Tormented By Memories

Have you ever noticed that ( WANDA MAXIMOFF ) from the ( MARVEL UNIVERSE ) looks a lot like ( ELIZABETH OLSEN )? But ( SHE ) also go/goes by ( SCARLET WITCH ). Having the ability to/of ( energy and reality manipulation and powerful access to magical energies ) sure makes them a force to be reckoned with. They’re known to be ( PROTECTIVE ) but also ( EMOTIONALLY FRAGILE ) and they’re ( 28 ) years old.

Diana smiled softly. “So am I,” she said. “Though if I could spare anyone the heartache, I would. You of all people deserve peace.” She smiled again. “I’m glad your husband has returned to you,” she said. “I would like to meet him someday. He sounds very special.” She gave a little chuckle. “He and I have something in common, too, I realize. We were both made rather born.”

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       “Thank you.” She said, honestly thankful for the well wish. “So am I.” She replied to the woman, using her own words from moment’s prior. Wanda couldn’t explain the happiness that had returned to her with Vision. He kept her stable. There wasn’t anything she wouldn’t do for him, but that wasn’t a memory she cared to relive. “You should come over for dinner.” Wanda smiled when Diana said her husband sounded special. Special didn’t even begin to describe him. “You were made?” She asked, brows pulling together as she questioned. 

        Wanda sized the man up, watching him from afar before approaching. He was unlike the other mutants she knew. He was more like her. The grief was heavy around him, years of it thickening the air. There was a familiarity about him, like they had met before, but she couldn’t recall meeting him before. That didn’t stop her from approaching him though. “I’m sorry, I have this-” she tried to think of the words for what she was trying to say. “Do I know you?”

      He was a drunken mistake, a ill-judged night after a few too many drinks. Nothing more. She thought the message had been pretty clear when she stopped coming around that she didn’t want to see him anymore, but obviously it hadn’t gotten through to him. “I’m sorry, I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She lied, pretending as if she had never met the man before. They both knew it wasn’t the truth, but if he kept up, she thought she may have to change that.

       Wanda was happy to have her boys back, even if they were really her boys. That was one of the tragedies she would have to live with. Her boys were a memory, ghosts stuck in her memories left to haunt and torment her for the rest of her existence. At least these boys had come to her. That had to count for something. “Do you want a muffin?” She asked Billy, walking to where he sat at the table. Leaning over, she rested her palm on the wood, using her free hand to tuck a strand of loose hair behind his ear. “You look hungry.”

     Wanda didn’t have much to say to Charles. He was good person in the eyes of most, even in her eyes most of the time, but that didn’t make him as powerful as so many people allowed him to think that he was. There weren’t many who could match his power, however, there was one young woman who came to mind. Jean Grey. Charles didn’t think he was failing her, but by feeding into her fear of her power, whether knowingly or not was doing just that: failing her. Wanda would not do the same. That was how she had come to find herself outside his door, knuckles rapping against the wood. “Professor.” She called out.

“No, I’ll have you know I’ve been on my very best behavior since I realized what I felt for her” he replied rather honestly he hadn’t spent much time looking at others since he started hanging out with Kate. It was strange to think of someone breaking through his walls but it was happening. “Well, when you put it like that I’ll have to stop by more often to get this treatment” He teased the other before motioning for a bing helping “Alot! I’ll work it off later Scout’s honor” He smiled softly enjoying the moment between the siblings.

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          “Good,” she mused. In the past, Pietro had a wandering eye that had gotten him into trouble more times than she could count. Wanda smiled at the idea. She felt like she didn’t get to see Pietro enough now that he wasn’t living with her anymore. It was a separation they had never experienced until his death. Letting out a soft laugh, she shook her head before cutting him a quarter of the lasagna and placing it on a plate for him. “If you want more, help yourself.” In truth, he could eat the entire thing and she wouldn’t feel any sort of way about it. She had cooked it for him exclusively, having made another plan for her and Vision’s (really only her) dinner that night. Handing the plate to him, she walked away momentarily to grab him utensils. 

Vision nibbled on his lower lip, forcing himself to keep his hands at his sides once Wanda let them go. “Well…” His eyes widened slightly as he looked down at her. “We’ve never really been on a date before, have we?” he said. “Properly. And if I’ve never done it with you, odds are good that I’ve never done it.” He frowned slightly. “What if I’m bad at it?”

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        “Well?” Wanda repeated, eyes meeting with her husband’s, a brow quirked at him in curiosity. She had to think about it for a moment, trying to recall if they had ever been on an actual date. Nothing came to mind and she was left blank. “Not that I can remember.” She replied honestly. “You won’t be bad at it.” There was some relief that Vision was only worried about being bad at dating. Luckily for the pair they were already married and could skip all the weird, awkward steps that came with dating. 

Pietro loved his sister there was no denying her opinion meant the world to him in everything he did but between the two of them, she was more of a thinker than him. “Ahh you forget about that one leggy blond who attempted to cave my head in, back in Sokovia, how was I supposed to know she’d be returning at the exact moment her sister kissed me” He joked before rubbing his hands together “Ahh Sora tu Strica pe mine” He placed a kiss on her head moving to stand by to offer help with the food.

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        “Are you planning on making that mistake again?” She asked, not expecting that sort of response from him. In all honesty, she couldn’t keep up with his different conquests and girlfriends over the years, only recalling a few faces and even less names. “You deserve it.” She replied in English. It had been a long time since she had spoken in their mother tongue, but she understood it just the same. “How much do you want?” Wanda asked, after pulling it out of the oven with the assistance of a pot holder. Setting it down on the granite counter top, she looked over at her brother. 

        “Stop fidgeting, you look fine.” Wanda reassured her husband, reaching out to take his hands in hers so that he would stop touching the bowtie around his neck. Letting his hands go, she readjusted it so that it sat straight, rather than crooked. “What’s wrong?” She asked, eye turning up to Vision. “I know it’s not the bowtie.” 

Diana smiled softly and shrugged. “Oh, I simply…worried that I was prying,” she said, with a little shrug. “It is not often I find someone with similar life experiences to myself.” Which was fortunate, considering the commonalities they shared were so tragic. “I know it can be difficult to talk about such things. Especially with a near stranger.” She smiled a little. “I am sorry if I intruded upon your afternoon.”

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         Wanda shook her head at the other woman. She didn’t feel as if she was prying in any capacity. it just felt like two women talking about their lives, sharing in similar experiences. She was happy to talk to someone who could understand what she had been through. “No, I’m happy to talk to someone who understands.”

“It’s not like I chose to be this way,” Jean murmured, more to herself than to Wanda, looking into the middle distance with a frown tugging at the corners of her lips and furrowing her brow. “I was born like this. I didn’t even…I didn’t even realize I was different until ten years old. My friend…” She swallowed, balling her hands into fists, resting in her lap. “My friend Annie was hit by a car. I–I felt it. Everything she felt while she was dying, I…my mind reached out to hers, or maybe it was the other way around, and I could feel all of it like it was actually happening to me.” She looked up at Wanda. “That’s what people are afraid of,” she said. “That I can feel it when someone is dying. I know their last thoughts, I feel their fear or their anger or their sadness. I’m never alone in my own head.” She twisted her fingers together as Wanda spoke, nodding softly. “Okay,” she said, with a little sigh. Jean was afraid of tapping into her powers and really exploring them, but she knew if anyone could get her through it, it was Wanda. “Thank you,” she said, with a shy little smile. “It means a lot to me that you’re willing to help.”

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          None of them had chose to be this way. The x-gene wasn’t something to pick or choose. It was assigned at birth just the same way everything else that composed DNA was. It was a game of lottery. A very rare few got it while the rest of the population didn’t. It was all down to the father and whether or not he possessed the gene. Jean’s father just so happened to. Erik just so happened to. Wanda’s eyes fell and she was happy that Jean wasn’t looking back at her. “I’m sorry.” The story was tragic, but that wasn’t uncommon among mutants. When Jean agree to try, she smiled at the younger woman. Wanda knew that there was more that she could help her with than Charles could, but not for lack of trying. “You’re welcome.” She didn’t think that there was anything to thank her for, but it was polite. 

Pietro smiled, he loved hanging out with his sister, they were always two halves of one whole something that never felt complete until they were together. His feelings for Kate were unlike anything he’d ever felt before but given her past and his flirting ways he didn’t want to screw up on his greatest friendships. Since meeting her he hardly ever flirted seriously with anyone outside of her but he also knew his sister was right about talking. “Ugh, what do you have to be so logical about everything” he pouted before nodding his head “I’ll talk to her about it, but if I get kicked out I’m crashing here” He joked.

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       Wanda held back a laugh, allowing her lips to form into a smile as the sound died in her throat. Logical was not a word she thought anyone would describe her as. She tended to lean more into her heart than her head, relying on her emotion. Wanda had worked hard to make sure she wasn’t depending too heavily on her emotion anymore though. Training herself to keep it in check, she wanted to be in control. Maybe that was starting to show. “I don’t think you will, but you’re always welcome here.” As if on cue, the time for the oven dinged. “The lasagna is done.” 

      "I have no idea why he thought that, or why he decided to do that without speaking to me first." Wanda was growing visibly more upset the longer she spoke to Zatanna about the situation. “I’m happy he did it, but I’m confused by the entire thing.”

       “Upset? Why would I be upset?” Wanda asked the woman, brows furrowing together causing a crease to form. For the first time in a long time Wanda was actually happy, content in her life. The only thing that could make it better would be having the final missing piece in the puzzle of her life: Tommy. 

Jean twisted her fingers together nervously. “When I told my parents that I’m a mutant, they said they weren’t afraid of me,” she said, her tone almost pleading. “But they are. I know they are. It’s not like they can lie to me.” She didn’t mean for that to sound quite as grandiose as it came out, but still, it was true. If she let her barriers down, even just a little, it would be very difficult for anyone to lie to her. Her parents certainly couldn’t manage it. She had been powerful naturally, before the Phoenix came into her life, which was probably what had called the Phoenix to her in the first place. “It’s not just their thoughts, you know? You can try to control your thoughts, but your feelings are harder. They come to you more naturally than words do. I could feel their fear.” She sighed softly. “I know,” she said. “I’m sorry.” She bit her lip, thinking about it. She trusted Wanda, and more than that, she knew Wanda understood. If anyone could help Jean, she could. “Okay,” she said softly. “We can try.”

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       Listening to Jean's story, she nodded. Mutants had a stigma attached to them and as hard as Charles worked to change that it was almost ingrained into humans. It was instinctual to fear something different, something stronger, and that was exactly what mutants were; They were the next line of evolution. One day all humans would be mutants, but those who were special now were also feared and hated. It didn't matter if the mutation was purely cosmetic. Being different was enough. Wanda had grown up with that, as had Jean. It was another thing the pair had in common. "I'm sorry." She wouldn't wish that on anyone. Having parents that feared you sounded worse than the lack of parents Wanda possessed. At least they couldn't be added to the list of people that feared her. Wanda knew all too well how naturally feelings came. The negative was easier than the positive because it drowned everything else out. She sighed, eyes moving to a blade of grass among the thousands that surrounded them. There was so much pain shared between them. Like Atlas, the world was held on their shoulders and they had no choice but hold it up. "If we try and you don't want to anymore, we can stop. I promise. I just think it might help you to gain more control. I know it helped me."

“Well we will change that, I love your cooking so I’ll stop by more often for it” Pietro replied, looking at his sister smiling softly. Love was such a strange word to him, he loved his family and was very protective over them but he was dead before he was able to find someone like Wanda did but then again all he could do was explain how it felt. “I don’t know, All I know is I’ll go out of my way to do little things that will make her laugh or smile. The best moments are when we are just chilling on the couch watching whatever movie we could find laughing and commenting on the characters stupid decisions” He chuckled to himself thinking about the memory before sighing “Not really….I told her that she didn’t have to kiss me just because I confessed and that I would always be her friend even if she never liked me back…”

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       She nodded, believing that her brother would come to visit her for more cooking. There was nothing quite like food to motivate a speedster. Wanda smiled, listening to her brother talk about Kate. She wasn't sure if it was true love, but she had never heard Pietro talk about anyone the way he was talking about her. He rarely even talked about women with her. Kate clearly struck him in a way no one else did. "That sounds like something you two should talk about. You're living together and that can be confusing." Wanda just didn't want her brother to get hurt.