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Disclaimer: See Chapter One.

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The guests started to arrive in the mid afternoon. Everyone who could be there was there-Pietro recognized a couple of Avengers from the old team, along with a few other SHIELD agents. He didn't know them personally, but Steve assured him they were Very Important People.

Tony and Pepper took a break from overseeing the construction of their new farm (still extremely modern and high tech) to join the festivities. Clint and Laura also made the two and a half hour drive, although they'd left their children behind in case the party ended up running too late. Most of the agents, like Maria Hill and Nick Fury, came up from New York.

Now, the party had been in full swing for house. It was full on dark now, yet it showed no signs of slowing down any time soon. The lawn was filled with agents swapping stories, drinking champagne, and eating grilled chicken fresh off the grill. The night glowed with the light of a million fireflies and the smells of chicken and corn filled the air.

Pietro and Wanda drifted through the crowd like ghosts, stopping here and there to talk to people they knew but mostly keeping to themselves. It wasn't that they were intentionally trying to be unfriendly; it had always been second nature to the twins to be more quiet and reserved. People tended to ask fewer questions.

For the millionth time, Pietro took his sister's wrist and gently turned it over so he could examine the bar code etched in black ink. He wished he knew how and where she had gotten it so he could personally kill whoever was responsible, but he'd quickly learned that the bar code was one of the off limits topics. Every time he brought it up, Wanda automatically seemed to close down. It was as though it brought up bad memories-though of course she had no idea what those memories might be. "Does it hurt?"

"No." Wanda pulled her wrist away and rubbed it subconsciously. "It's just ink."

They surveyed the party from a distance, unwilling to join in the revels-at least for the moment. "This is some party. And yet I like it better than Tony's. Tony throws…loud parties, with a lot of fine wines and drunk people." Every so often, Pietro would allow himself just a taste of the thick red wines-although he was technically underage. It messed with his head for days on end-and he always made sure to drink less than a shot.

Wanda nodded. Tony's parties were legendary in the Avengers base.

"We used to hate the Avengers." Pietro added. "We tried to destroy them."

Wanda looked up at him in confusion. "Why?" The Avengers had become (besides Pietro) the closest thing she had to a proper family.

"A robot named Ultron manipulated us. He took all the grief we felt upon the deaths of our parents and…redirected it. We became monster-his monsters."

"I remember scraps of things-bits and pieces of this and that. Nothing that connects, of course. Nothing that makes sense. But…was there a shipyard? Someplace very warm…with boats…and the team was there, too."

"Yes. They came to fight Ultron, who was there to buy vibranium so he could fuel his plan for global extinction. Eventually, we ended up fighting them too." It hadn't been Pietro's proudest moment, now that he thought about it.

"What did we do?"

"Oh, you know. I messed things up, punched a few people in the face. Nothing new. Nothing special."

"What about me?"

Pietro wished he had never brought up the subject. He didn't want her getting upset with herself over something she couldn't change. "Wanda, we were manipulated. We didn't know-"

"Tell me what I did, Pietro." Her Sokovian accent seemed to grow heavier, the way it always did when she was upset.

"Fine. You made the Avengers see their worst fears."

She staggered back a step, her face seeming to grow even paler than it already was. "I…did that?"

"It's okay. Everyone has forgiven you. No one holds it against-"

"I messed with their minds?"

"It was purely circumstantial-"

"Pietro, give me a yes or no answer. Did I or did I not make them see their worst nightmares?"

Pietro sighed. "Yes."

"I…need a moment to myself." She seemed to melt into the crowd, looking like she was going to be sick. Pietro tried to follow her, but she had managed to disappear. He sat down on the dewy grass-maybe she would come back if he gave it enough time. Why did you have to do that? And we were getting along so well, too.

Some days it seemed like he just couldn't do anything right.

He'd known Wanda since the day he was born. They'd always been so close-now they were all that remained of their once happy family. At least, they had been. Now, they seemed farther apart than ever before. It was like they were on separate sides of a wall of glass-able to see and talk to each other, but not able to break through.

Pietro was beginning to feel that he never would.

~V102~

Wanda's heart was beating out of her chest and bile churned in her stomach as she pushed her way through the crowd. The scent of slow roasted chicken, which had smelled so delectable only moments before, now made her feel even sicker than she already was.

She passed Rhodey and Sam, who were talking to a group of agents she didn't recognize. Sam gently touched her shoulder to get her attention. "Are you all right? You look upset."

"Yes, I'm fine. I just…ate a bad piece of chicken." She barely managed to make it to a bathroom before she felt an overwhelming need to empty her stomach.

She had worked against the Avengers. She had literally played with their minds.

Wanda stayed locked in the bathroom for a long time after she finished washing up, just thinking. Pietro had called them monsters-and he'd been right. She was a monster-and a freak.

Just then, she heard a knock on the bathroom door. "Wanda? Are you all right?" Steve asked.

"Yes, I'm fine." she lied unconvincingly.

"Did something happen?"

"No-"

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Wanda sighed and opened the door. The least she could do was apologize-for everything.

Steve was in the den, seated on the couch even as the party reached fever pitch outside. He indicated that she take a seat next to him and waited until she was well settled in before he asked another question. "What happened? Pietro said you just disappeared. He's pretty worried about you."

"I'm sorry about what I did."

He looked confused. "What do you mean?"

"In Africa. I gave you a false vision. I did the same to some other members of the team. Pietro told me. I'm sorry. I feel terrible about-"

"Wanda, is that what all this is about? We forgave you long ago. You have nothing to be sorry for."

"I was-"

"They were different circumstances. You were lied to and manipulated. Yes, we made some mistakes. We all do. It's nothing to get upset over."

"Yes, but…let's just say any mistakes you made are probably tiny compared to mine. I was on the wrong side."

"It's all about perspective. Sure, the robot trying to kill the human race isn't exactly the 'right' side so to speak, but you fought on behalf of your family and your country. A very noble cause."

"Maybe so-but I'm no hero."

"That's debateable. You played a role in the Battle of Sokovia. You protected the core-were willing to die for it-even at the expense of your own life. That's sacrifice. That's selflessness."

"You're just saying that. I can't even remember the battle."

"You will at some point. And I know how that feels. There was a little…incident seventy five years ago involving the tesseract, a plane, and some ice. I know how it feels to toe the line between life and death, to know that there's a chance you might die-maybe even a very good one. It takes courage-and if there's one thing everyone on this team possesses, it's courage. Everyone is misled at some point in time."

"Even you?"

"Even me. Don't worry about it, okay? I'm being serious now."

Wanda managed a smile. "I'll try. Thank you."

"Of course. Now, go enjoy the party."

She wasn't sure she could, but her heart felt a thousand times lighter as she stepped back outside to find her brother.

~V102~

The next morning dawned cold and rainy. Sheets of small water droplets pounded the windows of the Avengers base, but that didn't stop all of the guests who had ended up staying overnight from leaving in the cars and (occasionally) helicopters.

The twins joined the rest of the Avengers in saying goodbye to all of their guests. Pietro had so many agents that he couldn't remember all of them-their names had blended together until he was simply greeting a row of faces. Finally, the base had emptied out and the remaining Avengers were charged with the daunting task of cleaning up.

Pietro joined Wanda in wiping up any remaining spills from the night before. Most of the liquid was crusty and dry, but they worked steadily at it until, one by one, the stains were worked out. "What happened last night?" he asked. He'd finally caught up with her an hour after she first left, but she'd seemed different in a way he couldn't quite place.

She gave him a false smile. "The chicken I had at dinner didn't agree with me. I'm fine now."

"Are you sure? I can-"

"Pietro, I'm fine." Her eyes were clearly begging him not to press the matter-so, reluctantly, he didn't.

"If you're sure." He returned to scrubbing a particularly tough stain with renewed vigor. "You know, you can tell me if something is wrong. I want to help."

"I know you do-and you've helped me in more ways than you know. It's good to realize that there's someone looking out for me-but some things I have to work through on my own." Wanda cleaned up the last of the spilled, drink, silently hoping that it wouldn't stain, nodded in satisfaction, and then stood up. "Right then. I think we'll have the training center to ourselves for a little while. What do you say?"

Pietro nodded. "Sounds good to me."

~V102~

Ready…aim…fire.

Pietro pulled the trigger and watched as the bullet spiraled out of the gun's barrel, spinning towards one of the wooden targets that had been stationed at various intervals throughout the room. It embedded itself two inches to the right of the target and he swore loudly. He'd been so close…

"Nice shot." Wanda said, watching his technique carefully.

"I'm trying to hit the center. He'd been trying for weeks, but he just couldn't seem to do it. No matter what he did, the bullet always ended up curving at the last second and veering off course.

"You'll hit it soon." Experimentally, Wanda tested her powers and threw out a bit of red magic. The wisps hung in the air for a minute before they dispersed, undirected.

Suddenly she felt an odd prickling sensation at the back of her skull-then she realized she wasn't in the training center anymore. She was on a dusty street lined with people. The road was crammed with market stalls on both sides, along with vendors hawking their wares. Fresh chickens here! Cold soda, only a buck!

A little boy came running up to her eagerly. He had messy brown hair and a lopsided smile. Instinctively, Wanda knew he was Pietro-albeit far younger. Let's play Tag, Wanda. You're it! He lightly touched her shoulder and took off, winding his way expertly between the people, animals, and carts of wares. She ran after him, laughing. He had always been faster than her but she was smaller than he was-she could crawl under things and hide in small places that he couldn't fit inside-so they were evenly matched. It didn't matter that everything else was so big and loud-even a little bit scary. She was smart, she was quick, and her brother was still in the marketplace. Sure, he was trying to hide from her, but she would find him eventually and they would reverse rolls. She trusted him.

He would never leave her.

Ever.

Suddenly, the training room came back in a rush of grey and white. She felt incredibly light headed and had to grab onto a nearby rack of swords to keep her balance as she tried to get her bearings.

Pietro glanced at her with concern. "What happened?"

"I remembered something."

His jaw practically dropped. "That's wonderful! What did you see?"

"Nothing big…I just remembered playing Tag in a marketplace." Already, the memory was beginning to fade around the edges-but she still treasured it. It was a momentous occasion. She'd remembered something. If she could remember even a little thing like that, there was a chance that she could unlock everything else, too. She just needed to figure out how-perhaps by trying more triggers.

And once she did that, things could go back to normal. She'd be able to figure out where her bar code came from-and most importantly, where she'd been for the last year.

It had taken a while to come, but she was finally making progress.

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