Queen

Chapter Twenty~One-The Mind is a Curious Place

"I said no!" I hear Steve yell and I start running. I burst into the living room to find everyone's already there. Sam, Steve, Bucky and are on one side while Vision, Nat, Rhodes, and Wanda are on the other. Steve and Wanda are face to face, fists clenched, eyes hard. I rush in and put myself between them.

"Hey, hey, hey. What's going on here?" I ask, pushing Steve back and sliding in front of Wanda. Wanda scowls and throws her hands up in frustration.

"I just want to look into his mind to make sure he isn't a threat!" Wanda reveals.

"And I said no! Hasn't he been through enough?" Steve questions passionately. I turn towards him and place a hand on his chest.

"You need to calm down. I understand how much this matters, but this isn't helping. Calm. Down." I tell Steve while he looks deep into my eyes. He huffs, but releases his clenched fists. I smile at him and turn to Bucky. His eyes are bright with life and hope and fight. He looks more alive than I've ever seen him. "Bucky, what do you say? It is your mind." I ask him. He looks at me nervously, and I immediately know he doesn't want to. He shakes his head slowly.

"No. I'm sorry." He answers, then apologizes for answering. I take a deep breath and face Wanda.

"Okay. Bucky says no, so it's a no. But you can look into my mind." I offer instead. Everyone looks surprised and I hurry to explain. "He's been around me the most since quitting Hydra. I know he isn't a danger. If you look into my mind, see what he's been like, I know you'll see that too." I speak directly to Wanda. She nods slowly and I nod back at her. "I trust you." I whisper and her eyes widen a bit.

"Alright. I think it's worth a try." Wanda says, her fists unclenching and covering themselves with a red sort of mist.

"Fair." Rhodes relents and Natasha nods, agreeing with him. Although her eyes are burning into Bucky's. If it weren't such a serious situation I'd say they were having a staring contest.

"I trust Wanda's judgement." Vision says, albeit hesitantly. I smile and release a pent up breath. Wanda lifts her hands in front of me.

"Ready?" She asks me. I swallow, but nod. She lets her hands hover on either side of my head, then enters it. I take a sharp intake of breath at the intrusion and feel my hands turn into fists. It's not painful, just strange and...uncomfortable. As Wanda rifles through my head I fall to my knees as my vision fades. Noise fades as well, but I can still touch. I feel hands on me, insistent and concerned. I shake my head the best I can to reassure them.

"I'm okay." I do my best to say, and the hands ease up, but stay on my shoulders. Then all feeling is lost as I get lost in my memories.

"But daddy, where are we going?" I ask curiously, jogging to keep up with my dad's long strides. He looks down at me and smiles, he scoops me up and puts me on his shoulders. I giggle and put my little chubby fingers in my dad's curly hair.

"We'll be there soon, V. Mommy is already there and waiting." He tells me and I shout happily in response. He laughs at me and tickles the bottom of my feet. We start approaching a big building covered in vines and dark spots. I frown and lean over my dad's head, putting my chin on his head.

"That looks scary." I observe and my fists tighten in his hair. He winces and pulls me off his shoulders to put me on the ground. He crouches in front of me and takes my hands in his.

"Look, V. Your mom and I have been working on something for a long while, but nothing has worked. We've been working here because other people just wouldn't understand the cost of what we're doing and would try to stop us. Now, we think that part of the problem with our experiments is that they're too old. Their cells, the stuff that makes them up, have matured too much. We need your help to fix this. Okay? Nothing to be afraid of. You're the little miracle that we've been waiting for. You want to help?" He asks me. I don't have to think about it. I nod vigorously.