Flashback 2: Scarlet & Silver

And here we are again! Been such a long time! Anyway, here's the flashback! (Also, has anyone read Queen of Shadows? Just wondering!)

Have fun!

LittlePond

Flashback 2: Scarlet & Silver

Aurelia Tempest awoke from her dreamless sleep, only to see an elderly man sitting at her right hand side.

"What the hell!" she exclaimed covering herself with the plain white sheet, grateful for the woollen pyjamas she wore since her rooms were eternally cold.

"I'm didn't mean to startle you. I was just giving you your timetable," answered the man at her bedside, she didn't hear him move, so he

"Perv," she muttered under her breath, poked her eyes out from underneath the covers, and ordered, "Just leave it here and go."

The man nodded, placed it beside her shivering body.

"I'm Doctor List, the lead scientist, by the way," he stated, as if that was to impress.

"Out please!"

Doctor List closed the door behind him, and after 45 seconds passed, she allowed herself to exit the blankets and dress for training; according to her timetable, Aurelia was going to train Wanda first.

~~~

The assassin stood shivering in her training gear on top of a silver platform painted with HYDRA's symbol, 27 inches high. Behind her was a set of shelves stacked with pillows and other soft objects, and next to that was a desk that held a file filled with photos of the twins.

The doors to her north east creaked, and Wanda Maximoff entered.

"What are we doing?" she asked, walking to the argent platform. "Training," Aurelia answered, regarding her skeptical look. Wanda scoffed, pointing to the shelves behind her, "Really? With pillows? How will they take down Stark?"

Aurelia sighed and pulled out the pillow with the most feathers stuffed inside. "If I'm being honest; we're not going to do much. I just want to see what your powers are, their strength. Things like that."

The Enhanced crossed her arms, her garment's material made Aurelia itchy from just looking. "You know what my abilities are." The assassin held the irritating pillow in between the curve of her waist, which was usually fastened into a corset when she was on a mission.

"I know. But seeing is believing."

Aurelia held out the pillow towards her and tightened her ponytail, "Now I want you to move the pillow with your telekinesis, do whatever you want- just don't hit me." Wanda grinned and raised her hands as the same scarlet energy emerged, and picked the pillow from her hands.

The pillow, once a mundane object, metamorphosed into something beautiful and terrible. The younger twin's energy encircled the pillow as it turned a circle. It was amazing; such power had been bestowed upon the younger Maximoff, and here Aurelia was, offering to demonstrate it with a pillow.

"That's amazing," she whispered, as the pillow turned from her. Wanda shrugged, her concentration on the levitating object,  "Is there anything else you would like to see?" The assassin shrugged, her plans had dissipated once the pillow returned safely into her hands. "I have no idea how you'll display the whole mind control thing, but-"

She couldn't remember much after that.

Being hypnotised from Wanda's abilities was unlike anything she'd experienced. Aurelia felt as if she was hibernating inside her body, watching her limbs move without her permission.

Once she was in a typical position of a ballerina, Aurelia tried to break through her mental restraints out of humiliation, she was an assassin, not a doll!

But the vermillion tentacles only grew stronger. 

After a while though, they loosened and the agent was able to control her own body.

The assassin moved her wrists, her neck, ankles and her fingers, then looked at Wanda, "That was terrifying and really cool." The Enhanced grinned, the last of the familiar scarlet energy fading from her fingers, "You look cute as a ballerina."

Aurelia turned to the metal desk behind her and picked up the file containing the images. "Now, I want you to do the same thing. Except," she pulled up the division with the photos of her brother, "I want you to see these." Curious, Wanda took the file, but as soon as the images became visible, the prideful smile on her face turned into something homesick.

Pietro's sister slowly took in the images, turning pages with soft hands, her eyes globes of longing, the utter need to see her brother again enthralled her, encased her in an eggshell which Aurelia felt guilty to break.

"I'm afraid I'm going to ask for that back," Aurelia practically tip-toed towards the female Maximoff.

Even if she wouldn't admit it, the assassin was afraid that Wanda would lash out. The HYDRA agent wasn't sure in a 27 inch drop could be lethal, but the impact on the concrete walls had the potential.

Aurelia held the folder, fingertips growing white from guilt. "I didn't know how else to tap into your emotions," she sighed, knowing her reasons weren't worth a lot, or any good.

Wanda didn't seem to care, she was in her own world. It seemed her plan had worked.

"Now, I want you do to the exact same thing," Aurelia exhaled in a remorseful breath, choosing another pillow. The female Maximoff turned slowly and attempted to raise the cushion, and after some avail managed to.

The threads of energy were extremely thin, as if they had been starved. The pillow had at least 3 drops when Wanda's concentration broke, but managed to pick it up just before it touched the ground. Finally, after 3 minutes and 40 seconds, the pillow landed back in Aurelia's hands, much shakier than before.

"Is it ok if I ask you to do your mind voodoo again?" the assassin asked, trying to inject some form of humour into the heavy atmosphere, ready to storm gallons. Wanda smiled lighter than a petal but kept the homesick aura, and when she tried to enrapture her mind Aurelia broke free of the restraints, made of cloth rather than the steel chains in her first experience.

She checked her watch; the two still had 10 minutes left. So Aurelia and the Enhanced sat down on the symbol of HYDRA.

"I'm sorry I had to do that," she sighed, hugging her black-clad knees. Wanda exhaled, picking at the threads in her garment. "Can you not bring that file?"Aurelia nodded, smiling, at least the Maximoff hadn't let her blood spill, "I wasn't intending to. It was just to see how your abilities changed. You know, like control, dependent and independent variables?"

"What are control, dependent and independent variables?" she asked.

Aurelia laughed softly; she'd forgotten Wanda most likely didn't have the education so many others received. The Enhanced probably didn't even know about the elements. Aurelia had always enjoyed biology and astronomy, she bombarded her tutors with pleas to teach her more, but they always donated more time to the properties of triangles and circles rather than homeostasis or supernovas.

"It's a science thing, don't worry about it."

The assassin stood up and offered her hand to Wanda. "We've got a minute left," Aurelia said sadly, if she had her way, the assassin would donate the entire day to the girl's abilities. "I do not like my cell," Wanda responded, taking agent's scarred hand.

She couldn't bring herself to look the younger Maximoff in the eye at the thought of her own bedroom and it's adjoining bathroom. "It didn't look too comfortable." 

"True, it is not comfortable, but now I have a friend."

"F-friend? I'm a...friend?"

Wanda smiled, a stunning shooting star across the night sky, giving hope to all that saw. In the glimmer, Aurelia wished on that star, that what Wanda had said was true, and stayed that way. "Of course," was the last thing Wanda said before being escorted to her claustrophobic dungeon.

~~~

With a stomach full with the food Aurelia Tempest was knocked over her feet by a blue blur; Pietro Maximoff.

"You've," she stood up from the thigh that she landed on, "got to stop doing that!" Pietro on the opposite side of the circle, grinned, "You said demonstrate my speed, and I did just that."

She would have to work on getting that sharp tongue under restraints, should he ever be in an interrogation, or worse, the speedster's wit could get him killed.

"I said that, but I thought you wouldn't knock me over like tumbleweed!"

"What is tumbleweed?" the older Maximoff asked, his head had leaned adorably. "Haven't you seen those-" Aurelia remembered he probably hadn't seen much Western movies, "never mind. Could you do the speed thing again?"

In a flash, the Enhanced whizzed past her, ripping out her hair tie, he circled the circumference of the room and just when she couldn't see him, Pietro tripped her from behind, making her fall over the platform, past the 27 inch drop and flat on her back.

"How do you say 'what a pain in the ass' in Sokovian?" 

Pietro walked at a normal pace to her side, and knelt over her, "I would tell you, but then you'd understand whenever I say it." That wit would definitely have to be put under restraints.

Aurelia tried her best to avoid glancing at the view she had of the muscled Enhanced, but it was extremely hard, especially whilst she was flat on her back. The assassin sat up, and looked around, "Where's my hair tie?" Pietro offered the simple black band, smiling like a thief, somehow, he must've caught it whilst she fell. 

Which meant he could have caught her. Rude.

"Thanks," she sighed, re-tying her hair, and pulled it over one more time than she usually did. Pietro offered his hand, she took it, noting it's warmth. The two walked onto the platform again, and Aurelia studied the shelf with all the soft objects she'd gathered.

All last night, she'd pondered over how Pietro could demonstrate his increased homeostasis; she'd thought of harmful ways, but there was no way she would willingly bring harm to the twins.

Aurelia had never decided how he could show it, so she decided to ask the speedster himself. "I have no idea how you'll show the homeostasis part of your abilities..." 

Immediately, cogs started to turn in the twin's brain, and Aurelia remained silent. 

Before he spoke again, Pietro ran straight at the metal shelf, missing her by inches. 

"Pietro!" she yelled out in alarm, jumping off the platform and by his side. Now, the tables had turned, and the Enhanced lay flat on his back, surrounded by cushions, stuffed animals- which Aurelia was extremely surprised to find at a HYDRA base- and other soft objects.

Not surprisingly, he was breathing hard from the impact, an observation she tried to send to the dark recesses of her mind, and knelt beside him.  Thank the stars Von Strucker and Doctor List weren't monitoring her thoughts.

"You are positively insane! What were you thinking?" she scowled, kneeling between shelves once she had dodged the miscellaneous objects and splinters of wood and metal.

"What do you think?" he coughed, rubbing his eyes, remaining flat on his back. Aurelia couldn't help but admire what the speedster had done. 

Pietro could have chickened out and she would have complied, he would even point out that she was an assassin and she would have found some way to hurt him, but not too much. And yet he'd chosen to run headfirst into the shelf.

"You could have gotten yourself killed." Pietro laughed and sat up, blue eyes somehow even more alive and electric than before, "You could have, but I couldn't." 

Aurelia grinned at his insolence and offered a hand much colder than his own "Come, I've got to show you something."

If there was some sort of thermal camera for curiosity, Pietro would have broken the lens. Her heart sunk at the thought of his expectation and the reality of what she was about to show him. It sunk a little further when she thought of how it'd play out on his abilities.

Once back on the platform with the shelves back in place, Aurelia reached for the folder and handed it to Pietro. "Ah, so this what the file is for," he grinned as he opened it. The grin was quickly thrashed off his face when his eyes fell upon the photos.

His reaction was much different to his twin- for approximately 3 seconds, he flipped through the images HYDRA had managed to conjure of Wanda and threw it down, photos floating down to the like feathers.

"Could you...maybe...do that running thing now?" Aurelia asked feebly, noticing his hands beginning to envelope themselves in blue ribbons.

Without a word, the older Maximoff began to speed around the room, though unlike Wanda, whose abilities had weakened, Pietro ran even faster, as if he could outrun the emotional strain she had put him under. 

Finally, he skidded to a stop and asked, "Is that all?" The anger and wistfulness were taking their full toll, it was obvious right down to the tone of his voice, to the way his fingers couldn't stop fidgeting with inhuman speed. 

"There is one more thing," she sighed, "that metabolism thing."

Pietro stretched his neck and ran in the direction of the shelves again. Except this time, his aiming was not as good. 

So instead of missing her by inches, the speedster took the assassin with him.

He seemed to realise what he had done, and she could feel him repositioning their bodies in order to make the impact less painful for the two of them. In a matter of milliseconds, Aurelia felt herself turn in all directions, until finally, the two plummeted to the ground, Pietro's body shielding her.

For a few moments, all Aurelia could see was white.

The white of the linen, the white of the stuffing inside the bears, the white of her tank top. After that came the impossible hardness beneath her, she turned, only to find she was lying on top of Pietro, who seemed unscathed. 

"You know, you can be rather heavy," he managed to get out from underneath her. She made her way off him, but her left wrist fell beneath her halfway through and realised after a few moments she was left straddling him.

Crap.

"I'll just be off," Aurelia stuttered, trying to get off him, but every time she moved her wrist, pain zapped through her, causing her to be temporarily paralysed from shock. "Are you injured?" Pietro asked, sitting up. 

It was exhausting to ignore the awkwardness of the situation, and she tried to keep her eyes fixed on the enigma of her wrist, but every time she did, there the speedster was in the background.

"I might be; my wrist is playing up," she sighed, inspecting with her fingers, "Hopefully, it's only dislocated, or  just sprained." The Maximoff seemed to take her inspection as a cue for him to do the same, and soon her skin was not only alight with pain.

Aurelia placed her fingers on the joints in her wrist- there was no sign of dislocation. That could be a good or bad sign. 

Mind racing, Aurelia slowly grew very aware of the position she was in; straddling Pietro surrounded by pillows and stuffed animals with hardly any way off.

"Umm," she started, but Pietro finished her sentence, "This is odd." The two laughed, as Aurelia did, her eyes fell on her watch; they had 1 minute left. 

"Crap!" she shouted, attempting and failing once more to get off the speedster.

The elder Maximoff steadied her,  "What is it?" Aurelia sighed, thinking of the near impossible situation they were in, and the impending awkward one. "Our session finishes in 1 minute."

As if by order, Pietro had her off him in seconds, and she was sitting on the edge of the platform. Beside her, the shelves were being reassembled by a blue flash, pillows and animals alike appearing like magic on the wooden planks.

In seconds, he was by her side and picked her up, Aurelia made sure to keep her wrist placed firmly on her stomach. "Thanks for getting me off you." 

"Fast is my middle name."