Spark

24

Wanda took deep breaths, allowing her mind to relax into a state of peace. Wanda focused on her less used senses. She felt the soft, cold breeze blow against her skin, prompting her body unsuccessfully to shiver. The air smelled like lilac mixed with carbon dioxide, the cleansing of incense faded with car engines from several miles below. Wanda could vaguely test something on her tongue, a salty flavor that made her tongue feel icky. Soft music played in the background, mainly to drown out the sound of angry drivers during the time just before rush hour.

"What are you doing?" Pietro broke Wanda's concentration for the twelfth time that day. Whenever Wanda felt the meditation bringing her somewhere, Pietro was there to call Wanda back to reality. Wanda lifted her hand, summoning red energy that she shot at Pietro. Seeing the attack coming, Pietro used his super speed to go from one chair to the next. "Wow, sis, you hurt my feelings."

"I'm trying to do some meditation and yoga, Pietro. Why can't you leave me alone?" Wanda asked as she opened her eyes to turn towards her brother. He wore a sweatshirt and pants that were two different shades of gray. Wanda walked to the table in front of Pietro to grab her red jacket to put over her gray sports bra and red athletic shorts.

"You're my sister that I haven't seen since I was brought back to life five years ago. How could I not want to bother you all the time?" Pietro replied. Wanda didn't like how he mentioned it so casually. Pietro had died. Wanda felt his spirit float out of his mind, his constantly racing thoughts running still. Maybe Pietro had accepted it, but Wanda wasn't ready to imagine what that meant.

"You're just bored. Let me guess, Peter is out patrolling and Vision is being 'weird' again?" Wanda said, crossing her arms as she stared down at her brother. While Pietro and Vision didn't dislike each other, they weren't the best at interacting. There was always a wall that divided the two. Wanda couldn't understand it. Maybe if Vision was human it could have been some masculinity thing. Wanda could see Pietro doing that. But Vision simply wouldn't. It wasn't in his nature to try to be better than anyone else.

"My dear sister, the only weird one here is you," Pietro said, pretending to shoot sparks from his fingertips like he was mimicking Wanda's powers. If only it were that simply, Wanda thought.

"Do not listen to him, my love, you are special," Vision spoke as he walked through the glass door instead of opening it. A bad habit that needed to break.

"Thank you, Vision. Now be a good friend to Pietro so he will stop annoying me," Wanda directed that last part towards her twin like if she said that, Pietro would automatically quit.

"If you're annoyed by me, sis, it means I'm doing something right," Pietro said, leaning back into the seat while kicking his legs up. Pietro was getting comfortable, Wanda realized. He was planning on hanging around her all day. Wanda fought the urge to groan.

Deep down, though, Wanda was glad that Pietro was back. He had left Wanda in a time of her life when everything was new and scary. Wanda messed up immediately after his death, resulting in even more people dying and splitting the Avengers. That split made it easier for Thanos to pick them off. Wanda watched the love of her life die twice, once at her own hands. When she came back, Wanda was alone and lost. She clung to hope, no matter how superficial. This lead her to Peter. Wanda realized that it was Peter, from recreating Vision to hosting the party that Wanda met her sons at, who made her future so much brighter. It was also Peter who babysat Pietro when Wanda couldn't handle him.

Speak of the Devil, and he shall appear

Spider-Man wobbled on the edge of the terrace, web coming back from the building he attached it to. Spider-Man stood up, lifting his mask to reveal the adult with a baby face, Peter Parker himself. Peter smiled at the arrangement. He immediately got a feel for the situation.

"Vision, we should give you a check-up to see if the Eternity Stone is acting up. Pietro, please come with me so we can see if your powers have an effect on it," Peter said, pulling his mask off all the way. He tapped the sign on his chest, the suit growing looser so he could slip it off. Peter took the suit off as he walked into the Tower, barely managing to remain balanced.

Pietro said nothing as he followed Peter. Wanda shrugged her shoulders at him while turning to Vision. She gave him a peck on the cheek before sending him off. Wanda played the music again, getting lost in her meditation.

——

Lorna sat on the couch, staring down the coffee table. In truth, Lorna's mind was elsewhere. She was reeling from the fact that she had an extended family, and was scared about the child growing in her stomach. Who was the father? Did Lorna know him in her past life? Did he transfer over with Lorna and Erik?

Even trapped with her thoughts, the tight sensation around her neck wasn't lost. Every time she breathed, it felt like the collar tightened. Lorna wasn't used to her powers being restrained. Any time she tried to move metal, the collar would send pain through her spine outwards. It started with nosebleeds and headaches that didn't help her concentration. For prolonged use, Lorna would pass out or have a seizure. Lorna avoided using her powers for those reasons.

Lorna relaxed when the door swung open. A short blonde with brilliant blue eyes came through with a smile, holding a piece of paper in her hands. Luna, who Lorna learned was her niece, closed the door to the living room Lorna was left to hang out in while the others trained. Luna ran up to Lorna, pulling herself onto her aunt's lap.

"Look, I drew us!" Luna said as she held up the picture. Drawn in scribbles was the family Lorna was now apart of. The greenette recognized herself, Luna, Billy, and Tommy. However, there was three other adults drawn on the page. Another white haired male that stood behind Luna with a smile. A woman with brown hair held tightly to Billy and Tommy with an orange skinned man without hair and a jewel in his head stood beside the woman. Lorna guessed that these people were Wanda, Pietro, and Vision. Wanda and Vision were Billy and Tommy's parents while Pietro was Luna's dad. Lorna was also told that the twins Wanda and Pietro were her older half siblings from this universe.

"This looks amazing," Lorna said, hugging Luna tight to her body. Lorna wondered if she would have a daughter that she would do this to. What would she name her child, anyways? Lorna never thought about having kids. She couldn't imagine having someone calling her 'Mom', no matter how hard she tried to envision it. Lorna didn't think about anyone calling her 'Aunt' either.

——

"You're about to leave, did you know that?" Ava said as she threw a punch. Tommy dodged the attack, gripping onto Ava's wrist to pull her forwards. Ava kicked her leg forward to knock Tommy to his knee. Tommy didn't let go of Ava's wrist so he flipped the redhead over his head onto her back. Ava landed on her feet, however, twisting around to kick Tommy in the head. The white haired boy fell down but pushed himself onto his feet to dodge Ava's finisher move.

"I figured as much," Tommy replied as he watched Ava's movements. He didn't get a chance to react when Ava kicked him in his side. Tommy grabbed Ava's leg, twisting her around. Ava used her other leg to kick Tommy's face before landing on her other leg. Tommy flinched back, letting go of Ava's leg.

"Well, on your last night, the SWORD Academy is hosting a dance for each regiment to mingle. I was hoping that you would accompany me," Ava said with a cheeky smile. Tommy was startled by this, but didn't allow that nervousness to overtake his senses. He dodged a punch from Ava, and landed his own punch in her stomach. Ava bended down while gripping her stomach, and Tommy raised his leg over her back. Tommy dropped his leg with as much force as possible, and Ava went sprawling onto the ground. Ava twisted her body to have her legs knock Tommy to the ground as well. Ava pinned Tommy to the ground. "What do you say?"

"Considering you have me pinned down, how could I possibly deny this?" Tommy replied, pushing Ava up and back down so he had her pinned to the ground. "Sure, let's go to a dance together."

"Good choice," Ava said. She raised a hand to Tommy's shoulder, squeezing his pressure points. Tommy fell off of Ava, withering in pain. Ava stood up, pushing her foot into Tommy's neck to choke him. "I win."

"Again," Tommy said sourly. No matter what he did, Tommy could not beat Ava in hand to hand combat. She was Black Widow levels of good when she focused. Tommy wasn't upset that he couldn't beat her, but he was tired of fighting Ava when he knew he couldn't win. Not unless he used his powers, but Ava told Tommy not to use them a crutch.