And that was it. Everyone she cared about was gone. She stood in the foundation of her house; her grief so strong it made her numb. She pulled up the hood of her vest desperately wanting to be left alone. Monica soon joined her side.
"You did it," she remarked, "you actually did it."
Wanda didn't answer, she just pressed her lips together and nodded in agreement. She had seen many movies and shows portraying people fixing their mistakes as a good thing, something that made them feel better. She couldn't relate. She simply felt like disappearing into the unknown and never being seen again.
"You know, I don't think I would have had the strength to do it, had it been me," confessed Monica. "I would have done anything to get my mother back, I can only imagine what you're going through." The woman gently put her hand on Wanda's shoulder, making sure to be slow enough so she wouldn't intrude her personal space. When no protests came, she squeezed lightly. "I'm here for you if you need me."
As they reached the town square, Wanda did her best to ignore the hateful glare of the citizens she had tortured over the last week. She wished she could tell them she didn't know, but she was sure no apologies would be enough. Lost in her self-deprecating thoughts, she was surprised when Monica spoke once again. "So, who was the guy who played your brother? We never could identify him. Yet I can see that his family found him."
Wanda didn't answer as she looked up at the X-Men. Her brother was deep in conversation, probably telling them about his time in the town. She quickly changed outfits, feeling more comfortable in her newest costume. The Scarlet Witch, as Agatha called her; she liked the name. She was about to fly away when Peter suddenly appeared at her side.
"Wanda, don't go."
She froze in place; he didn't seem mad at her, but she didn't want to push her luck. Hatred came in many forms. Since she wasn't talking, Monica spoke up.
"Hi again, I don't know if you remember, we escaped the witch's house together?"
Peter chuckled and nodded. "I do, that was wild."
Wanda could feel Monica's question, and the hesitation that came with it. "I know I've asked you before, but who are you?"
The silver haired man looked at the redhead, silently asking for permission. She couldn't figure out why he'd even care about her opinion, but she nodded, nonetheless.
"I'm Peter Maximoff, I'm from a different universe."
That certainly took the S.W.O.R.D. agent by surprise, she looked at both of them, wondering if it was a joke. She had many more questions, but she felt that the Maximoffs needed to talk. With a nod, she walked away to join an Asian man. Probably a friend of hers. That left Wanda and Peter alone, both wondering how to start the conversation.
"So," started Peter, scratching the back of his neck. "Thanks for releasing me."
Wanda scrunched her face in shame, why had she even thought it was a good idea? "I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking clearly. I just wanted my brother back and you already wanted to leave, and I just couldn't-"
"Hey, it's alright. I mean, obviously it wasn't fun, but it wasn't as bad as witchy over there," he said, pointing at Agnes who was seemingly flirting with police officers. "You wanted me there, so I wasn't really controlled, I was just sure I was Pietro Maximoff."
Running a hand through her hair and taking a deep breath to shake away her teary eyes, she finally looked at him in the eyes. "So, you're not... mad?"
Peter blinked and cleared his throat, "Well, obviously I'm not pleased, but I think I would have done the same thing, had I been given a chance to see Wendy again."
They walked over to a secluded bench that somehow hadn't been destroyed by the battle. Wanda kept fidgeting with her fingers, the occasional glares of people mixed with the grief and guilt she felt made an interesting combination of emotions. Peter pulled her into a hug, and she held on for dear life, not wanting to be alone again. "I like the outfit by the way," whispered Peter in her ear. "Might not believe me but it's very similar to my dad's. Irony of the multiverse I guess."
She couldn't help the chuckle that escaped her lips, he soon laughed too, and let go of her. He looked around the town, taking in the situation.
"You know, it might not have been real, but our little life was good," commented Peter. He looked at his team, "I didn't have any superhero duty to think about or daddy issues to deal with. It was simple."
Wanda looked at him, not sure if he was being serious, when she realized he was, she simply nodded. "Yeah, that's why I wanted this. I've never had a shot at a normal life, not since I was 10 years old."
Peter smirked in agreement, looking a little lost in thought for a moment. "Yeah, I remember, your life wasn't easy, uh?"
The redhead suddenly widened her eyes, realizing the weight of his statement, "oh, I'm so sorry, I can remove his memories from your head if you want." She tried to put her hands on his temple, but he shook his head.
"Nah, I'm good. I've had enough people messing in my mind for a century. Plus, I'm not really sure where my memories end and his starts."
Wanda was left feeling even more guilty, how did she even think that it was a good idea to keep him? She looked at the ground once again, why could she never do things right?
"So... where will you go?" Asked Peter. "Cause I know how this usually goes, you leave in a remote place, isolate yourself and either build a new life or you get even worse than what your current low point is." Wanda looked at him, raising an eyebrow. He chuckled as he raised his hands in front of him, "hey, you might be from another universe, but my dad basically did the same thing."
She thought about her options, she had considered isolating herself, she had Agatha's book after all, she wanted to study it. Before Peter stopped her from leaving, she truly wanted to be left alone. Knowing he didn't hate her changed things. She wanted him by her side, willingly this time. After a minute or two of waiting, he spoke up, scratching his nose anxiously. "You... you could come with us, if you want."
She turned her head towards him, eyes wide at the proposition. He gently took her hand and got to his feet. "From what I gathered here; you're sort of a wanted person? No one knows you in my universe. Plus, powers like yours aren't unheard of, you'd fit right in!"
He didn't let her respond as he dragged her to his team. Anxiety was building up in her stomach, how would they react? She had, after all, kidnapped one of their members, even if accidentally. After a quick discussion with the bald man, the professor as he called himself, it was settled that she'd leave with them. The two blue people were polite, but obviously still suspicious of her. Peter's father was, well, pissed to say the least. He didn't talk to her and barely acknowledged her when she told them she'd create a portal to get them in their universe. She wasn't sure how she had already mastered universe hopping, but she assumed it had to do with the scarlet witch thing Agatha had mentioned. After saying goodbye to Monica, who seemed glad Wanda had found people like her, they were off. Portal jumping wasn't a pleasant experience, but it didn't feel as bad as the first time she experienced her brother's superspeed. The first thing she noticed upon arrival was the giant mansion, followed by the dozens of children freely expressing their gift.
That nearly made her breakdown right there.
She adjusted quickly, even made friend with a girl possessing similar powers named Jean Grey. It took a while for Mystique and Nightcrawler to fully trust her, but they eventually did. Erik still blamed her, but he had stopped glaring at her every time she came into a room. She had also learned to astral project herself, giving her more time to study the spell book. It had given her insight she never thought existed.
She had grown closer with Peter, who had confessed one day that his birth name truly was Pietro. They had both lost a twin and while they were both aware that it wasn't the same; dealing with it together had helped them. Also, being the only people who truly knew Vision and the twins, they felt it was only right to grieve them together as well. Both had had their moments where they tried to talk to them, waiting for an answer, only to realize that they were speaking to shadows. It hadn't really gotten better; Peter missed his nephews and Wanda missed her family.
Sometimes, when the mansion became too much, she preferred to keep herself in her room. In those time, she usually used it to study the Darkhold and it's secret. That's what she was doing, in the middle of the night, when voices pierced her concentration.
"Mom!" Screamed Billy. She gasped as she heard her son in her head. It was Tommy's voice who followed, "mom, help us!"
Her eyes widened in shock. Her children were alive, they were somewhere. She snapped out of her trance, her mind returning to her body that was laying in her bed. She ran out of her room to join Peter who was listening to music on his Walkman. He looked at her, questions in his eyes, she smiled at him.
"Tommy and Billy, I hear them."
In a blur, he was in front of her, his hands on her shoulders, hope gleaming in his eyes. "Really?"
Wanda nodded, barely able to contain her excitement, "really."
In less than five seconds, Peter had packed a bag and was holding it at his side. He offered his hand to Wanda, who gladly took it. He grinned, "let's go get the rugrats."
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So it's done! I hope you guys liked it!
As for the surprise, both my father and girlfriend wanted to know more about how the X-men got to Westview so I wrote another fic of their point of view! I'm nearly finished writing it, and it should be about 30k words. Each chapter being approximately 3k words.