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[tothebalkans]

WHO: tothebalkans, open to: oncemercurial, microwavemutant, sorcerously, godofnicehair, and anyone else!
WHERE: Everywhere, the City.
WHEN: BACK-DATED TO 9/22/2010 during the madness.
WARNINGS: --
SUMMARY: Wanda Lensherr believes she is on the Savage Land during the Sentinel attack on her father's mutant colony and her home.
FORMAT: Prose, quick log, any which ways you like.

Comments

[godofnicehair]

It could have meant anything - one never knew, in New York - but Thor recognized screaming when he heard it, even as warped and muted as it was, coming from somewhere beyond the buildings ahead of him. His abrupt departure from Central Park drew stares, and the sudden gust shook the trees, but it was best to be cautious.

The scene he found caught him by surprise. He'd expected, however unwittingly, to find something he knew how to take control of: some enemy to be subdued, either by Mjolnir or by a show of power. This, though - she knew a different Thor and he knew a different Scarlet Witch, but she was still Wanda. He was no stranger to magic, but neither was he any sorcerer. His only peaceful means of resolution might have had no effect on even the woman he knew, let alone this one.

"Wanda! What is the meaning of this?"

[tothebalkans]

If she were otherwise in the right state of mind, she might have recognized the distinct accent as belonging to no other than Thor. However, she was stirring the nearby shrubbery, independent stores, people, and various debris with her power. She was lost in her own not-so-distant past, lifting herself off the ground to help aid the civilians as Cyclops ran off cry to his X-Men.

As Thor drew closer to her, she turned and frowned sadly. This was the opposite of everything Pietro wanted. She had helped him once before, but she could not transport foreign natures now. What could would a Stegosaurus do in this utopia turned battlefield? And what did Cyclops expect them to do? Go after their own flesh and blood?

Wanda addressed Thor, "I don't know, Pietro. I don't know. Father has finally lost his mind and Cyclops has deserted us. We are alone here."

[godofnicehair]

Pietro, she'd called him. Thor stared at her for a heartbeat as comprehension dawned - she was seeing something that only her eyes could see. And if she saw Pietro when she looked at Thor, so much the better. She would listen to Pietro.

He stepped toward Wanda and reached out to the winds through Mjolnir, but as he'd suspected, they were not so easily calmed. The mortals had all but fled, at least; that was something.

"Aye," he said gravely, lowering his hammer lest she decide he was threatening her; "there are no enemies here. Calm yourself, Wanda. Come down."

[tothebalkans]

"Oh, brother..." Wanda sighed, lowering herself steadily to the ground. The objects around her fell gracelessly to the concrete sidewalk and the wind subsided to its usual dull speeds. The people kept their distance, however. They were afraid now. The City was unpredictable with its super powered beings walking the streets every day and Wanda was not, if anything, predictable. Pietro kept her close to protect her from the world and Wanda protected him from their father's glare. Now (at least in Wanda's vision), they were close to losing both.

She blindly reached forward, wrapping her arms around Thor, and resting her head against his shoulder. Wanda spoke softly--a voice only ever heard before by her twin, "This was our home and now it's...nothing, but a crater. Trash. Maybe Father was right. Maybe we should let the Sentinels go."

[godofnicehair]

Nothing she said was particularly familiar to him, and Thor hadn't quite expected her to react as she had; but it was strangely reassuring. She was much changed from the Wanda he knew, but in this there was something strikingly similar. She had never really looked to him for strength - she had never needed to, with others who were closer to her - but it was the gesture, the softness.

"Come, we should leave this place," he said, gently disentangling himself from her arms. It would be safer for the city if they were back in the mansion, and if the fates were kind, Pietro would be there. If they were kinder, whatever spell had hold of her mind would fade quickly.

[tothebalkans]

Wanda's relationship with Thor in her own world was largely business. She helped take him down as did Pietro with his last feat of strength. Then he was imprisoned and then he escaped and it was all very surreal when the Ultimates took on an invading army of Frost Giants and Loki's team of hoodlums. Pietro nearly died, but his strength and courage was amazing and for all Wanda knew, the Thor in her arms now was her brother who, even though she could not remember the great battle, would always continue to fight for both their lives and countless others.

"Where else do we have to go?" She asked, reluctantly pulling back, but she grabbed his hands and held them in hers close to her bosom.

[godofnicehair]

"Home," said Thor simply. It was no Asgard, or either of the worlds they'd come from at all; but the home of the Avengers was the closest thing. Not nearly as wished-for, but the closest thing nonetheless.

He pulled one of his hands free and started to lead her out of the plaza with his arm around her shoulders. She seemed more than reluctant to let him stray too far, and Thor was obscurely glad of it. In this place, where his greatest mortal friends seemed so disconnected, helping one of them overcome some crisis was a welcome return to normality, though he counted Wanda among said friends by virtue of her name alone.

[tothebalkans]

Wanda followed obediently, ready to follow Pietro to the ends of the Earth if it meant them being together when they arrived. She leaned heavily against him for support. Her brown curly hair which she still saw as black and sleek brushed against his cheek as they walked out of the center.

"Home is anywhere with you, dear brother," she responded simply in a haze.

[godofnicehair]

Thor glanced down at her. He knew she was close with Pietro, but it was interesting - and perhaps reassuring - that their closeness had held true even in the world she was from. Evidently her relationship with the Vision had not, or she did not know him.

It crossed his mind briefly that, if he were Pietro, and the two of them were walking as they were down this modern street, they might be somewhat out of place. In America, affections were guarded. Thor himself found no fault with it. Was his own blood brother not his closest friend? Wanda was leaning on him in a way that in another time Sif might have, or some other lover; but she was distraught over something. It was not so strange.

"I am Thor, my lady," he said mildly, though he expected that whatever had bewitched her mind would twist his words.

[tothebalkans]

Not many people understood her special bond with her brother. They were all too quick to throw slurs at the two of them holding hands and walking peacefully down the street. Wanda did not care as she was raised to hold her head high and step all over the weaker flat scans who did not follow her line of thinking and special type of breed. Yes, her head had cooled somewhat since her father held reign over her, but she still turned up her nose and her bond with Pietro could arguably be said to be stronger than ever before that bullet pierced his hand and in turn her chest.

She did not know what their relationship was now in the City, but it was no longer the dependency that Pietro craved. He had Angelica.

Thankfully, Wanda could blissfully ignore her present problems in favor of reliving a past when she was her brother's entire world.

"Are you going to call down lightning to save us?" Wanda smiled, mistaking Thor's confession as Pietro making a joke. "Shall I call myself Brunhilda and strike our human oppressors where they stand?"

[godofnicehair]

Thor laughed. "Surely we should wait until there be enemies to strike. Our victory will be made legend! Who can stand against the god of thunder and a sorceress valkyrie?"

It was pleasant talk, but though she seemed to understand, her words were troubling. He knew of no "human oppressors" - certainly no one was oppressing him - unless she meant those responsible for the science or magic that had brought them here, and he doubted that. He suspected that she was talking about humans as opposed to mutants, which had nothing to do with him, and which was a subject he could not claim to fully understand.

[tothebalkans]

Wanda laughed along with him, of course continuing to think Pietro was just making light jokes in a dire situation. She held him tighter as their red cloaks dragged and fluttered behind them.

The illusion framed the shopping center in wild foliage and fire mingling together dangerously. There were people left to save and their father--what was his plan now? Was he really attacking the oppressors in their own capitol? Wanda almost wished she followed Scott if just to witness the events, but she would stay and help until the fires subsided and the people cured.

"There are no enemies here now," Wanda spoke more seriously. "but there are still our brothers and sisters in need."

[godofnicehair]

That was surely true of many brothers and sisters the realm over, but Thor frowned and let the observation go unanswered for the moment. This illusion, whatever it was, grew tiresome, and he was beginning to wonder exactly how long it would last. He knew of no one else here who was so schooled in magic as Wanda, and he doubted the Avengers did either; else that person (Strange?) should have been with them. He could only trust that it would fade.

"Perhaps we should return by way of the sky," he mused, half thinking aloud, half for her benefit. He did not like leading her through streets that would soon be full of mortals again when her eyes were so enchanted.

[tothebalkans]

"Excellent suggestion." Wanda reluctantly disentangled herself from Thor's big arms and lifted her own arms as she muttered enchantments under her breath. She saw through the probabilities like equations floating in the air in front of her. She found one of her favorites--a hex for flight--and snatched it, lifting both Thor and herself off the ground. It took no longer than five seconds.

"I see the Center that way," Wanda pointed in direction of the City's Times Square.

[godofnicehair]

It shouldn't have surprised him, but Thor had had a very definite idea of what he'd meant, and it had not involved any effort on Wanda's part. And now -- he thought he could leave, if he so chose, but being controlled in even a small way by sorcery was not something that put him at ease.

More urgently, Wanda was still not herself, and she was proposing that they move away from the mansion. Into Times Square, a veritable sea of humans she might mistake for foes.

"We must not go that way, fair one," he said quickly. "Our friends await us, there." He gestured toward the east side.

[tothebalkans]

She turned her head to the direction of Thor's gestures. She was puzzled and saw only forest, but she trusted her brother with making decisions for her and so she would follow him wherever he pointed.

Wanda joined Thor at his side and took his hand, guiding him toward the east side. "What are you planning?"