||"Sometimes being a brother is better than being a superhero."||
"Heartbeat is decreasing, let's keep pressure on that wound. Find me an exit wound," the nurse beside Wanda ordered the other's quickly, and she couldn't figure out how many people were actually there beside her. She felt nothing, only exhaustion, and she wondered what was even going on.
But when she attempted to speak, nothing came out of her mouth. Her eyes were glued shut, and she couldn't even find the energy to open them up.
"Exit wound on her left; no major organs have been hit. It's a clean shot."
"Let's stitch her up and give her some blood. You're gonna be fine, Wanda," the nurse said, squeezing her hand. Wanda couldn't depict what they were even talking about, their voices were too muffled.
She wasn't going to put much force into moving her body, so she let the darkness consume her. Then she was asleep.
*2 days later*
There was a thick silence that she felt before she came through, and then there was the pain; piercing pain that she was too familiar with.
At first, she couldn't move or even open her eyes, but after minutes of failed attempts, her eyes fluttered open, and she was bombarded with a stabbing pain in her back.
She bit down on her lip to refrain from screaming. The first thing she saw was the blankets that covered her. For a moment she didn't know where she was, but then she saw the familiar walls of the building.
Her eyes moved down to her body, and she pulled the blanket down to inspect the damage.
She was only wearing her bra and underwear, and there was a white bandage wrapped around her waist. Her hand traced the thin bandage, and she felt a small bump near the lower left part of her abdomen. Wanda covered herself back up with the blanket and relaxed herself back on the pillow.
There were sounds of people walking past the door, but no one came in. The medic room phone was across the room, so she wasn't able to reach it. But there was a remote sitting beside her on the bedside table, and she bent over to grab it. Wanda ignored the pain on her side; she was done feeling pain.
The TV came to life and she searched through the channels for something interesting. They were all American shows, none she has ever heard of. She settled for a movie called "The Conjuring," which she immediately regretted the moment she realized what it was.
"It's a great movie," the control fell from her hands, and she looked over at the door, where Steve was standing. He was out of his uniform, wearing blue jeans and a white t-shirt. His hair was a disgruntled mess, and her fingers itched at the mere thought of combing it down for him. "Movies are great, when you have the time and all."
"My brother?" she asked him, unsure as to why he wasn't there beside her when she woke.
"He's asleep. It's been a rough two days for him."
"I can't remember what happened," she admitted, turning the tv off and trying her best to sit up.
Steve rushed over to her and helped her, snaking his arm around her back to give her leverage. She could smell the fresh scent of body wash on his skin, and as she scooted herself up, her nose grazed against his cheek, and something familiar pulled in her stomach as heat ran through her.
"There you go," he said softly, then stepped back. He grabbed the chair near her bed and sat down, moving up so he could be close enough to rest his hands on the soft cushion of her bed. "You were shot," he said to her, and Wanda furrowed her brows, bringing her hand to her bandage.
"Shot?" she asked him, surprised. "By who?"
"A man named Markus. We believe he works with Larry Trask, and if Trask sent them out here for whatever reason, then it won't be long before he starts to worry where his men are."
Wanda thought for a moment, curious as to why Trask would only send 7 men, and not even a sentinel to join.
"Have you talked to them? The men?" she asked him.
"I've tried, but they're highly trained, so they aren't giving me much. Natasha is down there with them right now. I'm sure she can get them to talk."
"I can try," Wanda offered. "I can get inside of their heads, they won't even have to speak." Steve shook his head, nodding his head over to her stomach.
"You're still recovering, and I wouldn't want you to open up those stitches. You need more rest, and if we haven't gotten anything out of them by tomorrow or the day after, then you can try. But for now, try your best to let your body heal."
There was an odd expression that revealed itself on Steve's face, and for some reason, she reached out and grabbed his hand. His eye locked on her's, and she rubbed her thumb over his knuckles as she held him, trying her best to make him feel better.
"I should have known there was a man missing; you shouldn't have been hurt."
He felt guilty, and she leaned in and grabbed his chin, forcing him to look straight at her.
"Do not blame yourself," she said to him. He closed his eyes, resting his face in her hand. For a second, she wanted to kiss him, but she pushed the thought out of her head, far enough so that she wouldn't think of ever doing it again.
___
Natasha's fist met with Markus' face for the fourth time, and this time, she drew blood.
The blood dripped from his mouth, and she smiled, cracking her knuckles and getting ready to hit him again.
"I have all day," she said to him, and he scowled at her. "Tell me why Trask sent you," she ordered, but he just looked at her with glazed eyes. Natasha huffed, walking up to him and grabbing him by the hair, pulling his head back. She brought her elbow down and collided it with his nose, and she heard the bone snap beneath her arm.
Markus cried out, and she pushed his head back and walked over to the sink near the door.
"Now that you're all loosened up, let's get to the talking. Now, I'm going to ask you this one more time, and if you refuse to answer, I will snap your neck and send your body to your family."
"You can't stop him," Markus said, and Natasha stepped up to him and crossed her arms. "Trask believes what he's doing is the only way to save humanity. Mutants hold reign over us weak humans, and they will overrule our system of order if they live. Trask is doing what everyone else is afraid to try."
Natasha set her mouth into a straight line, and she grabbed a chair and pulled it up in front of Markus.
"I once knew a man who believed that the only way to save this world was to destroy it. Things didn't end so good for him. Killing mutants won't stop people from killing each other. Trask sending out Sentinels will only cause chaos and destruction. But he hasn't done that yet, which leaves me to believe that there is a part of his puzzle he hasn't been able to solve. That's good news on our part, but it doesn't make much sense as to why he would send you out here."
Markus chuckled, and he spat out some excess blood that was pooling in his mouth.
"We came to kill."
She stood, walking over to the door and stepping out. The agent that was on guard gave her a quick nod, and she returned it, walking quickly upstairs and down the hall towards Bruce's lab.
Tony and Bruce stood near the computers discussing something that she couldn't make out.
"Agent Romanoff," Natasha turned around, finding Vision at the lab's door, staring at her. "May you escort me to Miss Wanda's room? I'd like to speak with her." Bruce and Tony turned as well, looking at each other in confusion, and Natasha nodded her head, stepping out into the hall.
"Shouldn't you be in Connecticut?" she asked him.
"Thor has that covered."
"So you just came to see her?"
"Yes," he answered, stopping in front of Natasha as they arrived at the medic room. "I heard Miss Wanda was injured, and I wanted to come check on her." A nurse walked by, then halted when she heard Vision speak.
"Visitors are not permitted to see the patient unless they are immediate family," she told him, and Natasha shrugged her shoulders at Vision.
"Do those rules not pertain to the Captain?" Vision asked, and Natasha looked in through the glass and saw Steve resting his head against the bed. Wanda was asleep, so she wasn't going to burst in and wake her.
"Excuse me," she said to the nurse and Vision, then quietly opened the door and walked up to Steve. She smacked him across the head, and he woke with a startle. "You're not supposed to be in here," she whispered to him, and he looked over towards the door and saw Vision. "Let's go before you get us in trouble. You know what Bruce said about you coming in here."
Steve stood up at Natasha's request and followed her out. The nurse had walked off, but Vision stood his ground, looking directly at Wanda through the vertical window.
"Is she well?" Vision asked Steve, and Natasha glared at him, silently scolding him for being in there.
"She's been through more in these last few months than anyone deserves, but yes, she's well."
"And Mr. Maximoff? I had it come to my attention that the twins can now safely interact. How is that going?" Both Steve and Natasha looked at each other, but none of them spoke. Natasha opened up her mouth to speak, but she didn't know what to say. The only time she saw the twins together was when she came back from visiting Bucky, and they seemed fine.
"She's happy, and that's all that matters," Steve said after seconds of silence. "Any news on Trask?"
Vision turned, stepping up the steel wall and running his sleek finger down it and tapping it a few times, letting the metallic sound echo through the hall.
"He's been silent for days, and I worry that what he is doing down in his bunker is not good."
"His men attacked us, seven of them," Natasha rubbed her sore knuckles and sighed. "They haven't given me a forward answer, but, I plan on getting an answer out of them by tonight."
Vision nodded, and Natasha saw both men staring at each other, like some sort of pissing contest.
She knew it had to do with Wanda.
___
Pietro grunted as he pushed himself up, his slumber shaking off of him as he stood.
He had spent the last two days in his room, worried sick of Wanda and angry at himself. His fists had healed after he beat the man to a pulp, and all that was left was the memory of it all.
He trudged into the bathroom and splashed water onto his face, waking himself up. When he looked into the mirror, he realized how long his hair actually way. For the last few months he never paid any mind to it, but Wanda noticed immediately, so he figured he should shop a few inches off and check that off her list.
Pietro grabbed the scissors that were in the drawer and began chopping the ends of his hair. The silver strands fell into the sink, and slowly but surely, he began to look and feel like himself.
He needed to take a shower to wash off all of the excess hair that fell onto his body, and he rested against the shower wall as the hot water coated his exhausted body. It had been two days, and he didn't even bother to check on his sister because of the guilt he felt. For three months, seeing Wanda is all he ever wanted, and now that he had the access to be with her at all times, he was too guilt stricken to do so.
There was a light knock on the glass wall out in his room, and he wrapped a towel around his waist and stepped out of the bathroom.
Katarina held a platter full of fresh food, and when she looked up, her hands shook slightly beneath, and Pietro saw her take a deep breath before talking.
"You've been asleep all day, and I know you must be famished."
He took in the fact that she wasn't wearing her lab coat, just a black dress that stopped at her knees. It fitted her nicely, and Pietro had to turn away from her to stop his racing thoughts.
"Thank you," he said to her flatly, and she stepped up to place the platter in the slit through the wall, but he stopped her. "You can come in," he told her, and she faltered, taking a few seconds to process.
But she took her key card out and entered his room.
He motioned her to place the platter on his bed and closed the door to the bathroom slightly so he could get dressed.
"I met your sister," she said, and he could hear the nervousness in her voice. "Actually, I didn't meet her like that, I was brought into her room to check up on her, so technically we didn't meet, I just watched her sleep for a while. Okay, I didn't meet your sister."
Pietro opened the bathroom door and found Katarina pacing his room. When she heard him step out, she stopped, holding her arms at her side and smiling tightly.
"Your sister is beautiful," she added, and he smiled at that.
"Yes, she is. She takes after our mother."
"Do you take after your father?" she asked him, and he puffed.
"Not really. I like to think I'm the perfect mix between the two." He sat down on his bed and grabbed a grape, popping it into his mouth.
"Sadly, I'm a spitting image of my dad, well, without the scruff and callous hands." He watched her as she talked about her father, and Pietro thought up an image in his head. He didn't stop her; he liked the sound of her voice. "Indeed, Larry and Katarina Trask, the dynamic duo," she finished, and he stopped chewing, fixated on the name Trask.
The look on his face must have been noticeable, because she stopped smiling, but he quickly recovered, standing and walking up to her. He could see her eyes widen as he got closer, and he forced himself to say the words he knew would hurt her.
********************
A/N: Vision is back, and I don't think Steve is too thrilled