Vision and the Scarlet Witch [Completed]

Chapter 22

(Wanda PoV)

A/N: If you are triggered by beatings and the mention of punishments then be warned about this chapter. I know Wanda is not a weak character but this chapter is showing the significance of her dreams and how she has PTSD of her time at HYDRA and in the Raft Prison.

Sleeping seemed like an easy thing to do at the moment, though the sleep itself was often hard to cope with. Every night I would fall into dreams... nightmares, only one I could properly tell Vizh about- the one concerning his death. His death at my hands. Tonight was a different one.

I could feel my arm, against his chest, as we both slept before I slipped deep into another dream. More of a memory, really.

"Get the girl, I want to see her progress," a German voice spoke, as I could see Doctor List approach my cell. The voice had been Herr Strucker. I was yanked from my cell, pulled away from my brother, our eyes locking as we were pulled apart. I was pushed into a chair, in front of Strucker. "Show me what you can do, Miss Maximoff," he said, as he placed small wooden blocks on the table in front of me and removed the power-restricting collar from my neck. I slowly lifted my hand, forming red swirls of magic at my fingertips and concentrated on the blocks, as the red went to them, wrapping around them and slowly lifting the individual blocks. I did the same with my other hand and three more blocks were lifted. I glanced across at Herr Strucker in that moment, then across to Doctor List. They were nodding and the Doctor was adding to a sheet on a clipboard. "Good- you're making progress," Strucker said, "Doctor, continue the experiments, if we are to have weapons, they must be stronger."

At the mention of more experiments, I tilted my hand slightly, launching the blocks at Strucker, bashing him on the head. He whipped his head towards me, full of anger. "No- more- experiments... please!" I said, quietly.
"They will stop when I tell the Doctor to stop!" He yelled at me, grabbing my wrist and squeezing it, as he pulled me out of my seat and yanked me towards my cell. "Pietro!" He called, "Quicksilver! Watch what happens when you break rules..." he said the latter with a snarl in his German accent and smacked me across the face, so hard that I fell to the ground. I heard my brother call my name and telling Strucker to release me from the punishments. Typical big brother. Pietro had always tried to protect me. "No-!" Strucker replied, simply and picked me up, dragging me into the laboratory, "I think I'll let The Guards have their way with her, don't you think?" He spoke, as he spat in my face, "Or, simply, you can obey!" I gulped, dipping my head and nodding to the latter part. "I'm sorry..." I said, quietly, before I was brought back to my cell, the collar refastened to my neck and kicked to the ground. He made a 'I'm watching you' gesture towards Pietro and slammed the door to my cell, locking it but just before, threw the blocks in after me, two of them hitting my back before clattering on to the floor.

I awoke with a start, sitting up in the bed in Scotland and pulling the duvet up to my chin, shaking violently. I glanced to my right, noticing Vision asleep still but he had stirred. "Vizh?" I asked, gently. His eyes slowly opened and he sat up, slowly, next to me. "Wanda? Are you okay?" He asked,
"Bad dream... a memory," I replied, simply, as I reached for his hand. He gripped my hand, patting it gently with his free hand. "Do you want to lie next to me?" He asked, as he kissed the back of my hand. I simply stared ahead of me, before shaking my head. "I can't go back to sleep now- I'm too awake..." I said and forced myself out of bed. I was wearing a simple night shirt and some short shorts and made my way into the bathroom, picking up a dress and shawl on my way out.

I switched on the shower, allowing it to warm up as I undressed and wrapped my towel around me, as I waited. When warm enough, I stepped into the shower, flinching slightly, as the warm water against my bare skin collided with the memories I had. I had been beaten, by HYDRA and by SHIELD in the Raft Prison. The warm water reminded me of the guards' bare hands colliding with my skin, so tight that bruises formed. I shuddered at the thought and held my wrist, seeing no bruises there. It was a dream but it was an old memory reigniting.

The very thought of the memory made me nauseous and I gagged, dropping to the bottom of the shower pod and hugging my knees close to my chest. I felt vulnerable but I was a powerhouse- as some called me. Within me, was raw power that none of the Avengers had seen before and yet my past made me a scared little girl. I hated myself for being so weak and susceptible to my past experiences and begged myself to forget those memories, so as not to haunt me anymore. Now, I was being kept hidden from SHIELD but also protecting Vizh from whatever was after the stone. Would our lives ever be peaceful? I didn't know but I had a guess that a peaceful life was too much of a dream.

My wrists began to ache, going numb from the water, my chest too, making me feel sick. I reached up and turned the water off on the shower, gagging slightly, as I coughed. My coughs turned to tears, as I began to hold my head against my knees, remembering my past, remembering losing my brother, losing my parents. I only looked up once I heard a knock against the bathroom door. "Wanda?" I heard Vision say, "Are you okay? Can I come in?"
"I'm alright... I'll be fine..." I said, more for my benefit than his. I forced myself to stand up but my legs were wobbly and I managed to clamber out of the shower pod before pulling on my dress and wrapping myself in my shawl. I sat on the closed lid of the toilet for a few moments before reaching over and clicking the lock on the bathroom door open. He must have heard the click, since the door opened only a moment later and I could see him. "Oh- Wanda..." he said, as he knelt down next to me, holding my knee and stroking it gently with his thumb. "What was your dream? Do you want to talk about?" He added, speaking gently,
"It was a memory of HYDRA... I was being punished..." I replied, my voice cracking, as tears ran down my cheeks. I wrapped my red shawl over me more, feeling protected. "I'm so sorry that you had to endure that, Wanda..." he replied, as he stood slowly and touched his lips to my forehead, kissing me.
"You don't need to apologise... you weren't around then," I replied, quietly, as I looked into his face ahead of me. We stared at each other for a few moments, before he took my hands in his and lifted me to his feet. I was still shaken and was not able to stand on my own, collapsing into his arms, gripping on to try and steady myself. He helped. I was grateful that I was not alone. "I want to go home..." I whispered, holding myself up against his chest, "To the compound."

I felt Vision lift my head up to look at me. "If that is what you want, I will call Captain Rogers and we can organise something," he told me, kindly, giving me a comforting nod. He held me close to him, in an embrace. Still connected, we made our way out of the small bathroom and into the living room where he sat me down on the sofa, sitting himself next to me, kissing my forehead gently. I watched as Vizh reached for the Nokia 3210 mobile - the one that Nat had given us a year earlier - and dialled in Steve's number, I watched as the screen changed to show the message:
'Steve Rogers
Calling...'
Vision held the phone to his ear, keeping one arm around me, which made me feel more comfortable. I was still really shaken, why had I decided to remember that particular time at HYDRA? I had no idea whatsoever.