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[indent][color=silver]The candle on the floor was burning too fast again.[/color]

[color=silver]Wanda watched as the wax pooled in frantic little rivulets, dripping down the side of the pillar as if they were outrunning something. Her fingers moved, and the flame danced with them - stretching, shrinking, leaning towards her as if caught on an invisible thread.[/color]

[color=silver]She exhaled slowly.[/color]

[color=#cd3241][i]„Smiri se. Opusti se.”[/i][/color]
[sup][color=#cd3241][i]Calm down. Relax.[/i][/color][/sup]

[color=silver]The flame steadied and the wax trails slowed.[/color]

[color=silver]She and Pietro had been living in the abandoned top-floor apartment of a run-down tenement on the Lower East Side for the past month. The building should have been condemned years ago - water damage stained the walls in long rust-colored streaks and half the windows were boarded with warped plywood that rattled whenever the wind changed direction. The hallway lights flickered so often that Wanda learned to walk by the rhythm of their stutter, and the elevator had died decades before they ever set foot inside.[/color]

[color=silver]Yet, all that mattered was that it was a shelter from the outside elements, and the landlord had no clue that they were there. Even more importantly, the twins were no longer at Sinister’s disposal. [/color]

[color=silver]Her brother came and went in streaks of wind, bringing scavenged supplies and food bought with money he never explained. Morally, his means of survival did not sit right with her, but they weren’t exactly in a situation to question his methods. He’d attempted to be responsible, scouting for a job that didn’t require documents they didn’t have, but none of his recent pursuits had been fruitful. So Wanda knew better than to ask questions - after all, he was keeping them alive. For now. [/color]

[color=silver]Tonight though, Pietro was late. Not dangerously late, just... longer than usual. Wanda tried not to let her mind wander down the familiar dark corridors - Pietro hurt, Pietro caught, Pietro [/color][color=silver][i]alone[/i][/color][color=silver] - but worry crept in anyway, coiling tight beneath her ribs.[/color]

[color=silver]The candle wavered as her pulse stuttered. She pressed her palm over her sternum. [/color]

[color=#cd3241][i]„Ne sada.”[/i][/color][color=silver] She murmured.[/color]
[color=#cd3241][i][sup]Not now.[/sup][/i][/color]

[color=silver]A draft slipped through the broken seal of the window, brushing cold fingers along the back of her neck. She pulled her sweater tighter and willed her thoughts to quiet but New York hummed around her, restless and uncaring. It was loud in ways that the Balkans never were. Distant sirens, honking taxis, muffled arguments through thin walls. But as she focused on the flame again, narrowing her attention to its center, the world softened around the edges - the noise of the city turning into a distant blur, the air thickening, reality bending into something more cooperative. The flame leaned toward her, eager, as though the smallest breath of her power was enough to call it to heel.[/color]

[color=silver]Her fingers twitched again.[/color]

[color=silver]The flame surged - but then immediately flattened, startled by the gust of air that swept suddenly beneath the door.[/color]

[color=silver]Wanda blinked and straightened, her breath hitching as three knocks sounded on the wood. They were deliberate, intentional, and the candle flickered violently as her heartbeat quickened. She stood slowly, her bare feet making no sound as she approached hesitantly.[/color]

[color=#cd3241]“Pietro?”[/color]

[color=silver]No answer.[/color]

[color=silver]The knock came again. Same rhythm. Same unnerving cadence.[/color]

[color=silver]Before she could take another step, a thin gust of chilled air whisked across the room, and a blurry streak slipped in from the fire-escape with all the grace of a small hurricane. Pietro skidded to a stop beside her, hair wind-blown and eyes wide. He seemed to have a sixth sense when it came to things going awry where she was concerned.[/color]

[color=#698caf]“Who is that?”[/color][color=silver] He hissed, breath sharp, and his jaw tightened as the knock sounded for the third time. It almost seemed to grow louder with each repetition, echoing off the bare walls of the apartment. Pietro stepped in front of his twin automatically, body angled toward the door and shoulders squared, every muscle tense. Wanda could practically feel the electricity humming under his skin - he was ready to grab her and bolt.[/color]

[color=silver]It was then that the person waiting behind the door spoke, calm as ever.[/color]

[color=#fbde09]“I’m not here to harm you. And I will leave if you tell me to.”[/color][color=silver] His tone was level, measured. [/color][color=#fbde09]“But I think you’d prefer we speak now rather than have me return at a less convenient time.”[/color]

[color=silver]Wanda watched as the candle flame bent sharply toward the door, like a compass needle snapping to true north. She looked down at her hands, her fingers completely steady.[/color]

[color=silver]Pietro glanced back at her and raised his eyebrows, understanding what she didn’t say.[/color]

[color=#698caf]“...Magic?”[/color][color=silver] he mouthed.[/color]

[color=silver]Wanda nodded. His throat bobbed. [/color]

[color=#698caf]„Nije tvoj?”[/color]
[color=#698caf][i][i][sup]Not yours?[/sup][/i][/i][/color]

[color=silver]She shook her head before drawing a shaky breath and stepping out from behind her brother.[/color]

[color=#698caf]“Wanda-”[/color][color=silver] Pietro stuck out his arm, blocking her path.[/color]

[color=#cd3241]“If he was going to force his way in, he already would have.”[/color][color=silver] She raised her hand in the direction of the knob, voice steady. [/color][color=#cd3241]“He chose to wait.”[/color]

[color=silver]With a subtle twist of her wrist, the lock clicked open, and the warped hinges groaned as the door eased inward.[/color]

[color=silver]Standing on the threshold was a tall man with dark hair, streaked grey at the temples, wearing a structured coat and a posture too straight for someone living in this part of town. His face was composed, unreadable, but the moment his eyes found Wanda, something in them came into focus.[/color]

[color=silver]Not on Pietro. On her.[/color]

[color=#fbde09]“Wanda Maximoff,”[/color][color=silver] he said, voice low and even, as if stating a fact he had already confirmed. Pietro’s response was instant, sharp, as he took a half-step forward and shielded his twin with his body.[/color]

[color=#698caf]“I think you have the wrong apartment,”[/color][color=silver] He stated, and the man shook his head once. [/color]

[color=#fbde09]“No, I don’t.”[/color]

[color=#698caf]“Then you have the wrong people.”[/color][color=silver] Another slow shake of the head - unbearably calm. [/color]

[color=#fbde09]“I really don’t.”[/color]

[color=#cd3241]“How do you know my name?”[/color][color=silver] Wanda asked softly, matching the controlled energy of the stranger.[/color]

[color=silver]The man’s eyes flicked briefly to Pietro, not dismissing him - just acknowledging the protective line he’d drawn - before returning to Wanda as though pulled there by instinct.[/color]

[color=#fbde09]“I know a lot of things,”[/color][color=silver] He replied simply. His voice wasn’t boastful, but matter-of-fact. His eyes slid over the peeling wallpaper, the boarded windows, the flickering hallway light, before landing back on the spot where the twins stood. His gaze wasn’t judgmental - just observant. Cataloguing. Wanda felt the hairs on her arms rise. [/color][color=#fbde09]“I know that this is your twin brother, Pietro Maximoff. I also know that you’ve both been squatting here for about a month.”[/color][color=silver] Pietro stiffened, fingers curling at his sides. [/color]

[color=#698caf]“You don’t know anything about us.”[/color][color=silver] The man’s head tilted slightly. [/color]

[color=#fbde09]“If that were true, I wouldn’t be here.”[/color]

[color=silver]Wanda’s breath caught. She could feel Pietro ready to move but the man in the doorway didn’t so much as flinch. He kept a careful, almost courteous distance from the landing.[/color]

[color=#fbde09]“And I know,”[/color][color=silver] He went on, [/color][color=#fbde09]“that hiding this long has taken... creativity.”[/color][color=silver] His gaze flicked to her twin for a beat. [/color][color=#fbde09]“Speed can only do so much to stock a kitchen. Especially without drawing attention.”[/color][color=silver] Pietro’s jaw clenched. [/color]

[color=#698caf]“Watch yourself.”[/color]

[color=silver]The man didn’t react to the threat - he simply continued, eyes returning to Wanda with that unnervingly direct focus.[/color]

[color=#fbde09]“I know your powers are unstable,”[/color][color=silver] He said calmly, [/color][color=#fbde09]“and growing. I know they respond to your emotions more than your intentions. And-”[/color][color=silver] his voice dipped, [/color][color=#fbde09]“-I know you’re afraid of what you might do next.”[/color]

[color=silver]The candle flame behind her trembled, straining toward the open doorway as though drawn to the stranger. His eyes tracked the motion with clinical precision.[/color]

[color=#fbde09]“You’ve been very careful,”[/color][color=silver] He added, [/color][color=#fbde09]“But magic leaves traces. Fingerprints. Especially magic like [/color][i][color=#fbde09]yours[/color][/i][color=#fbde09].”[/color]

[color=silver]Wanda’s fingernails dug into her palms, and a tremor raked through her she hoped neither man noticed.[/color]

[color=#cd3241]“Who are you?”[/color]

[color=silver]He didn’t answer right away. Instead, the stranger studied her with a level of composure that made Wanda believe he’d already mapped the entire conversation before it began. His eyes flicked to the candle behind her, watching the faint red aura curling at its edges as though it were as legible as handwriting on a page. Then, slowly, his attention returned to her.[/color]

[color=#fbde09]“My name is Doctor Stephen Strange.”[/color][color=silver] He stayed rooted in the doorway, making no move to cross the threshold. Every step he didn’t take felt deliberate, as if respecting some unspoken boundary while asserting control over the space at the same time.[/color]

[color=#fbde09]“I’ve been aware of you for weeks. Not watching,”[/color][color=silver] he clarified, noting the way Pietro’s stance tightened. [/color][color=#fbde09]“Sensing. Your magic isn’t... subtle, Wanda. Not with the state it’s in.”[/color]

[color=#fbde09]“It reaches. It calls. Whether you intend it to or not.”[/color]

[color=silver]Wanda swallowed hard. [/color]

[color=#cd3241]“Calls to who?”[/color][color=silver] Strange didn’t hesitate. [/color]

[color=#fbde09]“Anyone with the ability to feel it. Anyone who would be drawn to that kind of power. Some out of curiosity.”[/color][color=silver] His eyes darkened. [color=#fbde09]“Some… out of desperation.”[/color][/color]

[color=#fbde09]“That’s why I’m here,”[/color][color=silver] he went on. [/color][color=#fbde09]“Because the next person who answers that call may not knock first.”[/color]

[color=#cd3241]“And you...”[/color][color=silver] Wanda’s voice came out small, but pointed. [/color][color=#cd3241]“You’re… what? Some kind of hunter? Government agent? Someone who tracks people like us?”[/color]

[color=#fbde09]“No, none of those things.”[/color][color=silver] He replied, voice steady, [/color][color=#fbde09]“I’m the Sorcerer Supreme. It’s my responsibility to protect the world from threats. From danger.”[/color][color=silver] Her brow furrowed.[/color]

[color=#698caf]“You think we’re dangerous.”[/color][color=silver] Pietro gritted his teeth, taking a step towards him. Strange held his ground, hands relaxed at his sides, his gaze level and unwavering. [/color]

[color=#fbde09]“Not intentionally. Not because you want to be. But power like yours is loud, Wanda.”[/color][color=silver] His gaze dropped to the red energy now surging between her fingers freely, and his voice softened slightly, [/color][color=#fbde09]“I meant what I said before. I’m not here to harm you.”[/color]

[color=silver]A beat. The candle behind her crackled.[/color]

[color=#fbde09]“I’m here to make sure you have a choice - before the world makes it for you.”[/color][/indent]