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wandamaximoff12-blog · 8 years ago

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Chapter 6: Unrealized Power

I had trouble sleeping that night, thinking about what I had been told. It was disturbing, creepy, and just wrong. Things always seem creepier in the night when you are in bed thinking about them, but this was creepy no matter how or when you thought about it. I couldn't bring myself to tell Elliott, who was the only person I was permitted to disclose this information to. Not that the Avengers have much authority over me, but I agreed it was best if this information stayed completely classified.

“You're not going to tell anyone this,” Tony had ordered me.

“You can tell your brother,” Cap added.

“Not anyone,” Stark repeated as if Cap hadn't spoken.

“If you feel the need to tell him, then by all means. But no one else,” Cap continued.

And they continued to contradict each other for a while. But before I left, Cap had pulled me aside and spoke to me in a low voice,

“If you think your brother should know....,”

I stopped him, “I don't think anyone should know about this until the time is right,”

Steve, for some reason, always understood my relationship with Elliott, which I really appreciated. Despite our differences, we had an unspoken mutual respect for each other. And that was it, no words needed to be exchanged.

Cap had nodded and told me to stay alert.

* * *

The next morning I woke up very late with quite a few urgent and annoyed texts from Elliott. Remembering that he had invited Kanani over to his house, I quickly took a shower and left for his house. Despite what Elliott had told me to do, I drove back to my apartment after I left Avengers tower, bringing Elliott’s truck with me. I just really didn't feel like being around more people, even my brother. But I didn't feel very bad about it, it was Elliott’s fault if he had actually expected me to follow his orders.

The minute I walked in the door, Elliott grabbed my arm and dragged me into the living room, all while giving me a where-have-you-been look.

“Late as usual,” Kanani greeted me with a hug.

Kanani looked only slightly different from when I last saw her. She still had her abnormally long, brown hair. She still had her usual flower pinned on the side of her head, and her dark skin and dark eyes. She also still had her Hawaiian accent and bright smile. But somehow she seemed older and more mature.

She sat back down on the sofa next to Anya who was holding Lillia on her lap.

“So, you brought my truck back to your apartment,” Elliott acknowledged before anyone could say anything else.

“How are you doing, Kanani?” I asked, ignoring Elliott.

“Oh, I'm great. I’m really loving school,” Kanani replied.“But what happened to your car?” She added.

“It might have been totaled in a battle with an alien army,” I explained.

Kanani laughed. “I heard about that. And Elliott was OK with you fighting those things?”

While Elliott went into a long rant about how he trusted me and how he wasn't as overprotective as I make him out to be, I studied Kanani. Something was wrong. Something felt really wrong about her. I couldn't understand it, everything she said was a lie. I can tell when people lie, and that's all she was doing. I wondered what was wrong with her. She wasn't happy at school? She hadn't heard about the alien invasion? I convinced myself I was wrong and tried to focus on something else.

* * *

After lunch, Kanani left, but said she'd be back sometime soon. Elliott immediately pulled me upstairs into his dark bedroom and shut the door.

“So what was the news?” He asked me immediately.

It took me a minute to understand what he was talking about.

“Oh, yeah. The Avengers. It was nothing important,” I lied easily.

Elliott narrowed his bright blue eyes at me.

“Anything....... I should know about?” He probed.

“No. Just filling me in on some stuff,” I responded, getting a little uncomfortable.

Elliott sighed. “You're leaving something out,”

“And I bet I've got absolutely no reason at all to do so,” I remarked sarcastically.

Elliott looked like he wanted to say more, but dropped it.

“Did you notice how weird Kanani seemed?” He changed the subject.

I nodded and looked around the dark bedroom. On the wall opposite the bed there was a white dresser with lots of junk on top of it. I walked over to it and picked up a framed photograph that had fallen over. It was an old picture of me and Elliott. I looked about eight, and we're standing in front of an ocean. Elliott was hugging me extremely tightly, and I looked slightly annoyed, but still I was smiling.

“Yeah, she seemed more mature and important then I remember,” Elliott went on, not paying any attention to what I was doing.

I stared at the photograph for a little while, not listening to Elliott at all. I started wondering about who had taken the picture. Then I remembered. It was my dad who took it. My mom had to stand beside him making faces trying to make us laugh or smile. I slammed the photograph down on the dresser so hard that the glass cracked.

Elliott stopped mid-sentence and stared at me. He glanced down at the photograph.

“Sorry,” I muttered.

Elliott walked over to where I was standing and picked up the picture. He stared at the cracked glass for minute before looking up at me.

“What's wrong?” He asked gently.

That was my brother for you. I could take his car, I could ignore him all day, I could lie to him, and break his stuff. But he won't be mad, all he’ll do is ask what's wrong in concern for me. It had been a while since I'd cried, and I wasn't going to break that streak now. But I was definitely close. I walked over to Elliott’s and Anya’s bed and lay down on it. I covered my face with my hands and groaned. It was all too much. I’m having nightmares (more like memories) every night, I felt totally guilty for the way I've been treating my brother, I'm worried about Kanani and also very confused, and then the Skrulls. What was I supposed to do about them? Why, when the Avengers told me about them, did they look at me as if I knew how to deal with it? I have no idea!

“Mal, I want to help you,” Elliott insisted earnestly.

“I know Ell. It's just.... A lot,” I replied shakily.

“What, the picture?” Elliott asked confusedly.

I almost laughed. What a weird mood I was in.

“I want to burn it,” I responded with a lot more fierceness then I intended.

“I honestly don't understand that, Mal,” Elliott remarked, sitting down on the bed beside me. “What's wrong with it?”

“Everything. I hate it,”

Now I knew I was scaring Elliott with the fierceness in my voice. So I sat up and sighed.

“I just don't want to think about it,”

“Really? I like those memories,” Elliott replied, putting his arm around me.

I really did laugh then. I didn't feel remotely better, but I found it amusing how different Elliott and I were. I wished right then that I could tell him everything. I wasn't sure why I was holding back, but no one really seemed to get it. Because I didn't give them the chance. I just couldn't get myself to say anything about the Scrulls or about Kanani or about my nightmares. The best I could do would be to apologize to Elliott for being such a jerk to him. But whatever words I could come up with would just sound really empty. So I sat there, leaning on Elliott for a while, and hoping beyond hope that I wouldn't get another call from the Avengers. Ever.

* * *

The next day, I woke up in Elliott’s spare bedroom which I had kind of adopted over the years. Lillia had woken all of us up in the middle of the night crying and screaming her head off more than once. So we were all very exhausted, which didn't improve my mood.

“I thought she'd grow out of this by now,” Anya remarked, sipping her coffee.

“She will eventually,” Elliott replied, closing his laptop and shoving it into his bag.

“Ell, can you bring me Starbucks?” I asked from the kitchen table.

“No, Mal, I've gotta go to work,” Elliott responded, checking the time on his smartphone.

“Fine. Leave your truck so I can go,”

Elliott glanced at me over the counter. “OK. Anya, I'm taking your car,” he kissed Lillia and headed for the door.

I thanked him and went back upstairs to the spare bedroom. I went through the closet where I leave half of my clothes. The other half are at my apartment, which isn't really convenient. After I changed into a navy blue hoodie and a pair of jeans, I stood in front of the mirror and looked at the huge disaster that was my hair. I hadn't combed it since the day before and it was tangled and greasy. I tried to pull a comb through the tangles, but only ended up pulling large amounts of hair off my head and swearing loudly. Completely giving up, I chucked the comb across the room and decided to pull it up into a knot on top of my head. It still looked like a huge mess, but it was the best I could do with what I had. Before I left, however, Anya offered to help me with my hair. She had gone to beauty school and even worked at a salon for a while before marrying Elliott. I refused her offer, though, not wanting to have my hair combed again.

I was sitting in Elliott’s truck drinking my Starbucks coffee, when my phone started ringing. Dreading what it said, I reached for it in my pocket and saw:

Incoming call: Stark

I groaned loudly and wondered if I shouldn't answer it. I debated myself in my head. Eventually I came to the conclusion that I'd have to talk to him someday. So why not get it over with?

“We’ve got some new information I think you'll be interested in,” Tony informed me immediately.

“Information? OK, what is it?” I asked slowly.

“Come down here and we’ll tell you,”

“What? Why can you not just tell me it over the phone?” I demanded.

“Just get down here ASAP,” Tony responded.

“Thats not--” I started, but Stark had already hung up.

“What the heck....,” I muttered.

* * *

“So what is this new information about the Skrulls?” I asked Tony.

Him and I were down in the lab in the Avengers tower. He was working on his suit. I had no idea where the other Avengers were.

“There is no new information about the skrulls. The new information is about you,” Stark replied.

“Oh, wonderful. This should be great,” I commented sarcastically.

Tony glanced at me sideways. “I think we should wait for Cap for this one, he's the one who told us,”

So I sat on the counter grumpily, watching Tony do work on his Iron Man suit for a while. I was actually very curious as to what information they had found out about me. I was also relieved we weren't talking about the skrulls anymore. I thought about the stuff I knew and the stuff I had done that I didn't want the Avengers to know. That was a long list. Most of it, though, SHIELD knew. Because SHIELD knows everything. So if this new information was actually important, it most likely came from them.

After about twenty minutes, Cap finally came downstairs, he looked surprised when he saw me. This was the first time I'd seen him not wearing his Captain America suit. He was wearing jeans and a brown leather jacket.

“Hey,” I greeted him.

“Hi,” he replied.

And then we stood there awkwardly in silence for a few moments.

“So?” I looked at Tony who didn't even seem to notice that Cap had walked in.

He didn't even look up from his suit.

“Cap’s the one with the info,” he informed me.

“Well, can one of you tell me what all this is about?” I asked, annoyed.

After another few silent moments, Cap began talking.

“Look, Mallory, there is stuff you haven't told us,”

“Um, yeah,” I agreed.

“We found out some of this stuff recently,” Steve continued.

Now I was getting nervous and wished he'd get to the point. I thought back to all the things in my past I hoped would remain secret. All the things that even Elliott didn't know. All the things I've been wanting to forget for years.

“Can you or can you not look into people’s minds like some witch?” Tony, who had looked up from his suit demanded suddenly.

I was taken aback. This wasn't at all what I was expecting. And I almost laughed, I was so relieved.

“Oh, um. Is that really important?” I inquired, not really sure how to reply.

“Mallory, do you have any idea how valuable that could be?” Stark exclaimed.

The honest answer to that question was “no”. But I didn't want to admit that. Luckily, Cap stepped in.

“We’re not going to pressure you to do anything you're not comfortable with,”

“Comfort shouldn't be considered when we are this close to another invasion!” Stark shouted.

“Something worse than an invasion could go down if we force her to do something she doesn't want to or can not do,” Cap retorted.

And I wondered if he had read the news articles that were insisting I was out of control.

“Oh, well, if America’s Golden Boy doesn't think we should then maybe we shouldn't,” Stark responded sarcastically.

Tony and Cap kept going back and forth until I finally stepped in.

“OK, OK. I get it. You don't want me to destroy the planet. Don't worry, I won't,” I assured the two of them. “What makes you think I can ‘look into people's minds’?”

Cap and Tony looked at each other.

“SHIELD,” was the predictable answer from both of them.

“Interesting,” I replied.

And it really is was. So they had read my SHIELD file. What else did they know?

“I've never really done anything like that before,” I admitted.

Once again, Stark and Cap looked at each other.

“.....but you can?” Steve inquired.

I sighed and looked around for a distraction or a change of subject or anything to save me from answering. But nothing came.

“Yes,”

And then came the looks of shock. Tony looked a little freaked out and took a step back. Cap looked away suddenly and let out a breath.

“The truth is, I can. But I never have and I don't want to,” I continued.

“Just imagine......,” Tony muttered after a little while.

Imagine what? Was my first thought. But then an ugly thought came to mind. A thought of me controlling people’s minds and seeing inside them. A thought of me with an army of vulnerable humans who were under my mind spell. I tried to shake that thought. A fear that I've had for ages.

“I'm not,” I stated loudly. “I'm not doing it. I can't,”

“You just said you could,” Tony accused me.

“Yes, I’m able. But I can't get myself to do it!” I replied.

“You mean you won't,” was Stark’s response.

I was shocked at the accuracy of it. But I was getting angry.

“Like if you could you'd want to!” I shot back.

“If it saved the world, I wouldn't think twice!”

I was so angry I could've smacked him right there. But I didn't. How dare he? How very dare he? Didn't he understand? Sure, controlling minds seems like the easy way to save the world, but didn't he understand the fear that came with it? The fear that you might screw up and kill someone by mistake. The fear that you may actually have that creepy and unrealized power inside of you all along. The fear that maybe you won't be able to control yourself after you realize that power and that maybe you are becoming the enemy in the process. Of course he didn't understand any of that. You can't understand it unless you're feeling it yourself.

“I'm not going to. You don't get it,”

My voice was shaky and it took me a minute to realize what was wrong with what I said. I had said it in Spanish.

Completely defeated, I groaned, took one last look at their confused faces, and ran upstairs and out of the building as fast as I could.

* * *

I drove back to my apartment and I lay down on my bed. What an awful day. And it was only 2:30pm. Now I knew why they had expected me to know how to take care of the Skrulls. They thought I could control minds. Which, I guess they were right. But I'd never in a million years try to. And I couldn't even explain why to myself. I was just afraid I guess.

I did very little for the next few hours. But at around 6:00pm Elliott called me.

“Anya said you didn't come back from Starbucks. Where are you?” Elliott asked.

“At my apartment,”

“Ah. Um, are you doing OK?”

And I knew he was thinking about yesterday when I smashed his picture and came very close to tears and never explained myself. I thought about the question and wondered how I should answer it. I didn't want to lie to Elliott anymore, but I didn't want him to worry. And if I told him the truth, wouldn't he need to hear the whole truth? All of it?

“No,” was my honest reply.

There was a pause on the other end and then,

“I'm coming over, Mal. Don't go anywhere,”

I wasn't sure if I was relieved or just more worried. How much would I have to tell him? And why...... why did I feel so alone even though there are many people in my life who could help me through all these problems? Maybe Elliott and Kanani didn't know anything about my powers or about the Skrulls, but I could certainly have talked it over with the Avengers. And maybe the Avengers didn't know anything about me missing my parents, and my fear of the past, or my nightmares, but Elliott and Kanani could definitely help. So why did I feel like I was all alone against all of these problems?

Maybe now is when I should open up a little to the people in my life, starting with Elliott.

Twenty minutes later, Elliott pulled up in front of my apartment and knocked on my door. The minute I opened it, he handed me a bag of take-out from Chipotle, sat me down on the couch and asked me what was wrong.

So I explained.

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wandamaximoff12-blog · 8 years ago

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Chapter 5: Night Off

I was four years old the first time that I lost control. I remember being very upset or angry at Elliott. But I don't remember why. I remember feeling enormous amounts of energy and power. But it was scary not being able to control or contain the power. And I remember feeling the energy and power release only slightly, the rest was held in. A burst of blue, and everything and everyone in the area had been shot back at least a few yards away from me. Everyone was shocked, confused, and scared. But no one was more surprised or nervous than I was. It was scary to think that had only been a fraction of what I could do. What if I had released all my energy and power? What would have happened? I was frightened of my power at first, but over time, I learned to control it in small amounts and it became part of who I was as a person. Only a few people witnessed that event when I was four, and somehow, dad managed to smooth it over with them. No one even seemed to remember what I had done. However, one year later, a similar incident took place. This time it was in front of the whole neighborhood. So we moved. No one asked any questions and no one blamed me. We stayed in our new neighborhood for a few years before I accidentally sent two little boys from Elliott’s school to the hospital. No story needed there except that they had been sending Elliott home with bruises for a few weeks before I had had enough. I was only eight, though, and this scared my parents. The school called it an accident, and everything seemed like it was going to be OK. But when I demolished half of our house on accident, we moved again. This time, we moved much farther. Mom said that we had kind of made a “name for ourselves” in our general area. How general that area was, I didn't know until we were in Hawaii. This time, I was determined to not let another accident move our family again. My dad used to talk to me all the time about my powers and he told me that I had inherited them from him, but I had never seen him use them in my life. He told me I had to do my best to control myself, and to not let the power “overtake me”. And so I did as he said. And usually, I lose control when I'm feeling a large amount of emotion. So I kept my emotions and my powers under control for the next eight years of my life.

* * *

One year after the battle with the Chitauri, in the middle of March, I was sitting in Elliott's living room with Elliott who was holding Lillia in his arms.

“So are you available tonight or not?” Elliott asked me, holding the one-year-old up above his head to distract her from crying.

“I already told you I don't know!” I replied.

I was on my laptop going through news articles. One of them caught my eye, “Mallory Jackson-- The Indigo Witch: Why the media is unconvinced” I couldn't help myself, I clicked it, but cringed at the superhero codename the media had given me.

“How can you not know?” Elliott persisted. “What might you be doing?”

“Gosh, Ell, I don't know,” I snapped.

I didn't mean to say it so nastily, it just came out that way. I was tired of being asked for favors and being told to do things. I just needed a little bit of time to relax.

I looked up from my computer screen guiltily. But Elliott didn't look the least bit offended or hurt by my tone, he just raised his eyebrows at me.

“OK, the truth is, I just need a night off,” I spoke a little more softly.

Elliott smiled, satisfied. “That's exactly what I had in mind,” he smirked. “Let's get dinner or something, alright?”

“Fine. But nothing too fancy,” I warned.

“Sure,” Elliott agreed.

I looked back down at my computer screen and saw that the article had loaded. It looked very long, and I didn't feel like reading the whole thing, so I just skimmed it. And a few phrases jumped out at me.

“.........Dangerous.......... out of control.......... No respect for public property whatsoever......... Given the chance, she could destroy the city...........,”

I sighed. Usually, what the media said hardly ever affected me in any sort of way. But I didn't like how accurate and truthful this article seemed. Because whether I admitted it or not, I was more powerful than I could handle. It wasn't very hard to see why the media was so skeptical and negative towards me.

I turned and saw that Elliott had moved towards me on the sofa and was reading the article over my shoulder. His lips formed the words soundlessly. He looked up at me when he finished, his eyes filled with concern. It had been a while since I'd seen that look from him. These days, he hasn't been too worried about my safety. This was different though, he was concerned for me in a completely different way.

“Don't believe a word of that crap, Mal,” he ordered.

I laughed it off easily. “I don't. But they're trying really hard, aren't they?”

Elliott had Lillia on his lap facing him. He looked at me sternly as the baby’s hands pulled at his curly hair.

“Yes, because that is what the media does. They try as hard as they can to find negativity in everything,”

“Yeah, I kinda make their job easy for them, don't I?” I mumbled.

Elliott pulled Lillia’s hands away from his hair and looked at me sternly again. He also looked concerned and like he needed me to understand something. Before he spoke, though, he looked like he changed his mind on what he was going to say and instead looked confused for a moment.

“You used to be confident. What happened?” He asked me.

And this wasn't a rhetorical question, he actually wanted an answer. I immediately felt uncomfortable and totally disordered. We usually didn't talk like this. I didn't know how to reply.

“I'm confident,”

But I realized that I was speaking Spanish the moment I said it. Elliott and I learned Spanish growing up, Puerto Rico being where we were raised for part of our lives. But we studied English once we moved to Hawaii. When I'm not thinking or if I'm upset about something I'll often speak Spanish because it was my first language. It's always a mistake, though, and Elliott finds it very amusing.

This time though, he only made a small smile and turned his attention back to his daughter. I felt like he had just won an argument we were having. But we weren't arguing, were we? And if we had been arguing, I would've been the winner, right?

“Why don't we talk about something else, alright?” Elliott suggested.

He was now talking in Spanish as well.

“Fine with me,” I replied in Spanish easily.

I exited the article on my computer, and looked for something else on the Internet to distract me.

“You know, I saw Kanani yesterday at the University. She said she was visiting from Boston for a few weeks. I invited her over for tomorrow,” Elliott informed me.

When he said the University, I knew he was talking about NYU where he worked as a calculus professor.

“I haven't seen her since I accidentally broke her wrist last Christmas,” I chuckled.

“You've talked to her though? And apologized?”

Well, now we were just having a conversation in Spanish, and I had no idea why.

“Of course, Ell. Stop worrying about everything,” I sighed as I clicked on another article about myself.

Elliott eyed my laptop screen and then sighed as well. “Stay away from that stuff, will you?”

* * *

“How late are you two going to be out?” Anya asked Elliott as we were heading for the door later that night.

“I don't know. Mallory is hard to predict sometimes,” Elliott replied as if I wasn't in the room.

“Right here,” I informed him, but he ignored me.

“Just, if anything happens or you want me home for whatever reason, call me, alright?” Elliott kissed his wife and headed out the door behind me.

“OK. So where are we going?” Elliott asked me once we were in his Chevrolet truck.

“Chipotle,” I answered immediately.

“No, I've been to Chipotle enough times to last me a lifetime. Think of somewhere else,” Elliott begged.

But after driving around Queens for half an hour we ended up at Chipotle.

“I hate you,” Elliott remarked as we got into the restaurant.

“Love you too, bro,” I replied.

The minute we sat down, my phone started ringing. I looked at, it said “incoming call: Stark”.

“No phones at the dinner table, Mal,” Elliott snatched the phone from my hands before I could answer.

“Well, you're extra bossy tonight,” I observed. “What if it's an emergency?”

“This is an emergency,” Elliott insisted, gesturing at the two of us. “I need a little time away from the house, and you need a night off as well. Let's just take a break from work, OK?”

I was surprised at the negative way Elliott was talking about being at home. And apparently the surprise showed on my face because Elliott quickly explained,

“I was mainly talking about work at NYU,”

“Ah, OK,” I replied, unconvinced.

“I'm serious, Mal. I love being at home with Anya and Lily. I really do,” Elliott insisted.

“I know you do,” I responded. “But it's nice. We hardly ever do this anymore,”

“Yeah, I miss it,” Elliott sighed.

I looked at him and I knew we were both remembering the same thing. Years ago, back in Hawaii, when he would come home from college on the weekends and take me out for coffee and we would catch up on the last week of our lives. And when we weren't talking we would simply enjoy being together. He would tease me about my boyfriend, Kai Alana. And I would tease him about his girlfriend, Anya Willis. And we would get in stupid arguments about stuff that didn't matter. I missed all of that.

“What ever happened to Kai?” Elliott asked me, confirming that we were in fact thinking about the same thing.

I shrugged. “Moved on like the rest of them,”

I didn't like thinking about Kai, I missed him much more than I'd like to admit.

“When's the last time you talked with him?”

“Ages ago. Probably when he got that fancy lawyer job and moved to California,” I replied.

“Oh you're not still upset about that, are you? Just call him or something,” Elliott suggested.

“No, I don't have his number and I don't even know where he is now,”

Elliott, noticing the tone in my voice, changed the subject.

* * *

A couple hours later, Elliott was driving me home. Well, to his home. Once we got there, before we even got out of the car, a text tone went off and I recognized it as my own. Elliott pulled my phone out of his pocket where he had hidden it.

“It's Clint,” he informed me.

“OK, let me have it,” I reached out for the phone.

“Who's Clint?”

“Hawkeye. You know, the arrow guy,”

I looked at the text. It said, “what are you doing?”

“Why? What's happening?” I texted in reply.

Before I even opened the car door, I got another text from Clint: “We've got news. Come to the tower. Can you bring pizza?”

I laughed.

“What does he want?” Elliott asked.

“They want me to bring pizza,” I answered as I typed my reply.

“Are you guys incapable of getting your own pizza?”

“Yes. We’re tired Mal. And hungry. Bring lots. Thor is here,” was Clint’s next text.

“Ell, I think I should. He says they have news,” I told Elliott.

“OK, do what you want. Just don't stay out too late,” Elliott warned, handing me the keys to the car and getting out.

“Don't worry, Dad. I won't stay up past curfew,” I replied sarcastically.

“That's really hilarious, Mallory,” Elliott remarked, equally sarcastic. “But come back here when you're done, OK?”

“Will do,” I replied.

I moved into the driver’s seat and started the car again.

* * *

I was actually very glad the Avengers asked me to come to the tower, which is something I would never admit to anyone. It had been a while since I'd seen the team. There have been only two missions I was invited to go on since the Chitauri invaded the city. And the last one was a couple months ago.

The second I walked in, the boxes of pizza were taken from me and devoured in a matter of seconds.

“We just got back from a mission,” Cap explained to me.

I nodded. I was standing in the living area that had been completely destroyed only a year ago. I looked down at the ground a few feet away where Loki had once sat and taunted me from. Thor was now standing there, devouring a slice of pizza and reaching for another. The room was noisy and full of movement. The whole team was here. Black Widow, Hawkeye, Thor, Cap, Dr. Banner, and Iron Man was somewhere in a corner hovering over a computer screen.

“So, what's the news?” I asked Steve who was standing next to me,

“Come over here and we’ll show you,” Cap replied, gesturing me over to Stark’s computer.

“Most of this is highly classified SHIELD intel,” Cap explained, pointing at the computer screen.

Tony flipped the screen to a picture of a seemingly dead woman laid out on the ground. Then he flipped the screen again, and the woman was still there, only she was a dark shade of green and her whole body structure was completely different. She wasn't human anymore. There was information and dates on the side of the screen, but I wasn't looking at that, I was distracted by this dead woman that had somehow turned green.

I turned and saw that Tony and Cap had been watching me closely for a reaction. I looked at them,

“What is it?” I asked.

“That,” Tony replied, pointing at the screen, “is a Skrull,”

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wandamaximoff12-blog · 8 years ago

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Chapter 4: Thor’s Little Brother

Mallory’s POV

The Avenger’s tower, I'm sure, used to be a very nice and luxurious place. But it wasn't now. I was standing in the living room where most of the furniture was thrown around or completely annihilated. The room actually had windows surrounding it completely instead of regular walls. But most of them were totally shattered. And the glass covered the floor. The whole Avengers team was gathered here simply looking down at the pathetic lump on the ground that was Loki. He was barely conscious and looked like he had definitely run into the Hulk at one point. The Hulk was nowhere to be found, though.

Tony explained to us that they had gotten here and Loki had tried to ambush them all, but he was only expecting Tony. So the Hulk and Thor took care of him, really cruelly from what I heard. Cap was chewing out Tony for not answering when Cap asked for his help, Tony insisted that communications were down in his suit.

Natasha grabbed Loki’s scepter. It was long and golden, but at the end of it there was a glowing blue orb.

“We can use this to close the portal,” Natasha said.

I didn't have the energy to wonder how that worked. I was leaning against a sofa that had been flipped over on its side. I wasn't sure if I'd ever feel energetic again.

Natasha left with Tony to go to the machine with the tesseract and close the portal from there.

I was so glad it was all over. Well, it wasn't completely over. The rest of the team left to take care of the rest of the Chitauri. Clint put his hand on my shoulder as he left, “well done,” he said. I smiled. I really had done it. It felt so weird to know that I had single handedly protected the entire island of Manhattan from a nuclear bomb. But now I was alone. Well, not completely alone, I looked down at Loki wondering why anyone was ever afraid of him. He seemed pretty harmless at the moment. I wiped the floor near me free of glass with my boots and then sat down on it. Closing my eyes and leaning against the sofa. I just a need a minute and then I can get up.

“You think this was a victory for you?” Said a weak and cold voice.

I jumped and opened my eyes. Loki had sat up and was looking at me with disgust.

“Yeah, I'd say so,” I said pretty carelessly.

I wasn't really afraid of him getting up and trying to kill me, he didn't seem in any better shape than I was. Not to mention he didn't have his scepter.

“I shall return. And you humans will bow down! You will-”

“Stop. Please. I just really don't care,” I interrupted him.

He seemed taken back that anyone would talk to him like that. But he recovered quickly. He looked me over and then said,

“So, what are you? A witch?”

“Yeah, something like that,” I said, smiling to myself.

“And you've joined them?”

I took “them” to mean the Avengers.

“Temporarily,” I replied.

“You have made a grave mistake, Mallory Jackson,” he said.

I looked up suddenly.

“Oh, yes, I know who you are,” Loki seemed to be enjoying this immensely. “What a dreadful and tragic event for a mere sixteen year old to have to endure,” he said, now grinning wickedly.

I tried to not let it get to me, but if he says anymore......

“And what you must feel, for it all to be your-”

“Shutup,” I interrupted him again.

His smile widened.

He was about to continue when Thor came in the room through one of the shattered windows.

“Loki, we are going. You are not going to escape again,” he said.

Loki’s smiled faded from his face, and a look of annoyance and loathing replaced it. And he really did just look like a little brother who was being told to go to his room. He stood up and said to Thor,

“Listen well, brother, I shall return. And I shall-”

“Oh, Loki, remain quiet,” Thor interrupted Loki.

And I came close to laughing. It was actually very funny seeing Thor as just an older brother telling his brother to shut up.

Thor grabbed Loki’s arm, who struggled, but there wasn't much he could do in his brother's strong grip.

“Are they almost done out there?” I asked Thor, still smiling.

“I believe so. The portal has been closed and there are little Chitauri left. There is only one thing we have to deal with now,” Thor said, glaring down at Loki whom he was now pushing toward the stairs.

* * *

After Tony confirmed we had won, Thor left with Loki back to Asgard where he assured us Loki would be “severely punished for his crimes in this Earth”.

Before Stark left he pulled me aside.

“What you did out there today was pretty cool, kid,” he said.

I decided to look past the part where he called me “kid” and accept the compliment.

“Would you be interested in joining the Avengers permanently, Miss Jackson?” Cap came up behind Tony and asked.

I was very taken aback. Despite what I had done, I didn't expect them to want me permanently. But apparently they did? I know I had enjoyed myself. And now I knew that I could actually make a difference and actually help people for a change. But is that what I wanted to do full-time? Did I want to live in Avengers tower and spend the rest of my life fighting crime?

“I don't think so. But if you need my help again, I'll be there, OK?” I decided it was for the best. Maybe someday. But for now, I've had enough action and craziness to last me a very long time.

“Why? You need more brother-sister time?” Tony said.

“Watch it,” I warned him.

But I actually wasn't very very offended or upset by his comment. Because it was true. I did.

While the rest of the team (except the Hulk who I was told was “recovering”. I had no idea what that meant,) started getting into their quinjet that had miraculously survived the battle, I called Elliott.

Once upon a time, I could've been able to tell Elliott all the awesome things that had happened to me that day without him worrying and asking loads of questions and lecturing me on safety. And this time, I was going to have a conversation like that, I wasn't gonna let him parent me like he always does.

“Mal! I've called you ten times!” Elliott answered his phone.

“Hi, Elliott, listen-”

“Mal, if you're OK, come down to the hospital in Queens! Anya is giving birth!” Elliott sounded like he was totally panicking but was trying to stay calm for his wife’s benefit.

“What? Are you sure? Not another false alarm?” I asked.

“YES. Now get down here!” Elliott said impatiently. “Wait, you're OK, right?” He added quickly.

“Yeah, I'm fine. I'm on my way,” and I hung up.

Really? I can't get a break, can I?

Sighing, I looked around. My car had been totaled during the battle, I remember seeing it a few streets away where I had left it. Then, I noticed the Avengers quinjet about to take off into the air a few yards away from me.

Did I have a choice?

“Hey! Wait!” I called out to the Avengers.

“Can I get I ride?” I asked, climbing into the jet without an invitation.

“Where to?” Clint, who was piloting, asked.

“Queens,”

* * *

“How did it go?” I asked Elliott once I got into the hospital lobby and saw him waiting for me.

“It went fine, come on,” he looked really tired but also really happy.

Elliott grabbed my arm and dragged me down the hall to the delivery room. When I got inside, I saw Anya laying on her bed looking really exhausted but happy, like Elliott. Only, she had a better excuse for feeling tired.

I saw she was holding the baby in her arms, it was wrapped up in a blanket and wearing pajamas.

“So?” I asked the new parents.

“It's a girl!” Announced Elliott, putting his arm around me and bringing toward Anya’s bed.

“Have you picked a name?” I asked.

I looked at the child and smiled, she was asleep. She seemed to have Anya’s hair which was a dark red, but Elliott’s skin which made a funny mixture.

“Lilia Clair,” said Anya, looking down at her baby lovingly.

“Interesting choice, I'm guessing Lilia was your idea?” I said to Elliott who grinned and nodded.

I thought back to twelve year old Elliott telling me that his first daughter would be named Lilia. It was interesting and a little cheesy that he actually ended up naming his first daughter that. Anya held out the baby to me. I hesitated, but took her. I looked down at this little girl, my niece. My niece who was literally born during an alien invasion. After what happened today, after what I had been through, maybe having my sister-in-law give birth wasn't exactly what I needed. But I was happy looking down at this little baby and seeing my brother so proud. I had to admit that it was so nice to see something like this after all the destruction and horror. I sighed and gave the baby back to Anya. I backed up and leaned against the wall, looking up at the ceiling. Elliott noticed my exhaustion, so he told Anya he'd be right back and told me to follow him. We sat down on the bench right outside the room. Well, Elliott sat, I lay down and closed my eyes.

“Now, tell me about it. All of it,” he said surprisingly gently.

I explained to him all I could, all while keeping my eyes closed and trying not to fall asleep right there. I was only now noticing the dirt and dried blood all over my face and clothes.

“Wow, Mallory. I'm not really sure what to say,” Elliott said slowly after I finished explaining all that went on that day. “You saved everyone. I mean, I heard about it on the news but-”

“The news?” I interrupted, opening my eyes but not moving.

“Yeah, but don't worry. They're only saying good things, so far,”

“Like what kinda good things?” I asked.

“Like, how you and the Avengers are heroes. Which is true,” Elliott replied.

“Elliott, you're leaving something out,” I said.

“Well, maybe a few people were wondering who you were. And some were saying that someone that powerful shouldn't be allowed to roam the city freely, but don't listen to them,”

“Yeah, whatever,” I sighed for like fiftieth time that day.

“All you got to know is that I'm proud of you. And if you wanna join the Avengers full-time, that's your choice. I wouldn't stop you if I could,” and he stood up and went back into the delivery room.

I was surprised at the new tone in his voice. Like having a daughter has somehow made him realize he doesn't have to control my every move all the time, and that maybe I'm not totally useless. No, it wasn't having a daughter that gave him this new perspective, it was seeing what I could do and realizing that I can actually take care of myself that changed him. And I was glad to have my old brother back, for how long, though, I wasn't sure. And now there was Lilia. I haven't had much experience with babies, and I knew Elliott would expect me to be the type of aunt who visits often and basically helps raise the child, so it was a totally new adventure for me. And there was also the Avengers. I knew I'd be getting a call from them next time something comes up, even if they can handle it on their own. And I was OK with that for some reason. In fact I was actually really excited. I hoped they would call me soon after I recovered, because I finally felt it, I finally knew what I wanted to do. I wanted to save lives.

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wandamaximoff12-blog · 8 years ago

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Chapter 3: A Chance

Mallory’s POV

Cap and Natasha remained together in the opening near the center of the city, fighting like their life depended on it. I moved around a lot, trying to keep the Chitauri from getting away to any part of the city that wasn't evacuated yet.

Turns out, the Avengers and SHIELD weren't expecting a portal to be opened to another dimension in the sky. They were expecting something much smaller, which was very unfortunate. Because this was big. Very big. Loki was nowhere to be found, but his machine powered by the tesseract that kept the portal open was. It was on top of one the buildings closest to Avengers tower. Stark found it and tried to shut it down, but nothing he tried worked. I wasn't exactly sure what the tesseract was, it was only sort of explained to me once by Nick Fury. But I knew that it was a huge energy source that acts like it has a mind of its own. And somehow it had been used to open this portal. And here I was, punching one of the aliens it had let onto the Earth in the face. Which turns out was a very bad idea, the thing has armor on its face. My hand stinging with pain, I shot my dark blue energy into the alien and threw it across the damaged road into the side of a car with enormous force. The car was dented in the side now. Then I heard a lot of hissing and squealing coming from behind me. Sighing, I turned around expecting at least three more Chitauri coming for me. I was wrong, there were more like twenty. They all started running at me at once, hissing, and pointing their guns and weird weapons. I didn't have much time to wonder how so many of them were suddenly right here. I took a deep breath and pulled my arms up to my chest, then released, putting my arms out in front me, there was an explosion of blue that stretched out for miles. The Chitauri that were near me a moment ago were nowhere to be found. In fact there were no Chitauri visible any where within a few miles. The burst of energy had cleared the area completely. I was breathing heavily. That was difficult. But it was worth it for a few alien-free moments.

I leaned against a car and caught my breath. Cap and Natasha came around the corner looking exhausted.

“That was you?” Steve asked me.

I nodded. He looked impressed.

“I'm going to go up there and see what I can do,” Romanoff said.

I knew she meant she was going up to where the tesseract was.

“You'll need a ride,” Steve said.

Natasha looked up at the Chitauri flying across the sky, conveniently low to the ground. “I got a ride,”

“You sure about this?” Cap said.

“Yeah, it'll be fun,” Natasha replied. “Could use a lift though,”

I watched in amusement as Cap backed up, holding his shield over his head. Natasha raced towards Cap, leaped onto a car, and then onto Steve’s shield, he pushed her into the air, she clung onto one of the hovercraft and flew off. It was actually very impressive. Now it was just me and Cap waiting for another round of Chitauri to come in. Thor was up in the sky shooting lightning into the portal trying to minimize the amount of Chitauri entering through it. Barton was up on a roof somewhere. The Hulk was probably over near the edge of the city wrecking something. And I had no idea where Stark was, but I'd see him fly by a little earlier.

“You ready?” Cap asked without looking at me, he was focused on the massive amount of different sized Chitauri coming towards us.

“Sure, I'm ready,” I said, hoping I was telling the truth. It was hard to tell at this point.

And then I was fighting. Actually fighting. It felt great. With every movement I made I felt in control. And I was smoothly taking care of these disgusting aliens very quickly. I was actually impressed with myself, and allowed myself a little glory when I was fighting three at once and winning. I felt such passion and energy, I didn't want to stop. Not now. I was just beginning. And they kept coming as quickly as I was defeating them. I swung my hand forward and grabbed one of the aliens with my blue energy, and dragged it over right into my fist. This time it didn't hurt as much, I punched it where it didn't have armour. Apparently, though I became a little to confident and ended up taking on five of them, and it was too much. Cap came in and saved me just in time. I hoped there would be an opportunity to repay him sometime. There was another group of Chitauri coming, and I was preparing to take them on. But then a huge amount of lightning came down from the sky, hit them, and did the job for me. Thor landed right in front of me. He swung his hammer, Mjolnir, back as if he was about to hit me with it. Realizing what was happening, I ducked down so that he could hit the alien that was behind me.

“They’re not stopping, are they?” Cap said to Thor.

“I believe the only way to truly finish the job is with Loki,” Thor said angrily.

I remembered that Loki was Thor’s little brother.

“Or by closing the portal,” I commented.

Cap sighed. “I don't know how we can do that unless Romanoff figured it out by now,” “Stark,” he spoke into his earpiece, “what does it-” but he stopped as one of the largest snake-like Chitauri came out of nowhere.

It looked like it wasn't alive, but it was falling straight out of the sky toward us on the ground. I thought quickly. I planted my feet and reached my arms out in front of me, creating a dark blue shield around all three of us. I hoped this one would last long enough, and I hoped it was strong enough to withstand what was about to hit it. The Chitauri landed right on top of the shield and I felt an enormous force as if it had hit me. But I held the shield long enough for all of us to escape from it and get away from the alien. It was dead. Stark must've taken care of it while it was still flying and left it to fall. I was right, Iron Man was flying right above us.

“Could you be a little more careful?” Cap said into his earpiece at Stark.

He flew down in front of us.

“I could,” Stark said, he didn't sound very sorry. “Romanoff says she can close the portal,” he announced. “She got Selvig to tell her. But she needs Loki’s scepter. Which means we need to find Loki,”

Before anyone could say anything, Tony looked off towards Avenger’s Tower and said, “Security breach,” and then flew off towards the tower.

“Wait, does he think it's Loki?” I said.

On hearing this, Thor swung his hammer around and around until, somehow, he was levitating, then he followed Tony.

“Jackson, Agent Jackson, do you copy?”

I jumped. Then realized it was Fury talking over the SHIELD coms. I put my finger to my ear and replied,

“I copy,”

“Good. SHIELD council just sent a nuke heading right for the city. They thought it was the only option to take care of this mess. You got two minutes, maximum. And I can't get a hold of anyone else,”

Oh, great, this is exactly what we needed. As if the constant flow of aliens through a portal in the sky wasn't enough.

“Alright, I'll do what I can,” I replied.

I suddenly wasn't feeling so confident anymore. It had just hit me what Fury was saying. A nuclear bomb was actually heading for the city. How was I supposed to deal with that? I looked around and saw Cap delivering a final blow to some poor alien.

“Cap!” I called him over. “Fury says a nuke is heading right for the city. We've got two minutes, tops,” I informed him.

“What? Stark, there's a nuke heading straight for the city! Stark!” Cap yelled into his ear piece. Then he looked at me, “only him or Thor can help us with that, neither of them are answering,”

That's it? That was his only plan? I started to panic.

“We could go get them. But by then it'll be too late,” I wasn't sure at all what to do, I had never been in a situation like this before where I was so close to completely panicking. But no, I wasn't going to panic. We weren't getting help. And panicking would only waste time, something we had very little of.

So here I was. Standing next to Captain America in the center of the city waiting for a nuke to hit us. Feeling completely helpless and wondering why the heck Stark wasn't answering Cap. I started thinking, hoping Cap would suggest a way to prevent total destruction to the island of Manhattan.

But very suddenly, I felt a great rush of energy inside of me, something I had never felt before. Like there was something I simply needed to do. All thoughts of panic left me and I felt confident again.

I knew what I had to do. But would it work? I'd done it before. But never on such a large scale. I sighed. And stopped myself from arguing with myself any longer.

Like I had done before, I planted my feet, took a deep breath, and reached my arms out in front of me. Before I knew it, blue mist was spreading under our feet and across the ground.

“Mal,” Cap said something about being careful but I wasn't listening, I had to concentrate on this.

Soon, the mist was spreading across the sky and all over the city, I already felt myself reaching too far, and I wasn't even halfway through. Just focus. Just focus. And hold it. I knew even if I did reach out across all of Manhattan, it wouldn't be able to shield us from a nuclear bomb. And I saw it coming. The bomb was coming, and it was almost here.

I decided to focus all my energy on the point of impact. Which I could judge pretty fairly from where I was, and that one large area near the top of the bubble that I had made across the island of Manhattan turned a deep, dark blue. That was where I needed to deliver the most energy and the most protection.

I could feel everything across all of Manhattan. I could see it all. Tony and Hulk and Thor were altogether at the tower, but someone else was there as well. Loki? I could feel thousands of people, all those people who were going to die unless I did this. Unless I held the shield long enough.

The Chitauri kept coming from the portal and then bouncing off my shield. But I hardly felt it. They were nothing compared to what was coming.

And then the nuke hit. And the explosion was enormous. All the energy was drained out of me, the shield was going to break and we were all in trouble. But I reached deep down and promised myself I wouldn't stop. I wouldn't break. This was it. This was my chance, the chance I'd been waiting for. The force from the impact was so great I was pushed backwards onto the ground. But I remained on my knees holding the shield. Nothing was getting through.

I could hear Cap shouting my name. But I didn't listen. I wondered how long I'd have to keep the shield. And how much longer I actually could.

And then the force lightened and I could breathe again, something I’d never looked at as a luxury until now. I couldn't see past the shield, everything was dark from the smoke. And I still felt a great amount of force, but not nearly as much as moment ago. I breathed deeply and tried to stand up, but I didn't have the strength. That's OK. Kneeling is fine.

After a few minutes, I felt less pressure, and I wasn't sure if I could hold the shield any longer, so I released it and let the smoke enter. The blue energy disappeared slowly as I released my grip on it.

I lay down on the ground and tried to catch my breath, which felt impossible. I was so tired that I could've passed out right there. But I remained conscious because the fight wasn't over. The portal was still open, but the Chitauri didn't seem to be coming from it anymore. Did the nuke wipe them all out? No, only a few moments passed before they started entering the city again. I sighed and closed my eyes. There was no way I could fight anymore. I felt so weak and vulnerable, but I barely even had enough energy to feel ashamed of it.

“Mal, that was incredible,” Cap said somewhere above me. “Are you going to be alright?” And he really did sound concerned.

“Yeah, I'll be OK,” I panted. “Stark’s with Thor and the Hulk at the tower. I think they're with Loki as well,”

“Let's go, then,” Cap said immediately, “if you're able to,” he added quickly.

“Yeah, I can,” I lied.

Whatever, I'd at least try. I sat up, and Cap held out his hand to help me up. Then he supported me as we walked over to his motorcycle where we rode off toward the tower.

#avengers #marvel #fanfic #avengers fanfiction #scarlet witch

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wandamaximoff12-blog · 8 years ago

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Chapter 2: The Chituari

Chapter 2: The Chitauri

Mallory’s POV

A sixteen year old girl followed her older brother up the walkway towards their house.

“Daddy said he'd buy me a car if I got straight A’s all semester. And what's this?” The sixteen year old girl with huge hair waved a report card at her brother’s face.

“Hah, yeah right. I had to buy a used car myself years after I got my-” the boy stopped as he opened the door to the house.

Inside, there were men dressed in black holding guns to a man and a woman who were against the wall, both looking frightened.

“Which one is it? WHICH ONE?” One of the men in black shouted at the parents.

Very suddenly, I woke up. Breathing hard, I reached up to my face and felt it was wet. What is wrong with me? I thought. I don't cry. Why were there tears on my face? I thought back on the dream I had just had. Except it wasn't a dream. It was a memory.

I groaned and put my face in my hands. I wasn't going to think about it, not now. I was up at 4:00am for no reason yet again. I contemplated calling Elliot, but then, remembering the conversation we had last night, decided against it. I didn't feel like getting lectured again. I lay back on my bed, and thought about yesterday. Cap had said that SHIELD would “bring me up to speed”, I wondered when they'd be contacting me. Glancing at my phone, I noticed there were a few text messages.

Elliot 12:03am: I'm going to bed. Sorry about our conversation. Hope you're not mad.

Kanani 11:46pm: hey, Elliott just told me what you did. You alright?

Anya 11:30pm: Ell told me. good job Mal, I'm proud of you :)

Kanani has been my best friend since third grade. It was nice to hear from her, we don't talk very much anymore. But it wasn't so nice that Elliott had told her and Anya that I was joining the Avengers temporarily.

After replying to the texts (not Elliott’s), telling them I was fine, I got up and paced my room wondering what was going to happen to me today. I could die for all I knew. But that wasn't likely. I was too powerful to die so easily. But then again, if it was almost too much for whole Avengers team.... Whatever, that doesn't mean anything. What's the point in worrying, anyway?

I wasn't sure why, but I felt the need to use my powers right here, right now. Maybe just to reassure myself I could still do what I haven't done in a while.

I took a deep breath and reached my right arm out in front of me. Instantly, dark blue energy shot out of my fingers and began covering the room. Soon, my whole room was engulfed in the blue mist. It was amazing. I could feel all around the room and see everything without looking. I felt shielded and protected inside my energy bubble, as if nothing could harm me. But something could, because I couldn't hold the shield long, it broke apart and I felt it slip away. Realizing that I had my eyes closed, I opened them and sighed. I'd have to work on that.

* * *

“Thor told us what he heard from his brother, Loki. Apparently, he was making a threat and accidently let us know what his next move is. We’ve managed to evacuate most of that part of the city they’re going to attack,” Nick Fury told me.

I was at SHIELD HQ getting “debriefed” on the invasion going down today. It all seemed so fake, like a setup. If the Avengers had known that Loki was going to come back all along, why didn't everyone in the state know? Why didn't they say anything? When I voiced this concern with Fury, he told me some things needed to remain “classified”. But that still didn't make any sense, and even though he’s a good liar, I can tell when people aren't telling the truth, and he was leaving something out.

Fury explained the rest of this whole “invasion” to me, but it still didn't make a lot of sense. Why did the Avengers wait until the last minute to ask for my help?

Apparently, the aliens are called Chitauri, they're mindless creatures that do whatever their leader, in this case Loki, tells them to. Also, I was told who the current members of the Avengers team were. And that I would have to “cooperate with” them in order to defend the city properly. The members of the team are Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanoff, Clint Barton, Thor, and Bruce Banner. Very few of those people I have ever met, and none of them I was very thrilled to be working with. But I looked past this and realized they probably weren't very thrilled to be working with me. After a lecture about the aliens, the team, and Loki, Fury told me that the Avengers were ready for whatever was coming, and that one of them was right now “scouting” to give the alert when Loki shows up. And I got the feeling again that all of this was fake, like a dream. Gods from other realms and aliens just seemed too weird for my life. And that was saying something. Fury told me it would be best if I joined Natasha Romanoff (AKA Black Widow) at the edge of the city where she was waiting for the chitauri to begin their second attack. I was OK with that. Agent Romanoff was one of the few Avengers I tolerated.

* * *

It seemed crazy that almost twenty four hours ago my biggest problem was my overbearing brother. Now I am standing at the edge of an evacuated city with Black Widow waiting for an army of aliens lead by a god to attack us. What happened?

I saw an opportunity for myself to be more than a little sister that needed protecting and an occasional SHIELD agent when they were truly desperate. And I took it. That's what happened.

“Stark should be here by now, I'm going to go check for him,” Natasha told me.

She hopped on her motorcycle and drove off towards the center of the city. I was sitting cross legged on top of an abandoned cab. I sighed, leaned back on my arms, and squinted up at the sun. I wondered what Elliott was doing right now. He probably was worried sick and getting Anya into the car and driving off towards the airport. I smiled. Despite what Fury told me about things remaining “classified”, it was announced on the news that there was going to be another attack on the city and that everyone should stay safe.

My phone started ringing, it was Elliott.

“Hey,” I answered.

“Where are you?” Elliott demanded.

“On top of a car,”

“Mallory-Rae, if you die, I'm going to kill you,”

“Relax, Ell. I've got this,”

“Every time you say that, something bad happens,” Elliott actually sounded really nervous.

“I'm actually pretty confident. And all I need from you right now is a little trust, not worried comments, those aren't helpful,” I was pretty proud of myself for finally telling him what I was thinking and for sounding so calm.

There was silence. And then,

“I do trust you, Mal. I'm just so worried. You've never been through anything like this before!”

“Yeah, but I've been close. I've gotta go now,” this time I really did have to go, I could hear Natasha’s motorcycle coming back.

“Stay safe,” Elliott said, and he sounded a little less anxious.

I hung up.

“Everyone else is here now. The chitauri should have arrived by now,” Natasha said.

I was about to reply when I noticed something in the sky. My vision was blurred from staring at the sun so long, but I was sure I saw something black. Something big. I narrowed my eyes, trying to make out what it was. Romanoff looked around to see what I was staring at and noticed it too.

“....oh no,” she murmured.

“What is it?” I asked.

“A portal. We didn't prepare for this,” Natasha looked far from frightened, but she did seem concerned. “Stark, are you seeing this?” She spoke into her ear piece.

It was very noticeable now. The sky looked like it was folding in on itself. The inside was terribly dark and full of what looked like the aliens that had attacked last time, only they were bigger, much bigger. And then they started flying out of the hole into the sky. The largest ones were almost forty feet long and snakelike. The others were ten to twenty feet tall and riding on hovercraft. They all started heading towards the ground.

I was proud of myself for not feeling even a flicker of fear. But I was serious, something inside me was ready and desperate to fight. Because how dare they? I watched as one of the largest ones crashed into a building, sending debris everywhere and damaging other buildings and cars. I was done watching, though, I was ready to stop this. I looked at Natasha who seemed to be listening to something someone was saying in her ear piece.

She looked at me, “re grouping over here,” she said.

Almost immediately, the rest of the team, Cap, Hawkeye, Thor, and Stark showed up. Thor and Stark who were flying, landed on the ground. Steve and Hawkeye dismounted their motorcycles. Cap and Thor nodded at me, Hawkeye almost smiled, and Stark smirked as if he had won some game.

“Call it, Cap,” Stark said.

“OK. I know this isn't what we were expecting,” Steve said, looking up at the now enormous amount of chitauri taking over the sky. “So, listen up, until we can close that portal, our priority's containment. Clint, I want you on that roof, eyes on everything, call out patterns and strays. Stark, you got the perimeter. Anything that gets past three blocks out, turn it back or turn it to ash,”

“Give me a lift?” Clint asked Stark.

“Sure, Legolas,” Stark flew off into the sky with Clint who he dropped off on the roof of the nearest building.

Cap looked at Thor, “Thor you gotta try to bottleneck that portal. Slow them down. You got the lightning. Light the bastards up,”

I was very impressed with Steve. He seemed to have everything under control, and everyone was listening to him because he knew what he was doing.

“Mallory, you, me, and Natasha stay on the ground, let's see what you can do. And Hulk,” Cap looked at something behind me.

I had a guess as to what it was.

I slowly turned around and saw the Incredible Hulk was standing behind me all along and I didn't know it. He was huge, green and dangerous looking. The media had described him as a mindless, destructive monster. But right now there seemed to be something the cameras missed. There was something more human. More real. Like he wouldn't just crush you because he felt like it. I thought of something then that I hadn't thought of before, even though Elliott mentioned it, what if the media tries to make me out a monster like they did to the Hulk?

Hulk grunted as if daring Cap to give him an order.

Cap dared.

“Smash,” he pointed at the chautari flying above them.

Hulk gave a sort of evil grin and jumped extremely high, clinging on to a building. I dodged debris from the building and looked around just in time to see one of the smaller chitauri racing at me on his hovercraft, holding his weird gun, ready to shoot. I slid to the side, against a building. The alien flew by me and as it did, I grabbed its gun, flipped it around and shot the energy beam that was meant for me right back at it. The thing sort of squealed and flew back onto the ground.

Here we go.

#avengers #fanfic #fandom #chitauri #malloryjackson #marvel #fanficiton #battlefield #avengers1

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wandamaximoff12-blog · 8 years ago

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Worrying just means you suffer twice.

Newt Scamander

#fbawtft #newt #newt scamander

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wandamaximoff12-blog · 8 years ago

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Just saying his name is enough to make me cry 😓

#marvel #avengers #bucky barnes #winter solider #fandom

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wandamaximoff12-blog · 8 years ago

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wandamaximoff12-blog · 8 years ago

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Chapter 1: Temporary Avenger

Mallory’s POV

“Ell, I don't have time, OK? I gotta go,” I lied to my older brother. I just wanted to get away from this particular subject.

“OK, then just answer my question Mal and I'll let you leave. Why do you not want to live here with me?” Elliot Jackson, my older brother looked down at me. I could tell he was very annoyed with me, but was trying his hardest to keep his cool. I didn't know how to put into words how awful it was for me, a nineteen year old to have to share everything with my older brother who had earned it all with hard work and good judgement. His wife, his house, his money, I didn't need all of that. It was his.

“Because I hate having to rely on you for everything,” I said, not keeping eye contact and trying to slip away through the kitchen door.

“Relying on people is fine, Mal! Especially when they've looked after you your entire life!” Elliot shouted after me as I ran through the door.

“Not my entire life!” I hissed back at Elliott, not watching where I was going. I ran right into my very pregnant sister-in-law.

“Sorry, Anya, I was just leaving,” I said as I crossed the living room and grabbed the front door.

“Wait! Mal! Where're you going?” Elliott passed his worried looking wife and shut the door before I could leave.

“Away,” I snapped, pulling at the door Elliott was holding closed.

“Well, just know the bedroom upstairs will always be available to you even when the baby is born, OK?” Elliott said.

“Sure, Ell,” I sighed.

And then, being the stronger one, I yanked the door open, sending Elliott backwards.

“‘Bye,” I slammed the door behind me.

I had no idea where I was going. I just drove on. I needed a break from my overbearing brother. I loved Elliott, but ever since he married Anya he has been different and more protective and needy. He had always been those things, of course. But now more than ever. He is always asking me to stay at the house he had bought for him and his wife in Queens. But I had an apartment of my own, and I didn't want to live with my brother and his wife just because he wants to keep a closer eye on me. It seemed wrong that Elliot was the one to provide everything for me. Everything. And I was the one with superpowers. So why shouldn't I be the one protecting him? Because you're too weak and afraid, said a voice in the back of my head. It was true. I have always been afraid to use the powers I inherited from my father. I never wanted them in the first place. And if I’m pretending they don't exist, then Elliott is as well. That was the good thing about Elliott, he always knew what was best for me. He always knew what I wanted and needed him to do. I smiled and felt a great surge of affection for my brother who, despite the fact that his little sister has always been greater and more powerful, felt the need to protect me and somehow always knew what was right. I was now starting to feel guilty so I looked around for something to distract me from this unwanted emotion.

I have extremely thick and curly hair. It was jet black, waist length, and annoyed me greatly, though I learned to live with it. At the moment it was tied up in a high ponytail. It always seemed to be the thing that people noticed about me first. People had many words to describe it, and I was called “beautiful” on a regular basis because of it. But my hair wasn't my only attractive feature. I had bright blue eyes that looked rather unusual on my dark skin. This was because I was only half Puerto Rican, the bright blue eyes came from my father. I also had high cheekbones, and everything about my face seemed to compliment itself. Elliott has the same features that I do, but they don't look as attractive on a man for some reason. He was frequently called a “pretty boy”, but it didn't seem to bother him so much. He was alright with being the less powerful, less attractive sibling. And I never really knew why he was so OK with this and never seemed irritated that I seemed to get all the attention. Although, we were both adults now, and things such as who gets the most attention didn't really matter anymore. Suddenly, I got my wish that something would come to distract me from my unwanted thoughts, my phone started ringing. In an attempt to see who was calling and answer it depending on what the number said, I took my eyes off the road for a second and grabbed my phone out of my bag on the passenger seat. But suddenly, there was a loud squeak, and the car jumped. I jerked my head up to see what I had hit. I let out a breath of relief when I looked back and saw it was only a squirrel. Not being very fond of animals or wildlife in general, I drove away carelessly from the dead rodent which had blood gushing out of its split open side.

Holding my phone to the steering wheel, and keeping the road in my peripheral vision, I looked at my phone screen and gasped. Immediately, I pulled over on the side of the road and groaned. The phone kept ringing and I just let it ring. What does he want? I wondered, looking at the words “incoming call: Stark” on my phone. Last time I saw Tony Stark, it didn't end very well. And I left on very bad terms. Why would he be calling me now? I wondered if I just ignored him, if he wouldn't call again. So I clicked ignore on my phone and drove on towards my apartment, trying not to worry about it. Even though, in the back of my head I had a guess as to why Tony Stark would be calling me.

Once home, I collapsed on the sofa and rubbed my eyes. It had been a long day. Elliott had called me at 4:00am in a panic saying that Anya was going into labor. Turns out she wasn't, it was just a cramp, and Anya knew the baby wasn't coming but Elliott insisted on getting her to the hospital anyway. And I had been up the whole night on a mission for SHIELD which also turned out to be a false alarm. I was highly suspicious that everyone in my life wanted to make sure I got the least amount of sleep possible. Just then, my phone started ringing again. And when I looked at it I saw what I was expecting. It was Tony Stark again. After a lot of thinking in a span of about three seconds I decided I couldn't very well ignore him forever, and what was the worst that could happen? Tony Stark couldn't make me do anything I didn't want to, right?

“Stark,” I answered my phone.

“Jackson,” replied Tony Stark’s voice.

“What do you want?”

“It’s not what we want, it's what we need,” replied Tony.

I sighed. I knew what was coming, but I was going to act like I didn't until he asked me specifically. I noted the use of ‘we’.

“OK, then, what do you need? Get to the point,” I said impatiently.

“Oh, please you've got nothing better to do but listen,” said Tony carelessly.

Oh, really? We’re doing this now?

“And like you've got anything better to do then ask me favors,” I snapped.

There was silence. I heard whispers. And then,

“Miss Jackson, this is Steve Rogers,”

I pulled the phone away from my face quickly as if it had burned me. Captain America? Seriously? Underneath all my pride, indignation and fury, I was a little, tiny bit excited that I was on the phone with Captain America. Because, who wouldn't be?

“OK. So what is it that you guys want?” I said into the phone after recovering from my shock. I made sure I was more polite. I had no reason to dislike Captain America, right? “You guys” meaning obviously the team of elite superheroes, Earth's mightiest heroes, The Avengers.

“We want you. Rather, we need you,” said Cap.

“You must be pretty desperate then...” I said.

“We are. Loki is going to return, and we can't stop him alone. Did you see what happened to the city a couple days ago?”

“Yeah, kinda hard to miss,”

I thought back to an army of aliens invading the city lead by Loki, the God of mischief, brother of Thor, God of Thunder, who also happened to be on the Avengers. The Avengers did everything they could to minimize the amount of damage and casualties, but despite their best efforts, there was still a lot of damage. But Loki left, and his army followed him. They disappeared out of the city. The thought of him returning with his army while damage was still being repaired and people were still healing physically and emotionally was terrible. Not scary, though. I'm hardly ever scared.

“Well that's about to go down ten fold. And we were barely enough last time. We need someone else to help. Another hero,” Cap said delicately.

I refrained from snorting but said,

“hero? Oh, I'm not a hero,”

“That's a choice, Mallory. A choice you make,”

I was surprised at the harshness and pleading in his voice. They really did want me. No, they don't, I told myself. They only wanted my freakish powers. They didn't want all of me. It's a funny thing, I thought, Elliott only ever wanted me as a person, and the Avengers only wanted me as a witch. No one wanted the whole package. But you get the whole package anyway. Whether you wanted it or not, unfortunately.

I sighed. “What is it you want me to do exactly?”

“We want you to be an Avenger, and assist us in fighting in the next invasion,”

There was more whispering and talking on the other end but none of it was directed at me. I couldn't understand what they were saying, but then Cap came on again.

“Temporary Avenger,” he corrected himself.

I sighed again. I had already answered ‘no’ to this question twice. Once to Tony Stark, and once to Nick Fury. I wasn't sure why I was hesitating to do the same this time. Maybe it was because of the pleading in Cap’s voice. They really were in trouble. What would Elliott say? I thought. He would go along with whatever I wanted to do. As long as it wasn't too dangerous. But this is dangerous, I thought. But I wasn't afraid of the danger or the aliens or Loki. Then what are you afraid of?

“I’ll help you. I'll do what I can,” I said, shocking myself. What was I agreeing to?

“She says she'll do it,” whispered Cap to who I guessed was Tony.

“You're doing the right thing. SHIELD can bring you up to speed on everything. We have reason to believe the invasion is going to take place tomorrow. Are you prepared for that?” Cap said, and he didn't sound any more relaxed but very important.

“Sure, I've been through worse,” I replied.

After Cap hung up, I called Elliott and tried to remain calm as I told him what I had just done.

“OK, but Mal, why? Why would you agree to this? You've told them ‘no’ already, haven't you?” Elliott said, sounding panicky.

“Yeah, but this time it’s different,” I insisted quietly. Why was I so calm with this? “It sounded like they really needed me,”

“Well they obviously thought you were something that you're not. You're not some superhero!” Elliott said. “Wait, that sounded wrong. I meant that you're not a witch. You've never even used your powers intentionally have you?”

“Well.....” I wasn't sure how to answer that. I had used my powers intentionally many times. On missions for SHIELD, and for other reasons as well, reasons I’d never admit to Elliott.

Elliott sighed. “Mal, you're not supposed to,”

“That's a rule that you made up, Ell! Why shouldn't I? It's not like I can control it constantly!”

“Yes, a rule that I made up. For good reason. You know what people could do to you? People aren't going to love you the way they love Iron Man and Captain America. People will be afraid of you. And you're just gonna use your powers publicly when you have no idea what could happen? They could take you away, Mal! Don't you remember why-” Elliott stopped himself. But I knew what he was going to say.

“Elliott, I can't just pretend I can't do what I can. Sorry, but this feels like a chance. This feels like what I've been waiting for,”

And I knew I sounded crazy. And I didn't even understand it myself. But it did feel right to say yes. Well, it felt righter then to say no. I wasn't sure what was going to happen, and I dreaded having to spend any more time with Tony Stark. But I knew one thing, I really wasn't afraid. Because I hadn't been lying, I have been through worse.

#avengers #fanfic #marvel #scarletwitch #alternate universe #chapter1 #fanfiction #fandom

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