[ 𝟏 ] 𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐃 | 𝐩𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐱𝐢𝐦𝐨𝐟𝐟

𝟎𝟕.

I regained consciousness within the confines of the Quinjet, soaring through the skies alongside the Avengers. Surveying the team, I observed the somber expressions on their faces, causing my heart to sink. Although fatigued, I couldn't pinpoint the reason for our collective sense of defeat. Maria Hill's voice abruptly shattered the silence enveloping us.

"The news is loving you guys," she declared. "Nobody else is. There's been no official call for Banner's arrest, but it's in the air."

Tony inquired, "The Stark Relief Foundation?"

"Already on the scene. How's the team?"

"Everyone's—" He glanced at each of us. "We took a hit. We'll shake it off."

"Well, for now, I'd stay in stealth mode and stay away from here."

"So, run and hide?"

"Until we can find Ultron, I don't have much else to offer."

"Neither do we," he sighed, concluding the conversation with Maria.

I released a shaky breath, glancing to my left at Natasha, whose demeanor mirrored my own turmoil. She seemed detached, struggling to discern reality from illusion. As I studied her vacant expression, the memories of the salvage yard incident flooded back. In the warehouse, I engaged in a fight, seized by the man with frosted eyes, and subjected to the powers of the brunette woman. Beyond that point, everything blurred into incomprehensibility. Although I recognized it as a nightmare, its unsettling familiarity puzzled me. A sudden surge of panic overwhelmed me, and tears streamed down onto the ground.

"I'm so sorry," I whispered. Natasha slowly looked up at me. My tears seemed to jolt her momentarily out of her dissociative state. I despised crying in front of people, especially those I cared about, but the tears were unstoppable. If I blacked out in the warehouse, I likely disrupted the team and contributed to our failure. "I had a nightmare—a terrible one. I remember seeing those two people before blacking out. I'm so sorry if that caused this mission to go badly. I didn't know what was happening."

"We all had those nightmares, except for Clint. You did nothing wrong," she reassured me softly, extending her hand to hold mine. Despite her own unease, she made an effort to comfort me.

While still gripped by panic, I took a deep breath and tried to regain composure. The knowledge that the entire team shared similar nightmarish experiences didn't bring much solace, but at least we faced it together. Regardless, I felt the need to shift away from the topic of nightmares. The atmosphere in the jet was already heavy, and I didn't want to contribute to anyone's stress. "Who were those two people anyway?" I inquired.

"I am sorry for not informing you properly before we went in," Steve expressed, a hint of concern in his gaze. "I've gotten so used to having you around, so I must have forgotten that you weren't there to witness the two enhanced the first time we did. They are Pietro and Wanda Maximoff. They are twins from Sokovia who volunteered for Strucker's experiments. Pietro's metabolism is enhanced while Wanda can manipulate minds and use psionic energy."