Merry Christmas and happy holidays everyone! To celebrate, I've written a crazy super-long chapter. I hope you enjoy it!
Wanda was running.
Her breath rattled in her chest, her boots slamming upon concrete. Heavy steps pounded on the stone behind her, and she could feel it's breath on the back of her neck, metallic and rancid from rotting flesh. The deformed mutant version of Corvus Glaive was after her, bloody teeth snapping at her.
Somebody screamed from up ahead.
"Vision!" Wanda screamed back, and a cold laugh answered her - Josephine. All Wanda knew in that moment was that Josephine had Vision, and she was going to kill him. "I'll kill you, Josephine!" Wanda shrieked, as Vision's cry turned from terror to pain. She ran faster, before she slipped on something. Wanda's palms flew out to catch herself, slamming down into something sticky and congealed. She lifted her hands to her face - they were covered in black blood, like a child's hands in paint.
"Come and get me! I'm here! I'm everywhere!" Josephine's voice wasn't just bouncing off the walls - her voice was actually inside, bouncing off the walls of her skull. Vision's screams abruptly cut off as Wanda felt the creature's teeth close on her hair. "Once again, you're too late!"
Wanda almost fell out of bed, gasping and drenched in cold sweat. She seized a pillow with her powers and threw it across the room, and it fell to the floor with a soft flump. "It's okay." She whispered to herself, raking her fingers through her hair. He's safe, and Josephine is half the world away.
Vision murmured under his breath in response to her movement. Wanda stiffened - she had completely forgotten he was there, and the events of last night came back to her piece by piece. Her anger and fear immediately shrivelled and died when she saw his sleeping face. Waking from nightmares was always a lot easier when he was first thing she saw.
"It's alright," He used to whisper, holding her in his arms, lips pressed to her forehead. "It was just a dream."
She sank back down into warmth of the bed again, studying Vision's face. Sunlight peered in through a gap in the curtain, curving a slant of gold over his temple and jaw. This could almost be Europe - the morning sun, the warmth of the bed, the unfamiliar room - like a little moment in history had been plucked out and replayed for this moment. He slept the same way he used to, turned toward her, face soft and relaxed.
She searched herself for that darkness, that shadow that had followed her for the last three months - and she didn't find it. It wasn't gone yet... but she could finally breathe, now that Vision had taken some of the weight pinning her down.
That left her with another problem. With nothing left to distract herself, she loved Vision more than ever.
"Are you two awake?" Okoye called through the door, all too soon.
"We are," Wanda replied, as Vision sat up, shoulder brushing hers. "One second..." Her fingers twitched, and the fallen objects lifted back to their original positions, the shattered glass swirled up, magically fixing themselves back into the sliding door, and the broken leg reattached itself to the chair.
Okoye waited outside, looking remarkably different in a green dress instead of armour. "Morning. How is it?" She asked, gesturing. Wanda felt her stomach under the hospital gown, but there was no change – it felt the same as it had the previous morning.
"I don't feel any stitches...?"
"You shouldn't have a scar, either." Okoye grinned before turning serious once more, handing her a bright blue jumpsuit. "You can borrow this for the time being, it's one of Nakia's. Me and Shuri will be waiting - there's something you both need to see."
Vision rose out of the bed, going to let her get dressed. He stood outside, waiting for her. "Are you okay this morning?" He asked through the door, listening to the rustle of fabric as she changed. "Is there anything I can get you?"
"You just being here is everything." Wanda opened the door after a moment, pulling the jumpsuit strap over her shoulder as she did. Warmth flooded Vision's chest like another sun had appeared; there already seemed to be more life in her face. She tilted her head at him, brow furrowed a tiny bit at his expression.
"You look..." Lovely, beautiful - "You look nice." Wanda's smile grew, her green eyes lighting up, like sunlight over leaves.
"Thanks."
Sitting at a table with Shuri and Okoye, they watched each clip of footage after the other. Vision's chin propped anxiously on his hand, while Wanda was pressing her fingertips into her temples.
They had spent the last five minutes watching various news reports, arguments between right activists and politicians, witness interviews and now the footage itself was next. People screaming and running, the statue briefly turning red before exploding. So many houses were shown - Scott Lang's house, the gate to Clint's property, Pepper and Morgan's lakehouse - all surrounded by military and agents, as they searched for her, Sam, and Bucky. Virtually everyone they knew was being investigated.
"Wanda Maximoff seemingly snaps and attacks crowd -"
"She is innocent I tell you -"
"She's too dangerous to be left -"
"She's wouldn't -"
Wanda's head fell into her hands. "I can't watch anymore."
Shuri showed them one more clip. "Thankfully someone managed to film this - and it changed everything." There Wanda was, lifting rocks as Sam pulled people out from the debris. She pulled at her hair when she noticed the blonde figure in one of the photos.
"No-one questioned that?" Vision asked, worriedly.
"Two soldiers did mention an unidentified man." Okoye said. "But your name has never been mentioned." Vision was not reassured. What if the soldiers recognised his voice? What if the military decided to raid the compound and noticed someone had moved in?
"There were lots of other witnesses who saw Wanda helping people... you'd think that would convince them. There are better ways to execute an evil plan and get away with it." Shuri shook her head. "They'll stop searching for you soon enough. But there's still nothing from Bucky and Wilson, and no mention of the animal's blood... it rained not long afterwards."
Wanda and Vision's hearts sank like two balloons attached to the same rock. The evidence was gone... and who knew where Sam and Bucky were. "They must be worried sick..." Last they had seen of her, she had been bleeding out all over the grass. Wanda pressed her hands together in front of her face, briefly speaking to Vision telepathically.
"I just realised something. Goose."
"He'll be fine. He can hunt in the woods, fend for himself..."
"I'm more worried about what will happen if they decide the raid the compound. Goose has eaten a lot bigger things than birds and Bucky's radio."
"Let's talk about Josephine." Shuri lifted a tablet that resembled a sheet of glass, ready to take notes. "Tell us everything you know about her."
"She's insane." Wanda said.
"Right." Okoye waited. "And?"
Wanda and Vision exchanged a lost look. They'd had so many encounters with Josephine, but what did they know? She had a face that could have come from anywhere, her accent was hard to place. They only knew her first name, a vague idea as to why she wanted them both dead - what even was she to Siren? She didn't seem like a leader - more like the brain behind it, pulling their strings, using them to get her way.
"Has anything else come back to you, Vizh?" Wanda asked hopefully, but he shook his head.
"Hm." Shuri's calculating eyes scanned his damaged forehead, brow slightly furrowed.
"But there was someone at the park…" Vision began, remembering suddenly.
"The woman who tried to shoot me?"
"I didn't tell you, did I? I caught her, but she wouldn't tell me anything. Except..." What did Cara say? We went along with her because we both get what we want. Siren gets a new asset, she gets some solace, and everyone wins. "As she put it, Josephine found solace when she took me."
"I don't understand." Okoye frowned.
"Neiither do I. It's beyond me, I can't remember anything..."
Wanda's expression shifted as that hazy day began to come back to her. I had some solace when I nearly killed Thanos. "She took you to hurt me. She lost someone while she was here, in Wakanda." All three of them turned to look at her. "I had a glimpse into her mind, when we went to get Vision. I saw blood. And when I saw her yesterday, she was wearing a man's wedding ring."
Vision's face turned strangely blank, as he heard Josephine's voice close to his ear. "I bet she's haunting that forest in Wakanda, desperately trying to find you… so I'm going to make sure you'll never be together again." He rose abruptly, startling all three of them, and he swiftly left the room without a word. Wanda looked apologetically at Okoye and Shuri, hurrying after him. "Hey, what is it?"
"I'll – I just –" Vision's stammer spiralled out of control, and Wanda could tell that he was trying to think of a polite way to ask to be left alone.
"It's okay. Go ahead, get some air." She watched the back of his metal-paneled head turn to blond hair as he literally ran away, into the garden outside. Her heart sank. "Is there anyone else out there?"
"No. This is my private study garden." Shuri said. "Nobody can see in, either. He'll be safe." She tapped her foot, snatching up her tablet. "Excuse me... I just thought of something." She dashed off into the hallway, a look of excitement on her face.
Okoye rose from the table. "Maybe we can discuss this later. Shall we go for a walk?" Desperate for something else to talk about besides Siren, Wanda gladly followed Okoye into the garden. Large stone walls stretched above the trees, skyscrapers looking beyond those. The sounds of the city descended over the wall, as well as music from somewhere inside Shuri's house.
"About the burial... I should have told you." Okoye said, after a while.
It had slipped Wanda's mind. Thinking back to Tony's funeral, Okoye looked as though she had something to tell her... but she wasn't angry. Not anymore. "You did the right thing. I'm glad you didn't tell me."
They came to a stop over a small wooden footbridge. The two women stood side by side, overlooking some clear, shallow ponds. It was the most beautiful garden she had ever been in, bursting with flowers of every colour, glossy from last night's rainfall. The afternoon sunshine was warm on Wanda's face, seeping through her skin and throughout her body. With the freezing days in New York, she'd forgotten what real sun felt like.
"My view of Wakanda was so warped by Thanos, I never imagined it could be this beautiful."
"It is." Okoye said, proudly. "Shuri's garden is only one small part of it. You should come back once this whole matter is resolved, I would love to take you on a proper tour without running the risk of you being seen. You'll have to come back anyway for T'challa and Nakia's wedding - that's why you won't be seeing a lot of him."
"We're invited?" Wanda asked, surprised.
"You all are, of course." Okoye said. "Vision, too."
"I didn't think I'd ever get to take him to a wedding." Wanda used to have dreams about being at a wedding - specifically her and Vision's wedding... but those carefree days were long gone, an impossible wish then made even more impossible now.
Wanda's eyes moved to some flowers by the pond, wondering if they were the same kind of flowers used to line Vision's casket. Her skin crawled once again, imagining Josephine lifting the lid. I need to know what happened to her.
"So, where did he sleep last night?" Okoye asked, innocently, and Wanda laughed, looking away to hide her blush.
"It wasn't like that, I assure you. We're just friends. It's better for both of us that he believes that."
"Is it?" A look of real concern overtook Okoye's face. "Think about what's best for yourself, too."
"I'm trying to balance both." Wanda sighed, resting her chin on her hand. "It's complicated."
"Maybe not. You didn't see him last night while you were in surgery... you mean a lot more than to him than you think."
Wanda thought about last night. How close she had come to kissing him. Had he wanted to do the same? No. You were upset and all over the place, and he was just worried about you. So why had his eyes been on her lips?
Vision ran down the path to put some distance between him and the building. Once he reached an enclosed path under some trees, he let himself stop and try to calm down. He paced up and down, pulling at his synthesized sleeves again. What bothered him more? His strange half-memories of Josephine, or how much he wanted to kiss Wanda last night?
The noise in his head wasn't so loud when Wanda was there... last night, when they'd been so close, the noise was silent. He could finally hear her breathing. Ift he really listened he could hear her heartbeat. Stop fooling yourself. She's human, you're not. It wouldn't work, and she said...
"-I don't care how different we are." Vision heard her voice in his memory. "We're the same in so many ways - that's why it works."
"Wait up!"
Vision whirled round to see Shuri, flying down the path on a... hovering scooter without wheels. She leapt off the hovering scooter, folding it up and tucking it under her arm. "It is you, isn't it? There isn't a random stranger in my garden?" Shuri asked, and Vision nodded. "Good. Wanda mentioned you were a blond, but I wanted to be sure."
"I'm sorry for rushing away without reason."
"You don't have to justify anything. You're not our prisoner, you're our guest." Shuri walked alongside him. "Do you like the garden? I like to sit by the ponds while I work on my designs."
Vision looked through the trees toward the ponds. He spotted Okoye and Wanda talking on a little footbridge overlooking the water. Wanda's hair glistened in the morning sun, and she was laughing at something Okoye said, smile illuminating her face. "It's beautiful." Shuri followed his gaze, and she smirked, knowing he wasn't referring to the garden. "You've given us so much. You saved her - how can I ever repay you?"
"You don't need to repay anything." Shuri said. There was a pause. "There's also something I can do for you." Vision gave her a quizzical look.
"You've already done enough. "
"I never settle for 'enough'." Shuri said, confidently. "I can repair the damage. I can make you look just as you were before."
Vision was confused for a moment, but when he realized what she was offering, a surge of hope jolted his mind clear. Could he look normal again? To have no permanent reminder of his death stamped across his forehead? "You would do that for me?"
"Easily. Can you switch back for a second? I'd like a proper look." Vision shifted back into his regular form, revealing the true damage to his forehead once more, the clumsily and unevenly filled lines. She studied the damaged area, brow creased with concentration - then regret. "I went as fast as I could, I really did."
Vision felt a dull ache inside his chest. "It's okay."
"Do you still have the stab wounds, too?"
"Yes. Filled with whatever scrap she could get her hands on."
Shuri tutted. "I'm really starting to not like this woman." She scanned his torso and face with her kimoyo beads. "This will be easy to repair, I'll just need to build one of Cho's cradles with a few Wakandan tweaks. It looks like they filled the gaps with a knock-off of her synthetic tissue - some vibranium scrap and... they did a patchwork job... no offence."
"None taken."
"I'm detecting a lot of solar energy from the gem. Well, that's solved part of the mystery. Without the mind stone, you're running on solar power." She frowned at her kimoyo beads, some red lettering appearing. "The scan needs a bit more time to process the internal situation. But as soon as I have a picture of what's happening in there, maybe I can try to access your memory files too?"
Vision's head spun - he couldn't believe this was happening. He flooded with excitement - he couldn't wait to tell Wanda. "I don't know what to say... you're talking about giving me my life back."
"I'll get some vibranium and Cho's synthetic tissue later." She beamed at him, before something behind him caught her attention. "Oh no, not on my watch." Shuri crouched down by the path, lined with some bright, golden flowers. She began to slice away at some weeds creeping through the plants.
"I've never seen that kind of flower before." Vision said, curiously. It looked like a kind of lily, with a mane of rose-like petals opening around the main flower.
"It's my own creation. I don't just design weapons and new tech - I also like to play around with plants in my spare time. My main project has been trying to regrow the Heart-shaped herb, but I've also created this one for fun - it's a hybrid of a Chinese rose and a Wakandan Sunrise flower. They wouldn't hybridilise naturally, but a few genetic edits later, it happened."
"Interesting..." Vision looked closer, intrigued. "I see the rose elements. Wanda likes roses..."
"Does she now?" Shuri smiled; she had another idea.
Wanda's fingers twitched above the water, her powers swirling around the stones laying on the bottom of the pond. "Where's Okoye?" The footbridge creaked below his feet as Vision stepped into it.
"She had to take a call from the Dora - she's trying to negotiate a few more hours away from her duties today." Wanda tilted her head in concern - Vision looked nervous and excited. "Is everything alright?"
"I think it is, or it will be. Shuri spoke to me, and offered to fix the scar tissue. And once her scan is complete... maybe everything. She might be able to unlock my memories."
Wanda's eyes widened. "Wow. That's great. I can't believe it..."
"You don't sound thrilled."
"Of course I am!" Wanda proclaimed. "I am, I really am. Sorry." She pinched her nose bridge. "I was just having flashbacks to the last time you underwent surgery." She shivered. "I'm sorry, it's silly..."
"It's not at all. I'm nervous too. But I trust Shuri, I know she'll take every precaution... and it's not like there'll be an army from outer space this time." Wanda nodded, comforted a little. Vision brought something out from behind his back. Wanda blinked in surprise; he was holding a large, golden flower.
"Beautiful..."
"Shuri made it. It's called a Ramonda Sunrise, after the Queen Mother."
"Did she let you take one or did you just pick it?" Wanda teased.
"She suggested I take one... for you." Vision said, shyly. Wanda's heart missed a beat.
"For me?" Wanda took the flower, eyes filling with tears. She couldn't stop herself - she lifted herself on her toes to kiss his cheek. His face softened, eyes misting over, as if he were in a daze.
Across the world
Josephine leaned over a desk, head resting on her hands. Her breathing was slow and drawn, and she looked like she was trying not to vomit. Behind her, Cara was looking through some stolen medicine bottles in a fridge. She frowned at an unlabelled red vial, before looking at Josephine in the reflection of the fridge door.
"I know you're pissed off. But you saw how much blood was on the grass... she could have died of her wounds."
"She's still alive, I know it... I feel it." Josephine covered her forehead with a hand, pulling off her glasses and tossing them into the table. "The blue one, Cara."
Cara slammed the fridge door and went across to Josephine, handing her the bottle. Her dark brown eyes narrowed curiously at a large, black bruise inside Josephine's forearm. "Was that her?" Josephine muttered under her breath, ignoring the question, aggressively shuffling through some photographs and newspaper articles. "You don't look good, Josie."
"Don't Josie me-" Both women jolted and Josephine nearly dropped the bottle as there was a thud from behind a locked door. The alien hybrid stared out at them, the green circle of plastic no longer lit up with the transmitter switched off. It's skeletal claws pressed against the glass, saliva dripping from it's jaws. Cara shifted uncomfortably.
"It's freaking me out. Do you have a stronger sedative?"
"It's metabolism burned through the bull elephant dose in twenty minutes. It's pointless."
"I'll run to town... get more meat for it. See you in a few hours." Cara said, grabbing her rucksack and hastily leaving the room to escape the alien's stare.
Josephine narrowed her eyes at the face through the door. "Don't glare at me like that. It'll be feeding time soon enough." The creature slammed it's paws against the door, snarling aggressively. Josephine flinched, eyes pressed shut, grip on the wedding ring around her neck tightening.
Footsteps began thundering down the hallway, and within moments the hallway door slammed open. Josephine spun round as a man stormed in, followed by a bedraggled looking group - this was all that remained of Siren. "Look at this." The man gestured toward the group. All of them looked tired and dirty - and every single one of them was glaring at Josephine. "Just look at what you've done!"
"I'm looking, Douglas."
"We've planned it for weeks, for nothing! We told you, the asset was to attack the crowd as soon as you were finished with Maximoff. We gave you first shot at the witch, and you blew it! It barely survived. This was a disaster."
"Oh, shut up. Let me finish the job and the hybrid is all yours."
"Wake up, Josephine!" His eyes hardened. "Vision was a legitimately good idea - and then you lost him trying to prove a point. The two alien bodies made the hybrid - and then you nearly killed it, once again trying to prove a point! Well guess what? It's failed. It's failed spectacularly."
"Get to the point."
"It's finished." Douglas snapped. "You either get on the ball or get out the way."
Josephine laughed. "Is that meant to be a clever way of telling me I'm out?"
"You know what I said. We agreed to play along at first. We've given you help in return for yours for five years, but we're not going to entertain your delusions any longer. Get your belongings and go."
Josephine chuckled, starting forward; she stopped when three of them raised their guns. "Very well, I'm leaving..." She stopped to look at the suit, the clear transmitter hanging out of the collar. "I only needed you to finish Vision's wire work - everything else is only possible because of me. You owe me." The group ignored her as they moved into the lab, throwing down their bags. "Very well. I see how it is." Josephine started out the door, aggressively pulling on her leather trench.
"Let's get down to business. Now that we have sole control over the suit and hybrid, we can -" Douglas seized the suit laying on the back of a chair, only to stop; the transmitter was gone. "Where is it?"
The hallway door slammed. Josephine stood on the other side, holding up both the transmitter and the key, a mischievous smile plastered across her face. He dropped the suit and ran to the door, rattling the handle in frustration.
"How did you even - open the damn door! What are you even going to do with it? The hybrid failed against the Avengers! It can't kill a robot or a witch!" For a moment his face turned into a sneer. "And your little experiment. It'll drive you crazy if it doesn't kill you."
"Some learn, some don't." Josephine said, and Douglas frowned, confused.
Click. The last of Siren turned around, faces transfixed with horror, as the handle of the chamber began to turn. Josephine's smile vanished as she looped the transmitter around her ear.
The screaming started.
"Let us out!" Countless fists banged on the door, their blood-curdling shrieks clashing with the roar of the creature. A few gunshots sounded, but the sound that followed was bullets ricocheting off the animal's hide, a few of the screams contorting from terror into agony. "Josephine! Josephine! Please!"
She turned away from the door, covering her ears, as blood sprayed the tiny glass window.
