Riley knew she was shaking, but she couldn't do anything to stop it. She could feel the floor beneath her vibrating, the walls jittering, but her body wasn't cooperating. She felt like she hardly breathe and she knew this wasn't real. She knew what she was seeing right now was absolutely all in her mind - but that did nothing to change what was happening.
"Honey, what have you done?"
Looking up into her mother's eyes, Riley felt her heart breaking. The woman stood there, exactly as Riley chose to remember her, healthy and glowing.
"I didn't mean to," she shook her head. "This isn't me mom, this isn't me! How do I fix it? How do I get rid of it?"
Riley held up her hands, shaking, begging.
"I wanted you to have a future, to go to college, to make something of yourself," the woman spoke softly, lovingly. "What have you done?"
Riley choked on her breathing, looking around as the room slowly faded away, shifting into a sunny field of flowers. The same field her mother used to walk through every afternoon, Riley's little hand tucked into her own, smiles on their faces. It was peaceful, it was happy.
In the distance, Riley could see herself running through the flowers and giggling wildly as her mother ran ahead. She could feel the warmth of the sun, the soft breeze of the gentle wind, and her mother running ahead with a bright smile on her face. Just the two of them, just like it had always been.
"I always knew you were smart Riley, so smart," her mother continued, watching on as well. "But you can't see,"
Riley's bottom lip trembled at just the sound of her mother's voice and she could feel her eyes welling with tears. It was hard to focus on her words when she was so fixated on the memory playing out before her, but eventually she made sense of them.
"See what? Mom?" she asked.
Her mother looked back at her, the same peaceful grin still on her lips despite her sad words.
"Death," her mother replied. "It's coming,"
Riley watched as the little girl she watched began to look around in panic, searching for the woman she had been chasing. She could feel her heart breaking all over again, aching in her chest, as she remembered that exact feeling. The girl began to run around in fear now, yelling and screaming for her mother.
"Mom," Riley sobbed.
"There is so much death coming, my sweet girl," the woman gently explained. "We're going to meet again soon,"
Riley's eyes moved from the slowly fading memory to the woman in front of her.
"My...my death?"
"Everyone's death," her mother nodded, reaching out to run her hand along Riley's cheek. "It won't be long,"
"N-no," Riley shook her head, leaning into her mother's touch. "We're going to stop it,"
"You can't stop it,"
"I'm trying...trying to fix it," Riley pleaded. "I can help,"
"They're using you," another voice came in.
Riley's gaze turned to the man beside her mother. Strucker. In the same military uniform she last remembered seeing him in, with that same look in his eyes.
"You are their bait," he continued. "You don't have their trust,"
"I'm...no...I'm trying to help," Riley argued, still choking through tears. "Mom, please!"
"There's nothing you can do, my sweet," her mother sang lovingly.
And then she was gone, along with the peaceful memory that played out before her. Instead she was left with the nightmare she had been running from. The nightmare she had lived through for so long.
Strucker's lab. Watching on as he held her down on a table, white coats rushing around to restrain her with metal bounds around her ankles, wrists and head. Then the needles came. The endless serums being injected into her veins, burning through her body, and Strucker's voice screaming again, again, again.
"Stop!" she screamed.
But this time no one could hear her. No one was talking. This was playing out just for Riley to watch on helplessly, reliving every single memory of Strucker's lab that she wished never existed. Over and over again, all while thinking of her mother's angelic voice. Death is coming.
The room was still shaking when Riley's mind finally let her go. She could feel the sheen of sweat that had covered her body as it continued to tremble, and by the sound of the entire ship she was still on, she was still pulsing energy uncontrollably. Reaching her arm out, Riley focused on the door ahead of her before letting out a pained groan and watching as it burst open. Fresh air swept into the room, and Riley finally felt some relief.
In the distance she could hear heavy boots running along the metal bridge, approaching her faster than she could comprehend. Doing her best to roll onto her back, Riley grit her teeth and lifted herself against the wall, sliding up into a standing position. She was in no condition to put up a fight right now, but if that's what it came down to, she was going to give it her all.
But she wasn't expecting the person running into the room to be Clint Barton.
"Whoa, whoa," Clint gasped, holding his arms up in surrender as he met Riley's glowing wild, orange eyes. "Not gonna hurt you, alright? You know me, same team here, okay?"
Same team.
You don't have their trust.
Riley let her body settle, slumping against the wall and clutching at her shoulder once again.
"Having fun?" she asked.
Clint smirked slightly at the regular sass in Riley's voice, even though he could very clearly see she was injured and traumatised. Just like his three team mates he had already helped back to the jet. Whatever Wanda had put in their heads had gone a very thorough job.
"Always," Clint responded with a small grin, stepping closer. "Would rather get out of here though, huh? Let's go."
"I'm good," Riley shook her head, pushing herself off the wall.
But a moment later it became obvious how wrong that statement was. Clint caught her before she slammed back down onto the hard floor, throwing her good arm over his own shoulders to support her weight. Riley grunted in annoyance, accepting the archer's help as they made their way out of the small room.
There were bodies everywhere around the ship as they walked down corridors and doorways, mindful of their step over scattered weapons and robot remnants.
"Didn't get in on any of the fun, did you?" Riley asked.
"Mind games aren't my thing," Clint sighed, lifting Riley over a few holes in the bridge. "Looks like a hell of a trip though,"
Riley could feel pain searing through her shoulder at every move her body made, every step she took, every gasp she made. The bullet was still lodged in there, but Riley refused to think about it until she was far from this ship.
As they stepped out onto the dried mud leaning toward the jet, they could see chaos and smoke raging from the city.
"The girl got Banner," Clint explained, noticing Riley's slight panic. "Stark took care of it, they should be back soon,"
"On his own?" she asked.
"The rest of of the team weren't exactly in the right state of mind," he frowned. "She got 'em all,"
Riley could feel her body shaking once again, feeling the ground tremble beneath her steps. Clint could feel it radiating into his own body, watching as Riley focused on controlling her breathing. Her eyes were still glowing, but Clint chose to stay silent, knowing that she was very obviously on edge right now.
Wanda had made a mess of her mind. She had taken her most valued memory and combined it with her worst, forcing herself to watch over and over again. Riley had never felt so angry in her life.
When they made it back to the jet, the rest of the team were already inside, barely raising their head to look over at the two approaching. They looked just as messed up as Riley felt, and she wondered what Wanda had put their minds through. Natasha sat quietly, her eyes fixed on the floor in front, her whole body twitching as memories continued to flash by.
Thor was by the window, his arms leaning against the wall as his head hung long between them, lost in thought. Steve mirrored his expression, sitting in the middle of the jet with his head in his hands.
It didn't take long before Tony and Bruce arrived as well, the scientist clinging to Iron Man as they landed just outside the jet. He looked ruined, mentally and physically. Bruce was barely awake, staggering up the ramp with Tony's help once the suit had dissembled.
"You're okay," Tony told him, helping him over to the bench Bruce called his own. "Just rest up, okay?"
None of them said a word as the back of the jet closed up, leaving them all to figure out what was next. There was no plan for this. They hadn't prepared for this. They had all the supplies in the world for any physical damage any of them took, but they had nothing to fix mental damage. Wanda had clawed out things in their minds they never wanted to face, and now it was all they could think about.
Riley sat herself down at the back of the jet as usual, biting down on her lip as she began to drag off her jacket. Underneath, there was a very clear hole in her black t-shirt, giving Riley an indication of where she had to go. The bullet needed to come out.
Clint had taken control of piloting the jet, carefully lifting them into the air and flying away from the city. The whole world had the Avengers in their sights now, having just witnessed the Hulk terrorising an innocent city. No one would be paying attention to whatever Ultron was going to do next.
Tony stood back to gather his thoughts, one hand running over his beard and resting on his chin as he shook his head in disbelief. Riley had been right when she told them they wouldn't be prepared for the Maximoffs. Especially Wanda.
Feeling the jet begin to tremble and their supplies starting to rattle, Tony looked over at Riley who was currently wincing in pain with blood spilling down her fingers. Frowning at the gory sight, Tony grabbed a box of medical supplies and wandered over. He could hear how frantic her breathing was, and although he knew she was in pain, he needed her to calm down instead of tearing their jet to pieces.
"Hey, whoa, probably not the best way to do that," Tony advised, kneeling down.
"Fucking hell," Riley groaned, pulling her fingers away from the wound on her shoulder. "I need scissors,"
"Uh, I really don't think scissors-"
Riley cut him off with a cry of pain, her eyes illuminating as she once again sent a ripple of energy throughout the aircraft. She didn't mean to, and she could feel what she was doing, but nothing was going to stop it until she got this bullet out.
"Alright, I can...I can-"
"Don't touch me," Riley growled, applying pressure to her shoulder once again.
Tony looked over his shoulder at Bruce who was already dead to the world, his body barely getting him back to the jet awake. Being the doctor with surprisingly steady hands, Bruce was normally the one patching up his teammates whenever they needed it. But right now, he was off duty.
Natasha was the next option, having stitched herself up plenty of times before, but from the look on her face it seemed Wanda's spell was still working through her mind.
"You're not getting that out with one hand," Tony warned. "You're making it worse,"
"Tony," Clint called out from the pilot's seat. "Incoming from Hill,"
Turning, Tony looked between Clint and Riley, knowing that if he didn't somehow help her get the bullet out they were all going to suffer through a very rocky ride to wherever they were heading. But before he had a chance to debate with himself, he felt someone approaching from behind.
"I can do it," Steve offered, his voice slightly trembling as he tried to shake off his earlier visions.
Both Riley and Tony looked up at the man nervously, wondering if that would be a good idea. Anytime Steve and Riley were left with one another longer than a few seconds, an argument would always break out.
"Go take the call, it's important," Steve continued.
Tony stood up, pointing to the medical supply kit at Riley's side before he hurried away. That left only Riley to stare up at the man with a small glare, ready to refuse any help he was about to offer. Steve knelt down then, making himself comfortable at her side as he reached forward to inspect the wound. Riley pulled away slightly, unable to stop herself.
"I'm trying to help," Steve insisted, frowning.
"I don't want your help," she bit back, only half committed to putting up an actual fight.
"And I don't want you losing control right now," he warned, staring back into her orange eyes. "So I'm getting this out,"
Riley watched him carefully as he began to peel back the material of her shirt, finding the bullet wound. He reached over to pull the supply box close, searching through it until he found a pair of small metal retractors. Sitting them on Riley's lap, he pulled off his leather gloves and replaced them with plastic ones, reaching out to hold the incision open.
Letting out a hiss of pain, Riley squeezed her eyes closed as Steve pressed an antiseptic pad against her skin to clear away the blood and sterilise the wound. The jet shook once again, but Riley began to breathe evenly and loudly, trying to keep herself calm.
"Hurry up," she pleaded softly.
Steve set out with the retractors, inserting them into the wound and feeling around the for the metal clink of the bullet inside. Riley bit down on her lip and groaned in pain, feeling the grab of the bullet and the pull of it through her flesh.
The moment the bullet was out, Riley could feel a wad of cotton pads being pressed firmly against her shoulder to stop the bleeding. She must had already lost a pint or two since being initially shot, a little more wasn't worrying her.
"Almost done," Steve whispered, his eyes focused on tender skin as he pulled out a needle and medical thread.
Riley kept her eyes closed as Steve stitched her shoulder, trying to even out her breathing as she felt the rattle of the jet. Once that was done, Steve pulled off the plastic blood-covered gloves and set about bandaging around Riley's shoulder, keeping it tight and firm to stop any further bleeding.
"Okay," he sighed, leaning back.
"Shit," Riley groaned, looking down at her shoulder. "I bet you enjoyed that,"
"I don't enjoy seeing anyone in pain," he argued. "And you're welcome, by the way."
Riley glared up at him, but before she could say anything else, Strucker's figure appeared behind him. Her eyes widened as a gasp escaped her lips, the figure disappearing, but leaving Riley's heart racing.
The jet continued to rock, causing everyone on board to look over at her in concern. It didn't matter that the bullet was out anymore, because it seemed her body was still recovering from Wanda's wrath instead.
"Jesus," she sighed, squeezing her eyes closed again. "I can't...I can't stop,"
Steve's brows pulled together in concern, his hand reaching out to grab at Riley's other shoulder.
"Hey, focus," he instructed softly. "You're okay,"
"I know," she muttered.
"Just breathe, alright? You're safe here."
Riley bit out a small laugh, shaking her head as she opened her eyes to Steve's confused expression.
"None of us are safe," she insisted. "Doesn't matter where we are or where we go."
Steve stared back at her sadly, knowing she was ultimately right.
"But this is real, okay? None of what she put in your head is real," he assured.
"Fuck!" she groaned, squeezing her hands into fists as every item around her went flying into the walls, shattering.
The whole team watched on, their eyes full of panic.
"You need to...you have to sedate me," Riley told him, her body trembling. "Those tranquilliser darts, please tell me you have some of those,"
"We're not using those-"
"I'm going to bring this thing down!" Riley cut him off, shaking her head. "I c-can't stop it, okay? Not now. Just fucking do it, or we won't get anywhere."
Turning her head to Natasha, Thor and Tony, Riley pleaded again.
"Do it,"
When the jet finally landed hours later, the team seemed to finally be waking up. Natasha was still beyond shaken up, but she was more alert now, more herself. Bruce had woken up an hour ago, immediately putting on his headphones and keeping to himself for the rest of their journey.
Riley was in her usual corner, knocked out cold, with a wad of blankets beneath her head as a make-shift pillow. In the end, a tranquilliser injection had been their only option. Riley told them she couldn't control herself, not after what Wanda had done, and they knew she was being honest. If they were going to get to any sort of safety, they needed the jet to actually fly without Riley tearing it apart without even trying.
"How long does that thing last?" Clint asked, looking over at her as he spun around in the pilot's seat.
Tony shrugged, shaking his head.
"Last time it lasted a few hours, so..."
"So she'll wake up soon," the archer nodded. "Guess someone better bring her up. I doubt she'll be her normal cheery self if she wakes up in here in the middle of the woods on her own,"
"Where exactly is this?" Tony asked, looking out the windows.
Clint smirked and walked ahead of him, moving over to Natasha's side to help her up. Steve followed behind them, watching closely as Bruce stood and dawdled along beside them. He knew that being the Hulk took a toll on the scientist, but this time it seemed to do more than usual. Guilt was clouding over the man.
Thor walked down toward the jet's exit, stopping to lean down and lift Riley into his arms.
"She may still be a risk," Thor turned, looking to Tony.
"That's why you're carrying her, big guy," Tony grinned.
Thor frowned as the man walked by, leaving Thor to walk out and follow behind them all. He looked around at the empty paddocks that surrounded them, bushland everywhere, and a quaint farmhouse just up ahead.
"What is this place?" he asked, looking around.
"A safe house?" Tony shrugged. "According to Barton,"
"Let's hope so," Clint added.
They all began their walk up toward the house, wondering what they were about to head into. Clint and Natasha seemed to know what was going on, but the others looked lost and confused. It seemed like they were barging in on a random family in the middle of nowhere on their farm, and it wasn't too far from the truth.
Just as they made it up the small hill, standing outside the house, Riley began to groan and twist around in Thor's arms.
"What...what the f-"
"Hey, bad words are off limits in here, got it?" Clint turned, looking directly at the girl.
Riley shifted up, looking around to see they were outside of a house. Then her head turned again, leaving her face inches from Thor's. The God was staring back at her with caution, trying to predict her next move, and wondering if she was about to attack in anger.
"Jesus, how long have I been out?" she asked, kicking her legs as indication to put her down.
Thor slid her down out of his arms gently, a hand on her back as she stumbled for a moment.
"Few hours," Steve provided.
"Where are we?" she wondered, her hand immediately going up to her injured shoulder.
"That's what we're finding out," Tony mumbled, stepping into the house behind Barton and Romanoff.
The others trailed in behind him, but Riley stayed where she was, just outside the door.
"Honey, I'm home," Clint called out.
They all looked to the archer in confusion, unable to process his words as a heavily pregnant woman entered the room.
"Hi," Clint greeted. "Company. Sorry I didn't call ahead."
They all watched on as the two shared a kiss, Clint's hand going down to cradle the woman's bump. This was unexpected, to say at the least. Everyone except Natasha looked surprised, but none more so than Tony.
"This is an agent of some kind," he muttered.
"This is Laura," Clint introduced.
Riley observed the whole interaction from the door, not wanting to involve herself. She didn't know these people well enough to be apart of this, and when Clint's children began to run into the room as well, Riley stepped back. Turning toward the steps of the porch, she leaned down to sit against them, rubbing her head.
Whatever was in those tranquillisers really did their job, but they were less than pleasant to shake off.
As she looked up at the meadows around her, Riley felt herself being pulled back to her earlier visions from Wanda's spell.
Death. It's coming.
And it seemed Riley wasn't the only one with Wanda's visions still on their mind.
"Thor," Steve called.
The front door swung open as the God walked out, stepping by Riley and onto the clearing outside the house. She looked between him and Steve, wondering what had happened in all of five minutes that caused them to barge out like this.
"I saw something in that dream," Thor began. "I need answers. I won't find them here."
Riley watched on as the man spun his hammer, launching off into the sky. Riley wondered what Wanda had forced Thor to see, but given the God's response, she was glad she only had her own nightmares to worry about.
She heard Steve sigh heavily behind her, taking a few steps closer and sitting himself down by Riley's side. He looked tired. Almost weak.
"So," she huffed. "What's the plan now?"
Thanks for reading! And thanks to the lovelies who leave reviews, I really do appreciate every word! Let me know what you guys think xx
