The Raft
Sam banged angrily against the wall as he watched the soldier usher a struggling Wanda into her cell. He was horrified. She had a blinking collar around her neck and was wearing a straight jacket. She struggled for a few minutes after he walked away, keying the code to lock the cell, but then she slumped against a nearby wall, practically lifeless as tears streamed down her face.
“What’s wrong with you, man,” Sam yelled slapping the palm of his hand against the glass while Clint snarled something at the man. When Sam finally stopped to look at him, he could see that he was actually fairly young—couldn’t have been more than twenty-five.
The soldier walked towards Sam then.
“Don’t worry. They’ll only hold you and your two friends here for another day for processing, then you’ll be moved to more standard prison until your case goes to trial,” he said in a reassuring tone. He had a lot of respect for the Avengers. He wanted to see them treated well, even though there would have to be repercussions for the airport they destroyed and aiding and abetting a terrorist. He didn’t know why they had acted as they did, but no one was above the law. They were lucky they weren’t regular military or they would have already been court martialed.
“Wait, my two friends?”
“Yeah, you and the two guys here. The raft is for enhanced prisoners. You guys are just normal prisoners without all of your gear,” he shrugged. “I really respect what you’ve done before all of this though. I wanted to go into the Airforce, but I ended up in the Navy,” he smiled.
“You can’t be ok with this,” Sam said, gesturing angrily to Wanda. “You can’t think this is an acceptable way to treat someone, even a prisoner?”
“Man, what else are we supposed to do,” he said incredulously, finally realizing where Sam’s anger was coming from. “The collar inhibits her ability to mentally manipulate the guards. We have to read files on all incoming prisoners, and she drove people to suicide on a regular basis while working with Hydra! And we have to keep her hands bound somehow without tearing the skin. Her powers make this all necessary.”
“But it’s wrong,” Sam sputtered.
“So is what she did. If she didn’t want to be held, then she shouldn’t have broken the law in the first place. She sent that Vision guy through several stories worth of pavement! I’m sorry that she’s uncomfortable, but she’s dangerous.” He shook his head and walked away.