Full summary: After the death of her brother, Wanda Maximoff is left alone in a hostile world. Joining the Avengers, she learns to trust again, to make friends and maybe more, all the while trying to find a way to bring Pietro back to life...

A/N: Hello readers! For those who know me, I'm more of an OC person. But ever since I set eyes on Age of Ultron, I fell deeply for Scarlet Witch. I find she is the most complex, beautiful and badass characters Marvel has ever created. So I needed her to have a bit of spotlight in my works. Which is why I have started this. I know where I am going, but don't know how long it will take or what might happen in-between point A (his chapter) and point B (the epilogue). So, enjoy!

Disclaimer: All characters depicted here are the property of Marvel Cinematic Universe; Marvel Comics; or Twentieth Century Fox. I only own the plot surrounding them.

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1. Grief

Grief is a powerful thing. It could turn the most innocent person into a revengeful psychopath. Whether it made a father beat a assailant to death; or turned an otherwise gentle and happy girl into an empty shell; it always ravaged the surface of the Earth.

Wanda Maximoff knew that better than anyone. She had heard the cries of others, sensed their distress, felt their transformation as her soul grazed theirs. She should have known that it'd turn her too...

When she felt Pietro fall, it was as if her whole being had been torn in a million tiny pieces impossible to glue back together. The scream that exited her lips was enough to instantly strike and kill the dozens of androids that were hurrying her way. But that did not comfort her. More than anything, it made her wish to catch Ultron, and to tear his gears and strings one by one until he was bleeding oil onto the ground.

She was willing to die at that moment. She was already dead anyway, one half of her having been struck down by a volley of bullets. She had closed her eyes, waiting, when a pair of strong arms had picked her up and had flown away, a gentle mind touching hers and soothing her pain.

Her first encounter with Vision had been a shock. She had never before met a being like him: neither human nor machine, he had the widest soul she had ever touched, and wisdom poured from his very skin. When he had told her to rest, his eyes somehow lulling her to sleep, she had slept a dreamless night and a dreamless day. And when she awoke, he was there, waiting, as he stood by the sole window in the quarters she had been given in the Helicarrier.

They had spoken for hours. He listening to her and answering her questions, though often speaking up to try and make her understand that her twin's death was not an end in itself. He felt, she was certain, that she was tensing both physically and mentally, and that she could not, at that time, agree, but he carried on, his eyes conveying much patience and compassion.

Several days had passed before she could trust herself to leave the safety of her quarters. When she did, the Agent called Maria Hill – she had already seen her face in Tony Stark's mind and knew she had the face of an angel and the spirit of a warrior – came her way and announced that Nick Fury wanted to see her. She had numbly followed.

The man who was at the head of the former S.H.I.E.L.D., although it appeared to have been reformed, was a complex person whose mind buzzed with thoughts not altogether making sense. When their eyes met, his lips set in a thin line.

"Miss Maximoff, please, sit down." He paused, then tapped his temple. "And there's no need to linger in here. There's nothing of value to you in my mind."

She tilted her head to the side, her eyes flashing crimson for a second. "I disagree, Colonel." But she did as she was asked, not caring anyway about what he was thinking about. Namely, about the disappearance of the green beast.

When she sat down, she assessed the huge room she had been brought to. Obviously, this served as deck for the whole building. A swarm of uniform-clad men and women incessantly tapped on their keyboards, relaying pointless information through their microphones while their screens lit up with faces, places or systems all mixed up in a less than charming dance.

Before her, the immense window giving on the sea below, and four screens standing in a circle. No doubt the Colonel's own place – she had seen him stand there in his own memories.

All the while, he kept his sole eye on her, staring at her as she glanced around, apparently indifferent to what she saw. Then, when her gaze trailed back to him, he pushed a folder towards her side of the table.

Wanda took it in her hands, and flipped the cover open. Her heart clenched when she saw a photograph of her and Pietro as they manifested in the capital of Sokovia many years prior. A finger nimbly went to caress the image of her brother. Her eyes, again flashing red, met the Director's. "What do you want from me?"

He shrugged. "I thought you would have guessed by now, Miss Maximoff. You and your brother made a choice in our fight against Ultron. You chose to join us. To become Avengers. I would want you to join in a more permanent way. We are in desperate need of someone with your talents."

Wanda felt her hands start to tremble, although in rage or fear, she did not know. "You want to use me as Ultron did."

"No. Ultron did not really tell you his ulterior motives, did he?"

She smirked, a hard, severe look settling on her face. "And you would?"

"I doubt I can have any secrets for you..." he tapped at his temple again. "I am offering you a choice. To join us, to train to become an Avenger, to save the Earth from the countless other bastards that will come to harm it. And, if need be, to travel to other realms in search of aid."

She tilted her head to the side again, but did not speak. She knew what he meant by 'other realms'. She had seen Asgard in Thor's mind, had seen the wonders of Alfheim and Vanaheim in his memory. She had also seen his brother, falling as a Dark Elf plunged a blade in his chest. It made her squeeze her own eyes shut. A brother, falling dead, saving another one's life... She did not need another reminder.

So instead, she pushed a fist onto the table. "If I join you and your team, I want something in return."

Fury nodded once. "If I can, and wish to offer it, I will."

"I want my brother's body to be kept safe and close to me."

The thought had plagued her many nights. She could not bear the idea of Pietro's body rotting away in the earth, a small sign for company. It did not make him justice. And she would not stand for it.

To her surprise, Fury's mouth stretched into a strange smile. "I had guessed as much. Your brother's body has been kept, since his fall, into a cryotube in this very facility. Feel free to 'visit'," he said the word with a pinch of cruelty, "anytime you want."

Wanda stood, the gesture abrupt and obviously making the powerful Director jump a little in fear she would try something on him. His hand trailed, almost invisible, to his belt where, she knew, he kept a gun. With a smirk of her own and a flick of her wrist, she made the folder fly back to him, and with a simple "I'll join", she exited the room.

Later that day, she walked into the room indicated by Maria Hill, and fell to her knees. Pietro's face, eyes closed as if in a peaceful slumber, was taunting her from the other side of a glass tube, his body wrapped in a white bandage-like cloth. She felt her lips turn up in rage, and her hands glowed red for a second before she realised she had no right to be angry for what she saw. Pietro's murderer had been killed. By the same person who had saved her life.

She did not think it was any coincidence.

So, as she pushed a feeble hand to the glass as if caressing her beloved brother's cheek, she muttered an oath she would strive to live by.

"I swear to everything we ever held dear, brother, that I will bring you back to life. If it is the last thing I do."

On the other side of the door, a purple-skinned entity closed his eyes, and sighed.

A/N2: It's a very short chapter, I know, but needed to plant the story. I promise longer chapters in the future. In the meantime, please review!