If you don't like blood... sorry, there's going to be lots. It won't be seriously graphic, but just be prepared.

In shock, Wanda initially felt nothing. Numb and confused, she took a step forward.

"I'm fine. It's just a scratch..."

They dove forward as she crumpled to the ground. Her hands went to her stomach immediately, a fountain of red spouting through her fingers. Her cry of pain went straight through Vision's heart as he pressed his hands into hers, into the wound, but her blood continued to trickle through their overlapped fingers.

Was this really happening right now? Was this real? Was this her blood, everywhere? "I need something to -" Vision began, but Sam was already pulling off his coat.

"Here! Keep the pressure on, I'll get help!" He started for the bushes. The navy fabric of Sam's coat soon turned purple. She was clenching her teeth, resisting the urge to cry out in pain.

"Just breathe. Try not to move, alright?" Vision tried to stay calm, well aware that Wanda would pick up on his distress. Her mouth tried to form words, but the pain stole her voice; if she spoke, she might scream.

"Fine by me." She said into his mind.

Heavy footsteps came into earshot, as someone - or something - came their way. Was Josephine coming back? Or worse, the creature? Sam narrowed his eyes briefly, before sighing in relief. "Oh, thank god, they're good guys. Over here!"

Vision instantly shifted into his human appearance; Wanda was pulling at his wrist.

"You need to go - they might -"

"I'm not going anywhere." Vision said, firmly.

Two soldiers entered the clearing, guns raised. As opposed to coming forward to help, they aggressively pointed their guns at three of them, despite the fact that Wanda was bleeding on the floor. "You there!" Not having a clue who he was pointing his gun at, one of them screeched at Vision. "Identify yourself and step away!"

He didn't move, eyes on the weapon pointed at them. What was going on?

"She's wounded, can you help us -" Sam stepped toward them, but then the other turned his gun on him. He raised his his hands in defence, eyes widening. "What the hell is going on here?"

"You're all under arrest."

Sam looked at the two soldiers, a blank look of confusion on his face. "Are you insane?"

Vision's mind raced back to the explosion. Nobody knew about Siren. Nobody had seen the bomb - it had gone off before the cloth had exposed it. All anybody had seen was Wanda's magic mere seconds before an explosion. "This is a misunderstanding. We can explain -"

"Look at her wound!" Sam exclaimed. "You're wasting your time. There's a creature out there and it can't have gone far -"

The soldier blatantly ignored Sam as he waved his gun once more at Vision. "We have secured Maximoff and Wilson. Are the measures for their containment in place?" This triggered something within Wanda. Her hand stretched out across the floor, and her sleeve moved, exposing the straitjacket scar on her wrist.

Some red, glowing branches from overhead slammed down onto the two men. "Now! Let's go, go!" Sam hastily grabbed one of their dropped weapons. The branches began to move as the two soldiers began to rise.

Wanda attempted to get up, but Vision didn't allow her to rise another centimetre, sweeping her from the ground. A gunshot ran out and Vision felt a bullet bounce off his ankle as he dove into the trees, after Sam.

They crashed through the undergrowth. Vision didn't fly in case they were being followed. Wanda jolted against him, her grasp slipping, and Sam's coat fell to the ground. A few sparks of weak energy circulated over the wound, but she was in too pain to concentrate.

She muttered. "I tried to stop it..."

"That's not what it looked like from their angle! We will fix it, they'll realize their mistake soon enough!" Sam struggled to pull his phone out. "Buck! Get back to the jet! I don't know if you have your phone on you but for God's sake if you do, get to the jet -" Without warning, he stopped. "Hide!"

Vision skewed right behind some bushes, while Sam took cover behind a tree. Through a gap in the leaves, they spotted three heavily armed soldiers up ahead.

"Negative. No sign of movement. We will shoot when ready..." They were coming closer. "Hear that?"

He could feel Wanda's blood seeping into his synthesized overcoat. He could feel her tears of pain against his neck. "I heard something, I know I did." One of them muttered. There was an audible click as the safety was switched off from a gun. They came closer, parallel to their hiding spot. A boot stepped into view, and lifted to take another step forward.

Sam mouthed a word across the space. "Run."

He leapt out from his hiding place, crashing through the ferns in the opposite direction. The soldiers immediately ran in pursuit, screaming for him to stop. Not stopping to think about what Sam had just done, Vision made a break for it.

They weren't far now. They could hear sirens in the distance, and the screeches of military personel, yelling for them to surrender. Each yell grew louder and closer. Finally, the jet emerged, glinting under the weak sun - there was movement beneath it.

Someone was standing outside the jet. It was Bucky, holding a stolen gun, with fresh blood on his face that wasn't his. "Oh my god! What happened?"

"Later." Wanda groaned. "We just need to get out..."

He ran across the soil to meet them. "I heard that animal, whatever it was, but the soldiers didn't believe me when they showed up. I barely got away. Where's Sam -" Suddenly Bucky's eyes were huge. Vision heard military boots behind them. Then Bucky was shoving him. "Get in!"

They were running for the jet. Bucky slapped the outside button to release the ramp, as the five police officers charged at them. "I'll cover you!" Bucky shot to miss, hitting the ground by their feet. Vision dove into the jet, putting Wanda down, before switching on the engine. The jet hummed to life; but Bucky was still outside. There was the sound of bullets on metal. Bucky was no longer standing in front of the ramp - and the sound of bullets on the jet sides were actually a metal fist.

"Go! Go now!"

Vision briefly saw Bucky disappear into the bushes. Instead of following, the five officers sprinted for the jet. Vision hit the ramp button so hard it left a dent. It swung up, and within seconds there was a violent banging on the door, fists hammering against the metal. "Open up! Right now!"

The jet shook and lifted up off the ground. Vision glanced out of the window in time to see more police enter the scene. He pushed the accelerator and the people below were sent flying off their feet as the jet zoomed into space.


Vision's adrenaline - did he even produce adrenaline? - slowly came down.

We left them. Seeing them from this height was laughable, but he tried anyway, looking out the window. The stone stump that had been the statue was now surrounded by a mass of police and soldiers. A helicopter had landed and flashing police cars and ambulances were pulling up, one after the other. No Sam or Bucky, no Siren or Josephine. He blinked and they were gone as the jet zoomed away and into the clouds. His palms left bloody handprints on the glass as he retreated from the window.

"Vizh..."

Blood was pooling on the bench beneath her. Her hands remained clasped in place as she tried to keep the pressure on the wound. Vision snatched up a first aid kit and a grey sweater hanging on a headrest.

On the ground, he had felt strangely calm. As if he were on autopilot, like the jet - he had to stay calm. But now, here, alone, the sight of Wanda's blood dripping down the bench, how pale she looked... he felt sick. His hands shook as he pressed the sweater into her stomach. She was bleeding so much.

"It's alright. It, it..." He stammered.

When the creature caught her with it's claws, it had cut deep. Her hands were as red as Vision's, black nails and silver rings indistinguishable. The gash on her forehead left behind a red stain that spread from between her eyes to the side of her nose; the rest of her face was as white as paper. Her hand snatched Vision's wrist, seeking an anchor for the pain.

"That thing... it looked like..."

"We'll talk about the creature later."

Vision rummaged through the first aid box. There were bandages and gauze, medical thread, but it wouldn't be enough to fix this kind of damage. She needed real help, and he couldn't do that for her...

...real help? From where? Vision remembered what she had said to him, as they flew back from Scotland. People in power didn't take chances with people like her and him. It was shoot first and ask questions later. Every hospital in the country was probably being monitored right now. Any friends were probably being investigated as they spoke... and what could they do for this?

The direness of their situation began to dawn. "You saw what happened down there. We have to go back for Sam and Bucky -"

"Going back for them isn't an option. They'll be alright because... it's you they're after."

"Thanks." Wanda flinched.

They did this for twenty minutes. They were silent, Wanda's eyes pressed shut through the pain, and Vision keeping the pressure on her injury, the density increased in his hands. The grey sweater was completely soaked with red.

"I'm going to have a look at it." He lifted the fabric ever so slightly. Some blood began to well up in response, but it was no longer pouring out uncontrollably. "It's slowing. Keep the pressure there, I just need to see our location..."

Vision didn't know what he was going to do when he reached the controls; but he certainly didn't expect to see nothing but ocean beneath them. For the very first time in his existence, he swore under his breath. According to the map, they were halfway across the Atlantic. They could probably be back in Scotland within twenty minutes...

His hand moved to turn the jet around, but then he stopped and thought for moment. They had to turn and go back to... to where? They couldn't go to a hospital, he didn't know any doctors... what the hell were they going to do? Without help, Wanda wouldn't survive the next twenty four hours...

He looked around, desperate for inspiration. His eyes moved across the vibranium interior. We don't need twenty four hours. With this ship, we could get there in one... The creature hadn't damaged her organs - if this were the case Wanda would have died within minutes. If he could just keep her stable, keep the bleeding down for another hour or two...

I don't want to go back. But we have to... The stone twinged fiercely in his head, but he ignored it, entering a location and pushing the accelerator to full speed. Wanda struggled to see it from her position. "Where are we going?"

"You're not going to like it." Vision looked over his shoulder at her, and she frowned, trying to understand. He tried to shut his mind off, but there was no hiding it from her. Her face whitened another shade and her eyes flooded with dread.

"No."

"We don't have another option."

"Don't take me back there."

"I know it's the last place you want to be. But they can help you."

"We thought that last time! I haven't been to Wakanda since..." She was hyperventilating. The air around them began to fill with her magic as she started to panic. He went to her, back on the floor by the bench. He pressed his hands into hers once more.

"This is different. Listen," he said, softly. "If we don't do something, you're going to die. Do you understand? Either you die here, from blood loss, or you die in a hospital when soldiers come for you. And I can't let that happen. I can't... " More blood seeped through their hands. Wanda's lip trembled, eyes simmering with pain. They clouded and briefly flared red.

She gave a tiny nod.