The fight is over, The Avengers took over the compound and shut it down. Many Sokovian and American Soldiers were killed, Strucker was arrested. Me and Wanda tried to hold off Captain America when he stormed through that door, but Strucker told us to run so that the American soldiers wouldn't get their hands on our powers. This ended in leaving the stabbed boy bleeding to death and Strucker's capture so now it's just me and the twins on our own.

When everything went down we managed to escape before anyone could notice us and are now hiding out in an apartment that was set up for the twins as a backup from Hydra if something ever happened. It's away from the mountains and in a town a few miles out from the main city. Once we got here Pietro told us he had seen the Avengers in the flesh while out in the field, messing with one of them by grabbing his arrows out of the air every time he shot one. I knew right away who that was, Hawkeye. Wanda didn't have much contact with any of the Avengers besides Captain America and a few of the soldiers outside. Other than that she mostly stalked around the outside and through the compound to check for intruders. That's how she eventually found us.

As I look into the mirror of the bathroom after I cleaned up I see the tired look on my face and the feeling of weakness seeping through. The bruises on my face from being let go the other day is healing, but the fresh ones from today look bad and it makes me flash back to images of being in the hole and the recent combat fight with that boy. After the few flashes in my brain gives me a slight headache I just shake it off and walk out a few minutes later.

My ribs hurt when I move around but I don't pay attention as I immediately head over to the window instead of to the twins to stand against a wall with my arms crossed over my chest, blankly staring out of it. I keep replaying the boy being stabbed over and over. Half of me is satisfied with the event that happened from knowing he was on the enemy side, but the other half knows that it wasn't right. Everything seems backwards and I keep getting randomness in my head of the boy, his smile, his laugh. But I didn't witness any of that when I saw him today. What does it mean?

While by the window the twins don't bother me because they know I need the space. However, I know Wanda senses my uneasiness when she finally reaches out after a long time standing there and I hear her in my head asking me to come to her and Pietro sitting on the couch in the living room. For a few seconds I'm hesitant because they both have been acting weird towards me for days and haven't told me why, but then I move away from where I am and sit beside her.

Wanda watches me as I do this but she doesn't touch me or anything. My thought is because she feels I still need that extra space. Pietro on the other hand leans over and hands me a plate of food that we picked up from a convenience store just before we got here. So I take it and look at it for a bit, like I'm waiting for it to bite me or something.

"What did Strucker do to you?" Wanda says after a long silence, now stretching her hand out to rest it onto my leg.

I blink slowly and stare at her hand, not looking anywhere else as I gently grab it and slip my fingers through hers. "He didn't do anything to me. I told you that."

She grips my hand in hers now, "Maddie, I saw how you reacted to him when he yelled at you. Whatever happened you're not past that even now."

I half laugh, using my free hand to bite into my sandwich now. There's nothing wrong with me, why doesn't she get that. "I'm fine, Wanda."

"We got your best friend killed." Pietro says in a worried tone, yet sounded a little angry. "You shouldn't be fine."

I curl my lip a bit, slightly mad now and my eyes flash blue for a second. Once my mouth is clear of food I say, "I didn't know him. He was just a new Avenger recruit who wanted me too."

"Archie wasn't anyone's recruit. He was there to save you. He was your family." He continues.

"Stop!" I yell, looking at both of them as the blue in my eyes flame a little more in anger. "You two are my family. I didn't know that boy."

For a second they both stare at me speechless, their expressions concerned and it's understandable from the way my magic is starting to seep through. I'm very aware of my anger getting the best of me because when I notice the slightly scared looks on their faces I blink and see the blue tint in my eyes slowly fading away.

"I…" I try to apologize, but before I can I notice Wanda moves slightly towards me and leans in closer.

She lifts up her free hand and I have no time to react before she sets her fingers to my temple and I'm sucked into a dream. No...a memory. Me as a kid, maybe 5 or 6 chasing after a tanned boy with dirty-blond buzz cut hair and missing front teeth in the park. Before I can grasp it the memory changes, it's me in my teens with the same boy but older walking around the mall. And then finally what feels like a recent memory of me and him at the airport, waving goodbye to our families as everything from my past floods back to me. Then it's like she has to dig deeper, sucking me into my memories of the hole.

I groan in pain as I feel her magic pull away and I gasp because it always hurts when she disconnects. I hate when she does that. Then I blink, letting go of my plate and her hand as I stand up with a shake of my head to calm myself down, tears filling my eyes. My life starts to come back in bits and pieces, my real life story, not the stuff that Strucker forced into my head when I was being held against my will. I see my family while me and Archie are going on vacation, getting onto the plane, sightseeing in Sokovia, us getting caught by what we thought was the Sokovian military, meeting the twins.

"Oh God." Wanda says in a tone that sounds heartbroken. She looks at her brother, "They tortured her into submission and gave her some type of shot."

His face drops and goes into deep thought before his eyes widen. "The controlling drug Strucker told us about. That's what must have been affecting her when we talked to her the night she got out of the hole."

"Maddie, how many times has he given you that shot?" She asks and stares back at me finally.

I pant a little more and stare at the fallen sandwich by my feet when I had stood up, feeling the flashes come and go as I hold my head with both my hands from a throbbing pain and my ears are ringing. I can barely grasp what's happening right now. "I…." I groan a bit, "I don't remember." I grit my teeth and close my eyes, feeling unsettled in my own thoughts.

"Maddie, you're okay." Pietro says gently.

"I-It hurts."

"Shhh." Wanda gets up and I sense her standing in front of me when her feet stop shuffling, "Focus. You have to concentrate."

I shake my head, gritting my teeth more. "He'll...kill me."

"No." She places her hands to my arms now, "We're right here and Strucker can't hurt you anymore."

I pant and open my eyes. For a second I feel blank looking into her scared eyes but then the memories flash rapidly in my brain and I force myself to see them now. Everything after being caught floods through me. How we started hanging out with the twins, feeling like we actually mattered because of our magic. I see me and Wanda falling for each other, our first kiss, all the time we spent together. Then the worst memory of them all, Archie being stabbed and how I just left him alone. "I...I got him killed." My voice is low and I half sob.

"Maddie, no." Wanda says gently and places her hands to my face lovingly. "It's not your fault. Strucker is good at his job. He knows how to break people."

I shake my head and sob harder as I get weak in the knees, not able to hold myself up anymore and end up having to sit on the floor. In seconds arms are wrapped around me from behind before a chin ends up on my shoulder. I slowly turn my head to the side, sniffling. Wanda is resting her head on me, tears slipping down her cheek. "H-He's dead, Wanda."

As if she doesn't know what to say she nods slowly and starts to rock me in place, "Sleep." She says in a broken tone, "You need to sleep."

...

Sleep is definitely not in the cards for me. I kept restlessly shuffling around for what felt like hours in bed in the room Pietro offered me while he decided to sleep on the couch. They obviously didn't intend to have more than two people occupy this space when Hydra got it for the twins. Wanda wanted to stay with me, but I needed the space to grieve on my own. She understood of course so she slept in the other room. Now I'm lying awake, my eyes blankly staring at the ceiling because I'm not even able to attempt to sleep anymore. I can't stop thinking about what happened to Archie. I didn't stop this the way I could have, buried in a mind control I didn't notice till it was too late. How could someone who reads minds not have the strength to hold out on being brainwashed?

Pressing my hands to my face I have to hold back the tears threatening to spill out, hating myself for so many reasons but the most obvious being that I got Archie killed. He came back to save me and I wasn't able to give him that satisfaction because of what Strucker did. Those shots I'd receive first thing in the morning along with the vitamins that helped with my powers, the energy serum that I realized was usually in my drink for breakfast, plus the constant abuse I got in the hole all lead to this. Now that my mind is clearing from it's haziness I'm able to remember more than when Wanda first helped me out of that mind control state.

"Arch... I'm so sorry." I half sob into my hands, hiccuping as I try to keep myself from completely losing my shit. "God what did I do." I take a deep breath, then pull my hands away from my face. I sense someone coming and I know right away who it will be so I turn my gaze to the door, waiting for her.

My door as usual is cracked open, the faint light from the hall allowing me to see the silhouette of my girlfriend standing there. Her face is noticeable through the crack of my door, seeing how cute she looks despite the sadness in her eyes as her hand lands on the edge of the door and slowly opens it up.

I watch her the whole time as I roll onto my side, my eyes glued to the girl standing there and she smiles back at me gently, "Hey, baby." I say to her in a low tone, not wanting to cry.

"Hi, sweetie." She says in a low voice as well but hers is more concerned with her head tilted a bit when she opens the door more. "I wanted to check on you."

I take a breath and press my lips together gently, "You felt me from the room didn't you?"

She smiles sadly and nods, "I was worried."

I take another breath and scoot over on the bed to lay down on the other end, pulling the blanket away from the spot I left for her. "I..." My voice breaks as I try to speak but my emotions get the best of me and completely shatter into my cry face. "I need you." I say with a hard sob, tears spilling down my face.

"Awe, Madison." Her frown is noticeable as she walks into my room and crawls into the bed, her arms outstretched.

I plunge into her arms right away when she wraps them around me and holds me close. "I...messed up." I nuzzle into her chest and sob harder when she leans back into the headboard.

"No." She says firmly, sounding like she's holding back her own tears and rubs my back. "This isn't on you. This isn't on any of us."

"But…"

"Madison, don't." She cuts me off and holds me tighter, taking a deep breath. "Don't think like that."

I grip onto her shirt, trying not to scream from my frustration and need to let out all my emotions. But I say nothing more, listening to her words, hearing her breathing that always relaxes me. Then I feel a warmth come to her hands and onto my back, my eyes starting to droop. "Wanda…"

"Shhh." She says and rocks me in place. Now it's noticeable that the room is faintly turning red because she's using her powers to absorb my pain and help comfort my emotions enough to calm me down. "Sleep."

"D-Dont…" I groan a little bit, feeling the power seep into my body more. I hate when she does this, using her abilities against me. So my eyes land on hers when I stare up and the darkness starts to take me quickly now, my vision fading away. "Please."

Her eyes are slightly red but I can still see how sad she is before I pass out in her arms.