Apparently androids dream of things other than electric sheep because I'm having one now.

Wait. Do humans know when they're dreaming?

I'm in an office with a man. He's older … perhaps his early 50s. He's mad. He's got a golf club in his hands and he's smashed everything breakable in the office. I'm worried that he's going to start on me next.

"Daddy ..."

He drops the club and sits in a chair in front of the desk. He takes a bottle out of the drawer. A bottle and a gun. "Everything, Simon. Stark took everything. My company. My patents. Everything I was going to leave you and your brother. It's all gone. I've got nothing left."

"Daddy..." I'm afraid. Afraid for myself. Afraid for him.

"I can't provide for you anymore, Simon. Or your mother or brother. And a man who can't take care of his family isn't a man at all any more." He drains the bottle and picks up the pistol.

"Daddy, no! It's not your fault! It's Stark's! I'll make him pay, Daddy! I'll make him-"

And the gun goes off.

I'm still screaming when she wakes me.

"Are you all right? I could hear you screaming in my room..."

Wanda.

"I'm fine. I was dreaming. Or having a nightmare. Yeah. Definitely a nightmare."

"What was it about?"

I shudder slightly. "My past." I look at her and give a crooked smile. "Or Simon's past. As you said, I'm not Simon."

She looks uncomfortable.

I look at the clock. "It's early. Or late. Did I wake you?"

"I couldn't sleep. I had a nightmare of my own." She shrugs. "I was going to take a walk. It helps sometimes. Would you like to come with me?"

A night time walk with a pretty girl?

Oh yeah. That was definitely better than sleep. I can sleep when I'm dead. Again.

"Sure."

I'm still wearing my green and yellow bodysuit but my cloak is on the chair next to my bed. (Is it my bed or just a guest bed? Do I have a room? Am I a guest or a prisoner?)

I decide not to think about what I heard Captain America to say to Black Widow. I decide not to wonder if I have an off switch I don't know about. Apparently I'm not as good at not thinking about things as I'd like to think because I did wonder what would happen if I left without permission.

I was guessing something I wouldn't like.

I slip my cloak on. I just don't feel right about walking around without it. "Let's go."

She's wearing a red leather overcoat, but she still shivers slightly as we walk out of the complex and into the night air. "It's cold out."

"Is it?" I'm aware of the temperature difference, but it's no more or less uncomfortable than it is inside the building. "Guess I'm not built to notice."

"There are some advantages to being artificial I see." Wanda smiles at me.

God, I adore that smile. She's not smiled much since I met her, but she does it so well.

Yeah, yeah. I know. I've got it bad.

"It's a lovely night," I finally say. Not half as lovely as you, I want to add, but don't. It sounds cheesy even to me.

"We're far enough from the city here to have the stars available to us. If we were in the city you would not see them." She smiles. "Even in my home of Sorkovia there was too much light at night to see the stars." She frowns. "At least until the war started. After that, Pietro and I didn't have much time to look at the sky. We were too busy trying to stay alive."

"Pietro?" The name's familiar. Her boyfriend? Please don't let it be her boyfriend …

"My brother." She closes her eyes. "He's … he's gone now."

"I'm sorry."

"Thank you." She looks at me, and I see the tears in her eyes. "He's … he was my twin. It's been … difficult without him."

"I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault. He died saving Hawkeye and a child. I miss him. I miss him every day. But some days … some nights … are harder than others. What were you dreaming about?"

"Like I said, something about Simon's past." It's strange … to have another person's memories for your own, but only when you're asleep. "I don't even know if it's true or not." In my gut- or what passes for my gut- I know that I'm not telling her the truth. It happened- Simon's father died. Simon's father killed himself in front of me … him.

And Tony Stark's to blame.

There's anger.

Simon's anger.

My anger?

Is there a difference? Who am I? What am I?

"Are you remembering your past now?" Her eyes were warm and sympathetic.

"Not exactly. At least not consciously. It was … not something I care to think about right now. A childhood memory." Does she know about my father? (Simon's father?) "What was he like? Simon? Wonder Man?"

"He wasn't with us for very long." Wanda sighs. "But he was a good man. At the end."

Does that mean he wasn't a good man at the beginning? How much do I ask? How much do I want to know?

She smiles slightly. "But … you're different."

"Good different or bad different?"

She purses her lips and I find myself wondering what it'd be like to kiss them …

And she blushes slightly as though she knows what I'm thinking. Oh. I suddenly remember- though from where the memory comes- that she is able to read minds. Great.

"Different different." Again she smiles. "Simon was … darker. He didn't smile as much. His mind … his powers made it hard for me to read him.."

"But android me is an open book?"

She smiles and reaches out to touch my cheek. "I can sense your confusion but reading thoughts is more complicated than you might think. You … there is such lightness in your thoughts. It's as though some great weight has been lifted off your mind. Simon was … complicated. You're ..."

"Simple?"

"Not like that." She giggles and lets her hand drop from my face. "You're not Simon. You don't have to be Simon. You might be happier if you never become Simon."

I shrug. "I may not have a choice. He might come back to me whether or not I want him to."

"There was a risk in what Vision attempted. We had no idea what would happen, but we determined that it was worth the risk. I won't lie to you. We were afraid we might be creating a monster- that you would hate us for what we made you. That we might be creating another Ultron. But ..." She smiles. "The Vision decided that it was worth the risk."

"Do you think he was right?"

"I am beginning to think so."

Again the urge to tell her that she's beautiful wells up in within me, but I hold back. We're having a moment. I don't want to ruin that …

"You know, the night isn't half as lovely as you … Er, did I say that aloud?"

She laughs. "Thank you. It's been a while since I've gotten such a compliment."

"I find that hard to believe ..."

"Super heroes do not exactly have much time to engage in a social life I have discovered. I have not been on a date since I came to the United States."

"Oh, so something to look forward to... if you're not too busy."

"Are you asking me out?"

"Um, hopefully..."

"In that case ..."

"Everything all right?" Black Widow asks as she seems to melt out of the shadows.

"We're fine," Wanda says. She gives me an apologetic smile. "I think I've had enough fresh air. Good night, my friend. We can finish our discussion another time."

Ouch. Ouch. Ouch. Date-blocked by the Black Widow … And I really think she might have said yes, too …

The Black Widow bids Wanda good night and then looks at me. There's the ghost of a smile on her lovely face that is really aggravating.

"Good night," I finally say as I head back to the complex.

"Try a cold shower," Black Widow calls out after me. "I think you're overheating ..."

Grr.

Smart remarks are only fun when I make them …