Drip. Drip. Drip. Drip.

When they took Pietro, all that was left was the sound of water falling from the leak in her cell. His harsh breathing, ever labored from his running, that had become her solace in this underground hell was gone. The shuffling of his feet that made the floor subtly vibrate was missing, as was the inconsistent shuddering of the wall that happened every time he slammed into it. Even the absence of his growling stomach felt fundamentally wrong. Without Pietro, her grip on sanity lessened.

She truly pitied Pietro. His speed was useless in a cage, but HYDRA wasn't willing to unleash them yet, making him no more than a caged animal. He certainly acted like one these days, banging on the one way glass and shouting absurd commands. She tried soothing him with her newfound powers but she didn't know how to control minds quite yet. She had accidentally made a few guards and agents do things with a mere thought, but never on purpose. So far, she had only truly mastered her telekinesis.

No matter how bruised he got from running into the walls or how hungry he became from burning through all of his fat, he couldn't stop running. It was a part of him, a constant need just as vital as breathing. Not that she was in any position to comment on his state of being. She was as much a victim to her power's needs as he was. Her thoughts spiraled out of control unless she was actively levitating something. The crimson light that her magic took form as helped her to clear thoughts and to concentrate on strengthening her powers. Whenever that light faded, her thoughts became muddled again.

She had once refused to use her magic for a day to test what its limits were, but by nightfall she had forgotten everything. She hadn't remembered where she was at or how she had gotten there, but the doctor who came in to see her said such side effects were to be expected from withdrawal. It progressively worsened, and soon she forgot to eat, drink, and sleep. At peak, she hadn't even recognized Pietro's voice. He had pleaded for her to remember him and rammed into the concrete wall again and again until he was too tired to move anymore, but it wasn't until HYDRA intervened that she had finally used her magic. Not that she had much choice. An agent had lobbed a knife at her and she had instinctively halted it inches from her face, causing her memories to come rushing back. She had cried for hours as Pietro desperately tried to comfort her through the wall.

She waited and waited but Pietro never came back. The guard's rounds continued normally, as if half of her soul wasn't missing. Where was he? HYDRA never took him away for more than a few hours because he was too unruly to control after that. Had something happened? Was he hurt?

Wanda waited another hour before summoning an agent to her room by causing the door to rattle violently. She had found that it was an effective way to get the brutes to come running.

"What is it, Maximoff?" The agent snapped. He had left his gun in the hallway so she couldn't use it against him. Clever.

"When is my brother coming back?" She asked calmly, levitating a few blocks of wood to make him squirm. The agents were surprisingly jumpy about magic considering who they worked for.

He groaned. "Not this shit again. Maximoff, your brother died in Sokovia years ago when you turned traitor and fought with the Avengers."

Wanda blinked. "Pietro's not dead. He was here this morning. And I would never fight with the Avengers," she hissed and hurtled one of the blocks at his head, causing him to duck and swear at her.

"I'm sick of dealing with your memory loss. You and your creepy brother joined up with that freak Ultron but when you found out he wanted to kill everyone, you fought with the Avengers to destroy him. Your brother was killed but when they tried to recruit you, you ran. HYDRA found you and now you're our prisoner for teaming up with the enemy and nearly killing everyone on this goddamn planet. Ring a bell?" The agent asked sarcastically, edging towards the door. She used her powers to keep it shut. "Those doctors promised you would stop doing this. Why can't you just remember how badly you screwed up so I never have to talk to your crazy ass again?"

Her breath hitched. "Pietro's dead?"

"Yes, you goddamn freak, now let me out before I have them gas this chamber and burn your insides until you beg for death," he threatened, tugging at the door.

She couldn't breathe, couldn't think couldn't move, couldn't live. Not without Pietro. What was she without her brother, the only constant in her life?

"Maximoff, let me-" the agent shouted, tugging at the rattling door.

"Wanda, wake up," an achingly familiar voice begged.

No. Stupid voices. She couldn't wake up. This was real. Pietro was dead and she was alone and the lights were flickering and the agent was swearing and all she saw was red, red light swirling around her like blood was pouring out of her heart.

"Please, wake up. It's just a dream," the voice continued as the room began to spin.

She screamed and screamed until the walls crumbled and the ceiling fell down and all that was left was the gruesome light which they had sacrificed so much to obtain.

Finally, she woke up. She gasped for breath as her racing heartbeat tried to slow down. The silk blankets slid off her sweaty body as she jerked upright. Vision was waiting patiently next to her, his brow knit with concern. It seemed like every day his expressions became more and more distinct, almost as if living with humans had influenced him to become more human.

"Hey, Vis," she managed to say after a few more deep breaths.

"Hello, Wanda," he replied, watching her carefully. "Are you alright?"

"Not really," she admitted, crossing her arms tightly as if to curl in on herself. "I had that dream again."

"Was it exactly the same?"

She patted the spot next to her and he hesitantly took it before she said, "No. I never saw his body. I can't tell if that's good or bad."

"The realm of dreams is one of the most complex there is. Even I can't say if it's a good sign or not."

Wanda pulled her hair up into a messy bun as the details of the dream faded away. She'd been having the same dream for a week now, and Vision always woke her up when she began crying out. She knew the android didn't need rest like a human but she still felt bad about disturbing him. Surely he didn't want to deal with a emotionally scarred girl every night.

"Is anyone else awake?" she asked after a few minutes of silence.

"Yes, quite a few people also had trouble sleeping, it seems. There's a whole gathering in the common room," Vision said, smiling softly. "I don't think anyone would take particular note of your appearance tonight, if you should choose to go."

Bless him. He knew she didn't want to stand out, didn't want them to know the depths of her trauma. Actually, it wasn't until she learned how badly the other Avengers slept and coped with their PTSD that she finally admitted to some of her own. No one mocked her fears or made her feel weak. In fact, everyone seemed to accept her even more after seeing her wake up gasping from a nap.

"Would you come with me?" Wanda asked, sliding out of bed. She belatedly realized she was clad only in a tank top and pajama shorts and hurried to pull on a silk overthrow. She didn't want to seem suggestive when she was so vulnerable, not that Vision even seemed to notice. He probably didn't even know how the skin she showed during the day and night differed.

"Of course," he said, climbing to his feet.

They made their way downstairs and, like Vision had said, found the to be common room full of people. Tony was seated on the couch, engrossed in his phone like always, with Peter's head resting on his leg. The rest of the young superhero was sprawled out across the remainder of the couch, but judging by how one leg was bouncing, Peter was not tired in the slightest. Tony always brought Peter down here when he knew his Spiderling was either too hyper or scared to fall back asleep.

Natasha and Sam were there, surprisingly. They had gone on a mission to eastern Europe two days ago, and it was estimated that they wouldn't be back for another two more days, minimum. They were no doubt either awake because of adrenaline, or because they weren't accustomed to this time zone yet. Either way, it was good to see them safe and unharmed. No one liked when only one or two teammates did missions by themselves, but stealth was required sometimes and you just couldn't achieve that when everyone was there.

And to round off the group, Steve and Bucky were teasing Sam and Natasha. Steve was undoubtedly awake to greet his friends but Bucky almost never slept through the night. After what HYDRA had done to him, that was to be expected. Wanda and Bucky had spent many nights watching bad movies and eating popcorn together after they decided that if neither of them could sleep, they might as well make it enjoyable. Vision often joined them but never seemed very comfortable during their movie nights. Wanda never understood why her late night gatherings with Bucky bothered him since she did the same thing with just him all the time.

"Banner and Rhodey are missing the party. Someone should go get them," Tony joked as Vision and Wanda sat down on the couch adjacent to him. Peter shifted to smile at them.

It was funny how quickly her once burning hatred for Tony Stark had faded so quickly. It was impossible to dislike him once you moved into his home. He was so generous that it was nearly impossible to notice. Some things were more obvious, like when he gave her a giant suite, a credit card, Stark phone, government permission to stay in the US, and a fancy sports card. Other things were subtler. Soft star lights embedded into her ceiling when she admitted being uncomfortable in the dark after living in a brightly lit cell. An entire wardrobe in her size. He even got a hold of some pictures of Pietro and herself when they were younger and put them in her room as a surprise. He still hadn't admitted that it was him, but Wanda knew and that was enough.

Natasha slipped out of the group of boys and came over to Wanda. The two girls hugged briefly before Natasha pulled away to rub Peter's curls affectionately. For some reason no one could quite fathom, Natasha and Peter had hit it off instantly, which Tony quite frequently said freaked him out. His protegee befriending a notorious assassin was grounds for reasonable concern, in his defense. To her credit, Natasha hadn't pushed to train Peter in some of the more brutal arts she knew even if everyone silently agreed that it might be good for him. No one wanted to ruin his innocence, but it could save his life considering their line of work.

"Hey, pauk," Natasha said, crouching in front of the boy and ignoring Tony's amused expression. Pauk meant spider in Russian and that had become Natasha's preferred nickname for Peter. "Couldn't sleep?"

"Not tonight," he said, frowning. "Bruce is still trying to whip up a sleep pill that will work on me."

Natasha grimaced in sympathy. Everyone knew Bruce and Tony had been unsuccessfully trying to make Peter a sleep pill for months but his abnormal biology and increased metabolism prevented anything from being effective. The ones that had worked the best just made him spacey. Wanda had used a few sleeping pills herself, as did most of them.

"I thought you and Mr. Wilson wouldn't be back for another two days," Vision said calmly. Since he probably already knew why they were back, Wanda was pretty sure he was asking for her sake.

"I took out the target early. We overestimated his defenses," Natasha said evenly. Peter shifted, clearly uncomfortable with the change of topic. Tony quickly showed him something on his phone to distract him.

"Did you get the hard drive?" Vision inquired.

"Yeah, Sam has it. I'm just glad I'll be able to sleep in my own bed. Speaking of which, you're also having a rough night?" Natasha asked, turning to Wanda.

The girl bit her lip. "Does it ever get better?"

"I wouldn't know. I've never taken enough time away to find out," Natasha said honestly.

Wanda nodded and looked down at her folded hands. She suddenly wished she had let her hair down so it would block her face.

"I'm going to get snacks if everyone insists on staying awake. You want to help me, pauk?" Natasha asked.

The boy leapt up slightly too fast to be normal and followed Natasha into the nearest kitchen. Tony got up, stretched, and wandered over to Steve, Sam, and Bucky. Sam seemed to be gushing about Natasha's fighting skills during their mission.

"Humans are so odd," Vision murmured.

Wanda grinned. This was a common conversation they had. "What is it this time?"

"Mr. Stark was clearly uncomfortable in the position he was in while Mr. Parker was lying on him but he didn't insist on making the boy move," he elaborated, shifting closer to her so he wouldn't have to speak loudly. He didn't want Peter to overhear it with his enhanced hearing.

"Tony is very fond of the boy. I think he knew Peter was comfortable and that mattered more to him than his own comfort," Wanda explained. "He actually does a lot of things to accommodate Peter without him noticing. Just last week, he upgraded Peter's suit to lessen stimuli according to Peter's enhancements even though Pepper chewed him out for missing that board meeting in London."

Vision looked thoughtful. "I suppose you're right, though that itself isn't surprising. You're remarkably perceptive." Wanda blushed.

"I wasn't before this," she said, red mist curling around her fingers. "I can sense emotions to varying degrees. Stark is easy to read. His emotions are stronger than nearly anyone else's that I've ever met."

"Do you have to concentrate to do this?" Vision asked, staring at the mist.

"Moving objects is fairly easy but directing them is harder. Same for my mind reading. It's easy to sense emotions and much harder to manipulate thoughts."

Vision looked thoughtful. "You never use that ability, just your telekinesis."

Wanda ducked her head slightly, ashamed. It was true. She never used that particular ability, but not because it couldn't of helped her out of a million scrapes. Actually, manipulating people would make her life so much easier, not to mention eliminate the need for the Avengers for half of their missions. No, she never manipulating anyone's thoughts because the last time she had, Tony had accidentally created Ultron and the Hulk went on a rampage in South Africa. All the people who had died at either of their hands died because of her.

"Wanda, you needn't tell me why if it's upsetting you," Vision hurried to say, recognizing that she had remained quiet.

"You're getting better at recognizing that sort of stuff," Wanda commented. "But I should tell you why. You deserve to know since I'm sure you're wondering why I don't use it when you know I'm smart enough to realize how useful it could be."

"Is it because of Ultron?" Vision asked softly after making sure absolutely no one was close enough to hear. The only thing that collectively set off the all of the Avengers was Ultron. He had ruined all of their lives in different ways, though no one could deny that Wanda had lost the most. The city she had gained powers to protect and her brother were destroyed by his twisted scheme.

"It's more than that. Yes, I used my powers to help him and I'll forever regret that, but the real reason is that it's wrong. Plain and simple. Even when people lose everything, at least their mind is their own. I have no right to invade people's only safe place," Wanda said, twisting her fingers to make the mist swirl into a little ball. "As much as I hate to admit it, HYDRA never did anything to my mind. Everything I did was of my own free will. I don't know how I would have reacted if that wasn't true."

Vision chuckled lightly. "I can hardly believe you ever worked with such vile people when you just gave an eloquent speech about free will. I only wish you could see how much you've changed."

She knew she had changed, but guilt and remorse were persistent beasts. She had confided in Vision after a rough mission that it felt like no matter how many people she saved, the blood on her hands seemed more and more obvious. Some days she doubted that joining the Avengers would help redeem her, especially when her background with HYDRA set her apart from the others. She still woke up at six on the dot because that's when they would bring her breakfast. She went through the training routines her former instructors had made her do daily during her training sessions with the Avengers. On missions, she always thought about eliminating their enemies before remembering to clear the area of civilians. Steve kept assuring her that these habits would fade but it had been months and they were still present.

"I wish I believed in me as much as you did," she said, briefly squeezing his hand before pulling back. His hand was surprisingly warm for an android.

"As do I," he whispered too softly for her to hear.

Natasha and Peter came back bearing giant bowls of chips. Food was consumed quickly in this household considering the sizable population of the Avengers Compound and the superhuman appetites of some of them. Pietro had needed copious amounts of food to compensate for how much he burned off with just a few strides. HYDRA had struggled to get him enough food in their strictly rationed base so she had manipulated the guard into giving half of her portion to him. Her brother had never found out.

Abruptly saddened by remembering her brother and discussing her treacherous past, Wanda dissipated the magic and pulled her knees up to her chest. A side effect of her magic made her own emotions somewhat overwhelming, something Wanda despised but could do nothing about.

"Wanda, are you alright?" Vision inquired, gazing at her with such concern that she wanted to cry. He was probably worried he had upset her. She wished she wasn't such a wreck for his sake. He shouldn't have to deal with her.

"No," she said miserably. "Maybe I should go back to my room, everyone else seems fine. I don't want to ruin their night."

"You're won't ruin my mine," Vision said earnestly.

"Vis, you've already done so much for me. You don't need to keep taking care of me."

"But I want to," he said softly, and immediately ducked his head slightly in embarrassment. "That is, if you'll let me."

In the year she had known him, he had never expressed embarrassment. They had an easy friendship, but both had privately hoped for more; however, neither one of them had the courage to put themselves out there until that moment.

Slowly, a smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. "I'd like that."