My Awakening (4)

Chapter 3

(Avengers' Tower, Stark's POV)

I'm looking at her through the screen, but I'm not seeing her. This isn't y/n, and I have to stop treating it like it is.

"I can't," I say to Loki as I turn off the microphone. "I'm sorry, but I can't just sit back and watch her like this. Keep an eye on her would you?"

He nods without a word, but it's not exactly like I'm waiting for one. I rub my hands over my face as I stand from my chair and walk out of the room. 

Banner better have something. I can feel her slipping away more and more. There were signs that y/n was fighting back, the odd twitch in the eye or the shaking of the arm, but they're getting few and far between. We have to figure this out quick, before we lose her completely.

"Tell me something good," I sigh as I walk into the lab.

"Well, I will as soon as I've got something good to tell."

"Not exactly what I wanted to hear but alright."

"I don't know what to say Tony. There's no way we can get close enough to her to examine the disc and, even if we did, what then? We rip it out of her head and risk the damage it could cause?"

"We could hit her really hard on the head?" Romanoff suggests with a tired smile. "Seemed to work pretty well on Clint."

"I'll do it," Rogers volunteers himself quickly.

Too quickly.

"No to Romanoff. And no to Rogers. This is very different from the witchy woo Wanda shit that Barton had."

"What about gas? We knock her out, tie her up, examine the disc."

"It's not...... a terrible idea. But I don't want to get y/n back and have her hate us for basically torturing her."

"First of all," Rogers folds his arms, "it's not torture. We can all agree that she knows torture, hell most of us know torture, and this isn't that. Second of all, I think she'd understand that we're doing everything we can to get her back. Even if it's a last resort."

"I don't like it."

"None of us do," Romanoff says with her head in her hands. "But we have to do something. And unless you can think of anything else......?"

"No. I can't. She's not co-operating, neither me or Loki can get through to her, and there's no way she's gonna let us get close. But we have to be careful. She might be planning something."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean it sounded like she was implying she could communicate with people outside of here through the disc."

"She's probably saying anything to keep herself alive," says Rogers.

"No, that's not it. She knows that we won't kill her. Think about it, one of y/n's powers is she can read people's minds, right? Well what if this is something like that? Wanda I don't suppose you know anything about this?"

She shrugs apologetically, "Not really, no. I do remember something, but it's probably nothing."

"Probably nothing is better than absolutely nothing right now."

"Alright, well, I could hear List training her sometimes. I remember there were a few days where he would try and..... I don't know how to explain it."

"Try. Please."

"I don't know, I guess insert herself in his mind? Like he wanted to have a conversation with her, but in his head."

"He wanted to create a psychic link?" Banner asks as he adjusts his glasses on his nose.

"I suppose so. But it never worked. Either she refused to do it or she just didn't know how."

"Well if it's the case that she refused to do it, then it means she probably does know how. Which is something that List would try to use to benefit him."

"Surely List would have to have one of those things attached to him as well then?"

"It wouldn't be very surprising," says Wanda. "Doctor List goes to extreme measures to get what he wants."

"Alright, so, what are we saying?" I ask Banner.

"Okay, I think that the disc is firing electric shocks to her neurons, and she's being rerouted to be connected to List."

"So he is brainwashing her?"

"Almost certainly, yes."

"And as soon as we get it off her, we'll have the old y/n back?"

"She might need some time to adjust as her brain starts functioning independently again, but it shouldn't take too long. It's only been, what? A week? Two at most."

"Okay. So, plan. We gas her, get the thing off her, and put her back in the cell once it's off until we have her back."

"Is this safe?" Romanoff asks. "We're not even entirely sure that this is what it is. What if it's wrong and we kill her?"

"Nothing that we ever do is safe, alright? We have to risk it if we wanna try and get her back. We definitely owe it to her to try."

"We owe her nothing."

"Rogers, I suggest you shut your mouth before you wind up in a body bag, okay?" I look at him sternly. "I don't think any of us really understand what your problem is, and what you've got against her, but we all care about her and consider her a part of the team. Seriously, one minute you like her, the next you don't. Make up your goddamn mind before I smash your face in."

"Watch yourself Stark. I suggest you keep yourself in line."

"Make me."

He steps right up and looks down on me.

"You don't scare me, Cap."

"I'm not trying to."

"Then back. Away. Now."

"Alright boys," Romanoff claps her hands together and stands up. "Too much testosterone in here for me. Both of you go cool off, everyone be back here in an hour and we'll start getting the stuff together to finally have y/n back."

She turns and struts out of the room, quickly followed by Wanda and Barton. Banner watches in awe.

"Bruce," I look at him over my shoulder, "pick your mouth off the floor and wipe the drool from your chin."