Quietus

wonder why...

The way I am so obsessed with Wanda is insane. She is a queen. I literally spent a good ten minutes gushing about her this morning to my mom. No joke. 

Also, sorry for not updating in like a month, but this story has like two parts left, maybe. Depending. 

The trio of siblings followed their father through the streets of New York city, none of them in their super costumes, all of them in civilian attire. None of them said a word until they were seated at a patio restaurant with glasses of water placed in front of them and menus on the table. 

Then Erik cleared his throat. "I'm sure you two have heard a lot about me through the news..."

Pietro nodded while Wanda took a sip of her water. "I have. But I am also big on giving people the benefit of the doubt and second chances." Wanda snorted softly and Pietro looked at her. "What? I am."

"Yeah, sure. After needing DNA evidence." Wanda retorted. She looked to her father. "Anyways, continue."

Erik chuckled. "Pietro pretty much  covered what I was going to say. I was going to ask you two to give me a chance to prove that I am so much more than the mutant terrorist the media tries to portray me as." Erik took a sip of his water. "And if you'd allow me, I'd like to be apart of your lives."

Wanda smiled. "I'd like that very much."

Pietro nodded. "Sure. It has been awhile since I had a father." 

Wanda stiffened and Pietro mentally kicked himself.  

Lorna looked between the two as Erik spoke once more. "I am sorry to hear about your aunt and uncle. They were good people."

Wanda stood up abruptly, tossing her napkin on the table. "I have to go to the bathroom."

"Wan - " Pietro called after his sister but she was already inside the restaurant. He sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "I'm a moron."

"What happened? Why does she seem upset?" Lorna asked. 

Pietro debated telling them but decided against it, not wanting to over step any boundaries with his twin and strain their already tense and fragile relationship. "You'll have to ask her. It is not my place to tell."

A few moments of silence went by before Wanda returned to the table, visibly tense. Erik looked to his daughter. "Wanda, did my words upset you?"

Wanda looked to Pietro for a cue but he just looked at his water. She bit her lip. "I...um, you see, our aunt and uncle were not good people, at least not to me. They...they sold me when we were five and gaslighted Pietro into believing he was an only child, that I was his imaginary friend. That is why he had such a hard time believing I was his sister when we recently met again. I, however, knew of his existence the whole time."

Erik and Lorna were quiet for a moment, stunned by this information. "Sold you to who? And why?"

Wanda tensed even more. "Um...Hydra. They sold me to Hydra because I have the mutant ability to alter probabilities, basically make the impossible possible. Hydra found out about this when I was young and gave our aunt and uncle an ultimatum, either give me up to them or they would kill the whole village, including Pietro. They made their choice, selling me to those monsters to make me into one, never once thinking about me again or allowing Pietro to think about me, either. They sold me to became an assassin at five years old without a second thought, without trying to find another way." 

Erik looked between Wanda and Pietro. "You killed your aunt and uncle, didn't you?"

Wanda nodded curtly. "It was my mission. If I didn't comply, they would kill Pietro or bring him in and make him like me. I would never allow that. They eventually gave me a trigger phrase, which Xavier took out of my mind so I am clear of their grasp. But not of the memories of the horrors they made me commit."

Lorna reached over and put her hand on Wanda's. "I am so sorry you had to endure that."

Wanda shrugged. "I'd rather it be me than either of you." Erik stared at Wanda for a moment before pushing back from the table and standing up, tossing his napkin on the table. Wanda gulped. "Father? Have I upset you?"

"I am upset, but not at you. I am upset at the injustices done to you." Erik looked at his three children. "Forget lunch. I know of a better way for family bonding. Let us go to Europe to exterminate some pests, yes?"

Wanda smirked, standing up. "Finally, someone who sees that Hydra must be dealt with concisely and with extreme force."

Lorna and Pietro exchanged a look, standing up as well. "We can't let you two go on a murder spree of Hydra agents, no matter how evil they are, murder is still wrong."

Wanda glared at her siblings. "They stole my life from me! Made me into a monster! They deserve death in the most painful way."

"We cannot allow you two to go through with this." Lorna stated once more as Pietro ran around his sister and father, tying them up.

Wanda looked down at her bound body and chuckled. "You think this will stop me? I can simply alter the probability of me and father being in the Hydra facility. We will have hours of a head start on the two of you."

"You can't do that if your mouth and hands are bound." Pietro grabbed a napkin and went to stuff it in his sister's mouth, only to find her disappearing in a haze of red, her cackle sounding through the air. 

"You've got to be quicker than that, Pietro. After all, I am the Scarlet Witch."