entrancelogs | [CLOSED] We'll be together again;

Entry tags:

marvel: wanda maximoff

[CLOSED] We'll be together again;

Who: Wanda Maximoff, Billy Kaplan & Tommy Shepherd
Where: All over, for now.
When: Thursday, July 16th, late morning.
Rating: PG
Summary: Wanda is due to try and connect with her supposed family, and the current state of things has spurred her to seek them out.
The Story:

[The single tear floating above the beach had been worrisome enough on its own. Wanda had approached it, done her best to study it from a safe distance, tried to manipulate the energy around it in order to seal it, but it hadn't made a difference. Nothing had budged, and nothing about whatever it actually was made sense to her-- as much as it had attracted her interest, she wasn't qualified to do much about it, at least not at the moment, though she knew there were countless others conducting their own investigations, as well.

When the tears begin to multiply is when she really starts to worry; the anxious concern she'd felt regarding the first rift grows exponentially, bordering on panic. Whatever is happening, it's escalating and quickly, and she's surprised to discover who her thoughts immediately go to. Not her supposed teammates, but the two boys she'd met upon her arrival in Wonderland, the ones who had informed her that they were family, even if she still wasn't quite sure what that meant. Their worlds were different, separate from one another, but she still seemed to mean something to them-- and even if she didn't know why, they already meant something to her. She could feel it in her gut.

She pauses a few feet short of a rift in the garden, closing her eyes as she goes still, opening herself up. She's done her best to keep her powers to herself since coming here, afraid of being too invasive, afraid of seeing too much, but now-- now feels like the moment to use them, letting the dull roar of thoughts from those within the mansion wash over her, searching for two voices in particular.

Wherever they are, she'll find them. She has to. She needs to know they're safe.]

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[ Tommy can feel it when she approaches. That telltale itch in his nose, the way the baby hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Magic, and familiar magic at that.

He thinks about running away. He's fast enough to avoid her, at least for a time. But she would catch up eventually, or, worse, she would find Billy and make Billy pin him down.

If she was even looking for him. Maybe that was just him being hopeful. After all, she had not been happy about meeting him before. Why would she want anything to do with him now?

Hell with it. He was doing something important. He was going to keep on doing what he had been doing (investigating a rip on the seventh floor), and she could just deal with it either way. He was not going to go out of his way just for her. ]

[She finds him there, and she's glad that he's simply investigating a tear rather than making his way through it when she arrives, accidentally or otherwise. People had already begun to experiment, make their way through, but there was no way of knowing what was on the other side of any given rift. Even if it simply took someone to the Mirror Side of the mansion, she understood that came with its own set of risks and complications.

She slows her pace as she approaches, brow furrowed.]

Tommy? [She feels badly about how they parted the first time, about the fact that they haven't spoken since then, but she'd needed time. Time to adjust, time to come to terms with where they were and what was happening, and time to accept that she could trust both boys-- Steve had assured her that she could, encouraged her, and she regrets that it took her until now to act.] You're safe.

[Whatever his thoughts about her may be, she sounds genuinely relieved.]

What are you doing?

[ So she had been looking for him. And she seemed to be happy he was okay, for whatever reason. What did she want, anyway? Last time she had just wanted him to go away.

(He does, in a logical way, recognize why. He can dot it out very clearly in his head. For all of it, though, he cannot get his heart to be so understanding.) ]

My job, mostly.

[ It comes out sharper than he means it to. He is still a bit hurt, by her, by Captain America, even by Bruce. ]

Can I help?

[She's not sure what she can do; her powers are still incredibly new to her, the idea of using them as something other than a weapon is still novel and her training, so far, has been minimal, but she knows what her job is, too.

She frowns, her chin dropping slightly.]

You're angry with me. [She thinks she knows why.] I-- am sorry.

If you can figure out how to close these.

[ She is right. He is angry. But at her apology his shoulders, previously rigid and tense, drop. He sighs, running fingers through his hair, causing it to flop in every direction. ]

It isn't your fault.

I tried with the larger one-- no luck. Perhaps together--

[Maybe between the two of them, they can figure something out, but when the smaller rifts appeared, she hadn't even thought about trying to close them. All she'd wanted was to make sure these boys who were meant to be her family were safe.]

I will do what I can. [Another pause.] I upset you. Because-- I don't remember?

[He's right, that isn't her fault, but it doesn't mean she likes being the cause of his anger any better.]

I am not sure what I can do. I mean, they do not explode. Probably a good thing.

[ He had tried to shake the atoms of the tear itself, to see if they could be manipulated at all. It was as if the vibrations never touched them, or were somehow absorbed; the tears stayed as they were.

As for her question... ]

You couldn't remember. You're not even from my universe. And you're way too young --

[ He shook his head. ]

I've just got issues. Don't worry about it. You don't have to be anything.

They do not seem to be causing anyone direct harm. We can be grateful for that, as well, though there is no telling how long that will last.

[She presses her lips together as he shakes his head-- why is it that when he tells her not to worry, she can't do anything but?]

You cannot tell me not to worry and then expect me to stop. I am already worried-- too young for what?

[She almost sounds offended at the implication that she's too young for anything.]

Even if I exist in your world at some point, you're too young to remember me yet.

[ Tommy was not sure how old Wanda was when she had him and Billy, but he was pretty sure she was not this young. She was disturbingly close to his age.

Still. She had worried about him. That was kind of a nice feeling. He rubbed the back of his neck, shifting awkwardly. ]

Why are you worried, anyway? I thought you didn't like me.

[She frowns-- it's quite an accusation, but she can't blame him for making it. She knows how their first encounter went, how poorly it had ended.]

I do not know you well enough to say whether I like or dislike you. When I first arrived, I was angry-- scared. I did not like anyone.

[He wasn't the only one she'd been hostile to.]

I-- do not make a very good first impression, I know. But you are family. I would-- like to get to know you.

[ Tommy rubs his arm, a picture of awkwardness. But this had been what he offered, hadn't it? That if she wanted, he would be around.

And she had said family. Like she believed it now. ]

I can't really blame you. This place is really unnerving at first.

[ And at second, and third, but it was the kind of weird he was growing used to. ]

Uh, so should we try again?

'Unnerving,' yes.

[That was putting it kindly-- not to mention she'd been coming from an especially difficult time, weighted down with guilt and grief. Neither had abated, and she wasn't sure they would anytime soon-- perhaps never, where grief was concerned, but she could handle herself now. She could engage with others without letting her pain become hostility, anger.]

I would like that. An opportunity to start over.

[ Tommy wiped his hand on his thigh and then offered his hand to shake. ]

I'm Tommy Shepherd. Codename Speed, for obvious reasons.

[ It felt awkward to introduce himself this way, but then again, neither of his first meetings with either Wanda had gone in a way that made sense. ]

[She smiles a little, as though there's something funny about the formality of his offering his hand to her, but she takes it and gives it a shake, weak at first before it becomes firm, strengthens as she gains confidence.]

Wanda Maximoff. I believe they have started calling me 'Scarlet Witch.'

[Steve had explained the need for codenames to her. As far as names went, she could have done worse.]

[ That gets a small smile out of him. He tucks his hands back in his pocket afterward, shifting from his heels to the balls of his feet. ]

Yeah, they call you that in my world, too. You're -- well, you're one of the most famous Avengers.

[ In both a good and a terrible way. ]

Famous?

[That surprises her, and her eyes widen slightly.]

I am-- almost afraid to ask what for.

[Had she done the same things in his world, committed the same crimes? Had she been a hero from the start, or perhaps more of a villain than she already knew herself to be?]

For a lot of things.

[ A good chunk of which he will not mention. Like the circumstances surrounding M-Day. ]

A lot of people look up to you. You've saved the world several times over. You were Billy's favorite Avenger, even before he knew we were all related.

Favorite?

[She looks momentarily touched, a smile pulling at her lips for a moment before vanishing.]

As reputations go-- I suppose I could have done worse. I-- do not feel like someone to look up to now.

[In a short time, she's done so much she's not proud of.]

But you are.

[ There is a sudden eagerness in his tone, a determination to make her believe it.

For all that has happened, for all his defensiveness, for all his trouble trusting, he thinks the world of Wanda Maximoff. ]

I mean, so many bad things have happened to you, and people have treated you like shit, and you've dealt with so much craziness and yet you're still willing to be an Avenger and do good things and overcome everything that has sucked.

[ He is talking a clip faster than normal, just on the edge of understandable by the normal ear. ]

I mean, so many other people would have given up by now.

[It blindsides her for a moment, both for it's speed and how heartfelt it is; she's not sure what she had expected, but it hadn't been so vehement a denial. The shock fades away, fizzles out, and her smile blooms just a little bit wider, awed.

The Wanda he knows sounds very much like someone she'd want to be. Someone she would be proud of becoming, if she ever managed it.]

I have felt myself come so close to giving up in the past, felt despair begin to win out over everything else-- it wasn't until I was made an offer that I realized I could do something.

[HYDRA had given her that opportunity, same as Pietro, though they hadn't known it at the time.]

I did-- all the wrong things with the gift I was given. Some of it without realizing, but others... I allowed anger to move me in place of reason. I am not proud of what I've done, but the Wanda you speak of-- she sounds like someone I would like to become. Someone who does not let her mistakes paint her future.

Believe me, I understand. Billy and the others-- they literally sprung me out of jail.

[ It had not been something he had wanted to admit to her, of all people, but it seemed like she needed to hear it. He would face any embarrassment if it helped. ]

I know you'll become so much more than those mistakes, whatever they were. Hell, you probably already are and just don't realize it yet.

[It surprises her as much as everything else, but she only nods in reply. Understanding, a show of solidarity.

None of them are perfect. Not all heroes start out good. He's right-- she'd needed to hear it.]

I will not ask what you did.

[If he wants to tell her, he will. She'll leave that up to him.]

They seem like awfully big mistakes. Difficult to leave behind, but there is nothing else to do but-- fight. Fight to keep others from causing the same kind of damage.

Uhhh... let's just say giving an upset kid the power to blow things up was not evolution's best idea.

[ He gave her a sheepish smile, rubbing the back of his neck. Granted, that had not been the first time he had been in juvie, but it had been the most disastrous time. ]

Yeah, I agree. And keep others from being hurt, too. So they don't feel a need to do that kinda shit.

[ Because if any of them had been raised under better circumstances, he was pretty sure none of this would have happened in the first place. ]

[She smiles back, just a little.]

I can see how that would go-- poorly.

[They all do questionable things when they're upset. Enough said.]

It would seem we're not so different after all, are we?

[Even if his infractions are on a much smaller scale-- or so she's guessing. It's pretty difficult to trump assisting Ultron.]

Maybe we're not.

[ It's said with an ounce of hopefulness. He has always thought of Wanda being like Billy, his opposite in most ways. But here, there was a connection he could have with her, all of his own. An understanding. ]

[She and Billy have their likenesses, as well-- their powers, among other things Wanda has yet to discover, but this?

This is theirs.]

You seem happy to hear that.

Yeah, well.

[ Tommy shifted his weight from one foot to the other. ]

Billy's kinda the golden twin, I guess. You're a lot like him.

[ And, by contrast, not like Tommy. ]

'Golden twin?'

[It's not like she's never heard the term before, but it had never been like that with her and Pietro, not that she could remember. Maybe it was different-- all they'd had was each other, there was no one else to effect how they each measured their worth, and yet--

She shakes her head, a frown pulling at the corners of her mouth.]

Just because you are different does not make either one of you better or worse. You are both unique. You do not need to compare yourselves to one another.

[ Tommy gives her an awkward smile, rubbing the back of his neck. It is nice to hear, but it is obvious it does not sink in. ]

It's not like I'm jealous or anything. But he's apparently some sort of inter-dimensional magical messiah. I'm just fast.

[ Not to mention the many other ways Tommy felt he did not match up to his twin brother. ]

There is a lot to be said for being fast.

[She'd never considered Pietro's powers any lesser than hers, just different. There were a number of things she couldn't have accomplished without him, as a matter of fact.]

My brother and I-- we worked best as a team. Complemented each other's strengths. He was fast. [It pains her to talk in the past-tense, but it needs to be said.] I may be able to move things or shield others, but it means nothing if they are in danger and I cannot reach them. If I'm not fast enough.

I guess Billy and I have never had that.

[ Which pains him. Some part of him wants that, badly, that feeling of being in sync with his twin, of complimenting someone like that. ]

I mean, we've fought together on teams, but -- I guess we don't spend a lot of time together. Not when it's just us.

[ The time they had gone looking for Wanda was one of the few times it had been just them. ]

It's not too late-- if that is what you want.

[She's still trying to get a read on him, on both of them, naturally and by getting to know them the right way instead of cheating and simply looking for herself.]

If you wish to grow closer, Wonderland has presented you both with the opportunity to do exactly that.

It'd be kinda nice.

[ Which translates into it's something I want more than anything. He finds it difficult to admit to things that mean a lot to him, especially when they are as important as family. Admitting it just meant someone could take it away. ]

[He doesn't say what he really feels-- but she doesn't have to look all that deep to know what it is he means, and she offers him a careful smile.]

If I can help you, you know I will.

[ That makes him smile back. ]

Yeah. Thanks. You know, if I can do anything to help you, I will.

[ It is said quickly; he nearly stumbles over the words, nerves catching him up. ]

[Billy was doing a bit of investigating of the rips as well, he was up on the roof staring at the two rips on either side of him. Steve had warned them to stay away but Billy wasn't one to let something like this just lay. He'd been trying and failing to manipulate the rips to close. No matter how much he power he used to will them close the closest he had gotten was a small flicker. It was exhausting. He'd taken to tossing colored paper airplanes through and trying to track where they came out the other side.

He feels Wanda approach before he sees her, turning in the direction he knows she's coming from. It's a little weird, to be able to feel someone else's power. It wasn't somethig he could easily do at home but he's been working on it here, with Loki. And Wanda's magic felt so similar to his own it was easy to trace. They had only spoken briefly in text since her arrival and he was eager to actually see her in person again, now that she'd had some time to adjust.]

[She's not so surprised to find him investigating the rifts, just as she had Tommy. Something the three of them all seemed to have in common was an inability to keep to themselves when things went wrong, a pressing need to examine the problem up close, although so far she hadn't found herself able to effect them in any real way.]

I'm glad you are still on this side.

[She approaches him carefully, hesitant to come too close for comfort for either one of them, but offers him a faint, apologetic smile as she draws nearer.]

Have you learned anything about the rifts?

[Billy smiles at her and lets her approach him as her own speed.]

You too. The mirror side isn't really somewhere I like ending up. And letting my mirror lose over here is also not a good idea. He's a manipulative asshole, from what I hear anyway. And much stronger than I am.

[So beware, in case he ends up over here.

He shakes his head.]

Nothing yet, they are powerful. I haven't been able to close them, I can feel it wanting to close but it's almost like some force it keeping it open. Going through them doesn't seem to be harmful. Unless you land on something painful.

I am not sure I like the sound of 'stronger.'

[Even without seeing Billy in action, she can sense the weight of his power. He has a lot of it-- to imagine someone with ill intentions wielding even more is definitely cause for concern.]

Have you been testing that theory yourself? Seeing what happens if you go through?

I don't either. I'm not sure if he's actually stronger, he just doesn't care to have control like I do? You'd have to meet him I guess to know. He did almost kill Teddy once and that takes a lot of power. So.

[He shrugged. His mirror made him nervous because he knew exactly what he was capable of. And none of it was pretty.

He shot her a sheepish smile.]

Maybe? Once I figured out it wasn't harmful to go through. I know Steve said not to but... How else are are going to learn?

A lack of care is more dangerous than power alone.

[She hadn't cared about who she hurt; it was all means to an end. It hadn't helped anything. She grimaces.]

You have a point. [And as much as she has come to allow herself to trust Steve as their leader, most things cannot be solved by simply sitting back and watching.] Is there a pattern to where they lead?

It is. It's what separates the villains from the heroes I think.

[ And sometimes it was an all too easy line to cross. He would have been lying if he had said he was never tempted, never pushed too far. He had wanted to kill, and had been thankful he didn't.

He shakes his head.] Nothing I can find, at least not yet. And I can't interact with them. I can make portals and they send people where I want them to, but no matter what I do I can't get these to respond.

[Something about that spurs her to give him a curious look, seeking.]

You really think so?

[It's an honest question, rather than skeptical-- she has a very personal interest in what it is that defines the two. After a moment, she purses her lips, looking back to the nearest rift.]

You make portals? [Interesting.] If your magic cannot effect them, I cannot imagine there is anyone else here who might.

[ He nods. ] Yeah. Or at least its one of the things. If you didn't care about who you hurt it would be much easier to do things that would cause people to hurt. Thats not the only thing, of course. Sometimes you can care and still make choices you regret. But then again, I guess a real villain wouldn't regret, would they?

[ He shrugs. He has a lot of feelings about what separates a hero from a villain. Not all villains are evil, sometimes they just make the wrong choice because they don't see any other option given to them. Then again he also has been on a team with two teenage versions of villains and stood up to the Avengers and the X-Men to save his mother. ]

People make mistakes, they make bad choices, but I think people deserve second chances. Especially if they want to make amends and put things right.

[He grins at her next question, something less serious.] Yeah, I don't do it often but sometimes it helps in a pinch. Wanna see?

Perhaps they wouldn't.

[And yet she's made choices she regrets, and she fears the results of those choices are no less villainous despite how she feels now, after the fact.]

You are-- much more open-minded than some.

[She smiles just a touch. It inspires a certain degree of confidence; perhaps he won't suddenly decide they shouldn't get to know each other better after all once everything concerning Ultron is laid bare.]

You can do it now, on a whim? [Oh.] I'd love to.

[ Billy shrugs. ] I've had to be, I guess. Besides, I don't think everything is black and white. In the world I come from you learn there are a lot of shades of gray.

[Billy already knows what she did with Ultron. Steve had told him when he had come back from being home. He wasn't going to bring it up, Wanda would talk about it when she was ready and Billy wasn't going to push her. ]

I can. Where do you wanna go? Anywhere in Wonderland, just pick a place.

Most worlds are like that. Moreso than some people are willing to admit.

[Herself included-- she'd been fixated on her own perspective for so long that she hadn't allowed herself to think of what might have influenced the actions of others.]

Anywhere?

[Hmm.]

The kitchen-- or is that the garden, now?

[Considering things are all out of sorts.]

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[CLOSED] We'll be together again;

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