Tried to make this chapter a bit longer for y'all since it's been a couple weeks! I hope you all enjoy and please be sure to leave a review!
Wanda let loose another wave of power, the scarlet currents slamming into the Hulk, slowing him down as the rushed her. An inhuman shriek left her mouth from the pressure in her body and mind as she was forced to release another flow of power from her body. Wanda wanted to stop the fighting, wanted to just disappear into nothing, but holding the energy inside was killing her, she could feel it. Not only that, fighting to keep it contained had unleashed something dark inside of her, something she had only caught glimpses of in the moments Pietro had died and left her all alone in a strange world filled with Avengers.
The Hulk roared at her, slamming his fist into his chest in attempt to destroy the scarlet waves of her power that had wrapped around his body like a vise, keeping him from moving. As the Hulk ripped apart that defense as if it were made of paper ribbons, Wanda through up a wall of energy that knocked him back into the hallway when he collided with the barrier. It wouldn't last for long and she needed to escape, needed to get her and Natasha out of there before he killed them both.
Just leave her behind. She's a liability in her condition. She will only slow you down. An insidious part of her whispered, the words banging around her head like a drum, beating in tune with the headache that was forming again from the build up of energy.
She didn't look down at her fallen friend, her sister, whom she had just harmed. Luckily, Wanda had gotten control of herself in one small moment to move the shard of glass away from Natasha's heart and to have it pierce closer to her shoulder. A part of her knew it didn't matter. Wanda had aimed to kill, had been so blood thirsty, so vengeful without cause. How could anyone look past such a horrendous thing? She wanted to stop her actions, to make herself cease, but she couldn't. As long as she kept draining what she could of her power, she could remain somewhat in control of whatever dark entity was taking over, whatever was pushing her over the edge and into madness.
Something much darker had taken root within Wanda and she didn't think anything could stop her.
Either way, Natasha was down and bleeding on the floor, Wanda's grip on her power was gone almost entirely and Bruce had changed into his other ego, destroying the room and the hallway in his attempt to break the barrier Wanda had him caged in. She was battling desperately with herself and with the Hulk, unsure of how to proceed. Kill him. End him.
Screaming again, Wanda hit the side of her head with her palm, over and over to drown out the voice. She looked around the room, hoping for another way out that wouldn't involve passing the Hulk. She needed to get her and Natasha out to safety, wherever that was.
Using her gift to lift Natasha into the air, Wanda moved delicately around the destroyed lab, all the while pushing the barrier she had constructed further down the hallway, effectively moving the Hulk further from them as well as he was trapped behind it.
Wanda flinched when he roared again, slamming his hands and body into the barrier. She noted that he was flying backwards as he had before, which could only mean he was getting closer to destroying her shield entirely.
Not wanting to waste another moment, Wanda turned in the opposite direction, Natasha's body floating behind her as she ran. Turning the corner, Wanda slammed into someone and reacted, throwing her hand forward and letting a wave of energy shoot from her extended fingers.
"What the f-" Was all Steve could manage before he was hit in the stomach with her power and thrown 30 feet down the hallway they had just entered, his body slamming into the floor, head landing with a sickening thud.
"Oh God, Steve!" She called out after him, but the voice came out distorted, wrong. She knew it wasn't her own voice, but that of the thing that was possessing her. Was something possessing her? She wasn't sure what was happening, only that the people she considered family were being hurt by her actions.
"Wanda." Someone called from behind her.
Wanda stopped dead in her tracks.
That voice. She never thought she would hear it again.
Turning, Wanda's eyes immediately filled with tears when she caught sight of Vision. He was standing a few feet behind Natasha, staring at Wanda with equal parts longing and sadness. All she wanted was to run into his arms and let him hold her, tell him she was sorry for telling him to leave, she hadn't meant it. She wouldn't have ever meant it. Not with him.
Instead, she remained immobile. Afraid of what could happen to him. What she could do to him. If she hurt him...She would truly be broken. She wouldn't ever be able to recover from that. Not ever.
"Vision, something is wrong." That corrupt voice spoke for her yet again. Vision's head tilted when he heard her speak, although she wasn't sure if it was from the voice itself or the words. Maybe both. "I can't stop myself. It hurts to stop."
"Come to me, Wanda." She took a hesitant step forward. "Once we have you sedated again, we can figure out what to do." She stopped, eyes narrowing as hatred bubbled up out of nowhere, swallowing her whole.
"Sedate me? Hold me prisoner, again? I am all powerful, to be worshipped and feared, not treated like some sort of animal!" She screamed at him, the power that was overwhelming her causing her to float a few inches in the air as she moved toward him until they were standing only a few inches apart.
He didn't back away from her as she knew the other Avengers would have. Instead, he held his ground, his hands moving up slowly to grab her forearms and tug her even closer to him, which was a bold move, considering how on edge she was.
"You will never be a prisoner again. I won't allow that." He reached up and cupped her cheek, his eyes searching hers as he spoke. "Wanda, you have harmed people here today. Those who you consider your family. The sedative is to protect them as much as it is for you. Allow me to give it to you and we can come to a solution as to why your control is tenuous as best."
"Even when I am asleep I still feel the pain. It is like my insides are on fire and the only way to extinguish the flames, even for a moment, is to release the currents of my powers elsewhere. I hurt, even now. But something more is happening, Vision. Something dark. I nearly killed Natasha." She cried out to him, trying not to cringe from the way her voice was beginning to sound. "I don't want to hurt you." A tear ran down her face and melded with the palm he had cradled against her cheek.
Vision wrapped his free arm around Wanda's waist and pulled her to him until their bodies were flush against one another. Shocked by the movement, Wanda's grip on her levitation faltered and her feet touched the ground slowly. In all the time she had known Vision, she was always the first one to make any sort of move when it came to affection.
Wanda placed her palm against his chest, resting over his heart as he stared down at her, his expression unreadable. "You won't harm me." His head bent down, his lips so close to brushing her own.
"But what if I do?" She whispered, her breath caressing his lips as she spoke.
"You won't." And then his lips brushed hers in a caress, sending tiny tendrils of shocks throughout her entire body. Wanda sucked in a startled breath at the contact. His lips pressed against hers softly. Once and then twice. Vision pulled away slightly but Wanda's hands moved up his body, gripping his neck and pulling him back down to her until their lips connected in a deep kiss, one that had Vision pulling Wanda impossibly closer to him and that had her standing on her toes to get as close to him as possible. Her arms wrapped around his neck as the kiss deepened even further.
Why had he waited so long to kiss her? Where had he learned how to kiss? Would he ever kiss her again after this? All of those questions and more kept popping into her head as she felt his tongue caress the seam of her lips, begging for her to part them and let him in. She did, losing herself and the pain she was feeling as other sensations rushed her body, filling her with things other than rage and paranoia.
Their kiss was abruptly ended as a loud roar startled them back to their senses. Vision looked away from her and down the hallway she had come from originally, towards where the noise had come from. Seeing something she didn't, Vision shoved her away from him, breaking their contact. She had a brief second of feeling all of her torment slam back into her a moment before a green blur flew into Vision, hitting him so hard he broke through the wall and into the next room.
Seeing that, combined with the pain that had returned, Wanda grabbed at the Hulk with her power, stream after stream wrapping around his neck until it was impossible to see under all of the red. Then she squeezed her hand, watching as the bands yanked tighter and tighter around his giant throat.
The Hulk's giant hands ripped at the manacles around his throat, but it wasn't enough to break free. Wanda stepped closer to him as he struggled to breathe, wondering to herself if the Hulk could in fact, turn another shade besides green. Maybe a pale grey when she dropped his lifeless corpse back to the floor. She squeezed tighter and tighter, enjoying the agony that contorted on his monstrous features as he was finally beaten.
Moments before he would have died, Wanda felt a sharp sting on the back of her neck, almost like a needle.
Then she was falling. Falling down toward the ground as the Hulk fell backward with a massive thud that rocked the floor they were staying on. Vision's arms wrapped around Wanda's waist as she fell, saving her from colliding with the floor like Bruce had done.
"I won't leave you, I promise." Vision whispered into her ear as he cradled her to his body. She almost smiled at him, glad he was alright. Instead she looked at him with such sadness before the sedative took full effect.
"I am so scared."
Natasha was laying in her bed. The sheets felt the same as her new bed at the facility, anyway. The pillow felt the same too, nestling her head just right. Keeping her breathing at a nice and even level, she assessed the room around her without opening her eyes, using her other senses to scope out her situation. From the breathing she could hear on either side of her, she knew that there were two people in the room with her.
Her upper chest, by her collarbone, was killing her. She could safely assume that she wasn't dead, which was good.
Wanda's inhuman face flashed through her mind for a moment before she tuned it out.
Natasha did not think that Wanda was in the room with her, but even then, she refused to see her little sister as a monster. Even if she had almost killed her.
Slowly opening her eyes, Natasha looked around the room. Sure enough, Steve was sitting in a chair on the right side of the bed, reading a newspaper. He had a bandage that wrapped around his forehead. She would have to ask about that at some point, but she was betting Wanda had been the cause of that.
She hoped the kid was alright.
Turning her head to the left, she saw Bruce hunched over in his chair, forearms resting on his knees, hands clenched together in front of his mouth as he stared down at the ground, looking as if the entire world was on his shoulders. Maybe it was. The man did have a knack for blaming himself for anyone else's misfortune. No doubt he thought her getting hurt was his fault.
He should have been paying attention to Wanda, he shouldn't have been engaging in illicit activities while he was working, blah blah blah.
Natasha could hear all of his excuses as they floated around in her head. He would probably do anything to convince her that what they had shared had been wrong and couldn't happen again. If she knew anything from all the years she had known him, it was that. He never let himself be happy, feel happy. And the only times he ever felt glimmers of that, he moved on, ran and hid somewhere else, because he was afraid to actually live.
She wasn't sure how long she stared at him, how long she focused on how long his lashes were, how she always loved how messy his black hair was, or how cute she found his glasses. She was brought out of her trancelike state when she heard Steve say, "Oh, you're awake."
Bruce's eyes snapped to hers, his widening a fraction before he rushed over to the bed and gripped her hand in his.
She smiled slightly. "Remind me to be more vigilant the next time we decide to play doctor."
Steve coughed awkwardly and stood up, smiling at them. "And on that note, I am going to go. I'll be back later, Nat. Take it easy."
Once they were alone, Bruce cleared his throat. "Natasha, I'm so sorry."
She furrowed her brow in mock confusion. Yep, definite guilt trip mode for Banner. "Why are you sorry? I know it couldn't be for the kissing, because I will have you know, I'm quite the professional." Yes, embarrass him with your sass and maybe he will stop what he's about to say next. She wanted to scoff at herself. Bruce was designed to feel like everything was his fault. It she didn't care for him so much, she would be liable to strangle him to death with a character flaw such as that.
Bruce sighed before answering. "I shouldn't have let that happen, not while I was working. Maybe if I had been focusing, I would have noticed Wanda coming out of the stasis she was held in. Instead, I was acting on something I shouldn't have and you nearly died because of it."
"Bruce. Just knock it off, alright? Do you regret what happened between us?"
"Well, no. But-" he shifted uncomfortably.
"No butts, you big butthead." He sighed before removing his glasses and pinching the bridge of his nose, eyes clenched shut. "I take it the Hulk busted out of his cage when you thought I died."
"Yeah." He cleared his throat and put his glasses back on. "Yeah, he did. No one got hurt, but I think Wanda actually almost killed me." Natasha's eyes widened.
"You're joking." He shook his head. "Is she still here? Is she alright?"
"Yeah, she's out again. Steve snuck up behind her when she was choking the other guy with her mind and he sedated her before she could finish the other guy off. Vision is with her now. Hasn't left her side, actually." Like Bruce hadn't left her side, from the looks of things. She sat up slowly, moving her legs until her feet were dangling off of the bed.
"I need a shower." She said before standing, haphazardly stretching her body without tearing the stitches that were by her collarbone. She ignored Bruce as he told her to get back into bed, waving him off as she moved to the bathroom and turned on the shower. Waiting for it to heat, up Natasha went over to the full length mirror in the bathroom, wincing when she saw how gross she looked. Her red hair was matted and slightly greasy, meaning she hadn't washed it in at least 3 days. Her clothing was the same she had on whenever she had gotten stabbed. Bruce had been wearing the same clothing too.
She turned back to the good doctor who was lingering in the hallway outside of the bathroom. "Natasha, you should really wait until you feel better. What if you get lightheaded and fall down? You could get seriously hurt."
Feeling entirely too bold, Natasha took off her clothing in front of Bruce, who's mouth dropped open in shock as her antics. She let her dirty clothes fall to the floor before stepping over them and to Bruce, who's cheeks had turned a dull shade of red. His eyes looked upon her hungrily, but he did nothing when she stood before him. "You could join me. Keep me from falling." Her hand came up and caressed his chest before circling to the back of his neck, her fingers kneading the tension she felt built up.
"You know I can't." He croaked out when she removed her hand and began unbuttoning the shirt he had on.
"Are you sure, Bruce? Because I think you can." One more button and then his shirt was falling to the ground. She reached down to his waist, grabbing the undershirt he was wearing and pulling it over his head in one move.
"I can think of one big green reason this isn't going to work."
Natasha leaned forward and kissed Bruce passionately all while she loosened the laces on his trousers before they too landed on the ground. They both stood before one another, completely bared to the other's scrutiny.
"You won't know until you try, Bruce. Don't you want to at least try?" He groaned when she reached forward and wrapped her fingers around his stiff length.
With a curse and a silent prayer for control, Bruce crushed his lips to Natasha's, pushing her into the bathroom with him and slamming the door behind them.