Drabble. :)

[indiana-j.livejournal.com]

All My Love to Long Ago

"Ma'am, I'm sorry, you can't go...ma'am! Ma'am, please, the Professor asked to be left alone and I simply..." The flustered secretary struggled to keep pace with the short blond woman that was striding through the museum proper. She'd asked politely, once, to see the owner of the museum and then had been simply ignored everyone on her way to the back offices.

Amanda Sefton-Espinosa didn't even spare the secretary a glance over her shoulder. "You can simply fuck off," she snapped, currently unable to enjoy the shocked gasp, though she was rather grateful that it seemed to deter any other attempts to stop her.

The last room at the end of the hall were guarded by a pair of oak wooden doors, intricately carved and very old from the looks of it. Amanda didn't even hesitate, just threw them open. She was bathed in a warm light -- the room relied on older fashioned lamps, some hidden on bookcases and others settled on various desks but the real light was coming from the large fireplace.

Despite the fact that it was August, the fire had probably been going since that morning. Amanda gave it a scathing look as she shut the doors behind her, as if it was the source of her anger and desperation. That bloody thing had probably not gone out in ten years.

The sound of someone writing slowly died away as she approached the wooden desk. "For someone who's been in the same bloody place for ten years, you're an awfully hard person to get a hold of," she said, unable to keep the hurt from her words.

"Obviously, not hard enough," came the soft reply, though it wasn't unkind. Just weary.

Hands curled into fists by her side, Amanda didn't even notice the bite of her wedding ring into her skin. Ten years ago and her reaction would have been a lot different but she'd changed – subtle changes because she was still her but she'd grown as a person. Marrying Angelo, having kids, still saving the world...it was a good life.

Except one really big thing had been missing out of it and she had sworn that she'd wait. Space, the other person had needed a lot of space and even though it hurt...Amanda could understand. She'd done the same thing years ago, when her powers had gone and she'd started a new life in New Orleans.

Ten years ago, she'd decided that she could wait for Wanda Maximoff to come back but things outside of her control had forced her hand. She no longer had the luxury of things like patience.

She stared at her mentor, different emotions warring for control inside of her. Amanda took a deep breath and centered herself, forcing herself to be more detached. Lives were on the line and they didn't have much time.

While she grabbed for one of the chairs Wanda kept for visitors, she took stock of her former boss. Time had been kind to her physically, at least. She'd kept the short hair but streaks of silver broke through the dark color, giving her an older, more distinguished look. And one could only see the scars across her face if someone really knew to look for them. An odd tick to her left eye was the only outward sign that something wasn't quite right.

"Are you satisfied?" Wanda asked, steepling her hands in front of her, carrying an air around of her casual indifference. But Amanda knew better – there was a haunted look in the older woman's eyes, a tightness to her mouth.

This was a woman who had been running for a very long time now and didn't know how to stop.

And with that realization, something eased in Amanda's chest. The angry internal twenty year old stopped being so angry, the feeling replaced by something a little more empathic.

"I need your help."

Even though she might have been expecting it, Wanda still looked startled. "Well, the museum is more than willing to help with any research needs you..."

Amanda gave a short bark of laughter. "Not that kind of help, Wanda. The other kind."

Wanda stared at her former assistant before picking up the pen, going back to the small pile of paperwork in front of her. "So sorry, closed for business. Try Summers and his lot – and why isn't Marie-Ange doing...whatever you need done?"

"Summers and the X-Men are off chasing the new batch of fuckheads or whatever," Amanda responded, gritting her teeth. Her accent was sneaking back in as her anger reared it's ugly head once more. All right, she thought, maybe I'm not quite over this. "Snow Valley's got it's hands full with Selene."

"What, again? Will that woman never die?" Slowly she set the pen down and then leaned back in her chair, tilting her head down and to the left at an odd angle. "But you. You've got a special vendetta against that one, always have, always will as long as she's able to still live."

Amanda didn't say anything.

"So what exactly are you chasing, Amanda?" Wanda's voice sharpened like a whip. "What brought you across the pond to seek me out?"

"This." Reaching inside her jacket, Amanda produced a photograph and a letter and tossed them at her, only belatedly realizing she shouldn't have done that. She winced and flushed as they hit Wanda on the left shoulder and fluttered to the desk in front of her. "Wanda, I..."

"I am a far better catch on my right side these days, my dear," came the cool reply, the papers scooped up in both hands. "Now what have...oh."

The witch already knew what she would be seeing and she closed her eyes, suddenly incredibly tired. The picture would show Angelo, forced on his knees by a binding spell, in a dark cave and, next to him, an exhausted and bloodied Doctor Stephen Strange. The letter would instruct her to locate Wanda and deliver them both to an exact location. There would be an exchange and her husband and former magical instructor would be set free.

If they didn't, their physical bodies would be killed and their souls bound by dark magic.

"That," she said, not bothering to open her eyes, "is what I'm chasing."

The silence over the next few minutes was almost a physical thing in the room as Wanda reread the note and studied the picture. "It is not a forgery?" she asked and Amanda shook her head.

"Doug verified that – they're already in the field," she said, rushing to the defense of her team. They used to be Wanda's as well, once upon a time. "All of them, Marie-Ange made the decision to go a few days ahead of me and I just got those."

Wanda raised an eyebrow. "They're above reproach," she agreed softly. "Marie-Ange is a brilliant young woman, if a bit crazed, but one would have to be to follow in Pete Wisdom's footsteps."

Confusion colored Amanda's voice as she asked, "You broke off contact, how'd you know?"

"Simple deduction at it's best, plus...well, I might have retired, my dear, but I keep my eye on the lot of you."

"We were friends, once."

"I know."

"I've missed you."

"...I know."

Amanda swallowed and gave her a watery smile. "Missed you at the wedding."

There was no response but she refused to give up. "Angelo and me, you know? We had twins. Gorgeous little things, yeah? Woulda made you godmother or somethin' but, with you not there we settled for giving her your name as a middle one."

The papers shivered in Wanda's hands once before she put them down, finally turning back around. "I'm sorry, Amanda, I cannot help," she said, voice tight and low. "I just cannot. I can give you leads about the location, information that will be vital..."

"There's no one else!" Amanda shouted, slamming her hands on the table hard enough that Wanda leaned back away from her. "We've got only days before they die! They've got my husband and I've no one else to turn to!"

"You've got your sister--"

"Too far away and Kurt's with them, Clarice on a mission. 'Yana's doing a stint in Limbo right now and they're not near a bloody city for me to 'port to. And to be perfectly blunt, she's just not equipped for this kind of shit. You are, you've seen this before!"

Something snapped and Wanda was on her feet, hands on the desk and nose inches away from Amanda's. "Look at me, really look at me!" she shouted back. "I am a broken, beaten mess! I gave my powers away to seal Chthon in a grave that he would never return from and what did I get in return? An eye, forever useless. Agatha, murdered in front of me. With each passing day, time is creeping in from all directions and sapping what I have left. I am tired and for the last ten years, I have led a normal, quiet life. What you are seeking I no longer have!"

Amanda almost grinned. This was the Wanda she knew – passion and life, not some cold woman sitting behind a desk, doing paper work. Wanda had taught her a lot under her wing and she was going to use everything in her arsenal to get exactly what she wanted.

Sneering, she retorted, "Wanna know what I see? I see someone who's letting themselves be beaten. You ran, Wanda, as fast and as far as you could. We gave you time and you simply decided it was easier to stay hidden. You lost a lot, yeah, I know. I was there, remember? Bloody well almost lost my fucking head, too. Remember that?" She leaned even closer, eyes flaring. "What do I see? I see a coward. Too fucking scared to come out and play with the rest of us...willing to let the man she used tolove die, forgotten and alone..."

Before she could finish that, Wanda had her by the collar and off her feet. Even with the desk inbetween them, she'd been able to get enough leverage. Anger and pain flashed in the good eye as the left one stared blankly, the effect a creepy and disturbing one.

Half on the desk, Amanda bared her teeth in a skeleton grin. "Hello, Wanda. Welcome back."