I went to see Age of Ultron again last night... for the fourth time... It's still fantastic. The ending still doesn't make sense. Anyhow, thanks everyone for the follows and fav and review and let me know what you think about this chapter!

CHAPTER FOUR

They didn't tell him a lot about what happened. Just that he'd been in an accident, that he nearly died and then plunged into a coma. The Ebony Lady told him it would be better if he remembered everything himself, so he still didn't know any names but Wanda's.

His sister was the most important thing in his life. She never went from his side for long, was there when he fell asleep and was still there when he woke up, caressing his hand, or cheek, or sleeping in a sitting position next to him, her head on the mattress. There was a bed on the other side of the room, but she never made use of it.

After two nights of watching her sleep in the chair, he pulled her in bed next to him, not only because he wanted her to get a good night's sleep, but also because he needed her. She anchored his confused being to this room, this point, this now.

…

The ashes in his mouth had returned, they were warm, settling in every crevice of his body. There was hard concrete beneath his shoulder, and a little girl with pigtails who had her face buried in the crook of his neck.

There was a tremble in the floor and the little girl started shaking in his arms, quavering with fear.

"It's gonna be okay," He kissed the girl on her head, tasting the concrete dust in her hair. "We're gonna be okay."

He looked over the little girl's shoulder, to the hole in their floor and the lone shell, their ticking time bomb without a timer.

He could read what it said on the side. Those five letters, that arrogant logo, staring him in the face, daring him to get out from under the bed.

Tick, tock, tick, tock.

Any moment, after any tremor from collapsing buildings or gushes of the wind, the shell seemed to grin at him.

I could level you and your sister in a second, it seemed to say. Find the courage to climb out from where you're hiding and I'll crush you like an ant.

He told his sister that they were coming for them, even though he wasn't sure if they were. More than once he wondered if it wasn't better to take their chances. Would he rather die than stay underneath the bed any moment longer? Yes, he would. But would his sister? Could he take the risk of clearing the path for her and leave her behind with no family at all? Orphaned and alone, she would fall victim of things he didn't even want to think about.

So he waited. He lost count of the hours. He didn't have a clock, no view on a window, and eventually they came.

He first heard the dogs, sniffing and climbing, kicking loose stones down the rubble of what once was their flat.

"Watch out!" he yelled. "The bomb didn't go off! The bomb didn't go off!"

He yelled that until his throat went sore, until he thought he heard someone yell back.

"They're here," he whispered to his sister. "They're coming to save us."

The rescue took long. He didn't know if it took any longer than the time they had spend waiting, but it surely felt that way.

He sunk away in a trance of fear, despair and absolute thirst, but he desperately clung to the name dancing on the shell, the logo burned on his retinas.

"Stark." He whispered. "Stark. Stark. Stark."

…

"Pietro, wake up!" there she was again, his anchor.

Startled, he opened his eyes. "Stark!" he yelled. "Stark!"

"What is wrong, Pietro?" Wanda said. "Doctor Kennedy said you had to talk about it, remember? To make the memories return."

Pietro, who only now noticed that he was sitting upright, sunk back into his pillows again, pulling his sister with him. He felt the instinct to protect her, keep her safe, even though the bomb wasn't there and they were lying in a bed instead of under one.

"More ashes." He said. "A bed."

He was silent for a moment. "Stark."

"What do you remember about Stark?" Wanda asked.

"His name on the bomb. The fear in our hearts." Pietro said. "I hate that man."

Wanda tangled her fingers through his hair, but he pushed her away. She looked at him, puzzled.

"I feel filthy." He said apologetically. "I haven't washed in weeks."

Wanda smiled and pulled the blankets up again. "In the morning, okay? I need to ask doctor Kennedy and I really can't wake her up at three in the morning after all she's done for us."

"Doctor Kennedy," Pietro said. "Is she the Ebony Lady?"

"The Ebony Lady?" Wanda asked.

Pietro stared up the ceiling and nodded. "Yes. There's you, and the Goatee Man and the Ebony Lady."

"What did you call me before you knew my name?" Wanda asked.

"The Hollow Girl," Pietro admitted. "Because of your eyes, they were so tired and empty."

"You couldn't have known the Ebony Lady, she came in after the incident." Wanda yawned. "The Goatee Man, however, you did know."

"Who is he?" Pietro asked.

"His name is Tony Stark…" Wanda bit her lip.

"The man from the shell?" Pietro asked.

"Yes," Wanda nodded. "But please, Pietro, we need to leave that behind us."

"How can I?" Pietro half-shouted. "I only found out a minute ago!"

He was getting so heated about this man, what he had done to them. He wanted revenge. "He murdered our parents!" he yelled.

"He had no idea!" Wanda said. "He told me, he didn't know his bombs were used to attack civilians. The moment he found out, he shut down his factories."

Pietro set his jaw. There was so much anger, fed by fear and despair. "I can't let it go."

"You'll need to learn to." Wanda said. "But not just yet, okay? Calm down and try to sleep some more. First thing tomorrow morning is a shower."

Pietro settled into the cushions once again and closed his eyes, wrapping his arms around his sister. "It's gonna be okay."

"I know Pietro," Wanda said softly. "You're here."

…

The following morning when the Ebony Lady came in, Pietro found himself staring at her. Wanda wasn't there to reprimand him, she was taking a shower.

"You're doctor Kennedy." He stated.

She smiled and nodded. "Did Wanda tell you? I suppose I could've just introduced myself, but I wanted to find out if you could distinguish memory loss from memory you haven't made yet."

She sat down on the side of the bed. "How are you feeling today?"

"I want to take a shower." He stated.

Kennedy pulled up an eyebrow and pulled her trusty stethoscope out to listen to Pietro's heart and lungs. He let it happen.

"You sound strong." Kennedy nodded. "We suspect you only survived because of the enhancement that sped up your metabolism and allowed you to go into extended homeostasis, so you could be 'dead' for a little longer than a normal human being."

"Dead?" Pietro asked.

"See it as if you went into cardiac arrest." Kennedy said.

"Which I did," Pietro smiled.

"Kinda." Kennedy got off the bed and nodded. "I think you're strong enough to get out of bed. Just be careful."

Pietro threw the blankets off him and swung his legs out of bed, getting up quickly.

Blood rushed to his head and he felt dizzy. His vision blurred and he quickly sought refuge at the wall opposite of him.

"Whoa!" He heard Kennedy say. "You haven't walked in weeks! Can you not go full speed right away?"

"Full speed?" Pietro asked. He tried to get back to bed, and now felt the surge of air when he got there faster than humanly possible.

And from the bed he ran to the wall again, and then to the window, and then to the door, and then back to the wall.

Kennedy wasn't a blur, more a slow motion version of herself, raising her hand slowly.

Halfway on his way on his return to window, his knee gave away under him and he plummeted to the floor.

"Pietro!" Kennedy was on his side in mere seconds.

He tried to get up, but the doctor pushed him on the floor. "Don't. Move."

Pietro froze. "What happened?"

"You are enhanced." Doctor Kennedy said. "You have a sped up metabolism, which saved your life, and causes you to be many times faster than a normal human being. But I think you noticed that last bit."

"I don't remember." Pietro frowned. "I don't remember anything."

"It seems like you're gonna have to regain control." Kennedy said. "I don't think it's wise if you leave this room, I'll ask someone if we can get something up here to wash you."

Pietro nodded he felt a surge through his blood. "I need to run."

"That's dangerous." Kennedy said. "I advise a…"

To the window. To the bed. To the wall. To the door. Pietro flew through the room like a whirlwind.

"Pietro!" Kennedy yelled. "PIETRO!"

But Pietro was unstoppable. He wanted to go outside, run from the east coast to the west and then back again.

He ran back from the window to the wall again and suddenly found he was floating in the air.

"Pietro Django Maximoff." Wanda was standing in the doorway, her hair still damp, her voice cold.

"I'm gonna go get something so you can wash yourself," Kennedy excused herself and fled the room.

The red strings danced Pietro back to the bed.

"Where did you learn to do that?" Pietro asked.

"At the same place you learned how to run like an idiot." Wanda sat down in front of him. "I understand that you are confused and you need to run. But you need to be careful."

She looked him in the eyes, and Pietro saw some things he didn't understand yet.

"I cannot lose you again." She said.

"I wish you would tell me what happened." Pietro sunk his head in his hands, grabbing two fistfuls of hair and pulling. "I don't understand."

Wanda sighed sympathetically, pulling his balled up fists from his head and holding his hands in hers.

"She will get to." Doctor Kennedy walked back in with a bucket full of steaming water. "Soon, I promise."

Wanda helped Pietro wash himself and his hair, while doctor Kennedy observed from a distance, making notes.

"Did you experience any memory loss from the moment you woke up to right now?" She asked.

"How would I know?" Pietro asked, while drying his hair. "I wouldn't remember then, would I?"

"Good to see you haven't lost your sense of humor," an awful, familiar voice chuckled from the doorpost.

Pietro pulled the towel from his head and looked up. "Stark."

A shadow pulled over Stark's face. "Oh. You remember."

Pietro made movements to leave the bed, but Kennedy pushed him back. "You need to leave the bed calmly, or you really will rupture something."

"We talked about this," Tony Stark held up his hands. "I don't suppose you remember, but we did."

"Tell them about your dream, Pietro," Wanda said calmly, handing him a fresh shirt.

"Ashes." Pietro repeated what he'd told Wanda yesterday. "A bed."

Stark looked to Wanda, puzzled. "A bed?"

"We hid under a bed for two days when your shell was dumped in our living room." Wanda said. She turned to Kennedy. "I don't think it's a good idea for Stark to be here. I know he's done a lot, but I don't think Pietro understands. He must learn to live with it all over again."

Kennedy nodded. "I think you're right."

"You're going to send me away?" Stark frowned.

"I appreciate everything you've done for me and Pietro. I want to thank you for being so patient with us." Wanda said. "I must ask you to be a little more patient and wait for the time when Pietro can thank you too."

"Wanda, what are you doing," Pietro tugged on Wanda's shirt.

"Helping you," Wanda said. "I'll explain when you're ready, okay?"

"I can do it myself." Pietro said. "I don't need someone to help me."

"And what makes you so positive of that?" Wanda asked.

He didn't know how he knew, he just knew that he did.

"I am twelve minutes older than you."