I followed closely behind Ultron as he led me through the base, hurrying up my pace every so often when he would fly down stairs. I had barely any time to look at the robots flying past me as they worked on whatever the main machine ordered them to. "Where am I, really?" I questioned him, hopping down the last few steps and running back to his side. "Hello? If I'm gonna be here, I want a few answers!"
"If you continue this, you're going to receive none," Ultron grumbled. "Your siblings don't harp this much. They keep to themselves, and they're quiet."
"Yeah, because it was their choice," I retorted. We turned a corner, leading to a hallway with several doors on either side. "I'm staying to save them, and you know that. It's not exactly like I have a way to escape on my own, so why even keep my location secret?"
"Ah, the life of a young hero," the robot sighed sarcastically. "So troubling. If it'll keep you off my back, it's an old HYDRA base in Sokovia. I doubt it'll mean anything to you." It did; it was where my father and his team were fighting when I decided to show myself. How funny it came full circle.
Not.
I stayed quiet for the rest of the time, waiting patiently as he knocked on a door. It was opened not even seconds after, and Pietro's curious face peeked out from behind the door. It was hard to believe he was older than me. "So?" he asked the robot, who merely pushed me forward to where I almost crashed into the door. A smile broke out along the boy's face, and he allowed me inside. The room was small, two stiff twin beds a few feet apart, and the other Maximoff twin sat criss-crossed on one of them.
"Deci ce a spus?" Wanda asked her brother when she saw his gleeful expression.
"A decis să rămână," he replied, and a similar look speed across her face. It was strange to see two people that caused so much chaos to be so happy. Pietro laughed when he saw my confused look, nudging me with his shoulder. "When all of this is over, I'll teach you."
"No, when this is over, I'll be the one who ends up teaching her," his sister corrected him, clasping her hands together as she looked me up and down. There were tears forming in her eyes. "You... you're so pretty."
"Um, thanks," I said awkwardly, rubbing my arms while they were crossed against my chest. "Sorry, I'm still trying to comprehend the fact I've had two siblings this entire time. It's a little-"
"Strange?" Pietro laughed, plopping down on the floor and leaning against the wall. He no longer had his black and white track jacket on, revealing his black athletic long sleeve. "Trust me, soră, we're in the same boat. It was really just hope you'd still be alive."
"Pietro!" Wanda scolded.
"Soră?" I repeated, my eyebrows furrowing.
"It means sister," the female twin explained, her accent heavy on the translation. She extended a hand in my direction, noticing how I had remained standing. "Sit, please. There's no reason for us to be so formal. We're family after all." I glanced down at her hand, but I didn't budge. Wanda pursed her lips together and lowered her hand. "I know it's not the most... ideal situation, but we're not enemies. To expect you to just trust the two of us is irrational, but I hope someday we can get to that point."
"He said your name is Isabel," Pietro continued. "That's all we know besides the fact you somehow can do things."
"Is... is it biological?" I asked him, turning in his direction. "I can't remember a time where I didn't have my powers."
"We were not born with it," the older boy shook his head. I slowly sat down on the floor, criss-crossing my legs like Wanda did on the bed. "I don't know the full science except that Strucker had positions open to become as powerful as the Avengers. We didn't really think twice."
"So what all can you do?" Wanda asked me.
"Fun fact, I really don't know," I answered honestly. If Ultron's word was true, then I didn't have anything to hide from them. "I just think of what I want to do and my powers do it; my hand just channels it." To demonstrate, I flicked my eyes over to the corner of the room, raising my hand up with my palm facing the ceiling. As I did the movement, water droplets started to appear, growing in size and swirling in a counterclockwise motion. Using both my hands now, I curled my fingers slowly into my palms to bring my watery creation to me. It was starting to shake, probably due to the fact I had never used my powers to show off.
"Don't think too hard," Wanda coached me gently, leaning forward as she watched me struggle with a soft smile. "It is natural to you, correct? Just relax." I saw her own hands move out of the corner of my eye, and a section of the water spiral was pulled out as she manipulated it. "You can't remember how you got your powers?"
"No," I admitted. "To be honest, the clearest memories I have are the ones with my dad." The female Maximoff lost her concentration, and the water splattered on the floor. I spread my fingers out, allowing the rest to disappear, so I could give her my full attention. "What do you have against him?"
"He's a murderer," Pietro chuckled angrily, his head drooping. "Tony Stark is the reason our real father is dead... and why we lost you." He raised his eyes to take in my puzzled look, running his fingers through his hair with a sigh. "It was dinnertime. You were throwing an intericale over the food; you were picky for some reason. It... it would've been a normal evening-"
"-but then a bomb crashed through the ceiling," Wanda finished for him curtly, noticing how his voice was beginning to waver. I could almost see the event replaying in her eyes despite how she was trying to keep herself calm. "It didn't stop; it just kept going down and widened the hole it left. Mother and Father tried their best, but they were too close and fell in. You would've too if Pietro didn't pull you away and with us under the bed."
"You were crying, and I didn't know what to do," her (our?) brother continued. "It was so hot. A few minutes later, the second bomb crashed right in front of us, right in our faces so we could see the single word imprinted on the side for the rest of the two days we spent still in fear of blowing up."
"Stark," I breathed, and the two nodded. "But he sold bombs up until he was kidnapped."
"'Sold?'" Wanda repeated in disbelief. "But they were his."
"It's a logo," I explained. "It was on the tower in New York for the longest time before he changed it to say 'Avengers' after the alien attack. I have tons of shirts with it printed on the front."
"It had to have been Tony Stark," Pietro scoffed. I could understand where he was coming from; I was changing everything for them with this small piece of information. "There is no way it isn't him."
"I could buy anything from any company and then blame the manufacturer when I do something bad with it," I pointed out. "He had hundreds, no, thousands of customers. Any one of them could've been the culprit. Why would he want to bomb a small city? It's not like he was demonstrating its power; he did that in deserts for government officers. I've seen the photos."
"That's enough." I winced as Ultron's metallic voice filled our ears. Wanda looked up at the replicated robot hovering in the room's doorway, its eyes glowing blue as the main AI possessed it. "We just became short on time. We leave in seven hours. Sleep. Make sure to suit her up beforehand." With its words said, the robot left the room, ignoring how both of its soldiers were hurriedly rubbing teary eyes.
"Are you sure Tony Stark isn't responsible for our parents' deaths?" Wanda questioned. I took a second before nodding. "Everything in me wants to believe that, but... I can't. I need more proof."
"Search my brain," I started to protest. "I have nothing to hide from you."
"I tried to read your mind the moment we first saw each other," she told me. "It's too jumbled in there for me to know what's real and what's not."
"Jumbled?"
"Bits and pieces," she elaborated before sliding off the bed. "If we only have seven hours, we need some sleep."
"Take my bed," Pietro told me, and before I could stutter a protest out, said, "I'm not having you sleep on a concrete floor. I know the layout of this base better than you; I can find another place to sleep easily. Plus, I think you would feel more comfortable without me here while Wanda helps you get ready afterwards."
"He has a point," Wanda agreed. "You can't come with us dressed in torn up clothes. I have something that might fit you to replace it."
"Where are we even going?" I asked them, feeling overwhelmed as the two of them planned my decisions for me. "Am I going to be attacked or something?"
"You never know," Pietro rolled his eyes. "I almost got shot once. I doubt it'll be dangerous, but we're going in prepared. Ever been to Seoul?"