Emancipation

chapter fifteen

Y'ALL AIN'T READY FOR THIS. YOU'RE GOING TO ABSOLUTELY DEMOLISH ME FOR WHAT I HAVE IN STORE FOR OUR FAVORITE TWINS. :D

Mount Justice

October 23, 17:21 EDT

The team was sitting in the lounge and kitchen area, not talking. M'gann was stirring a bowl of batter as Kaldur leaned against the counter. Wally had his head in his arms on the kitchen island, Pietro and Robin sat on the couches with Artemis leaning against the back of one of them. Conner and Wanda were not present, Conner talking with Black Canary and Wanda hiding in her room.

Black Canary stepped into the room. "Pietro, I'd like to talk with you now."

Pietro nodded, standing up to follow. He passed by the rest of the team, all of them muttering a 'good luck' to him under their breaths. Pietro sighed, closing the door behind him and taking a seat when Canary prompted him. He looked up at her, resting his elbows on his knees. "So, what're we here to talk about?"

"You just went through a traumatic experience, Pietro. You watched your teammate essentially die before you yourself were killed. One should take time to process that."

Pietro looked down at his feet. "My death...it pushed Wanda to her breaking point. She lost all regard for anything but revenge...murdering the enemy, my killers, was all she wanted. It is because of me Wanda shuns herself to her room, barely coming out except to eat. She won't even look at me!"

"So you feel guilty?"

"Guilty doesn't even begin to cover it." Pietro scoffed. "If I hadn't been so careless, if I hadn't been blasted, Wanda wouldn't have lost control like that. She would be out there with the rest of the team. What they say about 'twin intuition' is true. I can feel her. She is pain. And it is my fault."

"Pietro, you are being too harsh on yourself. Wanda makes her own decisions, she-"

"Did you know her powers are tied to her emotions? The stronger the emotion, the stronger her powers. So when she became overwhelmed with the grief she felt for both Artemis and me, her systems were flooded with her powers. She didn't really have a choice but to use her powers. It becomes physically painful for her to hold them in. That is why she is always playing with little wisps of energy in her hands. She needs to release it somehow or it will consume her."

"Are your powers tied to your emotions as well?" Black Canary asked, folding her hands in her lap.

"No, I don't believe so." Pietro shrugged, digging his toes into the ground. "I just have always been able to access my powers, no matter how I'm feeling. Of course, I need food to fuel myself, but then again, so does everyone else." Canary nodded, patting Pietro's hand. He sighed, leaning back in the chair and crossing his arms over his chest. "I'm just like everyone else."

"I'm sensing a bit of envy here, Pietro."

Pietro's eyes narrowed. "Are you implying that I am envious of my twin? Of Wanda?" Canary just cocked a brow. Pietro scoffed. "That's preposterous. I have no reason to be envious of her. I love Wanda."

"We can love someone and still be envious of them."

Pietro stood up. "We are done here." He walked out of the room, slamming the door shut behind him. "Envious of Wanda...who does Canary think she is?"

Pietro went back to the lounge, taking his seat back. Everyone stared at him. "Are you...are you okay, Pietro?"

"Fine. Just...annoyed." He huffed. He looked up when he heard footsteps, expecting to see Black Canary. Instead, he saw Wanda standing in the door frame. "Sister..."