Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It’s almost ridiculous how obvious the trap is. Even with your infinite knowledge at the edge of your mind the way it was too simple getting in - no alarms, no guards and the half-powered cameras barely registered your arrival. Not even the code was hard to crack.

Not that you had much experience breaking and entering to begin with. Had it not been for the very real threat that was Valentina, you would have disappeared off the face of the earth 2 weeks ago. Yet you know that you have to get through this hurdle if you want to untangle yourself from the web that has been spun around you, to escape it before it strangles you.

The facility is supposed to be off the books, a vault of secrets that practically invited you in with its lackluster security.

As you stand in the intel room you can’t help but to look at the mess. There are large crates strewn about, and boxes with files upon files. Even digital drives were strewn about. It was so perfectly messy it looked intentional. Everything the congress needed to pin Valentina to all the accusations thrown at her.

That’s the problem.

It is too perfect. Everything collected at the same place, and soon the rest of the evidence will walk in and destroy themselves and you in the process. It almost makes you want to laugh at the irony of it all and the worst part? Valentina knew that you already know.

That’s the thing when your powers are all tied back to one thing: Knowledge. The ever-watching eye, the soon-to-be omniscient, and whatever stupid metaphors people came up with for you.

The simple truth was that if you put your mind to it you would know almost anything, but that didn’t mean you would understand it. It was overwhelming in the worst ways, like having a voice in your head whispering all the answers to the smallest wonders, the tiniest curiosities. Yet to get knowledge you had to consume it. To constantly learn something new, or it would drain you.

You prefer to call it something closer to “omnivision”, you see everything within your mind, but you don’t know or always understand it. It isn’t yours to know, but still you rip precious, private moments from people without meaning too. Yet people keep mistaking your power for seeing the future, which you can’t. It’s too easy to change or tilt in another direction, too unstable to know.

Most days you curse your powers - the constant headaches, knowing too much about everyone, the lack of normalcy the moment people learn of what you do. Yet standing in that room you can’t help but to thank whatever being that gave you it.

You already knew what was in the crates and files: the “sentry project”. You even worked on it yourself which is why Valentina is so eager to get rid of you. It failed after all despite your knowledge and now with the press down her back, you simply knew too much.

The moment footsteps echoed you do what you do best, you hide. Only bad things can happen if you decide to join in the fray. A few crates and boxes makes a makeshift hiding spot as you almost hold your breath.

One by one they enter, and the chaos ensues so quickly you almost get whiplash, but you stay completely still. As if moving a single muscle was signing your death warrant.

You know these people, well not personally, but you know them.

John Walker. Taskmaster. Yelena Belova. Ava Starr.

All mercenaries for Valentina with blood so deep in their ledger that it’s impossible to get out, and they are fighting each other in a frenzy. Steel meets flesh, someone gets knocked into crates and knives with deadly precision.

It makes you queasy to watch.

While your powers make you a great know-it-all, it doesn't come with physical advantages and while you can hold your own, you have great doubts about going against them. You doubt they would even give you the time of day to explain yourself before you turned cold.

They would kill you.

You can’t help but shrink at the knowledge forced into your mind. The layered, echoing whispers without a sound that paints a clear picture, but you know this fighting needs to stop one way or another.

Before you can rise from your position, there’s movement near you and a man crawls out of a larger box. You almost jump out of your skin. Where did he come from?

The box

Helpful…
He’s retching and seems to almost puke as he clumsily stumbles in front of the others. It’s a miracle he does not see you, but you see him. Oh, you see him so clearly.

Robert Reynolds. Sentry project test subject. Supposed to be dead… and briefly almost your friend.

“Is she actually dead?” he says as he stumbles out with wide eyes. “Oh,” is all he says as he turns to escape only for the door to shut harshly. All of them do as your eyes widen. Your time window was up, you’re officially doomed.

This is it, isn't it?

Only the repeating of “bob” snaps you out of your incoming panic.

“I suppose all of us were sent…except you…bob?” you say with a surge of confidence as you show yourself from your hidden position, barely suppressing a flinch as they turn their guns on you. With a deep breath to steady yourself you continue, “Valentina sent all of us.”

“Who the hell are you?” Walker barks out at you, more bite than bark, seconds away from sending you straight to hell. You supposed dressing sort of like a civilian helped your caught-in-the-crossfire aesthetic.

“It really doesn't matter if we don’t start thinking about how to get out of here,” you manage to mutter back. The way everyone stares at you makes your skin itch, you really don’t like being stared at. Ironic isn't it. A lot seems to be recently. You can’t help but shift nervously.

Yelena understands your words immediately, you know in the way her eyes close with a weary sigh, and she looks back at Walker and Starr. With a shake of her head, she raises her hands in a slow surrender and her gun no longer aimed at anyone.

“Okay,” she begins, “It’s clear we have all worked for Valentina in some sort of shadow ops capacity.

“Yeah, so?” Walker questions as his own defensive stand loosens with a shrug of his shoulders, not understanding Yelena’s implications.

“So all of this stuff is OXE’s secrets” She answers him as she uses her hands to direct to the other things in the vault. “But so are we.” she finishes.

“Which makes us liabilities that no one would miss...” Starr completes the picture for everyone.

“Oh, speak for yourself,” Walker interrupts, not catching the seriousness of the statement.

Yelena barely gives him a chance to continue as she says ”We are the evidence and this is the shredder”, with a barely concealed astonishment at his density. “She wants us gone.”
You sigh wearily as they argue between themselves. At least they weren't looking at you anymore and you feel yourself relaxing against your better judgement.

“Um– you’re… i know you…i think?” comes from slightly behind you, but way too close to comfort and you almost jump out of your own skin. A barely concealed shriek dying in your chest as you stare with wide eyes back at Robert… or well Bob you supposed.

“I suppose you did,” you answer him, but you know you confused him more by your answer than he originally was. His eyes are searching, deep in colour like a stormy sea, and that is what you know him as. Unpredictable in nature and even more so with the serum running through his veins. You don’t say that though, that piece is tucked into your mind.

“Oh! Well, uh,” he stumbles over his words, “your name… I don't remember” he finally mutters out. Shame curls around his words like a vice. Like he’s afraid of being reprimanded of his forgetfulness.

Silence stretches between you as you look at him and tilt your head ever so slightly.

“Call me Omni” you whisper, as if the name can crack and scorch everything that hears it, and you're not sure if it won’t. Bob’s head tilts as he stares at you, a strange mix of emotions flurries quickly past his face, and you can’t help but let loose another sigh.

“Come on,” You say as you slowly reach out and take his hand and lead him back behind the crates you hid behind a few minutes ago. “In case they decide to be trigger happy again, I don’t much enjoy being shot” you say as he stares at your intertwined hands in wonder.

Usually touch makes your skin crawl in the worst way, especially skin on skin, but Bob’s skin sat warm against yours and thawed the cold out of it slowly. You both look towards the other three as they continue to argue. As Starr and Yelena start to laugh at Walker’s absurdity, so does Bob.

“It was getting so tense here for… a second”, his laughter soon dies at the looks he receives and he shrinks behind the crates, and by proxy behind you as well. As though you could cover his frame from the glare that Walker gives him.

Walker seems to take it personally. Very personally.

“I’m not leaving here without completing my mission,” he says as he stalks towards the two of you. “Valentina gave me a clean slate guarantee, and I’m not screwing that up.” He stops as he looks between the two of you.

“But these two weirdos wasn’t part of the job, so I gotta know…” he continues as he takes a few more steps, way too close for comfort. “How’d you get in?” he says with a malicious smile and tilt of his head. It makes you uneasy.
“The same way you did… I just got here before you” You answer honestly and hold your hands in mock surrender. “Not my fault you didn't see me…” You mutter out the last part, but you know he hears you.

Bob just stumbles over his words and shrugs, a “I don’t remember” leaving him, but you know. You know exactly how he got here. You can’t say that though, Walker would kill him, and in your own selfish way you don't want to lose him.

“Terrific answer,” Incrediously Walker spins around looking at the others. “Alright um… tie yourselves up.”

“Wow” and “oh, my god” leaves Starr and Yelena at the same time, both looking back with the same incredulous look that Walker had given Bob.

“No… and goodbye” was all that left Starr as she walked towards one of the shut doors, activating her powers as she went. A moment of anticipation and tension lingered in the air before a loud high-pitched buzzing exploded into the room.

You don’t remember what happened. It all blurred as you collapsed in on yourself. Not only the buzzing screeching into your brain, but the sheer overload of information that followed it in your confusion. Your powers trying to make up for the unanswered questions

Make it stop… maKE IT STOP! STOP-

Chapter Text

The high-pitched screeching suddenly stops. The unnatural, thought-wrecking sound cut as if the speakers disconnected, and you were left crouching in despair. Intangible information swims inside your head as you try to move your body. You can’t help but release a groan as your locked limbs slowly loosen enough to stumble into a standing position.

You can’t help but wince as you sway on your feet, having to blink multiple times to get rid of the spots dotting it, and an all too familiar thrumming of a headache appears instead. Lifting your hand to rub against your temple as you try to get your bearings.

You’re not dead at least… you suppose… or?

The vault is no longer there.

Panic bubbles beneath the surface as you look around the new room. Though it isn’t actually new – no, this is so much worse than the vault. The scenery in front of you is a scar so ingrained into your heart you can’t contain the flinch that racks through your body.

How?

It's an interrogation room at the local police station where you stayed in your teens. Sterile walls with nothing on them except a singular watch that is 4 minutes too slow, the white yellowing with age and bad LED light lamps.

A child sits by the singular table in the room, too young to be there – only 13 or 14, and it's unmistakingly yourself. Messy hair, wide, hollow eyes, and blood stains your face and hands. Where your blood began and your mother's end is no longer visible, and you stare so intensely at the wall as though it held all the answers and blame for what happened.

You look so small with your shoulders bent inwards.

Yelling rings out and another flinch leaves you both. You recognize the voices that ring out from the hallway outside the room, and you know your younger self does too. It’s the kind police officer who always brings you cookies when you are taken in to help them with the missing person cases, and…your father.

Even through the thick cement you hear, you know, what they are arguing about.
Only 3 hours earlier, you had been walking hand in hand with your mother. She was a woman who loved loudly and proudly, as though nothing you could do was truly as bad as you felt it was. The understanding she had for you and patience with your powers was something you missed every day. To be understood at such a deep level.

She always seemed to understand how your powers worked, even before you did as though she knew what you were going through. Which always nagged a bit on your mind considering the fact that you knew she was a normal human with no powers.

Thinking about where your powers came from gave you such intense nausea and pain that you barely thought about it anymore. If it didn’t want to reveal itself then so be it. Curiosity killed the cat, and you had no intention of dying anytime soon. Though your current circumstances left you with a little less hope than usual.

You had been distracted when walking with your mother. Her hair flew in a pretty way in the wind, and she was talking about making pasta for dinner while you pondered over all the different pasta types there were, what she would like best and if your father would like the same. It was only when your mother suddenly halted and pulled you roughly closer behind her that you snapped out of your thoughts.

3 men stood in front of you, the one in the front very clearly speaking to your mother in russian– you didn't know she knew how to speak it. She was scared and you looked closer at the men in front of you.

Kristopher Jamey
Jacob Moreno
James Buchanan Barnes

All tall, strong men working for Hydra.

You didn’t stand a chance, not really, and in the midst of their arguing your mother started crying. She begged, not for herself, but for you.

“Take me, not my child,” she begged. “I have what you want, just let them go home, ok?” She continued as words flew out of her mouth. Tears and panic in her eyes as you were pulled further and further behind her. It was only later you had realised she never stopped speaking russian… and you had never learnt it.
They were sent by a man named Alexander Goodwin Pierce.

He knew of your power, but somewhere along the way the information had been distorted and they believed it was your mother who had your powers. By the way she spoke in those last moments, she intended for it to be so.

It was only when the man, Moreno, reached to grab your mother and Jamey reached for you that shit hit the fan. Your mother in her panic had taken one of the mens knives and sunk it into the man grabbing you. Before you even could react a loud bang broke the struggle, and your mother slumped as screaming erupted.

It came from you. Loud and wailing, and so filled with despair as you knew the exact moment she died. The exact moment her last breath left and her heart stopped, when her body completely shut down and there was nothing you could do.

You fell to your knees by your mother, not hearing anything but loud swearing before a cold hand grabbed you. The man who had said nothing to you, a metal arm wrapped along your upper arm and shoulder, and you were forced face to face with him.

The direct eye contact made a shiver run through your spine. You hated it. You hated it so much because he was too old to look so young. Far too cold to be so hurt. Far too gentle for someone debating whether to kill you or not.

Barnes was too brainwashed to show you mercy.

This you knew.

Yet… there was something. A crack in his facade, a doubt in his mind as you stared wide-eyed into his empty ones. If you could just pry, just a little bit, to make that hesitation and doubt grow enough to let you go.

Information fell like a waterfall within your head, matching with your tears as you took a deep breath.

“Hello, James,” your voice cracked and tore through your throat in the simplest whisper. He wouldn’t recognize his own name, but you knew it was his.

Something cracked behind his eyes. You saw your own outline of a sickly, grey-ish red from where your eyes were. As if you suddenly had died yourself.

He paused and in his next blink your own eyes were back to their original colour.

James let go of your shoulder and turned to Jacob Moreno, picked up the now dead Kristopher Jamey, and simply started walking away. Leaving you entirely to your own fate beside your own dead mother, and you felt… nothing.

As if all your energy and emotions had disappeared.

You sat silently by your mother until the police showed up. You didn’t react as they carried you to the car, checking you for injuries, taking you to the station and waiting for your dad to show up. You simply stared forward.

It wasn’t your fault. You know and the police know this, but your father? The anger that simmers in his eyes of blame. Everyone aware of your power eventually does so too. You should have known, you should have been able to save her, but you didn’t.

If only you had paid more attention.

Focused on the right things.

Been better.

It’s an eerie kind of strange rewatching that evening from the outside. It makes you realise that you were just a child, no matter how much they blame you for the outcome, that why would you suspect anything wrong walking home the same path you took almost every day.

Seeing yourself so clearly and yet again realising how quickly everything had gone sideways. What had felt like hours had happened in less than 30 minutes. It took the police longer to get there than for your mother to be killed.

At least you could give names. Though you never mentioned James’s name, something in your mind told you to wait, and you listened to it. It seemed better to just do as it said. It did know better after all.

Your father never forgave you and you stopped speaking almost entirely if not directly asked.
In the interrogation room you look to the doorway and see Bob staring intensely between you and your younger self.

It’s his doing, but you helped yourself in.

It’s so clearly voiced in your head you can’t help but stare back in the same intense way.

Something shifts and you feel as though your soul gets ripped back into your body and sealed way too tightly in your chest. With a heave you look back at Bob who’s standing way closer, and the familiar room of the vault appears in your vision.

His hands are close to your head, and you realise he must have covered yours and somehow activated whatever power lives inside him. It hurts too much to figure out, so for now you leave it. You’ll probably learn it later.

“Woah, you guys hear that?” he says with his eyes wide in wonder, though it almost feels fake in the way his eyes had seen into yours with such a different emotion only a second before. You don't answer. You don't feel like you can.

The others don't answer either. Yelena’s mouth hangs open as her own hands fall down from her ears. Starr doesn’t look any better as she had been in the worst of it, and looks just as shocked and mortified.

Everyone stares between each other as a sinking feeling fills the silence in thick tension.

Chapter Text

Head the warning of a beholder

The silence stretches for a few moments as you stare among each other. You stumble to your feet, trying to get your bearings as you crack your shoulders. You know where it comes from, who made it, Stark Industries, and it also made you aware of how vulnerable you all were.

“That was part of the Stark Sonic Cannon,” you say as you wince when tilting your head from one side to another. “Its a non-lethal long-rance acoustic device weapon capable of emitting extremely intense, and focused field of compressed sound waves.” The ringing still present in your ears as you look at them.

“It's designed to stop all of us from getting out,” you say as you end your little information dump. A moment of understanding passes you, Starr, and Yelena. They understand your meaning immediately.

There doesn't seem to be any immediate danger as nothing further happens in the room, and the tension slowly bleeds out.

“How do you know that?” Walker asks you with a suspicious look. His eyes squint and he squares his shoulders as he talks.

“Because it’s my entire thing,” you answer him with a shrug and a smile that doesn’t reach your eyes. “Everything I’m curious about I will know,” you continue, “It’s really that simple.”

“Yeah, right” he scoffs at you and starts to turn away from you. It sparks a sense of annoyance in you, and you decide that it is worth the headache to prove him wrong.

“It's how I know your name is Jonathan Walker, born and raised in Custers Grove, Georgia. Your parents are Caleb and Emily Walker, and you have two siblings” You say loud enough to catch everyone's attention. “ An older brother who fell in battle, helicopter pilot I believe, and a younger sister you call HBO.” you finish with a slight grimace and the fakest smile you can put on your face.

As you speak you see a cold realization wash over him as his mouth opens and closes. You can practically see the gears turning in his head as he tries to figure out an explanation for how you know it. Anger overtakes the paranoia you seem to have given him.

“How do you know that!?” he says so loud he might as well have been yelling.

“I just know,” you fire back. “Everything you’ve ever done? I know, not because I want to, but because I just do.” The silence that settles is uncomfortable and tense, but you don’t feel any guilt for it. If John Walker would stop being an asshole you could easily forgive his pride, and he would stop trying to make you feel less than you are.

“You’re omniscient?” Starr pipes up as she looks at you with hesitance and curiosity. It's the first time you see her look at you properly without indifference and suspicion, it fits her in a strange way.

“No, I don’t know everything, god that would be a nightmare,” you say with exasperation. Even just imagining knowing literally everything gives a thrumming behind your eyes of exhaustion. Starr seems to understand your point and nods in agreement.

“So you can see the future?” Yelena asks in almost a sing-song voice as she sits on one of the boxes.

“No, only the past and present,” You answer honestly, there isn't any point in lying to them. “It’s too many variables trying to know the future,” you shrug again and join her in sitting on the crate. Trusting her enough to not stab you, or shoot you, or-

“Makes sense,” Starr mutters as she starts looking around the room. She and Walker seem interested in looting the boxes for useful tools, before descending on Taskmaster's body. Yelena protests talking about respect for the dead.

You zone them out and feel the stare from Bob returning tenfold. As you lift your eyes you meet him in a softer moment then the intensity of the one before. He’s curious, you can tell it without knowing, but he seems to hold himself back from asking. You give a half smile which he returns.

He tosses some files away as he starts to wander towards you. The worst part being that the files contain information about him and the “sentry project”. You expect it, but it still leaves a strange feeling in your gut knowing he doesn’t fully remember who you are. It's strangely comforting.

Who knew for someone knowing so much that being known yourself was such a terrifying thought.

Suddenly the alarm blares around you, and the room goes dark except for the red lights that have overtaken the led lights.

A sinking feeling makes itself at home between your ribs, and you know you need to get out of there now.

“What the hell is that?” Walker says and looks around on guard again. Yelena and Starr also spring up to their feet and look around. You don’t need to as a bone-deep sigh leaves you and you close your eyes in a small ounce of defeat.

This is going to be much harder than it needs to be…

“That doesn’t sound like a shredder,” Starr adds as she paces, worrying lining her words. “It’s an incinerator,” she continues as she looks around the room.

You open your eyes and stare directly at the timer that appears on the wall, and Yelena follows your eyes in an instant.

“Two minutes,” Yelena looks back at the others as she talks. “Then Valentina’s slate is wiped clean.”

“You don't know that for sure-” Walker starts, “could be for anything.” He raises his hands as if it makes sense. “It could be for when they come to pick me up.” It sounded weak even to him as the temperature started rising

“It’s an incinerator," You say as you stand up, as Starr cuts in.

“Do you feel that?” Starr says incredulously while nodding at him. “The temperature rising dramatically as if heat was involved?”

“...ok, it’s an incinerator,” Walker begrudgingly agrees.

“Oh boy, that is no way to go,”Bob chimes in as he stands beside Walker and shakes his head.

“Well, how would you like to die today Bob?” Walker snaps back at him, and you just raise an eyebrow at the interaction.

“Okay, ghost lady,” Yelena butts in to stop their bantering.

“Ava,” Starr cuts in before being cut off again by Yelena.

“Sure, whatever, don’t care,” she says as she turns to face the wall. “We need to get you through the walls, so that you can open the door.” She points at it while talking and Starr- Ava follows her gaze.

“She tried that already,” Walker adds the obvious into the mix.
“We have to shut off the sound barrier,” you chime in as they turn to look at you.

“Well, if they built it just for her,” John finishes for you, taking a pause as he thinks. “There’s gotta be an independent power source.”

Yelena rolls her eyes and motions for people to start moving. With Ava getting everyone on the move to look, you take a sweep with your eyes across the room. If there was a power source, where would it be? Where could it possibly be hiding?

You move before the answer lodges itself properly in words.

The arguing of the others barely whispers in your ear as you walk. It’s almost as if the world grew silent and the incoming doom is far away. You barely notice enough to move around the crates as your eyes are fixed on a specific spot.

You hear the whirring of the power source.

“I found it!” you yell out, the zone you originally were in dissipating like a fog. Yelena and Ava run over to you, both working together to get the panel off as Yelena pulls you behind her. Ava gets the panel off in a loud thud as the metal falls to the floor.

“I can override this;” Yelena pulls something out as she says it. Bob suddenly comes to a quick halt beside you, looking at the glowing lights of the power. His hand finds yours in a vice, anxiousness makes his hand clammy, but you find you don't mind and squeeze his hand back.

“On your left!” Walker says as he comes up as well, pulling Yelena to the side and jamming his shield right into the source.

“Well, that works,” Yelena quips. “I hope…”

“Go, go, go,” Walked orders as he and Ava sprints towards the door. Ava dematerialises and goes through it without the high-pitched buzzing this time. It's disturbing to know exactly how her cells destroy and merge themselves, and the amount of time to learn how to control it.

The rest of you join Walker at the front of the door, waiting and praying that Ava doesn’t leave you to die horribly in the flames that will rain down soon.

22 seconds. 20 seconds. 15. seconds.
“You think she’s coming back?” Bob asks anxiously. The temperature rises dramatically and everyone starts breathing more and more heavily as the seconds pass.

“I should have seen this coming,” Walker mutters, but Yelena’s gaze is wide at the door. She’s still hoping for Ava to open the door. That she hasn’t run off to save herself and left you all behind.

You look at the three of them, mapping out their features and hidden quirks. It doesn’t distract you the way you hoped, but it makes the seconds a little less long and terror-filled. She won’t abandon you, you know this, but will she be able to open the door?

The others look forward in despair. The seconds tick by first 10, then 7, then 6. It’s almost like they’ve already accepted it was the end.

Suddenly the alarm blares, but it isn’t fire that comes down in waves. The door hisses, and you move forward without thinking as it opens. It’s a good thing you do as the fire flares down behind you in such force it destroys everything in its wake.

You’re flinged out of the room by the force at such a speed your body flies against the wall in the outer hallway. Your head cracks heavily against the concrete and pain overtakes you as your vision swims. It makes you close your eyes with a quiet groan and you feel your consciousness slipping.

Chapter Text

The endless void of my own mind.

Dark dots cover your vision as you see Ava dust herself off. Yelena and Bob lie side by side, alive, but their minds are somewhere else, and Walker sits up with a groan you only know, but can’t hear. You blink slowly at them, your body not cooperating as you lie there.

Bob sits up as though startled awake and Yelena sits up a few seconds after. There is a certain tension around them as they stare at each other, and you feel it has everything to do with wherever their minds had taken them.

It’s better not knowing for now

Is all you hear within your head and you can’t help but to agree.

“Yeah, I’m- I’m fine” Bob mutters, catching your ear, and you know he’s not. There is that change from the vault when the two of you got launched into your memories. There is a confidence under the anxiousness you can’t place. Though the ringing in your ears causes you to close your eyes for a few seconds.

Ava says something to Walker as she passes him, but despite her attitude she still crouches beside you and rolls you over carefully.There is a nasty burn on the back of your shoulder, and you definitely have a starting concussion. Both fighting for which to hurt the most.

You won’t die

Your mind reminds you in that silent whisper that has festered its way into your brain. Its roots long overgrown and its jagged thorns keep you aware of its grip on you. You don’t know what it is, and it is precisely what it wants– whatever it is.

“You with me?” Ava asks as you blink owlishly up at her. You manage a nod and a groan as she helps you up to your feet, and you give her a small thanks in return.

“So, uh, I didn’t catch your name,” Ava asks awkwardly as you still held on to her as your head swirled and swayed. Genuine curiosity your brain helped you with as you cracked a small smile.

“My friends call me Omni,” you say with a playful tone. “Though I don't actually have any, but feel free to use it anyways,” you add with the same jestful nature as your head balanced itself out. The patheticness of your answer made Ava snort and that was a win in your book at least.

“Call me Ava,” she answers you though with the way she’s looking at you she knows that you already know. You smile anyway and repeat her name to yourself as though it was a semblance of trust between the two of you.

“So the elevator didn’t work, huh?” You say lightly without accusation and look towards where the elevator is.

“No, they cut the power,” Ava sighs. There is a look of minute guilt, but you only shrug your shoulders. You regret it immediately and wince at the burn, and Ava reprimands you with a look that screams knock it off.

“Are you ok? Well you don’t look ok- Or well you look great, you just-” Bob says as he joins you and Ava, and you just raise an eyebrow at his rambling. His hands gently touch you, warm and large, before retracting as though he burnt you himself.

“I’ll live,” You answer with a tight smile and gently pat him on his upper arm. “Wait… did you just-” You start in surprise as Bob’s eyes widen before looking away so fast it should have given him whiplash.

“I- uh, well,” Bob starts before shortly being cut off by Ava’s muffled snort.

“Thank you, Bob” You say genuinely before giving Ava the same look she had given you before. Bob mutters under his breath, but there is a small smile that appears at your words.

“Let’s group up properly and figure out the best way out, ok?” You say to the both of them before
you start to walk towards Yelena and Walker. Ava joins you, but Bob is still muttering to himself and pacing. You let him be for now.

Walker is taking off his helmet as you walk up to him.

“Why are you here really?” Walker says to you in a tone you can’t bother to place. “Cause I get it you know too much, but why would Valentina want you dead?” His face is properly visible now as he looks you directly in the eyes. He puts extra emphasis on the knowing and you can't help the eyeroll that you answer him with.

“I helped with the project that is currently burning in there” You raise your hand and point at the vault. “I didn’t agree with how it was handled so I wanted out,” You say and look at him with an air of defeat. “Obviously she wasn’t going to let me go easy, but this was the only option I even had a chance to survive from,” You add and straighten your shoulders as you sigh at the end.

“Right, so everybody’s got a reason for being here except this guy” Walker says after a few seconds and you all look to Bob who’s still pacing.

“Hey, Bobby!” Walker calls out as he drops his helmet to the floor.”Less talking to yourself and more talking to us,” he orders as Bob halts his pacing and looks up at him. It doesn’t help as Bob looks back down and starts muttering again.

Spiraling

Right. His powers… Shit, his powers–

“I’m tired of this bullshit,” Walker exclaims in annoyance and starts walking towards Bob.

“Hey, Walker, wait don’t-” You start, but your hands miss him by an inch. Not that you could hold him back to begin with, you had no superhuman serum in your system and he could kill you in a second if he wanted too. The thought counts though as you follow.

“You tell me how you got in here right goddamn now.” Walker orders again as he stops in front of Bob. His shoulders squared and towers over him.

“I swear man, I-I just woke up in this place,” Bob starts as he looks up at Walker. “One minute, I was, you know, getting my blood drawn for this medical study, and the next I'm here” he chuckles nervously as he gestures at himself. “In my pajamas, I don't know what's happening.”

“Okay, then show me where you woke up,” Walker practically barks back at him, annoyance clear on his face and tone.

“In– In there.” Bob points towards the vault with a stutter.

“Where everything's on fire,” he scoffs in return. “That's real convenient,” he turns around and stalks past you towards the others.

“Walker, relax,” Yelena says exasperated.
“Dont listen to him, Bob,” you say to Bob and give him a sympathetic look.

“You don't remember anything?" Ava asks as she tilts her head at Bob, suspicion and curiosity merged into a twist of confusion. “Bag over your head? A needle in your neck?” she rams up as she looks at him and raises her head again.

“No,” Bob answers as if it didn’t make sense, but his tone kept an aura of dejection as he stared at everyone.

“Chokehold? Nerve pinch?” Walker adds to the list with his hands outwards as if it makes total sense. His annoyance reaches new levels as he stares at Bob as if it was his fault.

“No,” Bob rejects again and holds his hands up in surrender.

“I think he’s just a civilian,” Yelena says and looks at the others, her hand coming up to point in the general direction of Bob.

“If he’s a civilian, he knows too much,” Walker fires back at her and also points in the direction of Bob. “If he’s an agent, he sucks” He adds with such finality it makes your fists clench and your nails digging into your skin.

“Either way I say we throw him back into the fire,” Walker slams his hand down as he looks over at Bob as he says this.

“What? No!” You exclaim at Walker. You know he’s an asshole, but he can’t be that vile?

A chuckle silences you and you turn around to look behind you. Bob is chuckling as he grabs his own hands for comfort, playing with his fingers as he stares back up at Walker.

“Sorry,” Bob says as his chuckling dies down a bit, but doesn't stop. “Look– you said you were Captain America?” He asks as he points to Walker.

“Why are you laughing?” Walker asks in a dangerously calm tone compared to his usual barking tone.

“Just ‘cause you’re an asshole,” Bob says with another chuckle– as if it’s the funniest thing that Walker truly was Captain America, and that he had just threatened to throw him into the vault to his death. “You know?” Bob ends with as if it was an obvious statement.
Walker starts to chuckle, but you can tell that something is going to happen. Something bad if no one stops it. You’re not sure which one of them will end the best out of that scenario, and that is what scares you.

“Yeah,” Walker says as he walks towards Bob with a stride. On the outside he seemed calm, but you know better.

“It’s just funny, I mean-” Bob starts before Walker grabs the front of his top and slams him into the wall. The noise makes you flinch as you rush towards them to hopefully make sure neither does something they’ll regret.

The gold in Bob’s eyes makes you stop in your tracks.

The sentry project worked

Enhanced everything about him. The wishes to do good. His bad habits. His powers that lingered beneath the surface.

Chapter Text

Cracks in an imaginary wall that hurts more than it protects

Yelena’s yelling stopped your bain as it tried to inform you of way too many things at once. She’s between the two of them, pulling Walker off Bob.

“We swung our tiny dicks,” she says as she pushes Walker off. “It was a lot of fun” she adds with a quip and looks at the two of them. “You go over there,” She says to Walker and points as if he was a dog. “Bob, come with me,” She ends it with as she pulls him to the side.

“Come here,” she says as she also grabs you to go with them. Practically drags you along as you stumble over your feet at the sudden jank. She’s very strong for her stature, but you suppose the Red Room did that to a person.

“Are you hurt?” You ask as you reach out to touch Bob's head as you stop further away from Walker. You turn his head checking, even if your brain helpfully adds that he’s fine physically, but you can’t help but doublecheck him.

“No, I’m fine, I’m fine” He reassures, but he doesn’t pull away from you as you gently lower your hands. He rubs his face and turns to the side, probably to regain some sense of self before talking again.

“You do not seem fine,” Yelena says as she looks at him. She’s worried, it's practically written all over her face and body language, even if she barely knew him. She still chuckles as she says it to try and mask it, to hide it away.

You did know him before the vault.

Not for long you remind yourself. Just enough to realise you two were much more alike than you imagined as you prepped him for the serum. Yet you had seemed to calm him down, to anchor him, and you hope that you’re still able to do so. At least until you get out.

“Yeah, well, we’ve only just met. This is…” he trails off as he looks at her, though his eyes flicker towards you in recognition, before looking back at Yelena. “This is how I am,” he finishes with a shrug and half smile.

“Oh,” leaves Yelena as she nods a couple of times, her eyes wandering around the room for a split second. “The talking to yourself?” she adds and looks back at him. A hum of acknowledgement leaves him as he looks at the both of you.

“The emo aggressive thing?" she quips at him and you have to stifle a chuckle of your own.

“I mean- That guy’s been a dick to me from the start,” Bob says and looks at Walker. You can’t help but give your own hum of agreement and gently knock your shoulder into his. Not enough to get him off balance, but enough to bring his attention back to you and Yelena. It does give you a small smile from him as he barely meets your eyes before breaking eye contact.

He truly has the most brown coded blue eyes you’ve ever seen you muse to yourself.

“Oh, I get it. He sucks,” Yelena says in agreement. “But we have to work together to get out of here, so…” She adds while waving her hands animatedly towards the two others.

“Well, you guys should just go without me. It’ll be easier,” Bob says and you look up at him in a mix of understanding and despair. He fully believes it too which creates a crack in your well preserved wall that keeps people out.

“No, it won’t be-” You say, but get cut off by Yelena as she looks at him incredulously

“Oh no, you’ll die down here” she says with a scoff. The two of them chuckle, and you look at them both in worry.
“Yeah, well, whatever. I mean…” Bob answers with a shrug before continuing, “I think everyone’s better off if I stay put.” He nods as he speaks, as though it's true, and smiles awkwardly. The smile doesn’t reach his eyes.

You close your own in preparation for a much needed pep talk to the both of them as you sigh inwardly. This is already been a long day, your shoulder hurts and your concussion is messing with your mind, and now you have two suicidal idiots in front of you.

Yelena’s face breaks in slow motion as you open your eyes. You know she relates to the dark undertones of his words, and it cracks your inner wall more as you realise it. It’s one thing to know it– it's one thing to understand it, and you feel you understand them both too well.

“Okay, I- I understand” she starts as she gestures with her hands between the both of them. “We all feel like shit sometimes. And loneliness? I get that. I get it. And that- that darkness gets… pretty enticing” she rambles on as she realises things about herself she has tried to bury down.

“And then it starts to feel like a little bit like a…” Yelena continues as she tries to find the right words. the sentence hanging a few seconds with a sigh of her own.

“A void,” You and Bob say at the same time, finishing her sentence for her. You can tell he looks at you, but you refuse to meet his gaze at that moment, keeping your eyes steady at Yelena instead.

“Yep, a void,” she says and looks at the both of you again. Bob’s eyes flit between you and the others as the silence fills again. Though not for long.

“What do you do about it?” He asks as his eyes look intently at the two of you.

“You shove it way down. You just… push it down,” she animates with her hands as a push down to emphasise her point. You roll your eyes though a small smile betrays your amusement. Bob chuckles beside you at her antics.

Yelena starts laughing as well and you can't help but to let a small laugh escape you.

“I’m taking you both to therapy if we get out of here,” You say with a shake of your head as you look fondly at them. The both of them look at you in mild surprise and amusement.

“You can try,” Yelena smirks at you and you roll your eyes again.

“I don't know, I can be very persuasive,” You muse back at her with an innocent expression. She starts chuckling again at your expression, and you even feel Bob beside you shake with hidden laughter. "I'm serious though, leaning on others? that helps, so let's do that so we all at least get out, ok?” You add and look at both of them.

“Thanks, that- that’s really good advice,” He chuckles out.

“You’re welcome," Yelena answers with an amusing scoff.

A sudden crash behind you startles you out of the conversation. Your powers right at the front and you have to reign in a groan at the information load that jams itself through your thoughts. You stagger slowly and feel a warm hand steady you, meeting the worried gaze of Bob. His eyes flicker to your temple where you had unceremoniously hit the wall earlier.

“You’re bleeding-” he starts with before Walker cuts off with a sarcastic comment about being done with therapy and having found a way out. You curse him in your mind and just try to smile reassuringly at Bob.

“I’ll be fine, I know, remember?” You say, but don’t pull out of his grasp. He relaxes at your tone and nods at you though he doesn't let go of you either. He seems to trust your words, but his eyes betray his worry. You don't know how to feel about it– it's been years since someone cared enough about your wellbeing and not just your power.

It will change

Your brain unhelpfully adds.

“Look, we’re all alone… all of us” Yelena says after a moment, looking pointedly at you before looking up at Bob. It stings even though you are well aware. “Let’s just stick together until we make it to the surface, and after that you can start a fight with a super soldier and get yourself killed. I don’t care, okay?” She rambles again, though it’s more of a really bad pep talk. You just sigh in exasperation at it.

You really were scraping the bottom of the barrel with the moral here…

“Okay, yeah” Bob says as he passes you. His hand leaves your back and you can’t help but miss its warmth. You have always run cold, and it was a harsh reminder you are still in danger. You still had to get out alive somehow.

You give both Yelena and Bob a worried look as they walk past you towards Walker and Ava.

It’s going to be a long day isn't it…?

Chapter Text

If I can still breathe I’m fine

You're grabbed by Walker as he pulls you up to the air shaft and offers him a small thanks. He just grunts in acknowledgement as everyone gets into the cylinder shape of an air vent? It's really far up to the top, and there is little any of you could do to get up all the way.

Your way out looks a lot like just another dead end. Though… you do know there is an exit further up.

“So…” Yelena starts as all of you stare up. It's crowded with five people in the small room, but at least the ceiling wasn't low as well. That would have been claustrophobic deluxe in your current situation.

“None of us fly?” Yelena continues as she looks between all of you in hopes of good news. “What, do we all just punch and shoot?” She's at a loss for what to do, and if you weren't busy staring up you probably would share an equally confused expression.

“It's… really far up, but there should be an exit up-” You start as your brain feeds you information of exactly how high up you'd need to go to get out. There are different possibilities, but it would need a certain cooperation these people didn't have.

“Okay, don't worry. I got this” Walker cuts you off with the confidence of a man that was going to be crushed. He takes a few steps so he's in the middle before using the wall to jump. He goes high, really high, it would have impressed you if you hadn't known he wouldn't get far enough up.

A few seconds go before you know he's falling down, pushing yourself and Bob closer to the wall. Bob looks like he's about to say something before Walker slams into the ground on his back, his shield luckily absorbing a lot of the fall. Groans leave Walker as he looks up.

“You should try that again,” Ava says as she looks down at him and Yelena starts laughing. Bob looks worried and covers his mouth as he looks down, and you can't help but shake your head.

“We're pretty far down here,” Walker answers with a groan and Yelena keeps laughing at his misery. “Hey, okay, why don't you walk up through the walls or whatever, and then just throw us a rope down?” He says as he gets up to his feet, animating the rope part with his hands as he looks at Ava. Yelena hums in agreement to his statement.

“OKay, well, first of all, someone other than you would have to ask me,” Ava says with a disapproving nod and snarky tone. “And second of all, I'd have to know where I'm going 'cause I've never been able to hold it longer than a minute,” she continues as she looks between all of you. “So I'd just get lost in an ocean of dirt, and then I'd be crushed to death, all right?” she finishes as she looks over at Walker.

“Just a minute?” Walker says disappointed, earning a shut up from Ava as she stares daggers at him.

“Oh, my God, we suck…” Yelena says, covering half her face with her hand.

“Uh…” Bob pipes up, and you look back at him as he raises his hand slightly. “I have an idea,” he says as he looks at all of you. You know immediately what he's thinking off and you tilt your head at him and chuckle.

“That might actually work, Bob,” You offer before he has time to share with the others. He offers you a surprised look and you smile slightly at him.

“Okay, first of all, that’s creepy,” Walker starts as he points at you and you just shrug back at him. “Second of all, what idea?” He turns to Bob who offers a sheepish look in return.

From Bob’s explanation, to much coercion and forced cooperation, you do get going upwards. The five of you are leaning against each other and slowly working together to climb up. One foot at a time, and it’s hard. Very hard.

“Move your left foot up, Walker,” You grit out as you cling to Bob and Yelena. You know he will slip if he doesn’t and you’re not in the mood to become a splat at the bottom of the shaft. Your grip is so tight you’re surprised they don’t mention it.

This is a really bad time to be afraid of heights-

Okay, enough of that brain, you think to yourself as your teeth grind together.

“I’ll do what I want,” Walker snaps back at you, but follows your command. Everyone is working hard to make sure all of you get up, and it’s working well even though you feel nausea swirling in your gut. You’ve never been happier to be surrounded by assassins and super soldiers in your life.

Right, left, right left, right left

It repeats as you get up slowly but surely.

“Ew, which one of you is wet?” Yelena complains as you fight the urge to roll your eyes at her.

“I– I run hot, sorry,” Bob answers apologetically.

“Someone’s got a weird, hard butt” Walker adds in Yelena's complaint.

“That’s not my butt,it’s my suit, “ Ava answers Walker’s comment and you just sigh at them.

“Well you need to get a new suit,” Yelena quips.

If it weren’t for the fact that you would fall to your death, you swear you would have choked them out. Hypothetically. It's a nice visual though as you try to distract your brain from the contents of how Ava’s suit is built and all it’s function.

“Pardon me for the inconvenience, i mean i only spent my entire life in labs, hooked up to machines so i could create this physical cage to keep my material body from disintegrating at all times.” Ava grits out in agitation at the two of them. Knocking her head to the side to give them both the stink eye. “ So yeah, I'm sorry about that.”

You sigh as your attempt to distract yourself goes awry at her trauma dump. Your mind fills with way too much information about her past, the labs, her stupid suit and you swear dots appear in your vision. Another sigh leaves you, this time to mask the pain that you’re currently in. Your shoulder still hurts, your head feels like it will burst as you cling to the others.

“You do not want to start the whole sob story game. I win.” Yelena chuckled without humor. “Enslaved child assassin over here.”

“Well, you were just a kid, so…” Walker answers.

“Oh so that's a good thing now?” Yelena scoffs at him

“I just think it might be nice to know you didn't really know any better,” Walker corrects her as you’re all at a standstill.

“Thanks, i feel way better,” Yelena answers sarcastically and everyone starts moving out of sync.

“Hey, quit it,” Ava barks at them, ending the discussion before it blows up into a full argument. Everyone’s panting and tired, and it’s still a long way up.

A murmur of okays and all rights go around and you start climbing the walls slowly together again. It feels like forever and the progress is slow, your energy draining quickly, but sheer spite keeps you going. Valentina was not going to win over you. Never again.

The minutes pass so slow you feel like you enter a weird trance and it’s only broken when Ava suddenly speaks up.

“It's crazy I can't even see the floor” Ava starts and you have to force yourself to not look down into the pit of darkness. It feels a little too close to home, a little too deadly.

“Can we not talk about how high up we are?” Bob says with his eyes closed. ”I'm just not great with heights,” he continues as his face contorts unpleasantly.

“yeah, I-I'm terrified of heights, so like can we absolutely not,” you say to the others, your tone wavering. “The door should be close by, can any of you see it?” You ask to get them to stop talking about the height you were at. Your brain is doing a lovely job of giving you the exact measurement of how far down it is, and what exactly will happen should someone fall at this level.

“Yeah, I think I see the door,” Walker answers you and a choir of agreements go around again. You feel thankful to soon be done with the climb because of the burn in your legs, and the very real fear of falling to what will be your death if you do. Your headache is also getting worse, and you know it shouldn’t be considering your concussion is far too mild for it– something else must be interfering.

Probably your own mind. It seems to always be ceaselessly watching, like every drop of potential knowledge is within reach at all times, and that it throws a fit if it doesn’t get it. Though it also throws a tantrum if you use your powers too much. A very fine line of different migraines.

“Uh… now what?” Yelena asks and everyone turns to look at each other. You groan and know that this… this is going to be the worst, and you’re not even a little bit prepared to deal with it.

“Um i guess one of us should go…” Ava asks as she looks around. “First?” it ends in a question as you all stare at your predicament. You try to look at your options. Ava could use her powers potentially, but it would leave you all falling. If there's plenty of knives maybe one could jam it in, turn people around so everyone got a standing platform? No too risky-

“Then the other three immediately fall,” Yelena points out loudly as a shit leaves Walker. He must have realised how fucked up the situation truly is.

“Sorry, yeah, I guess i didnt… i didnt really think this far ahead” Bob apologises and loses all manner of confidence he might have had.

“Genius plan Bobby!” Walker yells at him, though his glare falls short when he can’t properly look at him.

“Always making things worse,” Bob mutters to himself, you tighten your grip on him and take a deep breath. Your vision is starting to spin, and it’s really at the worst time. You barely hear Ava yell about her boots and struggles about staying up.

“WHAT?” yelena protests loudly and it reaches your ears as walker yells out as well. “Youre just going to leave us-” Yelena begins again. You tune out their arguing as your head pounds.

“Guys…” You start, your voice shaky, and you feel Bob’s head whip towards you . “If we don't think of something soon, I think I'm going to faint,” you mutter out as your headache grows. Seems mixing the terror of the height and the already splitting headache you got going for you is doing a really bad job at keeping you awake.

Bob says something and grips your arm, but you can’t really feel it. There is chaos around you as people slip and grab at each other. Yelena's hold grips you hard as well as you feel yourself going limp.

You have a strange feeling that someone is going to sneeze for some reason.

You try to breathe, but your heart stutters and thrums heavily in your chest as you feel your hands going partially numb. You think you hear the word cucumber being yelled, first by Bob and then by the others. Though it feels so far away. Like a really strange dream.

You feel yourself slipping from the grasp, but you can’t tell if you’re falling or floating. It’s almost like you’re… drowning?

The beeping of a heart monitor shakes you awake.

You’re no longer at the hidden facility in Utah, but back in the research lab in Malaysia. You stare at the readings and look back at Bob as he idly sits in a chair. He looks worse, dark eyebags, greasy hair, but just like you remembered him before the serum. Before you condemned him by Valentina’s orders.

“Hey,” he says as he catches you looking at him. His voice remained the same as you always remembered it. You sort of expected it to change. He smiles at you, you know he finds you attractive from the way his eyes have scanned your figure about 6 times since he came in a few hours ago.

“Hi,” you answer back with a small smile. It always went like this– him catching you looking at him, greeting each other, the small talk and then the testing.

This time though? This was the end.

Is it though?

All the other subjects had died. You suspect Bob will too. Unless the strange void-like space in his being somehow protected him and saved him from the death which the serum brings. You don’t know why it bothers you so much that he’ll be gone.

Maybe it’s because he doesn't know about your powers and therefore doesn't treat you like a glorified encyclopedia. He doesn't treat you like your only purpose is being an all knowing machine created only to help others feel like victors and heroes. No, he looks at you like you are the first person to fully understand him.

You’ve talked before, more deeply, about his struggles. The words he struggles to explain you carefully add in for him and he doesn’t shy away. The others see him as too unstable, too unpredictable, but he’s really not. He just needs an anchor, a voice of reason and a rest from the troubled storm in his head.

You hold back tears when you inject him. You promise to be there when he wakes up, and that you’ll grab that coffee with him that you said you would if he could behave during the bloodwork. The lie had burnt on your tongue and tasted like ash in the weeks that followed.

You suppose you accidentally kept your promise to be there when he awoke…

"Wait… You need to wake up. You're falling… You're falling!?

You rise with a gasp and open your eyes. Ava is holding you and jolts in surprise as you sit up, but only coughs erupt from you as you groan. You shake your head slightly as she helps you to your feet. Your body feels like it got snapped in two for a moment.

“What happened?” your voice comes out like a broken whisper and Ava just shakes her head, promising to tell you later. Bob rushes to your side as Yelena calls out to Walker. You barely hear his I'm fine as you look at everyone.

“You said you would be fine,” Bob whispers beside you, more to himself than you, but you hear him anyway. You gently grab his hand and a bone weary sigh leaves you.

“I will be,” you whisper back. “Im still here, aren't I?” You try to smile and put a less somber tone to soothe him, but he still worries. At least it gets a nod out of him, but his eyes refuse to meet yours and his hold on your arm tightens.

“All right, let's get out of here,” Ava says and drags you with her, Bob close on your heel as you stare confusedly at everyone. Something happened, probably the fall, and no one wants to talk about it.

Great…hopefully I didn't say anything weird in my little dream state...

You don’t get further than the entrance to the room you're in as the lights of vehicles surround the exit. “There are so many soldiers here,” you whisper out. “Valentina’s strike team,” you finish as you look at the others.

Chapter Text

To slowly disappear and fade away

The sound of a helicopter, vans and soldiers creates a somber ambiance as you hide along the wall. They were here to kill you, and you didn't need to know to know that. The amount of artillery brought to deal with you was, in your opinion, very dramatic.

“Okay, we need to come up with a plan,” Yelena says as she paces slightly, though she doesn't get very far in thinking of it. The previous relief of getting out of the shaft is replaced by the tension of new danger and risks. While there were at least 3 of them that are good at fighting, it is unrealistic to think you would get out unscathed.

“Heres what we're gonna do,” Walker orders as he turns to look at everyone.

“You're the boss now? cute” Ava butts in, everyone is at edge and looks at each other –the previous cooperation lost to the chaos outside.

“Yeah, it's our only chance of getting out here, so,” Walker says as if it's the most obvious thing in the world. While the others fight against it, you can see Walker maybe coming up with a decent plan. He is after all decorated as a veteran, even if no longer a hero. You still understand the hesitation though, he has threatened a lot in the last hours of getting to know him.

“Okay, I think I might just surrender, probably…” Bob starts as he does not seem to want to fight. At all.

“Okay, fine,” Walker answers. “Every man for himself.”

“Why should you be in charge?” Yelena argues back, “You almost killed all of us right there,” she continues and points to the door you had gotten out of. The hair on your arms rising at the thought of the height. Hopefully there are no more tall heights.

“Well, let's see… I've been in the trenches of every war-torn country on this planet, rescued god knows how many hostages, and shook the hands of TWO US presidents,” Walker lists off though he seems far from done. “Oh, high school state football champs back-to-back-to.back. Go bears."

“Oh, wow” Yelena answers, all snark with long vowels. “When I was five, I was in a peewee soccer team called the West Chesapeake Valley Thunderbolts sponsored by Shanes Tire Shop,” She looks between everyone as she talks.

“We won zero games, and one time, this girl, Mindy, she did a poo at midfield. Anyone else have pointless childhood stories to tell?” she rants on as she looks at Walker, pointing in everyone's general direction at the end. Walker looks way too amused at her rant.

“Grew up in a lab prison,” Ava points her hand up as she leans against the wall.

“Meth-addicted sign-twirling chicken,” Bob answers as well while twirling his finger and looking between everyone. “It was a summer job,” he tries to clarify as he starts looking embarrassed.

The others look at you expectantly as you just shrug at them. Compared to any of them you don't really feel like you qualify for it, but you guess you can try.

“Forced to solve crime cases as a kid,” You answer while also raising your hand as you look at them. “Being forced to know about terrible murders and extreme situations is really fantastic for your mental health,” you chuckle lightly at it, though the others look concerned by it.

“What?” you ask as you feel them staring at you. They had a habit of doing it, like you had grown another eye or something, but you didn't feel your statement was out of left field. “You think I'd accept a job for Valentina, even though I know better, if I was sound of mind??” You question them and pronounce your blinks in surprise.

Yelena opens and closes her mouth, Ava nods in a sort of understanding, Walker doesn’t even seem to be surprised anymore, and Bob just looks at you with his eyes knit together in more worry than before. Your own eyebrows knit together as well and you can’t help another disbelieving chuckle leave you.

“Okay, but the soldiers out there?” You point to the door as you speak. “They are on shoot to kill orders, so if we could figure something out that would be great…” You trail off as they snap back into focus.

“Right, ok, here’s the plan,” Yelena starts to explain the explosion, the soldiers night vision which she gets an approving nod from you, and the wave in which to defeat them with. It’s not a sound plan for it is solely relying on everything going right with the light.

“It will only work if you wait,” Yelena says with precision and looks pointedly at Walker while leaning forward towards him. Walker only mutters about it being a terrible plan in return while shaking his head.
You catch the eye of Ava as they speak and she only gives you an apologetic look. In return you mouth “i know” with a small smile and tilt of your head towards the easiest way out for her specifically. Just because you might risk dying does not mean you need to drag others down with you.

“Ava you-” Yelena starts as Ava’s suit activates and she disappears. “Find an escape vehicle…” She has fully turned to where Ava just was with her hand pointed towards it. Bob turns from looking at the same spot back to Yelena with a look of mild shock and wonder.

Yelena looks at Walker with an exasperated expression which he only returns with a half shrug and seems to agree with Ava’s decision. Their intense eye contact is only broken by Bob as he speaks up.

“Uh, what about me?” He stammers out with a bit of…excitement? Yelena almost rolls her eyes as she doesn’t turn to look at him.

“You… stay behind me, Bob” Yelena says with a sight of almost defeat and brings up a bomb to use for her plan. “Let’s do this,” she says and starts moving.

“Hey… what about me though?” you mutter as you look at everyone getting ready.

“Can you tell me their movements?” Walker orders as he squared his shoulders, bringing his shield forward and readying himself for what’s to come. “Oh, and can you use a gun?” he answers as he turns around to get into position.

“Yeah, I can do both,” you answer though you're unsure if it's for him or yourself. Walker just nods and hands you a gun, it’s one of the ones taken off of Taskmasters’ body. You take a deep breath and nod yourself before following him.

Yelena and Bob disappear to fix the lights, and the two of you carefully pick a spot to hide out.

The seconds seem to slow before the bomb goes off with a loud blast, and you immediately know that everyone is on edge – both allies and foes alike.

“Strike team 4 is entering, they are going non-lethat” You whisper to Walker as you stand close by, your tone wavering a bit as you call out what you “see”. “There are eight of them,” you continue to inform him. The red lights give their night vision and position away as you hear their footsteps, and your own heartbeat starts to pick up.

You are suddenly hit by a terrifying thought.

“The lights aren't working-” you whisper as Walker is breathing heavily besides you muttering about Yelena turning on the lights. He turns to look at you with a look and you just nod back hoping it portrays that you know it.

“I gotta do everything myself,” Walker growls out as he bursts around the corner to surprise the soldiers. You can’t do anything but curse underneath your breath, and use your powers to get a feel of where everyone is, their positions, and where you could aim where you didn’t hit Walker with a stray bullet.

He’s the only one able to keep you alive against these soldiers. You might have better aim because of your powers, but you were nowhere near trained or physically powerful enough to deal with a strike team on your own. You can only take another deep breath and start aiming.

A man sneaks up on Walker and you focus hard… and then you fire.

You hit one just past his safety vest straight into the shoulder, making him drop his gun in surprise. The blood pours from the wound and you know you hit a little too well as he crumples. However you can only hide as a bullet almost hits you back, and you’re left in a terrible dance with Walker against the soldiers.

You can feel terrible later.

You focus everything onto your powers and instincts, trying to shut everything else out. Your steps match Walker so you can easily spin around each other, his shield protecting you and you landing another hit before the last member falls.

The two of you just look at each other and breathe heavily, and all you can do is inform him that it was the last one. of their team. He nods in return and you both grimace at the bodies strewn on the floor. You have to admit though that he carries himself really well in combat.

“Good job, Omni,” he mutters as he tilts his head for you to follow him. You mutter a thanks back and end up walking carefully side by side. It takes you a second to realise he actually called you by what you had mentioned earlier, and not a stupid nickname like Ava’s.

It’s… oddly… nice.

“They are sending in another team, they have gas with them,” You inform him as the both of you hurry to get away from near the door. He grabs masks for the both of you, and you ready yourself for another round.

The chatter of soldiers and lasers entering the building as you hide again, and like you had mentioned the gas came in. It fills the hallways and your vision is obscured even more, and you can only pray that the others don’t get caught in any crossfire.

Before you can start planning the next wave, the two of you hear gunshots again.

“Oh god, Yelena and Bob-” you say as the two of you hurry, but carefully, towards the sound. You stop to glance behind the wall towards where you know they are, but Walker doesn’t stop even when you yell at him to wait.

You only hear the sounds of bullets against metal as Walker starts to yell at them to stop. It goes silent as the gun stops and John removes his mask in frustration. You can only sigh in relief as none of them are hurt, and slowly come from behind the corner.

“Where were you!?” Yelena yells as she pulls off her mask.

"Where were you!?” Walker fires back at her.

“The explosion fried the wires,” you say and stand beside Walker. He repeats himself from earlier about the too many variables, his tone riddled with i told you so. You can’t help but agree with him to an extent.

“And then you didn’t wait,” Yelena accuses him, but points to the two of you. “You should have known, right!?” She looks at you now and you can’t help your own frustration.

“I did wait, and she did know because she told me herself that the lights wouldn't work!” Walker defends the both of you against her.”And then-” Walker continues, but cuts himself off as you hear the radio over the walkie talkie of one of the soldiers.

“Ok,” Walker says with a deep breath and he relaxes, but not in a good way. No this is turning lethal and you guys need to get out of there. “We probably got about 60 seconds until they mobilize,” Walker informs all of you.

“And if ghost lady actually did what she was supposed to, maybe we’ll all get out of here alive.” He finishes as Yelena grabs her hair in desperation.

You look at all of them and then suddenly… wait… the uniforms.

“I might have a plan, but you won’t like it,” you say and they turn to look at you.

Chapter Text

The prettiest dying flower that never truly wilts

The four of you walk out of the vault. It’s terrifying, sure, but because of the stolen suits from some of the soldiers, you manage to mask yourself relatively well as you pass by the other strike teams.

Bob is hauled along by Yelena and Walker, and you fake a limp in front of them, using your knowledge to turn suspicious questions away from you and the others. The others mutter behind you, but all you can focus on is to not freeze when you see Valentina among the soldiers. Her assistant, Mel, is following her closely. Still trying to appease her at every turn.

A deep seeded place within you rages and tears inside, begging to be let out, but you hold it under wraps. You need to keep it hidden and locked away within you. It only brings pain to others and yourself if you let it out to feed.

Your power thrived on new knowledge, but it had a favorite type and one which you had gotten a lot of in your past, but now starved it off.

Traumatic events.

You can only take a deep breath and keep your shoulders squared as you limp forward. You manage to guide everyone to the trucks, but there are soldiers everywhere, and it makes it impossible to get into one without fullblown suspicion. You get a familiar feeling and thought as you turn around just as Ava pulls up with a truck.

“Hey, get in!” she calls out to all of you, and you quickly do as she says.

“You going to be okay back here?” Yelena asks Bob as he gets into the back. You see him taking off his mask before he answers her.

“Yeah, all good,” he says with a thumbs up, and Yelena answers him before her gaze turns to you. It's not the suspicious look that you expect to get, though it doesn’t necessarily mean she trusts you.

“You too,” she says, and helps you into the back, mindful of your shoulder as Bob helps from the inside. It’s honestly unnecessary, but you don’t really mind the thoughtfulness that they have going on. You thank them both quietly as the doors of the truck are shut.

Bob lets out a big breath and smiles in relief. You can’t help but let out a quiet laugh and smile slightly as you shake your head.

“What a day, huh?” you say to him as you sit side by side. He’s warm against your hurt shoulder, but it soothes a bit of the panic down even if you’re not out of the woods yet. You feel him shake with a similar quiet laugh and nod to you.

“Yeah, it’s been a lot,” he says back, his smile staying, but he starts fiddling with his hands. He’s picking at the skin, a habit he’s had for a long time, and out of sheer habit, you cover them with your own. You feel his surprised gaze without looking at him.

“Sorry,” You start slowly, but don’t remove your hand. “It’s just, uh, bad for your hands to- to, you know?” You stammer out as you try to center your thoughts. It’s unnatural for you to seek out physical contact from people, most of the time it's just been… bad. Your powers go haywire and force them to spill all their darkest secrets kind of bad.

Yet, Bob made it easy. Maybe it was the fact he had something similar within him, a power that consumes and feeds, but still so…kind to others.

“Yeah, I know,” he says, his voice dropping into a low tone, but there is a gentleness in the words. You can't help but let out another quiet laugh and shake your head again. It was also unusual for you to stammer as your courage always seemed to raise itself when challenged, but you didn't feel challenged, did you? No, you felt… comfortable and… safe.

“I’m really bad at this,” you say, and lean your head against the steel wall of the truck. “The talking part, I mean,” You continue as you look up at the ceiling.

“All this knowledge, and I’m bad at words,” you say as you finally look at him. “It’s ironic,” you finish. The engine of the truck hums in the background as you stare at each other.

When Bob was going to reply, he got interrupted by the stopping of the truck. You share a look of worry and the tension that has previously disappeared comes back even worse than before. The soldiers aren’t trusting Walker’s excuses, and you curse silently and close your eyes

You feel Bob squeeze your hand and whisper an apology to you before grabbing a rifle. You try to stop him in panic, but he’s quicker than you.

“Please, get out of here, I’m sorry,” is all he says as he bursts through the back of the van and diverts the soldiers' attention.

In all his pajama glory he runs and uses the gun to shoot up into the air. The sound of it making the soldiers move towards where he stands, and had it not been for your own selfish fears, you would have run after him. You curse his need to save others over himself.

Ava suddenly appears beside you and all you can do is point at where Bob went with a look of despair.

Bob stands tall, raising the gun up and shooting while yelling. He smiles while doing it and if it wasn't for the others' safety you would have yelled for him. Maybe you would have begged him to come with you, to abandon the need to save everyone else but himself.

You should have known he would. He had done nothing but talk low of himself even before the serum.

“Oh no, Bob helped,” Yelena's voice comes through like a mumble from the front of the truck.
You know what is going to happen. You can't look away. Not even for a moment.

The bullets fire in rapid succession. The crackling of a dozen guns going off and hitting Bob so quickly that all he does is stumble backwards. His expression changes to confusion, then pain and, in the end, realization as he falls to the ground.

You don't flinch. All you can do is stare at where he lay as the gunfire ends. All that's left is a sickening silence. You know the others are speaking, but you don't catch what they are saying as your eyes stay at Bob's body.

It's strange you think… How is he still breathing?

You know why.

You don't see what happens, but you know it.

You know the way Bob stumbles back to his feet, clothes ripped through by the bullets, but without a scratch to prove the damage. There is not a single drop of blood, wound or cut to prove what had happened moments before. He's confused how, but he doesn't back down.

Your hair rises at the back of your neck as you realize his eyes are golden instead of the dark blue they should be.

He's floating, the sand flowing slowly from underneath his feet, and all he can do is look confused by what is happening. A realization dawns on him as the bullets fly again, but they do no damage, and he flies far up into the air.

You gasp as he ascends higher and higher. Barely noticing the truck has moved and you're getting out of the camp. Only able to focus your powers to keep track of Bob. You feel your vision slowly blurring again, but you force it back with the pure motivation of making sure Bob doesn't disappear.

You feel when his consciousness slips.

Another wavering breath leaves you as he suddenly descends at high speed back down again.

He lands with such a force the ground explodes underneath him. The camp overflows with debris and smoke, and your truck is flung sideways off the road. You barely have time to brace yourself before the truck turns and crashes into the side before holding tightly on to a metal bar.

Darkness overtakes your vision as the truck lands at the bottom. A ringing fills your ears and all you can do is cough roughly, blinking desperately to regain some sense and control. Flinching as you feel an arm grab you and pull you out of the truck.

“Hey, hey, you're fine,” you hear the voice of Walker says, and all you do is give him a bit of a look. At least you think you do, your vision is blurry, and his shape-ish form is doubling. You hear him muttering about your concussion.
Your vision stabilizes slowly as you focus your powers to make up for the unbalance you feel in yourself.

“She did that to him,” Yelena says, and you inwardly cringe, as you know you had a part in it too. You don't say anything as they walk forward, all you do is stumble slightly after them. The limp you had faked before had become real as you ached top to toe.

“Well, she turned him into a tomahawk cruise missile,” Walker says, though the humor falls flat even for him. “You were right, she definitely wants us dead.”

“To test on someone like that, it's inhuman,” Yelena says gravely. It's personal, you know that, and guilt grows and sinks its thorns into you. You did that to him. Sure, Valentina might have forced your hand, but you could have fought back. Could have asked for help.

It's your fault.

“Yeah, she's lost it,” Walker agrees, though he doesn’t understand what she means.

“Nope, she's found it,” Yelena says and puts her hands out, papers of the Sentry project in her hands. “And she'll use it,”

“What is this?” Ava asks as she flips through the papers she was handed. “Power of a thousand exploding suns, golden guardian of good, that's a mouthful.” She says as she hands the papers to Walker and everyone recognizes that he knows. Still, he looks over the papers to double-check

“You know about this, don't you?” He just says and looks at you. You don't meet his eyes but nod regardless, it's almost strange that it's him that makes you decide what to do next. Walker doesn't trust Bob, but even he still wants to protect him, protect everyone. It's deeply planted into his very being.

“I am going after him,” you say after a beat of silence. Your mind is made up, even if you're scared of dying, it's not fair for you to abandon Bob. You turn around, your back towards them, and start making your way to where he is.

“What? No, you'll die too,” Yelena protests loudly. It causes you to stop in your tracks and look over your shoulder back at her. Your expression silences her, it's not unkind, but one of melancholy.

“It's my fault, Yelena, I need to make up for it,” you say simply and sigh as you continue to walk. You know when the realization kicks in– When she knows what you mean, and she lets you go. The others protest, but it falls on deaf ears as you leave them to escape.

The walk to Bob is harsh, but not that long, and you find him relatively quickly.

He’s awfully bent into the crater he left. He looks so small, and the earth cradles him like a vice. It's almost like it's burying him down, drowning him in sand.

You're not sure how you'll find him before the soldiers, but you approach him silently and sit down by him. Your body sags with relief and exhaustion. Cradling his head in your lap, using the last drops of your powers to know his state and health. The exhaustion claws its way to the front as you stare down at him.

He's barely conscious. The sentry keeps him barely awake as his eyes glint golden through his lashes. A small groan leaves him, but you shush him gently.

If it hadn't been for the fact that your touch amplifies your powers, you'd barely notice the tightening of his grip as his hand shakingly finds yours. His eyes are barely open, and all you can do is put your forehead to his and mutter apology after apology.

Tears fall silently. He doesn't answer, he doesn't have the strength to, and you doubt he’ll even remember this when he awakes again. You can’t save him from Valentina, and it hurts to know it to be so true.

You might die yourself.

Valentina might have ordered you to be killed. Though you doubted it now when Bob was still alive, still malleable, and so strong for someone who had no control. She’d manipulate you too, and you’d let her, you think, if only to buy time.

You barely notice your consciousness slips, and your head goes from his head to his chest to hear his heartbeat. His hand covers your back, but you know he too is barely there, something golden flickers beneath his lashes still, and all you can do is rest your eyes.

You know when the soldiers arrive and that they inform Valentina. The plan changes as Bob's hands refuse to let you go even when out cold. There are many people arriving, prying you from Bob after long minutes of effort, and you know the box they'll put him in.

Your powers are activated even when you're barely there.

“Seems your death has been postponed for now,” You hear Valentina say, but you can't catch her tone or expression properly as, at long last, you fade into the darkness that grips you tight. “You are more useful than I thought,” is the last thing you hear.

The hurt fades slowly, and you feel dragged beneath the waves of your mind.

Chapter Text

A tragedy in my mind I cannot share

A void, barren in all its expanse, a place not even a requiem reaches. That is where you're currently existing, in the loosest term possible, and no matter how far you reach, there is no end to the nothingness around you. Nothing in-between nor across, just a space devoid of everything.

Except for you.

The one singular object that lies on nothing and breathes the air that does not exist, feeling your heart in your chest which does not beat. There is silence, loud yet tamed, like even if you wanted to scream there would be no sound leaving your lips.

It should scare you, but you are not scared because you know the terror will come later. Instead, it calms you, lets you have that silence you never get in the waking world, and it feels nice to not be a person, if only for a moment.

The darkness is so vast as you exist idly in it.

There are tendrils of shadows curling around you in a cold, dead embrace, and it is so silent you can't hear your own breathing. It almost feels like you’re underwater, but you know you are far above the skies.

You’re dreaming.

Though it’s not really a dream, is it?

It takes great effort to open your eyes, almost like they’ve been glued shut, and you’re faced with the night sky. There are no clouds beneath your feet. No earth, no cities, no light. Just the same darkness and you can only stare at the expanse of stars in your wake. They flicker above you in soft lights, but something is off.

Something feels very off.

You turn your head slowly to look at what should be the moon, but instead it looks like a large blood-shot eye. It stares you down with such intensity it shatters the illusion of the devoid space around you. It's not the first time you’ve dreamed this, but never have you grown accustomed to its terrible scrutiny.

The stars around you fade from soft lights to thousands of blinking eyes in less than a second. The message is as clear as the cold air you breathe.

It is watching you. For you are the one who feeds it. For your life is a privilege it grants.

And you know that. You have known it for a very long time. You’ve known it since you were a little child, clutching your parents hands as you moved far away from everything you knew time after time after time… It wasn’t until your powers started showing that everything changed.

Your parents thought they had saved themselves from the terror they left behind, only to realise they had fed you to it in return. That they had offered the one thing they could not part with, would not part with.

They were never unkind as you grew, even when your powers grew with the years, but they were strict. Never tell secrets out loud, not telling anyone about the powers, not giving them your real name. It created such distance from everyone you truly only had your parents for the longest time.

Then the incident happened the year you turned 10. Three girls had gone missing, and it was the first time you ever worked for the police. You helped solve the case, your name was kept out of the press, but it created a spiral you could not leave on your own.

The police got pushy, your parents lenient, and so you helped and helped, and your powers grew, but your mind was cracking. It shattered sometime after your mother was buried, you think. There is a large expanse of months you don’t remember. Small moments at first, then over the years you suffer from more.

The night you turned 18 years old was the day it changed forever.

The only thing you remember before your supposed breakdown was your father’s cruel, cutting words as they sliced you open. Left you cut and raw with emotions too large to deal with on your own, and you were left to deal with it completely alone. You had said cruel things back, things you knew hurt, and that broke you more than anything.

You left that night. You never returned. You never remember the first 6 months. Whatever had happened had left you with a good apartment, a small diary of updates of what you had done, and a job that you continued to work despite not remembering anything.

Your father regrets it, you know he does, but the hurt never left. He wants to see you, to speak with you and to hold you close like when you were little, but he doesn't dare. Too scared to shatter himself, to ruin the good life he has built for himself and his new family. You would ruin it, even if it would make him so happy to have you in his life. You’ve always pretended it’s enough to just know his happiness.

Besides, you have not made it easy for anyone to track you. How do you find someone who always knows your steps as you take them?

You are so alone it's almost ironic. For the power you have, the eyes which stare you down in this vast space, they are not people. They are not real living beings, they are ever-blinking and ever-staring for they know nothing else. They are what you one day will become.

Maybe then you will be less alone?

Because you know as clearly as the devoid space that surrounds you, that you are so very alone.You do not know how to exist as a person without your power, without being used by the people around you. You have not truly been a person in many long years.

The only reason you are alive is by the kindness of the people who intend to kill you one day. As long as you still know, still understand and still speak, you will stay valuable and alive. Yet you know that it is not a solution forever, not a fail-safe, just a ticking bomb.

It hurts to exist purely for others' greed.

You want nothing more to escape into the darkness, to let the tendrils pull you down and embrace you in the cold. For it is a companion even if together you will always be alone, but alone together is better than nothing. It’s a small comfort in the hurt and terror.

You should wake up. You know you must, but it is so tempting to stay adrift.

There is so much to do, so many people to save, but so little time. You don’t have time for the darkness. There is no time to reminisce anymore.

Bob needs you. Yelena, Ava, everyone needs you to help if they want to stop Valentina. So you must wake up. You feel yourself falling. Like your soul is going back into your body, and you hit the ground with such force it hurts.

As your senses return to your body, it shoots upright.

The sound is overwhelming, there are hands holding you down as you trash and the light is blinding. You barely even hear the yelling around you before warm hands cradle your face like it's precious, it makes you stop and stare with wide, blood-shot eyes into familiar dark blues.

“Omni?” Bob whispers, worry lacing his tone as he says your nickname like it is precious. You can’t help the sob that leaves you as you slump into him. He lets out an alarmed sound, but his hands snake around you and holds your body close to him. It's an awkward position, your back will hurt later, but you don’t care.

You knew he would survive… but seeing him truly alive before you? Then you understood that he truly did live.

Every worry and thought about where you are, what Valentina is planning and so on are drowned out by your crying. You are probably staining Bob’s sweater, but you can’t find it in yourself to wipe your eyes as you hold him close.

He mutters reassurances to you as you hold each other, and it pains you as you separate from him.
“I’m sorry,” you say with such despair you don’t know if it is because of the crying or everything you have ever done. Your hands wiping at your face roughly, and only when Bob’s hands stop yours do you let out a bone-weary sigh.

“It’s not your fault,” He says back earnestly, and it cuts deeper than it should.

“But it is, Bob,” you say and look back at him. He looks as disheveled as you feel you are, but there is a certain confidence in his appearance that stands out. You know immediately what he has accepted from Valentina. To train and become the Sentry.

“I worked on that serum for Valentina,” you continue, ramblings spilling over as you explain. “At the end of the project I was… hired in by Valentina. I perfected the serum to the best of my abilities, but I couldn’t see the future so they continued testing. Then you came along with your disheveled looks and anxious persona, and I couldn’t help the doubt. Even so, I did it, I finished the serum, had you injected with it-”

“I know,” Bob cuts you off, not loud nor angry, just factual with a small smile.

“...What?” You whisper out as your panic confuses itself, and you’re left nothing short of bewildered. “You know? Oh… right, sorry I’m still waking up… I think,” you mutter tiredly as your brain fills in the dots.

He has regained some memories from before the injection. Of your talks and promises, and he doesn’t judge you. Which you think in full fairness that he should. He looks way too amused with himself as he stares at you.

“Yeah,” he says, like it is a weight off his shoulders. “I think I owe you a coffee?” He asks with a bit of mirth. The playfulness suits him, you think. It softens the anxiousness that usually lingers, and a genuine smile is on his face.

It hurts to know it won’t last, but you can’t help but to bask in the silence.

“Yeah… yeah, you do,” you answer him, a small smile grazing your lips as your eyes turn to the room you’re in. It’s not where you were originally placed, your mind tells you, but Bob had you brought here. The bed is softer, and the golden light more comfortable on your eyes as they grow used to it.

The light fits Bob perfectly as he sits there, his eyes on you like he’s trying to read your mind back, and it shines on him beautifully. It’s not because of its golden hue that relates to the sentry, not at all, but the warmth it brings him. He looks almost angelic.

“You had me moved into your room?” You ask even if you know the answer, but parts of you want to hear it. His eyes dart to the side and a blush dusts his face and neck, and he swallows deeply. He’s nervous.

“Yeah, you were hurt, but they had to run tests,” he starts, gold flickering suddenly as there is a low vibration. You reach out instinctively to him and take his hand into yours, and the gentleness of the room returns. “I didn’t like it… the prodding and notes. You deserve to feel safe too,” he whispers the last part out.

Something clicks in your mind. Like a puzzle piece being put in the right slot, and with a startling realisation you look down at your hands. One is still intertwined with his, and your eyebrows scrunch together as some very laggy information slowly reveals itself.

The vault.. the shaft, when you passed out. Something had happened.

Oh my god, you had said something hadn't you?