Arc Six. Chapter One Hundred Sixty-Nine. Memory Issues

"You know Peter, when I was invited to work for Shield and be on a team with you, I thought you know, that we would actually be training together." Wanda stood with her arms crossed while Laura attacked another training dummy. "What I did not realise was that you would be fooling around with Flash, and Laura and I would be stuck in a classroom while we were taught math and English," she uttered something in Sokovian, and while Peter had no clue what she meant, the intent was clear. Wanda was not happy.

Peter couldn't blame her though, as he had assumed the same but it seemed that while Shield the spy organisation probably had lax rules, Shield the international law enforcement agency and training academy was quite strict.

After failing both written and physical exams, Wanda and Laura had been separated and kept in their own remedial classes. Laura only failing the physical side as she wrecked not just the assault course but the measuring machines, uttering, "danger room better," before stomping off and refusing to budge on the matter. Her test scores on the academic side were even worse, and as it appeared she had no schooling whatsoever and still had a little problem with her anger, another classroom was wrecked and Laura was banned from taking any classes whatsoever. In fact, Fury had just dumped them both on Peter, and given Flash's impressive test results, told him to fix them as well.

Wanda was an easier case, she had the knowledge, just her grasp of written English was terrible, not surprising considering her non-English origin. Her physical condition was a different matter and without using her powers her physical strength and stamina were below average. This surprised Peter as he thought growing up on a farm she would have a farmers constitution but nope, she hated farm work and refused, instead she helped her mother bake and make meals.

So, his first task as team leader was to get these two motivated and while he wasn't about to admit it to anyone he had a perfect plan.

You want to do what? Wanda scowled as they communicated telepathically. He was getting better but sometimes he leaked a bit and she got some of his more base emotions, ones she didn't want to be feeling at Shield.

Use the Mind Stone to give you and Laura the information you need, it's uh, like telepathy but a bit, more.

I remember what the Mind Stone did Peter, which is why I am scowling, see? and she glared at him, and you think this is a good idea?

Of course, worked on Flash, didn't it? and Wanda glared even harder at him,

Of all the irresponsible, and then her thoughts devolved into a stream of Eastern European curse words but the emotion behind them was very clear. You're a stupid idiot, and no.

As he held Laura's hand, as he needed physical contact to initiate a link if the other person wasn't a telepath, she just frowned,

Make smart? Without books?

Yes, but Wanda had a bad experience with what I'm suggesting, so she doesn't want to.

No, because it is dangerous and stupid, and you could hurt her.

Trust him, trust him more than baldy and spoon man.

Spoon man? And Laura thought of Erik, demonstrating his powers by levitating spoons and while it was impressive, his face at the new name was even better and Wanda had to stifle a laugh as it scrunched up in anger and then acceptance that he couldn't be mad at someone with no social experience.

Then me first, show red that not bad man, good man. Plus, brain bad, baldy say, damaged, maybe fix?

Peter frowned and using the Stone looked for what Laura was talking about.

"Holy shit," Peter said out loud in shock, and Wanda frowned and looked at him quizically,

"What?" And he shook his head,

Not here, we need to go home for this anyway, I'll let Fury know it's private tutoring time and get out of classes, and Peter took out his phone and let Nat and Fury know that he was taking the pair home to tutor them.

Once the trio was back in the warehouse Peter made sure that everyone else was out. MJ had another part she was currently working on, Felicia and Gwen were both dealing with Hell's kitchen and he had gotten a text from Liv,

Brock and I are going out for a drink later, don't wait up, kisses.

Shaking his head, he turned his phone to silent and took Wanda and Laura up into his new home.

"You have been busy Peter, are some of these for us as well?" Wanda asked nervously, she still had to approach her father about moving in here, she was fine as long as he was attending Shield academy but his disdain for Peter was evident.

"Yup, You just need to move in and then decorate, but first." Peter took a deep breath. "Laura, you have something in your skull, a huge metal, needle I think. I can only feel around its edges where there is a void, do you want us to remove it?" and Laura nodded,

"You can't do that!" Wanda stood and shouted. "We don't have a doctor, or a surgery, or a doctor. We-" and Peter put a hand on her.

"We can, I can guide you and you can just remove it" and Laura nodded,

"Are you insane? You'll kill her," and as if Laura understood she stood and her class slid out, blood ripped as Wanda stared slack-jawed

"Good healer" and Laura cut off one of her fingers. Wanda dry heaved as the finger slowly regrew and in a few seconds was good as new.

"This is insane, healing factor or not, I can't Peter, I just can't."

"Look, we need to get that out, I can do it but it means digging it out her skull, and involving Gwen and everyone else. You can just remove it in one motion, her healing factor will take care of the rest and we have formula if it can't, plus another option, but we leave that one till last."

Peter wasn't about to spawn another symbiote, especially not for someone as unstable as Laura. MJ and everyone had issues but Laura was a timebomb of rage and fury at the best of times and adding a symbiote to that was asking to get a lot of people killed. Even so, he would if he needed to, he liked Laura and she had grown attached to him, he wouldn't just stand back and let her die if he could save her, and damn the consequences.

"I can't Peter, it's not just using my powers, what if she dies? I can't," and Laura moved over and took her by the shoulders,

"My head, my life, please, can't talk, can't speak right, angry all the time, only Monkey calms me, fight, eat, sleep, please." Wanda could see the frustration on Laura's face, but there was one thing bugging her,

"Monkey?" and Laura nodded over to Peter, who rubbed a hand over his face and sighed,

"When we rescued her I couldn't go out as Venom so I used another name. Night Monkey, the girls all thought it was hilarious." and as Wanda held her stomach laughing, apparently so did she,

"Oh my god Peter, no little Monkey, I can see why she likes it, but it still, Laura, why has my father not done anything, if it's metal he can remove it easily too?"

Laura cocked her head to one side, "not know, not told why, just given training and then told see Peter, get friends, plus, beat ass of students till they let me out." and Peter snorted, that sounded more like why Laura had been allowed to attend the academy.

"So, she said yes, I'll be here to guide you, ready?" and as he knelt down and took hold of Laura, Wanda took a deep breath and a sliver of metal, only a few millimetres thick but at least 4 inches long shot out of the top of Laura's head and she collapsed, panting and grabbing her head.

"I could feel it, and it's a needle, I know, I've seen enough of them," and as Laura struggled she howled in rage and pain, and Peter grabbed her tighter, enveloping her with this power, holding her close,

"Ssh, it's okay" but as he held onto her tightly, she screamed,

"there was no easy way to do that, and you said it yourself. Unless you wanted to-" but she saw that Peter was sweating, trying to keep the thrashing Laura calm, and she had made a terrible mistake.

I was crying but no one came to save me, alone I sat in my box, and cried, over and over. "Can't you shut the fuck up," someone yells but as I stop, I can only whisper, "please, mommy?"

I'm older now, and they've given me a mommy, a nice lady, she called me sugar and she sings to me,

I scream as they cut my hand off again, "pathetic," a man says, I don't know his name but he smells bad and his face is angry, mommy tells me it's called being angry,

"And you thought a female would be easier to control?" and as he hits another man, he storms off, smelling like angry. He beat me again, I once grabbed his belt and choked him with it, he never came back and the next man used a stick, it was shiny, like my bars.

The man puts something in my mouth and it tastes like meat, he screams and bleeds when I bite it. The next man never speaks to me, only taps his shiny sparky rod on my bars. Mommy has been looking sad lately, I can smell something is wrong.

They start to do more things now, I'm hooked to a bag, making my head hurt but the oatmeal they give me makes the pain go away, mommy holds my hand and cries after each thing they do, I know she doesn't like it here, but as long as I have mommy, I don't mind.

Mommy made me oatmeal, it's yummy but now I feel sleepy, it's not enough to make me sleep though and I feel them slip something over my head, I feel a sharp pain in my head and everything goes black.

I hear them argue again. "Viper, dose her and then take her for your little project, I don't care. If she lives, she lives," as I'm strapped to a bed it's bright and smells funny, mommy once told me about the outside and as I'm wheeled on my bed into a new box I see the giant sign above the door,

The Essex Foundation For The Betterment Of Mankind.

As Laura bites and claws at him, tears stream down Peter's face, as each slap, each kick punch, every single beating she ever felt rushes into him at once, and together they howl in pain and anger.

Shocked by the reaction, Wanda surrounds herself with an energy field but Peter and Laura just rock back and forth, Peter crying as Laura screams and thrashes. Even as her claws score bloody lines across his flesh he never once lets her go, holding her tightly, hugging her close to him and soon she stops screaming and wraps her arms around him, crying and sobbing into his chest.

Telepath or not, Wanda begins to feel the waves of anger coming from Peter. Unlike before, even at his worst, this is like a tidal wave of pressure, each thrum of his heart brings a promise of a terrifyingly painful future to whoever did this to her. As he stands and turns, Wanda catches the look on his face, and even her father's anger never scared her as much as he did right then.

Feeling the Mind Stone envelop her, Wanda watches as Peter tucks Laura into his bed, handing her a dirty t-shirt which she subconsciously grabs and hugs into her chest, he waits as her breathing becomes shallower and gritting his teeth, leaves the room, leaving the door open.

"So, are you going to yell at me now?" Wanda asks, sitting on the couch, rubbing her hands together nervously.

Frowning, Peter shakes his head,

Quiet, she needs the sleep to recover, but no, why? why would I yell at you?

For doing that to her, and as she sends the message, Peter flares with anger once more but it evaporates as he sees her fear,

Sorry, sorry. That wasn't you Wanda. You did what we asked, that fucking shit wasn't you. I'm sorry. I. I'm angry, but at them, not at you, not for this, not for any of this. I do need a favour though. Ask Selene that if she comes good on it she can get whatever the hell she wants from me, and I'll ask Jean for Charles's help as well.

Help me find those bastards, so I can kill every single last fucking one of them.