Wonderland: fell down a rabbit hole, you held on tight to me ('cause...

Ch 10: spinning out of control (didn't they tell us "don't rush into things"?)

Pietro had survived a near death experience twice in his not quite long enough life, and yet, he had only ever been this scared once before; after the bombing, in which he stayed afraid for two whole days that the bomb in front of them would be set off and he and his sister would die.

Now, he was scared again that his sister might die. Not the sort of dread and terror he felt back at Sokovia when he felt bullets rip through him through their bond, because he was mostly in shock while he ran towards her, no, this wasn't dread and terror. This was genuine fear , as he watched his sister bleed out on the floor of the Quinjet that went fast, but not quite fast enough at the same time.

She told him all of her powers. He had seen it in Sokovia, his sister wasn't the one that would die. In fact, between the two of them, it was far likely that he would be the first to die again. But yet, as he stared in horror, as she just kept bleeding and bleeding, and her wounds didn't close and heal like it did in Sokovia when dozens —or something like that, he didn't remember, he was too busy freaking out to count—of bullets had ripped through her, the horror turned to genuine fear and panic, because his sister might actually die now.

And— and that blood wasn't just coming from her stomach— there was her head too, she hit her head. Her head, and her— oh god. Oh god, why wasn't she healing? His sister was supposed to be all powerful, she had proven it, even if she didn't show the full extent of her powers.

Pietro stumbled to the side, and ended up falling over his own feet, and on his ass. He crawled towards his sister, and placed her head on his lap, blood dirtying his hands and his clothes, and his lap, and oh god, why was there so much blood?

"Шта се догађа? Ово не би требало да се дељава.Ох Боће, ох Боће, ох Боће. Ванда , молим те, немој да ми умрељ.Ванда , пробуди се, отвори оии. (serbian/sokovian: What is happening? This isn't supposed to be happening-- Why is she still bleeding?! Oh god, oh god, oh god. Wanda, please, don't die on me. Wanda, wake up, open your eyes.)

He began to shake her, losing his grip on reality. He couldn't lose her. He wasn't as strong as her. He didn't know how he could have even survived a week without his twin sister by his side, and she'd lasted years. She was the more powerful one, in every definition of it. He wouldn't be able to move on if he lost her, because Wanda was the one who always gave him a reason to keep going, and understood him.

She was his lifeline just as much as he was hers. But the difference was, Wanda could thrive off of pain, and turn it into anger, and fall into the dark side to find the power to live on. Pietro couldn't last long on anger, Pietro couldn't harness pain. The difference was that Wanda's purpose was revenge, to even things out, to fight back against the world. Pietro's purpose was to protect, and if he failed that, it would destroy him.

"Pietro!" Steve yelled, his voice finally breaking through his panic, and he realized he had been pulling at his hair, and staring with wide, unblinking eyes. "Calm down! We need to focus and heal her! And if you can't, then move!"

Pietro couldn't believe how helpless he was, as he stumbled out of the way, and was nearly shoved away, he couldn't help but think that his sister deserved better. His sister, who travelled back in time to protect him, his sister who helped take down a mad Titan and died a hero more than once, his sister who gave everything she had for the greater good. His sister, who probably never once panicked like this, and stood uselessly.

Then, a voice inside the back of his head, not quite Wanda's, but something like it, like a copy of her voice from his subconscious reminded him that she would hate him for speaking ill of her brother like that because she was that type of person.