful moment again in her sleep, even in her dreams searching endlessly for her missing half.
She rose and quickly dressed in a mundane training outfit, hoping to be able to use one of the exercise facilities before eating breakfast. As she left the room and wandered the endless hallways, Wanda contemplated her plans; she stood firmly by her previous decision and focused on the work that lied ahead. There were only five more bases that she knew of that had been carefully hidden away and belonged to Hydra's sister branches. Each one had been trying desperately to achieve experimental success like theirs (hers), but to her knowledge results were varied and mostly ended in subject death.
Unfortunately since she had only heard of them in passing, there was little information to offer her superiors. She passed on what little she knew but even they reluctantly acknowledged that it wasn't much to go on. She had no idea where they were or what they had created, or if they had created anything.
Most likely they had, Wanda thought tiredly, slumping down slightly at the thought, and it was probably best to start with the assumption that they would be facing someone with superhuman abilities of some kind. It was entirely fascinating in a sick way to think that maybe someone else had pulled through after all the horrid experimentation imposed on him or her. HYDRA's experimentation techniques were incredibly intense and Wanda had only endured the arduous process with the comfort that she wasn't alone and with a goal in mind.
Wanda, completely submerged in her thoughts, stumbled slightly into another figure before realizing that she wasn't alone in the corridor.
"Hey," Sam Wilson started, his arms reaching out automatically to help her regain her balance. Pietro's hands would have slapped his away, she thought idly before straightening herself.
"Good morning," she countered, pulling away from his unfamiliar touch, entirely uncomfortable with his closeness. She still wasn't used to personal touches and people encroaching into her personal space.
"You're up early," Sam commented easily, breaking through the momentary silence they had entered.
"Yeah," Wanda returned weakly, offering no other explanation. Stiff silence filled the awkward moment, and she didn't know what else to say. She didn't want to explain herself to a stranger and she wasn't sure how to act around people anymore. But this was her teammate, her mind insisted, so did he still qualify as a stranger? It was all so frustrating and her limited past social interactions provided scant information as to how to proceed.
Pietro would no doubt say that he was not to be trusted (primarily because Sam was male) but what would Wanda say if Pietro were still here? Would she have grown closer to her teammates? Slipping into the what-ifs had recently become an avid pastime for her that she avidly attempted to avoid. It was a difficult concept to consider but for now Wanda settled for being uncomfortable with sharing more than the exactly necessary. What did it matter if she couldn't sleep? Besides if they got too close then he could become an unnecessary distraction from her main goals, she reasoned.
"Did you sleep ok?" Sam finally asked, interrupting her mind's ramblings. How ironic that this be the first question asked, Wanda thought sarcastically as she grimaced at the question.
"So that's a no?" Sam continued trying, fishing for some reaction from his reserved teammate. He was aware of all the pain that she was enduring and despite having just met, he wanted to help in some way. Having been directly exposed to many veterans who were traumatized and with constant death in both his personal and professional life, he could empathize with Wanda's pain and knew that in reality it was something she had to work through at her own pace. Nonetheless, he was willing to provide an ear or whatever he could do to aid her progress on that slow road to recovery.
Wanda briefly considered revealing her recurring dream but it just went against everything she had known to confide in someone besides Pietro. He was the one who knew all her nightmares, who comforted her and made her feel safe again. No one would ever be able to take his place and a part of her resented all those who tried to worm their way in. But what was she supposed to do now that her lifeline was the main character in her nightmares and her nightmares were reality?
"Not really," Wanda finally acquiesced, knowing that from her slip up earlier (damn her facial expressions!), he had to know she wasn't sleeping well. That was all she was planning to give, however.
"You heading up for some training?" Sam deflected, figuring that Wanda probably wasn't going to share more. Whether or not she was willing, it was a slight relief to have her open up a little instead of closing off even more.
They had started moving towards training facility 3, Sam following along with Wanda trying to keep her company.
"Yeah," Wanda responded quickly, her eyes flickering between him and straight ahead, questioning whether she still wanted to train now that she had company. Can't avoid them forever, she thought grumpily. Pietro, they're annoying.
The two slipped into silence as they arrived and headed for the treadmills. As she began running, Wanda went back to thinking about her plans for the future and where the other bases could be residing. What if they never found them?
After an incredibly uneasy exercise session, and thankfully no more conversations extending beyond water and towels, Wanda left Sam and headed back to her room to shower. She passed the Black Widow Natasha Romanoff on her way back and was blissfully relieved when she was ignored. It was an odd concept but Wanda was grateful for the distance. If only others could adopt her stance…
After her warm shower, Wanda headed to the large mess hall for breakfast and the day's briefing. There was no fixed schedule and S.H.I.E.L.D. was still basically in pieces after HYDRA's infiltration. Once she entered the enormous hall, she was surprised and annoyed to see him. Tony Stark was in the hall, although on the opposite end (which was still too close), standing alongside Steve Rogers and the two appeared to be in deep discussion. She scowled angrily because despite working for the Avengers, she still found it quite difficult to stomach his presence.
"Wanda, how are you doing?" A voice asked warmly, drawing her attention away from the source of her irritation. Wanda whirled around, surprised, and found herself in the presence of Clint Barton.
"I thought you were retired," were the first words that slipped out involuntarily at the sight of him. She hadn't even thought to filter her words. Hawkeye gave a small grin and replied.
"SHIELD retirement works a bit differently," he explained in answer to her non-question. "But more important than that, how are you?" The question inexplicably felt different coming from him. Perhaps it was due to the fact that he was her inspiration to join the Avengers, someone completely and entirely human with no superhuman or enhanced abilities who was still tirelessly working to better the world, her recruiter, someone who led her to a pivotal moment in her life. The unbearable and incredibly irritating question no longer felt as forced or fake—as many used the question as small talk—but rather with actual interest in her well being.
"I'm working on it," Wanda admitted finally, giving an honest answer instead of shrugging the question off as she had with everyone else.
The two moved together to grab breakfast and Hawkeye began explaining his new position in SHIELD.
"I no longer work in active missions, so I won't be joining you and the others on your outside field stuff. But I will be assigned to one post only, to work in training new recruits, so you might have a few training sessions with me." Clint explained as he walked—breakfast in hand—to find a table to sit down at. Wanda was slightly relieved that at the very least, she would still have another familiar face nearby.
They began to eat their meal in amiable silence, neither of them offering anything more to the conversation. Several others joined them that Wanda unfortunately did not recognize, appearing eager to snag a place at their table and began a new conversation with Barton. This left Wanda to happily to continue eating without interruption.
Moments later Captain America interrupted the discussion, as he began to address everyone in the hall.
"Okay, everyone settle down." His voice rang above all the conversations and the hall quieted rapidly into silence. "As of this morning, we have received intelligence regarding a possible Alpha Threat, who questionably appears to have some supernatural ability. This information is unverified at this point. There have been multiple sightings of this female at several scenes of extreme and unprovoked conflict, and is the only one to escape unscathed. Her last sighting was within a city near Seattle and the conflict was explained away to the public as an unprecedented riot. Numerous civilian casualties and extensive property damage occurred so investigations are underway as to whom she could be working for. You will all receive your normal assignments, however be cautious and mindful to your surroundings, her appearances are random, have occurred in various cities around the world and as of now there is no specific target other than causing widespread rampages." He concluded, a screen behind showcasing the few shots of the mysterious female.
In most of the images her face wasn't too clear and she was well covered, allowing for very little of her actual physical characteristics to show through. She wore different outfits, all plain, with changing masks that enveloped only parts of her face. In some her face was freer while in others she was completely covered excluding her eyes. Her green eyes sparkled with cruel joy and there was no doubt that she enjoyed the scenes of violence unfolding around her. Her images were followed by images of the aftermath of her appearances.
They were awful.
There were people strewn all over, a red sea spread throughout the ground beneath them. There was no indication that they had gone peacefully, many bodies extended in awkward and disturbing positions. The area around them was also quite damaged, buildings burned down to their foundations, cars flipped around, glass and other debris also widespread.
Wanda's lip curled and she felt complete disgust and vitriol towards the deplorable organization that had created the monster capable of inspiring such incredible desolation. Nonetheless she was also subject to feelings of immense shame. She could have easily been this person, and to see if from the other perspective made her question—as always—the terrible decisions she had made in the past. There were many within the organization that still mistrusted her, eyed her with hesitance and wariness and as eager as she was to prove herself, Wanda also accepted the fact that she had made bad choices.
"We ask that everyone be on alert and proceed with caution on all assignments. A team has been assembled dedicated entirely to tracking her down, however that does not mean that they will be the first of us to encounter her." Rogers continued explaining. "For now that is all we can do. Continue your assignments as usual and check in periodically with your supervising officer."
Others in the hall broke into murmurs as they fervently discussed the new female threat and quite a few of them shot furtive—or what they thought to be furtive—glances in her direction. Wanda scowled angrily at them, not looking to be intimidated by anyone regardless of her new position within the organization.
"Wanda," Steve called out to her, beckoning her to approach where he stood amongst Black Widow and Clint. Wanda walked over quickly, ignoring all the eyes watching her move from one end of the hall to the other.
"We've compiled a group of people that we would like to spearhead this assignment," Steve began. "And several of them will take over your training sessions so you will be relocated to another base. Pack your things and be ready to leave with them in an hour."
It was terribly last minute and Wanda was undoubtedly surprised by the order. How easily they had made the decision to move her from one location to another and it made her extremely uneasy to consider how little control she had over some aspects of her life. New people taking over her training missions, Wanda considered with a groan at the frustrating concept of having to begin anew with the introductions. She was even more disappointed with the thought that those training sessions with Hawkeye would likely not happen.
She wanted to protest. She didn't necessarily oppose the move as she had little reason to remain in this base but something inside her wanted to object to the unexpected decision. Clamping down on her emerging emotions, Wanda nodded her acceptance and moved to leave the hall.
Perhaps, her mind contemplated, this was a good thing. Movement towards a new location could provide her with the opportunity to discover more information about the missing HYDRA bases. Not to mention new training sessions could allow her to expand on her ever-increasing abilities.
She still had to go through her psychological evaluation, however there was a chance that with the move the pressure she felt towards talking to a stranger would ease. In particular due to the fact that she would no longer be surrounded by so many leering supervising officers who were so openly eager to pick her brain for more details regarding HYDRA.
Would Pietro have come with me?
He would, her mind resolved. It was unmistakable that they would have been assigned to the same location. They wouldn't have tolerated anything less. Wanda's thoughts scattered as she began to recalculate her plans. Perhaps this would be a good thing…
He stood atop the enormous bridge, keeping a watchful eye on the commotion bellow. He was wholly unseen by the civilians below, too enraptured with their quick-paced, stressful everyday lives to contemplate looking upwards. They were fools for not considering their safety and ignoring that prickling subconscious feeling that there was a predator on the prowl eager to do away with its next victim, attacking from its place in the sky. He had the upper hand, not that he needed it.
He wasn't willingly going to attack today.
He was waiting.
She would be arriving soon, the only one that mattered at this point. I missed you.