Chapter Five
In Which A New Threat Appears
The news soon loses interest in Sonya, which is a relief, but it's not exactly for the best reason, though, which is decidedly not a relief. A long string of unsolved kidnappings has popped up, ranging all over the States.
"Is there any connection between the victims?" Tony asks.
"Besides the fact that they're all under 25, I haven't seen one yet, no." Steve replies.
"This is horrible." Sonya whispers, scrolling through one of the victim's profiles. Her brow knots. "Vision…" She says. "You were looking at the file of that Lucas girl, right?"
"Rosemary Lucas, age 10, yes?"
"What does it say about her health?"
"Nothing much. She has ADHD, and is on the Autism spectrum…"
"What about your person, Bruce?" She asks. "ASD and ADHD?"
"Uh… Yeah."
"Same with mine. But he has epilepsy, too." Tony says.
"I figured." Sonya tells him. "I think that's our connecting factor." She scratches her chin. "Do we have a scan of my brain?"
"Uh, yeah…" he says. "I think it's in your file."
"Pull it up, will you?" Soon there's a 3D hologram of the healer's brain in front of them all.
"What does this have to do with anything?" Steve asks.
"I'm pretty much the same as these victims." She tells him. "I have ADHD, and I'm on the Autism Spectrum. My brain is different. Quite different, then someone without those conditions." She squints. "And another thing. I'm under 25. My brain is still developing."
"So?"
"It's the perfect time to tamper." She says. "Think about it. What are the advantages of having ASD and ADHD?"
"People with Attention-Deficit usually have a quicker reaction time." Bruce says.
"Exactly. And someone with ASD? If they're higher on the spectrum, you have a high IQ, high attention to detail, different ways of processing things… Wanda, you've been in my head, I don't think the same as say… Steve or Clint, do I?"
"No."
"Elaborate. Humor me." Sonya says.
"Uh, you don't think in words or pictures, so much as concepts… I don't really know, it's hard to explain."
"Look at it this way, theory is that a higher amount of synapses in the brain causes autism. Same with epilepsy. Either those synapses are silent, and just sit there, or they go crazy and cause seizures. But what if, you could get those synapses to do something...?"
"Like what?"
Sonya grins. "Well, I have a pretty good idea what my extra synapses are doing!" She whirls. "Clint's getting a headache, and his right arm is sore. Bucky bit his tongue just now."
"You mean you think your powers come from your ASD?" Bruce muses.
"It's the most logical explanation I can think of."
"So these kidnappings are a ring of mad scientists creating an army of super soldiers?" Tony says. "That doesn't really follow."
Steve, Bucky, Pietro and Wanda glare at him. "Seriously?"
"…Now that I think about it, that make's much more sense than I initially thought."
The day starts out normally, with Wanda and Sonya heading out on their weekly coffee run, wearing big sweatshirts and stocking caps against the autumn chill. The healer has tucked her newly dyed violet hair under a beanie, declaring it much too cold to be mobbed by fans, much to her friend's amusement. They're discussing the possibility of Wanda getting a nose stud when the temperature drops significantly. The two supers frown, Sonya clutching at her hat as a gust of frigid air slaps them in the face.
"That's not normal." Wanda says, eyes fixed on the Avenger's tower, where a threatening looking cloud is broiling above it. Sonya nods in agreement.
"We better get going."
By the time they round the corner, they can see Sam, Tony, Rhodey, Vision, and Thor darting in and out of it. "Definitely a threat." The healer confirms. "Wanda, you better get up there." Scarlet Witch nods.
Sonya makes her way back to the tower alone, dodging several tree branches, fighting against a wind that seems to grow stronger with every step she takes. An unusually strong gust blows her right off her feet, catching in her jacket, bowling her back.
She has time to spit out an obscenity before unzipping the garment. It whips away. Sonya waves after it. "Bye, jacket. I loved you."
"You shouldn't wear baggy clothes on a windy day." Pietro chuckles, popping out of seemingly nowhere and grabbing her wrist before she falls again. "You're so tiny you might blow away."
"Pietro!" She gasps.
He grins as he pulls her closer to him. "What? You did not see that coming?"
"Is this seriously the best time to flirt?" Another gust of wind slams against her. She isn't quite sure, but it feels as if this wind is whirling around her, trying to drag her away. She doubts it, that is, until her feet lift off the ground and Pietro's eyes widen. He glances back at the tower, then back at her.
"I think you're being kidnapped." He yells, tightening his hold on her arm before being knocked over.
"YAH THINK?!" She screeches, as the two of them go tumbling. He doesn't answer, because his hand is slipping, and she gasps when he's torn away from her. Sonya thinks it's all over when a second gust blows her away. She winces when she falls, scraping her hands and knees, clinging to a grate in the street. She isn't able to get a good grip, and she's tumbling again.
Pietro grabs her around the waist and drags her around the side of a building, into an alley and out of the wind, the two of them falling over in a heap, holding tight to one another. Pietro whaps at her hair, trying unsuccessfully to get the purple locks out of his face.
"You have too much hair!" He complains, somehow grabbing it all in his hands and holding it away from him. "I think it's alive, because I'm pretty sure it just tried to suffocate me."
"Never mind that!" Sonya yells, grabbing fistfuls of his shirt and shaking him. "I just almost got kidnapped by a crazy person with wind powers!"
"I know. I was there."
"I was almost blown away!" She shrieks, shaking her hair out of his hands. "Why aren't you more concerned?! I'm concerned! Holy shit! I could've died!" She runs her hand through her hair. "When did you get that gash on your arm?!"
"Huh?" Pietro squints at her, concerned. Maybe she's lost her mind? But Sonya pokes his right bicep and he sucks in a breath as pain lances down his arm. He notices the gash for the first time. It's long and ugly, streaking down from his shoulder to stop on the inside of his elbow, stained with dirt and pebbles. The healer is squinting at it.
"I'm not healing that until we get it cleaned out." She tells him, pulling her curly hair back into a bun. She scrambles off his legs and pulls him up. He winces. Now that he's lost the adrenaline rush, his arm is starting to really hurt. Sonya ducks in a door in the alley, which leads to the kitchen of a small bakery. The employees, who are taking cover under the counters, shoot the two Avengers surprised looks. Pietro waves sheepishly, but his companion is on a mission, tugging him over to the sink.
"I'm sorry, I need to use this." She says to a confused looking baker, wresting the extendable faucet out of his hands. "Put your arm in the sink." She tells Pietro, turning on the water at a slow trickle, and snatching a clean towel off a rack. She begins dabbing at the cut. He winces and jerks his arm away.
"Ow!" He says accusingly.
"This may hurt." Sonya says belatedly. The speedster glares down at her, but all of her attention is fixed on his gash. It doesn't take her long to clean it out, and soon she's placing her glowing hands on his arm. Pietro can feel his ears starting to turn red. "Better?" She asks, glancing up at him. He ignores his burning, very possibly extremely red ears, and nods, flexing his arm and winking.
"Much."
Sonya rolls her eyes.
Glass smashes as a window shatters and wind rushes in to the kitchen. "Everyone get out of here!" Sonya yells, throwing up her hands to form a shield. Pietro bundles the civilians into a back room and slams the door, grabbing the purple haired girl and tackles her behind a counter.
"Oh!" She says. "You saved me… Again."
"You did not see that coming, either?"
A/N: Pietro Maximoff is a flirtatious little dork. Comment if you agree.