Chapter Text
Good And The Bad
Kendra laid on the couch in the living room reading through one of her various cooking magazines. After she returned from the Raft she found a new love of cooking. Vowing never to eat prison food ever again.
As she flipped through the pages she stopped and read the article. Kendra smiled, she definitely could finish this before the team got home. Holding the page she got up from the couch, “Hey Vision!” Kendra yelled into the empty space of the living room, finding her jacket on the back of the bar stool she walked over to grab it, “I am heading over to the store do you need-”, she turned around and gasped, clutching the magazine to her chest. Vision stood right in front of her. “Jesus Vis, what the hell. You gotta announce yourself, I could have blasted you.”
“I apologize for startling you, Ms. Andrews.” He replied, “I come with urgent news. There appears to have been an incident during the recent mission in Lagos.”
Kendra dropped the magazine to the ground and jumped over the couch landing on the cushions, scrambling to find the remote she turned on the TV to see the destruction before their eyes. Vision phased through the couch and sat down next to her.
“It would seem our dear Wanda may have caused an accident.”
Kendra brought her hands to her mouth in shock, she watched the news crews as they sorted through the wreckage, the hurt, and the dead. The background shows Steve talking with local authorities. No Wanda or the team in sight. “Was anyone on the team hurt? Are they on their way back? Does Tony know?” Kendra asked while opening her phone, trying to find the tracker on the Quinjet.
“They are due back to arrive within the hour,” Vision replied, “No one appears to have been injured before or during the blast and Mr. Stark was indeed notified.”
Kendra stood up from the couch, “Ok, this is going to be a nightmare for them, not to mention the world leaders are going to be furious.” She scratched the back of her head, “Wanda is going to need our full support through this, I can only imagine what she is going through.”
Vision kept his view on the TV, “I don’t think the world is worried about what Wanda Maximoff is going through right now.” He looked up at who had narrowed her eyes at him, and he flinched, “I am simply just gathering thoughts on the situation as a whole. It does not look good for Mr. Stark or the team.”
Kendra looked back to the TV, “I’m not worried about the world Vision.” She pointed to the screen, “We don’t know what happened out there, but what I do know is that someone from our team went through something and we need to make sure we are here to support them. That’s how a team works. Good and the bad.” She threw the remote on the couch next to him, “If you need me, I’ll be making some phone calls. I suggest you decide how you want to handle their arrival.”
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Hours later, Kendra found herself knocking on the open door to Wanda’s room. The young girl was folding her laundry. She briefly looked up at her friend.
I don’t miss that, those after-mission washes” Kendra said, nodding her head to the clothing, “Thank goodness for the industrial washer and dryers here.”
Wanda went back to folding her laundry, “Did you come here just to talk to me about my clothes.”
“No.” Kendra whispered, “I’m sorry about what happened out there, I wanted to ask you if there was anything I could do for you.”
Wanda chuckled, “I don’t think you could help me.”
Kendra walked into the room sat on the edge of the bed and picked up a shirt to fold, “Wanda we all have made mistakes here.” She chuckled sadly, “I would know. You don’t want to talk, that's fine but I’m serious. I read the mission report, that couldn’t have been easy to go through something like that.” She prodded but the girl stayed quiet. Kendra cocked her head to the side, “What would make you feel better hmm? I can make a mean grilled cheese sandwich, or maybe something from home. Something comforting always helps me-”
“Food isn’t going to help me, Kendra.” Wanda snapped, pausing what she was doing, “I hurt people. I killed people.” She hissed.
Kendra nodded, “I understand that-”
“But you don’t.” Wanda snapped, she pointed to Kendra, “You lose control, you kill people and you get sent to a cabin in the woods.” She paused briefly before speaking again, “I made a mistake and they want me locked up.” She went back to folding her clothing, “So you will have to excuse me if I don’t care what advice you have for me right now.”
Kendra gave her a small smile and folded the shirt in her lap. She placed it on Wanda’s bed and stood up slowly. Kendra walked in silence until she got to the door before turning her body just slightly towards her friend. “I know you are hurting and that’s fine, I can take it.” She gave her friend a sad smile, “I just hope you are able to handle this pain you are feeling, but if you can’t. Just know you aren’t alone.” With that, she walked through the doors and headed somewhere else in the compound. Leaving Wanda to her thoughts.
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Steve sat in his office. He looks through the window and sees Kendra taking what seems to be a very heated phone call. Steve looked back at the news footage on his computer, “11 Wakandans were among those killed during a confrontation between the Avengers and a group of mercenaries in Lagos, Nigeria, last month. The traditionally reclusive Wakandans were on an outreach mission in Lagos when the attack occurred.”
“I don’t care!” Kendra screamed into the phone, Steve shifted his gaze back to her and raised a brow, “You will put me through right now! No? That’s not good enough!” Kendra suddenly put the phone down to her side and let out a scream before punching in a new set of numbers, she took a deep breath and resumed speaking. “Yes, I need you to put me through to the Department of defense please, clearance? You can let them know Stark is calling.”
Steve turns his computer off, but sound drifts toward him from another room. He gets up from his chair and walks through the hallway, he finds Wanda sitting on her bed watching the news.
“They are operating outside and above international law. Because that's the reality if we don't respond to acts like these.” She continued to stare at the screen, “What legal authority does an enhanced individual like Wanda Maximoff have to operate in Nigeri- ”
Steve picks up the remote to the TV and turns it off, placing it back on the dresser. Crossing his arms, Steve leaned against the doorframe
“It's my fault,” Wanda whispered.
Steve shook his head in disagreement, “That's not true.”
“Turn the TV back on. They're being very specific.” She pointed out.
Steve pushed himself off the frame, “I should've clocked that bomb vest long before you had to deal with it.” He walks over to Wanda. “Rumlow said ‘Bucky’ and . . . all of a sudden I was a 16-year-old kid again, in Brooklyn. After what he has done to us, to me, to Kendra. My focus was lost.” He sits beside Wanda. “And people died. It's on me.”
“It's on both of us,” Wanda replied.
Steve looked at the ground, “This job . . . we try to save as many people as we can.” His jaw clenches a bit before he turns to Wanda, “Sometimes that doesn't mean everybody. But if we can't find a way to live with that, next time. . maybe nobody gets saved.”
Wanda nodded, “Is Kendra mad at me?” She asked looking through the doorway, “I was cruel to her earlier.”
Steve smiled and shook his head, “She knows how you're feeling, she isn’t mad. She is doing what she does best actually, sorting things out. However, it looks like this time people are having a harder time listening.”
Wanda nodded, “Do you think she could make me a grilled cheese sandwich?”
Steve nudged his shoulder to hers, “I think we could convince her. Maybe we all need one right now.”
Vision interrupts Wanda and Steve by walking through the wall into Wanda’s room. “Vis!” Wanda exclaims, “We talked about this.”
Vision looked back and forth between them and the door, “Yes, but the door was open so I assumed that . . .” He gestures at the door and stops. “Captain Rogers wished to know when Mr. Stark was arriving.”
“Thank you.” Replies Steve, “We'll be right down.”
Vision pointed to the doors, “I'll . . . use the door.” He stopped for a moment and turned back to speak to them, “Oh, and apparently, he's brought a guest.”
“We know who it is?” Ask Steve.
Vision said the last thing anyone wanted to hear was, “The Secretary of State.”