The mission was supposed to be simple — infiltrate the old HYDRA base, secure the data, and get out. But nothing with HYDRA was ever simple.

Steve led the team through the ruins, dust and ash swirling in the dim red lights. “Vision, sweep the lower levels. Natasha, with me. Wanda—”

Wanda stopped him with a quiet gasp. Her crimson energy flickered faintly around her hands. “Someone’s here,” she whispered. “I can feel… it’s like me.”

The team followed her to a locked chamber deep underground. Tony hacked the door, and as it slid open, they saw her — a girl no older than sixteen, floating just above the floor, glowing red energy pulsing around her like a heartbeat.

The walls were covered in HYDRA symbols, machines designed to channel her power, suppress it, study it. She opened her eyes, and the energy vanished in a flash.

“Please… don’t hurt me,” she said weakly, eyes wide with fear.

Wanda stepped forward slowly, ignoring the others. “No one’s going to hurt you,” she said softly. “What’s your name?”

The girl hesitated. “Katharina,” she whispered. “They said… I was made from you.”

The silence that followed was heavy. Tony muttered, “Well, that’s new. Cloning superheroes — classic HYDRA move.”

Steve frowned. “She’s a person, Stark. Not an experiment.”

Wanda knelt beside Katharina, her eyes filled with both shock and compassion. She could feel the chaos magic in the girl — raw, untamed, familiar. “Then we’ll make sure you get to be more than that,” Wanda said. “You’re coming with us.” Katharina looked between them, uncertain, until Wanda extended her hand. After a long pause, she took it.

As they left the ruins behind, the air shimmered faintly around the two of them — the same crimson hue, two threads of power intertwining for the first time.

Tony sighed, glancing back. “Great. One Scarlet Witch was complicated enough.”

Wanda smiled faintly. “Then it’s a good thing she won’t be alone.”