Dreams of another life

V

Bucky was seated in a cinema like chair, wires stuck on with little stickers to his head and chest, all feeding back to a projector and a monitor.

One thing he hadn't known was that Strange was actually a doctor, a proper high-class surgeon, before an accident set him on his path to becoming the wizard he was today.

Even though the seat was cushioned and he was lucid and completely himself, it was somewhat similar to before, strapped into a metal chair with a clamp on each side of his skull as his memories and self awareness were stripped away painfully.

Inhaling deeply, he reminded himself that this wasn't that, Strange and Wong were trying to help him. Help Wanda.

After their conversation in the room of artefacts that reminded him of a museum, Bucky and the doctor had went back down to the library, where Wong was making Sam a cup of soothing tea, to tell them the plan. The new plan, which he was praying would work.

He didn't want to stop dreaming of Wanda if it meant all their clues and hints as to her whereabouts would disappear, but when (not if) they found her, he would be happy when they stopped.

He truly believed, she was alive. There was no way that what he was seeing and feeling was just residual magic, it was too strong. But if she was alive, she could be hurt. Very hurt, from what Wong had said. That only reinvigorated his want to find her.

He couldn't just give up on her, he owed her a debt, he owed her his life, and that wasn't something he was taking lightly.

They'd watched the tapes too, at Stephen's suggestion and then insistence when Wong seemed hesitant.

It was like an actual television programme, from the characters down to the live audience. As each episode was shown, it became more and more apparent that something wasn't right.

Scenes would just skip to an act completely unrelated to what had just happened. The actors, or actual people he should say, were beginning to break character, some asking Wanda if she wanted to redo a scene or to beg her to make it stop. Credits would roll in the middle of conversations.

Knowing that she didn't know what she had done and seeing how happy she was when she was pregnant and with her fake children made a sadness he didn't know he could feel for someone he didn't know to settle in his gut.

They watched as the realisation dawned on her of what she'd done, with the help of her neighbour Agnes, whose name was actually Agatha and turned out to be the villain of the show. Bucky didn't know if that meant she was the bad guy in real life too.

Conflict was written all over her face by the final episode as more and more from the real world started to slip through.

"Well that was...I actually don't know what to say" Sam piped up the second the screen went dark and theme tune stopped.

"That's a first" Bucky shot back.

"You understand now what we've been saying? That she's more powerful than any of us?" Strange snapped his fingers and the lights came on.

Bucky's eyes were still transfixed on the screen, unable to process that he'd seen most of this before. That she'd said practically the same to him as she did to Vision.

Now, he was sitting in darkness as Strange and the rest of them hovered until he fell asleep so that they could watch him dream. He was exhausted, emotionally and physically, from the day but now that he had people watching him, he couldn't seem to drop into slumber.

"This isn't working" he called out, knowing they could hear him.

"Just close your eyes and count sheep, or picture killing hydra agents, whatever brings you peace" Stephen's voice came.