Night Visions

Chapter 7

She lay curled on the bed, but sleep had not come. At first it had only stoked her anger. She had pinched shut her eyes, willing the dreams to claim her, even if it meant facing the nightmares again. Fighting, falling, either would be better than the sick feeling in her stomach. She shouldn't need him. If he didn't want to be dependent, then neither would she. But eventually the tears had dried and the rage had quieted. Then she had simply lay, listening to the silence.

When she heard the door open, it was an effort to keep still. He stood unspeaking, a tall, lean shadow outlined in the dim light of the hallway beyond. Of course, he would know she was awake. She should tell him to go away, to leave her, but she couldn't make herself say the words. So she held stubbornly to the lie, feigning sleep, waiting for him to go but hoping he would stay.

"Wanda. Will you come with me?"

She pushed up on an elbow, sweeping the hair from her eyes. He sounded different now... shaken, if such a thing was possible. Without a word she stood and crossed the room, following him out into the compound. Vision remained a silent specter at her side, but she could feel the warmth of him now, the easy grace where before there had been only stiffness and cold.

It was then that she truly felt the chill in the air, the soft carpets of the living quarters giving way to the cold tile of the training facilities. Smoothing her nightgown, she shivered.

"You are cold?"

She shook her head. "I didn't know we were coming so far. I would have worn shoes."

Without hesitation, he bent and scooped her into his arms, cradling her as he had the first time, seemingly so long ago.

"I'm not helpless, you know."

He gave her a wry smile. "Far from it. Shall I put you down?"

"...No."

He carried her past the training rooms and up into the laboratory above. Here she thought he would stop, but he kept going, his eyes fixed ahead, the machines lighting his face with strange and shifting shadows as they passed. She stared up at him, wanting to reach out, to brush his mind as she had so many times before. It had never felt like an intrusion, but now she was not so sure.

When at last he slowed, they were in a dim hall beyond the laboratory proper, in a small cluster of rooms used for storage. Gently setting her down, he flicked a light switch on the wall.

Wanda gasped. She hadn't known it was still here. "The cradle."

"Yes. The damage was irreparable, but Dr. Cho salvaged what she could. I hear the new prototype is coming along well."

Stepping around, Wanda ran her hands over the cool metal of the box's lid. "I remember..."

"As do I."

She spun to face him. "You should tell them to get rid of it. This is not who you are."

He stepped close, very close, but his eyes strayed past her, his fingers tracing the box's edge as he pressed her back against it. "You misunderstand. What I remember... is you. Yours was the first touch I ever felt. When you reached out for my mind..." He shook his head. "I had not yet opened my eyes, but I saw you."

Laying a hand on his arm, she smiled up at him, but it died on her lips as he stiffened.

"I saw you recoil. I saw your pain. The smallest glimpse, and you saw only horror."

"But you weren't you, not then."

"You saw the core that I was built upon." He leaned closer and she thought for a moment that he meant to kiss her, but he turned his face away. "You more than anyone should know that this is a terrible idea. And to think that I would let it corrupt you..."

In frustration, she pressed her hands to his chest, but he would not budge. His eyes were still fixed behind her, lost to their anguish.

"You don't know what I saw. You do not know what I've seen since."

"I appreciate what you are trying to—"

"No. You don't." She glared up at him, and when he finally met her eyes her anger seemed to surprise him. "You brood and you doubt and you say that you are protecting me. You think that this choice is yours alone. Does my opinion mean nothing? Do you think that I need your protection?"

"I only meant that I am—"

"Powerful. Insightful. Kind. Born of a miracle of science and of magic. Perfect." She punctuated each word, driving them home, never breaking his gaze. "You think to corrupt me? Do you know the things that I have done? You, who wielded the Thunder God's hammer. They have told me what that means. So maybe it isn't you who is not good enough."

He stared down at her in stunned silence. Then his hand was against her cheek, his flesh warm, his voice soft. "You cannot think that."

"But I do. They were always against us... against me. Because we were different." She shuddered. "I thought that you would understand. But you only push me away."

"I... am sorry." The realization seemed to pain him. But there was no hesitation as he slipped an arm around her waist, the other reaching up to stroke her hair. "For everything."

Still the anger coursed through her, but she breathed deep, letting herself sag against him, muttering against his chest. "You are more than what they made you. I can feel it. So if you cannot believe that, believe me."

"I... will try." He cupped her chin, tilting her head as he pulled her to him and covered her mouth with his.

After a long while she pulled away. Knotting her fingers through his, she steered him from the room, leaving the box behind them.

"Where are we going?" He gave her a questioning look, but she only smiled.

"To try."