wednesday 8th of june 2016

AVENGERS COMPOUND, UPSTATE

Wanda Maximoff didn't know what she was feeling. There was an overwhelming anger inside her body, and if she was pushed one more time in the wrong direction, she felt like she would explode.

Her upper half hurt, like someone had taken a knife and stabbed her repeatedly in the gut, and then bashed her on the head with a sledgehammer. She was aching, with both guilt and vexation.

She was fully aware Lagos was her fault. She was trying to etch into her mind that throwing Crossbones into the air was a bad move, but at the same time, she would think to herself, but how many people would have died if I hadn't?

She was beginning to lose faith in both herself and the Avengers.

Steve had left for England a couple of days ago, mumbling about a funeral and how the team couldn't get into any more trouble while he was gone, and when she tried to leave for the supermarket, Vision forbid her from leaving.

Tony Stark had forbid her from leaving.

He said that she was a danger, that she couldn't control herself. She was working on it. Her self esteem was plummeting by how much the people surrounding her were trying to subtly keep her away from citizens, because she could potentially harm them.

Maybe they were right, maybe she could. That didn't mean she wanted to.

She missed Pietro. She missed the way he would comfort her and give her hope when everything seemed bleak. If he had seen the way she was being treated he would've been livid.

A smile wavered on Wanda's lips at the thought.

She also missed J.D. It had been just as long since she had last seen the girl. Whenever a phone was nearby, she would look at it and try to remember the number J.D gave her once in Sokovia, but nothing ever came to mind. Oh, how much she wanted to see her little face and huge smile, maybe this time it would be something genuine.

She lay in bed, staring at the ceiling with a million thoughts running through her head at a thousand miles per hour. She should've been asleep, even under her covers would've been more appropriate than lying, fully dressed in a state of despair.

She needed a distraction, anything to get her mind off of what was happening now.

A loud explosion from outside made Wanda leap out of bed out of instinct. She ran out of her bedroom and into the sitting room, where Vision was floating by the window. She jogged to his side, her wide eyes resting on the orange and gold flames beyond the glass. "What is it?"

"Stay here." Vision ordered, and Wanda suppressed a huff. Where the hell was she going to go anyway?

A small crunch from behind her was enough for the woman to twitch, her telekinetic power latching onto a kitchen knife and swinging it towards the intruder. She turned with the weapon in the air, and her gaze fell onto where the knife was pointing. Rather, who the knife was pointing at.

Clint Barton stood in the centre of the room, all geared up and on a mission. His eyes were crossed as he stared at the knife before him. He lifted his fingers up and knocked it out of the way, sending the levitating object to the ground. "Guess I shoulda' knocked."

"Oh my god." Wanda exhaled in relief, her feet moving quicker than her mind as she approached him. "What are you doing here?"

Clint scrunched his face up as he walked towards her, pulling an arrow from his pack. He twirled it around his head and loaded it into his bow. He shot one either side of the room, the pointy ends landing in pillars. "Disappointing my kids. We were supposed to go water-skiing."

He jogged forward and grabbed Wanda's hand, ushering her to the door. Wanda looked at him, confused.

"Cap needs our help, come on." The archer urged her, neither of them noticing the purple and red skinned man phasing through the wall.

"Clint!" The electronic-sounding voice called out. "You should not be here."

"Really?" Clint asked, his voice already taking on his usual sarcastic tone. "I retire for what, like, five minutes and it all goes to shit."

"Please consider the consequences of your actions." Vision warned, the Mindstone attached to his forehead glimmering.

Clint tilted his head, before shrugging. "Okay, they're considered."

The two arrows he shot at the pillars opened and released an electronic energy that held Vision tightly.

"Okay, we gotta go." Clint muttered and ran towards the door, only turning around when he noticed Wanda wasn't following him. She stood in the same place, watching him sternly. Though she wanted out of the facility, she didn't necessarily want anyone getting hurt, particularly Vision. She nervously fiddled with her sleeves. Clint pointed to the door behind him. "It's this way."

"I've caused enough problems." She said firmly, though the tremble of her voice gave her away to her friend. Clint sighed and jogged back over to her. She stared down the ground passively as he neared.

"You gotta help me, Wanda." He grumbled, looking at her as she glanced up at him. "Look, you wanna mope, you can go to high school. You wanna make amends, you get off your ass." He looked up at Vision, and his eyes went wide. "Shit."

The arrows split and Vision walked up to the pair, phasing through Clint's bow and punching the archer in the face.

Clint fell to the ground, and as he got up, he pulled an expandable baton from behind his back and sighed. "I knew I should've stretched."

He jumped up and begin fighting a losing battle to Vision, being fooled by the caped figure phasing and the unbeatable material he was made of. Clint looked down at his baton in disappointment when he saw the it snapped in half after hitting Vision's unbreakable face. He kicked Vision, only to fall forward when Vision altered his body density so he was practically without physical form.

"Clint, you can't overpower me." Vision said as he grabbed the archer by the head and restrained him in a headlock.

"I know I can't." Clint wheezed. Then, his eyes flickered to Wanda, who watched from the sidelines. A ball of energy was forming between her hands as a result of her growing anger and the protection she felt for her friend. "But she can."

"Vision, that's enough. Let him go." She demanded, her hands controlling the red energy ball. "I'm leaving."

"I can't let you." Vision responded calmly, though he was definitely worried for her safety and wellbeing.

Wanda separated her hands and instantly the once yellow Mindstone shone red and his arms became the familiar dusty gold colour, causing Clint to fall to the ground. "I'm sorry."

She slowly brought her hands back together, and Vision's body began to turn a bright red as her power overcame him. The ground cracked beneath his feet and he was forced to the ground. "If you do this, they will never stop being afraid."

"I can't control their fear, only my own." Wanda gasped out, before sending him plummeting hundreds of feet through the ground.

She and Clint looked down at the impressive hole she had just created. Clint's eyebrows raised, and he sent her a look. "Whoa. Come on. We got a couple more stops."

+++

QUEENS

"Do you think we'll ever stop playing dodgeball in class?" Mason grumbled as the twins entered their apartment building. J.D glanced over his shoulder as they walked in, her eyebrows narrowing at the sight of a big white van. It didn't have a logo on it, and she hadn't noticed anything wrong with the electricity in the building. Oh well.

"Maybe, I think Mr. King likes the idea of being able to sit down the entire lesson without getting screamed at by the deputy principal." She responded and followed him into the elevator, adjusting her backpack straps. "So, you excited for summer?"

"Hell yeah." Mason sighed happily. "I finally get to sleep in till ten without you throwing a pillow at my head."

"I'm gonna do that anyway." J.D scoffed and Mason shoved her lightly, which she easily returned. "Have you started the english homework?"

"Almost finished." Mason grinned proudly as the elevator dinged, signalling that they had reached level six. "You haven't, have you?"

"Who do you think I am?" She scoffed and flashed him a smile. "Of course I haven't."

As the pair walked down the halls, Mason cracked a joke. J.D fished her key out of her pocket and unlocked the door to their apartment, 412.

The twins were both laughing when they stepped in, but Mason suddenly went silent and stared before them. J.D looked the way he was facing and her laughter slowly ceased. She gasped at the sight of Wanda Maximoff, clad in a black skirt, black zip up hoodie, black stockings and dark boots. J.D's hand fell over her mouth and she let out a shocked giggle, before bursting forward and wrapping her arms around the Maximoff. "Wanda!"

"J.D! Oh, how I've missed you!" Wanda chuckled as she returned the embrace just as tight, ecstatic to see the young girl again. "How have you been?"

"I'm great now that you're here!" J.D beamed when she pulled away. "It's been so long, all I've seen of you has been on the news."

When Wanda's face fell slightly, J.D sent her a reassuring smile. They both knew the teenager was talking about the situation in Lagos.

"You did the right thing, Wanda." She said and Wanda exhaled in relief. If J.D was on her side, that was all that mattered. The last thing she wanted was to have her best friend and sister against her.

"Who's this?" She heard Mason ask, and Uncle Herb looked up from his conversation with a man in a fancy grey suit.

"This is Wanda Jacoby, she and this man, Mr. Marks are here to offer J.D an experience of a lifetime." Herb said, though he sounded slightly sarcastic towards the end of his sentence. He turned to J.D. "Why didn't you tell me you put forward an application for the 'English Study Experience'? If you'd've given me a heads up, maybe I'd have been more prepared for two strangers to knock on my door on my day off and inform me that they'd be taking my niece away to Europe for a school project."

"It's completely funded, and there'll be accommodation provided, as well as food and travel costs." The man, Mr. Marks said. He was blonde and had short, chopped hair. She could've sworn she recognised him from somewhere, but she couldn't put a finger on it. "She'll be back after four days, five at most. It's a wonderful opportunity that not many people get to experience, your niece is incredibly lucky to be chosen for this."

J.D was confused. What the hell was going on? Mason pulled out his phone and rapidly began typing the project into his phone to see if it was legit.

"Do you mind if I talk to J.D somewhere private?" Wanda asked, and Herb pursed his lips before nodding. J.D led Wanda to her bedroom where the older girl locked the door and sighed. "I'm sure you're confused."

"No shit."J.D deadpanned, and Wanda smiled slightly. "What's going on?"

"You've heard of the Avengers, I know you have." Wanda began. "Well, there's been a...misunderstanding between our group. My friend Clint and I--"

"You mean Mr. Marks?" J.D asked, nodding towards the door.

"His name is not Mr. Marks." Wanda explained. "His name is Clint Barton, you would probably know him as Hawkeye. We have been given instructions by Captain America to recruit people to help him get his friend out of the country. We have one so far, his name is Scott Lang, and he'll be helping us. I suggested you to Clint, and he's all for it. It's just you that needs to accept."

"Is it safe?" J.D asked carefully, and Wanda sent her a solemn look.

"I am afraid not." She mused. "It will be dangerous, but I know you're tough enough to handle it. You're my little knight. My bladerunner."

"I still hate that name." J.D chuckled dryly, before reaching behind her wardrobe and pulling out her dagger. She flashed Wanda a grin. "When do we leave?"

"As soon as we can." The older girl smiled, and reached over to hold the weapon. She spun it in her hands and pursed her lips, before glancing up at J.D. "How have you been? I saw you on the front page of the Daily Bugle."

J.D sighed and plopped down on the bed. She fiddled with her hands and avoided Wanda's gaze. "In all honesty, I've been pretty shit."

Wanda sat beside the younger girl and placed her hand on her knee. "What's wrong?"

J.D shrugged. "A few weeks ago it was my parent's death anniversary, I got suspended and I saw, uh, I saw Dr. Krüger."

Wanda's eyes widened and she clenched her jaw. "What? I didn't know he was still alive."

"Neither did I." J.D muttered, and finally looked up at her friend. "I'm scared Wanda, I don't think it was my imagination--it seemed too real to be fake. If he finds me and gets me again then it's over, I can't go through this all again."

"We'll protect you." Wanda began, and J.D buried her head in her hands.

"What about Mason? Herb?" She sighed deeply. "My friends? What if he's seen me with Peter? Michelle, Gwen? What if he does something to them? I don't want them to get hurt, not because of me."

Wanda pressed her lips together and leaned forward, pulling J.D into an embrace. J.D wrapped her arms around the older girl in silence. They stayed that way for a bit, before a knock on the door separated them both.

Clint Barton opened the door and smiled politely. "J.D, can you get together enough clothes to last a week? You'll need your toothbrush and passport too."

"You're lucky mine hasn't expired yet." The teen muttered and opened her beside table drawer, fishing out the booklet containing her information. "I'll be out in ten."

I. HAVE. BEEN. WAITING. MONTHS. TO. PUBLISH. THIS. FUCKING. CHAPTER. OH. MY. GOD.

HERE IT IS.

THE NEXT TWO CHAPTERS ARE ALSO PRE WRITTEN

BUT THEY ARE UNEDITED LMAO WHOOPS