Echo: The Infinity Saga | Wanda Maximoff x male reader.

chapter 29: new beginnings

A/N: sorry for not posting yesterday. There's no excuse. I just didn't. but I hope you enjoy this one!

I ran into a little village in Portugal, and stopped outside a shop.

"Sam, is this the right place?"

"The addresses match," I pulled my hood up, and walked into the shop. It was empty except for a man sitting at the counter, reading a comic. I walked over to him.

"Can I help you?" He said without looking over his comic.

"Wait, you speak English?" I said, confused. I was expecting him to start speaking Spanish. The guy lowered his comic, and gave me a death stare, before furrowing his brow. I looked away, and handed him the business card. He pushed a button under the counter, and one of the shelves moved sideways, revealing a staircase. I started walking over to it, but he stopped me.

"Can I get your signature?" He said, and I smiled at him.

"I'm a war criminal. I shouldn't be here," He nodded at me.

"I understand, go do magic, or summat," I walked down the stairs, and down a dingy corridor that stunk of dead rats. I opened the door at the end of the corridor, and walked into the room. The room contrasted the corridor. The corridor was manky and smelly, and the room was advanced, and clean. There were multiple other doors which lead to other places. Nicola Wormwood walked over to me.

"Mr (L/N). How pleased I am that you joined us. Although, after your antics in Germany, I should call the police,"

"Yeah, one of my friends is lucky to be alive. So, the less said about Germany, the better. What is this place, anyway?"

"The Aether Institute. This place is for people who have powers, just like yourself. We help train, and enhance your powers,"

"How come I've never heard of this place? Or any other superhumans. Wait, the guy from New York, with the fire, was he from here?"

"Stephen McGinley. He called himself 'Firefly'. He had the power of-"

"Pyrokinesis,"

"No. Thermokinesis,"

"What's the difference?"

"Pyrokinesis is the ability to create fire from the mind. Thermokinesis is the ability to control the temperature. He could bend his powers, and take all the heat from the air and make fire from it,"

"You can say that again," I said, as Nicola continued giving me a tour of the institute.

"Now, you've tapped into your other powers once, in Sokovia,"

"Twice. It happened again in Leipzig, but this time I actually did something. I accidentally shot a burst of energy at Tony," She led me to an area with about 15 other rooms.

"Right, interesting. Your room is number 8. Get some rest," I walked into the room, and there was someone else on a second bed.

He jumped off the bed and stood right in front of me.

"Who are you?" He asked.

"Who am I? Who the hell are you, Jumping Jack Flash?"

"No, who the- How do you know my name's Jack?" He said, pushing me back.

"I didn't, it's a song. Don't you know who I am?" He came closer and squinted at my face. He backed off, and got on his bed.

"Yeah, you're one of The Avengers,"

"Was. Who are you?" I asked as I closed the door.

"Jack Robinson. I'm the only speedster here," I laughed. "What?" I ran over to his bed and brought him to the doorway.

"Oh, you're the fast Avenger,"

"Yes. Now, Nicola said I should get some rest. In my room,"

"Mrs Wormwood. No-one calls her Nicola. I'll leave you to rest. In our room,"

"Wait, wait, what do you mean 'our room'?" He ran away, and I collapsed onto the lower bed. So, from what I can gather. It's summer camp for enhanced people. It's an underground version of Charles Xavier's X-Mansion.

***

"Good morning Mr (L/N). We're in the gym because we, I, need to run a few tests on you. If you'd like to get on the treadmill," I activated my suit, and started running on the treadmill.

"So, what caused you to use your other powers?" She asked.

"In Sokovia, I ran past Pietro and there was a big static shock. Then, my hand was glowing black and white. In Leipzig, Tony shot me with his repulsor, and the same happened. Only I shot a burst of energy out of my hand,"

"It would seem that your powers are summoned by a sudden, large intake of energy. With Pietro, It would've been high amounts of kinetic energy. And with Mr Stark, it would've been ion energy," I ran faster, and the speedometer read 375 mph. I got off the treadmill and took a drink of water.

"375 mph. That's pretty fast. Drink this," She handed me a small vial containing a glossy, purple liquid. I drank it, and another surge of energy flowed through my body. Just like Leipzig.

"Now get on the treadmill," I started running again. Immediately, I could tell that I was going faster. As I started speeding up, black and white electricity started flying out of me, and sparked off the walls. There was a loud rumble, and I looked down to the treadmill. 790mph. Black and white electricity crackled across my arms, and settled to become the black and white aura I was somewhat familiar with.

"I just broke the sound barrier," She nodded at me, whilst taking notes. "What the hell was that potion?"

"An enhancement serum. You're 20 years old. By approximate estimation, you wouldn't have unlocked your true powers until you were 25 or 26. I've just sped those 5 years up," The aura around my hands disappeared.

"So, what do my 'true powers' consist of?"

"We're about to find out,"