Memories
Revelations
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Wanda stared at Tora for a long second and then gently stepped away.
"Tora."
Flat, even tone. So calm and yet at the same time… There was something warm in there. Something that spoke of friendship. Tora sniffed.
"Yeah, I know. Gone soft."
Wanda touched her shoulder then turned to the Young Avengers.
"My name is Wanda Maximoff. They call me the Scarlet Witch."
Curt glanced at his mother who looked like she was narrowly avoiding hugging herself. Then he glanced back. Over near the door, Beast buried his head in his hands.
"I knew I should have put more than a dollar on Tora being the one to bring back the Scarlet Witch."
The Young Avengers walked over but then Tora was shouting to Wanda, shouting something snatched away by the weaponry turning towards her. Tora ran towards the Witch, screaming her name.
"Don't Wanda! Don't! Think of what we've all done! Think of that! We aren't perfect!"
And then she was gesturing at Wiccan.
"Up! Now! Explain!"
Stature took him up and then Wanda was hugging Wiccan and Tora gulped, glanced away, looked back up, sighed, pulled at a torn piece of her uniform to rip it off then blew her nose. Okay, definitely needed to work on the 'impassive Dragon' routine. And then Wanda was hugging her and Tora placed her hands on the Witch's shoulders and leant back.
"I've missed you."
Wanda smiled weakly.
"I'd like to say I'd missed you too but…"
"But you didn't recognise me until about ten seconds ago?"
"Kind of like that."
Then Hawkeye said the fatal words.
"So who do we know who's desperate enough and/or stupid enough to be our former mutant guinea pig?"
Everyone's eyes turned to Curt. He shook his head.
"No."
"What?! Don't you trust her?!"
He looked ashamed.
"Yeah, I trust her. I…I just don't want my powers back."
Tora stared at him.
"Why? You've tried everything else so far…"
Curt shook his head.
"Maman, you've read all the same files as I have. Weapon X messed around with my head. My healing factor kicked in to try and fix that. By trying to fix my mind, it was destroying it. Maman, my mutation was driving me insane. Haven't you noticed? Since the Decimation, I've been more…stable? Is that how the doctor types put it?"
Tora stared at him for a long moment then nodded sharply.
"X-Factor."
"What?"
"X-Factor Investigations. Their clients are mainly depowered mutants…"
"Well what are we waiting for?"
They walked off but Wanda caught Tora's arm.
"Tora?"
"Yes?"
"I…I don't just remember some of the stuff. I remember you. I remember you trying to save me. Thank you."
Tora shook her head.
"I messed up. I let them get to you. I let them hurt you. I shouldn't have."
"You aren't infallible Tora."
And Tora looked away.
"I should be."
"Well, she always was too determined to be there for everyone."
Tora stood protectively between Wanda and the assembled heroes. And then she shouted a wordless, angry shout. Everyone turned to look at her.
"Anyone who wants Wanda has to come through me, you filthy hypocrites!"
Everyone stared at her.
"Tora…?"
"Yes, Wanda did something terrible. But I don't see you running to save her from the Shi'ar trial, Scott. I don't see you forgiving her for the genocide of an entire star-system!"
A bubble had appeared in her hands and they all saw Jean Grey –or something that looked like her- burning a world. Tora's eyes were glowing silver.
"And I don't see the Avengers coming for me because I stood back and let an entire world burn and set off World War Hulk!"
The bubble showed Tora standing staring into a pool at a planet that was cracking and fracturing, about to blow apart then turning away. The Tora holding the bubble moved her hands to cause the bubble to disappear then held her hands out.
"Go on. Arrest me. Take me to justice for letting innocent children perish in the fires of Sakaar. Because I swear to you, I still have the nightmares. I still hear every last scream, every little plea to the Sakaarson to save them! Bruce knew I was there! He saw me in the sky that night! He saw me turn my back! Go on then. Kill me."
Everyone was staring at her in silence.
"KILL ME! Heaven knows, it would be a gift! I've been wanting to die for months! Do you know how much every breath hurts! I breathe and I'm still alive and I just want to die!"
Logan snarled.
"Wanda still destroyed almost all the mutant race!"
And Tora's eyes were no longer human.
"You blame her! You blame her! You want to kill her for what she did?! FINE! But before you kill her, you kill me! I'm a murderer! I killed my own flesh and blood without a second thought! I turned, became the darkness incarnate! I killed in cold blood! I threw Jean into a black hole! When Sakaar burned, I should have been there! BUT I WASN'T! I committed genocide by proxy! I wasn't there, so the world burned! I wasn't there and a million lives were snuffed out! Wanda may be responsible for a few deaths! But I am responsible for billions by doing nothing! Kill me then Logan! Kill me and then you can have Wanda! But unless you are prepared to kill me for the lives I let go of, then you have no right to kill Wanda! Unless you are prepared to hurt me for almost killing Emma when she entered my mind to stop me from going insane when I thought I'd lost my son, then you have no right to hurt Wanda! So back off before I go Dragon on you! And you know what happens when I go Dragon when I'm emotional! I go Dark, Logan! I go Dark and then Wanda will be the least of your problems! If you want Wanda, you have to kill me first. So do it."
No one spoke and then her lips slid back to reveal her teeth.
"I have killed for my children. Wanda would do the same. Go on then, Avengers, X-Men, all of you. Let me go for being a monster and kill Wanda for being a mother! You disgust me!"
"Tora… You…You…"
She stared at Logan.
"How about I tell everyone our secret? Our little secret we've kept for so long."
"Tora…"
"You all heard how my clone attacked my son and me, forcing Logan to kill her. That's a lie! It's the lie I had to agree to in exchange for a promise! Logan didn't kill Poacher. I did. I stuck my claws right into her stomach and I felt good! Because she had threatened my son. I have killed and lied and lied once more! Go on then. Take me away! Dispense your 'justice'. Go on! KILL ME! I WANT YOU TO KILL ME!"
Her hands were clenched in fists.
"Do it! Please! Just let me stop living this half-life, this torment! I'm not whole! Just let me die! I don't want to live like this anymore."
Her face was streaked with tears and she fell to her knees.
"Please, just let me die… I don't want to live… Not with all this pain… You told me you learnt to live with it… But I can't… All I am is pain… All I want is the pain to end… Please, someone end my pain…"
And then Wanda leant down and was cleaning her tears away.
"That's not the Tora I know. Where's the sarcasm? The bite? That infuriating stubbornness?"
And Tora's eyes were dead.
"It's dead, Wanda… It's dead… All is dead…"
And then Doom was standing there dressed in white and offering peace and healing and Tora stood up and shook her head.
"No Doom. You cannot bring back the dead. All you would do is bring back a shade of them."
"I am more powerful than the Beyonder!"
And then Tora was laughing.
"The Beyonder? A mere child to me! You are merely an avatar of the Life Force. I am Life Renewed!"
"No. You are just the avatar of the Dragon."
And Tora laughed so softly.
"No. I'm not. Tora Logan is gone. And all that remains is me. The Dragon."
Logan glanced at Scott.
"This sound familiar?"
"Too familiar… How long do you think we've had an imposter?"
And then Tora was smiling.
"You thought you stopped Tora accessing Dragon. What you actually did was split Tora from Dragon and now I am in control."
"What…?"
Doom's eyes were confused.
"I am not Tora. I am Dragon!"
And Wanda nodded.
"That was what was wrong with her."
And then Dragon was up at Doom's eyelevel, head tilted slightly in an innocent motion.
"I can destroy you, Doom. I can destroy you and scatter your atoms across the cosmos."
Her hand was suddenly glowing.
"In fact, I might do just that."
Her hand was outstretched and glowing silver.
"I wonder if it will hurt? I've never done this before. I've never tried this. You know, I don't think I'll kill you. You'll still be alive. Just atoms, scattered throughout the universe."
The eyes were solid silver, gleaming and bright. Wherever Tora was, it wasn't there
And then Doom was being hurt by Wanda and Wiccan and then he was Doom again and fleeing and Dragon turned and stared at the X-Men and Avengers and wondered why they were so scared of her. She tilted her head and stared at them. Then one of them spoke.
"Get out of her head! Get out of her head!"
"What do you mean?"
"Where's Tora! Where's Tora!"
"She is me."
"No, that isn't Tora! That isn't Tora at all!"
She tilted her head the other way.
"What is wrong? I am not trying to kill you. I am not hurting you. I am not hurting anyone."
"Where. Is. Tora."
"Inside me. I am her and she is me. We are one and the same. Tora is inside me."
"It should be the other way around! That's her body you're wearing!"
She blinked.
"But I am stopping the pain. She wants the pain to stop, so I stopped it."
"By burying her deep inside you!"
"She just wanted the pain to stop. She didn't say how."
"Not by forcing your way into her head!"
"I already was there."
She didn't understand. Why were the little people so angry? So scared? She was benevolent. She was pure. She was power. And then something forced its way to the top. She was Tora.
"Get! Out! Of! My! HEAD!"
And she felt Dragon slip back into its usual niche and Tora then realised she was hovering above the ground and fell. She felt Tony catch her and then she was being placed carefully on the ground. And they were staring at her.
"Tora, we…we can't let you continue like this. Until further notice, you're not going to be on any of the teams. You need to get help."
She tried to sit up but suddenly a cool hand rested on her head. She heard Logan growl 'Get away from her' but she smiled muzzily up at Wanda.
"Did we do okay?"
"Yeah. You did ok."
And Tora's mind shut down, determined to help fix the injuries inflicted by the fight and breakdown.
"Okay, Dragon taking over, Scarlet Witch and Tora revealing unknown depths of friendliness, anything else major going to happen?"
The masked woman laughed.
"Oh, Phoenix. That would be telling!"
A.N. I have a truly horrific cold so now I'm going off to get a honey and lemon. Also, da-da-dah! Tora reveals the big secret from way back in Chapter 46. Oh dear...