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𝐶𝐻𝐴𝑃𝑇𝐸𝑅 𝐹𝑂𝑈𝑅𝑇𝐸𝐸𝑁 𝑅𝑒𝑓𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛
☀︎︎
The compound had always been lonely, even when filled with a few people. The walls were thick and plainly white. The wooden floors didn't even squeak when he stepped on them. The glass window didn't show a reflection when he stood in front of them. Everything about it made Eddy feel isolated. The knowledge that Wanda and the rest of Cap's team were somewhere in the middle of one of the world's oceans in a floating prison, made Eddy feel worse. In a way, he was in his own prison, of which was simultaneously forced upon him and self-imposed.
His shoulder still ached every time he moved. He could only hope that there wasn't extra damage to his blood vessels or ligaments, but Friday's instructions had been rather thorough and Eddy was good at following instructions, increasingly so when they were based on the foundations of science. He'd popped the dislocation back into place, making all the noise he wanted, hearing it echo through the empty rooms.
"Well done, Mr Carter," Friday had told him, when his shouts of pain had finally died out, leaving him with his chest heaving. "The scans show you have completed the self-procedure successfully."
In the first three days, he could barely touch it without spikes of pain shooting across his upper back. He was rewarded no sleep either, as the air was stuffy and hot and the pain too much. But soon, as the fatigue built up, he drifted off on early mornings, waking before the sun had even risen.
His own room in the compound, though it never really had, didn't feel like his own room anymore. In the silence, he was prone to thinking about Peggy more often, missing her with an aching heart. He thought of Steve too, about he'd gotten away with Bucky, off to fight the evil psychologist, or whatever Zumo was. The three of them, Eddy included, had left the others behind. Wanda had been hurt. Then he remembered the image of Rhodey's free falling body and he had to flinch again.
He'd never been in Wanda's room before, but it was much like his own in that the walls were an off-white and the windows were long, reaching toward the floor, facing a vast field of grass. There were hints of blue in the bed sheets and the fabric of the chair, stark pops of colour like splattered paint against a blank canvas. There was green in the standard, landscape images that hung by the thin, oak wardrobe. There was yellow in the curtains that draped limply beside the windows, and Wanda hated yellow. And yet, there was a distinct absence of red. It didn't feel like Wanda at all.
It's wasn't until a week after Eddy teleported himself to the compound, that Tony returned, leaving the halls feeling as lonely as they did on the first day. Vision was nowhere in sight. For those six and a half days, Mr Stark had been unaccounted for, though Eddy supposed he'd been with Rhodey for most of the time, and he suspected he may have visited Wanda and the rest in prison. He didn't even want to think about where the Spider had gone.
"How's Rhodey?" Eddy said, finally breaking the three hour silence that had ensued.
Tony looked down at the kitchen bench, fiddling with some part of his suit. "Just came from the hospital," he said. "He'll be okay but they don't know how well he'll be able to walk again."
Eddy looked away.
"You understand what this means, don't you?" Tony said, glancing up, frowning when he saw that he'd shuffled backwards to look out of the window.
Eddy nodded. "I might not like it, but I understand."
He was the only one left. Tony and Bucky were gone and the rest locked up. He tried to shake the heavy feeling away, but it was times like these that he needed his sister.
"Your situation... it's unique," Tony explained.
"To say the least," Eddy cut in, shaking his head bitterly.
"It may be beneficial to keep it under wraps."
"I said I understand," Eddy snapped.
Looking back, his bitterness came from a place of disappointment. Eddy was in another time. Steve wasn't even there to help him through it, and now his sister was dead. It all felt surreal, and that was without talking about his new ability to teleport. He was afraid, and who better to blame that Tony? It was harsh and somewhat unfair, but he'd helped to escalate the fighting too.
"Just because of what's happened, doesn't mean I'll stop looking for an explanation," Tony said quietly. Eddy felt immediately guilty. "I will try."
"I know," Eddy said softly.
Mr Stark moved to leave, pocketing the blocked wristlet, taking a flash of hot coffee with him.
"Tony," Eddy called, swallowing his pride.
"Yeah, kid?"
"Thank you."
Tony nodded in understanding, and then left again, hiding himself in his lab.
The weeks would go by with little success. He would be left to his room, practicing teleportation until he would be able to do it like second nature, a reflex. Edward knew better that to expect anymore. What he was asking of Tony was too grand, too complicated. To figure out time travel was no easy feat, putting it simply.
It was too much time to think of what ifs and if onlys, two thinks that were horribly dangerous in the long run. If only he'd listened to Howard and Peggy that night with the zero matter- then he wouldn't have lost them. If only he'd used his ability to teleport them all out of Germany, even if he had to pull them one by one into a random field in Lithuania or some random place. And what if Rhodey hadn't been hit by Vision's power? Any more thoughts like that would have sent him into a sprout of depression.
Edward knew they would be granted with little hope of success. It was rare that goodness prevailed, unless it was filled with heroics. But then again, it didn't really matter how far into the future Eddy was- he knew that he never really was far from home, and convincing himself of that fact was success enough.
☀︎︎
Just a little chapter to close things up. I'm so excited for the next section of this book!
