When they arrived back at the vacation house, Wanda continued feeling like she might be part of one of the TV shows she liked so much as Vision helped her out of the car and led her to the door. "I feel spoiled," she announced, clearly still happy and content. She tugged Nat's light scarf off, still disliking things being on her neck, but there was nothing else to do to conceal the burn marks, and at least it had not ruined the evening by any means.

Vision did not think he was spoiling Wanda at all, but he didn't want to take away from her good mood either. "You are a very pleasant date companion. I am glad you enjoyed yourself also, as I have never had a date, either."

Much to Wanda's surprise, she abruptly felt a sense of relief mixed with sadness from Vision, and she immediately put her hand to her neck. "I can hide it again, I just don't really like things being...on it anymore."

"No, you do not need to hide that," Vision answered, gently folding Wanda into his arms again and just holding her. She had said so many times that hugs were okay, so he would take every opportunity to give her more hugs. "It looks much better. Does it still hurt?"

"A little bit sometimes, but mostly it just itches." This was the truth, and Wanda did not think that was minimizing it at this point. She felt Vision's hand on her back, and she wondered if he could feel that there were scars there too through her thin dress. I don't want to explain those.I feel like I should, but I don't want to. Wanda decided she was not going to mention it, but she did not think he would mind.

Vision thought he had done far too much research attempting to find anything that could potentially heal the human girl's damaged skin more quickly, because all he had taken away from said research was that burns to the neck were particularly dangerous. "You can move it normally?" he asked hesitantly.

This made Wanda give him a strange look. "...yes? Nat made me do that all along even when it hurt so bad it made me cry. Vis, I'm okay. It still looks bad, but please believe me. Don't fuss. I hate that." She quickly nodded and shook her head to demonstrate that she was fine.

Vision remembered Natasha saying not to fuss over Wanda because she would hate it. He had not thought he was fussing over her, but clearly Wanda did. Selfishly, he realized he really, really would like to run his fingers through Wanda's wavy red hair, but he refused to ask. If she never wanted her hair stroked again, that was just how it would be; he was not going to ask her and make her feel guilty for saying no...or worse, risk her saying yes but then feeling uncomfortable all over again. "Is kissing you here acceptable today?" Vision touched Wanda's cheek lightly.

Wanda's green eyes sparkled mischievously. "You can assume that is always safe unless I say otherwise," she said immediately. She could tell Vision was being extra careful with her still-healing arm, and that made her happy too. Warm strands of scarlet settled peacefully in Wanda's chest, and she sighed. I am safe here. I will have to leave with Nat soon, but it's safe. Is this what Pepper's movies are supposed to be like? I think it is. Wanda did not particularly think of herself as a romantic, acknowledging that she was rather pessimistic all the time in hopes she wouldn't end up disappointed; but she also knew if someone asked what she really wanted in life, what she really wanted was simply a safe home and a family to love and be loved in return. Maybe children eventually...two, just like Pietro and herself, and she wanted to give them the stable life she and her own brother couldn't have after losing their parents.

"You are thinking something that makes you happy," Vision whispered in her ear, and then pressed a gentle kiss to Wanda's cheek, right where he remembered there was a scrape and dark bruise previously, though that was gone now. Then he grew alarmed when she grabbed a fistful of his shirt in her fist and buried her face in his shoulder. "Wanda, I- I am sorry, are you all right?"

"I'm fine." Wanda's voice was muffled since she didn't move. "It just was...a lot. A good kind of lot." I just felt an awful lot all of a sudden and it's silly and I am safe here and I have Vis holding me and I am happy. "Are you coming inside?"

"Only if you wish me to do so."

"Please. I don't want you to go unless you have to."

Once upstairs in the bedroom Wanda still shared with Nat, Wanda retrieved the plain t-shirt and sweatpants from under her pillow. Natasha was sitting on the floor attempting to teach Lila how to play chess upon the little girl's request. Nat smiled at Wanda, glad that she seemed content for now. It was obvious Wanda was tired- she had retrieved her crutch from where she'd left it against the wall again, which she usually didn't need at all except on extended walks now- but she was smiling and her eyes looked genuinely peaceful for once. "Vis will tell you exactly what we did, Nat," she told Natasha happily, and disappeared into the bathroom.

Lila beamed and clapped her hands. "Auntie Nat, you were right, you said Wanda would be happy," she announced. "She is sad a lot," Lila told Vision knowingly. "I like to see Wanda make a happy face."

Vision nodded. "Yes, you are right. I am pleased a movie outing made her smile."

"Vision, I don't think whatever movie you two saw is what made her smile. She likes being with you," Natasha said firmly.

Wanda silently listened from in the bathroom as she stubbornly maneuvered the pajamas on without using her magic to help, which made her bad arm hurt, but she didn't care. She knew quite well Nat would help if she asked for it, but at this point she felt well enough that the injury was starting to annoy her rather than be distressing in any way. She did not want help.

She carefully folded her dress and left that on the floor by the sink, thinking she could wash it out later. Then she slipped back into the bedroom. "I didn't even hear Lila leave. Where did she go?" Wanda asked Nat.

"I told her I'd go play with her in her room. You and Vision can stay here as long as he can remain at the house without raising suspicion."

"The transponders for Mr. Stark and myself have been conveniently glitching when outside the Compound. The signal cannot be repaired," Vision explained. "Therefore I can stay as long as I please as long as I return from...patrolling before noon tomorrow."

Natasha laughed. Despite Vision's serious expression and matter-of-fact delivery, she knew quite well these 'glitching' signals were not a coincidence. "I see. Wanda, I'll be with Lila if you need me."

"Okay."

Vision was unsure what Wanda wanted him to do, so he stood where he was looking awkward until Wanda patted the bed next to her. "You are sure?"

"Yes...? You sit with me lots of times before. I like being close." Wanda gave him a puzzled look and immediately hugged him once he sat beside her. This is safe. This makes me feel safe. "I'm so tired, but I feel...good right now. Thank you for everything. I don't think you should stay too much longer though- I can't do my job yet. You can."

"Do you want me to leave, Wanda?" Vision asked quietly. The way she had curled up still clutching him made him think the answer must be no, but he also did not want to overstay his welcome, either.

"No, but if you are supposed to be 'patrolling', there might be another girl in trouble you could easily help. Vis, I'm safe here. I love having you visit, but staying with me isn't protecting anyone. It feels selfish." Wanda did not sound at all upset, just resigned. "Your fragile weapon of mass destruction can't go do her job yet. I want you to help people for both of us."

"...Mine? What does you calling yourself that and those other identifiers mean?" Vision looked down at Wanda curiously; she seemed not to realize any significance to dropping that phrase at all and was just tracing his nails with her good hand at the moment, which made him feel strangely tingly all over. "Is it normal for a human girl to refer to herself as belonging to the being she cares for in a romantic manner?"

"I don't know. I just mean I don't ever want anyone else that way," Wanda said quietly. "I do not care what other people do." Maybe I shouldn't have said that. Did I confide too much too quickly? I don't even know. Wanda knew quite well she could be a bit...much to deal with, and she did not want to chase Vision away from her by being clingy, either. But he only held her closer and seemed slightly concerned and confused, not put off.

Vision blinked, studying Wanda thoughtfully. "I do not wish you to be unhappy should something occur to cause me to deactivate," he said finally. "I can feel you, here," he touched her forehead lightly, "and I am glad you are healing, but I believe you are very attached to Natasha Romanoff, Clint Barton, and...myself."

"Probably too much," Wanda mumbled, but the warm red arms wrapped around her didn't tense or push her away.

"I did not say that. I am saying I do not want you to be hurt if something sinister befalls your closest friends."

I wouldn't want to exist anymore if the people I loved were all gone. That isn't me being morbid, it just...is. Instead of telling Vision that, which she knew would make him upset, Wanda just said, "That is what loving people does. You are hurt if something happens to them. I think that is just...being human. You felt sad when you saw me when you came to visit the first time because I was still hurt so badly, remember? I could feel it."

Vision nodded, remembering quite well. Seeing Wanda hurt made his synthetic heart do strange things and made him want to hold her close in hopes it would comfort her. Of course, seeing any innocent human hurt was distressing, but still; this one was different. Wanda might be capable of mass destruction, but it seemed so few people were willing to see anything other than her enhancements, which was unfair and illogical to him. She was funny and kind; she loved children; she was sensitive and loyal to a fault. Moreover, he thought he would not be much distressed should someone like Secretary Ross come to harm; and he knew if that man harmed Wanda again, he would be made incapable of doing so immediately, law or no law. At least she was much, much better now, even if she was not really 'okay' yet, either.

"Well, what you felt is how I feel about losing you. You have deemed me worth the risk."

Clint knocked despite the open door before poking his head into the room a little while later to see both girl and synthezoid silently sitting together, not watching anything on TV nor doing anything else besides hugging. "You two want anything?" he asked quietly. Though he still did not particularly like Vision hanging around, at this point he did trust that Vision would not harm Wanda intentionally at least. The fact that neither of them minded him checking on her seemed to confirm this.

"Will you stay too? I know Nat and I will have to leave soon, and then I won't get to see you anymore." Wanda stretched and uncurled herself from where she had been sitting, tugging Vision with her. "See, I told you he wouldn't hurt me."

Clint found Wanda's request a bit odd, considering most people Wanda's age would most certainly not want any mentor/parent figure around on their date, but wasn't going to say that. "Why don't I put in one of the shows you like, and all of us watch in the living room downstairs until he has to go?"

"Okay." Wanda glanced at Vision, hoping he would not mind, and was delighted when he squeezed her hand and willingly agreed.

The next morning (day twenty-six, she noted) Wanda awoke late, for her; Nat was in their bathroom washing something. "Nat, is that my dress? I was going to take care of that."

"It is. I know you were, but I saw it on the floor and figured I'd take care of it for you. You made Vision very happy last night, by the way. He stayed until you fell asleep downstairs, but then he said you wanted him to leave after that? So Clint brought you back up here and that was that."

Wanda smiled a bit. That sounds about right. "I'm surprised I didn't wake up because you all moved me," she whispered, but she had been so tired and happy last night that it did make sense. "Nat, what exactly are we going to take when we leave?"

"You take your backpack and if you feel comfortable carrying it, the duffel Sam packed for you before. If you can't fit everything, leave what doesn't fit out and I will find a place for it." Natasha knew Wanda didn't really care about material possessions much, but she didn't want to take anything else away from her yet again. Between the apartment bombing when she was little, living on the streets, Hydra, the destruction of Novi Grad, and now being ripped away from her new home back at the compound; Natasha wanted to make sure her friend didn't have to lose the little she had all over again. "Anything else we might need, we'll either buy it or it will be at Melina's once we get there. Don't worry," Nat told her.

"I'm scared I won't be able to handle the airport," Wanda admitted quietly. And mess up and get us caught. An airport is a lot more than just going to a drive-in movie like Vis and I did. "And forgetting me, I'm scared our false passports won't work. Or that someone will find the extra identities."

Natasha looked her right in the eyes. "You will not mess up at the airport. We'll stick together and you can keep your earbuds in if it will help shut the noise out from strangers' phones or anything else. As for the papers, they'll go in the lining of my suitcase. I've done it many times before." She gave Wanda a critical look and added gently, "Give yourself some credit. You know how to blend in."

Wanda sighed and began brushing her hair with her good hand. I know. I'm still worried.

Lila came bounding in unannounced a minute later dressed in her swimsuit again. "I want to go swimming," she announced, barreling into Natasha with a hug. "With you and Daddy and Wanda."

"Let Wanda get something to eat first, but I'll come out to the pool with you. How's that?" Nat offered.

"Okay."

Wanda had been eagerly joining the others in the pool every day since Nat had told her it was safe to do so with the healing burns on her neck, and today was no different. The same bathing suit and rash guard Nat had helped her pick out last year was in the backpack Vision had brought her before, and while she hadn't wanted to bother with it at first, she felt better now. "I'll come outside with you while I eat my breakfast, Lila. It will just take me a bit."

"Okay. I wait," Lila said agreeably, giving Wanda a hug too.

Like she had promised, Wanda brought her breakfast out to the pool and sat on the edge while she ate. This was so, so much easier than the first time she had come outside and she couldn't stay very long without being in awful pain or feeling too exhausted to sit up on her own for an extended period of time. "Nat, did you ever find what happened to those...those poor children in that picture from Lagos?" she asked quietly.

Natasha hesitated for a split second, because she had found out, and was half hoping Wanda had forgotten her question. "They're safe staying with their aunt and uncle, they're not on the street, Wanda," she said truthfully.

Wanda's stomach twisted, easily sensing Nat was leaving something out. I killed someone close to them. I just know it. "The tarp. I...I killed their parent, didn't I?" Suddenly the half-eaten breakfast did not look so good, and she pushed it aside and scrambled away from the pool as quickly as she could. In seconds the breakfast lay in the grass, and Wanda felt Natasha gently rubbing her back as she held her hair away from her face. What have I done?

"Wanda, you didn't give me a chance to finish," Natasha said firmly, once she was sure Wanda had finished emptying her upset stomach. "One. There was no one under that tarp. It was covering pieces of rubble to keep people away from it, and a reporter took that photo from that angle because it looked lurid, a couple of mildly injured kids crying next to what was presumably a body. Two, their single mother was seriously injured in the blast and is at a hospital. That is why those kids are with relatives." Natasha did not like Wanda's current countenance; little bits of scarlet floated around both hands, heedless that it was probably hurting her injured arm, and then all of it dissipated abruptly as the younger girl dropped to her knees. She shook her head lightly at a worried Clint, figuring two people trying to help Wanda simultaneously probably wasn't a good idea. He nodded and stayed put, immediately understanding what Nat meant.

"Is their mother going to be okay?" Wanda whispered. She dug her nails into her leg hard until Nat tugged her hand away, leaving little half-moon marks on her skin. How could I have not asked sooner? I wasn't even thinking about those poor people yesterday at all. Wanda knew Natasha would tell her not to punish herself over it, that she was allowed to shove guilt away and enjoy herself for awhile, but it still made her thoughts go back to wondering if she deserved to be here at all.

"Yes. It will just take awhile." Natasha didn't know that much about it, but from the information she'd been able to track down, that was also the truth. "Please don't beat yourself up further over this. For what it's worth, I was able to receive a message directly from those children's aunt. She called the whole incident an unfortunate accident and mentioned you specifically."

"...What?" Wanda sounded a bit croaky hearing that, and she shifted, pulling her knees to her chest cautiously. Why would she mention me? The slight twinkle in Natasha's eyes despite the serious expression made her certain whatever it was wasn't a bad thing.

"She said she blamed you and Captain America at first, but changed her mind. Those children saw you specifically after the explosion before we all got out of there. The woman didn't say specifically what the kids said, just that they knew you got the 'bad guy' away from the people on the ground and that you didn't let it explode on purpose. She's been on social media defending us." Natasha was glad this seemed to make Wanda relax somewhat. While she had been torn whether to volunteer all the information to Wanda, it seemed simply waiting for her to ask had been the right decision. Now Wanda knew and she had gotten very upset, but she also knew some ordinary stranger directly affected by the Lagos incident was defending her along with the other rogues. She'd asked for the information when she thought she was ready, after all.

"Thank you, Nat. I...don't know if I feel better or worse. Just different, I guess." Wanda pulled a fistful of grass and let the blades go one by one. "I'm glad the children are not alone. Don't want more...like...Pietro and me." I keep thinking about us even while being upset about others. Is that selfish?

Lila trotted over dripping wet. "Come swimming with us," she ordered hopefully. "Wanda, are you okay? You puked."

"I'm okay," Wanda assured her, letting Lila pull her back over to the pool. Unlike Lila, she didn't cannonball in, but she did slip into the water and just dunk herself under entirely. Underwater was calming and while the cool water stung her neck briefly at first, it was soothing afterwards. When she popped her head back up and blinked the water out of her eyes, a very hopeful Lila was offering her a pool noodle.

"Daddy said I should share," Lila said nonchalantly, "because you like swimming but aren't very good."

Wanda lifted a ball of water twice the size of Clint's head with her magic and dropped it on him, being careful not to get it on Laura or baby Nate, who were sitting next to him.

"What was that for?!" Clint protested, but he was smiling and glad to see Wanda do something silly like that after the previous incident a bit ago. She did not look quite so distressed now, and he would always take seeing her use her powers for silly mischief to be a good thing.

"Saying I can't swim."

"Said you still weren't very good at it, not that you couldn't."

"I know." Wanda did agree with him, and nodded when Nat offered to help her with her injured arm again. She knew the water would be helpful and also that they had no way to check if it was healing well or not.

"Lila, Coop, let Wanda be until we're finished. She'll play with you in a bit." Natasha was unendingly gentle unfastening the splint from around Wanda's arm, keeping her own hands near the elbow and wrist to support it. "You still okay?" Nat asked quietly.

"...I think so," Wanda answered immediately, her voice more nervous than anything. Having nothing there frightened her, as much as she didn't want anything restricting her arm, because then she was scared moving it would hurt like before. Wanda squeezed her good hand around Lila's pool toy. Calm down. Nat isn't going to hurt me. We did this a few times already and it hurt but it also felt better after.

"Wanda, you tell me the second it starts hurting any worse, please. Mild pain is fine, but it shouldn't be killing you, either." Nat was honestly more concerned than she was letting on; with no way to get Wanda's arm tended to by a professional, they were stuck using previous experience to help her. At least the visible swelling and bruising were gone by now, and Wanda could open and close her fist easily without pain (or so she claimed). Those were good signs.

"Okay."

"I mean it. I don't want us to make it worse trying to move it. You need to tell me. We don't have anything else to go by."

"Fussy," Wanda said, but she wasn't annoyed. "You never take care of yourself like this."

Natasha smiled and shook her head. "Do as I say, not as I do. Besides, there's a difference between pushing it when we have easy access to professional medical help at the Compound or a hospital and when we don't, and we aren't stuck in the field where we absolutely have to."

Wanda stayed quiet for a minute or two, letting her friend move the damaged joint a little. "That hurt," she admitted quickly. "Not...awfully. You could move it past that if-"

"No, we stick with just moving it that much then," Natasha interrupted quickly, staying within the range Wanda identified. "Thank you for being honest. This is already more movement than before. Maybe Melina will have access to an x-ray machine. I'd feel better if we could do that, just to make sure."

"I'm okay, Nat, really. I don't remember if I ever said this right...after, but..." Wanda trailed off, tasting both her own salty tears and the chlorinated pool water. Stop it. There is no reason to cry here. "Thank you for taking care of me. I don't...don't remember much from being on the quinjet right after the rescue. But you made what I do remember not so...unpleasant. I think you...helped me eat chocolate pudding. It was good. Especially after..." she trailed off. "I don't know. You didn't have to treat me like that. You could have continued keeping me sedated so I wouldn't be a problem. You could have left me, and you didn't."

"You didn't really believe we would come for the team and leave you behind, did you?"

"I didn't, but..." Wanda squeezed her eyes shut, trying to find the right words. "It...got hard to trust anyone would come for us. Like I was just wishing into a hopeless void so I wouldn't fall apart entirely. But that doesn't matter, it still means the world to me n-not to be...left all alone...again. So I want to say thank you." She hesitantly met Nat's gaze, but her friend just looked understanding as always.

"You don't owe me any thanks, but you are a hundred percent welcome. I can't promise nothing else bad will happen to you, but I can promise you don't have to worry about being abandoned."

"I am scared of losing you too like I lost Pietro."

Natasha quickly fastened the splint back around the injured arm before hugging Wanda close. "I promise I will do everything in my power to prevent that," she whispered in Wanda's ear.

Pietro promised he wouldn't leave me too. He is still gone. Wanda didn't answer, just clutched her friend as tightly as she could.

A frantic knock on their bedroom door in the morning made both Wanda and Nat jump. Natasha answered the door to see Laura looking rather freaked out. "I don't know if this is a problem, but I thought you needed to know immediately. Looks like that prison clip with Sam trying to get Wanda help has been leaked. It's all over the news sites this morning."

Nat was unsurprised. "I figured that might happen. Sam knew too. That's why we used that one and not any with Wanda visible in them."

As if on cue, Wanda's phone rang, and she picked it up since it was just Vision's familiar number. "Good morning, Vis. We saw the leak already," she said quickly.

"No, no- Wanda, listen carefully. You need to leave the country quickly before US airport search protocols are initiated. That leak is presumably a good thing for you, because it has sent the secretary into a...a bit of a rampage. You are not in danger right now, but I do not wish you to end up stuck here. Get out quickly. I need to go. Please, just be careful. I'll text you flight information in a moment. Mr. Stark booked you in JFK already since none of us could produce a physical credit card safe for you to use yet."

Wanda felt more disturbed by Vision sounding so worried and then hanging up than this new information that she and Nat needed to get out today. She closed her eyes and hugged herself briefly before relaying the information to Natasha and Laura.

"Okay, new game plan then," Nat said calmly. "Wanda, pack your things. Put on something easy to move in, something plain. JFK is about four hours from here. Tony wouldn't have been dumb enough to book something so early that we couldn't get to the airport in time."

"But Nat, how would he know what name to put the tickets under? Don't you have to have an ID?" Wanda followed her friend's instructions reluctantly, opting to leave her plain black t-shirt on and pulling out one of the two skirts Vision had brought back from the Compound for her before, along with a hoodie. This seemed boring but acceptable; she found it easier to move in a skirt than jeans, and she did not want to go out in public in just her lounge clothes now that she felt better.

Natasha glanced at what Wanda was pulling out and raised an eyebrow. "Something with pockets," she added pointedly. "Taser. Pepper spray. Pocket."

"This skirt has pockets. I even sewed zippers into the pockets." Wanda looked rather pleased with herself, and then stifled a giggle when Nat smiled and laughed herself. She still thought her chosen outfit was boring, but as her friend had pointed out, that was kind of the point.

Since they really didn't have that much with them, it didn't take long to 'pack'. Laura had brought Wanda one of her own rolling suitcases and told her to use that instead of the duffel since it both had more space and would be easier for her to maneuver. Everything easily fit, and Natasha was glad the two of them wouldn't need to deal with baggage claim. Their small suitcases counted as carry-ons, and Wanda's backpack could be her 'purse'. Nat had a large navy purse herself that she was not a particular fan of, but it would lend itself well to the 'just two friends on a trip' vibe. Wanda still stuck out a bit simply because of her injured arm, but at least the hoodie disguised that somewhat on first glance. Natasha rather thought she still just gave off Wanda vibes, but she suspected that was mostly just because she knew Wanda.

"Vision says the tickets are to France and we're under...Ellie Moore and Charlotte Johnson. Nat, why is Tony getting to pick what aliases we're using?" Wanda asked grumpily, not particularly pleased about this at all. "There's a third under John Robinson, but it looks like it's in a different row."

"Because he couldn't call us right now and clearly he knew we'd want to use one of the US ones. He doesn't know all of the fake papers we have anyway, just a few. Those are a safe option, Ellie." Natasha glanced at Wanda's phone quickly. "Okay, so we'll meet up with the others briefly there, but we should split up. I guess we'll find out for sure later, but I assume Tony either realized our plan to have Clint fly both him and Scott home in the quinjet eventually since that's simplest for everyone, or he's trying to cover himself so that Clint isn't already here in the States."

Lila hugged both Wanda and Natasha tightly before they left the house, presumably for the final time. "I don't want you to go," she said sadly. "I like us all here."

Nat knelt in front of the little girl and took her by the hands. "Your daddy will be coming back soon. I can promise that," she told Lila. "Wanda and I won't be safe here anymore if we stay."

"I know. Not fair." Lila looked up at Wanda as she squeezed Auntie Nat tightly again. "Wanda, I wanted to go swimming with you again."

Wanda smiled at that. "I don't know when I'll be able to see you again, but...thank you." Like Natasha, she knelt to eye level with Lila, who immediately hugged her too. Thank you for treating me the same as always, she thought but didn't say, knowing it would probably confuse Lila or make her believe she wasn't okay.

Cooper, less inclined to hug than his sister, still let Wanda hug him regardless. "I will keep all the secrets," he said stoically, and then, "I hope you're able to come back soon. I mean. I think it won't happen, but I still hope." He grinned.

Laura whispered that she would always have a place on the farm to stay if the Accords were ever amended enough that she could do so, which made Wanda's eyes feel hot. "I mean it, Wanda. You and Nat both. I will never turn you two away."

Why? Why do you still want me? Wanda could not say anything at first, but she melted into Laura's hug all the same, little baby Nate squished between them. Much like Nat, Laura felt like a pillar of strength to her. "My mother would have liked you," she blurted finally. "I wish you could have met her. And Pietro. Thank you for having me. You made me feel like-" she paused, again searching for words, "Like I had a home again, same as you did for me last year. This house is not our home, but you made it feel homey."

The three Avengers were quiet for awhile once getting out on the road. Wanda could not drive with her arm still injured- or rather, she could, but she would have to use her magic to help- so Nat and Clint would split the four hour drive. "Should it come up in any way before we split off at the airport so that it doesn't look like we're together in the first place, you're our niece," Nat told her firmly. "It's not the best explanation, but it will have to do. And talk as little as possible without appearing suspicious."

"I will." Wanda knew what Natasha meant by that, because her disguised accent was decent but not perfect, and the more she spoke, the more likely it would be that someone would notice. She knew her friends had put her in the front passenger seat so she wouldn't have to sit alone regardless, while whoever wasn't driving could take up the whole backseat if they wanted to. Like every other time she had been in a car, she did not like it, but she was okay for now. Right now she was more focused on the idea of squeaking through airport security.

Wanda hated airports with a passion. Once on the plane, that was one thing. An overstimulating, crowded airport was another.

"How are we supposed to get our gear through security?" she asked finally.

"Same way as every other time. Let me take care of it, Wanda. At absolute worst, you can easily convince someone they saw nothing." Nat reached up front and patted Wanda's shoulder.

Clint gave both of his teammates a frustrated look. "Nat, you told me leave my bow and arrows with Laura."

"That's because you're most likely going straight back home and she can hide them for you. Besides, it's easier to get a gun onto a plane than your bow, sorry." Natasha did not sound very sorry at all. She was far more concerned with maneuvering international airports with Wanda, who had disliked the chaotic noise of airports even before and would most certainly hate it all the more now. Before, it normally did not matter if Wanda ended up making her eyes glow red or some startled wisp of scarlet made an appearance. Now, that would mean instant recognition and they'd have to fight their way out. Whatever happened, she was determined not to let her younger teammate be taken again. Wanda's quiet but adamant I will kill myself before letting Ross have me again she had confided to Natasha before they had left the vacation house disturbed her to the core, though she also thoroughly understood why Wanda had said it in the first place.

Nat privately decided she would eliminate that man herself if it came to that and Wanda wouldn't or couldn't defend herself enough to remove herself from the situation.

Wanda tried her best to just relax and not think about the airport, or the plane, where she would at least have Nat with her but there would still be an enclosed space with seatbelts and too many other people. Thinking about it wasn't going to help. I don't want to have one of those awful panic attacks in public. I can't. If I lose control again... "I don't want people touching me. I hate strangers touching me."

Clint glanced at Nat in the rearview mirror. "You still think this is going to work?" he muttered.

"Be quiet," Natasha said sharply. "Give her some credit, will you? She doesn't want strangers touching her, big deal. That was the same before."

Wanda turned enough in her seat so she could see Nat, her good hand holding onto the distasteful seatbelt tightly. "Nat, you know he's right. I will look suspicious simply because I am anxious, even if I don't mess up."

"You will not. Lots of people have a flight phobia. That would be most people's first thought, not that you're a fugitive Avenger. Get yourself through security. I'll deal with our things if there ends up being an issue, but there won't be."

Wanda looked dubious at this. "I don't think I am supposed to carry a taser or pepper spray in my pockets, either. I can't very well whisper we're on a mission like we did last time."

"Wanda, can't you simply...make the scanners read clear?" Clint asked suddenly. "I know you don't want to mind-control some random person just doing their job, but you could do that for all three of us and that harms no one. Your enhancements made the scanners go wonky last time we were on a public flight. Nat showed you how to fool the machines, but why bother with that if we don't have to?"

I think so? I'm not sure. Wanda looked down at her hands and mulled this over. "I've never done something like that before. I don't know if my eyes would glow or not," she said slowly. "And if we enter the airport separately like we planned, I still can't help you, just me and Nat."

"Never mind me, at absolute worst, if I get caught, I go home and Scott's on his own. Get you and Nat through safely."

Wanda considered this; she was still terrified her splinted arm would automatically pull her for a second check, which admittedly was probably a legitimate worry. If she could successfully pull off Clint's plan, that would be very helpful. Can I do this? I don't know if it would help or just make things worse. "I think my magic is capable, I just...don't trust myself. But I will try if you think I should."