Maya

My footsteps don't make any sound as I sneak through the underbrush.

Safia is ahead of me by several meters. I can see her hair bouncing with each step. The trees break the coming wind, severing the air till it feels like I'm behind a jet engine. It picks up the loose powdered snow that fell yesterday, whipping it around us.

It's hard to see in the dim moonlight. I can only follow the sound of her heartbeat.

I don't how she's managed to walk this far. The cold is brutal. I underestimated how unforgiving Montana can be, the mountains and golden fields are just a surface-level illusion. The real danger is the cold and the terrain, it's the streams that can flood, and the wildlife that has learned to not fear humans.

"Safia!" I scream, wrapping my arms around myself. "Safia, stop!"

I push blood through my veins, forcing the walls of my capillaries to dilate. It's a temporary warmth but it won't sustain me for long.

Safia goes still, and her hair whips around her in the wind.

I'm only a few away from her now. Her back is turned and she gazes out into the dark wilderness. I don't know what she's looking for but whatever it is, she won't find it there.

She's dressed in a dark green parka and washed-out jeans. Her winter boots are laced up to her calves as if she were ready to trek miles into the wilderness.

Heat prickles in the corner of my eyes as I realize she's carrying her backpack with her.

"Safia—"

"Don't," she hisses. "Just don't."

I steel myself for the inevitable onslaught. It was always going to come down to this.

"You know you won't make it," I say, loosening the grip around myself. "And even if you do, what next? Will you go back to your mother? The streets?"

"Shut up!"

"Is this because of the training? Are you so stubborn that you would rather risk it on your own than stay? I thought..." I grit my teeth. I'm not mad at her, not even the slightest bit. I'm angry at myself because I couldn't make her stay. "Is it me? Did I push you too hard? I'm sorry!"

"Damnit!" She whirls around, the corner of her eyes turning bright blue. Spark starts to flicker between her fingers. "I don't want your fucking pity!"

"It's not pity!" I snap back. The wind picks up again. "I want you to survive!"

"I will!" Safia yells back. "I'll do it on my own!"

I throw my hand out towards the looming mountains. We're making so much noise, I'm sure that whatever predators are in the area are eagerly waiting in the shadows.

I don't know where the anger is coming from. Maybe it's been bubbling inside of me for months or...it's something else entirely.

Keep her safe.

I push the thought away.

"You'll die out there!" I yell. "Damnit, Safia! You know that!"

Volts of electricity start to make their way from her arms to her chest. I feel myself tense.

"I said to shut up!"

"Safia, wait—!"

She drops the backpack and lunges towards me.

I raise my hands to shield myself. I feel the electricity flow through me. The pain is unimaginable, like a thousand hornet stings.

I'm blown back, crashing into the snow. I roll and land on my back. I squeeze my eyes shut. I'm not sure if I'm seeing stars or the night sky above me.

Something is burning and it takes me a second to realize that it's me.

The sleeves of my jacket are charred and smoking, burnt away by the brunt of her attack. It hurts. By the gods, it hurts so bad. My skin is red but it's slowly healing, in a few moments it'll look normal.

I get up as the blood rushes to my head, adrenaline pumping into my veins. Our heartbeats are as loud as a locomotive engine.

Safia stands in the same spot. She hasn't even moved. Her eyes have become neon blue, and the iris and pupils have been enveloped. Blue volts lighting dances around her body, and her hair comes apart from her tight braid, swaying around her as if it had a mind of her own.

She's no longer in control.

She is the storm—an unstoppable force of nature.

I shouldn't have let this happen. Safia is right. I have let her down.

There are two choices in front of me. One, I kill her. Or two, I kick her ass and calm her down.

Miriam and Amir's faces appear at the forefront of my mind. Their red and white eyes haunt me. I couldn't save them. No—they didn't want to be saved. They're dead. I am not.

I shrug off my jacket.

I'll take option two. It's been a while since I've had a good fight.

I take out my hunting knife and run the tip over my fingers. A drop of blood emerges like a bright ruby and drips down my hand.

"This is your last chance, Safia!" I say. "Stand down."

She raises her hand and throws a bolt of lightning at me. I dodged left as the tree behind me splinters into a thousand pieces.

"Okay," I said pulling blood out of the cut. The red cord of liquid swirls around me. "I'm not going easy on you, kid. Just remember that!"

The blood pools and hardens into a long spear, the pointed end sharp and piercing. It feels familiar in my hand, like an old friend.

I break into a run and raise my spear. Safia reacts quickly, raising her arm to block the spear. The tip brushes past her ear, slicing through a strand of her hair.

Safia dodges swiftly.

I kicked her knee, forcing her to stumble.

She recovers before I can raise the blunt end of my spear towards her face. She feints to the right, rolling in the snow, her hands lighting up.

Safia releases a barrage of bolts. I use my spear to deflect them, redirecting the energy to the trees around us. They're incredibly powerful as they slam into me but she misses more than she hits.

Safia and I trade blows in the snow.

One of the trees catches fire, illuminating the ground.

She threw everything she had at me.

All her rage, all her disappointments—it made her erratic and unpredictable.

I don't know how powerful Safia truly was until now.

Her file stated she could store an amazing amount of power in her, maybe she could keep going in a fight and never tire out. She could be stronger than me.

I duck behind a tree, gathering my energy for another attack. Safia screams, tearing the tree apart.

A part of me wonders how would she feel if she killed me. Would she feel remorse? Or would she just walk away like it was nothing?

No. I didn't want to know.

Safia may be brash and downright hostile at times but she wasn't a killer.

Well...not yet.

I run out from the remains of the tree, now nothing more than torched wood. Safia sees me coming and tosses another bolt after bolt at me. I feel one whiz right past my face, making the hairs on the back of my neck stand up from the excess static.

Everything around me smells like burning ozone.

She's good at fighting from a distance but I'm great at fighting up close and personal.

I had specialized in hand-to-hand combat before I gained full control over my powers. Throwing a punch was easier.

I split my spear in two. I narrow my eyes and focus on her arm which tries to aim for my neck.

I grab her arm, blocking her move.

The pointed end of my spear is pressed against her throat.

Her whole body jerks to a stop. I force the blood in her muscles to still and contract, rendering her unable to move.

I hate doing this. I hate doing this to her.

I've perfected this talent, honed and sharpened it. As long as there is blood in the body, it is mine to control. I can make anyone do whatever I want and there's not a single thing they could do to stop me.

It's sickening but if it means getting into her thick head then it's worth it.

If I hold her like this too long, she'll die. Blood is meant to flow, not stagnate.

We're breathing ragged and hard, our eyes meeting each other. Hers are bright blue and mine are inky black. We must both look like monsters together.

She tries to fight against her own body turning against her.

"I'm sorry," I whimpered. "Please don't hate me for this."

Safia opens her mouth lets out a terrifying scream that's so guttural it makes my skull rattle.

It reminds me of Miriam when my father took me to his fortress. The way she used to wail and scream in the night when her mind turned on her. I used to sleep listening to her, hoping that I could escape.

Gods, never again.

I squeeze my eyes shut and force our heartbeats to slow down. Our hearts no longer beat furiously like an engine pushed to its capacity.

Now the air stills but the cold remains.

"Let me go!" she shrieks. "Let me fucking go, Maya!"

"If you leave, what do you think will happen?" I ask.

"Y-you're wasting your breath!" She spits out, her eyes bearing into mine.

I pull the tip of my spear away from her neck. "You'll be hunted for your abilities. Everyone will be after you—"

"So what?" She cried. "Why does it matter to you? You're just forced to take care of me! I'm nothing to you!"

"Back at S.H.I.E.L.D., you asked me to get you out." I remind her. "Do you think I could refuse that?"

"I hated it there." She gulps, her chapped lips parting. "I didn't feel safe! You were the easiest to manipulate. All I had to do was flash you some puppy dog eyes and you fucking crumbled! What did you think was going to happen? That once I found out you were my sister we were going to be one big happy family?! Well, fuck that!"

I drop the spear and hold her face in my hands. I'm a few inches taller than her, and she strains to look at me. "You lie, Safia. I know when someone is lying to me."

Her heart flutters in her chest and she darts her eyes away. "I hate you. I can't stand being near you!"

I lose my hold on her slightly. She gasps in a lungful of air.

"The more you push me away, the more it hurts you." I use my fingers to tilt her chin up. "We may not be family but you are someone I want to protect. I can keep you safe! Me. For as long as I can. Don't lie to me, Safia."

Her lips tremble. "You don't know that..."

"Why won't you trust me to do that, Safia?!"

Safia's face twists and her eyes are blazing. Neon blue tears drip down her face and sizzle as they fall into the snow.

I wipe them away even if they burn my hands.

"Because I don't want to be a burden!" She says, her voice wobbling as she struggles with her emotions. "I don't want to drag you down! I don't deserve any of it! All I do is keep causing you trouble! You're better off without me!"

It's as if I've heard those words from my own mouth.

How many times have I had those exact same thoughts? How many times have I stared down a bridge or held a knife in my hands thinking that?

Safia didn't deserve the things that happened to her.

She's just a kid.

I didn't ask to look after her and the others. It just happened. The thought of them—my own flesh and blood, literal children, being forced to be tools for someone else—made me sick.

I swore I would never have kids or pass down my abilities because I thought they were a curse.

I thought I wouldn't live past thirty because my powers would kill me.

I was wrong.

I lost a child before I could even come to terms with it.

I never liked kids, I'll be honest about that. But this...it's different.

We were both wronged all our life.

I let go of my hold over and she crumpled to the ground, landing on her knees.

Safia lets out a sob. It's such a strange noise from her, I never thought she was capable of crying but here I am being proven wrong once again. It's heartbreaking in the worst way.

I pulled her into my arms and she shattered into a thousand pieces.

Safia wails like an animal, her pain so deep that it comes out guttural. She grips my arms like a vice, her nails digging into my skin.

I don't care about the wolves finding us. Let them come. I would fight them tooth and nail if it meant keeping her safe.

I was fortunate that I had someone to hold me when I could no longer go on, when my mind was broken and my body was fatigued. The Avengers, Loki, my mother. Who did Safia have to hold onto when she reached her breaking point?

"It's okay, kiddo," I say softly, the cold biting into my face and cheeks. "I'm here now. For as long as you need me. I got you."

Thank you, Maya.

It's like the soft caress of a silk scarf against my brain. Their presence lingers, growing stronger and stronger.

Not now, I beg them. Please, not now. Not her.

I grip Safia tighter as my right hand starts to burn.