Chapter 14: Consequences
Since we parted, spring's been halved.
It strikes my eye, and my sad heart breaks:
Beneath the steps, the falling plum blossoms are like a flurry of snow;
I brush them off but still they cover me.
Wild geese come but messages don't get through.
The road is far; it's hard to meet in dreams.
The grief of separation is just like grass in spring:
No matter how far you go, it's growing still.
~Li Yu, trans. Hans Frankel, The Flowering Plum and the Palace Lady
"And what do you want?"
His hand on her arm.
"For people to see you, as I do."
His arms around her.
"Stay. Stay with me."
His lips on hers, compensating for their metallic hardness with a passionate tenderness.
"You could never hurt me."
Dying. Killing him. With her own hand obliterating the best thing in her universe.
"I love you."
Wanda woke up from her troubled sleep, and considered for a moment whether to give in to the despair she always felt upon waking and let herself weep until she ran out of tears.
She fought back the all-consuming grief, and after a minute, she climbed out of her sleeping bag to look for breakfast. Her heart was empty and her stomach was empty, and one of those two pains she could do something about.
This world was where she went to be alone. It was just like Earth in some ways—many of the plants and animals were the flora and fauna she had always known, for example. But humans had apparently never evolved here. Also, there was no moon. The planet's size and orbit around the Sun was the same as Earth's, but its rotation was nearly perpendicular to Earth's. It was like it was rotating north to south instead of east to west. But she wasn't sure if that would be an accurate way to describe it, because what was "east" other than the direction the sun rose? It was maybe better to say east here was north on Earth.
The planet rotated faster than Earth; there was a little over fifteen hours between sunsets the day she'd decided to time it. That made it a convenient place to go if she wanted to hop continents back on Earth. She could be in Russia one morning, come here, wait a few hours, and find herself in South America when she went back to her own Earth. Or she could wait a day or two and end up on any continent she wanted.
This version of Earth was also warmer. It had a lot of fruits and edible wild plants. She found some wild strawberries and lambsquarter and made it into a quick salad. It wasn't delicious or filling, but it was enough. After breakfast, she took a dip in a lake, then she packed up her sleeping bag and backpack of supplies to head back to Earth. She reached out, fingers outstretched. Reached beyond her fingertips.
Her home Earth was always easy to find. She had a bond with it that she didn't feel from any other Earth she'd ever been to. When she reached out like this, it drew her, as if it were reaching back for her.
The threads of her power squeezed through the gaps between the worlds, finding the familiar energy of home, testing for air, testing for ground. It was water instead, ocean several meters below her coordinates.
She drew back.
She tried again about half an hour later. This time she had air and ground. She tested for the energy of human proximity. Finding none, she shifted between the worlds, coming through a few meters above the ground. Over a thick forest, she could see buildings and a body of water in the distance. She slowly levitated herself to the ground, startling a flock of black-and-white geese.
She soon learned she was in the outskirts of Darwin, Australia. She walked a couple of kilometers to the CBD, stole a few dollars to buy lunch, and asked around where she could find a place with computer access. She was directed to the library at the Northern Territory parliament building.
She hadn't decided yet who to choose for her next project. The world was so full of people committing thoughtless acts of cruelty and greed, it really was a matter of narrowing it down.
She was scrolling through the headlines on a world news website when the word "Vision" caught her eye.
The headline was: "Tony Stark Announces Return of Vision to the Avengers."
Her heart began to pound. This had to be a trick, a rumor reported as fact. Or she was dreaming.
She clicked on the article. It included a video of the interview with Stark, which she watched repeatedly.
He was lying, she told herself. He'd made it up to draw her out. The press conference, scheduled for 5 p.m. Eastern Standard Time next Tuesday, had to be a trap.
It said Vision would be present at that press conference.
This couldn't possibly be true. It couldn't be real.
...
... ... ...
...
Vision was nervous. Tony had explained to him that this press conference was necessary to help the public feel safe, and that in the interest of everyone's security, Vision shouldn't mention the memory loss. But he knew Tony and Natasha had been arguing furiously about the wisdom of this public appearance. He'd eavesdropped on their private discussion after Tony told everyone they would put on a press conference. Tony contended Wanda would come back to the Avengers once she found out Vision was there. Natasha had replied, "She'll kill us all."
Vision had been researching Wanda Maximoff. Before joining the Avengers, she'd aided Ultron, the sentient robot who tried to wipe humanity off the face of the Earth. He wasn't sure why they had invited her to join the Avengers after that conflict. Although she had turned against Ultron and aided in his defeat, and perhaps the Avengers felt sorry for her after her brother died in that conflict, even then she seemed dangerous and untrustworthy.
She had been blamed for several deaths in an explosion in Lagos. After reviewing the details of that incident, Vision couldn't see how attributing those deaths to her was justified, as many more people would have died if she had not contained the explosion and levitated it away from the crowded street.
She had sided with Steve in the disagreement over the Sokovia Accords and the status of James Barnes which had split the Avengers apart. Vision couldn't fully fault her for that, as both sides in the conflict had valid points, but he had learned something disturbing: he himself had been guarding Wanda Maximoff at the compound. She had used her power to incapacitate him in order to escape. It seemed he was particularly vulnerable to her. That fact frightened him, especially given her apparent instability and violent temperament.
And so he was nervous about this press briefing he wasn't supposed to know was a ploy to capture the Scarlet Witch.
Tony had only allowed ten reporters. They sat in the front row, their camera crews set up in the side aisles.
Tony, Bruce, and Vision sat on the stage. The other Avengers were in the wings and the hallway outside, providing increased security.
"Let's get started," Tony said. "Thank you for coming, everyone. As you can see, Vision has rejoined the Avengers. He was seriously injured fighting Thanos. We reported him as dead at the time because, frankly, we thought he was. But I wasn't willing to give up hope. I've often been accused of not knowing when to quit, and it's absolutely true. Our team worked for months repairing the damage Vision sustained, and I am personally so happy to have him back. Questions?"
Each reporter's hand shot up.
"Uh, yeah, you."
The indicated reporter stood. "This question is for Vision. How does it feel being back?"
He was uncomfortable being in the public eye, which he was told was not a new feature of his personality. He'd rehearsed answers for these questions. "I am grateful. I am grateful to be reunited with my friends, and to once again join them in keeping the world safe."
Another reporter called out, "Vision, do you remember the battle with Thanos?"
He hadn't prepared for this question. He knew the altered timeline caused the half of the population Thanos hadn't dusted to have no memory of those events, and he would probably be among them, so he could safely tell the truth. "I do not."
Another reporter stood with hand raised. "Do the Avengers have any plans on how to defeat the terrorist behind the so-called nightmare bombs?"
That phrase had caught on quickly since Tony had used it.
"Yeah," Tony answered. "We know who's behind them, and we do have a plan to stop them. For obvious reasons, we're not going to get into specifics."
"Those 'obvious reasons' being...?"
"Not giving away our plan. Obviously."
Another reporter asked, "What was involved in repairing the damage to Vision?"
"Our team had to regenerate his tissue matrix and manually connect part of his neural network," Tony answered.
"Did that cause anything analogous to brain damage?"
This question seemed to startle Tony. He glanced at him. "Not that we can tell. Our tests haven't shown any deficits in his abilities."
"Dr. Banner, were you part of the team that repaired the Vision?"
Bruce also didn't seem quite comfortable being onstage. He'd not only been silent so far, but had held unnaturally still, like he was hoping he was camouflaged with the furniture and if he held still the reporters wouldn't see him. He gave it up and fidgeted uneasily. "Yeah I was, but most of the credit has to go to Princess Shuri of Wakanda. Her expertise was really...the only thing that made this possible."
The press briefing only lasted another couple of minutes. When it was over, they posed for photos—Tony enthusiastically and Bruce and Vision with great reluctance. Then the reporters left.
"Did we get any visitors?" Tony asked over the comm.
"No. All's quiet on every front," Steve answered, sounding disappointed.
"Keep looking," Tony said. "Night's still young."
They met up with Natasha outside the auditorium.
"Bruce, Vis, why don't you head to the lounge. Pizza should be done," Tony suggested.
"Yeah."
Bruce and Vision went ahead, but Vision could hear Tony and Natasha's low conversation.
"Hey, if you're so in her head, can you tell me why she's a no-show?"
"I don't know. Maybe she thought it was a trap. Maybe she's been off the grid and didn't even hear about it."
"Well, it will be all over the news now. She'll come around."
"And when she does? What exactly is your plan? We can't have me, Sam, Steve, and Clint patrolling the perimeter twenty-four seven."
Bruce unlocked the door with a handprint, and they entered the residential segment of the Avenger Compound.
The light flickered on, revealing a woman standing at the kitchenette.
They froze.
How had she gotten there? Vision wondered. This section of the compound had been locked while the press crews were in the compound. The Avengers had been patrolling the building, watching the security cameras. The compound was surrounded by motion sensors. How had she gotten to the heart of the building without setting off any alarms?
She was also frozen, staring right at him, eyes wide, lips parted.
Wanda Maximoff.
"Vision..." she breathed.
He could only stare at her. What was he supposed to say?
With a flash of red light, she flew into the air, crossing half the room in two seconds and wrapping her arms around him. She buried her face in his neck, the entire length of her body pressed against him.
"Vision," she said in a whimper, barely comprehensible.
He remained frozen, gripped by an emotion he couldn't remember ever feeling before, but he could put a name to:
Panic.
When he didn't respond to her embrace, she drew back, looking at him questioningly. "Vision, what's wrong?" She took a step back, confusion and fear swirling across her face. "Are you Vision?"
"I apologize for the misunderstanding," he said. "My body was revived, but I have none of the memories of the one you knew as Vision. I don't remember you."
Wanda's expression registered shock and anguish, and then it hardened into something stone cold. "No."
Tony and Natasha sprinted into the room.
"Wanda, wait!" Nat shouted.
A red glow appeared around Wanda. She reached out, and Vision felt something grip him from the inside. She was in his head, grasping the Mind Stone like it belonged to her. She lifted his body into the air, then flung it aside forcefully. Without his control, he phased through the wall, then through another one, and another.
He fell to the floor, finding himself in the room they used for training. He was free of her control. A quick check revealed he was undamaged, but he felt weak and fluttery. He didn'f know if that was an after-effect of what she had done to him, or a symptom of his own fear.
He likewise didn't know if it was his fear or a rational evaluation of the circumstances that led him to decide his best course of action was not to return to the lounge, but to hide.
...
... ... ...
...
Nat heard what Vision said just as she got to the door. She understood Wanda's reaction; it was exactly that kind of thing she'd wanted to avoid by carefully breaking the news herself.
Too late now.
"Wanda, wait!"
An explosion of red energy peeled off her, knocking the rest of them back as it enveloped Vision and sent him through the wall.
Tony pressed a button on his watch, and in seconds he was enveloped by an Iron Man suit.
"Let's talk about this, Wanda."
She looked at him. "You. You did this." A ball of energy formed in her hand.
"Yeah, and I can explain, but you need to calm down." As he spoke, he fired up his hand cannon.
Nat grabbed Bruce and pulled him back.
Wanda slammed Tony back against the wall, pinning his arms out. "You don't get to talk! You don't get to explain! You took everyone from me!" She shifted her fingers, and Tony's suit was surrounded by a red glow. "This doesn't belong to you. You never could have built it yourself, could you?"
Tony screamed as she tore the suit off him. She hurled it and him into the window, which shattered. She yanked him back into the room and slammed him to the floor.
"Noooo...aaarrrr!" Bruce screamed as he transformed into the Hulk.
Wanda spun toward him.
Hulk leaped toward her. She didn't even try to dodge. She used her power to vault him over her, then she turned him in the air. Panting with the effort, she levitated Hulk in the air as he thrashed and swung his fists.
Her lips tightened into an expression borderline between a smile and a grimace. "There you are, Hulk. Too bad you couldn't come out when he needed you, when you might have done some good."
Hulk snarled.
"Don't forget, I know what you fear. I unleashed it in your mind last time; this time I can do it to you for real." One hand flexed and curled, sending threads of power into the Hulk.
He shrank, paled. In moments, it was Bruce floating helpless in mid-air. She dropped him to the floor.
She could kill him.
Nat rushed forward, throwing herself over Bruce, shielding him.
Wanda had promised she'd never hurt her. Now was the time to find out if she meant it.
"Wanda, please." She looked into her eyes, imploring.
The fury in Wanda's gaze faltered.
"Please," she repeated.
The red glow around her hands flickered out. She looked from Nat to Bruce. She shook her head, bit her lip. A sob racked her body.
"I'm sorry," Nat said.
Wanda sank to the floor.
Nat left Bruce's side and wrapped her arms around her.
Bruce got shakily to his feet, looking dazed. Nat caught his eye and gestured toward Tony. She wasn't sure what state he was in, but was pretty sure he needed immediate medical attention.
"Will you be okay?" he asked.
Even though she knew he was asking if she'd be safe with Wanda, she answered, "We'll be fine. Go."