If having a stranger's blood on his hands had felt bad enough, nothing could have prepared Vision for how sick he felt watching Wanda's blood swirl down the drain. No amount of water could make his hands feel clean.

He gripped the sides of the sink, wanting to punch himself in the face. He should have killed it while he had the chance, and now Wanda was in surgery because of him... and if she didn't make it... what the hell was he going to do? A blade of guilt stabbed at him. This was like that movie Sam had forced them to watch a few nights ago, where the parasitic alien had burst out of a man's chest. He felt as though he had one of those moving about inside, gnawing away at his circuits… Sam. Bucky. The feeling only grew worse.

"-alive for months? How?"

"It's a lot to take in, I know. I can't get my head around any of it." Okoye glanced toward the washroom, listening to the still-running tap, before looking back to the projection of T'Challa. "He's a little shaken after what happened to Wanda... you should have seen her, T'Challa. When he carried her out of that jet, I almost thought it was too late..." Okoye shuddered.

"She will pull through, though?"

"Shuri's with her, so absolutely. I'll explain more once Wanda is out of surgery, but I assure you, Vision has only been aware of himself and his surroundings for the last few weeks or so. It's safe…"

"There's no need, General. I'm not judging anybody. His situation sounds very similar to Bucky's. Speaking of, is there any word?"

"No word from him or Wilson. I'll keep trying to contact them, but as they're so acquainted with the fugitive lifestyle, they'll probably stay off the grid... that's probably for the better, too. None of this can come out. If the Americans find out Wanda is here… let alone Vision… I don't know if our people will be so willing to protect them this time. W'Kabi heavily criticised our decision to defend Vision in the first place…"

"Well, that's his issue. And he doesn't need to know. Neither does anyone else besides my mother and Nakia." T'Challa said, firmly. "They're our allies. We will protect the both of them for as long as they need." His gaze darkened; he had a very vivid recollection of when Thanos had come for the stone. "Let me know as soon as Wanda is out - I just need to speak to Nakia before I head over. She's fine, she's in the California outreach centre, no where near New York at the time, but I just want to make sure -"

Okoye chuckled. "Go speak to your future queen." T'Challa gave her a bashful smile before the kimoyo beads switched off. Vision emerged into the hallway, and Okoye turned around immediately. She still looked startled to see him, as though he were a ghost. Now he thought about it, to her, he wasn't far from that. Afterall, the last she'd seen of him was a hole in the ground. "Better?" She asked, now that he was no longer covered in mud and blood.

"A little." Vision lied. "Have you heard anymore?"

"Shuri said they're still repairing the tissue damage. But she is out of the woods. You brought her here in the nick of time." Vision began pacing, knuckles pressed to his mouth, not assured. Wanda had looked dead when they carried her away on that hover stretcher...

An awkward few minutes passed. "I know you gave me a rough outline of what we're dealing with. But I need to ask... "

"Go ahead."

"You said you don't remember much?"

"A handful of things. Mostly small moments..."

"Do you remember what happened?" Vision looked at her in confusion, so she was more specific. "Do you remember what happened here, in Wakanda? Before..." Her eyes moved instinctively toward his forehead. Vision met her gaze, his synthetic heart filling with lead.

"She hasn't told me anything about Wakanda. She thinks I only remember Thanos." He leaned his forehead into his hand as the stone twitched. He hated how quiet it was. "I remember how brilliant Shuri is, but Wanda lost... a lot of blood."

"I noticed." Okoye said, grimly. There had been a trail of red leading from the jet to the hover stretcher on the tarmac outside. "Shuri is the best. And we've had people brought to us in worse condition - try not to worry yourself." Vision couldn't imagine what worse possibly looked like. Okoye's kimoyo beads flashed again, and he thought back to the park, Josephine and Cara having the same thing around their wrists. "I need to take this - I'll be right back. Don't go anywhere."

Okoye slipped into the hallway, hearing Vision's pacing in the background. She raised the kimoyo beads, and a young man, one of their wardogs from New York, trickled into view. "Thank goodness. Are you alright? Nobody was in the vicinity at the time?"

"Everyone else has reported themselves as safe - no-one attended the ceremony. I got your message, and it's not looking good over here, General. The news reports nothing else. Wilson and Barnes are being hunted by authorities... and the world is convinced that Wanda Maximoff has gone mad."

Okoye shook her head. "This is a mess. Have they found any trace of the monster?"

"No sightings or reports yet. But if it lost a limb like you said... it's probably laying dead in the park somewhere."

"I hope you're right."


An hour later, Shuri entered the room, pulling off a white surgical coat. Vision leapt to his feet.

"All healed." Shuri said, with a relieved smile. If Shuri were as startled as everyone else was to see him alive, she didn't show it. "We gave her some more blood to make up for what was lost and completely restored the tissue damage. She's going to be absolutely fine, though."

"Can I...?"

Shuri smiled again. "You may see her, yes. She'll be out for a while yet, but you can sit with her in the mean time."

"Thank you, Shuri. Thank you for everything." Vision ran past her. As soon as he was gone, Shuri rapidly turned to Okoye, cool and collected demeanour shifting into curious and excited.

"Right! Get me up to speed, what did I miss?"


A dim, yellow lamp lit up the small room. Wanda lay there, eyes closed, one hand resting on her belly, the former site of the wound; and the other outstretched across the covers. She didn't look sedated at all - she just looked asleep.

Vision quietly pulled a chair to the side of the bed. Shuri may have claimed that it was technology, not magic - but the line between the two was blurred. How had this happened in a few hours? The gash in the center of her forehead was completely gone, with nothing to suggest there was ever a gash at all. There were no bandages, no wires or drips. The colour had been restored to her face, and someone had even carefully washed the blood from her hands. Her breathing was gentle but steady, and her hand was warm when he took it within his own.

"I'm here." He said, sweeping his thumb across the back of it. "And I have so much to tell you when you wake up..."

It had been a long day. A day from hell, it was exhausting... Vision fought to keep his eyes open, but slowly, he started to drift. His eyes closed for just a moment...


Vision's eyes flew open. He snatched his hand away from Wanda's as her powers flowed freely, burning at his fingers. He whipped his head about, noticing the room filled with floating objects, each one wrapped in a cradle of red energy. There was constant, high-pitched beeping noise. When he came in he hadn't noticed the glowing blue vitals on the wall, showing her oxygen levels, brain activity, heart beat. He scanned each graph, and what he saw on screen wasn't normal. Her heartbeat was leaping up and down, the peaks close together and dipping low and high. Her brain activity was a wild series of scribbles, turning from blue to yellow to red. She thrashed in the bed, struggling to breathe, entire body radiating with red energy.

It's only a dream... The energy moved faster and more erratically. Only a dream. Vision's mouth parted to say her name. His fingertips grazed the back of her hand.

Wanda screamed and a red wave came racing towards him, carrying him off his feet and sending him crashing across the floor. Ornaments flew and glass sprayed across the room. The floating objects fell to the floor and the room fell silent. Within moments the door flew open. Okoye burst inside, spear in hand, Shuri by her side. "What in the name of Bast? Are you alright?" Shuri extended a hand to help Vision up from the floor, before her eyes shifted to the empty bed. "Where is she?"

Okoye swept across the room and out into the balcony, the sliding glass pane now smashed entirely, thin curtains swaying in the breeze. She pointed after the red light fading into the distance. "There she goes! Where is she going?"

Shuri ran to the balcony edge beside her. "My lab's over there," she said, puzzled. "...oh." They turned to face Vision. He stepped forward, mouth dry, every muscle in his body starting to tremble.

It was time to put Wanda's demon to bed.