Wake » WinterWitch

Wounds

The world was foggy. She heard voices echoing around her but couldn't make sense of them. She felt a searing pain before screaming broke through the funk and jolted her awake.

Wanda's eyes shot open, realizing moments later that she was the one screaming. The pain subsided and her scream died off after a long moment. She couldn't make anything out in the dark room, only that she was laying on something uncomfortable. Her heart beat frantically, wondering if she'd been caught by Hydra again.

"Hey, hey, it's okay. You're safe," she heard James' voice close to her ear.

Reaching out for stability in the black abyss, she found his hand and squeezed hard. Her whole body was shaking, racked with chills. "Where are-" her voice was hoarse, throat sore and so dry she couldn't even finish her question.

"You're back in Wakanda. You're safe." He reassured her.

Wanda tried to remember what happened. She saw the man cowering under a table, searching his thoughts, exposing his secrets. The woman stabbed her before she could finish.

She used a hand to move to her side, feeling it covered in bandages.

"They sewed you all up, covered you in a healing cream and said with the bandage changed daily you should be good as new in a few days. You lost a lot of blood so they want you monitored until everything looks okay, which is why you're still hooked to a machine. Said it might be a couple days before you reach full strength again."

Wanda could only nod. She felt the hydra man's memories just floating around in her own memory bank, feeling overwhelmed by all the secrets the man had held. She saw the woman's neck snapped by her red magic, her heart beating faster at the thought of it.

Pushing away the guilt, she moved her sore body up to sit with some difficulty.

A gust of wind smacked her in her face, taking her breath away as a sudden light made her squint. She looked up to search for James but all she could see was blue sky and trees for miles. Wanda's heart burst in her chest, nerves trickling down her spine. Where the hell was she?

"We move on the fifth. They won't know what hit them," a man's voice echoed around her head and she swiftly turned behind her, seeing a man in a suit and tie. She looked down at herself to see she was also dressed in a suit— this was a memory, but not her own.

Her own mouth began to move, the voice that came out didn't belong to her but to the man she stole memories from. "Good. We have the Winter Solider, the Witch and Hawkeye. The latter two will have their memories wiped tonight then we'll be ready. Keep in touch, rendezvous at the beach." Was all that was said before the two nodded goodbyes and parted.

Wanda gasped as she returned to her own body. She held her chest and breathed out heavily. With a flick of her fingers she summoned a ball of shimmering red light to see in the dark room, her breathing momentarily frozen.

James at once had her face in his hands, blue eyes wide with worry as he looked her over. "Are you okay?"

She sucked air back into her lungs, nodding. "I just— that was—." She struggled to put words together, knowing however she said it, it would sound absolutely insane.

Wanda met his eyes in the dim light of her magic. "I saw all of his memories. If I can piece them all together I can find out what they were planning and how to stop it."

Wanda tore the wires from her arms, rushing from the room to find Steve despite the many pleas from James to stay and wait until Steve came to her. She didn't have the patience nor the time for that. She found the man sat at a table, eating a sandwich in a large dining room. She lowered herself into a chair opposite of him, grimacing at the pain it caused. "The guy we grabbed— he was supposed to meet a man on the 5th at a place called— I think it's called Heavens Fury— or that's what he called it in his head. It's a beach located in Virginia. They gather there and then they will all check into a hotel called Monet Mansion. It has a basement run by some gang, and they sell people— human beings. He was going to wipe our memories and sell James and Clint as killers for hire."

Steve startled at her sudden appearance, dropping his half eaten sandwich onto the plate in front of him. "That..." He choked on his words, arms splaying out on the table in front of him, fists tightly closed. "How did you-? Are you sure?"

"Positive. Before I got stabbed I was in the Hydra man's mind. I know everything he knows. Some things are pretty messy, so messy I can't understand them right now— but it shouldn't take me too long to unravel it all." She paused, remembering the man's brain with strings all tangled together. "The basement I saw in his memories is well guarded from what he knew of, the walls are made of impenetrable material, similar to your shield." Her stab wound throbbed under the bandage as she breathed too heavily and quickly.

"Natasha and I will lead a group to intercept the meet, get more information and see if we can save some people in the process. I'll talk to King T'Challa; you two rest, please. We'll figure it out." And without another word Steve left the room- his sandwich already forgotten.

Wanda leaned her back against the cold chair, a shiver passing through her body as she let her eyes drift shut.

"You okay?"

James' voice floated to her ears and she startled, having forgotten he had even followed her. She gave a single nod but made no effort to move. "Just... a little tired now," she whispered, her brows creasing, "why am I so tired?"

"They've got you on some medicine, I'm sure it's making you sleepy," James informed her, his voice suddenly sounding miles away.

Everything went silent as Wanda lay back in the chair she sat on. She began to think he left as she drifted into a light sleep until she felt a warm set of arms wrap around and lift her from the chair. She didn't have the strength to lift her arms as one flipped over her belly and the other fell limp at her side, bouncing as James walked her through the hallways.

She wasn't sure how much time passed until she felt a soft mattress underneath as he set her atop it. He pulled a blanket and laid it over her, pulling it up until it reached the underside of her chin. With a soft touch, his fingers caressed her cheek, moving stray hair pieces off her face. She felt his lips press gently against her forehead before his presence was suddenly gone and the warmth faded. Her consciousness slipped and she fell into a peaceful sleep.

James made sure Wanda was comfortable and completely asleep before leaving the room, headed in the direction Steve had disappeared in. He found him in the room with the floating map in the air, the King, his sister, and Okoye standing with him, and approached the planning group.

"Do you have a plan yet?" James questioned, leaning against the table.

Steve nodded, "sort of. We don't know the layout of the hotel but we're in the middle of finding it out right now."

And indeed Shuri was tapping away on the screen around her wrist, trying to locate the Mansion.

"I know the exact layout of where all the guards are stationed," James admitted, causing Shuri to stop her movements and give him a questioning stare.

"Just like the place we infiltrated yesterday?" The King questioned.

"You'll find I know how to get around many Hydra bases, as I was usually tasked with getting members in and out safely." James smiled bitterly, beginning to recount the building layout aloud.