Here is Chapter 2: Hopefully you enjoy. During one of her coma times, the Avengers get new members, Pietro and Wanda, Lt. Colonel James 'Rhodey' Rhodes, Sam Wilson, and Vision.
THE NEXT DAY:
Pepper and I are in her and Tony's floor of the Tower. We are shopping online for Christmas gifts. Pepper wanted to go to stores, but I am still scared of going places, especially when I am still weak and didn't want to bring Bucky.
Already I have most of the gifts picked out. I got Pepper, Betty, Jane, Darcy, and Natasha a day at the spa/salon. For Clint and Thor I got them each a new race car game. For Steve I got him colored pencils. For Fury, I got him some yoga lessons as a joke, beneath the lessons is a new tracking device that Tony made.
Pepper is helping me come up with an idea for Bucky and Phil's gifts. Nothing seems to jump out of me as a good gift for my father and his bonded. We are having a hard time coming up with the perfect gift.
We have been getting gifts for a few hours. My body is feeling weak, wanting to take a nap. But I fight the feeling, having nightmares of Them every time I sleep. The dreams have me screaming out, my voice loud for once.
Suddenly the Avengers comes racing into the room. I jump, startled. Bucky, Clint, Phil, Fury, and Natasha are looking at the windows while the others are looking Pepper and me over. Pepper and I look at each other, puzzled.
I gasp as Pietro swings me up in his arms. He looks around the room, body tensing. There must be something because Bucky and Bruce turn to me. Thor gasps in shock as blackness swarms around Pietro and me.
Suddenly we are in a forested area. Lots of men are standing around us in red cloaks with the hoods up, shielding their faces. They are on their knees, repeatedly bowing, foreheads touching the ground. They are chanting something in a language that I don't know or recognize.
Pietro seems to understand the language because his face turns to fear. He races from the circle. But as we get to the edge of the circle, I hit a wall, falling from Pietro's arms. He keeps going for one step before turning back to me.
I stand up, wanting to get to Pietro but can't get past the invisible wall. He races back to me but bounces off the wall, unable to get to me. I cringe, wondering what's going to happen, scared of what's happening and how scared Pietro is.
Pietro whimpers, looking at something behind me. Slowly my head turns as my eyes look at whatever is happening. A huge man, in black pants, is standing there. He has a black cloak over his shoulders but open, showing his bare chest.
I gasp, stepping away from this man, terrified of him. My back touches the invisible wall, stopping me. Fear grips me, sending my heartbeats into overdrive. My mouth dries, no volume for screaming or begging for no pain.
Suddenly the man grabs me, forcing me to lie on my back in the middle of the circle. Even though I scream and struggle, he is too strong for me to get away. My legs kick as my hands beat his chest, but he doesn't seem to notice.
Pietro keeps slamming against the wall, trying to get to me. My eyes turn to the sky, knowing that nobody will come in time. Hopefully I can block out this embarrassing and frightening situation like I did with Them.
Hoping to not think or feel what's happening, my mind focuses on my mental landscape, where nothing can harm me. It's the middle of a forest with things that will take you off the path. If you get off the path, you are lost.
I know that to the very far right, there is a metal door, where behind it is my memories of Them. Luckily for me, the door hasn't been opened in years. Because when I see the memories, each image is black, nothing else.
This is where I go when the therapist asks me to look inside my mind. The last person who got into my mind got lost and I had to find him and force him out. Luckily for me, I know how to control everything inside my mind.
