Chapter 21
Halfway to wherever they're going Steve falls asleep. It's not a conscious choice; his brain simply shuts down, too overwhelmed by the late hour and the shock to stay awake. Wanda feels when it happens. Feels the tension flow out of his body, his mind quieting into a restless sleep, full of dreams she only half catches: images of a woman in a red dress; of a boy, then a man with dark hair and a serious face; of ice that stretches on forever. She pulls away from him as much as she can, shivering from the cold of those dreams, to find Pietro watching her.
"Are you alright?" he asks.
She nods. How else is she supposed to answer? They have made their choice. Picked their side long ago. It doesn't much matter if they are working for Hydra or for Ultron. The goal is the same: take down the Avengers.
And Tony Stark.
Without thinking she brushes Steve's hair from his forehead when he moans, tiny face scrunching up, rosebud lips turning downward. "Shh," she says softly. "It will be alright."
The lie bites at her. For the first time she wonders why Ultron grabbed the child. He is an adult. 'Was' an adult. He isn't now. He's useless. A stick thin, sickly looking thing. What he is to Stark eludes her. The child doesn't think much of the man whose bombs ruined Wanda's life. When he does the thoughts are fragmented, chaotic. Like even the child doesn't know what to think of the man. Hatred builds in Wanda's chest and it takes a real effort not to tighten her grip on Steve. Pietro says nothing, eyes glued to the back of Ultron's head. She doesn't need to be able to read her brother's mind to know he's conflicted about their new employer. She can't let his doubts affect her.
Instead she fills her mind with images of her apartment after Stark's bombs hit it. Of the wreckage of her village and all the other areas impacted by Stark's bombs and these Avengers recklessness. Captain America. It comes to her then. That is who the child in her arms is. He hadn't been there the day the Avengers had come to take the Staff and destroy Hydra. But she knew of him. How could she not when Strucker and Dr. List had hated the man so much? Steve stirs, opening blue eyes full of childlike confusion. Its all she can read off him. That, and fear. Fear pours into his eyes as they latch on her face, taking her in. He screams and tries to scramble back, but Wanda's grip is firm and he flays, tipped back and off balance until Pietro grabs his shoulders from behind and places him more firmly in Wanda's lap.
"Let me go!" Steve shrieks. The volume makes them all wince.
Ultron turns in his chair. "What's going on?"
"Nothing," Pietro pushes down on Steve's shoulders. "Calm down," he demands.
Another wave of fear pours out of the boy and into Wanda making her grip loosen. Steve flings himself sideways and Pietro loses his grip. Steve hits the floor. There's a crack and Steve's face goes paperwhite, fear replaced by PAIN.
Wanda remains paralyzed in her seat. She's never read anyone with that amount of intensity. Steve shudders, caught between panic and pain. His eyes look up to Pietro, who hovers between his sister and Steve, unsure of who to go to.
The plane lands with a tiny thump and Steve screams again and curls forward over his arm, his entire body shaking.
"What happened?" Ultron is suddenly looming over them and Wanda snaps out of it and lunges for Steve, hauling him back into her lap. His screams devolve into broken sobs, the kind only small children seem capable of producing. Sobs that rack their entire bodies, pushed up from deep in their soul. She sees the problem the second he's in her lap: his right radius is poking against skin already turning red and purple.
"Blast," Ultron flutters like a hummingbird. "That looks bad."
"It is bad," Pietro snaps. "It is broken."
Wanda shoves Pietro's shoulder. "See if there is something to bind it."
He grumbles but complies, poking around the jet as Ultron hovers, watching Steve with inhuman concern.
"It's amazing how fragile you humans are," muses Ultron. "Such tiny things; you just…snap."
"Metal breaks too," Wanda says. "Everything has weakness." She doesn't look at Ultron, instead focusing on whisking away the tears and cradling Steve's head as he clutches his arm.
Pietro returns before Ultron can reply. He's found an arrow and a roll of tape. It's crude, but it works. Steve screams and screams as Pietro twists his arm to straighten the bone. Ultron backs away with a shudder while Wanda hurriedly lines the arrow along Steve's arm and wraps it tight.
Only after it's done does she think she could have used her power to make Steve see something other than the present. But now there is nothing to be done. The boy passes out at the end of a scream, his head lolling back. Wanda smooths his hair and makes him as comfortable as possible while they go off to fetch what they've come for from a man who sells weapons.
A pirate by the name of Ulysses Klaue.