WandaWidow - Book 1

Chapter 1 - One Half of a Whole

Wanda Maximoff wasn't sure what the future held for her, but she had never imagined that she would have to go through it all alone.

Pietro had been her everything since the death of her parents, and she expected he would have remained her everything long into her life. While he had existed for 12 minutes before her, she had never known life without him, and she wasn't sure she could cope.

She found herself in a strange and complicated country, with people she had until very recently called her enemies and while she sat alone in a clinically white room, her mind wandered to her brother and what could have been had he not been so...so Pietro.

Always assured, and always ready to help, while Wanda saw herself and Pietro as two halves to one whole, she knew Pietro was the good side. The side people liked, the side that people admired, and the side that people loved. It was so typical of him to die how he did, and Wanda couldn't even hate him for it. As much as she tried.

When she thought of him she was overcome with sadness, and as the waves rolled over her she didn't think there would ever be air in her lungs again.

Her visitors had been few and far between, and she can't blame them. Wanda couldn't fully understand the extent of her powers, but understood the effect that they had on people, and while grateful for their help and offer of shelter, she feared that the Avengers would never fully trust her, or that she would ever really be one of them. She wasn't even sure if she wanted to be.

Captain Rogers was first. Wanda figured that he more than the rest may have understood her decision to allow Strucker to experiment on her. He did try to comfort her, but perhaps a bit prematurely, as Wanda couldn't remember much of their conversation, still reeling from the events that had just unfolded. She mostly stared into space and nodded at what he said, until he eventually left. He hadn't been back since.

Next to stop by was Sam Wilson, who Wanda hadn't met before. He came by a few days after Steve, at Steve's recommendation. He had explained that he had experience dealing with PTSD and survivors guilt. She listened to what he had to say, but despite his best efforts he hadn't made much of a difference. He stopped by everyday for a few days after that, before explaining he had to return to D.C. to deal with some logistics of his permanent move to the Avengers Compound.

Vision came by the next day. He had earned the biggest reaction from Wanda so far, as she jumped up when he phased through the wall. He apologised profusely, but Wanda politely and firmly asked him to leave. He was too strong a reminder of Ultron, and in the same respect, the choices she had made that ultimately resulted in Pietro's death. He didn't come back after that.

From what she had heard outside her door, Thor had left Earth to return to Asgard and deal with things back home. She couldn't help but feel responsible for his absence too, as he like so many others in the team had been affected strongly by the visions she had shown them.

Clint too had left for home as soon as they reached the campus, as from what Wanda understood he had a family waiting for him. Perhaps he may have been a comfort to her, but to wish him to stay would have been selfish in her eyes. He deserved to be with his family, and they deserved to have him home safe.

Tony Stark was the last person she expected to stop by and as expected, he hadn't. However, Pepper did stop in the day after Wanda had arrived. She had provided some clean clothes and essentials for her, as whatever belongings she had owned were destroyed along with Sokovia. Pepper didn't say much, which Wanda was grateful for. She can't imagine that Pepper would have been a fan of her after speaking with Tony, and understood it would have been hard for her to show Wanda the kindness she had. Despite it not showing, Wanda had appreciated this.