A/N: I don't really have anything to say today other than hope you all had a great week! I'm sorry if you guys think the chapters are moving too slow and not too much information is being revealed. I want to keep this fic going as long as possible:) I also changed the audience rating to teen just to be safe!
TW for this chapter: Kidnapping and Hostage of a Child
Wanda woke up frightened. Which wasn't surprising, considering she was bound to a cement wall, with restraints that reminded her very much of Hydra. Her head pounded and she felt too mentally exhausted to actually register where she was, but had many reasons to know it was bad;
Like mentioned before, she was restrained, To a cement wall in an unfamiliar environment. Her head hurt, and she felt tired. But most importantly, Natasha wasn't there, and she didn't know where she was.
The more time that passed, the worse it got. She felt more pain, and she remembered what happened. Liho had run away, and some guy helped her look. Some guy who jabbed a needle in her neck to make her fall asleep.
Wanda squirmed, resisting the restraints, and she felt a familiar bulge in her coat pocket underneath the metal.
The angel Nat had made her. The one that was supposed to protect her from nightmares. This sure felt like a nightmare.
A sob escaped her lips, and out of habit, she forced it away. If she had learned one thing from Hydra, it was to make no unnecessary noise. Yelling, screaming, and crying, especially when they had first arrived, only got them into trouble. Back then, it was easy to catch on to. She and Pietro had no one to yell, scream, and cry for.
Now, Wanda found herself completely ditching that lesson she learned all those years ago. She screamed for her mother, her father. Cried for her family, her home. It went on for a long time until her throat ached. It felt raw, and a familiar taste of blood crept up to her taste buds. But she didn't stop.
She had no idea where she was. She could be back at Hydra, for all she knew. But it didn't take long for someone to come and silence her.
The metal door opened, and despite how scared she was, she found her eyes and the top of her head shine red.
A man walked in, but he kept his distance.
"You even think about using that witchcraft on me, and you'll be gone before you know it." He spat in Russian.
Wanda didn't drop her guard.
"Where am I?" She screamed back, this time in English. It came out pathetic and weak. Scared.
The man came closer, and she studied his facial features. He looked very familiar, and it didn't take her long to realize it was the same man who helped her look for Liho.
The closer he came, the more she squirmed in the restraints. He didn't have any visible weapons, but that didn't mean he didn't come across as intimidating. He never answered her question, instead, asking her one.
"Ever heard of the Красная комната, my friend?"
Красная комната. Red Room.
Wanda's eyes widened. It all came flooding back. The visions she saw in Nat's head when they were in Sokovia, of Nat's time in the Red Room. Ballet, a shooting range, and being experimented on. Along with that, her mother had mentioned it once when she had first come to stay at the compound, it being a place she had compared to the Hydra Labs. Is that where she was? She had overheard Uncle Clint say it was destroyed.
"I take it, yes?" Dmitry, the man, said, noticing her facial expression.
She ignored him, refusing to answer.
"Did your mama ever tell you about her life there?" He mocked her, a disturbing smile plastered to his face.
Mama. The word triggered another spree of yelling, screaming, and crying from the small girl. Was her mama even okay? She genuinely had no idea where she, or her daddy, was.
Dmitry just stood and watched. She had stopped eventually, giving up out of exhaustion.
"Your mama isn't here, ведьма," He said, taking the words right out of her head. "But don't you worry. She will be, soon. It won't take her and the rest of the Avengers to find out where we are, and Natalia Romanova will come looking. Exactly where we want." He smiled sinisterly.
It took a moment for the small girl to register what he had said.
No.
She had wanted Natasha and Steve to come looking for her, of course she did. But now they couldn't. It was too dangerous, and for some reason, what this man wanted.
She filed through the thoughts in her head, looking for Natasha. If she could reach her, warn her not to come, maybe Natasha and Steve would be safe.
But Dmitry seemed to know what she was doing. In one smooth, quick motion, he pulled a gun out of a hidden holster and shot above his head. He knew not to hurt the witch, as she was very capable of hurting him back, but the loud noise was enough to snap her out of her thoughts.
"Next time you try that, the gun will be pointed somewhere else." Dmitry threatened. He knew it wasn't true, but Wanda didn't need to know that.
Wanda swallowed. All she wanted was to see her mum and dad, make sure they were okay, and go home. She was starting to think that wouldn't happen though. How long had it even been?
…
37 hours. It had been 37 hours.
Nat sat at the table in the conference room. Despite the constant research, the only information they had was Red Room, and Dmitry Vasilyevich Kuznetsov. The same information they had from almost two days ago. At the time, it seemed like a good lead, but not when Wanda and this man could be anywhere.
It had to be at least four in the morning, and she and Steve had been going at it nonstop. Research, talking to SHIELD agents, and obviously, they have had help from the rest of the team. 37 hours of not eating or sleeping for any of them, really.
Clint and Sam were continuing their search outside, and Tony and Bruce were in the lab doing some type of analysis on artifacts found in the house.
They had collectively decided not to tell the police. Not only did the government not know about Wanda's powers, which was technically illegal, but they would not be any sort of help compared to the Avengers and SHIELD.
A knock at the door broke her concentration.
Clint appeared, staring at the bags under her and Steve's eyes. A few hours earlier, he had sent Laura and the kids home. They didn't need to be here for this.
A sympathetic look appeared on his face.
"Why don't you two get some rest for a bit? I'll send Sam back out with Rhodey, and take over in here." He motioned for her to stand up, but she shook her head.
"No, I can't rest now. I-"
"Nat," Clint interrupted. "Look at you. You're exhausted, which isn't going to help the search at all."
Steve placed a hand on the small of her back.
"As much as I don't want to admit it, I think he's right, Nat."
Nat nodded, accepting defeat.
An hour or so later, after a long, contemplating shower, she found herself tossing and turning in bed, the only comfort being that she was next to Steve. He held her close, rubbing his hand up and down her back. She twisted the ring on her finger half-hazardly. It had quickly become a way to tell she was worrying; a habit Steve had picked up on quickly. He silently took her hands in his, to stop her from rubbing her finger raw.
Nat found the physical affection was both claustrophobic and comforting at the same time.
After a while, the claustrophobia outweighed the comfort, and she found herself needing some air.
Steve stopped her as she stood up, taking a deep breath.
"Everything okay?" He whispered, his voice cracking. Nat could tell he had silently been crying.
"I just…I need some time to think." She said, biting her bottom lip to prevent her from losing it.
He placed a kiss on the inside of her palm, letting her go.
Nat found herself reflecting in Wanda's bedroom. She instantly regretted this. Reflecting by herself used to be something she often sought comfort in, but right now, it was awful. Too loud.
Her eyes fell on where the angel hung above her bed, but it wasn't there anymore.
Steve silently joined her, knowing she probably shouldn't be alone. Neither of them should.
She didn't say anything to acknowledge his presence. She just leaned against him.
"She has it with her. She has the angel," She choked out. "The one I told her would protect her."
Steve didn't know how to answer, so he just embraced her in a hug.
"What if we never find her?" She whispered, finally letting tears fall for the first time in a day and a half of pure exhaustion.
Steve pressed a kiss to her forehead. He was worried. Nat didn't lose hope very often. She was very often a determined and driven individual.
"We will, Nat," He reassured. "We'll continue looking until we find her. We won't stop."
Nat just nodded into his chest, letting the tears fall freely. She had never felt this vulnerable and useless in her life. Something had to change.