We'll Always Be Together
Wanda's first clear memory of her brother was when they were four. Their mother brought them to the park and let them loose, sitting next to another mother on a cold, steel bench. Pietro grabbed her hand tightly and they shared a look. This was strange and very unfamiliar. As one, they looked back toward their mother and she gave them a soft smile and urged them on.
Pietro was the one to pull her toward the slide, climbing up the steps and holding a hand out for her. She stood at the top of the slide and looked down. It was very far from the ground and she was scared. Her brother just grabbed her hand and gave her a fierce look.
"We'll slide together."
And they did.
At the age of nine, Wanda was as close as ever with Pietro. Their parents had all but given up trying to make them sleep in separate beds. They worried that Wanda was just copying her brother and shot her concerned looks when they thought she wasn't paying attention. Pietro would just roll his eyes at their parents and give her a fond look.
Pietro was the twin that smiled more, the one that everyone liked. Wanda was his constant shadow, hanging onto her brothers' sleeve or hand. The one time a teacher tried to separate them, Pietro bit her on the arm and Wanda scratched her on the throat. They were put in a new class by the end of the day.
"We won't be separated."
Pietro told her fiercely that night as they lay down for bed.
Ten is when their lives changed and not for the better. It was dinner and they had just sat down, all was fine. Mother was smiling at Father and Pietro was pushing his carrots onto Wanda's plate. They noticed something was wrong when the building shook and a loud explosion rang out. Mother turned and pushed Wanda away from the table, Pietro falling with her. That was the last time they saw their parents.
The floor opened up and Mother and Father fell down. Pietro grabbed Wanda and pulled her toward their bedroom, pushing her under the bed and huddling with her. She was crying and he was trying to shush her. The building shook once more, a loud clanking sound coming not five feet from them.
STARK stared back at them from a metal casing, heat pouring off the bomb. Wanda choked back a whimper and Pietro pulled her tighter to him. He was scared but trying to be strong and she gave up trying as she cried.
It was two days before they saw the sky again, every shift in the rubble making them tense up and stare at the bomb in fear. They were wrapped in blankets and given a small bottle of water to share. Wanda held onto Pietro's hand tightly and he gave her a sad look.
"We're on our own now."
They came to them shortly after the latest protest, knocking on the door loudly in the dead of night. Wanda shared a look with Pietro and he edged toward the door slowly. She picked up the bat near the coat rack and gave her brother a nod.
They called themselves HYDRA and said they needed volunteers for a project they were doing. Wanda and Pietro said yes once they learned it would help them get revenge against Tony Stark.
They were injected with strange liquids and subjected to odd experiments. It hurt but Wanda could feel herself become stronger, a power growing within her. Her brother became fast and she learned to move things with her mind. It took them little time to bond even further with the help of Wanda's new found powers.
"We can finally kill him now."
Wanda didn't hesitate to get into Stark's head, didn't hesitate to show him his deepest fear. She stood back with her brother and watched at the so called hero became frantic and scared. It was almost funny how small he was.
HYDRA fell to the Avengers and from the ashes came Ultron. He was going to help them finally get the revenge they had wanted for so long. It was almost too easy to fell the Avengers, slipping into their minds and bringing about their worst fears. The Archer caused her pain and Pietro wanted to kill him, but then the green monster was within her sights and she let the beast loose.
Soon they were joining the Avengers, which left a sour taste in Wanda's mouth, to save their home and stop Ultron. Pietro gave her a wry grin across the plane, lacing up a new pair of shoes.
"We'll save our home. Together."
It was like a punch to the gut, pain radiating from her heart and spreading to the rest of her body. She knew that Pietro was dead. She didn't feel the gravel bite into her knees as she fell to the ground. She didn't see her power explode outward and destroy all of Ultron's bodies. She didn't hear herself screaming and crying. All she felt was the bond between her and Pietro snap and die.
Standing on shaky legs and tears pouring down her cheeks, she went in search of Ultron. It didn't take her long to find him, having followed the sound of a crash. He looked pitiful inside the bus and she wanted nothing more than to rip his heart out. So she did. She pulled his heart from his chest and gave his corpse a hollow laugh.
She meant to die in that bus, join her brother in the afterlife, but Vision foiled that by picking her up and saving her. She glared at him hatefully for days after.
"We were supposed to be together forever."
Wanda cried into her pillow when no answer came.