Avengers One-Shots: Vision and the Scarlet Witch
Vision hadn't slept for four days.
Not that he needed sleep as much as other people did, mind you, but it was still quite a feat, at least to his Avenger comrades. But he didn't care. He could go an eternity without sleep, in these circumstances. What was four days worth of rest compared to what he was losing this very second? Nothing. Nothing would ever matter as much as this.
The Scarlet Witch was dying, and there was nothing he could do about it.
Even now, he sat by her bed, one of her hands clasped in both of his. She had to survive this. She had to. He would make sure of that, no matter what the cost. He would sit here until she was awake again, until she was well. It was all he could do.
He examined her, looking for any sign of conscious movement. Was that a twitch? No, just his optic sensors playing tricks on him again. At times like this, it was hard not to give up hope, with her skin so pale, so lifeless, and her breathing so quiet, almost like it was fading. The only thing telling him that she still lived was the small monitor on the wall, reading out her vital signs like it was telling the weather. The very thought of it made him clench his teeth. How could that infernal thing be so casual, so unconcerned, when the love of his life was fading away?
Suddenly, a knock came on the door, drawing the Android Avenger from his reflections. "Come in."
"Vision?" It was the Wasp, speaking up in that worried tone that she seemed to keep around her all the time now, as if it was tied to her. "Hank and I were just wondering if you wanted to take a break for a while, go stretch your legs. We'll watch Wanda while you're gone."
"You're very kind, Janet," Vision replied coldly. "But I would prefer to stay here."
"Come on, Vision!" Hank Pym, also known as Yellowjacket, broke in. "Nothing's going to happen to her if you take a break. I'm a scientist, for God's sake! I know what I'm doing! Hell, we'll even call in Don, if that'll make you feel better."
Vision mulled it over for a second. The Pyms did have a point, it was unlikely for anything to happen while he was gone. They were quite trustworthy, after all, and he was only going to be gone for a few minutes, just to assure his teammates of his well-being.
"Fine, I accept your offer," He said, rising from his chair and reluctantly relinquishing his grasp of Wanda. "And yes, please do bring in the good Doctor Blake while I'm gone."
Before they could reply, he was gone, phasing through the floor to land gracefully in the dining room below. There was no one present at the moment, though Vision could tell that supper would be served soon enough, judging by the plates that Jarvis had already set on the table. It was good to see that, at least for some of their group, life was continuing on.
Wait, what was this? The curtains were drawn on the windows, keeping out the pleasant light that usually illuminated this room. Stepping forward, he pulled them open, finding the source of the change immediately.
A sea of people were lined up outside the Mansion's gates, all holding signs of some sort. Protesters. Of course. As the others often said, when it rains, it pours. Their team had just been devastated by a catastrophic battle, and these people were protesting their very existence. Disgusting.
Jerking the curtains back, Vision headed off to explore the rest of the Mansion, ready to face his teammates once again. Before he could get far, though, he sensed chatter coming from the next room, freezing him in his tracks.
"Are they still there?" Vision recognized the voice as belonging to the Black Knight, an Avenger who had been absent from the team for a good while now.
"Yep," The other voice, Hawkeye's, replied. "I get the feeling that they ain't leaving for a while, either."
Moving forward, Vision managed to get close enough to make out the two Avengers, who were placed near the front of the room. Black Knight was simply sitting with his sword, the Ebony Blade, in his hands, while Hawkeye was standing and taking fire at a target that he had plastered onto the nearby wall. Neither of them seemed very relaxed.
"Just what you guys need," Black Knight complained. "As if things aren't tough enough already, with what happened to Wanda."
"You can say that again," Hawkeye agreed, notching an arrow as he talked.
"Say, you were there, weren't you?" Black Knight asked. "At the battle?"
"Yeah, so?"
"Well, I was just wondering, how did all that happen? I mean, you guys certainly went in prepared."
"Drop it," Hawkeye ordered. "We don't need to be talking about that mess again."
"All right. I was just wondering. I mean, it seemed so weird. Are you sure th-"
"I said drop it!" Hawkeye yelled, letting the arrow fly into the wall.
"Geez, okay," Black Knight raised his hands in surrender. "Sorry for asking."
"No, it's my fault," Hawkeye said, putting away his bow and turning to his friend. "I didn't mean to snap at you like that, Dane. I know you went to a lot of trouble to come help us out. It's just... I've known Wanda for a long time, longer than almost anyone else here, so this is kinda shaking me up."
He covered his face with his hands, and Vision thought he could hear a little choked up cry coming from his mouth. "God, if I'm this bad, the Vision must be losing it, the poor guy. Those two didn't deserve this. None of us did, at the end of the day."
That was when Vision made his move. Striding into the room, he regarded his two allies. "Don't waste your energies worrying about me, Clint Barton. Save that for Wanda. She's the one who needs your thoughts, not I."
"Viz?" Hawkeye asked, removing his hands from his face and looking up. "Good to see you, man. I thought you were gonna stay in that room forever. How're you holding up?"
Vision walked past Hawkeye without a word, turning intangible once again and phasing through the wall where his arrows lay. He wasn't going to waste his time with small chat.
"Is he going to be all right?" The Android could hear Black Knight ask.
"A guy like that?" Hawkeye replied. "Who knows, man? Who knows?"
Now there were voices coming from the back of the Mansion, leading Vision to follow them to their source. He could already slightly make them out, noting that there were at least three. Moving as quickly as he could, phasing from empty room to empty room, he eventually ended up in the back of the Avengers' training room, where Captain America, Iron Man, Quicksilver and Ms. Marvel stood gathered over a heap of destroyed robots.
"That was too easy," Iron Man boasted in the robotic voice that his suit gave him. "You sure you put the difficulty level to ten, Cap?"
"I think I did," Captain America replied. "Who knows, I may have made a mistake."
"The great Captain America, slipping up?" Iron Man joked. "Maybe all those years are finally starting to show."
"Can you not be serious for a mere minute, Stark?" Quicksilver asked angrily, shaking his fist at the Iron Avenger. "My sister is dying, and all you are doing is telling your petty jokes!"
"Calm down, Pietro," Ms. Marvel put one hand on Quicksilver's arm. "All Iron Man is trying to do is lighten the mood. That doesn't mean he forgot about Wanda. If you wanted to mourn, why aren't you with Vision instead of practicing with us?"
"Because I can't stand that infernal thing," Quicksilver spat, wresting his arm from Ms. Marvel's grasp. "How Wanda could ever marry a villain's toy is beyond me."
"Hey now," Captain America broke in. "I won't have you speaking about a fellow Avenger like that, Pietro. Vision is more than a toy, and you know it. Now show some respect."
"Let him say what he wishes, Captain," Vision spoke up. "I have no need of protection."
"You!" Quicksilver turned and thrust his finger into the Android's face. "How dare you show your face in these halls! You should be begging us for forgiveness, for your actions towards my sister!"
"I beg your pardon?" Vision replied, his normally neutral voice containing a tint of anger. "I did nothing to my wife."
Pietro scoffed. "Nothing for her, is more like it. You stood there and allowed her to be struck down! It's because of you that she's lying in bed with a machine making sure she keeps breathing!"
In a flash, Vision had Pietro's finger held in his hand, almost crushing it with his incredible strength. "Quicksilver, I have tolerated a great deal from you, but this is one thing I will not abide. You may call me a toy, you may call me a lifeless thing, you may call me any names you like, but you do not accuse me of harming Wanda. Is that understood?"
"Y-y-es," Quicksilver sputtered.
"Say it again," Vision said, tightening his grip.
"Yes."
"Again!"
"Vision," Cap said. "Let him go."
"Say it again!" Vision yelled.
"Vision!"
The volume of the word surprised the Android, causing him to let go of Quicksilver like he was on fire. Taking a look at his frightened comrades, shock overtook the Vision as he realized what he had done.
"I apologize," He said, his voice shaking. "I did not mean to overreact like that. Please excuse me."
Once again, he didn't wait for anyone to reply, simply floating away, going straight through the ceiling. Enough was enough. He had talked with the others, now it was time to head back to Wanda.
He phased right up through the floor, startling the Pyms and Doctor Blake, who had all been standing at the edges of the room. None of that mattered. He was back, Wanda was alive, and that was all that he cared about.
"Janet, Henry, Doctor," He nodded to the three of them. "You have my thanks for taking my place while I explored. Feel free to take your leave as you wish."
"Actually, Vision," Doctor Blake started. "I was thinking that I should -"
"Not a good idea, Blake," Yellowjacket whispered, still speaking loudly enough for Vision to hear. "I get the feeling that he wants to be alone."
The Doctor simply nodded, and then all three of them were gone, leaving Vision sitting alone with his wife once more.
"Hello Wanda," Vision said, his voice cracking slightly as he took her hand in his. "I'm back. The others haven't been doing very well since you've been... away. No one has. It seems the Captain is bringing back some older team members. I saw your brother, just so you know. It wasn't the best experience I've had. There were protestors outside, as well, objecting to yet another imagined slight. You know how these things work."
"I-" He paused for a second, taking a deeper breath. "I'm afraid that I've failed you, Wanda. Pietro said some things when we talked, and part of me thinks that he's right. Could I have stopped Kang's blast from hitting you? Did I really just let you get injured like that? I don't know. I don't know, and it's killing me. If it is my fault, I'm so sorry. You know I would never wish any harm on you."
Vision laughed, the strange sound echoing through the room. "Look at this, my hands are shaking. My hands never shake. It looks like you've altered probability yet again," Looking up at the ceiling, he gulped. "Listen, Wanda, we need you. I need you. Everything is falling apart: the protestors and your brother and the Captain's patience and... I need you. Come back to me, please. Alter the probabilities and get yourself out of this. I can't do that for you. I wish I could, wish it with all I have, but I can't. None of us can. Save yourself, Wanda. For yourself, for all of us, for me. Please."
With that, a single tear appeared in his eye, trailing its way down his face before landing on hers with a little plop.
It was useless. Wanda couldn't hear him. She was too far away, too far buried in her pain. Vision began to stand up, ready to leave again, when a single sound stopped him in his tracks:
"Vision?"
It was Wanda. She was alive.
"Wanda?" Vision asked, his voice cold no longer. There she was, her eyes open, and a small smile playing on her lips. Her skin was still pale, and her breathing quiet, but she was talking, and that was all that mattered. "How did you -?"
"I guess I just... Altered the probabilities."
They both broke into laughter. Relieved, carefree laughter. There were still protestors at the gates, and a team that had lost its way in the surrounding rooms, but they were laughing. They were an Android and a Mutant, and they were in love. For them, that would always be enough.