Voices
By TheLostMaximoff
Disclaimer: I don't own these characters. I feel obligated to write about Wanda whenever she shows up somewhere. R/R.
I can almost hear his last words in my head. Pietro always had such a beautiful voice. Our mother used to tell him that he would grow up to be a famous singer. He sang to me after our parents died. While we were trapped in the rubble, he sang lullabies to me in an effort to calm me down, to make me not think about how we could die at any second. He always protected me. No matter the circumstances, I could always count on him to look out for me. I always tried to return that favor. Now I know that I have failed him. When he needed me the most, I wasn't there.
The denial sets in first. I'm always seeing things in my head that aren't really there. When I use my power on someone and make them see their fears, I see them too. So I think maybe I've accidentally done that to myself and conjured my own worst fear into reality. Maybe Pietro isn't really dead. Maybe any moment he'll come rushing to my side just like always, a cocky smirk plastered on his face. He will tell me how foolish I was to worry for his safety because no one could ever keep him away from me. I want to believe that his death is just a dream, just a terrible nightmare that I can wake up from. I know the truth though. I know that I will never hear his voice ever again. I will never see him smile again. He's with our parents now, off running around in some other world that I cannot even catch a glimpse of no matter how powerful I am. I can still hear his voice echoing in my head.
I am no stranger to rage. When our parents died, Pietro and I were both angry. Men like Tony Stark always take. They are children playing with toy guns and bombs. They take away good people like my parents and now my brother. The only thing they leave behind is angry children. I am familiar with anger but never like this. It erupts in me like a volcano and it comes from the deepest part of me. I scream until my lungs are raw. The energy in me explodes outward. I am always scared of my powers. I pretend I'm not but deep inside I'm more frightened of them than anyone else is. You look into the darkest parts of everyone's hearts long enough and you start to see something staring back at you. You look inside yourself and see something lurking in there that you don't even recognize. Pietro was never afraid of my powers though, never afraid of me. Strucker and his scientists turned his little sister into a monster and all he did was hug me tighter. I loved him so dearly for that, for never turning away from me when even our parents probably would have if they were still alive.
I'm sorry that I wasn't there for you, Pietro. I'm sorry that I caused all of this. It's my fault and it's my responsibility to correct that error. I can hear you in my head now. You're trying to calm me down just like always. It's the hardest thing in the world to block out your voice. I don't want to be calm now. I want the anger now, the same anger that drove both of us to be part of this disaster. I'm sorry, dear brother, but I can't listen to you right now. I promise that soon we'll be together again and I'll never ignore you. Just give me a few moments of silence, Pietro, so I can do what must be done.
My brother is singing lullabies in my head. A part of me tries to listen but all I can hear are the sounds of war. I listen to that tune instead, to the music of death and mayhem all around me. I remember cowering in his arms and clinging to him for my very life. No one will take anything from me anymore. I have nothing left of value anyway. I try to listen to Pietro tell me that things will be alright just as he did when we were children. Just like then, I know now that nothing will ever be alright again.