[ chapter seven ]
"Hey."
Andi looked up from where she lay on her bed to see Wanda leaning against the doorway to her room, her arms crossed. Her expression was a mixture of boredom and frustration, which Andi understood because she felt the same way.
The previous night when she came home, she listened to Tony go off on her about responsibility and a bunch of other things Andi didn't actually listen to. She'd been on the phone with him so it was simple to tune him out here and there, adding in an occasional 'okay' or 'i'm sorry' to keep up the ruse that she was paying attention.
The call ended with Tony insisting she skip the next day of school, because he needed to do 'damage control', which Andi didn't understand, or get the chance to protest to. Soon after that, Andi went to bed, and since the morning, she'd been cooped up in her room, tinkering with a few pieces of metal to add to the collection of items she was making for each member of the team. The spider Andi had been working on for Nat now ended up being painted differently, to reflect the masked hero who'd come to her aid last evening.
Andi was now working on a bow and arrow for Clint. She knew she hadn't seen him in a while, and he said he was retired, but she liked to think she'd see him soon, and in all honesty, she didn't have any ideas yet on what she could make for Nat, so this was the only other way she could keep herself occupied.
"You okay?" Andi asked Wanda, sitting up straight and leaving space for Wanda to sit if she wanted to. After a moment, she decided to accept that silent offer by moving toward the bed and sitting down on the edge of it with her legs crossed.
"That's a complicated question right now," she said with a small laugh. Wanda looked around at Andi's room before letting her gaze set back on Andi. "I heard about your incident yesterday."
Andi winced a little. "Yeah, I think everyone's heard about it," she chuckled. So far, nobody had come to speak to her about it though. Probably because they were all busy with the Accords. Steve and Sam were still in London, because the funeral was earlier that day, and they'd needed to prepare for it the day before. Vision was around, and Nat had left to London as well, to be with Steve.
"I didn't even know you'd gone out," Wanda continued with a small shrug. "I think Vision's been tasked with keeping me indoors."
"What?" Andi furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "Why?"
Wanda pursed her lips. "Because I'm a danger to other people."
Well that was a load of crap. Andi knew that she hadn't signed off on the Accords officially, but that didn't mean Wanda had to be locked up like she was some kind of animal. This was exactly what Andi feared was going to happen.
"No, that doesn't make sense," Andi shook her head. "I'm just as much to blame for what happened as you." Hell, Andi was younger and more volatile than Wanda as well, since she still had trouble with control. "Why was I allowed to go out?"
Wanda shrugged yet again. "I don't know. But they can't keep you in here forever, you have to go to school."
"Yeah well I didn't go today, did I?" Andi sighed and ran a hand through her hair to push it back and away from her face. "This sucks."
Wanda laughed softly, though it didn't hold much humour. She looked toward the TV which was on in the background, but had been muted, and Andi watched her expression change. "Hey, turn that up," Wanda said, nodding toward the TV.
Andi looked to the screen and saw a number of disturbing images. She hastily reached for the remote that sat on the bedside table and increased the volume. Slowly, the voice of the news anchor filled the room.
"... received news that James Buchanan Barnes, also known as The Winter Soldier, has been taken into custody, as of one hour ago. Authorities caught him trying to flee, after the bombing earlier this morning in Vienna, where a conference was being held to ratify The Sokovia Accords. Among the casualties was the King of Wakanda, T'Chaka..."
"Is... is that Steve?" Andi asked Wanda as she stared at the red, blue and white suit that was unmistakably Captain America's. She knew it was him. She just felt like this couldn't be real.
Instead of Wanda answering, Andi got her answer from the anchor not moments later.
"Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson, well known members of the team known as the Avengers, were also involved in the capture of Barnes, and we're currently waiting affirmation as to whether they were actually helping Barnes escape or not."
"Why would they help?" Andi looked to Wanda. "Who is he?"
Wanda chewed on her lower lip for a moment before responding, her gaze still glued to the TV. "That's Bucky."
Bucky. The name that caused Steve to freeze the other day, when Rumlow said it. The person who clearly meant a lot to Steve if he was willing to throw himself into such a situation for him. Now with the Accords being signed, things didn't seem too good for Steve and Sam, who both neglected to sign the document.
Andi was almost scared to ask her next question, but she did anyway, even though she knew Wanda wouldn't have an answer for her. "What happens now?"
"Andi?"
Andi looked up to the doorway to see Vision standing there. "Mr. Stark is in the living room, he asked me to come get you."
Andi was more than happy to get out of bed to meet Tony because she wanted to know what the hell was going on. Without another word, she crawled off of the bed and walked past Vision, taking the stairs two at a time till she arrived at the living room, where Tony was seated on the couch, phone in hand.
"Oh, good," he said, standing up when he saw her enter the room. "I need to leave, there's—"
"Yeah, I saw the news," Andi told him, panting a little. "What's going to happen to Steve and Sam?"
Tony hesitated a little before responding. "I'm going to go talk to them. That's why I came here first, I needed to grab something I left in my office, and I wanted to tell you to stay out of trouble while I'm gone."
Ignoring pretty much most of what he said, Andi spoke again. "What's going to happen to Steve and Sam?" She asked again, a little impatiently this time around.
Tony sighed. "Nothing's going to happen to them, okay? That's why I'm trying to get down there as soon as I can. I'm going to talk to Secretary Ross and sort this whole thing out."
"Right," Andi nodded. "That's what you said yesterday. That nothing bad would happen by signing, yet you kept Wanda locked up in here." Andi could tell that she had caught him off guard with that question, but she continued, nonetheless. "I don't understand why you let me leave though. Is this because I signed and she didn't? Because—"
"No," Tony shook his head. "No, it's— I just had to take some precautionary measures till the Accords stuff was dealt with. It's not permanent, it's just... it's better to be on the safe side."
"And what precautionary measure did you take with me?"
Tony avoided looking at her, instead looking down at his shoes, which prompted Andi to ask the question again. "What precautionary measures did you take with me?" She hadn't been forced to stay indoors, so what was it?
"I put a tracker in your phone," he said finally, now meeting her gaze. "To be fair, I didn't do that after what happened in Lagos, I did that when I gave you the phone, a year ago."
"And that makes it better, how?"
"Look, Andi, this isn't the time to get into this, okay? I need to go and sort out another mess, and when I get back, we can talk about it," he tried to reason with her. "Sound good?"
Andi wasn't having it though. "No, I want to come with you." Tony began to protest, but before he could say much, Andi interrupted him. "I want to make sure Sam and Steve are okay so I'm going to find a way to get there anyway, whether you let me come with you or not."
The room was silent for a few moments, while Tony pondered his decision. Eventually, he gave in. "Fine," he relented. "But before we go, I want you to understand this — I'm not the bad guy here, Andi. I just... I'm trying to do the right thing."
Andi bit down on her lower lip and waited a moment before responding. "I know you are," she told him. "But sometimes what you're doing isn't always the right thing."
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