Wanda Maximoff

“psh,” clint waves a hand, laughing to himself. “you’ve had your coming of age, wanda. you don’t count as a kid anymore. i may be an old man, but that just makes you nearly an old woman, remember.” then clint’s eyes narrow. “dammit.” he mutters. “i’m gonna have to get her back for that one, the little-” then he catches himself. mid-life crisis. given the life expectancy of anyone in his occupation, he figures he’s well overdue for a mid-life crisis. the thought makes him laugh. “careful, wanda, or one day you’ll have convinced me, and i’ll be gone forever. disappeared without a trace.” then he scowls yet again. “i do not go to bed at eight!” he scoffs, “it’s like, nine-thirty at the earliest.”

but who decides when i’m needed? what if they don’t call me, and something… something happens. i wouldn’t be able to live with myself. he admits, looking downwards in a mixture of guilt and embarrassment. good. then he tries for a smile, places a hand on her forearm. it’s hard. when barney died… well, that’s a different story. but i know it’s hard to know how to move on.

“nah, i only fought some robots. i think a real coming of age is fighting aliens. once those guys come, then i’ll be an old woman just like you.” well she would rather not fight aliens right now, but maybe later. her only skill in this fight would be running away from them. “i won’t ever say what she sent though, so you can’t get her back. most likely she won’t even give you the chance.” wanda only had brief interactions with kate, but she adored the younger woman. she was good for clint, kept him young and hip with the kids. “oh yeah nine thirty is so late. you and your old man coffee are the only way you make it that late.” she teased. really clint just opened him up for this.

          kate let out a laugh, ❝right❞ she said shaking her head, feeling silly for a second, ❝although i’ll have you know there was a wanda in my kindergarten class❞ in the world of the rich and powerful kids either had classic names like katherine elizabeth, or new wave names, it wasn’t such a far fetch idea that one of kate’s former classmates would’ve been named wanda. ❝oh thank you, you are gonna make blush. i do have to say that putting up with clint is only one of my many talents❞ kate said fighting the need to squee at wanda calling her part of the team. ❝so where are you currently staying?❞ they had to hang out.

“Huh, I never thought it was a popular name. Then again, I can’t believe Edith was ever a popular name so.” Sovikia did have lots of common names, like Kate. Then again, there were lots of parts of the world she hadn’t traveled to. “Putting up with Clint is a super power, to be completely honest. Haven’t quite mastered that one myself, my brother was far better at it. Who knew Clint, the old man, doesn’t like being called an old man?” She was going to offer him a cane once, but she wasn’t fully sure he wouldn’t try and hit her with it. “I got an apartment over in Brooklyn. Stupidly expensive, but there aren’t a lot of cops in the area.”

LOCATION:// safe house training room

“Again,” breathes natasha as she pulls wanda back up to her feet. they have been training for a few days now; starting early with cardio and ending the day with hand-to-hand combat. wanda is catching on fairly quickly, but they’ve only just brushed the surface of what she needs to know in order to be an effective fighter. “remember, aim for the legs. catch me off balance. it’ll buy you time to run or throw another punch depending on the situation.” she’s sore and her muscles ache, but it’s a good kind of ache. the kind that comes from genuine hard work. “you keep this up and you might be learning the thighs of death soon,” she replies with a lopsided grin. // @enhanced-scarlet

wanda let natasha pull her up, before resting her hands on her thighs and taking a deep breath. “you know, when i agreed to training i thought it would be easier.” she forced herself to get back into her fighting stance, when really all she wanted was was to take a long nap. her previous training included lots of mediation and focusing on objects. this was far harder, and her whole body hurt doing this. she nodded her head. she went for a swipe at nat’s legs, but was too slow to actually connect. probably was for the best. “i don’t think i’ll ever be ready for the thighs of death. plus, it wouldn’t exactly be fair of me to steal your best move. might be time to pull a clint and just stay in high places where no one comes for you.”

“i meant biased towards their kids over someone elses, and you know it.” clint protests, pouting a little. “kate probably sends you enough photos of herself that i don’t have to, so. that’s that on that.” he knows she’s just messing with him, and even still: he gets protective of kate. then her words draw out a fit of laughter from clint, he leans backwards, body booming with the noise, chest heaving as amusement escapes him. the tone of her voice, the ridiculousness of a couple more alien attacks. because yeah, that’s what his life has come to. “i just figure i’m a little young to run away from the city quite yet.” then he shrugs. “only when it comes to food. and his walks with katie. he’d learn to live with a few more around.” clint smiles even though he knows she’s right. he’ll probably never retire. “you’d best respect my sleep. that’s your only warning.” he taps his nose. “i’ll get him to get in touch.”

you know. steve, nat, the whole team… the young avengers, too. that’s enough for someone to let something slip. or have it tortured out of them. or… they’d need me. i can’t stand by, not before my body fails me. he could never be normal. no matter how much he’d love to. oh, i doubt they will catch you… but still, stay careful. then sadness creeps back into clint’s heart. pietro. her brother, her twin, lost forever. i understand. sorry, for… pushing you.

“excuses excuses. thought i was your favourite kid, guess becoming a swamp witch puts me out of the running for that one.” clint was only like 4 years older, but that wasn’t going to stop wanda from calling him an old man. the opportunity was just too great. “she does, but most of the photos she sends are embarrassing ones of you.” she had missed teasing clint, it made her feel more relaxed, more at home. his laugh reminded her of everything she had left behind. “nah, you’re the perfect age for a midlife crisis. those can involve running off and hiding in the woods, really it’s quite fun.” she still needed to meet lucky, and she had full intentions of trying to steal him away for a day or two. pamper the dog with a spa day or something, since she couldn’t convince the others to go with him. “if you didn’t go to bed at like 8pm we wouldn’t have these problems. change your bedtime.” she smiled, committing to memory that she shouldn’t wake him unless it was an emergency.  she couldn’t promise what was going to constitute an emergency however.

“yeah, i do,” clint agrees, shrugging. “and yeah, i’m biased. parents would be biased towards their kids, i’m biased towards the only two things in my life that mean anythin’: lucky, and kate. ain’t nothin’ wrong with that.” and while he truly believes that kate is the best archer in the world - or she will be, some day - he doesn’t see anything wrong with his bias. it’s never kept him from doing his job. it’s never been a problem, not at all. hell, it’s only made him better, in his opinion. again, probably biased, but what the hell. “i just want to save the world a couple more times, then go retire to a… a cabin, in the woods somewhere. hunt for a living. with no one but me and lucky, kate sometimes. natasha. you can visit, if you want. i would like to get some goddamn sleep by the time i’m forty.” he rolls his shoulders. they’ve felt tighter, recently, more than ever before. he’s aging. “maybe it’s steve you should get a passport for first, then.”

clint shrugs. anyone and everyone’s a target. especially if you’ve been invisible for a while. especially now… you’re a symbol of them winning, if they find out about your powers. he can’t help seeing the downside of it - of everything. but i have the bow and arrow - i could steal from tony, become a real robin hood. he smiles, but it’s sad. we’ve got to keep hold of something.

“parent’s aren’t supposed to be biased, they’re supposed to love all their children equally. you never send me photos of kate. clearly lucky is the fave child. i’m telling kate that next time i see her.” wanda was just teasing clint, she knew he cared a bunch about the two. you don’t exactly allow someone else to use your name if you didn’t trust them. it takes lots of time to pick a good name, especially if it’s going to be in the press a ton. hawkeye was a fantastic one when it came down to it. “oh only a couple more times? just like two or three more alien attacks. if you get a cabin, you’ll have more room for dogs though. is lucky the jealous type?” settling down in a forest sounded amazing, and if she didn’t end up getting her powers back, she might go do that. take up knitting or something to support her income. “if you keep us as friends i doubt you’ll get sleep before you’re forty. no way would we leave you alone enough for that. i would have to find steve first, he’s a slippery guy these days.”

Steve chuckles softly and shakes his head. “Not lately, you know that.” She’s right, though - they’ve managed just fine without Tony and his help. While Steve is sure they can continue doing so - he also knows.. in the face of a threat like this, they will be stronger and better together. He can only hope that Tony will see things the same way, but if not - they’ll manage. “We’ll figure it out, one way or another. It’s not like we’re completely alone.” He knows where Wanda’s coming from, really - in a lot of ways, she’s one of the few people who might truly understand how startling it can be, to see the way people spend their money these days. “It’s definitely hard to get used to. I’m not even entirely adjusted to it, after all these years.” He raises an eyebrow at her comment, shrugging a shoulder. “Not that much. I’m unrecognisable enough like this - I don’t want that to change any time soon.”

clint grins. “well yeah, he’s a pretty boy, lucky is. i can’t help it if he loves the camera.” but she’s not wrong: the dog’s his best friend, his partner. has been for a long while, now. since he left the team. and really, lucky helps. not just with his hearing, but with the loneliness, too. “i don’t want a cat. lucky’s enough, even if i gotta share him with katie. besides, he could never get to the coffee.” clint smiles, trying to show wanda that he’s fine. it’s her they should be worrying about, if they have to worry at all. she’s the one who’s a fugitive. she’s the one who lost her powers. and yet, she’s still thinking about him. “and for some reason, they’re all insanely hot. it’s unfair, wanda!” he jokes, knowing full well he’s not exactly the best human being for saying the things he does. then he places his hand over his heart. “what an incredible honor. i will cherish my citizenship for as long as i shall live.”

then he shakes his head. as long as i’m around, i swear to you that i’m not gonna let that happen. those close-minded bastards will never lock you up. okay? he promises. i’ll find you whatever money you need. i’ll do whatever it takes. this problem’s bigger than them, if banner’s right about what’s coming. then he sighs. hope, wanda. you gotta hold onto it. that’s all we got left, y’know.

wanda rolled her eyes. “i think you just like to brag about lucky, he is a cute dog don’t get me wrong, but i have definitely seen cuter.” a possibly lie, but not like it mattered. eventually, she would end up getting to play with lucky, and tell him he was the best dog ever. “cats are great though, they can help you plot to take you over the world. who doesn’t want that?” if clint got a cat, she would never leave his apartment. she wanted a cat, but it didn’t work out with having to run at any given moment. plus a cat could fit in his lap a bit more comfortably as opposed to a dog. “its the outfits, i guarantee it. maybe we should switch to all black looks, could help us distract them.” wanda was lucky, in the fact the only villain she had really fought was ultron, and he was a robot. fighting the rest of the avengers didn’t count, they were friends just having an argument. she let out a laugh. “i’ll see what i can do about getting you a passport, and they don’t have an extradition treaty with the u.s.”

“Well we’d probably have to talk to Tony about that - and I don’t see that happening any time soon.” Steve says, his smile fading a little. God knows when they’ll even be on speaking terms again, never mind working together on just about anything the way they used to. Granted, they were never the best of friends - but Steve had wanted to hope. And hope hadn’t ended well for them. “Oh I’ve seen it already. Look - there’s a lot of great stuff about the world now, but I’m never gonna be over how expensive it all is.” Side effect of living through the depression - Steve’s just never going to get used to spending money. “How’re you holding up out here?”

“Alright.” Johnny throws another piece into his mouth, chuckling a little. “I wouldn’t be surprised if you were right.” It seems this event was bringing out a lot of people which could be dangerous, but he was going to try being optimistic. 

clint shrugs. he’s learned, over the last few years, that things tend to be better when attention is diverted away from himself. and he’s very, very good at drawing it away. he’s even better at self-deprecation. “lucky, again, is in much better care with katie than with me. so he loves her a hell of a lot more. or at least he should.” her dig at him brings back an old grin, then he puffs his chest out. “i could see them, they could see me - besides, i had more of a habit of developing an affection for the girls i was working with. and against.” iowa. it all seems to come back to iowa, always. it tires clint. sure, that was wheere he was made… but he’s spent the rest of his life trying to forget it. “well, some old coloniser thought that was what the native people there called themselves, or somethin’. i don’t get to pick the name of where i’m from.” he replies.

all clint can respond to that is to nod. i know. well, i don’t know - but we’re going to find out. everyone wants - no, needs - to find out what caused it. and no matter what our divides are… well, the whole world of superheroes and ex-superheroes is gonna help you. clint chews the inside of his cheek. we can hope for peace, wanda. we have to.

“now i don’t believe that. i swear if you had sent me one more dog photo mhari was going to take it away from me.” she did lose her phone, but that was because she fled very quickly, not because she lost privileges. “how about we get you a cat then? they’re pretty easy to care for, and won’t try and steal your coffee?” really she just didn’t like the thought of clint being alone. if wanda got her powers back, there would be a chance she was going to have to leave again. “we all have our weaknesses, can’t exactly say i blame you. we do end up facing a lot of women.”  she wasn’t going to hold clint back from happiness. if it so happened to be a villian, then it is what it is. “you can be an honourary sokovian native. doesn’t mean much these days, but you can still have one.” most of the country was destroyed, but the people still existed. 

had it not been for harley’s interest in the festival, the likelihood of ivy’s attendance would’ve been little to none. in a way, it was similar to gotham, sure, but had she ever actually liked being in the city part of gotham ? this concrete jungle where dreams are made of was borderline abhorrent. snapped out of her spell by a fairly familiar voice, she pivoted to face wanda –– not necessarily a good one ( it was hard to be a good one ), but not a loathsome one either. “ well, i’ve never really been one for concrete and steel, ” she remarked. she couldn’t understand why so many songs were written about new york… now, she really had to restrain herself from going off on a tangent about how wrong it was to be selling ‘live’ plants. was it better than overdosing them with pesticides and then selling them ? sure, but was it still wrong in its very own right ? in that, if not bought and re-buried almost as soon as they were uprooted, they were destined to die ? definitely wrong in its very own right… but she ‘wasn’t supposed to make a scene.’

“ i’d suggest the snowdrop, ” she noted, pointing towards one of the bulb flowers they were selling. “ they’re pretty easy to take care of –– they don’t need much sunlight and it is about to be april. ” april showers bring may flowers ! now, her plan for not ‘causing a scene,’ while simultaneously saving whatever plants wanda didn’t buy for herself, was simple: take all of them.

“can’t say i blame you there. it is a rather ugly city. no one needs buildings that are this tall.” if aliens would attack anywhere else, wanda would refuse to come here. it was nothing like the towns she had grown up in. there were just too many buildings, and not enough space to just enjoy. the people who lived in the city were exceptionally rude too. they would bump into you and keep walking, not caring if you were okay or not. “if they didn’t have central park, really this whole place would be intolerable.”  central park was her safe haven. it was the closest thing to scotland she would find here. she missed the wide open forests, and the freedom it held. here she was trapped, with nothing really to do except stay on a grind.

“are you sure i won’t kill it? i wanted to put it in that big bed i have in the kitchen, but it looks like it would do better in a pot.” really wanda just wanted as many plants as possible, but starting small was probably better. if it was a plant she could find a home for if she suddenly had to leave. “if they flower, all the better. are there any you want? i still have one of tony’s cards lying around.”

His hand tosses some popcorn into his mouth, leaning against a booth as he was people watching. He turns his gaSe over as Wanda approaches him so he offers up the large container to her. “You want some? I’m just observing — look at that costume over there!” He says pointing vaguely into the crowd. [ @enhanced-scarlet ]

“oi!” he protests, but it’s half hearted, and he’s laughing. “katie’s not in my fan club. if anythin’ i’m in hers. kid’s far more promising than i ever was. more disciplined, too. i lost sight of the big picture every time i saw a pretty girl, y’know.” his smile stays glued to his face, even when she jokes again about his past. “none of those assholes made it out of iowa, i promise you that. plus, i’d kick their asses. showmen, they were. nothin’ more.” he reaches for her hands, and takes them. a sadness drips from his eyes - not tears, but guilt. pain. he looks at her, looks for her eyes, and squeezes her hands between his, just once. then he lets go. i’m so sorry. we’re gonna figure it all out. we’re gonna make sure you’re okay. and he will, if it’s the last thing he does. everyone who lost their powers. nobody deserved that. i hope it’s just protestors. that’s all i can hope for.

“Oh well, this is just embarrassing, right?” Steve laughs softly, glancing over at Wanda. Her disguise is enough to fool anyone who’s not really looking close enough - and at an event like this, no one really will be - but Steve recognises her anyway. It seems they’ve all brought back the same outfit when it comes to staying hidden as much as they can manage in a crowd like this. “God - please don’t say that again, I’m still not exactly over how expensive coffee is these days. Or hipsters. I can get behind how much better a lot of things are but I definitely don’t get hipsters.”