Elias POV
"Eli?" she asked, her voice rough with sleep. "Are you okay?"
Looking at her disheveled state, I felt a mix of guilt and a strange happiness.
So what do I tell her now?
Wanda sat up in bed and quickly reached out, pressing the back of her hand against my forehead with a worried frown. "Are you feeling better? You were... really bad last night."
I gently took her hand and lowered it, ignoring her state of undress. I held it for a second longer before letting go. "I'm fine," I said quietly. "Really."
She hesitated, her eyes flicking away for a moment. "I didn't want to take you to a hospital," she admitted softly. "Because of... our kind. It's not really advisable..."
"It wasn't stupid," I cut in gently. "You made the right call. Hospitals would've flagged me in seconds. It would've been a disaster."
Wanda let out a small breath. She had likely grown up with such ideas, and they weren't entirely wrong. She leaned back a little, calmer now that I was lucid and at least outwardly fine.
"What happened last night, Eli?" she asked. "You were writhing, sweating like crazy... and there were things moving under your skin. Like your bones were shifting." She made a small face of disgust. "What the hell was going on?"
I slowly pushed myself up into a sitting position, ignoring the way her eyes briefly dropped to my bare chest and stomach before she looked away. I stayed quiet for a few seconds, trying to decide how much to say.
I sighed and sat up slowly, still ignoring her gaze on my bare torso. I didn't want to tell her anything about the out-of-setting artifact inside my chest; that was a secret I would take to my grave. But looking at the woman I barely knew, who had worried and cared for me throughout the night, I decided I wouldn't hide my powers. I would offer an explanation, not everything, but something closer to the truth.
"It's my powers, Wanda," I stated as she looked at me strangely.
"You mean your mutation?"
I don't want to get into an argument over this. Maybe I am one; Cerebro did find me... so maybe I am one, and it truly doesn't matter...
"...Yeah, sure, let's go with that," I continued. "I have a form of biokinesis, I suppose. It's primarily effective on me before others... I think." I told her, clenching my fist. I felt the difference in my movement; despite the fact I probably weighed more than two men, I felt ridiculously light. Sensing inside of me, I knew the ritual was perfect.
"My bones are now nearly indestructible..."
Wanda had fully climbed onto the bed, sitting cross-legged as she listened. Her expression shifted to one of pleasant surprise as her eyes slowly trailed over my body. I remained nonchalant, stifling a smile at her scrutiny.
"You are bigger than before... I think," she asked, looking intently at me. I repressed my mind's reaction to her accent and joked, "I've always been big." My double entendre landed as she looked blank for a moment before the meaning registered. She rolled her eyes and got up.
"Well, I'm glad you're fine then," she said, brushing her hair back. "It just looked... really painful."
I didn't deny it. "It's part of the process."
She accepted it with a nod, adjusting her oversized T-shirt as it slid off one shoulder. I kept my gaze respectfully on her face, ignoring her full, bare thigh that was barely covered by the oversized shirt. It was hard, but I managed. Damn, I need to get laid, I thought. It had been a while for either Eli or me. Still, I was also a little surprised Wanda simply accepted that pain was a part of my powers. Normal people would have been weirded out or at least a little concerned, but then again, she was raised in the Brotherhood; she'd have seen stranger things.
Just as she left the room, adjusting her ruffled red hair, I called out to her, "Wanda?"
"Hmm?" She looked back at me.
"Thank you, for taking care of me," I said, smiling at her, feeling a genuine sense of fondness.
"You owe me one now," she chuckled playfully, turning as she left the room.
A little while later
We had eaten a hearty breakfast that I cooked for both of us as an apology for her staying up all night. It was nothing fancy—just eggs, bacon, and toast with coffee. I had tripled the normal portions, though, as Wanda finished her plate, walked around the kitchen, and gave me a look that said all it needed to.
Men...
And then she declared we had to go grocery shopping to fill the pantry. Despite my objection that what I had was enough, she vetoed me and dragged me along, saying that we needed proper variety if she was going to cook. I raised my eyes at her declaration and quickly accepted it. Despite being a reasonable cook myself, I would prefer having good home-cooked meals.
And going by what Wanda said, she seemed to be a good cook...
It was also the perfect opportunity to test my new capabilities now that I had completed all my planned enhancement rituals. Initially, I had hoped to spend the rest of the day exploring my new abilities after returning home with the groceries, but, as they say, no plan survives enemy contact.
Looking at the smiling woman driving the car, let's just say she decided to tag along to see what I could do. According to her, this dilapidated area, filled with old, rotting, and abandoned places in the deeper industrial parts of Port Morris, was the perfect spot.
I glanced out the window at the decaying buildings. "How do you know about this place?"
Wanda kept her eyes on the road. "I have a brother whose mutation is superspeed. We've explored almost every corner of New York at some point. This area is good if you want to use your powers without people noticing."
"Well, it does look deserted," I replied. It looked like a place where you'd lose a kidney, though I kept that thought to myself.
We eventually pulled up in front of a large, abandoned warehouse. The windows were broken, the walls covered in old graffiti, and the metal doors were rusted and half-open. Wanda killed the engine, and we got out. I followed, looking around the empty lot. Aside from a few homeless people we had passed minutes away, there was no one else.
It wasn't a bad place. Truthfully, I didn't know what I was capable of anymore. I hadn't had the opportunity to push myself to the limits, and I wanted to know, especially since I was now, in essence, a pseudo-Spartan — actually better in some aspects. Looking around at the large, broken machinery inside the warehouse, I decided it was time to find out.
Wanda walked ahead of me, then turned and said, "My brother used to bring me here to practice with my powers."
Curious about her situation, I asked her, "Was it hard to control? Your powers, I mean."
She nodded, her expression turning a little distant. "Yeah. When I was younger, I had almost no control. It was either I blasted everything around me... or nothing at all. I had to learn how to rein it in."
She turned and flicked her fingers. Crimson energy coiled around her hand before a large piece of machinery glowed a similar crimson. She casually lifted it into the air, then with a small grunt and a heave, flung it across the warehouse. It crashed loudly against the far wall, creating a large noise.
She looked back at me with a challenging smirk and gave a little wave of her hand, clearly saying: Your turn.
Honestly, this woman, you say, your a little stronger than normal,and she goads you into lifting industrial parts. Still, I walked over to the part. Standing over it, I braced myself and lifted it up slowly, and to my surprise, I lifted it with ease. It felt like lifting a basketball, nothing like heavy machinery that probably weighed at least half a ton.
I spent the next hour testing myself properly. I moved faster than most cars, weaving between the old machines with almost no effort. I lifted progressively heavier objects, maxing out near two tons before I started feeling real resistance. It wasn't just my sheer power output of how much I could lift, but the sheer precision with which I could use that strength, and the fact that even after an hour of continuous strain, I didn't feel tired.
I had truly become superhuman,I smirked to myself.
Wanda, who had been sitting on a rusted beam watching me, eventually grew bored. She picked up a large metal pipe with her powers and casually chucked it at me.
"Hey, Eli! Catch!"
My reflexes kicked in instantly. I tracked the projectile and caught it mid-air, the force pushing me back a few steps. I looked at her incredulously. She just laughed.
That was all it took.
Soon we were going back and forth—her throwing or floating objects at me while I dodged and caught them. It turned competitive quickly. I charged toward her, and she responded by raising both hands, enveloping me in chaotic red energy.
A crushing pressure wrapped around my body, trying to push me back.
I grunted and forced myself forward, one step at a time. Despite the power struggle, both of us were grinning. I was nearly within arm's reach when she suddenly looked past me, eyes widening in alarm.
A blur shot toward me from the warehouse entrance. My perception slowed to a crawl. I jumped back from Wanda's hold, and I could see her surprise in slow motion at how fast I moved, and then ducked under a still-moving blur even now under my pseudo-Spartan time, then came back as I twisted, pushing it with my back. The blur—which turned out to be a person—went tumbling across the concrete before coming to a stop.
I came out of my slowed perception just in time to hear Wanda shout:
"Pietro!"
The young man—who looked strikingly similar to Wanda—got up quickly, looking alarmed. He glanced between me and his sister before shouting in a rapid-fire voice:
"Wanda! We can take him together!"
I stared at him, baffled.
Wanda's face turned bright red. She stormed over and grabbed her brother by the arm, dragging him a few steps away.
"WHAT are you doing?!" she yelled.
Pietro looked genuinely confused. "I saw him attacking you!"
He thought I was attacking her?, I thought with a sweat drop.
Pietro and Wanda had moved a short distance away. Their voices were muffled, and I could only catch bits and pieces of the conversation through the echoey warehouse.
"I thought he was attacking you!"
"...living with him, Pietro!"
"...Is he your boyfriend?!"
Feeling the need to explain myself, I tried interjecting as I walked a little closer.
"Hey..."
Wanda turned back to me, her hair whipping around, and said, "Hold it right there."
I raised a hand in surrender and backed away. Before she could lay into her brother more, he flashed over to me with a smile.
"Hey, Wanda's boyfriend! Nice to meet you, dude. Since Wanda's fine, I'll let Dad know. I gotta go!"
And just like that, he was gone — a blur disappearing out of the warehouse.
Wanda took a deep breath, clearly trying to calm herself, then walked back over to me with an embarrassed expression.
"I'm so sorry about that..." she muttered, rubbing her forehead.
I tried to keep the mood light. "Yeah, no, it's fine. He's... a character, huh?"
She scowled. "Ugh. Yes."
Just as I was about to say something else, my phone started ringing in my pocket. I pulled it out and saw Tendo's name on the screen.
Before I could tease her more, a series of loud booms and distant gunfire echoed from outside. The sound was close. Our heads snapped toward the sounds outside as we shared a look.
That was not normal...
I was about to pick up Tendo's call when two figures came stumbling into the warehouse: a man and a woman. The man was clearly injured, leaning heavily on the woman as they moved. He was grunting in pain, one hand pressed against his side.
As they got closer, the man looked up.
His eyes glowed a faint, unnatural green.
He looked like a younger version of Mark Ruffalo.
My blood ran cold.
Fuck.
The man started grunting, and there were now multiple sounds outside—footsteps, vehicles, and the sound of rotors above. As I felt a chill down my spine, I moved quickly toward Wanda and grabbed her by the waist, pulling her close as I whispered urgently in her ear:
"We need to run."
She looked up at me in alarm, confused by my sudden intensity. But before she could ask what was going on, another pained, guttural sound tore from the man's throat as the woman desperately tried to hold him up.
"Bruce, please—!"