Wanda sat on her perch by the glass wall, resting her laptop on a pillow. Goose was chasing a small ball of Wanda's magic as it floated around the room, just like how a normal cat would chase a torch light. Her fingers moved quickly across the key board, her lips moving slightly as she whispered to herself in frustration.
"How hard can it be to find a flight to Edinburgh?"
Very hard, it turned out. It wasn't going to be cheap to get a flight so soon, but she still had a fair amount of money left to her by Tony. Ideally she wanted to leave as soon as possible, but that was going to be difficult.
She didn't have a plan, exactly. Fly to Edinburgh, and... then what? Wander around, keeping an eye out for Vision, in a city of over 500,000 people? It would be like looking for a spoon in the ocean.
Wanda had considered that maybe it was just a dream. She had been dreaming of Scotland afterall, so maybe her imagination had conjured up an image of Vision, with the new lines in his head, asleep on a roof in a city that had an immovable anchor in her memory. But some small part of her knew. She could feel him, even a continent away. Her powers must have reached out while she was asleep.
"Morning." She jolted and looked up, seeing Bucky halfway across the kitchen.
"Oh my god. You nearly gave me a heart attack." The Winter Soldier programming was still very much ingrained into Bucky, from the way he moved. Even without meaning to, he moved with the silence of a feline.
"Sorry. Didn't you sense me?" He apologised, opening the fridge and rummaging through it.
"No, I'm a bit... distracted." Bucky closed the door, a carton of milk in hand, a questioning look on his face. "I found Vision. He's in Scotland."
Bucky nearly dropped the milk running to go wake up Sam. Sam quickly jogged into the kitchen, hastily rubbing sleep from his eyes.
"How did you find him?"
"I saw him, in Edinburgh."
"Edinburgh?" Sam's eyes widened. "How on earth did he get there?"
"He must have flown all the way, or stowed away on a ship or jet to get across the Atlantic... but it's no coincidence. Something must have drawn him there. Why else would he go there, of all places? It must feel familiar."
"Well, before you go rushing off to Scotland, are you sure? Are you sure it's not something that happened five years ago?"
"I'm positive. I know he's there. Now I just need to find the next plane to Edinburgh."
"Hold on. Are you planning on going on this trip on your own?" Sam asked, in concern. Wanda hesitated, before nodding. He and Bucky began to protest immediately.
"This could be dangerous! There's no way we're letting you go alone."
"Vision isn't dangerous. He won't hurt me." Wanda blinked, and for a fleeting moment behind closed lids, she saw each time Vision had tried to kill her under Josephine's orders. She shuddered, but deep down she knew that things were different now. Vision was afraid and confused, but he wouldn't harm her... she didn't think he would.
"Well - what if someone sees you? They might question why you're there. You're pretty famous in Edinburgh now." Bucky pointed out.
"I'll be careful." Wanda put the laptop aside for a moment. "Look. You guys can't come with me. With Carol gone... you're needed here in case something happens. And who else is going to look after the flerken?" She tilted her head toward Goose, who was still chasing the little orb of her magic. He paused and looked at Sam and Bucky with large, almost accusing eyes, as if he were agreeing with Wanda.
"You don't need to face this on your own. We agreed that." Sam reminded her.
"I know. But for this is something I need to do on myself. I need to know I can do it. Please understand."
Wanda prayed that they would respect her wishes. Both of them looked torn and uncertain, exchanging looks to survey the thoughts of one another. Sam was shaking his head, but Bucky had other thoughts. He hesitated.
"Well... if that's what you want. I guess all three of us might be too much. You don't want to scare or overwhelm him."
"I'm still not comfortable with this." Sam said, before sighing. "But okay. If that's what you think is best. But we'll help you look up flights." He brought out his phone. "Why don't you take the new quinjet? It's fitted with the latest Wakandan technology, thanks to our friend T'Challa. It could get you to Europe in half an hour."
"I don't really trust myself to fly that thing alone. And you two may need it."
"Fair enough... and it is unfair if Sam has to carry me around while you're gone."
"Who said I'd be carrying you? You have legs, you can walk." Sam said, sarcastically. "One way ticket for now? Or do you know how long you'll be?"
"I don't know how long it'll take me to find him, let alone earn his trust. But I freed him from Josephine. He must put two and two together and realize I'm a friend." Even Wanda heard the doubt in her own voice. "I hope so, anyway."
"Alright. But what do you intend to do when or if you find him? What will you say to him?" Bucky asked.
"He needs to remember on his own. I don't want to freak him out, so I won't go rushing in telling him who he is and what happened. I'll just tell him I'm a friend. If he trusts me, I'll bring him home."
"Are you sure the compound is the best place to bring him to?"
"This is the safest place he can be. As long as he isn't seen in his normal form, nobody will ever know."
"And long term?" Sam asked the awkward question.
"I don't know. But if they find out he was alive at the same time of the assassinations... I know exactly what they'll try and do. They'll come for him. Probably for both of us. But I won't let that happen." Her fingers shook as they clicked a flight link, her voice soft. "Not again."
Wanda lifted her small case from the trunk of Sam's car. "Well... I guess I'm off."
Bucky and Sam had sunglasses and caps on, while Wanda just had dark glasses, brown hair thrown up in a loose bun. People walked past, the more alert ones giving them strange looks. Yes, they all looked suspicious, wearing hats and glasses, in the winter, in the middle of the night. But the fewer people knew she was going to Scotland, the better.
Wanda looked up at the airport, apprehensive. She had been through her fair share of airports over the last few years. Nobody really liked airports, and Wanda was one of those people who absolutely hated them. When she was a fugitive, she was in constant fear of being recognised by other passengers, or by the person who checked her fake passport. Luckily that had never happened - it was amazing what a change of hair colour could do to her appearance.
Even though she was no longer on the run, Wanda still had to hide - she didn't want Ross and his team of merry men to find out that she was flying to Edinburgh. So a pair of dark aviator glasses were firmly on her face. They weren't even hers, but Carol's. She had wanted to take a piece of her friend with her.
She glanced at her fake passport, the same one she had used to get around Europe. She looked miserable in the photo. Her hair had just been dyed the unfamiliar ginger, and she was wearing an oversized turtleneck to hide the bruises and marks left by the shock collar. She looked like a different person, and she briefly worried that whoever checked her passport might question it.
"Are you sure about that? We're legally allowed to use our own passports now. Even I was given one." Bucky said, glancing over her shoulder to look at her fake passport. "You'll be in even more trouble if they realize..."
"We've broken worse laws then fraud." Wanda said, putting the fake document in her pocket. "If I'm questioned, I'm sure I'll be able to work a little magic on the person who checks my passport." She hugged them both goodbye. "Thanks for the ride to the airport. I don't know how long it'll be when I come back. If anyone else asks, tell them I'm on vacation. Tell them I've gone to Fiji or something."
"Of course." Sam nodded. "Don't hesitate to call us. Text us when you land."
"I will. Look after Goose."
"Good luck, Wanda." Sam and Bucky waited until she had gone inside the airport and out of sight, before climbing back into the car. They sat there quietly for a few moments. "We definitely shouldn't have let her go on her own."
"A hundred percent." Bucky agreed. "But we couldn't have changed her mind -"
"You guys should probably go. Someone just reported a suspicious vehicle with two shady men inside it to security."
Sam shook his head, before finally taking the wheel and pulling out of the parking lot.
After an eight hour flight, Wanda arrived in Edinburgh for four in the afternoon local time.
She emerged from the international arrivals section and into the waiting area, pulling her case. The person behind the desk hadn't questioned the passport and she had managed to sleep for almost the entire flight - things had gone as smoothly as they could have.
There were a few people waiting outside the arrival doors. A few held hand written cards, as obviously they were there to meet someone. Wanda read a few of them; there was a coach driver waiting for the Glasgow tennis team, and a nervous looking man holding a bouquet in one hand and a sign that said 'Marry Me, Lorraine' in the other.
She paused to look at the waiting area. Vision had flown out to visit her on three separate occasions for the few months she had been in Scotland, each for a few weeks at a time. On most occasions he would fly to the same airport and then catch a train to the city centre, where she would greet him at Waverley station; the very same station where they had crashed through the glass roof.
One time, she had decided to surprise him at the airport. She had decided to have a little fun with it, play a joke on him. She had put on some dark glasses and worn all black, hair covered under a hat. She had stood in the waiting area, holding up a white card where she had written the name he used on his fake documents, 'Victor Shade'.
He had emerged from the international arrivals doors, bag slung over his shoulder, rummaging in his pocket for something. He had glanced up with an otherwise relaxed expression, only to freeze in confusion when he saw the mystery person standing there, holding a card with his alias on it.
Then she had removed her dark glasses and given him a goofy smile. The card and his bag ended up on the floor briefly as he ran to her, sweeping her into his arms to hug her. For a moment she zoned out, staring into space as she was briefly lost in this particular memory.
She shook herself, before hurrying out of the airport, heading to the bus stand to get a ticket into the city. A train would be faster, but Wanda knew the train would stop in Waverley Station... and that idea hurt too much.