Wanda's mind was foggy. Every time she made a coherent thought, it would fall away before she could grasp it. Full strings of thoughts could not be formed in her mind properly. Using her powers required a sharp mind, something she didn't posses at the time.
She briefly thought of Pietro at times, or her foolishness, but she couldn't dwell on it for long.
They kept her in some blank grey cell where nothing was interesting, let alone escapable.
Every once in a while guards in a black uniform came by and placed a bland meal in her cell. Why had she thought she could just charge in and everything would be alright?
Wanda looked at her food in disdain, but moved to eat anyways. She wanted to think of seeing her brother again, but it was such a hopeless thought for a situation like hers.
Why couldn't she have just listened to Steve?
-
At first Nadia's father did not say a word, instead he stood there gaping at her then looking suspiciously at her friends.
"Say something!" she said anxiously.
"Why wouldn't you answer our calls, or at least try to talk to us?"
"Look, dad, the position you and mom put me in was too much and I left. You guys never treated me the same since the incident," she explained.
Pietro and Roman shared a look, but kept silent. They both felt as if they were invading a very private conversation.
"Wait, how did you get here Nadia? Why are you soaked?" Her father asked.
"Just please let us inside and I'll explain everything. I promise," she said, trying to hide the fact that she was shaking.
Her father relented, opening the door to let the three of them in. Nadia was glad that her father still had enough trust in her to allow to strange men in his house.
"Where's mom?" Nadia asked, noticing that her mother was not in the living room or kitchen.
"She's in the study, I'll go get her. I think you three should wait to sit down though," he stated, aware their pants were wet.
As Nadia's father left upstairs to get his wife, Pietro sent Nadia a questioning look. He knew that Nadia's past was her own to keep secret, yet he found himself more curious than ever to find out more about her. All he knew was that they weren't close and her brother wasn't around.
Nadia simply averted from looking at Pietro. If it were her choice, they would not be at her parent's right then, but there was nowhere else to go.
"Is this where you grew up?" Roman asked while looking at a family photo.
She nodded. Pietro walked over to take a look at the photograph as well. They were all smiling, even the boy Pietro assumed as Nadia's brother. They were the picture perfect family, what the hell happened?
Nadia's mother and father came down the steps rather quickly. "Nadia, you came home!" Her mother said excitedly.
Nadia wore an expression of confusion, apparently not expecting the reaction she got. "We had no other place to go," she explained.
Her mother took a look at Roman and Pietro who were standing in the room awkwardly trying to stay out of the conversation. "Who are these two men you brought with you, Nadia?"
She looked nervously to the two of them, it had been years since she had last seen her parents. The incidents with the Avengers had happened during that time, so she didn't know how her parents felt about the situation.
"This is Roman, my roommate," she told them. Then she looked to Pietro, what was he to her? Someone she helped off the street?
"And this is Pietro... My friend." That didn't feel right either.
Her mother nodded, "Welcome home then."
Nadia's father took advantage of the silence to ask the question they all knew was coming. "So why are you here after all this time?"
Nadia looked to Pietro and Roman, but the two said nothing. She sighed. "Do you mind if I talk to my parents privately?" she questioned.
They nodded and left the room.
-
Pietro and Roman were sitting in the living room, trying to ignore the yelling going on two rooms away.
Roman relaxed near the fire trying to warm up, while Pietro was pacing around.
The warm and cozy atmosphere the room provided was a sharp contrast to the events going on in their lives currently. Pietro missed the simple days where he could just sit and relax with his sister.
"Would you please stop?" Roman finally asked him.
"Sorry, there's just too much on my mind," Pietro admitted, then stared at Roman.
"What?" Roman asked with indignation.
"Did you know about my sister?"
Roman sighed. "They told me all about it right after that conference was held. That's how I knew that they were coming for you and Nadia. I excused myself and went straight back home for you two."
"Thank you for that, by the way. I'm sorry you got caught up in all this anyways," Pietro apologized.
Roman shrugged nonchalantly. "My life wasn't really going anywhere anyways, of course I'm scared, but helping you is better than pretending along with politics that I hate."
Pietro smirked. "I guess you pretending is going to be helpful, because we're going to break Wanda out."
Romans face went from relaxed to worried within seconds.
"Break her out?! Me and Nadia don't even know how to fight!"
"Nobody said anything about fighting," Pietro said.
Back when they were walking to the house, all Pietro could think about was getting to safety and his sister. He knew next to nothing about who had her and where, then there was surrendering, which was definitely not an option.
"So you have a plan?" Roman inquired.
Pietro was about to tell Roman that he was still working on it, but stopped when he heard voices coming towards the living room.
Nadia did not look happy, nor did her parents, yet they didn't seem to be conflicted.
"Nadia told us about your situation, Pietro, and we've decided you can all stay here for a bit," Nadia's mom spoke. She didn't look angry about it, unlike her husband. For that, Pietro was glad.
Roman stood up, "Thank you Mrs. Dembinski."
Pietro said thanks as well, then followed Nadia upstairs.
"Really happy this house has three bedrooms and one guest room," Nadia said.
"What do your parents do for a living?" Roman asked.
"My dad's an investor and my mom stays at home working on projects," Nadia answered.
"Can we get something else to change into?" Pietro asked. He did not mind knowing more about Nadia, but his freezing feet said otherwise.
"Oh right, I'll go ask about that. Feel free to settle in the first two rooms on the right," she pointed, then went back downstairs.
Pietro opened the first door on the right and sat down on the edge of the bed. There wasn't much to the room, it was very plain and devoid of personalization, but he didn't mind.
It may have only been late evening, but he was extremely exhausted. The sun had gone down hours ago, around the same time he was watching the news. He was mostly emotionally drained, there was just too much for him to take in for one day.
"Powerless."
The voice again. Pietro was starting to think he was going mad.
Pietro heard two footsteps going up the stairs, but did not care. He got lost in his thoughts while briefly taking note of the doors opening and closing, and voices in the next room.
Finally a knock came on the door to the room, but he didn't have time to respond when Nadia came in. "I got you some dry pants," Nadia said.
Pietro simply nodded in thanks, then leaned his head against the headboard.
"You feeling alright?" Nadia asked him.
He shook his head. There was no point in lying, it was obvious at that point that his situation was taking a toll on him.
"I keep thinking about my sister and if she'll be alright. I imagine their keeping her in some cell, drugged to oblivion, though," he pondered.
Nadia gave him a sympathetic look. "Either way, we'll be getting her back, Pietro. Wanda will be okay," she comforted.
"I know, but it's the 'what ifs' that get to me. What if I can't save her in time? Surrendering to them won't accomplish anything," he said miserably.
A small silence happened between them while they were in thought until out of the blue Nadia asked a question that Pietro wanted answers to.
"Want to know why I'm so estranged from my family?"
He nodded.
Nadia took a deep breath. "I haven't really told anyone this before, by the way.
"When I was sixteen, I had just got my driver's license and we were on vacation. I asked my parents to drive, and they relented. Both of them were sitting in the back seat and my older brother in the passenger seat. I was going through an intersection when a truck ran the light, and straight into the passenger seat. My brother was the only one who didn't make it out... My relationship with my parents deteriorated afterwards, because they always gave me the feeling that I was responsible for my brother's death. I even believed it myself at one point, causing me to think back on how I could of avoided his death," Nadia took a break for a moment to collect herself.
"I spent four years of my life guessing at 'what ifs.' I learned you can't do that, because it eats you up on the inside. I know that it wasn't my fault and that no matter what, I can't change it; Life will be what it is. Your situation is the same, except you don't know what is going to happen, so don't think the negative and beat yourself up for it," she consoled.
Pietro realized there was truth to what Nadia was saying, and with it, his worrying lessened. It would never go away until his sister was safe, but at least he had control on the rampant negative thoughts that plagued his mind.
Pietro gave a weak smile, "Of all the people to meet on the street, I'm really glad it was you. And I'm sorry about the situation with your family."
"It's alright, we put it in the past now. It may still hurt somewhat, but we're all here and okay," she said, then leaned her head on Pietro's shoulder.
"This has got to be one of the longest days in my life," Pietro commented.
"I'm so goddamn tired," she said, lying back.
The two of them were too exhausted to even care as they drifted off to sleep.