You wake up in your cell once again, your head pounding ever so slightly but steadily. You look over, expecting to see Bucky sitting in his usual chair, but this time, it's Steve.
"Well, you're not who I thought I would wake up to see, " you say as you rub your temples. There is a visible strain across your face.

"Are you in pain? I can call Bruce." This is the first time you've heard Steve speak in a kind tone.

"No! I'm done with your people helping me." You snap back but notice Steve's face change. "I'll be fine. I've been through worse."

Steve lets his head hang a bit as he takes a deep breath. "Joey, I'm sorry. I had no idea that Hydra had taken you. The Army listed you as killed in action after your unit was attacked. If I had known, I would have found you and Bucky." He looks up, and you see the pain in his face, but it does nothing for you.

"What's done is done. For the first few months, I would dream of you rescuing Bucky and me. Then they told me that your plane went down in the Antarctic. I gave up trying to fight, and there was no point." You recall with no emotion.

Steve gets an odd look on his face. "You really don't feel anything, do you?" His voice is laced with pity.

" I can still feel some things. Like your body.... still gets the juices flowing." You say with a raised eyebrow.

"Damn it, Jo!" Steve stands up and walks closer to the glass.

"Oh, you thought we were having a moment there, didn't you?" You say with a sweet but sarcastic tone.

He shakes his head at you. "I want to have hope that Wanda will be able to help you but I'm starting to doubt that even she is strong enough."

Your ears perk up at that name. It seems familiar. "Wanda?.....No." You start to remember where you heard that name. "As in Maximoff??"

You stand up as Steve watches you. "Yes, she's a friend. She'll be here tomorrow. You know her?"

"Keep that witch away from me! I know what she can do; I read her file when Hydra still had her and her brother, " you say.

"Is that fear I hear in your voice? I thought you couldn't feel that?" Steve says curiously.

"Keep her away from me, or I will kill her. I don't want another experiment rooting around in my head." You turn and lay back down on your bed.

The next morning, a Quinjet lands on the compound grounds. As Wanda steps off the jet, she is greeted by Steve, Tony, Bucky, and Bruce. A huge smile spreads across her face as she sees her friends after a long time away.

Tony smiles as he extends his arms to her. "My favorite witch!"

Wanda returns the hug. "Always the charmer, Stark."

She turns to Bruce, who embraces her. "Wanda, you are a sight for sore eyes."

"I've missed you too, Bruce." She says as Steve walks over to her.

Steve wraps her in a tight hug. "Wanda, how are you doing?"

"I'm doing better. I still miss him, though." she says with a tinge of sadness in her voice.

"I know. We all miss him, too. " he says as his arms linger wrapped around her, eliciting a warm smile from her.

Wanda turns and looks at Bucky, who frowns as he approaches her. "Maximoff... I can't thank you..."

Wanda cuts him off as she grabs his hand. "Bucky, it's what we do because we're family." Bucky pulls her into an embrace.

Steve puts a hand on each of their shoulders. "Come on, we've got a lot of catching up to do."

Sam joined the group as they sat around the kitchen table. Wanda had been brought up to speed. "So, the Alpha is your sister?" Wanda said as she looked over her cup of tea.

A look of surprise flashes across Steve's face. "So you know of the Alpha Soldier of Jo?" Steve asks.

"I knew of Alpha. They let me watch her train one day. I never knew Jo?" Wanda says with sadness in her voice. "I had never seen such brutality and grace in one body."

Steve speaks up. " Apparently, she knew of you also. I mentioned your name earlier and she freaked out. I hope that it doesn't make things worse?"

"It will make it harder if she starts to resist. We can only wait and see." Wanda lays her hand on Steve's and gently squeezes. This doesn't go unnoticed by Sam and Bucky. A small grin graces the corner of Sam's mouth.

"Where is she? We should get started as soon as possible." They all stand up and take Wanda to your cell. You look up as they enter.

"Wow, is it group therapy day? So what brings you boys down here?" You say, not moving from your bed.

The men part and let Wanda walk through up to your cell. "Hello, Alpha. Or should I say, Jo?" Wanda says nicely.

You turn your head, recognizing the woman who stands before you. You sit straight up in your bed. Your eyes dart straight to Steve's. "I thought I warned you to keep her away from me?" You hiss at him.

You look back at Wanda. "I know who you are. I read your file and know what you can do. Stay out of my head, Maximoff !"

Wanda looks at you, giving you a small frown. "I'm sorry about this, but it's for your own good." With a wave of her hand, you fall back on your bed, asleep.

She turns to Bucky and Steve. "I'm going to need both of you in there. I can keep her asleep, but she might need to be restrained. I don't want the shackles on her, her mind is already chained, I don't want her body to feel the same. The physical contact will help, deep down her mind will recognize it."

Wanda sits at your head, Bucky at your side, and Steve at your feet. Wanda looks at both of them. "Whatever happens, DO NOT break us apart unless I say so, OK?"

Both of them nod their heads. Wanda places her hands next to your head. Her red power creeps from her fingers into your ears.

She looks around as she enters your mind. She stands in a long corridor that is dark and very cold. Wanda slowly starts walking; she passes dark, open doorways. As she passes them, she catches glimpses inside. She sees your memories, one of you being trained, another of you attacking a dignitary in his home. Every one she passes is a memory as Alpha. Wanda can see a large double doorway that has been bricked over. She knows that's where your emotions and memories have been hidden. As she passes another door, an arm reaches out and grabs her, stopping her.

A dark, uniformed version of yourself steps out.  "I thought we warned you to stay out of our head?" You kick her back toward another dark doorway. Another set of arms grabs Wanda from behind. She looks over her shoulder to see another you but with black eyes and scars. You throw her to the ground. She gets up and stumbles toward the wall. A third version of you steps out of a doorway. This version of you has a metal arm and leg like Bucky's. You grab Wanda and throw her through a doorway. It's dark, but she can feel a small hand touch hers.
She sees a little girl dressed just like Alice in Wonderland.

She looks at Wanda with fear. "You need to leave. She'll chop off your head. She doesn't like you. Please, you need to run. I don't want her to hurt you."  Wanda can hear the footsteps of the versions of you coming.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are? Come join us. We're all mad here." The little girl looks at you with fear as she pushes Wanda out.

Wanda's eyes snap open as she gasps for air.

Bucky grabs her arm. "Wanda, are you Ok? What happened?"

She shakes her head to clear her thoughts. "It's so dark in her mind, but I saw the wall they've put up there. It's big, but if I can get to it, maybe I can break it down." She looks at Bucky. "What does Alice in Wonderland have to do with Jo?"

"It was Jo's favorite book since she was little." Steve says.

Bucky lowers his head and runs his hands through this hair. "She told me once that when they would torture her, in her mind, she would pretend to be Alice and chase the white rabbit to help escape the pain."

"There was a little girl in there that looked like Alice. She's the one that pushed me out, trying to protect me." Wanda looks at Steve, then Bucky. " I can use that. I'm going back in, remember whatever happens out here don't break us apart."

Wanda closes her eyes, touching your head. She enters your mind once more. She is back in the corridor again. She can see the wall at the end. She starts to walk towards it when she feels the little girl's hand. Your hand touches hers.

Wanda looks down at you, the small, frightened child dressed like Alice. You look up at her. "Why did you come back? She knows you're here. She'll come for you again. You have to leave."

"I won't leave you, Jo. Bucky and Steve sent me to help you." Wanda says with kindness in her eyes.

"No! She'll hurt them too. Don't let her hurt them, please." You beg.

"It's Ok, Jo. She caught me off guard once, but not again. But I'm going to need your help with that. Can you do that?" Wanda says encouragingly.

"Do you promise she won't hurt Stevie and Buck?" You ask her.

"I promise. Are you ready?" Wanda says with a reassuring smile.

You nod your head at Wanda. You both start to walk down the hallway. A version of yourself steps out in front of you. Your hand tightens around Wanda's. She looks down at you.

"Remember the Cheshire Cat?" You nod your head, yes. "Watch." She takes her hand as her red power swirls from it. Suddenly, the version starts to disappear, leaving only a mouth, just like the Cheshire. She hears a small gasp from you as your eyes grow wider.

As you continue toward the wall at the end of the corridor. Four versions of you step out of the doorways. Each one is darker than the last. Wanda can feel your hand start to shake. She speaks to you once more.

"Remember how the Queen of Hearts would play croquet with the card knights?" She asks you.

You answer back meekly. " Yes"

Wanda's power swirls again. The version turns into a card version of you. Suddenly, there is a flamingo mallet in her hand. "Shall we?" She says as you both step forward, striking down the cards as you go. The closer you get, the more versions appear each time.
Wanda changes them to cards; this time, she hands you the mallet.

"It's your turn to try." She says, smiling down at you. "You are stronger than you think. Go ahead." You take a swing and knock several card versions down.

You both finally reach the wall. Wanda looks at you. "You've been so brave, Jo. But now I really need you to muster all your courage, and when I say so, I need you to hit this wall. We need to bring it down."

You look at Wanda, knowing the monsters trapped behind that wall. "But I'm scared. It's only bad things behind there. I don't want to let out the bad things."

She kneels down to look you in the eyes. " I know, Jo. Fear, pain, and loss are very scary, but they are still things we must face. I've recently experienced a loss that caused me a lot of pain and sadness, but I'm making my way through it. You need both light and dark. You have people that love you. They will help and protect you."

You shake your head. "Ok, I'll try."

Wanda stands. "Good girl. When I tell you to, I want you to hit the wall as hard as possible."
Wanda's powers start to grow brighter and brighter. She places her hands on the wall, which starts to glow red. "Now, Jo. I need you to hit it now!"

You take the mallet and hit the wall with all your strength. It sends both of you back several steps.

Your body starts to thrash on the bed. Bucky and Steve hold you as still as possible so you don't hurt yourself. They watch as Wanda's power grows brighter around your head.

Wanda looks at you. "We need to do it again. Ok?" You nod, and both step closer to the wall again. Wanda pushes her power to the wall once more. "Hit it again, now, Jo!" You do, and the floor starts to shake.

Bucky and Steve are worried and can see the strain on Wanda's face. They promised not to break you two apart, though.

Wanda tells you to hit the wall again as the ground continues to shake. You do, and the whole corridor shakes more violently. "One more try, Jo. You can do this."

Wanda sends all her power to the wall, trying to weaken it for you. You swing the mallet one more time. As you do, the wall starts to crack and glow from behind hit. Suddenly, a tremendous blast of power is released from the wall, and one brick falls from it.

Bucky and Steve watch in horror as you and Wanda shake dangerously. Without warning, Wanda's power erupts in a shock wave, sending all three of them flying back from your bedside. Steve and Bucky rush to Wanda's side and help her sit up.

"Wanda are you Ok?" Steve asks as he brushes her hair away from her face. Her eyes open as she touches his hand.

"I'll be Ok." She says with a smile.

Bucky looks at her and speaks with apprehension in his voice. "Did it work? Were you able to break down the wall?"

"I've never encountered that strong of a block before. A lot of it was whatever magic they used on her, but it was also her desire to block it away. I was able to weaken the wall and make a small hole." She says as she stands up and walks over to you.

"So what does that mean for Jo then?" Bucky asks.

"It means the foundation is weakened, it will crumble and fall. I can't tell you how fast it will happen. Your sister also has to want it to happen. That's where she will need you and Steve to help give her a reason."

Bucky sits down next to you and wipes the beads of sweat that have formed on your forehead. He leans down and places a kiss gently on your head. "I love you, Jo. We're going to help you every step of the way."

Steve wraps Wanda in a hug. "Thank you again for doing this. You had us worried for a bit."

"I'm not going to lie; it was harder than I thought. She's in there, though, and in time, I think she'll be okay. I could really use a cup of hot tea right now, " she says, giving hope to both Steve and Bucky.  

Steve wraps his arm around her. "I can absolutely do that." They both head for the cell door. Steve turns to Bucky. "You shouldn't be in here alone when she wakes up."

Bucky stands up.  "I know but I'm not leaving her alone, either." He steps out of the cell, locking it, and grabs his chair. He sits and waits for you to wake up.