Chapter 3: A Connection to Die For.

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(General P.O.V)

-Wanda-

She had failed.

No not failed. Sabotaged.

"The Avengers. They did this."

She muttered to herself.

'No!' Another part of her cried out in refusal. The Avengers were her friends!

Nat had taken her clothes shopping. Cap was like the older brother she and Pietro never had, Bruce had been cordial and welcoming, and despite being too talkative, Clint was an excellent cook. He'd whipped up some amazing meals that tasted homecooked. Different from the stuff the chefs Tony had in his employ served.

And speaking of Tony...underneath all that self righteous, arrogant demeanor was a hero. A good man.

'The same man responsible for your pain. He killed your parents and yet you consider him a friend. How naive.'

Another voice snidely butted in on her inner thoughts.

'No! Tony is my friend too. He wants to do the right thing.'

Her moral self countered.

'Right thing? Don't make me laugh. The only right thing to do is to kill them all and get your revenge. If that's too much, then find a way to bring Pietro back.'

"I can't kill them...I can't do it...and I can't bring Pietro back...i don't have the book anymore. I don't know where..."

She stopped. That was not exactly true...

Yes. She couldn't kill them. But that didn't mean she had to stay here. She could escape if she wanted.

Escape and then look for the book.

Besides, it's not like it was lost forever. She could still feel the connection between them. All she had to do was get off her ass and find it.

The door to her cell/room opened and in walked Nat and Steve. The latter was pushing in a trolley with food. Food that upon sniffing made her mouth water.

So, it was the soft approach then, huh? Evident by them sending in the two most reasonable and logical of the Avengers.

The two closest to her as well. Except for Vision, he...was easy to understand. More logical than Natasha and arguably easier to talk to than Steve.

"Hope you don't mind left over Casserole."

Steve said, moving towards the security pad on the side of her energy cell and without hesitation, he turned it off.

Wanda watched them both with a raised eyebrow, not failing to notice the way Natasha stood, her body angled in a position that would let her access her gun quickly.

Steve pushed the trolley into the cell, before sitting on the bed she was hovering above.

The Super Soldier sighed, staring at the floor between his feet.

"You know Wanda, no one can understand what you're going through."

He looked up at her, his blue eyes full of so much understanding, Wanda had to focus on something else. Like the connection between her and the book.

A connection that, now that she had enough time to feel it out, felt a touch different.

"...losing Pietro was devastating to all of us but to you, it was a nightmare. One that maybe you think you can't wake up from. But we're here Wanda. To talk, to shout at, we're here for you."

Steve concluded.

"Nice speech Cap."

Natasha added, walking inside the cell, her guard still up but less so.

"Where were you when Ultron filled him with bullets, turning my brother into a sieve?"

Wanda bitterly questioned.

The two Avengers stiffened somewhat at her cold tone.

"I was going to get him back. To undo all the suffering we have endured."

Wanda continued, anger leaking into her voice.

Steve shared a look with Natasha, before reluctantly turning to face the Scarlet Witch.

"Wanda, you killed two people...no matter how good or noble your intentions are...that is never right. Pietro would not have wanted that."

Red energy filled the room and in a chaotic burst of power, Steve's body was thrown onto the wall and held there.

"DO NOT SPEAK HIS NAME!"

Wanda yelled.

"YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT HE WOULD HAVE WANTED!"

The room quieted down, only for the click of a gun to resonate out.

"Put Cap down Wanda."

Natasha's calm voice trailed into Wanda's ears.

The latter blinked, coming to realization of what she was doing.

"It's o-okay Wanda...just, just breathe."

Steve told her in a strained voice, his throat and torso gripped in tendrils of her powers.

This was wrong. Cap and Nat were her friends. So what was she doing?

Wanda took a few unsteady steps back, only now noticing that she had stopped hovering above the bed and was on the floor beside it.

"I...I..."

She muttered, grabbing her head as her thoughts and emotions roiled about in a never ending cacophony of anger, grief and hatred.

Steeling herself, she pushed everything away into the only place she could, the connection with the book.

It somewhat became easier to think, causing her to release her hold on Steve, who landed on the ground smoothly. Although he was rubbing the skin of his neck.

"You alright there Cap?"

Natasha asked with concern, her gun still trained on Wanda.

"Yeah."

Steve replied,

"Put that away Nat. You're not shooting anyone, isn't that right Wanda?"

For her part, the Scarlet Witch seemed world's away, lost in thought.

Or rather, the voices that were back. One in particular- the loudest of them all was not even her own. It came from the shadows in the room. And before she could push it away, she stopped.

'It's a distraction, SHIELD is leaving with the book.'

The voice echoed.

She straightened up.

"I see now."

Wanda stated, her power leaking out of her body in waves of scarlet, causing the entire room to shake.

"Ah Cap, you might want to rethink that idea. I might not want to, but I will shoot her."

Natasha stated, moving backward with her finger ready to press on the trigger.

"Wanda, calm down."

Steve raised his hands in a show of no hostility.

"Whatever this is, we can work it out. We can fix things."

Wanda begun floating, her hair dancing behind her in waves.

"Wrong. There is no we. I see that now. We can't fix it, but I can Steve."

"Wanda! No!"

Cap yelled but it was too late, the Scarlet Witch spread out her hands and lashed out with her powers, producing a telekinetic wave that threw everything back.

The trolley with the food, the bed and matress were launched to the wall. The glass on the windows behind shattered and Natasha slammed on the wall outside the cell.

"Fuck! Code red! We need backup!"

Black Widow spoke into the earpiece on her, one hand held to her chest.

'2 cracked ribs.'

She swallowed the pain with practiced ease, not daring to divert her attention from her front.

Dust and smoke showered down from the ceiling, along with a bulb on the hallway flickering unstabily.

Wanda levitated out of the cell...with Steve hanging in the air next to her, bound in place by tendrils of her telekinesis.

"Don't make me shoot you Wanda. I don't want to hurt you."

Natasha warned.

"You already have Nat. I know this was a diversion for Shield to take away the book."

Wanda responded in an accusatory tone.

"You betrayed me. THAT BOOK IS THE ONLY WAY TO BRING PIETRO BACK!"

Her voice shook the whole corridor.

Both Women stared at one another, each unwilling to stand down.

"Think about this Wanda, the whole world will be after you. Shield, the Avengers."

Wanda raised her hand, a smile working it's way to her face.

"I say let them come. I'm done making the world happy, while I suffer. What's the use? What's the use of all this power if I can't use it to save my Family?!"

She demanded, a bolt of red energy leaving her palm and slamming into Falcon as he emerged from the end of the hallway.

Natasha used that opportunity and pulled the trigger.

The sound of a gunshot resonated across the corridor.

Natasha lowered her hand as a shocked expression appeared on her face.

The bullet had slammed right in the middle of Wanda's forehead, only to flatten against the shimmering red shield above her skin.

"Huh."

Wanda made a surprised noise.

"You actually went for the head. Natasha, I'm hurt. I thought we were friends."

She punctuated the statement by lashing out with a few bolts that Natasha rolled away from, evading the attacks that left holes on the wall.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

A series of more gunshots sounded out, each bullet aimed with precision, each failing to break Wanda's defense and falling to the floor.

Up until the gun clicked empty.

"Move out of the way, Nat."

Wanda told her.

"This is your last warning."

Natasha lowered the gun, eyes shifting from Wanda to Steve then back to Wanda.

"No."

She refused.

Wanda smiled.

"I was hoping you would say that."

She raised her hand, pointing it at the spy, with the fingers curled into the shape of a gun.

"Bang."

Wanda intoned.

Iron Man and Hawkeye burst into the hallway, just in time to see a red bolt of energy in the shape of a bullet blow apart Black Widow's head.

Her blood and brains painted the wall behind and for a few seconds, no one could breath out of shock. The sound of her body dropping to the ground was especially loud, and served to wake them out of their stupor.

"YOU FUCKING BITCH!"

Hawkeye finally lost it, grabbed an arrow, notched it and sent it flying toward Wanda.