WHO: Gamora and Wanda Maximoff WHAT: Just having a talk WHEN: Today WHERE: The Store WARNINGS: Infinity War Spoilers STATUS: Closed/Completed Gdoc
It was taking Gamora a little while to settle back in to life here in Madison Valley. After what she’d been through back home, after what she’d seen...sitting here and acting like everything was okay wasn’t an easy thing to do. Those of them from back home had a darkness about them that they hadn’t had before.
They’d all been through a lot in their lives. They’d all seen things that nobody should ever have to see. But in the end, they’d gotten through all of it by knowing that in the end, the good would win and they’d come through on the other side victorious.
Until now.
They’d lost, and they’d lost completely, in the most horrific way possible. And since she’d spent years being groomed and raised by Thanos, she couldn’t help but feel that she should have been able to prevent it all. Somehow.
Working out only did so much. Sleeping usually ended in horrible nightmares. Her sex life had improved ten-fold since returning, but that was about the only balm in her situation.
She’d been out for a run today, and since it was a hot day, she stopped by the grocery store to pick up a couple of pints of ice cream. She was in running clothes, and had a towel draped around her neck, but she was still nearly impossible to mistake. Seeing Wanda, she stopped for a moment, trying to decide if she actually recognized her. They’d never met back home, but she’d seen her on the network and at some of the various gatherings.
Deciding to take a chance - because distraction could only ever be good - she approached her.
“Wanda, right?”
***
Distractions were definitely a good thing these days. Wanda was struggling to re-adjust to life in Madison Valley in the wake of the events of the past two years at home. As happy as she was to be back here with John, she couldn’t just forget the past two years with Vision or the fact that she’d had to kill him to try and stop Thanos. Or that they had failed to stop him.
It took her a moment to react when someone spoke to her. “Yes,” she said, hesitating a little until she recognized the woman who spoke. They hadn’t met before, but she was vaguely aware that Gamora was a teammate of the odd racoon and tree who accompanied Thor to the battle in Wakanda which meant she was from home.
“Gamora. You’re from my world.” Wanda didn’t know how the other woman fared in the fight against Thanos though she was assuming she was somehow involved. “I fought with some of your teammates.”
***
That surprised Gamora a little. She knew that Wanda was primarily Earth-based, and it surprised her that any of her team had ended up on Earth. She’d expected them to go to Titan.
“Yes,” she said. “I didn’t meet you back home, but yes...we know the same people.”
She paused, then trying to sound nonchalant, she asked: “Who did you fight with? Were they alright?”
***
“The little tree and the raccoon,” Wanda said. There hadn’t exactly been time for introductions by the time Thor showed up in Wakanda with the others in tow. She really only knew they were Gamora’s teammates because of reading the network here. “I… do not know if they were okay.”
She bit her lip and looked down. By the end of the fight, her only concern was Vision and she hadn’t made note of any of the others disappearing before she did. “Things did… not go well,” she said, unsure of how much Gamora knew about what happened in Wakanda.
***
“Groot and Rocket,” she said softly. Peter hadn’t known if they were okay either, so she had no way to know. She hated the feeling of not being there to support her crew, of them all fighting alone and separate. That wasn’t how they worked. It wasn’t their way. They were a family, and they were supposed to be there for each other, not all dying alone.
“He got them all, didn’t he. Thanos.”
It wasn’t a question. She knew it would happen as soon as he got the soul stone.
***
Wanda only hesitated for a moment before nodding. “I tried to prevent him from obtaining the mind stone. I was not successful.” Even though she killed the person she loved in her efforts to save the world.
It was still hard to believe that their best hadn’t been good enough. Part of her wondered if they would have been more successful if the team hadn’t spent two years apart. Which was also her fault.
***
“I tried to stop him from getting the soul stone,” Gamora said softly. “I wasn’t successful, either.” If she’d been able to do that, Wanda wouldn’t have had to worry. Or at least, it wouldn’t have been as crucial that she dispose of the mind stone immediately. It was still Gamora’s fault. She knew it. She’d had years knowing what Thanos had been intending and hadn’t acted on it. She’d actually helped him.
“He threw me off a cliff. As a sacrifice.”
But it wasn’t her death that bothered her. It was her failure.
***
The loss of so many innocent lives was also weighing more heavily on Wanda than her own death. She already carried guilt over not being able to control her powers in Laos, this added to it.
She wasn’t sure what to say when Gamora shared her fate. Saying she was sorry hardly seemed adequate. “I should have destroyed the mind stone sooner,” Wanda admitted. If she hadn’t wanted to save her boyfriend’s life, there would have been no way for Thanos to succeed in his goal.
***
Gamora sighed. She’d been blaming herself for some time now, but seeing the Parker boy blaming Peter had altered her perception a little.
“I think…” She paused, because it was still hard for her to see past her guilt. “I think there are things that we all could have done. I think that there were mistakes everyone could have made. But blaming one person...no one person could stop Thanos.”
The words were tentative and unsure. She still believed in her heart that she should have been able to stop him, years ago, before he’d gotten as strong as he had.
***
“Perhaps if we’d had more time to prepare as a group,” Wanda said. There were certainly a lot of them trying to stop him, from several different angles from what she’d gleaned, and if they’d been able to work together more cohesively, that might have helped.
Of course she blamed herself for being the reason the Accords were introduced which caused the fissure among the Avengers. “I suppose we could second guess a lot of our decisions and none of it will change the outcome.”
It was hard to accept that they’d been unable to stop the end of the world.
***
“We didn’t even know who our group was until it was too late.”
Gamora hadn’t known that there were others on Earth fighting Thanos. Not until Thor had slammed into their window like a bug when they’d answered the distress call. Maybe if they’d all met up earlier and been able to plan things out, things would have turned out differently. Maybe they wouldn’t have. There was really no way to know.
“I just hope they figure out a way to stop him.”
Although it was too late for that, wasn’t it? He’d accomplished what he wanted.
***
“So do I,” Wanda said. It might be too late, but perhaps they could still do something. She hated to think that her death would be in vain. “I suppose we won’t know though.” Unless someone went home and came back to update them.
It was a hell of a thing to bond over, but Wanda felt better knowing that she wasn’t alone. “Perhaps we can get to know each other better,” she suggested.
***
Gamora definitely wasn’t opposed to that. She didn’t have all that many friends and it upset her more than she let on. She’d been lonely for a long time and she’d learned to cover it for the most part. But that didn’t mean it had gone away.
“Sure, if you like,” she said.
“Maybe you can come over for dinner sometime?”
They’d bought the beautiful home, and Gamora felt comfortable and safe there.
***
Wanda nodded. “And you are always welcome at the farm,” she said. They may not have had a chance to meet and fight at home, but they still shared a bond and that meant something as far as Wanda was concerned.
***
“Thank you,” she said with a smile. “I appreciate it.” Looking at her watch, she sighed. “I’d better get home, but it was nice to meet you.”
They had home as a link between them, whether they wanted it or not, and that was something that very few others could understand.