Hey everyone! I want to thank everyone reading this, it's what keeps me writing on days when all I'd rather do is sleep.
Also, just for clarification, the beginning of this chapter happens about three weeks from when Wanda and Bucky were wiped, which also means it's been three weeks since Pietro left to go on his mission. So what I'm trying to say is that Pietro is coming back, but his section is about a week after the beginning scene.
Like usual, I don't own these characters or their stories.
X_X_X
There was a knock on the door.
Sitting up straight, Alexander Pierce called out for the person to enter.
"Nick! It's so good to see you," Alexander exclaimed, getting up from his desk.
"Pierce," the director answered.
"Please, Nick, take a seat," Pierce gestured to the chair in front of his desk. The two men sat down.
"What have you got for me, Director?" Pierce asked.
"We've got field agents claiming to have seen another HYDRA thug working with the Winter Soldier," Fury said.
"The Winter Soldier working with another person? Are you sure? Our records show that since he came on the scene, he's worked alone," Alexander said. His eyebrows furrowed.
"We have no evidence besides words from a few agents, but it's something to look into," Fury commented.
"What do we know so far?"
Fury leaned back into his chair and crossed his hands.
"Well, we know she's a woman. Goes by the name of Scarlet Witch. We don't know exactly what she does, but you can bet your ass we'll figure it out and take her down," Director Fury said, standing up.
Pierce stood up with him.
"Good. I'll approve a group of men to search the areas where she's been sighted. I want her eliminated. And if the Soldier is with her too, then I want him out as well," Pierce said.
"I'll have Rumlow and his team prepare to head out as soon as the order is given," Fury said.
"Good idea. If anyone could find this new threat it'll be the Strike team," Pierce said.
"Thank you for your time, Director," Pierce added, holding out his hand.
"Pierce," Fury acknowledged, taking the outstretched hand and shaking it.
The Director walked out as Pierce took a seat.
Spinning around, he looked out his glass wall, taking in all of D.C. with a smirk.
X_X_X
Pietro ran down the hallway towards Wanda's room.
His mission had gone on longer than expected and then he'd been forced to do the necessary debriefing which had taken more than an hour. He was dying to get back to his other half.
"Wanda!" he yelled as he burst into her room.
He froze when he saw the room. It was dusty and lacking life. The bed had no pillows or covers and the desk was empty of Wanda's usual writing utensils. In the makeshift closet there was nothing.
Panic set in and he ran to his room, hoping that by some miracle he'd find her there. Maybe she'd been moved rooms, or was allowed to share his.
Slamming the door open, he was relieved to find himself being choked by red mist.
"Wanda, you're here," he managed to gasp out.
The smoke immediately retreated, leaving him a coughing mess on the floor.
"Pietro," a voice said.
Pietro's head snapped up to look at his sister. Her voice, one he'd grown up with, was empty of all that made her his sister. She looked like herself, but she also didn't.
"Wand, are you okay?" he asked cautiously. He didn't want to offend her in case she was having a hard time or something, but he could tell she wasn't herself.
The Wanda he knew would have hugged him to death by now.
"Of course," she said with a forced smile.
"Right. Come on, tell me what's up," he said, crossing his arms.
"Nothing is up, Pietro. I'm just overcome with emotion at my brother's arrival," she said.
Pietro snorted.
"Yeah, right," he said.
Wanda took in a deep breath and offered him another fake smile.
"How was your mission, brother?" she asked.
"Easier than the mission I'm facing now of having to figure out who the hell you are," he said with a scowl.
"It's me? Your sister?" she commented.
"Okay, then prove it," he said.
It was ridiculous that he had to ask his own sister to prove that she was his sister.
"Here," she said, handing him the small picture he'd given her before he left.
He took it and inspected it, trying to see if it was a duplicate. To his chagrin it was the original one.
"Hey," she said, in an excited whisper.
Pietro looked up, confused at her sudden mood change.
"Do you want to see what I brought from my first mission?" she asked with a smile.
He couldn't tell if it was fake or not, so he nodded.
"Come, it's in a different room. It's kind of big so I couldn't keep it in mine," she said, taking his hand and dragging him out of the room.
"Speaking of rooms, why aren't you in yours?" he asked.
"But I am. I'm sharing a room with the Soldier," she said, throwing him a confused look.
"What?" he exclaimed. "You're sleeping with the Soldier now? Since when?" he asked.
"Since always?" she said, but it came out sounding like a question.
"And Alexander let you?" he asked, glancing around them. He noticed that there wasn't anyone around.
"Let me? He's the one who told me," she said, sounding even more confused.
She let go of his hand as they came to a door. Pietro felt an uncomfortable twitch in his muscles. HIs instincts were urging him to run.
"Told you? What do you mean? How did he find out? I thought you and the Soldier were keeping your feelings on the down low. How did you even go from barely acknowledging your feelings to sharing a room?" he asked, unconsciously taking a step back from the door.
"You're not making any sense, Pietro. The Soldier and I have always been together," she said.
Warning bells rang in Pietro's head and before he could think about it he turned and ran.
He made it halfway down the hallway before he ran into a wall of red energy.
"Wanda, what are you doing?" he asked as he felt the red wrap around him and lift him off the floor.
"Let me go!" he yelled, kicking his feet around. It was the only free part of his body.
"Good job, my lovely Witch," came a familiar voice from the door Wanda had been walking him to.
"Alexander! What's going on here?" Pietro yelled.
"Why don't you bring him in and strap him down?" Alexander said, completely ignoring Pietro's questions.
"Yes, sir," his sister said in that emotionless voice he heard earlier.
Pietro yelled and struggled as he was set on the chair in the middle of the room. It was no use fighting against Wanda's powers. Even though it was nothing more than smoke, it was hard as steel.
Pietro felt his sister's powers leave him and in its place were leather restraints.
"What's going to happen to him?" he heard her ask Pierce.
Pietro fell silent, wanting to hear the answer.
"Nothing bad, Witch, don't worry. It's just part of our procedure to cleanse the mind of our soldiers every time they come back from a mission. In case someone managed to get into their head," he said too innocently.
Glancing at Wanda, he could tell she didn't believe him. Then he saw as she shook her head and offered Pierce a small smile.
"Okay. I probably don't remember because of the accident, right?" she asked.
Pierce smiled at her and nodded.
"Right, I trust you, Alexander. You've been nothing but honest with me since the beginning," she said, smiling warmly at Pierce.
Then she came to Pietro and kissed his forehead.
"Don't worry brother, soon you'll be cleansed of whatever poison has been inserted into your mind," she whispered to him.
"No!" he whisper-yelled at her.
Wanda, listen to me, I've not been poisoned! You have though! By HYDRA and all their bullshit! Pietro thought at her, hoping that she'd still be able to read his thoughts directed towards her.
Her eyes widened and her mouth slightly open with a gasp.
"Witch, you must leave now. We're about to begin the procedure," Pierce's voice rang out.
Straightening up, Wanda glanced at Pietro once more before walking out of the room. Pietro yelled at Wanda and Pierce. He yelled as two metal arms came down and grasped his head.
Pietro's screams could be heard throughout the floor as the machine did it's job and wiped his memories away.
In her own room, Wanda screamed into her pillow as her twin's pain took control over her body.
