The Séance • Marvel

Age of Ultron: Chapter 06

Things after Sokovia only got worse for Vanessa. She arrived soon after everyone in the lifeboats had been taken to a refuge. Vanessa has come back to conscience a few hours later and was instantly surrounded by about ten different ghosts. This had been happening constantly. The curtain to the dead had been pulled back and no matter how hard she tried there was no putting it back. The voices of the dead and the living were mixing and she could no longer tell which was which.

As the weeks moved forward Vanessa spent most of her days sitting in the corner of the cell room with her head in her knees covering her ears. Trying so hard to drown all the voices out. They all asked for something, they all wanted something that she couldn't give them. "Nessa! Nessa!" Yells Jason. He's tried for days to talk to her but his own voice is drowned out by the multitude. "Nessa please" he begged. Nothing he did cause her to lift her head, he had even tried getting her attention other ways but nothing worked.

Steve Rogers had been working hard training the new recruits. He would spend most of his time training them each, working on each of their own strengths. Today was Wanda's training. The young woman had been fighting harder than ever, working on her physical strength as well as her mental one. Wanda wanted to prove that this was where she belongs, that her brother's death had not been in vain. "That's good for today Wanda," said Steve. He had been wanting to ask for her help for a few days now, but he wasn't sure if it was the correct thing to do. "Wait, Wanda. Your abilities include being able to read minds correct?" "Among other things, yes," she said, her Sokovian accent gone. "Would you mind helping me with something?" The young woman nodded her head and followed Steve out the door.

They went down a few floors down, where the holding cells were placed. As soon as Wanda entered the floor she felt a rush of power around her. "Who do you have in here?" She asked Steve. "Do you know something?" "No, but there is a lot of power radiating off of them. It's honestly quite suffocating." "Are you able to do this? I completely understand if you don't want to" Steve said as he finished explaining what he wanted her to do. "No I'm fine," said Wanda.

They walked further down towards a dimly lit room. Vanessa was still sitting in the corner, with her head in her knees and her arms covering her ears. A few days prior she had completely stopped eating, so they had to put an I.V. in her arm in order to get her the nutrients her body needed. "Vanessa! Vanessa, it's me, Steve. Can you hear me?" There was no response. "What happened to her?" Asked Wanda. "We're not sure. Fury recaptured her before the battle of Sokovia. She was fine then, but then he went to check up on her and she was blacked out. When she woke up she becomes like this. At first, screaming and yelling. Then a few days after that she just stopped. Been like this ever since then."

Wanda neared the room and asked, "Can I go inside?" "Are you sure?" Asked Steve. Wanda only nodded. Steve opened the cell door and followed Wanda inside. Wanda closed her eyes and focused on the girl in front of her. As soon as she entered her mind, her head was filled with screams of pain and fear. Every now and then she could catch a few words being said, "Vanessa! Help us!" Wanda couldn't take much of this and covered her ears as she released her hold on the girl. The few moments she was inside Vanessa's head, she felt the pain and fear of hundreds.

"You ok?" Asked Steve. "Yeah, what are her powers?" "We aren't sure. Fury believes that she could be a mind reader or something because she knows things nobody else does." Wanda shook her head as she didn't agree with this. "She hears voices, lots of them. But it's different. Almost as if she hears people's pain and fears. Inside her head, it's almost as if she were in a crowded room with hundreds of people all screaming at the same time. Have you tried giving her something a sedative or something?" Steve shook his head, "Well from what we know, she's a drug addict. We don't want to enable any of that."

Wanda understood why Vanessa took drugs, if she had to hear constant screams she too might turn to drugs. "I think you should give her some light medication. I don't know something to calm her brain down a bit. Do you mind if I stay here, with her?" "Sure, I'll go talk to a doctor. See if we can get something."

Jason watched carefully as the woman's eyes never left Vanessa. He was thankful to her because so far she was the only one who had done anything to help his friend. It was a while before Steve returned with a scientist who administered Adderall through the I.V. At first nothing happened then slowly Vanessa began to open her eyes.

The screaming in Vanessa's head had suddenly quieted. It was still there, but now was no more than background noise. "Nes? Can you hear me?" "J?" She said. "Yeah, it's me. I'm here. Hey, look I know that right now you are still trying to get ahold of things, but when you can, I think it's time to let them help." Vanessa quickly looked at the black-haired boy, unaware that there were two other people in the room. "You know he's right," said a familiar voice from the bed.

Nate laid on the bed, resting his head on the headboard with his arms crossed. "Imagine my surprise when I come to visit my favorite ghost whisperer only to find that she can't whisper at all. But, in all seriousness, I do think it's time to get some help because all this it's only going to get worse." "Wow you know it's bad when Nate agrees with me Nes," said Jason. "Vanessa," said a voice to her left. "Let them help you," said Howard Stark, "They have someone who will be able to help you, Vanessa. She can help you, she's willing to help you." "What is this gang up on Vanessa day. Just shut up, all of you."

Wanda and Steve were watching the girl from the doorway. "Should we go to her?" Asked Steve. "No, she needs a minute to get used to everything again." After a few minutes of having her eyes closed, Vanessa slowly opened them and saw two new people standing in front of her. "Hello Vanessa, are you feeling better?" The girl only nodded her head. "That's good. This is Wanda, she had offered to help you in any way she can, if you accept" "She's been through it as well, you know. The voices, I mean, different kind but I'm sure she can help" said the silver-haired boy, who was standing next to Wanda. Vanessa looked in his direction and nodded. "Would you like us to try and help you, Vanessa?" Asked Steve.

Vanessa turned to look at the ghost around her cell. They all nodded their head, encouraging her to say yes. Her mind kept telling her to say no because it had never ended well before. "Yes," Vanessa said in a small voice. The response brought a smile to both Wanda and Steve. "If we are to help you we must what your abilities are," said Wanda. Vanessa was silent for a moment. The last time she'd said it out loud, an exorcism had been performed on her. A painful one. "They will believe you," said Howard. Vanessa looked around at the ghost in her cell, took a deep breath, and said, "I can see dead people."