Vision had long forgotten his journey to figure out why anyone might call Wanda 'weird'. It seemed so small and inconsequential given that he was trying to figure out just what had happened to her the other night. He couldn't get it out of his head. It haunted him in a way that nothing else had ever done.
He walked through the compound deep in thought, not quite noticing the fact that he was mumbling slightly, nor the fact that he had walked past Nat, who was sitting in the kitchen and heard him.
"What was that?" Nat asked, not looking up from the video of Nathaniel she was watching on her phone.
Vision stopped, startled by the intrusion into his musing. "N-nothing," he stuttered.
Now it was Nat's turn to look shocked. She wasn't sure she'd ever heard the android stumble over words. She put down her phone. "Vision, sit," she demanded in a way he felt compelled to obey. He sat in a chair across from her, waiting for her to continue. "What on earth is going on with you? Not that anyone knows what 'normal' is when it comes to androids, but you're not yourself. What's wrong with you?"
"Nothing." he tried to be casual when he said it.
"Lying again, are we? Time for you to spill, or we're going to have a conversation with Stark about secret keeping and you won't have a choice."
Before he could fully process the implication of what she was saying, he asked, "What would make a human lose the ability to speak temporarily?"
He received a very puzzled look in return.
"Like, selective mutism?" she asked.
He wasn't familiar with the term. He searched the internet. "I think so. It seems to fit."
"Which human? I know that no one here in the compound has that problem." Nat thought that she knew where this was going. She noticed more than anyone gave her credit for.
Vision paused, wondering if he should tell her.
"Ok, give it up. I know who you're talking about and I'm tired of playing games with you."
"But Wanda doesn't…"
"Ha! I knew it! You've been in touch with Maximoff!"
"What? You tricked me!"
"Easy enough to do!"
He silently conceded. She was right.
"Come on Vision, let's go for a walk."
Away from the compound, he felt more comfortable with the fact that she knew his secret, even though that feeling wasn't quite logical. He thought for a second about how much being with humans in general, and Wanda specifically, had affected him.
Before he could get too far into that thought, though, she interrupted, "Listen, I'm not going to ask you where she is. I know you probably wouldn't tell me anyways. I want you to know that you can tell me things, though. Truth be told, I've been in touch with Steve. I know that they're ok, although he doesn't tell me where they are either. I have seen him once since their capture, just to know for myself that they were alright."
Vision thought about how he might respond. He chose his words very carefully; completely aware that this could go terribly wrong, "I do not think that Wanda is ok. I also do not think that Captain Rogers is aware."
Nat took note that he had dropped the formalities when it came to mentioning Wanda's name, but filed it away for later. "What happened? Is she hurt?"
"Not exactly. Physically, she seems to be alright. Something else is going on. Something I alluded to earlier. I do not know what it is. Some sort of disturbance that is causing her great pain, and the loss of the ability to speak."
Nat looked at him thoughtfully, testing as she replied, "Are you sure she's just not being moody? Or that you're not overly worried because of your own emotional entanglement?" She tried to keep her face neutral as she said this.
Multiple expressions crossed his face within seconds as he processed her words. "I am certain," he paused, deciding, "I am in her head. I lived it. It was the most terrifying feeling I've ever experienced. I cannot imagine what it must've been like for her." He hung his head as he recalled what he had felt.
"I think we need to call Steve. Leave that to me."
No going back now.