Like before, Wanda took care of the hotel accommodations for the both of them. However, the room wasn't quite what they'd wanted. Instead of two separate beds, they had one king size.

The two sat on the plush bed. Wanda messed with the rings on her fingers.

"Well, go on, sis," said Pietro. He had himself propped up on the bed. "Show her."

"Are you ready?" Wanda asked Helena.

"I guess as ready as I can be." Helena squared her shoulders.

Inhaling deeply, Wanda allowed red tendrils to slither across the air to Helena's head. Helena jumped, looking as though she was going to swat the magic away. Wanda let her eyes shut slowly, accessing one of the most painful memories to date in her mind.

Her chest seized up from the pain. It echoed the pain she had felt the day she'd lost Pietro. In fact, this memory went beyond that.

~*~

She hated everything. She hated the Avengers. She hated the world. She hated herself. She hated Ultron.

At least she ended the robotic bastard. The Avengers had told her that he had shot at Pietro. Her twin had saved Clint Barton and a little boy from gunfire from the quinjet.

The fact that he died a hero did not help her cope any better.

Wanda had shut herself down from the Avengers. She had allowed them to take her back to their newest facility, farther up north in New York. She'd closed herself off in the room they'd assigned her. She refused any company. She refused to be seen when she did slip out of her room for the bathroom, shower, or for food and drink. She just wanted to be alone.

The only person she craved company from was dead.

Today, she sought out his company. It took her some time, but she found herself in the morgue. She'd found Pietro's body. She didn't pull the sheet entirely off of him; she made sure it covered up his bullet wounds. Why couldn't they save him? Why couldn't I? What is the point in these powers if I couldn't save him?

Wanda shook from the pain constricting her chest. She wanted to cry, scream, throw an all-out tantrum. She had no family left.

"I-I'm sorry," she sobbed to her brother's corpse. His skin was pale in death, but not as pale as his hair was. "W-we were in this together, Pietro. W-why did you have to leave?"

Wanda stiffened at hearing the morgue door opening. Crap.

"Wanda?" It was the assassin, Natasha Romanoff.

Wanda did not turn to acknowledge the woman inside of the morgue. "I never got to say goodbye," she said hollowly. The pain in her chest grew. "Ultron stole him from me. S-Stark took him from me." She felt the hot anger boil in her veins. "Y-you all made me lose him!"

"I know you're mourning—"

Wanda turned sharply to Natasha, tears blurring the witch's vision. It was slowly becoming more red than blurred from tears now. She was outraged. Her brother was dead, and she was forced to continue life without him. "You don't weep for the dead, assassin. You can't ever understand!"

Furious magic rose from Wanda. It slithered out in red wisps, and Natasha's green eyes widened in fear. A smirk crept onto the witch's face.

But Natasha caught on quick; she ran out of the morgue before Wanda's magic could touch her. Wanda snickered under her breath.

"I'll steal their lives, just as they stole his."

~*~

Wanda's eyes popped open at Helena's loud gasp. The girl was falling off the bed, and Wanda reached out to snatch her by the hands. She'd caught Helena just in time, pulling her back upright. To respect the girl's wishes (and to not take chance of killing herself accidentally), Wanda had grabbed clothing and not skin.

"W-Wanda," Helena sputtered. Tears streamed from her face.

"I told you it was easier to show than tell," the witch said quietly. She glanced around the room. Pietro was nowhere to be found, a good sign. "Now, do you see?"

"What happened? Did you—?"

"Kill any of them? No." To this day, she was miffed about that. "I might've injured a few of them. They'd come close to wrangling me, but I escaped. I know I must sound like a mad woman to you."

"Losing someone does make you do morally questionable things," Helena admitted slowly. "I'm—I'm sorry about your brother, Wanda. Truly. I wish I'd met him."

"He would've liked you."

"I do now," said her imaginary brother.

Damn, he's back.

"I-I don't want to defend the Avengers or anything, but, your brother...he chose to put himself in the line of fire. You both did when you were stopping Ultron from destroying your home," Helena said timidly. "He died honorably."

"He shouldn't have. If Stark hadn't built that goddamn murder machine—"

"But Ultron's gone now, Wanda."

"Yes, he is. I'm the one who finished him off." Hot tears threatened to stream down the witch's face.

Helena exhaled. "I'm just gonna..." She slipped off the bed, heading for the bathroom.

"Great, I think you've traumatized her more," groaned Pietro. Wanda glared at her imaginary brother. "What?"

"Why do you keep popping up?" she hissed.

"Think of me as your conscience, like that cricket in that Disney movie."

Wanda blew a breath out of her mouth. "At least she understands, now."

"That doesn't mean she'll want to go with you on your mission to destroy them." Pietro frowned. "Sis, you're missing the point of her. She's your way to peace."

"Huh?"

Pietro moved off the bed to pace before his sister. "She's been the most company you've had since you lost me and broke out from the facility. She keeps you distracted in the good way. Maybe it's time to put the grudge aside and just...live."

"Coming from a dead man. Last time we chatted, you were trying to convince me to steal your body and try and revive you."

"If you truly miss me that much, sister, you'll do it. You'll find a way."

Wanda shook her head.

"So, you don't want me back? Have I been replaced by this girl?"

"I'm not replacing you, she's not blood."

"So...she's your...girlfriend?"

Wanda's cheeks erupted in a furious blush. "No. We're just...friends."

"Did you think to ever explore that avenue?"

"I don't think we're the same on that."

"Have you asked?"

"Well, no..."

"Then you don't know for sure. I can't force you to do anything, you ultimately have to choose what you want to do. But, this is just me, make a friend out of her. Or, make something more out of her." Pietro winked. "Trying to avenge my death against the Avengers is not healthy for you. This is not living, Wanda. This is pushing yourself towards inevitable death."

"We all die, Pietro," she told her brother. "Some sooner than we'd like."

"What was that?" asked Helena, poking her head out from the bathroom. She looked a little pale.

"Are you okay?" Wanda asked in return.

"Your share just kinda...it took a toll on me." Helena went out of the bathroom. "It reminded me a lot of my past. I've...I've lost people too, Wanda."

Everyone's lost someone. Who has she lost?

"I can't exactly show you mine, and I'm not about to let you get an all access pass inside my brain."

"If it's painful for you to discuss, you don't have to," Wanda insisted. Their...friendship was already on the thinnest of ice. She wanted to thicken that bond, not sever it.

"N-no, um, I think I can make it through. I've...I haven't really had anyone to talk to about this, you know, being cursed like this and all. Nobody would understand if I told them. But, since you know what I can do..."

Wanda was surprised at this development. She didn't want to feel too excited about this, what with the grim topic they were discussing. "Just because I showed you, you aren't obligated to share your horror stories."

"But I want to. It won't be easy, but I want to," Helena said adamantly. "But, um, before we further this show and tell, can we get something out?"