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Traveler: Chapter 25
🕑 Added 2024-09-02 16:30:01 +0000 UTCThe thrusters propelled him high up in the air and Tony Stark surveyed the carnage underneath. Harry, Thor, and Rogers were fighting against both the Chitauri and hidden HYDRA soldiers who stood no chance against their combined might.
He stared at the powerful forcefield that surrounded the fortress and asked, “How long, JARVIS?”
“Thirty seconds, sir,” came the reply of his creation in his deep accent.
He knew that both Harry and Thor were powerful enough to destroy the forcefield around the fortress, but they could not take any risks. SHIELD had discovered that multiple civilians had been abducted by HYDRA and it did not take a genius to figure out where those assholes might have kept them captive. Attacking or overpowering the shield directly could make the entire structure crumble.
“The power source of the shield is a particle wave below the north tower, sir.”
“Great, I wanna poke it with something,” Tony replied and fired a blast straight at the base. The shield flickered before it vanished with a static that remained in the air for a few seconds before it dissipated away. “Drawbridge is down, people!”
“That’s our cue,” Maria said telepathically as she led the way in. Their suits were made by Harry using his powers, and coupled with how compatible they were with their enhanced bodies thanks to the bond they shared with Harry, all they needed was a mental command and it would function as they wanted. Coupled with their mental link with each other, this made them a formidable espionage team. “Disillusionment, girls.”
The suit acted immediately, warping the texture in accordance with their surroundings and hiding them in plain sight.
“What about the HYDRA soldiers?” Felicia asked.
“You need to ask? Kill away,” Natasha replied as she quickly darted forward, and before the HYDRA soldier even knew something was off, he fell over, dead, his neck twisted. “Let’s not make any noise while we do this.”
“Good idea,” Maria agreed with slight amusement as she threw the soldier she had just taken out over the window ledge, watching as he fell down the mountain into deep snow.
“Main entrance at two o'clock," Natasha's voice echoed in their minds. "Two guards, heavy artillery. Infrared shows four more inside the first chamber."
Maria nodded imperceptibly. "I'll take left, Felicia right. Natasha, you're our eyes. Once we're in, I want a full magical scan of the building layout."
Moving with inhuman speed and grace, Maria and Felicia incapacitated the guards before they could even register the threat. Meanwhile, Natasha disarmed the security system with a wave of her hand, the runes glowing as the magic interacted seamlessly with technology. They could not use any advanced spells but the magical energy was enough to disrupt things, just as Harry had told them.
"We're in," Felicia said, a hint of excitement in her mental voice. "Now for the fun part."
The trio moved through the fortress corridors, their magical suits allowing them to pass through security checkpoints undetected. They communicated silently, coordinating their movements with precision honed through months of training and close relationships.
"Life signs ahead," Maria warned. "A lot of them. Could be the civilians Nick was talking about. Also detecting some strange energy readings... could be the Tesseract, but it's faint."
They rounded a corner to find a large holding area. A few terrified people were huddled in cells, guarded by a couple of HYDRA operatives.
"I've got the guards," Natasha said telepathically. With fluid motions, she disarms and neutralizes the HYDRA agents before they can raise an alarm. Her enhanced strength allows her to take down men twice her size with ease.
Felicia approached the cell controls, surveying the mechanism curiously.
"A little magical assist, ladies?" She asked as Maria and Natasha approached the control system.
Together, they channeled their enhanced abilities, overriding the locking mechanism with ease. The magical energy crackled visibly around their hands as they worked.
As the cells opened, Maria addressed the civilians whose eyes darted around in confusion, wondering what was happening. They jumped when they suddenly heard a voice out of nowhere.
"We're here to help. Follow us, stay quiet, and we'll get you to safety." Maria said as they willed themselves to appear. Her voice, honed after years of practice and experience in human behavior and disaster management, was calm enough that it helped soothe the panicked prisoners who obliged eagerly.
“You’ll be the safest with us. Just stay close to the walls and we’ll be out of here in no time,” Natasha told the prisoners who nodded shakily. All three women frowned as they took in the sight of them. They looked severely malnourished, with multiple injuries on their person that were indicative of a prolonged session of torture. They struggled to even walk properly, and as much as they wanted to lead them out of the fortress, they knew it was highly likely that they might either get caught once again or fall to their deaths considering their physical weaknesses.
As they ventured deeper into the fortress, they encountered heavier resistance. The prisoners, as told, remained pressed against the dark walls of the fortress as HYDRA troops opened fire at their rescuers. The magical shields of their suits kicked in, forming a protective barrier around them that deflected the bullets and energy blasts.
"Whoever’s in charge here will be near the Tesseract," Natasha said as she took down three agents with acrobatic precision, her kicks powerful as they landed right at their throats, fracturing and killing them on the spot. "We need to move faster. I'm sensing a lot of activity two levels down."
They fought their way through, their enhanced abilities and seamless coordination making them a nearly unstoppable force. Felicia's agility allowed her to outmaneuver opponents, leaping off walls and ceilings with catlike grace. Maria's tactical mind guided their overall strategy, her intellect processing information at incredible speeds as she scanned their surroundings and formulated plans within seconds. Meanwhile, Natasha's lethal efficiency cleared a path forward, her movements a blur of deadly precision. The three women were the pinnacle of what an elite espionage team could ever aspire to be.
As they descended deeper into the fortress, the air grew colder and the lighting dimmer. "I don't like this," Felicia said to the others. "It feels... wrong down here."
"Agreed," Maria responded. "Stay alert. Nat, any read on the Tesseract?"
"Getting stronger," Natasha confirmed. "But there's something else... some kind of interference… I don’t know what, exactly."
They reached a heavily fortified laboratory at the lowest level. Inside, they easily recognized Baron von Strucker and Dr. List huddled around a glowing blue cube that could only be the Tesseract. The room was filled with strange machinery, pulsing with an otherworldly energy, undoubtedly powered by the cube itself.
"Well, looks like we have more company," Strucker's voice came over the intercom, his tone smug. "I must say, I'm impressed you made it this far. But I'm afraid your little rescue mission ends here."
"Strucker," Maria thought to the others. "I'll keep him talking. Nat, secure the Tesseract. Felicia, watch our backs."
They nodded and Natasha quickly acted, while Felicia stayed behind, keeping an eye on the developments.
Maria stepped forward, her posture confident despite the tension in the air. "Baron von Strucker, I presume? I'd say it's a pleasure, but we both know that would be a lie."
Strucker's lips curl into a smirk. "Agent Maria Hill. SHIELD's dutiful lapdog. Or at least you used to be. Now you’re little more than Harry Potter’s little plaything, or one of them, at least. I don’t think I ever thought Nick Fury’s second-in-command would fall so low, literally on her knees in this case. But I digress. Tell me, how does it feel to be on the losing side of history?"
"Funny, I was about to ask you the same thing," Maria retorted, her eyes never leaving Strucker's face as she sensed Natasha and Felicia moving into position behind her. "Your little science experiment out there isn't going so well, is it?"
Strucker's smile faltered slightly. "A minor setback. The alien attack was a surprising development, but nothing that would harm us in the long run. HYDRA's vision for the future─"
"Save it," Maria interrupted. "I've heard this speech before. World domination, superior race, blah blah blah. Don't you guys ever get tired of the same old routine?"
Strucker's eyes narrowed. "You mock what you don't understand, Agent Hill. The power we wield here─"
"The power you stole, you mean," Maria cut in. "The Tesseract doesn't belong to you, Strucker. You're playing with forces beyond your comprehension."
"And SHIELD is any better?" Strucker scoffed. "You claim to protect, but you only seek to control. At least HYDRA is honest about its ambitions."
Maria took a step closer, her voice low and dangerous. "Honest? Is that what you call experimenting on innocent civilians?"
For a moment, Strucker's composure slipped. "Sacrifices must be made for progress. You of all people should understand that, Agent Hill."
"There's a difference between sacrifice and slaughter, Strucker. But I wouldn't expect you to know the difference," Maria retorted, being no stranger to sacrifices.
Strucker's hand moved toward a concealed weapon. "Enough of this. You may have made it this far, but HYDRA is not so easily defeated. Cut off one head─"
Maria's eyes flashed. "Spare me the dramatics, Baron. Your heads are about to be in very short supply."
As Maria kept Strucker engaged in her verbal sparring, Natasha moved silently toward the Tesseract. List noticed her approach and reached for an energy rifle, but Felicia was there in an instant, restraining him with her enhanced strength.
"The game's over, Strucker," Maria announced. "Surrender now, and we can avoid further bloodshed."
Strucker sneered, reaching for a hidden energy gun. "HYDRA never surrenders. Cut off one head─"
His words were cut short as Maria, seeing no need to let this charade continue, took him down with a precise strike. She turned to Natasha who had already secured the Tesseract in a specially designed container.
The Tesseract's energy pulsed angrily in its containment unit, as if aware of its capture.
"Heads up," Felicia said telepathically. "We've got more incoming. Looks like they've figured out we're here and have sent the rest of the rats behind us."
"Wait," Natasha interjected mentally. "I'm picking up faint life signs... below us. And something else... it feels like residual energy from the experiments."
Maria's expression hardened. "We need to check it out. The civilians up here are safe for now. Let's move."
They descended further, walking into what could only be described as a dungeon. The air was thick with the stench of fear and decay. As they rounded a corner, they were confronted with a horrific sight.
A large room, filled with bodies. Civilians, dozens of them, lying motionless on cold metal tables. The signs of brutal experimentation are evident - surgical scars, strange markings, and expressions of terror frozen on lifeless faces.
"Fucking hell," Felicia whispered, her voice shaking in rage and shock.
"Stay focused," Maria responded, though her own voice betrayed her shock and anger. "Nat, you said there were signs of life?"
Natasha nodded grimly, pointing to a cell at the far end of the room. Inside, they found a young woman who looked to be in her twenties, bound and gagged. Her body, unlike the others, bore no marks of experimentation, but her eyes were wide with fear and pain.
"It's okay," Maria says softly, approaching the cell. "We're here to help. Can you understand me?"
The woman nodded faintly as Felicia quickly broke the cell open. As they freed her from her bonds, she managed to whisper, "There were... others. They didn't... survive the tests."
"What's your name?" Felicia asked gently, supporting the weakened woman who leaned against her.
"Wanda," she replies, her voice hoarse. "Wanda Maximoff."
"Alright, Wanda," Natasha says, her tone reassuring. "We're going to get you out of here. Can you walk?"
Wanda nodded, but as she tried to stand, a strange red energy crackled around her just as Natasha stepped forward to support her as well. She looks at the glowing Tesseract in terror. "They exposed me to it. I don’t know what happened afterwards. What did they do to me?"
"We'll figure that out later," Maria replied gently. "Right now, we need to move. We’ve found a few more people upstairs and we need to get out of here."
She reached out and took the Tesseract from Natasha who nodded and helped Felicia with Wanda. With Maria leading the way, they started to make their way back through the fortress, guiding the rescued civilians who had remained where they had left them.
Outside the HYDRA fortress, the battle still raged, explosions rocking the mountainside as Harry, Thor, Tony, and Steve kept fighting the Chitauri and what remained of HYDRA soldiers.
The Chitauri horde continued its relentless assault, their alien weaponry tearing through both trees and HYDRA soldiers alike. The air was thick with smoke, energy blasts, and the acrid smell of destruction.
Harry Potter, Captain America, Iron Man, and Thor found themselves at the epicenter of the battle. They fought back-to-back, a whirlwind of esoteric arts, vibranium, repulsor blasts, and lightning.
"On your left, Cap!" Tony shouted, firing a barrage of missiles at a group of Chitauri trying to flank Steve. The super-soldier nodded in thanks, his shield singing through the air as he took down three more aliens in rapid succession.
Thor brought Mjolnir down with a thunderous crash, sending a shockwave through the Chitauri ranks.
"These beasts are relentless!" he growled, electricity crackling around him.
Harry was a blur of motion as he cast spell after spell. A powerful blasting curse struck a Chitauri dropship head-on, causing it to explode mid-air. Debris rained down, crushing several HYDRA soldiers who had been engaging the aliens.
"We can't keep this up forever," Steve panted, catching his shield as it ricocheted back to him. "We need a new strategy."
Just then, Harry heard Natasha's voice in his mind.
"We've got the Tesseract and rescued the hostages. Heading out now."
A spark of an idea ignited in Harry's mind. He deflected a Chitauri energy blast with a quick shield charm and decapitated it before tapping his comm. "Fury, I need you to authorize a nuclear strike on the fortress."
There's a moment of stunned silence before Fury's voice crackled through. "Potter, have you lost your damn mind?"
"Trust me," Harry insisted, ducking under a Chitauri blade and casting a piercing hex straight through its throat, watching dispassionately as the alien choked on its purple blood and fell over, dead. "I have a plan. Tony, I need you in the air. You're going to intercept that nuke."
"Whoa, whoa," Tony's voice cut in as he blasted another group of aliens. "Did I hear that right? We're nuking Sokovia now?"
"Not Sokovia," Harry explained quickly, casting a silentReducto to clear a path. "The Chitauri mothership. I'm going to use the Tesseract to open a portal. We send the nuke through, take out their command center."
Steve's voice joined the conversation as he threw his shield, taking out five Chitauri in one throw. "Harry, that's incredibly risky. We don't know what effect that could have on the Tesseract or the surrounding area. Hell, it could all malfunction and explode right here in our faces!"
"It's our best shot," Harry argues, conjuring a flock of razor-sharp birds to kill the incoming Chitauri horde. "These things aren't stopping. We need to cut them off at the source… And if it does fail… well, I’ll try to whisk you lot away."
There was a tense pause before Fury spoke again. "Alright, Potter. You've got your authorization. But if this goes sideways, it's on you."
"Understood," Harry replies. "Nat, get that Tesseract to me ASAP. Everyone else, clear the area around the fortress. Tony, get ready to intercept."
As the plan was set in motion, the battle intensified. The remaining HYDRA soldiers, realizing they were caught between the Avengers and the Chitauri, began to break ranks.
Thor summoned a massive lightning strike, frying a group of Chitauri and HYDRA agents alike. "Your plan is madness, wizard," he shouted over the din of battle. "The Tesseract is not to be trifled with."
"Got any better ideas?" Harry retorted, transfiguring debris into wolves that leaped at the Chitauri, gouging their throats out before being blasted apart by another horde.
Tony soared overhead, taking out Chitauri flyers in their chariots. "Just another day at the office, right? Catch a nuke, save the world. No pressure."
As the team scrambled to clear the area, Harry prepared himself. Natasha arrived with the Tesseract quickly, her enhanced suit and abilities aiding her in full as she reached him. Her eyes, determined, bore into Harry’s, full of confidence and trust in his abilities.
"Whatever you're going to do, do it fast," she said, handing over the cube.
Harry took a deep breath as he started channeling his magic into the cosmic cube. The power was massive but in no manner beyond anything he'd ever felt before. It was much easier to maintain control than he had expected, and the sense filled Harry with wonder. Perhaps it was his control over the ultimate Infinity Stone that enabled him to wield it with such ease.
"Tony, status on the nuke?" Harry called out over the comms, eyeing the man hovering high in the air.
"Incoming hot, ETA 30 seconds!" Tony replied, streaking across the sky as he shot toward the incoming nuke.
“This is madness,” Steve whispered as he kept fighting alongside Thor who sent another lightning blast at a chariot, exploding it mid-air.
Harry ignored everything and kept his attention firmly on the connection he needed to keep open, drawing on his magical strength. A beam of energy shot from the Tesseract, tearing open a swirling portal in the air roughly a hundred yards above ground level. It was at a perfect height and arc for Tony to send the nuke flying through. They could easily see the massive Chitauri mothership, a behemoth of alien technology looming in the void of space, another hundred yards or so inside the portal.
"Now, Tony!" Harry shouted.
Iron Man streaked across the sky with the nuclear missile clutched in his arms. With split-second timing, he swerved its trajectory and hurled it through the portal. For a heart-stopping moment, Tony seemed to teeter on the edge of the portal before pulling back.
For a moment, everything seemed to hang in suspense. Suddenly, a blinding flash erupted from the portal. The shockwave rippled through the opening, causing Harry to grit his teeth under the strain of controlling the Tesseract as he shut the portal close.
On the ground, the effect was immediate. The Chitauri warriors suddenly froze, before they collapsed like puppets with their strings cut off. Their dropships fell from the sky, crashing into the already battered landscape and so did another Chitauri Leviathan.
In the aftermath, as the dust settled, the entire group looked around in stunned silence. The Chitauri threat had been neutralized, but the cost was evident in the devastated landscape around them.
Fury's voice rang over the comm, somber but relieved. "Good work. The team is arriving to get this mess cleaned up."
Steve approached, placing a hand on Harry's shoulder. "That was one hell of a gamble, Potter. But it paid off."
Tony landed right beside them and popped off the helmet of his suit, his eyes wide with disbelief. “You’re a madman, you know that?” He asked.
Harry let out a chuckle as he leaned against Natasha who wrapped an arm around his waist and shook her head in wonder.
“It paid off, like I told you all. I wouldn’t have called for it if I didn’t know it’d work.”
“Still, you’re a madman, and a powerful one at that. At least you let us have a run at this lot here and didn’t pull another Stuttgart on us,” Tony remarked. He eyed Thor who was slowly approaching them and asked, “Also, what’s up with Sparky over there? You fixed his hammer back?”
“Was easy enough,” Harry shrugged. “No need to make an enemy without a reason, eh?”
Tony merely shrugged. “Don’t know, pal. You got his sister hostage. Seems like a big enough reason to make an enemy, for him, that is. Didn’t he say what you did is an act of war against Asgard?”
“I wouldn’t worry about that if I were you,” Harry replied. Steve eyed them for a moment before he turned to Thor who reached them and gave him a polite nod.
“I guess my work’s done here. I’ll be seeing you guys soon,” Harry said, and before anyone could react, he vanished with both Natasha and the Tesseract, leaving behind a trio of surprised men who stared at the vacant spots.
“That guy will never change,” Tony remarked, just as the cleanup crew arrived. “Later, Cap. Sparky.”
The helmet fasted itself around his head once again and he shot high up in the air at a furious pace and with a powerful sonic boom, Iron Man tore through the air, disappearing within seconds.
His lips pursed, Thor gazed at Steve who let out a small sigh at being left alone with the disgruntled Asgardian.
“Harry doesn’t mean─”
He was cut off as Thor rotated his hammer furiously and shot up high as well and flew away. Sighing, Steve glanced around before he decided to coordinate with the SHIELD agents to ensure the cleanup went safely without any lapses.
Someone had to take up the responsibility, after all.
XXXXX
It was late night in New York and Betty was lounging on the couch, a tablet held in her hand which she used to coordinate with SHIELD Agent Carter on behalf of Bruce when the living room of Harry’s apartment lit up in a shower of golden sparks. She jerked slightly and glanced up to see Harry appear with Felicia, Maria, Natasha, and a haggard woman who she did not recognize. Her eyes widened as she gazed at them and she quickly shot to her feet.
Mere seconds later, there was another spark beside them and Dr. Helen Cho appeared in the room, her eyes immediately falling on Harry and she closed the distance between them, kissing him softly.
“You did brilliantly, as always,” she said with a loving smile as she caressed his cheek, and Harry kissed her palm gently.
“There’s something I feel we might need your help with, Helen,” Harry said, and the woman’s eyes fell on Wanda. She frowned, taking in the state of the newcomer. Her brown hair was tangled and her clothes were rumpled, and dirty in places. She looked shaken but other than those anomalies, there did not seem anything wrong with her, at least physically.
“Why don’t you all tell me what exactly happened in Sokovia, aside from the battle outside that fortress?” Helen asked.
Harry nodded and gestured toward the couch for them to take their seats, waving his hand to summon glasses of water for everyone.
Natasha leaned forward, still in her combat attire like Felicia and Maria, with her crimson hair tied up in a ponytail. Her voice was steady as she placed the Tesseract on the table beside her.
“We infiltrated the HYDRA fortress as planned. SHIELD already knew there had been abductions in the region, and we found people in there… well, whatever remained of them.”
“There were a few people in a cell whom we managed to rescue easily. They are with medics in Sokovia now, being treated for malnutrition and trauma. But the rest…” Maria trailed off.
“HYDRA was experimenting on them with the Tesseract,” Felicia took up the explanation. “Hundreds died and they were further experimented on, cut up and all… But Wanda here…”
Harry raised an eyebrow from his spot in an armchair as he gazed at the woman who kept glancing around with apprehension, keeping her eyes pointedly away from Nat, or rather, the Tesseract.
“What about Wanda? What makes her different?”
Felicia, leaning back on the couch with an arm behind Wanda, spoke up. “HYDRA’s been playing with fire, I believe. They subjected those people to radiation from the Tesseract. Maybe that was what attracted the Chitauri to Sokovia. Well, as you can expect, everyone died, apart from her.”
Harry glanced at Wanda who had her eyes downcast, and Felicia reached out toward Natasha who handed her over the Tesseract with pursed lips. He saw the ragged brunette bite her lower lip, tense, as Felicia brought the cube closer, and his eyes widened slightly when a red spark emanated from her as the distance between her and the Tesseract lessened.
“I see…” He muttered. “I’m sure you don’t want to recall any of this, Wanda, but can you tell us more about what happened?”
The woman looked apprehensive for a moment before she seemed to regain some strength to herself. Felicia rubbed her back comfortingly as she started speaking about the situation in Sokovia and what had driven so many people to HYDRA and their experimentation.
“Most of the people were abducted, experimented on, and once they went in, we never saw them again,” she said gravely. “Only a few of us remained in the end when it was our turn.”
“Our?” Maria asked gently.
“Me and my brother,” Wanda whispered, and it did not take them any time to realize that her brother must have been one of the many casualties of the experimentation. “They said they were checking if we were capable of handling a higher form of power… Pietro went first. They took him inside a chamber and exposed him to the cube’s point-blank radiation. They said if we could endure it and show any reaction at all, we would pass through the filter.”
She paused for a long moment, as both Maria and Felicia comforted her while the others stared at her in sympathy. It was clear that aside from the trauma of captivity, she was still grieving for her brother.
“It was my turn after him… I’d thought we were ready, but after I saw them drag Pietro’s body out of that chamber and throw him away like some trash… I realized what a mistake we had made…” She whispered. “They did the same to me. Exposed me to the radiation, and I can’t remember anything after that. All I saw was the bright blue light of the cube and I have no idea how much time passed, but when I woke up again, it was in that cell.”
They all sat in silence for a few minutes, all digesting the information revealed to them. Finally, Harry spoke up, “I’m sorry for what you’ve been through, Wanda. And for your loss. But if you’ll let us, we’ll help you out through this. It’s quite apparent that the Tesseract has awakened something inside you, and if my hunch is correct, it is volatile. Right now, it only acts up when you come close to it, but we don’t know for sure how long that would last.”
“You’re not alone anymore,” Natasha said with a comforting smile as she gazed at the woman. Turning back to Harry, she said, “For now, we need to keep her safe, hidden, and somewhere that can stand up a violent reaction, if it happens. HYDRA will want her back, and there is no shortage of forces who would like to use her for their gains.”
“Another room then,” Helen said with a hint of mirth in her voice, earning a shrug from Harry.
“There’s enough room, so it’s not a bother,” he replied.
Felicia stretched, wincing slightly as she felt a couple of joints pop. “In the meantime, I don’t know about the rest of you, but I could use a nice swim in the pool and at least twelve hours of sleep.”
“I’m knackered as well after today,” Helen nodded. She glanced at Maria and Natasha who were the same, and Harry smiled as they stood up and walked up the stairs. He reached out and grabbed the Tesseract, and the remaining two women saw it vanish in front of their eyes.
“How can you do all these things?” Wanda could not help but ask. Harry gazed at her with a small smile.
“I can use magic,” he replied. “Nothing like the tricks you must know. Actual magic.”
Wanda could only nod dumbly as he stood up.
“Betty, would you mind helping Wanda while I prepare her room? She could use a nice shower and all.”
“I’ve got this,” Betty nodded. Smiling, Harry reached out and gave her hand a comforting squeeze before he walked away. The two brunettes stayed seated for a few moments before Betty asked Wanda to follow her to her room where she could fix herself up.
“What is up with all these women here, if you don’t mind me asking, uh… Betty?”
Betty let out a small sigh and as replied, “They are all Harry’s girlfriends.”
Wanda’s eyes widened as her footsteps came to a sudden stop. Her eyes widened as she stared at the other woman who gazed back in amusement.
“Surprising, isn’t it? But it all somehow works. They’re probably happier than they’ve ever been.”
“It’s still not a normal practice,” Wanda replied cautiously, taking care not to offend the woman who she felt was another of Harry’s lovers. Yet, her curiosity got the better of her and she decided to ask away. “Are you one as well? His girlfriend, I mean…”
“Ha, I wish,” Betty replied with a wistful smile, taking Wanda by surprise. Her mind replayed all the changes that had been occurring in her relationship with Harry and she sighed. “Let’s just say it’s a work in progress and leave it at that.”
Wanda nodded absently as they walked into a room, and Betty quickly fixed her with all the necessities.
“Call me in case you need anything, okay? These clothes should fit you.”
Wanda nodded graciously and Betty watched the door close behind her. Sighing, she walked over and took a seat on her bed, tilting her head upward to stare at the enchanted ceiling.
Harry’s powers were marvelous, and beyond anything this world had ever seen. But even if he didn’t have those powers, she would’ve been attracted to him as much as she was now. She had figured out what she wanted with him, and he was showing the signs as well.
Perhaps it was time she truly acted on her feelings instead of remaining passive about things. After all, Harry deserved to see her efforts as well. Yet, a hint of hesitation… her cowardice… remained.
Exhaling deeply, Betty closed her eyes and let herself fall back on the bed, resolving to think about it when she woke up the next day. Harry seemed to have a lot on his plate right now, after all.
To be continued…
Comments
Erinnyes
Always glad to see another chapter of this one. It's always fun.
