[ 𝟏 ] 𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐃 | 𝐩𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐱𝐢𝐦𝐨𝐟𝐟

𝟎𝟕.

I regained consciousness aboard the Quinjet, the hum of its engines blending with the tension that clung to the air. The Avengers were around me, their faces somber, mirroring the weight that pressed down on my chest. Despite the exhaustion gnawing at me, I couldn't quite place the cause of our collective defeat. Maria Hill's voice cut through the stillness.

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

Tony responded, his voice tight with frustration. "The Stark Relief Foundation?"

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

"Everyone's..." Tony's eyes swept over the group. "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 a lot else to offer."

"Neither do we," Tony sighed, ending the call.

I exhaled shakily, my gaze drifting to Natasha, whose face mirrored the turmoil I felt. She was distant, her mind perhaps tangled in the same web of confusion and dread. As I studied her vacant stare, memories from the salvage yard surged—fighting in the warehouse, the frosted-eyed man pinning me down, the strange powers of the brunette woman. Everything beyond that moment dissolved into a blur of confusion. It was like a nightmare, but so strangely familiar. A wave of panic rushed through me, and before I could hold it back, tears spilled onto the floor.

"I'm so sorry," I whispered, barely able to steady my voice. Natasha glanced up at me, her expression softening as she noticed my distress. Her eyes flickered with something—perhaps a hint of recognition, or empathy. I despised crying in front of people, especially those I cared about, but the tears wouldn't stop. If I had blacked out in the warehouse, if I had failed the team, if my panic had contributed to the mission's collapse... I didn't know how to make sense of it. "I had a nightmare—a terrible one. I remember seeing those two people before I blacked out. I'm sorry if I caused any problems. I didn't know what was happening."

Natasha's voice was gentle. "We all had those nightmares, except for Clint. You didn't do anything wrong." She reached out, taking my hand, offering a quiet comfort despite her own unease.

I squeezed her hand, trying to gather my scattered thoughts. The fact that the entire team had shared similar nightmares didn't make the fear inside me dissipate, but it eased some of the weight. Still, I wanted to shift the focus. The atmosphere in the Quinjet was already suffocating, and I didn't want to add to the tension. "Who were those two people, anyway?" I asked, my curiosity cutting through the fog of my anxiety.

Steve's expression softened, a flicker of concern passing through his eyes. "I should've told you before we went in. I got so used to you being with us, I forgot you didn't know about them. Their names are Pietro and Wanda Maximoff. They're twins from Sokovia, and they volunteered for Strucker's experiments. Pietro's got enhanced metabolism, and Wanda—she can manipulate minds and harness psionic energy."