Memories

Virtual

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She raised a hand, pleading to him. Her fingers outstretched, desperately trying to touch. One side of her face dull metal, her stomach and chest a mess of peeled-back flesh and muscle. The doctor smiled.

"Don't worry sir. We are close to finding the problem. When we do, we'll cut it out."

She reached out again.

"They're killing me, Logan! They're killing me!"

"They're helping you."

The knives went in and then the doctor made a triumphant noise.

"Found it! The source of the problems!"

Logan leant over and blanched. Wrapped around the heart was a dark, scaly serpent. Tora was pulling at the restraints again.

"Please no!"

The scalpel glinted. She was crying silently, tears sliding down her face.

"You promised me this wouldn't happen again Logan! You promised!"

And instead of cutting out the infection, the doctor cut right through the four main blood vessels, raising the heart out of her chest. Her eyes rolled back and she stopped breathing. And then, before Logan could do anything, the Scarlet Witch was standing there, cleaning the blood from Tora's face, taking the diseased and damaged heart, touching it and making it whole again then returning it to Tora's chest. Her golden eyes shot open but when Logan tried to touch her she pulled away.

"YOU PROMISED! YOU PROMISED I'D NEVER GO BACK!"

And the Witch grabbed Tora's arm and they both disappeared.

Logan jerked upright and gasped again. The nightmares were getting worse. Every time, Tora would die, because of something he had done, and every time, the Scarlet Witch would resurrect her, only for Tora to reject him.

He got up. Pulled on some clothes and walked down the corridor to the Brig. Tora lay in one of Danger's holding bays, only separate from the others –the criminals- who Danger was trying to help. But Tora was still stuck in a virtual world. The Avengers had insisted on it as part of their deal to save the Scarlet Witch. They kept the Witch and Tora wasn't handed over to the survivors of Sakaar. Scott had only agreed when Emma, Logan, Hank, Peter and Rogue had all glared at him. For a second it had looked as if he was going to refuse. Tora's little demonstration defending the Scarlet Witch had managed to make more than one person edgy. Too many secrets, not enough time to digest them in, then completely losing control and her threats to Doom. Tora –as everyone knew- didn't make threats unless she could deliver on them.

She twitched slightly and he wondered what she was seeing. He reached out to touch her hand and a voice rang out.

"No contact."

"Danger, she's my wife…"

"And she's my patient. At this time, any outside influences could do more harm than good."

He moved his hand away.

"Where is she?"

"It depends on what I think we should be working on. We have been reliving her childhood, as well as some of her best moments, trying to stabilise her. It's difficult. Anything involving the late Nightcrawler is rejected instantly."

He looked down at her lower face, which twitched up in a slight smile.

"What are you making her relive?"

"The time she first held her son. It's one of the brightest memories she has."

"Any other ones you like to use?"

"An oddly happy memory from when she was nine. It's shielded from me, hidden in one of the deepest parts of her mind, but even I can feel the peace there. It is what I first used when she tried to reject the therapy."

He looked down one more time then nodded.

"Tell me when I can speak to her. Even if it's just in her head."

Danger nodded.

"You must go. I plan to replay the childhood memory to her."

Tora twitched one last time before Logan left.

She sat down against the wall, pleased that she had just beaten her record for the cross-country by three minutes. Eva collapsed down next to her.

"Xii, you are a robot!"

"Pardon?"

"Don't you ever need to eat or sleep? Come on, you were up all night!"

She blinked a few times then shrugged.

"I only need to sleep for a few minutes. And eating just slows you down."

Eva giggled and suddenly they were clutching at each other as they laughed hysterically together.

Tora's mouth curled up in a smile. Sure, that night they hadn't eaten and they'd only had a handful of water each, but later, when she was being driven insane, that was the one memory she focussed on. Eva, as Tora chose to remember her. Another memory was picked out to help her relax.

Wanda grinned at Tora.

"Come on. Look at us. Enough history to write a drama film, enough marital dysfunction to shock Jeremy Kyle and both with kids on the way."

Tora raised an eyebrow.

"I can appreciate you being dysfunctional, married to a robot and all, but I still don't see why-"

"Come on, you're married to a guy about eight times your age, who happened to be the person people tortured you to try and replicate. Now that's dysfunctional."

"Says the woman whose father is in a semi-solid relationship with a teammate of mine who happens to be younger than me."

Wanda stared at her then sniggered. Tora grinned.

"And whose brother has married into a race known as the 'Inhumans'. Seriously, even some of the X-Men's family dynamics are positively normal compared to yours."

That was it. Wanda burst out laughing, clutching at Tora's shoulder as she leant over.

"You…have got…to join the…Avengers someday…. You would so give…Tony lip…"

She smiled again before being swept away to somewhere she didn't know. A beach, long and sweeping, thick jungle behind her. She turned around carefully. Danger was walking towards her.

"Where are we?"

"This isn't real."

Tora sighed.

"Great. I've been lumped in with maniacs like Scalphunter and the Black King."

"Actually, you're taking up an entirely different virtual world, with greater freedom."

"Why am I here?"

Danger looked surprised.

"You honestly don't know? Dragon, you just begged two of the most powerful superhero teams in the world to kill you, then confessed to a murder before telling them you committed…how did you put it… ah, 'genocide by proxy'. They aren't inclined to trust you."

Tora dropped down.

"Why didn't they?"

"Didn't what?"

"Why didn't they just kill me? That's all I wanted… That's all I ever wanted… To live, to die, without my life being messed with…"

"Dragon…"

"Did the Young Avengers come out alright? Speed? Wiccan? Hulkling? Hawkeye? Patriot? Stature?"

"All fine. Also, Speed wants your autograph. Apparently you are 'too cool for words'."

"Okaay… Why?"

"Supposedly it's to do with spitting in Doom's eye and calling Magneto names."

"What?! I'd do that for free! I never did stuff like that to get teenaged fans!"

"Regardless, you are apparently his third favourite hero."

"Did he say his others?"

"Yes. Second is Magneto and first is Wiccan. Only that is top secret."

She smiled.

"Fine. So why am I here again?"

"Because we need to help you."

"I don't need help! The only help I wanted, they weren't prepared to give me!"

Danger sighed.

"I am afraid we will have to return to the therapy if you are still like this."

"Wait! Danger!"

But the robotic woman had left, leaving Tora to be thrown back into the sea of memories.

"Well that was the way to sort her mental anguish out."

"Phoenix? Sarcasm?"

"You can talk."

"Phoenix, I was under the impression that our dear host can talk."

"Figure of speech, Death. Figure of speech."