The Unknown Emotion ~ A WandaVision Fanfic

Chapter 16

I went with the paramedics, accompanying a silent stricken Mr. Stark. I believe I was in shock. I didn't comprehend my surroundings, and kept replaying the horrific scene in my head over and over again.

"Mr. Stark?" A young female voice interrupted my thoughts. "James Rhodes has been moved to the Radiology Department for his MRI scan." She stared at me in a nervous curiosity, leaning slightly away.

Mr. Stark nodded, not trusting himself to speak, and we followed the nurse. Everyone we passed gawked at us as we walked by.

We watched the scanning in silence. Rhodey's eyes nervously flitted around the blinding white room as the bed moved him into the large circular machine.

"How did this happen?" Mr. Stark asked, his tone an accusatory whip.

I grit my teeth, guilt searing through me painfully. "I became distracted"

"I didn't think that was possible" he breathed in disbelief.

"Neither did I"

After the scans, we attended the doctors appointment, who informed us that Rhodey may never walk again.

"Like hell he won't" Mr. Stark had grunted before storming out. Rhodes was discharged shortly after, and we rolled him on his wheelchair into the Quinjet parked outside. Parker had been waiting inside, his long gangly limbs tangled as he snored away in the same bench I had rested on earlier. All of us buckled in for a long flight.

We made a brief stop on a building in Queens to send Parker on his way ("It was so awesome working with you guys. Hit me up next time!") and set the route to the Avengers base.

As soon as I stepped off onto the green fields, the door slid shut and the jet took off with Mr. Stark and Rhodes.

It wasn't until the jet had disappeared through the clouds did I realise I was completely and utterly alone.

I flew over to the compound, and turned on the television, flicking through the international news channels. Blurry videos of our battle taken by airport security cameras were plastered with large headlines, but I had no care for them. All I wanted to know were what became of Captain America's team.

Because even though I had severely injured a friend who may never walk again, my thoughts were on no other than Wanda Maximoff.

I was becoming something I feared. Selfish. Illogical. Abnormal. A being of my power could have prevented injury, assisted others with their fight, and do what I was created to do; protect. But Wanda had fallen on the asphalt and nothing else had mattered. A friend could have died as a result of my distraction. Yet here I am, urgently trying to find information on her whereabouts, and allowing her to distract me further.

"You won't find her there."

I turned around to the source of the voice. She leaned against the wall, hands folded, as if she had been watching me for a while.

"It's not- I wasn't looking for her." I lied, inwardly cursing myself for attempting deception on Natasha Romanoff; a game I'd lost even before we'd begun playing. She ignored my response.

"They took her. And Sam, and Clint. And the.. Ant-guy to a classified location. They won't be in there for long though. Cap will get them out soon enough."

"Good" I intoned. Wanda has spent enough of her life in a cage already.

"I heard about Rhodes." She murmured.

Guilt jabbed me at the mention of his name. I bowed my head, unable to think of a reply. She approached, joining me on the plush couch.

"Don't be too hard on yourself." She advised. I could feel her green gaze on me, empathetic and soft, but I couldn't bear to meet her eyes.

"If it makes you feel any better, I wouldn't have been able to focus either." She added, shrugging. I shot her a questioning glance. Did she care so much for Wanda too?

"Clint." She answered my unasked question, bowing her head in mild embarrassment. "I don't show it much, but if something happened to him, I would lose it."

I recognised her symptoms. The passion in her words, the devotion, and her fierce sense of protection pointed at one possible truth.

"You love him." I said, nodding in understanding. Her eyes widened, staring at me in shock. I stared back, confused by her reaction.

"Even Clint hasn't picked up on that, so how did you?" She gawked.

I gestured to the television. "I've been watching movies in my spare time. Every film refers to, mentions, or is based upon love. I assumed it's a very common phenomenon among you humans."

She continued staring at me. "Huh" she huffed, and despite the somber mood of post-battle, she smiled her teasing grin.

"Am I missing something?" I asked.

"Don't you notice any similarities? Between what I feel for Clint and what you feel for Wanda?" She urged.

Realisation hit me like a brick, yet I managed to keep my external expression calm. "Ah" I said delicately. "So I'm in love too, I suppose."

I gauged my emotions, exploring the effects that this 'love' had on me. It was an oozing flow, warm and inviting, but leaving a wake of destruction in its path.

Natasha watched me carefully. "You seem disappointed."

I nodded. "Love is generally described as a euphoria. Increased heart rate, imbalance of chemicals, blooming sensations. At the moment, all I feel is pain."

Natasha sighed, and whipped out a pen, scribbling a note on a writing pad.

"Pain, love, euphoria. They're one and the same thing."

She handed me the note with a wink, and walked out, boots clicking the tiles and hips swaying.

I glanced at her note, which consisted of a series of numbers.

Coordinates.