Peter was, once again, surrounded by red. It was like he was floating in it.
It felt like a dream, like his body wasn't real.
Like this was all in his head.
Maybe it was?
"What the hell..." His voice sounded muffled,
Wasn't he just in his prison cell? The alarm had been going off, and it'd been so loud, so painful. There was shouting, and the intercom had gone off.
Along with the shock collar.
But there was no pain anymore. No buzzing of electricity.
Just a peaceful red, surrounding him like a calm blanket.
Shit. Was he dead?
"I don't think we're dead." A voice echoed around the red atmosphere, speaking with a slight accent that sounded almost Russian. "This doesn't feel like death."
Peter whipped around to see a shadow among the red mist. The figure moved closer, revealing a familiar outline.
"Wanda?"
The red tendrils faded away from her. She looked different than she had in the prison, her skin a normal tone, no shock collar or straightjacket in sight. It was odd to see her normally.
She gave a small smile, but her eyes were confused. "I don't really know what's happening. I- I think I've been here before..."
Peter shrugged half-heartedly. "It's better than out there. It's quiet here. I like it."
Wanda tilted her head, blinking. "Out there? What..."
She turned, looking around herself.
Peter just watched. His mind felt foggy, like something was being held back from him. It was a strange sensation, not uncomfortable, but not right, either.
"It doesn't feel like death, but it doesn't feel like life..." Wanda repeated the phrase a few times, reaching out to the red mist and curling her fingers through it. Her image flickered, and Peter flinched.
He could've sworn he saw the shock collar around her neck again. "Wanda?" His voice was shaky and soft.
She mumbled to herself once more, and red energy spread out from her hand, the tendrils wrapping around her hand. "It doesn't feel right..." The energy pulsed, flashing a bright scarlet.
Wanda gasped, stumbling backward.
"What's wrong?" Peter asked, stepping forward slightly.
She turned towards him, eyes clear and focused, panic shining through them. "Peter, we need to get out of here. Now."
"What? Why?"
Wanda shook her head, taking a deep breath. "We can't stay here. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring both of us here, but we need to wake up."
Peter felt his eyes widen. "What's happening?"
Her image flickered again. "I- I think they're here to help us, Peter. If we don't get out of here, we won't ever be able to."
"W-What do you mean?" His voice shook, words barely coming out, but Wanda understood.
She sighed, stepping towards him. "We'll die. I brought us here when the collars went off, it's where I escape to when I can't handle pain. But my powers, I-" Wanda exhaled, clearly frustrated. "I don't have enough control over them to keep this up for a long time. They turn against me, and if I don't pull myself out, it gets bad."
"How bad?"
Wanda lifted her head to make eye contact. "After my- around a year or so ago, I did the same thing, and I stayed too long. I was in a coma for a few days. I had seizures. They didn't think I was going to make it. The only reason I did was because Vision pulled me out."
Peter exhaled, closing his eyes. "So we have to go back there now, or we'll die here."
She nodded, fidgeting with her hands. "Yeah."
Peter hated what he was about to ask. But he had to know. "What if- What if we didn't go back? Wouldn't it be better if we just stayed here?"
A tear rolled down Wanda's face. "Believe me, I wanted to do the same. I know that it's hard, but we're so close. We've fought for this long, Peter. There are people that care for you, even some that still care for me. We can't stay here."
Peter felt his own tears dripping down his face as well, and he didn't bother trying to wipe them away. "I just- I don't know if I can go back. It hurts."
Wanda's image flickered again, and she smiled sadly at him. "I know. But you heard Sam the other night. They don't want us to survive. And I'm done letting them control me, I'm not about to let them win."
Sighing, Peter nodded. "Okay." His voice was still shaky, and he forced it to be steady. "We won't let them win."
Wanda stepped forward, holding out her hand. "Let's go."
Peter pretended not to notice that her hand was shaking. "Okay." He grasped her hand, surprised that it felt almost real. "You've done this before, right?"
Wanda startled, then laughed. "Yeah, yeah I have."
Peter smiled back, trying to calm himself.
He trusted Wanda. That wasn't the problem.
The problem was that he was scared of what awaited them back in the prison.
She'd said that someone was there to help them?
But who?
Wanda looked around at the scarlet world once more, sucking in a stuttering breath and letting it out. Red energy flowed from her hand, and Peter stared, mesmerized as it wrapped around their hands. "3, 2, 1..."
The energy pulsed brightly, and Peter felt himself falling. His vision narrowed, as if he was being pulled back, and he closed his eyes to escape the dizzying sensation.
Then there was nothing but darkness surrounding him.
____________________________________________________________________________
Peter opened his eyes slowly. Flashes of red illuminated the world around him, and for a second, he thought they hadn't returned to the prison. But then he heard the shouting, the blaring of the alarm, and he knew he was back in his cell, his mind in the real world.
The current of electricity was no longer flowing from the metal around his neck, but his muscles were weakly spasming, the feeling now familiar to Peter.
"DAMNIT, YOU BASTARDS, THEY DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!"
Surprisingly, it was Scott who was shouting, an unfamiliar anger in his voice. Peter tried to sit up, but his body wouldn't respond.
So he just stayed where he was, on his side, the left side of his face pressed against the floor. It was cold, but the feeling grounded him in reality.
He heard someone banging on the glass of their cell, shouting something unintelligible. It sounded like Clint, trying to get to Wanda.
Shit. Wanda. Was she okay? She'd seemed alright when they'd talked, but then again, that was in their minds, not in real life.
In real life, they both could barely move. There were shock collars around their necks.
They were slowly dying.
"Wanda?" His voice was a small whisper, crackly and hoarse. He coughed harshly, the sound painful to even his own ears.
'I'm okay.'
The accented voice echoed in his mind, and Peter startled at the feeling.
"What's happening?" His voice barely came out now, and he coughed again.
The response sounded relieved. 'They're here for us. We're leaving.'
"Who-" Another cough broke his sentence, but Wanda responded anyway.
'Steve. Natasha as well.'
Steve? As in Captain America? He was here?
What if...
What if he just left him here? He had fought him, at the airport. They had been on different sides, and the man hadn't exactly held back when they were fighting.
What if he abandoned him here, and just left him at the prison?
'We won't let that happen. I promise.'
"Okay." Peter was exhausted, and he closed his eyes, trying to breathe normally.
Even though Wanda sounded nearly sure about the potential rescue, Peter found that he couldn't fully let himself hope that it was true.
It was odd, even to himself, that his mindset had changed so much in the past week. It was hard to even remember what it was like to live outside of the raft.
It was hard to think that he had only arrived a week ago. That this torture had only been going on for a short amount of time, compared to the rest of his life, but had affected him so much.
He wanted to go home, of course, but home felt like a distant memory, almost like a vivid dream.
He missed May, his friends, even school seemed amazing compared to this. But it was hard to believe that he had the chance to go back. It was hard to believe that he might survive after all.
The raft was high security, capable of holding the worst criminals.
Capable of holding former superheroes.
How were two people going to break them out? How were they going to avoid the government, avoid Ross, if they even made it away from the raft?
It seemed impossible.
He was so tired.
'We'll make it Peter. It's going to be okay, just stay awake, please.'
He didn't want to stay awake.
Not here.
'I know, but I promise you, we're getting out. We can rest later, but we won't last long unconscious.'
Right.
He had to be strong.
He was Spider-Man. He could do this, he just had to stay conscious, stay awake.
Suddenly, a loud thud sounded from above them, and Peter flinched slightly. The blaring of the alarm cut off, and the red lights stopped flashing, the bright white of the earlier lights turning back on.
Did that mean-
'They did it, they're coming for us, just hang on!' Wanda's voice was full of relief, but Peter still waited, uncertain.
The intercom crackled on, a woman's voice echoing around the circular space. "All guards have been neutralized. Did you miss us?" Her voice was calm and smooth.
Natasha Romanoff, the Black Widow.
"God, 'Tasha, that's one hell of a way to say hello." Clint's voice was both relieved and worried. "You better be getting us out of here."
"Would we be here if we couldn't?" She answered. "Whoever designed this prison really didn't account for someone trying to break in. They only focused on preventing a break out."
Sam laughed. "I'd say putting it in the middle of the ocean was a pretty good solution to a lot of things." His voice turned serious. "The kids need help, Nat. It's bad."
"Alright. Coming in now- hang on-" Natasha's sentence cut off, and Peter heard her muttering to herself through the still-open comm channel. "Finally! These controls are so ancient, you'd think they'd at least update one part of this place."
The doors of each of the cells slid open, revealing empty hallways. Peter just stared ahead, unable to move. Hopefully someone would help him out of here.
"Wanda, Peter, we're coming to get you!" Sam's shout was followed by fading footsteps, which Peter assumed were the others leaving their cells.
He sucked in a breath, feeling a tear roll down his face. Was this actually happening?
Could he really be getting out?
Footsteps echoed down the hallway that led to Peter's cell, and he tensed.
"This damn prison is so confusing- god, is that a kid?"
That was... Captain America?
Was he actually here?
In just a few seconds, Steve Rogers came into view, Peter blinked rapidly. He didn't disappear.
He was really there.
The man's face was full of concern, and he pulled off his helmet as he jogged towards Peter, reaching the doorway. "Holy shit, they put a shock collar on him. Nat, you still in the control room?"
The intercom buzzed again. "Yeah, I'm trying to find the release button, just give me a second." She paused. "Got it!"
The collar beeped, and Peter squeezed his eyes shut, holding his breath.
But the metal gave a click, and suddenly, the pressure around his neck was gone, collar falling to the ground.
Peter opened his eyes in shock, and Steve crouched in front of him, blue eyes worried. "Kid, you have to breathe, it's alright."
He gasped, sucking in air and coughing, airways finally feeling free. A hand touched him, and Peter flinched weakly. The hand left his shoulder.
"Is it okay if I help you up a bit?"
Peter opened his eyes and nodded, still trying to breathe normally. Steve gave a small smile and reached out again, lifting Peter up by his shoulder.
He almost fell forward from the lack of support, but Steve caught him, steadying him and turning Peter so he leaned against the metal cot. "Alright, I'm gonna get these cuffs off of you."
Peter coughed, trying to clear his throat before speaking. "Is- is Wanda okay?"
Steve looked at him in surprise, unlocking the handcuffs and the chain around his ankle. "She'll be alright. Clint and Sam have her right now, they got the straightjacket off a little while ago. I've been listening in, I dropped some comms in the hallways for them."
"Okay. That's good." Peter's vision was starting to dim, and his eyelids drooped. He blinked tiredly.
"Kid?"
He fell into darkness once more.