[She'd be more annoyed had the Walking Egg Disaster been another woman, honestly. Monogamy works for her, but she's not sure how practical it is to expect someone with such a long lifespan to tie himself to someone with an unknown amount of time left.
Just, you know. A little heads up at the very least would have been appreciated.]
If I keep it a secret you'll have to come back for it. And I can't teach you here when the rest of the Avengers could walk into the kitchen any time.
[ In a shocking twist of events, Loki remains genuine in his offer to teach the scarlet witch. The foundation of mastery lies in knowledge, and so he suggests she guide her official mentors through the expression of interest in tomes and a translating gadget, if you would, given the written language barrier.
(...which Asgard lacks given the unprecedented privilege that a Midgardian read anything from their libraries -- but could certainly come up with something, they would assure, of course.)
In the mean time, Loki isn't keen to act as a placeholder and so he splits their time between relaying the basics of theory (which are a terrible bore, Thor often said, garnering more eye rolls from Loki than the combined populace) and actual practice. Wanda was correct; she could not show the extent of her abilities in that tower, but she can show them here: the wilderness beyond the city.
Since introducing her to the mountains for training beneath the veil of illusion, the days have grown shorter. The air is sharp with winter's breath, the occasional gust knocking off straggling leaves and challenging the warmth of Asgardian wear. His discomfort from the cold is a mental one, the lack of its bite a nod toward his monstrous ancestry; his cloak is worn for appearance only. The location is inconvenient, but he isn't willing to chance taking her out of Asgard. Not yet, at least.
As they cross the stones of a shallow, trickling stream, he asks, seemingly out of nowhere, ] What experience do you have with sculpting?
[Despite everything she's heard about him, Loki keeps his word, and so Wanda keeps his presence to herself. Of course Thor notices she seems unsettled and withdrawn when he comes to collect her, but it's easily explained away. Of course she's nervous at being in a new place and of course she's disappointed that her teachers don't quite know what to do with her.
But she doesn't ask to go home. The thought crosses her mind that night - what is she doing? - although in the end, her decision hasn't wavered. She has to see where this goes.
Surprisingly, Loki is the first teacher whose bravado lives up to reality. She actually enjoys their theory discussions, and not just because she could listen to his voice for hours. Wanda has always liked learning, even if her official schooling's been spotty. Understanding why her powers work is just as important as the finer points of control.
She is wary the first time he leads her off into the wilderness, but the more sessions they have, the more Wanda starts to look forward to their lessons. As fall comes to Asgard, she realizes she's reached a strange state of peace she hasn't felt in years. She's not sure she'd call it happiness, nor that she'd attribute it entirely to Loki. But it's nice to not feel like someone has a proverbial gun to her head anymore.
Whatever her the rest of Asgard thinks of Thor bringing her here, not once has someone looked at her and seen a thing.
As the days grow colder, Wanda starts to supplement the clothing she's been given with things she'd brought from home - high socks peeking through the slits in her gowns, leather jackets, boots instead of the dainty sandals ladies of the court prefer. She's wearing the socks and boots today for practicality's sake but a more traditional Asgardian woolen wrap over her dress.]
Not much. Pietro and I had a kind of clay when we were little. [What an odd thing to ask out of the blue.] Why?
[Teaching at Karma-Taj. That had been Wong's sole condition when Strange had told him that Wanda was moving in the New York Sanctum permanently. Unlike what he had expected, there had been no quip, no knowing smile or not even the ghost of a reprimand for being selfish in the regards of his heart. No, the other master had simply quirked an eyebrow upward, declaring that since now someone could guard the Sanctum momentarily, Stephen could spend a few hours a week back at Karma-Taj to help with the students. After all, he was their most prodigious master.
Stephen wasn't feeling particularly comfortable teaching classes, but he was more than ready to take on the deal if it meant waking up next to Wanda every morning. That afternoon had been particularly gruesome, having reviewed defensive techniques involving a mismatch of physical and mystical techniques. When Stephen had finally walked back into the Sanctum, he had gone straight to the loft where their living quarters where, stripping out of his sweat soak training tunics and jumping in the shower without so much of word to Wanda. He had no doubt she was somewhere in the Sanctum, but he'd rather go to her not smelling like an old sock.
Once cleaned up and changed into a thin short sleeve shirt and jeans, he walked over to his study on the first floor, looking for the young woman:]
Wanda? Do you want to grab something to eat or should we cook in?
[His answer was met with silence, and Strange frowned as he noticed that not even the Cloak was where he had left it that morning before going to Karma-Taj.]
[Wanda stiffens and turns to the Cloak wide-eyed.]
It isn't ready yet!
[Leave it to Stephen to be so caught up in and exhausted from his work that he's forgotten his own birthday. It wasn't supposed to be a surprise, but since he very kindly left her and the Cloak alone in the Sanctum all day, can he blame her from going a little overboard?
The cake is baked, if still not completely assembled, and Wanda (accompanied by the Cloak) has spent the better part of the last hour running back and forth between the kitchen and the dining room to decorate and set the table while dinner cooks. But the candles aren't lit yet and she still hasn't put the last layer on the cake or decorated it. Where did the time go? Did he come back early? Or did he just rush through his shower?
She doesn't often have reason to envy him the Time Stone, but right now...]
I need a few more minutes. Can you stall him?
[If she uses her powers she might just be able to pull this off without making a complete mess of either herself or the kitchen.]
The cell they keep her in is cold. Her hands keep touching the ground and shivering, the chill seeping into her very ones. That's fine though, she'd rather be cold than hot, rather feel a chill than a burn any day.
There's noise in her mind, always noise, always screaming and burning and crying out. She knows she's not supposed to be here but she can't remember where she is supposed to be anymore. She knows there are people who should be here who aren't and others who don't belong here. Or maybe it's her who doesn't belong here? She can't remember.
The cell is brighter too, more light flooding in than she's used to.. It hurts her eyes and makes her want to curl up and hide, to burrow her face into her knees and never look up again. The light makes noise rise up inside her brain, more loudness than she wants and at some point, she started singing.
It doesn't combat the noise, not really, but it helps. Singing loud, half screaming sometimes, it makes her hear things outside of her own mind which is what she needs right now. She needs to know there's a world outside of herself and the chaos that lives inside her.
At some point the door opened,at some point, a test began, but she hasn't noticed it yet, her eyes squeezed shut and her own voice ringing in her hears.
Wanda freezes in the doorway - a wave of pain and something else stops her in her tracks so abruptly that she's dimly aware of Strucker bumping into her. What have they done?
She knows that they've been lied to, that Strucker isn't who and what he'd said he was. She should have listened to every gut instinct she'd had that had told her to run, but Pietro had been so sure and they had been so desperate for a sliver of hope that she'd ignored it. And now for the first time in her life she's forced to keep secrets from her twin. If Pietro knew what they were, if he knew how this HYDRA had deliberately destabilized Sokovia to further his experiments...
She sees a poor tortured man in Strucker's mind that's only called 'The Soldier' and knows the knife edge they must walk to avoid being turned into that. And Pietro...oh, she loves him dearly, but subtlety has never been his strength. So Wanda says nothing and waits and when Strucker tells her he needs her help extracting information from someone she follows without protest.
It takes every ounce of self-control she has not to round on him. Wanda's seen people under the Scepter's influence before, but this kind of psychic pain is something completely different. The woman's mind feels sharp and jagged and fragmented. She's been tortured, Wanda realizes, by something far worse than whatever they did to the Soldier. Something like what was done to her, although there's no twin echo of power.
Wanda pads across the cold floor of the cell on bare feet, cautiously kneeling beside Loki. She reaches out, hesitates a moment, and slowly lays a hand on hers. "Shhhhh, I'm here," Wanda says with more confidence than she feels. The 'medicine' they give her still dulls the full extent of her power, and she doesn't have the ability to focus on Loki and Strucker at the same time to try to get a better idea of what's happened here. Still, Wanda's seen enough people trapped in their own heads (and put them there herself as part of her 'training') to recognize it now. She just needs to be a rock, try to project some psychic sense of safety and stability and hope something gets through. "Can you hear me?"
[Telling Vision she loved him months ago had been the easy part. But navigating a relationship between a wanted fugitive and a synthezoid, neither party having any experience in this, has been complicated.
The distance is a factor, certainly. Their time together is so limited that it always feels to Wanda like she has to make every second count. Even sleep is a waste of time, regardless of how well she rests when he's with her or how comfortable the hotel beds are. She always tries to stay awake as long as she can.
(Except she can never last long if Vision starts stroking her hair while they cuddle.)
But their time together, being able to hold and kiss him, is wonderful. She's allowed him to undress her down to nothing but her underwear the last several visits and the feeling of his skin against hers is absolute perfection.
But after the first time, that will teach her to be sure she's wearing a cute bra with matching underwear.
It's wonderful as it is, and she's never pushed for more. If it happens, it happens. If not...she already has him. That's more than enough.
She takes his arm as they make their way to their room and as soon as the door closes behind them she hurries to embrace him.]
I missed you so much.
[And it's been long enough that she can't resist leaning up for a kiss.]
[All pretense of disguise (still a work in progress) is shed as soon as the door is closed, and the Vision gathers Wanda up tightly in his arms and kisses her long and hard - a decided improvement over the first stumbling few they'd had, precious in their own way though they had been.]
And I've missed you, Wanda.
[Everywhere their bodies touch feels like fire, every kiss like a gust of wind that feeds it. He knew they were both lucky to find a time to meet again, and he's determined not to waste a moment of it by being away from her. Ever since he'd realized what it meant that he was willing to break all sorts of promises just to see her again, he's committed himself fully to the course - to her. Having the chance to show her this in person is all he could ask for.
The exact form it will take this time around is something he hasn't quite decided on, though, so hopefully Wanda will have a few more ideas. After another kiss, he breaks off, smiling contentedly but with a spark in his eyes.]
Where do you want to begin today, my dearest? Watch a movie? Order room service?
[And whether she's actively reading him or not, the surface thought is almost too strong to ignore: or skip all of those and go directly to bed?]
[He's only been awake--alive--for a few hours, and everything hurts.
First there was the booming of thunder and the surprise of being awake, and then the mad dash by his creators to contain him when he'd just wanted some time to himself to process what was going on. And then before he could even get a handle on any of it, there was an angry mob with farming implements converted to weapons, and blood--so much blood, and it was all on his hands as he tried to gather that shining but brief personality back to himself. And there was so much anger, and the weapons hadn;t hurt him, he'd had enough instinct to deflect them or let them pass through, and he couldn't attack them back because they didn't know any better. So he'd fled into the rain and the night and quickly they'd lost him. He'd overheard them say he was probably headed to the forest where all the monsters belonged, and he supposed he must be a monster. So into the forest he went, stumbling through the darkness and picking up mud and detritus, and the rain hadn't even washed off all the blood.
He thought he saw a light off in the distance and headed for it, but by the time he got close enough to make out a cottage he was exhausted and in pain, and he just couldn't bear the thought of yet another person seeing him and screaming. Instead, he collapses out in the bushes around the cabin, consciousness fading but still pulsing with life, a golem of flesh and metal with an odd light set into his forehead trying to find a way to a home he's never known.]
[It's a cheery clearing, when it's not pouring rain. Green and gold lights hang from the branches of nearby trees, powered by some strange glowing sap. There's magic here, strange plants from the Otherworld that had been gifted to her by her friends among the fae, and even from her home's architecture it seemed obvious that that particular rumor was true. The townsfolk may call her a monster and whisper terrible stories of the things that happen here, but this is not a place of horror and death.
Still, it's best to be prepared. Sometimes a desperate person will either seek her out or stumble upon her, but Wanda does fear the day someone might decide to Do Something about the weird witch in the woods. So the lights serve another purpose, acting as wards to alert her whenever someone crosses them.
She feels it, feels pain behind it, and rushes to the window. Oh no.
If Wanda's instinct is to cry out upon seeing him, it's not because of what he is but the state he's in. Wanda's never turned away someone in need before and she's not starting now, whoever or whatever he is.
She rushes into the rain, a thin shield of scarlet power forming over her more for his sake than hers. She knees at his side, gently laying a hand on his shoulder.]
Can you hear me? You're safe now.
[She could lift him into her home, and probably will, but she's learned that it's best not to open with that.]
["None of you know the Stones like I do," she tells them, and she's grateful beyond words that her teammates both hear out her plan to save Vision and Natasha and decide it's worth a try. It doesn't create an alternate timeline if they save their own universe's Infinity Stones, does it?
They return to the 'Garden,' and then Wanda forces the other Time Stone to return the Mind Stone and Soul Stone to existence. It isn't easy, and apparently by the end of it she'd fainted and Clint had needed to carry her home.
But they've done it.
Tony's in too delicate a condition to bother with this, and so Wanda instead takes the cracked Mind Stone to Shuri. "Can you fix it? Can you save him?" And after three agonizing months of Dr. Cho, Shuri, and Wanda working together, they're ready to try waking him. Helen has mended Vision's body as best as she can, Shuri created a compound to seal the cracks in the Mind Stone and a process to reinsert it, and Wanda's power helped the Mind Stone bind properly to the sealant.
Shuri had thought it was nauseatingly cute - "it's like he'll be powered by your love."
He wakes this time to a world that has found some sort of normalcy from the chaos. Wanda's hair is brown again. Natasha is back after a harrowing trip to Vormir and a last-minute decision by the Soul Stone that it would rather give her back than be destroyed by Wanda and Carol, thanks. Wanda even visits Tony in the hospital and makes some sort of peace with him. Ross hasn't even breathed in her direction. It seems too much to hope that everything might just be okay.
Shuri wants to keep everyone here for a week just to make sure he's okay, and so as soon as he's medically cleared to go they return to the room Wanda's been given. She's barely holding back tears the whole time and once the door closes she tentatively reaches up to cup Vision's cheeks. He's warm, and his skin is as soft as she remembers.
She does not know how intact his memories are - there are so many things they need to talk about - but her eyes are filling with tears and she just can't help but crash into him and wrap her arms around him. She doesn't deserve it, but she needs to hold him.]
I'm sorry. [Her voice is muffled and further obscured by sobs.] I'm so sorry.
[After a courtesy knock, Wanda peers her head into the Steward's study. It's a beautiful spring day outside: the sun is shining, the birds are singing, the flowers are in bloom, and the temperature is just perfect. It won't be long before the oppressive heat of summer rolls in, so she wants a chance to appreciate it while they can.]
[He blinks a few times to refocus his eyes when he looks up. Vision doesn't need glasses yet (and wouldn't that be ironic, what with his name), but it's a well-known fact that Stewards tend to end up with them eventually. Not that he needs the help of his eyes with that particular psychic scent, one that has him half-smiling before she's even inside.]
I--it's not attacking me, you understand. I'll only have to do it later, if I stop now.
[But there's nothing so urgent that he can't get up and walk over to her, smile growing.]
[Wanda's not quite sure when it began, but something's different about the forest, more sinister. Normally she can't feel it at all, safe behind her wardings, but it feels like something's watching her when she leaves her safe little clearing to search for some ingredients she needs. That's not abnormal - she's not the only person living here, and there are very good reasons her home is so heavily warded. But today she'd felt that same presence following her when she took her potions and charms to trade. There was nothing physically there, but it had felt like someone was standing right behind her breathing down her neck.
Wanda had then made the mistake of reaching out to probe for whatever-it-was, and the cold darkness she'd found had chilled her to the core. It had been all she could do not to run back to the safety of her wards (although her pace quickened significantly) and once she was safely home she'd gone straight into Vision's arms. His psychic warmth had washed over her and chased that awful feeling away and that had been that. It had just been a scare - it wasn't uncommon to run into dark things in the forest. Wanda just hadn't come across this specific sort of entity before.
She was going to look into it, really. She just needed a little more time to come up with a plan but surely that could wait for tomorrow.
When she forces herself out of a terrible nightmare in the middle of the night she knows the delay was a mistake. This is something she'll have to deal with as soon as possible, especially before it begins to affect Vision. If it hasn't already - hopefully it isn't able to reach him through their bond.
She's breathing heavily and she'd bolted upright when she woke, and guiltily Wanda glances over to the other side of the bed. There's no way that wouldn't have roused him.]
Vizh...?
[Along with Pietro, he'd been the star of her nightmare, of course.]
[Vision had been on edge all day, and he wasn't sure if it was because he'd picked up on Wanda's unease or if it was the presence of something else pressing in on their little slice of peace. He'd never really escaped the lingering specter of the violence of his first day, even if Wanda had long since healed the hurts with the generosity of her spirit. But it had left him sensitive to Wanda's nightmares, and he was awake moments before her, already grasping for her hands in the dark.]
I am here, Wanda. [The golden-yellow glow of the runes inscribed into him and the yellow gem set into his forehead are evidence of that, lit up by a conscious pulse of his will.] What was it?
[Their suitcases had barely touched the ground before Wanda utterly abandoned them and threw her arms around her lover. She couldn't help it. This was the first time they'd been able to take a real vacation as themselves with nothing to hide. Valentine's Day wasn't a thing in Sokovia, but if this let her have Vision all to herself for an entire week, she'd take it.
For a long moment she just held him, enjoying the comforting sound of his heartbeat and his solid warmth under her hands. She always felt so safe enveloped in him like this, like nothing in the world could ever threaten them again.
No one ever would if Wanda had anything to say about it.
Eventually she emerged from his chest with a soft smile.]
This is perfect. A week to ourselves, no more distractions... [Wanda grins and rises onto her toes to kiss him.] I am all yours, love.
This wasn't uncommon, but when she woke up alone the bed was too big and the room was too empty and the New York Sanctum too quiet. Wanda felt like she was rattling around in there, like she was about to jump out of her skin. Breakfast didn't settle easily in her stomach, and by ten o'clock she couldn't take it any longer.
She decides against using the main doors to go to Kamar-Taj and instead uses the sling ring to get herself safely to Stephen's room. It's nighttime in Kamar-Taj, but Stephen's nowhere to be found.
Typical. But Wanda's powers lead her to him in a lonely corner of the library easily enough and Stephen only gets a few seconds' psychic warning before she throws her arms around him. She's trembling, but this is much better.]
The man who was once called a ghost moves through the shadows of the city.
He appears in strange places. Alleyways and dark corners of underground fights. Hovers over the edges of rooftops and beneath the awnings of abandoned businesses. Most people don't notice him. The mundane definitely don't, and the rest? Those that do tend to startle, to cross themselves, or pretend they don't notice...
He flashes his teeth behind a mask that covers the bottom half of his face and continues on his way.
The last leg of his journey is on foot, moving between small tenements and an open-air market in a part of town that was once run by the fae and now contains practitioners of various types of magic. He weaves through stalls full of trinkets and potions, scrolls, and mythical creatures, before reaching a set of floating stairs alongside a building.
He takes them three at a time before vanishing in front of the door and reappearing on the other side, where the Scarlet Witch awaits.
Wanda can sense him. She can always sense him when he's near, but she knows better than to rush into his arms no matter how much she wants to. So instead she'd changed quickly, throwing an open sheer red robe over a strappy crop top and shorts. Enough to tantalize, but not enough to demand his affections if he's not in the mood tonight. She is always careful not to push too hard unless he asks her to. His choices haven't always been his own, and she wants him to know that he is always safe with her.
There are two freshly-brewed cups of tea waiting on the table and Wanda's lounging on the couch, waiting for him. She sits up when he appears and smiles warmly, extending a hand. "Bucky."
How long has she been here? Definitely more than a week. A month, maybe? Two? Time has lost all meaning here under the waves; there's no helpful dimming of the lights to mark the passage of time and Wanda has no idea how much time she's lost to the haze of whatever they keep injecting her with.
Ross has spared no effort in her confinement - they all must know that any mistake, any slip in their protocol will mean the escape of all the rogue Avengers. So he keeps her in solitary confinement, so far from the others that she can only sense their minds in the precious moments of near-lucidity before they come to drug her again. Most of the time, that's enough. The shock collar and straitjacket really are overkill, but where she is concerned everything has to have layers upon layers of failsafes.
She wonders if she'll ever see the light of day again.
It's a useless fantasy, but sometimes she likes to rest her head against the cool wall of her cell and pretend that instead it's the warm solidity of his shoulder. She should be mad at him, perhaps, for not working out what exactly would be required to keep her somewhere she didn't want to be. All those boundless reserves of knowledge...he was the smartest of them all and yet in the end perhaps this was a very human darkness he couldn't fathom.
Either way she's too tired to be angry. She misses him, even though it's a useless sentiment. They're never going to let her out of here, not unless there's some catastrophe that forces their hand. And would he even want to see her anyway? Has he been convinced that she's the unstable monster everyone else sees?
That thought is more painful than she can bear and so she turns her mind back to thoughts of escape. Surely one day they will forget why they needed all of these precautions, or maybe if she acts especially helpless for long enough they will think her spirit too broken to try anything.
But though she can see those plans in vivid detail, she can still almost feel him on the edge of her senses. But of course that's impossible...right?
Vision gazes out across the horizon. The sky is filled with glittering stars, burning pinpricks that surround the planet. . None are the warm, vibrant red that she shines. That light was the first that shone for Vision. Now it’s dim, dulled and muffled as though someone has thrown a blanket over her.
At first Vision trusted that Wanda would be protected from the world. Until he felt her cries of anquish and fear. Then she faded. Over time he’s come to understand them better, though they still confuse and surprise him. One thing he understands all too well now, is that fear will drive some to terrible lengths. But there is something else that drives people as well, something that drives him . . .
The crashing sound of the waves beneath Vision change suddenly. He pulls himself from his thoughts and begins examining the rising platform as it materializes through the dark, churning waters of the Atlantic. Wanda is here. He knows it with absolute certainty, despite her near sillence. Hers was the first energy that touched his consciousness, and he is attuned to it, even to the point of distraction. He will find her. He will wake her, just as she had once awakened him.
Adjusting his being to ensure that none but Wanda will sense his approach, Vision descends. He passes through the metal bulkheads and reemerges in a hostile and sterile environment. Beyond the billions of computations that race through his mind there is the thought that Wanda is too warm and vibrant for a place such as this. He will not allow her to remain here. Without words he calls out through the darkness that she once illuminated. “Wanda?”
[ The Avengers had been imprisoned. Well, not all of them. Officially, they were the ones who opposed the Sokovia Accords and helped Steve Rogers aid an international fugitive. They'd been captured and taken to the Raft, which had been some of the most appalling news the team had heard in a long while. Coulson had insisted that the Avengers were the good guys, they didn't deserve to be treated like this, and not a single person had argued with him.
So, they'd decided to do something about it. After days of planning, they made their move. The team was small, only those closest to Coulson, and they only used resources that couldn't be traced back to SHIELD. Forged identities, stolen transport, unregistered and experimental tech — there were a million things that could have gone wrong. They might have ended up in the cells next to those famed superheroes... but they hadn't. The extraction had gone as smoothly as they could have hoped and everyone had been moved to another of Fury's off-the-books SHIELD bases, one of the last few they hadn't needed to dust off in recent years. Everyone had been settled with a bunk and a change of clothes and told that next steps would be discussed in a few hours; for now, get some rest.
It was easier said than done, of course. After checking in with Coulson, who was expertly covering up his team's disappearance from certain government officials who were having a real hissy fit about their prized prisoners going missing Daisy just can't manage to settle. She keeps seeing them in those cells, these heroes who would have laid down their lives to protect others, and she's furious all over again. The Sokovia Accords are a mistake, registration is a mistake—
Abandoning all hope of sleep, she grabs her laptop, pulls on a dark sweatshirt, and goes for a walk, looping her way through the base with a vague notion to set up shop in the kitchen. If she can't sleep, she can at least get some work done. ]
[ It's hard to even think about sleeping, as exhausted as she is, when she's been drugged into a stupor for her entire stay in the Raft. Ross had (rightfully) been the most afraid of her getting loose, and so in addition to the shock collar and the straitjacket they'd kept her drugged into a hazy twilight. She has too much pent-up energy from not being able to even stand and she knows the nightmares will come again if she tries to sleep.
(If she even succeeds in sleeping.)
So instead she slips out of bed and pads into the kitchen. Tea would be a good place to start, and maybe some comfort food for a late-night snack if she can find ingredients. This is an old routine. Wanda and sleep haven't been friends since her brother died. It had gotten better over the past year, but now...well, everything's gone thoroughly to shit. And she can't shake the feeling that it's all her fault.]
Oh-- I'm sorry. [Of course she isn't the only one having trouble tonight.] Am I interrupting?
[Well, she can hardly blame anyone for feeling out of sorts right now. She'd be grieving too, if her sudden departure from her world didn't feel so much like an escape. She doesn't like being manipulated by yet another cosmic rock but she knows this is better than whatever else was waiting for her.
Of course she misses her friends - are they still her friends? - but it's probably better this way. She can hardly make things worse for them from here.]
You would be surprised how clever they can be. There are places the birds eat better than the people.
I. There is a door that appears only to those who need it most, who have no one else in the world to turn to. On the other side of this door is a mysterious witchcraft shop. Friend or foe, human or otherwise—if your need is great and your hope is gone, there you will meet the SCARLET WITCH!
...although she much prefers to go by Wanda Maximoff. After Westview, she's determined to use her powers for good and find a way to actually help people, regardless of that 'destiny' nonsense. Of course, there's a chance that the spell worked too well and her shop door might even be visible to people in other universes.
The bell hanging on the door rings as you enter. Wanda looks up from a perfectly normal, definitely-not-cursed book. "You've come a long way. Sit," she says, indicating a cozy couch. "Can I get you something to drink? Or maybe a snack?"
II. They say a witch lives in these woods and they're right, although she has no interest in eating children or kidnapping hapless wanderers. Wanda has learned that the world is dangerous and although she's terribly lonely, she mostly just wants to be left alone. She's too kindhearted to ignore those in need, however, and she's been to known to heal injured travelers or shelter those fleeing pursuit before sending them on their way.
Or it's quite possible that you've blundered into a magical trap and are now facing down the witch herself. Maybe you're just lost, or maybe you heard rumors of the magical apples she grows and desperation drove you to attempt to steal one. Whatever the reason for your intrusion, she doesn't look happy...but she also hasn't torn you to bits so it seems all the rumors must not be entirely true.
III. Ever since Oryx's death, Taken across the system have been acting strangely. They've stopped attacking Guardians and have completely stopped trying to take territory. Even when a curious Guardian comes to investigate the Dreadnaught, they lurk but shy away from confrontation. Even when attacked, they only retreat deeper into the ship.
Eventually there's a voice in your mind: a woman's voice, and one you might recognize as the missing member of the fireteam who defeated Oryx. Leave. There is nothing for you here.
IV. Wild card - hit me up and we can do something else!
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Just, you know. A little heads up at the very least would have been appreciated.]
If I keep it a secret you'll have to come back for it. And I can't teach you here when the rest of the Avengers could walk into the kitchen any time.
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soulmates → storm
(...which Asgard lacks given the unprecedented privilege that a Midgardian read anything from their libraries -- but could certainly come up with something, they would assure, of course.)
In the mean time, Loki isn't keen to act as a placeholder and so he splits their time between relaying the basics of theory (which are a terrible bore, Thor often said, garnering more eye rolls from Loki than the combined populace) and actual practice. Wanda was correct; she could not show the extent of her abilities in that tower, but she can show them here: the wilderness beyond the city.
Since introducing her to the mountains for training beneath the veil of illusion, the days have grown shorter. The air is sharp with winter's breath, the occasional gust knocking off straggling leaves and challenging the warmth of Asgardian wear. His discomfort from the cold is a mental one, the lack of its bite a nod toward his monstrous ancestry; his cloak is worn for appearance only. The location is inconvenient, but he isn't willing to chance taking her out of Asgard. Not yet, at least.
As they cross the stones of a shallow, trickling stream, he asks, seemingly out of nowhere, ] What experience do you have with sculpting?
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But she doesn't ask to go home. The thought crosses her mind that night - what is she doing? - although in the end, her decision hasn't wavered. She has to see where this goes.
Surprisingly, Loki is the first teacher whose bravado lives up to reality. She actually enjoys their theory discussions, and not just because she could listen to his voice for hours. Wanda has always liked learning, even if her official schooling's been spotty. Understanding why her powers work is just as important as the finer points of control.
She is wary the first time he leads her off into the wilderness, but the more sessions they have, the more Wanda starts to look forward to their lessons. As fall comes to Asgard, she realizes she's reached a strange state of peace she hasn't felt in years. She's not sure she'd call it happiness, nor that she'd attribute it entirely to Loki. But it's nice to not feel like someone has a proverbial gun to her head anymore.
Whatever her the rest of Asgard thinks of Thor bringing her here, not once has someone looked at her and seen a thing.
As the days grow colder, Wanda starts to supplement the clothing she's been given with things she'd brought from home - high socks peeking through the slits in her gowns, leather jackets, boots instead of the dainty sandals ladies of the court prefer. She's wearing the socks and boots today for practicality's sake but a more traditional Asgardian woolen wrap over her dress.]
Not much. Pietro and I had a kind of clay when we were little. [What an odd thing to ask out of the blue.] Why?
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As promised!
Stephen wasn't feeling particularly comfortable teaching classes, but he was more than ready to take on the deal if it meant waking up next to Wanda every morning. That afternoon had been particularly gruesome, having reviewed defensive techniques involving a mismatch of physical and mystical techniques. When Stephen had finally walked back into the Sanctum, he had gone straight to the loft where their living quarters where, stripping out of his sweat soak training tunics and jumping in the shower without so much of word to Wanda. He had no doubt she was somewhere in the Sanctum, but he'd rather go to her not smelling like an old sock.
Once cleaned up and changed into a thin short sleeve shirt and jeans, he walked over to his study on the first floor, looking for the young woman:]
Wanda? Do you want to grab something to eat or should we cook in?
[His answer was met with silence, and Strange frowned as he noticed that not even the Cloak was where he had left it that morning before going to Karma-Taj.]
Wanda?
YES
It isn't ready yet!
[Leave it to Stephen to be so caught up in and exhausted from his work that he's forgotten his own birthday. It wasn't supposed to be a surprise, but since he very kindly left her and the Cloak alone in the Sanctum all day, can he blame her from going a little overboard?
The cake is baked, if still not completely assembled, and Wanda (accompanied by the Cloak) has spent the better part of the last hour running back and forth between the kitchen and the dining room to decorate and set the table while dinner cooks. But the candles aren't lit yet and she still hasn't put the last layer on the cake or decorated it. Where did the time go? Did he come back early? Or did he just rush through his shower?
She doesn't often have reason to envy him the Time Stone, but right now...]
I need a few more minutes. Can you stall him?
[If she uses her powers she might just be able to pull this off without making a complete mess of either herself or the kitchen.]
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lmao
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First meetings
There's noise in her mind, always noise, always screaming and burning and crying out. She knows she's not supposed to be here but she can't remember where she is supposed to be anymore. She knows there are people who should be here who aren't and others who don't belong here. Or maybe it's her who doesn't belong here? She can't remember.
The cell is brighter too, more light flooding in than she's used to.. It hurts her eyes and makes her want to curl up and hide, to burrow her face into her knees and never look up again. The light makes noise rise up inside her brain, more loudness than she wants and at some point, she started singing.
It doesn't combat the noise, not really, but it helps. Singing loud, half screaming sometimes, it makes her hear things outside of her own mind which is what she needs right now. She needs to know there's a world outside of herself and the chaos that lives inside her.
At some point the door opened,at some point, a test began, but she hasn't noticed it yet, her eyes squeezed shut and her own voice ringing in her hears.
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She knows that they've been lied to, that Strucker isn't who and what he'd said he was. She should have listened to every gut instinct she'd had that had told her to run, but Pietro had been so sure and they had been so desperate for a sliver of hope that she'd ignored it. And now for the first time in her life she's forced to keep secrets from her twin. If Pietro knew what they were, if he knew how this HYDRA had deliberately destabilized Sokovia to further his experiments...
She sees a poor tortured man in Strucker's mind that's only called 'The Soldier' and knows the knife edge they must walk to avoid being turned into that. And Pietro...oh, she loves him dearly, but subtlety has never been his strength. So Wanda says nothing and waits and when Strucker tells her he needs her help extracting information from someone she follows without protest.
It takes every ounce of self-control she has not to round on him. Wanda's seen people under the Scepter's influence before, but this kind of psychic pain is something completely different. The woman's mind feels sharp and jagged and fragmented. She's been tortured, Wanda realizes, by something far worse than whatever they did to the Soldier. Something like what was done to her, although there's no twin echo of power.
Wanda pads across the cold floor of the cell on bare feet, cautiously kneeling beside Loki. She reaches out, hesitates a moment, and slowly lays a hand on hers. "Shhhhh, I'm here," Wanda says with more confidence than she feels. The 'medicine' they give her still dulls the full extent of her power, and she doesn't have the ability to focus on Loki and Strucker at the same time to try to get a better idea of what's happened here. Still, Wanda's seen enough people trapped in their own heads (and put them there herself as part of her 'training') to recognize it now. She just needs to be a rock, try to project some psychic sense of safety and stability and hope something gets through. "Can you hear me?"
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for unbearablynaive
The distance is a factor, certainly. Their time together is so limited that it always feels to Wanda like she has to make every second count. Even sleep is a waste of time, regardless of how well she rests when he's with her or how comfortable the hotel beds are. She always tries to stay awake as long as she can.
(Except she can never last long if Vision starts stroking her hair while they cuddle.)
But their time together, being able to hold and kiss him, is wonderful. She's allowed him to undress her down to nothing but her underwear the last several visits and the feeling of his skin against hers is absolute perfection.
But after the first time, that will teach her to be sure she's wearing a cute bra with matching underwear.
It's wonderful as it is, and she's never pushed for more. If it happens, it happens. If not...she already has him. That's more than enough.
She takes his arm as they make their way to their room and as soon as the door closes behind them she hurries to embrace him.]
I missed you so much.
[And it's been long enough that she can't resist leaning up for a kiss.]
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And I've missed you, Wanda.
[Everywhere their bodies touch feels like fire, every kiss like a gust of wind that feeds it. He knew they were both lucky to find a time to meet again, and he's determined not to waste a moment of it by being away from her. Ever since he'd realized what it meant that he was willing to break all sorts of promises just to see her again, he's committed himself fully to the course - to her. Having the chance to show her this in person is all he could ask for.
The exact form it will take this time around is something he hasn't quite decided on, though, so hopefully Wanda will have a few more ideas. After another kiss, he breaks off, smiling contentedly but with a spark in his eyes.]
Where do you want to begin today, my dearest? Watch a movie? Order room service?
[And whether she's actively reading him or not, the surface thought is almost too strong to ignore: or skip all of those and go directly to bed?]
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spooooooky
First there was the booming of thunder and the surprise of being awake, and then the mad dash by his creators to contain him when he'd just wanted some time to himself to process what was going on. And then before he could even get a handle on any of it, there was an angry mob with farming implements converted to weapons, and blood--so much blood, and it was all on his hands as he tried to gather that shining but brief personality back to himself. And there was so much anger, and the weapons hadn;t hurt him, he'd had enough instinct to deflect them or let them pass through, and he couldn't attack them back because they didn't know any better. So he'd fled into the rain and the night and quickly they'd lost him. He'd overheard them say he was probably headed to the forest where all the monsters belonged, and he supposed he must be a monster. So into the forest he went, stumbling through the darkness and picking up mud and detritus, and the rain hadn't even washed off all the blood.
He thought he saw a light off in the distance and headed for it, but by the time he got close enough to make out a cottage he was exhausted and in pain, and he just couldn't bear the thought of yet another person seeing him and screaming. Instead, he collapses out in the bushes around the cabin, consciousness fading but still pulsing with life, a golem of flesh and metal with an odd light set into his forehead trying to find a way to a home he's never known.]
3spooky5me
Still, it's best to be prepared. Sometimes a desperate person will either seek her out or stumble upon her, but Wanda does fear the day someone might decide to Do Something about the weird witch in the woods. So the lights serve another purpose, acting as wards to alert her whenever someone crosses them.
She feels it, feels pain behind it, and rushes to the window. Oh no.
If Wanda's instinct is to cry out upon seeing him, it's not because of what he is but the state he's in. Wanda's never turned away someone in need before and she's not starting now, whoever or whatever he is.
She rushes into the rain, a thin shield of scarlet power forming over her more for his sake than hers. She knees at his side, gently laying a hand on his shoulder.]
Can you hear me? You're safe now.
[She could lift him into her home, and probably will, but she's learned that it's best not to open with that.]
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for voicedbyjarvis
They return to the 'Garden,' and then Wanda forces the other Time Stone to return the Mind Stone and Soul Stone to existence. It isn't easy, and apparently by the end of it she'd fainted and Clint had needed to carry her home.
But they've done it.
Tony's in too delicate a condition to bother with this, and so Wanda instead takes the cracked Mind Stone to Shuri. "Can you fix it? Can you save him?" And after three agonizing months of Dr. Cho, Shuri, and Wanda working together, they're ready to try waking him. Helen has mended Vision's body as best as she can, Shuri created a compound to seal the cracks in the Mind Stone and a process to reinsert it, and Wanda's power helped the Mind Stone bind properly to the sealant.
Shuri had thought it was nauseatingly cute - "it's like he'll be powered by your love."
He wakes this time to a world that has found some sort of normalcy from the chaos. Wanda's hair is brown again. Natasha is back after a harrowing trip to Vormir and a last-minute decision by the Soul Stone that it would rather give her back than be destroyed by Wanda and Carol, thanks. Wanda even visits Tony in the hospital and makes some sort of peace with him. Ross hasn't even breathed in her direction. It seems too much to hope that everything might just be okay.
Shuri wants to keep everyone here for a week just to make sure he's okay, and so as soon as he's medically cleared to go they return to the room Wanda's been given. She's barely holding back tears the whole time and once the door closes she tentatively reaches up to cup Vision's cheeks. He's warm, and his skin is as soft as she remembers.
She does not know how intact his memories are - there are so many things they need to talk about - but her eyes are filling with tears and she just can't help but crash into him and wrap her arms around him. She doesn't deserve it, but she needs to hold him.]
I'm sorry. [Her voice is muffled and further obscured by sobs.] I'm so sorry.
Black Jewels AU for unbearablynaive
[After a courtesy knock, Wanda peers her head into the Steward's study. It's a beautiful spring day outside: the sun is shining, the birds are singing, the flowers are in bloom, and the temperature is just perfect. It won't be long before the oppressive heat of summer rolls in, so she wants a chance to appreciate it while they can.]
I've come to rescue you from your paperwork.
:D
[He blinks a few times to refocus his eyes when he looks up. Vision doesn't need glasses yet (and wouldn't that be ironic, what with his name), but it's a well-known fact that Stewards tend to end up with them eventually. Not that he needs the help of his eyes with that particular psychic scent, one that has him half-smiling before she's even inside.]
I--it's not attacking me, you understand. I'll only have to do it later, if I stop now.
[But there's nothing so urgent that he can't get up and walk over to her, smile growing.]
What did you have in mind?
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spoopytime for unbearablynaive
Wanda had then made the mistake of reaching out to probe for whatever-it-was, and the cold darkness she'd found had chilled her to the core. It had been all she could do not to run back to the safety of her wards (although her pace quickened significantly) and once she was safely home she'd gone straight into Vision's arms. His psychic warmth had washed over her and chased that awful feeling away and that had been that. It had just been a scare - it wasn't uncommon to run into dark things in the forest. Wanda just hadn't come across this specific sort of entity before.
She was going to look into it, really. She just needed a little more time to come up with a plan but surely that could wait for tomorrow.
When she forces herself out of a terrible nightmare in the middle of the night she knows the delay was a mistake. This is something she'll have to deal with as soon as possible, especially before it begins to affect Vision. If it hasn't already - hopefully it isn't able to reach him through their bond.
She's breathing heavily and she'd bolted upright when she woke, and guiltily Wanda glances over to the other side of the bed. There's no way that wouldn't have roused him.]
Vizh...?
[Along with Pietro, he'd been the star of her nightmare, of course.]
this is only a month late
I am here, Wanda. [The golden-yellow glow of the runes inscribed into him and the yellow gem set into his forehead are evidence of that, lit up by a conscious pulse of his will.] What was it?
<3!
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for voicedbyjarvis, Everyone Lives AU
For a long moment she just held him, enjoying the comforting sound of his heartbeat and his solid warmth under her hands. She always felt so safe enveloped in him like this, like nothing in the world could ever threaten them again.
No one ever would if Wanda had anything to say about it.Eventually she emerged from his chest with a soft smile.]
This is perfect. A week to ourselves, no more distractions... [Wanda grins and rises onto her toes to kiss him.] I am all yours, love.
for nomadeupname
This wasn't uncommon, but when she woke up alone the bed was too big and the room was too empty and the New York Sanctum too quiet. Wanda felt like she was rattling around in there, like she was about to jump out of her skin. Breakfast didn't settle easily in her stomach, and by ten o'clock she couldn't take it any longer.
She decides against using the main doors to go to Kamar-Taj and instead uses the sling ring to get herself safely to Stephen's room. It's nighttime in Kamar-Taj, but Stephen's nowhere to be found.
Typical. But Wanda's powers lead her to him in a lonely corner of the library easily enough and Stephen only gets a few seconds' psychic warning before she throws her arms around him. She's trembling, but this is much better.]
I'm sorry, I needed you.
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He appears in strange places. Alleyways and dark corners of underground fights. Hovers over the edges of rooftops and beneath the awnings of abandoned businesses. Most people don't notice him. The mundane definitely don't, and the rest? Those that do tend to startle, to cross themselves, or pretend they don't notice...
He flashes his teeth behind a mask that covers the bottom half of his face and continues on his way.
The last leg of his journey is on foot, moving between small tenements and an open-air market in a part of town that was once run by the fae and now contains practitioners of various types of magic. He weaves through stalls full of trinkets and potions, scrolls, and mythical creatures, before reaching a set of floating stairs alongside a building.
He takes them three at a time before vanishing in front of the door and reappearing on the other side, where the Scarlet Witch awaits.
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There are two freshly-brewed cups of tea waiting on the table and Wanda's lounging on the couch, waiting for him. She sits up when he appears and smiles warmly, extending a hand. "Bucky."
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plz forgive the lateness of this tag
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for the person who knows who she is
Ross has spared no effort in her confinement - they all must know that any mistake, any slip in their protocol will mean the escape of all the rogue Avengers. So he keeps her in solitary confinement, so far from the others that she can only sense their minds in the precious moments of near-lucidity before they come to drug her again. Most of the time, that's enough. The shock collar and straitjacket really are overkill, but where she is concerned everything has to have layers upon layers of failsafes.
She wonders if she'll ever see the light of day again.
It's a useless fantasy, but sometimes she likes to rest her head against the cool wall of her cell and pretend that instead it's the warm solidity of his shoulder. She should be mad at him, perhaps, for not working out what exactly would be required to keep her somewhere she didn't want to be. All those boundless reserves of knowledge...he was the smartest of them all and yet in the end perhaps this was a very human darkness he couldn't fathom.
Either way she's too tired to be angry. She misses him, even though it's a useless sentiment. They're never going to let her out of here, not unless there's some catastrophe that forces their hand. And would he even want to see her anyway? Has he been convinced that she's the unstable monster everyone else sees?
That thought is more painful than she can bear and so she turns her mind back to thoughts of escape. Surely one day they will forget why they needed all of these precautions, or maybe if she acts especially helpless for long enough they will think her spirit too broken to try anything.
But though she can see those plans in vivid detail, she can still almost feel him on the edge of her senses. But of course that's impossible...right?
Re: for the person who knows who she is
Vision gazes out across the horizon. The sky is filled with glittering stars, burning pinpricks that surround the planet. . None are the warm, vibrant red that she shines. That light was the first that shone for Vision. Now it’s dim, dulled and muffled as though someone has thrown a blanket over her.
At first Vision trusted that Wanda would be protected from the world. Until he felt her cries of anquish and fear. Then she faded. Over time he’s come to understand them better, though they still confuse and surprise him. One thing he understands all too well now, is that fear will drive some to terrible lengths. But there is something else that drives people as well, something that drives him . . .
The crashing sound of the waves beneath Vision change suddenly. He pulls himself from his thoughts and begins examining the rising platform as it materializes through the dark, churning waters of the Atlantic. Wanda is here. He knows it with absolute certainty, despite her near sillence. Hers was the first energy that touched his consciousness, and he is attuned to it, even to the point of distraction. He will find her. He will wake her, just as she had once awakened him.
Adjusting his being to ensure that none but Wanda will sense his approach, Vision descends. He passes through the metal bulkheads and reemerges in a hostile and sterile environment. Beyond the billions of computations that race through his mind there is the thought that Wanda is too warm and vibrant for a place such as this. He will not allow her to remain here. Without words he calls out through the darkness that she once illuminated. “Wanda?”
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So, they'd decided to do something about it. After days of planning, they made their move. The team was small, only those closest to Coulson, and they only used resources that couldn't be traced back to SHIELD. Forged identities, stolen transport, unregistered and experimental tech — there were a million things that could have gone wrong. They might have ended up in the cells next to those famed superheroes... but they hadn't. The extraction had gone as smoothly as they could have hoped and everyone had been moved to another of Fury's off-the-books SHIELD bases, one of the last few they hadn't needed to dust off in recent years. Everyone had been settled with a bunk and a change of clothes and told that next steps would be discussed in a few hours; for now, get some rest.
It was easier said than done, of course. After checking in with Coulson, who was expertly covering up his team's disappearance from certain government officials who were having a real hissy fit about their prized prisoners going missing Daisy just can't manage to settle. She keeps seeing them in those cells, these heroes who would have laid down their lives to protect others, and she's furious all over again. The Sokovia Accords are a mistake, registration is a mistake—
Abandoning all hope of sleep, she grabs her laptop, pulls on a dark sweatshirt, and goes for a walk, looping her way through the base with a vague notion to set up shop in the kitchen. If she can't sleep, she can at least get some work done. ]
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(If she even succeeds in sleeping.)
So instead she slips out of bed and pads into the kitchen. Tea would be a good place to start, and maybe some comfort food for a late-night snack if she can find ingredients. This is an old routine. Wanda and sleep haven't been friends since her brother died. It had gotten better over the past year, but now...well, everything's gone thoroughly to shit. And she can't shake the feeling that it's all her fault.]
Oh-- I'm sorry. [Of course she isn't the only one having trouble tonight.] Am I interrupting?
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Noctium TDM Overflow
Osiris
[Well, she can hardly blame anyone for feeling out of sorts right now. She'd be grieving too, if her sudden departure from her world didn't feel so much like an escape. She doesn't like being manipulated by yet another cosmic rock but she knows this is better than whatever else was waiting for her.
Of course she misses her friends - are they still her friends? - but it's probably better this way. She can hardly make things worse for them from here.]
You would be surprised how clever they can be. There are places the birds eat better than the people.
[Her voice softens.]
But not here from what I see.
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Spooktober 2022
...although she much prefers to go by Wanda Maximoff. After Westview, she's determined to use her powers for good and find a way to actually help people, regardless of that 'destiny' nonsense. Of course, there's a chance that the spell worked too well and her shop door might even be visible to people in other universes.
The bell hanging on the door rings as you enter. Wanda looks up from a perfectly normal, definitely-not-cursed book. "You've come a long way. Sit," she says, indicating a cozy couch. "Can I get you something to drink? Or maybe a snack?"
II. They say a witch lives in these woods and they're right, although she has no interest in eating children or kidnapping hapless wanderers. Wanda has learned that the world is dangerous and although she's terribly lonely, she mostly just wants to be left alone. She's too kindhearted to ignore those in need, however, and she's been to known to heal injured travelers or shelter those fleeing pursuit before sending them on their way.
Or it's quite possible that you've blundered into a magical trap and are now facing down the witch herself. Maybe you're just lost, or maybe you heard rumors of the magical apples she grows and desperation drove you to attempt to steal one. Whatever the reason for your intrusion, she doesn't look happy...but she also hasn't torn you to bits so it seems all the rumors must not be entirely true.
III. Ever since Oryx's death, Taken across the system have been acting strangely. They've stopped attacking Guardians and have completely stopped trying to take territory. Even when a curious Guardian comes to investigate the Dreadnaught, they lurk but shy away from confrontation. Even when attacked, they only retreat deeper into the ship.
Eventually there's a voice in your mind: a woman's voice, and one you might recognize as the missing member of the fireteam who defeated Oryx. Leave. There is nothing for you here.
IV. Wild card - hit me up and we can do something else!