Hey guys! Sorry it took a while to update. Something weird was keeping me from posting on . If it happens again, you guys can check this story out on Ao3 (same name for myself and the story). Thanks to those who followed, faved, and reviewed!
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Destruction.
It was all around her. Buildings were crumbling. Cars were on fire. Debris filled the broken streets. The air was so thick with smoke and dust Wanda could barely breathe, let alone see. She stumbled along in a random direction in hopes of finding someone she knew, but instead she ended up on the ground after tripping over a piece of concrete.
"Hello?" she called out, though it came out as more of a cough. Her throat burned from the tainted air, but she did her best to ignore the discomfort. "Is anybody there?" Her cry was much louder that time, but it received no answer. She was completely alone.
Wanda pulled her knees up to her chest and buried her head in them. It was all she could do to not start panicking. She needed someone to find her and help her get out of there. She couldn't stand being by herself in such a devastated place. It reminded her too much of her apartment after the bomb had hit.
"Wanda, can you hear me?"
Wanda scrambled to her feet. She knew that voice. At least, she thought she did. She blinked her stinging eyes and looked around, but the voice's owner was nowhere in sight.
"Wanda, it's Vision. Can you hear me?"
Vision. The name sounded familiar, yet she was sure she had never met anyone named Vision.
Or had she?
Suddenly, Wanda was no longer in the street. She now stood inside an old chapel she recognized from Sokovia. To her dismay, no one was in there with her. All she found was a strange, metal device in the building's center. Wanda knew she had seen it before, but she couldn't recall its purpose. Although, she had a strong feeling that nothing good could come from the machine.
"The Avengers have been compromised, Wanda. Your minds have all been-"
Wanda didn't hear the rest of Vision's warning. She was suddenly overwhelmed by horrific scenes of war. Robots were attacking from all directions. People were screaming as they tried desperately to find shelter. The city was rising higher and higher into the open sky. Pietro... oh God. Pietro's body was riddled with bullet holes.
It was just a dream. Everything is okay.
Except everything wasn't okay. Her brother was dead. Her brother was dead, and there was a terrible war going on around her. Nothing was okay.
It was just a dream. Everything is okay.
But couldn't she just be dreaming? People have nightmares all the time. She probably wouldn't even remember anything when she woke up.
"Wanda, you must come to your senses!" Vision pleaded. Wanda's dead brother appeared to her again in frightening detail. His skin had grown as pale as his hair, and his clothing was stained a terrible crimson. She shakily reached down and touched his face, but it held none of the warmth that used to give her so much comfort.
Her twin brother was dead.
Tears flooded uncontrollably from her eyes as she slowly retracted her hand. He was really gone. He had to be. Something so horribly real couldn't be a dream.
It was just a dream. Everything is okay.
Wanda was confused. She didn't know what was real or which voice to believe. She wanted to believe the one that told her none of the terrible things she had seen were real; however, something inside of her was drawn to the voice that called itself Vision. She felt like she knew him from somewhere. Wanda tried to listen to everything he had to say, but the other voice kept getting louder in attempt to win her over.
"Wanda, please wake up!"
A third voice joined the fight for her attention.
"Wanda, it's me, Pietro! You must wake up!"
Pietro? But that was impossible. Pietro couldn't call her name anymore. Pietro was dead. His corpse was right in front of–
Oh God.
Wanda looked all around her, but there was no sign of Pietro's body. It had completely vanished.
"Wanda!"
The voices were becoming louder by the second, each one trying to outdo the others. Wanda fell to her knees and grabbed her head. It was unbearable.
"Wanda, it is your brother! You must wake up!"
"The Avengers need you, Wanda. Please try to realize what is happening!"
It was just a dream. Everything is okay. It was just a dream. Everything is okay.
She couldn't take it anymore. She needed the voices to go away. They were too loud. She couldn't think.
So she started screaming.
She screamed and screamed and didn't stop until only her brother's voice remained. Wanda slowly opened her eyes and saw she was no longer in Sokovia. She was back in her bedroom; although, some of the furniture was tipped over, and the floor was covered with books and other things that had apparently fallen off the shelves.
"It was just a nightmare, Wanda," Pietro assured her, his arms wrapped protectively around her body. Wanda looked at her brother - her living, breathing brother - and loud sobs erupted from her body. She clung to Pietro as if both of their lives depended on it. She was so relieved. It had been just a dream. Everything really was okay.
Pietro continued to hold her tightly as she wept. Wanda never wanted him to let go. The things she had seen were horrible, and she needed the comfort only he could provide.
"I'm here, Wanda," her brother whispered as if he had read her mind, "and I promise I will never leave you."
Wanda didn't know how long they stayed like that. When the tears finally stopped coming, she asked Pietro what had happened to her room.
"I ran in when I heard you screaming, and everything was flying. You were using your powers in your sleep," he explained. Wanda felt her cheeks burn. She was suddenly embarrassed at her lack of control. Pietro wiped a stray tear off her cheek. "Don't worry about it, Wanda. It wasn't your fault. Now, it's time you try to get some more sleep. We will fix everything in the morning. I assume you want me to stay with you?"
Wanda nodded. "If you don't mind," she said, her voice slightly hoarse from abuse.
Pietro pulled the blanket over them and kissed Wanda on the head. "Of course I don't mind. You are my little sister, are you not?"
Wanda simply smiled in response as she settled in next to her brother. She was a bit nervous about going to sleep, but she felt a lot better knowing her brother was there if she needed him. Her eyelids began to grow heavy, and she soon fell into a blissfully dreamless slumber.
When Wanda woke up later that morning, the first thing she noticed was that everything in her room had been replaced in its rightful spot. It wasn't surprising that her brother had cleaned up her mess, but she was still a little frustrated that he hadn't allowed her to help. She climbed out of bed and was immediately hit by a wonderful smell coming from the kitchen. It reminded her of fresh bread, but there was a cinnamon-like sweetness to it. Wanda quickly got dressed and set off to find the source of the delicious odor.
"Good morning, Sleeping Beauty," Pietro greeted her as soon as she stepped into the kitchen. He was keeping himself busy by frying sausages, scrambling eggs, and making waffles at the same time. But while they all smelled great, nothing she saw him cooking matched the smell she was looking for.
"What is in the oven?" she asked.
"Cinnamon rolls," he replied. "They are a very popular breakfast food in America. Clint told me we should try them."
Pietro handed her the package so she could inspect it. They looked more like a dessert than a breakfast in her opinion, with their pastry-like appearance and sugary icing on top. Rather than make a big deal out of it, however, Wanda simply nodded in acceptance and sat down at the table. She was relieved that her brother hadn't mentioned last night, but at the same time she knew he would eventually. She couldn't remember the last time a nightmare had been that bad.
Had it really been just a nightmare though? Last night she had been convinced it was, but now she wasn't so sure. It had been so real. And what about Vision? Surely she hadn't just made him up; it didn't make any sense. He had seemed to know a lot more than she did, so Wanda couldn't see how it was possible for him to be simply a figment of her imagination.
"Breakfast is served," Pietro announced proudly as he laid all of the food on the table. Wanda shifted her focus back to reality. Seeing her brother's childlike smile as he iced the cinnamon rolls reminded her why she so desperately needed it to have been just a nightmare. She couldn't make it without Pietro.
"It looks delicious," she said with an almost nervous smile. She tried to push the images of her dead brother away, but they kept coming back. It had been so real.
"Are you all right, Wanda? Because I know you had a rough night-"
"I am fine, Pietro," Wanda assured, hoping she could cut the conversation short. The last thing she wanted to do was tell her brother that she had seen him dead. "Thank you for cleaning my room by the way."
Thankfully, Pietro seemed to get the message. "It was nothing; I had it done in two seconds. Now, you must try one of these cinnamon rolls. They are delicious!"
After they finished eating, Wanda washed the dishes with her telekinesis. Using her powers always gave her a sense of security. Every object was subject to her control, and knowing that made her feel safe and strong. Even if she was doing something as menial as dishwashing, Wanda felt empowered. She could easily cause the pipes in the sink to explode, or have a plate splinter into a thousand pieces. Everything was hers.
"I remember the first time you tried to use your powers to do the dishes," Pietro chuckled as he watched a clean plate fly by him and place itself in the cabinet. "I ended up covered in thick, red sauce."
"And you think that was an accident?" Wanda smirked. "So what are you planning to do today?"
"Well, Clint was going to show me around his gym, but if you'd rather me stay here-"
Wanda rolled her eyes. "I told you, Pietro. I am fine. I don't need a babysitter."
"Would you like to come with me then? You could stay with Natasha while I'm with Clint."
"All right," Wanda agreed. It wasn't as if she had anything better to do, and she knew Natasha might be a good person to talk to about her doubts.
They arrived at the gym less than an hour later. It was massive. The building itself was about the length of a football field and towered five stories. Around it was an Olympic-sized swimming pool, a track and field area, an outdoor shooting rage, and a tennis court. Wanda took a minute to soak up everything. She was amazed at how big the facility was. When Clint and Natasha had mentioned they were opening up a gym, she hadn't expected it to be anything near this size.
Across the parking lot, they saw Clint was waiting for them in front of the main entrance.
"What do you guys think?" he asked as he greeted the twins.
"Honestly, I was expecting something a bit more impressive," Pietro replied with a smirk.
Barton laughed. "Yeah, I'll admit it's a bit small, but Nat wouldn't let me go any bigger. Come on in, and I'll show you around."
As Clint gave them the grand tour, Wanda couldn't help but think how easy it would be to get lost. It was so big. Pietro, however, didn't look concerned. His face was filled with bright anticipation as if he were a kid in a candy store. This place was perfect for him.
"And this is the dance studio," Barton announced as he led them through a set of double doors. "I'm not exactly sure when her next class is over, so we'll move on and have her meet up with us later."
"Actually, I would like to stay here and wait on Natasha if that's all right," Wanda said. She was afraid if she waited until later she wouldn't get the chance to talk to Natasha alone.
Clint looked at her for a moment. "Is everything okay, Wanda? You seem a little off today."
Wanda smiled. "I am fine, Clint. I just want to talk with her about something."
"If you say so," Barton shrugged, thankfully accepting her answer.
"Besides," Wanda smirked, "I do not want to get in the way of your male bonding time."
"Male bonding time? This is why everyone thinks I'm the funny one," Pietro teased.
Wanda rolled her eyes as the men walked away laughing. Once they were out of sight, she made her way through the studio to the room Natasha was teaching in and sat down in one of the chairs outside the door. Wanda was a bit nervous about explaining to Natasha what she had experienced the previous night, but she knew she was doing the right thing. Something was definitely off, and she needed to talk to someone about it.
Fortunately, Wanda didn't have to wait long for Natasha's class to be over.
"Good work today, guys," Natasha said as she opened the door. "Be sure to practice the routine I showed you today. We'll continue to work on it next week."
Wanda stood up to greet her friend once the small crowd had dissipated. "Hi, Natasha."
"Wanda," Natasha smiled as the two women hugged. "What brings you here?"
"Clint is showing Pietro around the gym, and I came along because I needed to talk to you."
Natasha nodded, concern shining in her eyes. "We can talk in my office. My next class isn't for an hour and a half, so we have plenty of time."
Once they were both seated in Natasha's office, Wanda explained everything that had happened the previous day– how she didn't recognize her own room; how she was shocked seeing Pietro; how she had trouble remembering things about her and her friends' lives; and how some things, such as the mere mention of Ultron, filled her with strong emotions she couldn't explain nor control. She also talked about all the horrible things she had seen in her dream, and how someone named Vision was trying to warn her about something dreadful.
Natasha remained quiet during her monologue. Once in a while, she would narrow her eyes and look as if she were about to remember something, but it always passed quickly. Wanda took notice of this and got confused. She didn't know what the ex-assassin was thinking.
Wasn't that why she had telepathy?
Normally, Wanda would never look into one of her friends' minds without permission. However, she was desperate for answers, and for some reason she felt that she could find something in Natasha's mind that would help.
Wanda focused her thoughts on Natasha. Then, as she had done many times before, she imagined her mind reaching out like a long, slender hand and grasping onto Natasha's. But before she could tell what Natasha was thinking, an intense pain pierced through her skull. It felt like someone was electrocuting her brain. She cried out and grabbed her head. It hurt.
The pain only stayed for a few seconds, but Wanda was left dizzy and exhausted.
"Wanda, did you just try to read my mind?" Natasha questioned. Wanda looked up at her friend and expected her to be angry, but instead all she saw was concern.
"I-I was just trying to figure out what is going on," she admitted.
Natasha grabbed a bottled water out of a nearby mini fridge and handed it to Wanda. "You know you can't use your telepathy anymore. You could seriously injure yourself."
"But I used my powers just this morning," Wanda said in confusion. "They were fine then."
Natasha sighed sadly. "Okay," she began patiently, obviously having done it before. "When we first found you and your brother in Strucker's base, we were looking for Loki's scepter. It was what HYDRA used to give you your powers. You and Pietro weren't fans of us back then, so when Stark got his hands on the scepter, you tried to take it back. The scepter went off while you two were fighting, and it knocked you unconscious. You were out for three days. When you woke up, you could no longer use your telepathy, and any attempt to do so caused you great pain. For some reason, your telekinesis was unaffected."
Wanda took a moment to absorb what she'd been told. It made no sense. How could the scepter take away only part of her power? And how could she not remember if it had?
"As for your other memory blanks," Natasha continued, "we found out later that your memory had been affected by the blast as well. You get confused sometimes and forget things. It's been a while since you've forgotten this much though."
"But what about Vision?" Wanda persisted.
Natasha paused for a moment then shook her head. "Your mind was just playing tricks on you. Vision only exists in your head."
"But he was so real!"
"I know it felt real, Wanda, but you need to let it go. It was just a dream. Everything is okay."
Wanda froze.
"What did you just say?" she asked shakily. She felt like she had just been punched in the stomach.
Natasha seemed taken aback for a moment. "I told you everything you saw last night was just a dream. Everything is fine."
Wanda didn't know what to do next. She knew she had heard that exact phrase before, but where? Unsurprisingly, her brain failed to tell her.
Just then, Pietro and Clint came in and interrupted Wanda's inner panic. She took a deep breath as she stood and thanked Natasha for her time.
"Are you going to be okay?" Natasha whispered as she hugged Wanda.
"I will be fine," Wanda promised, "but please do not say anything about this to anyone. The last thing I want is to cause worry."
Natasha nodded in understanding and gave Wanda a reassuring smile as they headed out the door. As she and her brother traveled home, Wanda couldn't help but think that her visit with Natasha had left her with more questions than answers. Sure, she had an explanation for why her memory had been so off, but if it were true, why had none of them tried to help her during the party when she was struggling so much? Everyone had acted as if things were perfect. Steve had offered her a job that required her to help other people with their powers. Why would he do that if he knew she could forget what she was doing at any moment? Not even her brother had mentioned her impairments. She couldn't imagine Pietro, who had always been fiercely protective of her, ignoring something like that. Especially after she had had such a bad nightmare the previous night.
And what about her telepathy being suddenly gone? She certainly didn't remember losing it, and she hadn't noticed any problems with it until she had tried to read Natasha's mind. Was she really that messed up?
"Wanda, we're home," Pietro announced. Wanda blinked a few times as her focus shifted back to reality. She wanted to ask her brother why he had acted so ignorant but quickly decided against it. He had been so happy after leaving the gym, and she didn't want to ruin that. One of them should get to enjoy life.
"You must be starving," she said with a small smile. "How about I fix lunch?"
Pietro raised an eyebrow. "Wouldn't it be much faster if I fixed it?"
Wanda rolled her eyes. "It will not kill you to wait a little bit. How about I heat up the rest of that borscht and bake some rolls to go with it?"
"I think I would be willing to wait for that," Pietro grinned.
It didn't take her long to get everything ready, but of course that didn't stop Pietro from complaining about how slow she was while she cooked. As she and her brother began eating, they discussed the gym and how excited Pietro was to start working there.
"Clint said I could begin training next week," he announced happily. "He has already shown me how everything works, so now all I need to do is take a short class on how to be a personal trainer. That will start tomorrow."
"You sound very excited for this job. I am glad you decided to take it," Wanda said with a smile as she poured Pietro his third bowl of soup.
"What about you? Are you going to take that job Steve offered you at SHIELD?"
Wanda sighed. "I am not sure it would be a good idea. You know how messed up my memory is."
At least, he was supposed to know. But why hadn't he explained things to her earlier? Why had Natasha been the one to tell her everything? Wanda couldn't help but feel a little resentment towards her brother for being so oblivious.
"You haven't had a bad episode in almost a year though," Pietro pressed. "Bruce and Tony have even said they think you could be getting better."
"Well, Bruce and Tony are wrong. If anything, I feel like I'm getting worse. Yesterday, I woke up and did not even recognize my own bedroom!"
"It has happened before, Wanda. But don't worry, it always comes back to you. And until it does, I and all the others are here to help you."
"Except you didn't help me! None of you did!" Wanda exclaimed, anger and frustration bubbling up inside her. "I even told you I did not remember you could drive, and you brushed it off as if it were nothing! And while we were at Thor's house, I was really struggling to remember everything about everyone, but no one bothered to ask if I needed help. If this has happened before like you said, why does no one act like they care?"
Pietro started apologizing immediately, but Wanda didn't care. She still hadn't found any of the answers she was looking for. She was about to run off and lock herself in her bedroom, but suddenly a blinding pain erupted in her skull. It was just as bad as earlier that day, but this time it did not fade after a few moments.
"Wanda, it's Vision. Please let me know if you can hear me."
Wanda screamed and fell out of her chair. Scenes from the previous night's dream assaulted her vision. Destruction. Robots. Death. They ravaged her brain like a hurricane.
"Wanda!"
Vision continued to beg for her attention, but Wanda could focus only on the pain.
It was just a dream. Everything is okay. It was just a dream. Everything is okay.
Finally, the pain subsided and Wanda's head cleared. When she regained composure, she looked up and saw that her brother had his arms wrapped around her much like he had the night before.
"It's okay, Wanda," Pietro assured.
Wanda pulled away from her brother's embrace. "Are you going to tell me that this is a normal occurrence as well?"
"Wanda, I think you need to lie down."
"I do not need to lie down, Pietro. I need answers! Something strange is going on, and I want to know what!"
Wanda turned towards the door, but before she could take one step towards it Pietro was standing in front of her with his hands on her shoulders.
"You need to rest, Wanda," he said, his voice carrying a hypnotic tone Wanda had never heard before. "I promise you will feel better when you wake up."
"But what about–"
"Don't worry about what all has happened. We are working on a way to stop it from occurring again."
"We?"
Pietro shushed her gently. "It was just a dream. Everything is okay. Now, look at you. You are so exhausted you can barely stand. Let's get you to bed."
Wanda was about to protest, but then she discovered she really was tired. It was as if every ounce of energy had been squeezed from her body. Her knees buckled, but Pietro caught her before she hit the ground. He gently scooped her up and carried her to her room.
"Sleep well, Wanda," Pietro whispered as he tucked her in. "Everything is okay. Your memory will be much better when you wake up."