Title: Infinity and Beyond
Author:Sgt. Pepperony
Fandom: Avengers (MCU)
Main Pairings: Steve/Wanda,
Other Pairings: Tony/Pepper, Clint/Laura
Rating: M
Disclaimer: I do not own the Avengers. Property of Marvel and Disney. Songs belong to their artists. Later excerpts will come from Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame.

Okay, this going to be my biggest story yet since it is going to run from the end of Captain America: Civil War to Avengers: Endgame. I am seeing Avengers: Infinity War on Wednesday but I will be waiting a few months until this story gets to the film storyline.

Prologue: Cosy in the Rocket

Nobody knows where they might end up;
Nobody knows.

Ever since the day her parents died, and she and Pietro were trapped with the Stark Industries shell, Wanda hated enclosed spaces. The feeling of not being able to move or breathe just caused a thrill of panic to invade every cell in her body. So, when she was sedated and strapped not only in a straitjacket but a shock collar, Wanda shut down. Every word being spoken by Sam, Clint and Scott was all murmurs to her. Even when Clint tried to speak to her, she would not respond. She couldn't. The collar was pressing on her windpipe and it hurt just breathing let alone talking.

Once when HYDRA was done with their experiments, Wanda was locked in a room while the cells in her body mutated. No one could hear her screams. She felt the same about the Raft. Except no one was hearing her vocally, but in her head, she was screaming to die. Death was better than the rest of her life being tortured.

She missed all the commotion. She barely heard a sound of flesh being punched or cell doors opening. She only realised that Steve had come to save them when he appeared in front of her, asking if she was okay. They managed to get the collar off, revealing the bruised skin underneath and well as the jacket. Yet Wanda was so checked out that she barely remembered leaving the Raft. The exhaustion must have hit, because the next thing she knew, she was in some sort of medical facility and had a brace around her neck.

"Miss Maximoff, you're awake," the nurse observed. She had what sounded like a Central African accent which confused somewhat. She tried to speak but she was then interrupted. "Don't try to speak. The shock collar put some pressure on your wind pipe so it might be difficult to talk. Do you understand?" Wanda nodded. "Good."

The nurse explained that she was in Wakanda, which surprised Wanda even more because Wakanda was considered less developed than Sokovia, and yet she was in this advanced facility that was way beyond the imagination of any first-world country. Then it was revealed that she had been sedated for fifty hours in order to fully rest.

She still wanted to scream. Instead, she turned away and looked towards the window.

-o-

Steve did not know what to expect when he entered the Raft. He knew Clint, Scott, and Sam would be reasonably okay, but Wanda was the one he was most worried about. The way Ross had treated her in the aftermath of Lagos was disgusting; it was like she was a criminal for something that was clearly an accident.

However, nothing prepared him for what he found. Wanda was essentially in a comatose state, scared of what the guards would do next. He carried her to the jet, he made sure she got the medical attention, and he stayed with her at night. Bucky was in cryogenic freeze again. Wanda was his next priority. Clint and Scott had managed to return home, though they knew it would not be without consequences for them, and Steve trusted them not to reveal where they were.

Since Wanda could not speak to him, he had no way of knowing what was going through her head. The combination of Pietro's death and her cruel imprisonment must have been weighing heavily on her mind, but she had no way of communicating it. Most days, she would stare vacantly into space.

"Do you reckon she'll get back to normal?" Sam asked one evening when he and Steve were playing cards by Wanda's bedside.

"I don't think she has known normal since she was ten years old," Steve responded.

He knew that Wanda probably could hear them but he did not know how much was registering in her head. She gave no indication that she did. It looked like other things weighed on her mind. It was a week after they arrived in Wakanda when Wanda was examined to see if her vocal cords had healed.

"Okay, can you say your name for me?" Shuri asked gently.

"Wan-da ... Max- Maxi-moff," Wanda stated. Her voice was so high-pitched and hoarse that Steve felt a bile of anger in his throat. Wanda sounded broken. She sounded disappointed that she did not sound like herself.

"Okay, that was good. Just keep resting your voice and it should go back to normal. The pressure they pressed on your throat was quite severe."

Wanda nodded. The girl in front of her gave a sweet smile as she walked out of the room. Steve tried to give her a reassuring smile but Wanda looked down at her feet. That was when his heart finally broke. He had dragged Wanda into this mission to Siberia, and thus the fight in the airport. Maybe Tony had a point when he said he was protecting her by keeping her in the Avengers Compound. She needed protecting from him.

"This is all my fault," Wanda whispered.

"No it's not," he replied softly. "It's mine."