Fractured {Wanda Maximoff}

06 - Following the "Scent"

 Helena's "scent" was easy for Wanda's magic to detect. She'd kept a healthy distance from the girl, though she knew she could catch Helena if she really put the effort in. She wanted to let Helena breathe, because she knew the raven-haired girl was mad. She has to understand I'm still learning. It was not intentional. I didn't want to do that to her.

"Oooh, someone has a schoolyard crush! Gosh, sis, what are you, seven?"

Wanda gasped, her concentration broken. She stopped in the throng of people on the sidewalk, looking around. The voice had sounded too real. She searched for the silver-hair, or that arrogant face of his.

She found nothing.

Wanda shook her head. Great, I'm imagining things. She continued on.

She was just another face in the crowd to most, as most New Yorkers and out of towners were too busy focused on crossing the street or having their eyes stuck on their phones. She knew her face had to be known by some; she had been at one point tied to the Avengers.

Wanda rolled her eyes. We came together to stop Ultron. Pietro became collateral. As far as I'm concerned, Tony Stark built Ultron, the cause of Sokovia's fall. All the Avengers are guilty by association.

"You always liked to distance yourself from conflict," came the voice again.

Wanda exhaled, refusing to listen. It's a figment of my imagination. He is not really here. His bullet ridden body remains at the facility.

That was mostly certainly not why Wanda wanted to attack the Avengers. What could she possibly do other than give him a makeshift funeral? It would just be her to mourn over him.

"Or, you can break in and take me home."

Damn it! Wanda's aggravation grew. This time, her green eyes fell upon the familiar blue. Her breath stopped in her throat, and she almost forgot how to function.

Through the walking mass of people, was Pietro Maximoff, her twin brother. Though...he was not as how she liked to remember him. He wore the suit he'd worn in Sokovia. There were spots of dried red, from the bullets...

With her brain restarting, Wanda continued on, refocusing on Helena's trail.

"Oh, come on!" Pietro was at her side in a flash, keeping a normal pace once he caught up. Wanda cringed as she saw people walk right through him as though he wasn't there. "I don't want to be there! That's not where I want to rest, you know this!"

Wanda refused to acknowledge him. He wasn't a ghost; he was her mind projecting.

"Have you considered other options?" Pietro asked. "You have barely learned the scope of your powers! What if...What if you could bring me back?"

Wanda stopped abruptly, and someone had run into her back. She swore under her breath as the person moved around her. She glanced at her dead brother, who offered her a sly smirk. "That's..."

"Plausible," said Pietro. "The word you're looking for is 'plausible'."

"Gee, that's a big word for you."

Pietro frowned. "If you can get inside of peoples' minds, what would be so difficult about restarting mine?"

There could pose a lot of complications. Wanda couldn't be strong enough to do so. It couldn't even work to begin with. It'd be a false hope that would crush her more and increase her resentment towards the Avengers.

"Okay, fine, if not you, how about your...is she a friend?" Pietro inquired. "You know she can kill...what if she can reverse it too?"

"I doubt that's how it works," Wanda grumbled.

"You don't know until you try it. What do you say, sis?"

"I say that you're dead."

"Ouch. But you miss me, otherwise I would not be here, offering you advice. Really, I'm just your thoughts, but you're using my voice to make it sound...saner?"

"You're making me lose focus." Wanda hustled on. Helena's "scent" in the air was fading. "You've never appeared before. Why now?"

"It seems you're lacking motivation." Pietro shrugged, tailing after her. "I can make this much quicker for you."

"You're not real; you can't bring her to me. I'm doing this my way."

"Your way has always been the slow way."

"Shoo." Wanda waved her arm beside her. Pietro chuckled as her arm went right through him.

"I'll be around, sister. You have a girl to catch." True to his word, the vision Pietro vanished.

Though Wanda continued after Helena through the crowd, his appearance haunted her. Is this my magic? Is this me? Is this both? She could focus on herself when she caught up to Helena. She couldn't predict what the girl would do, or say.

If Helena was prepared to fight Wanda, or even try and kill her, Wanda would be ready to do the same. She wasn't sure what goals in life Helena had, but she was not leaving this earth before her goals were finished.