6 Guilt

23 March 2009

It's been 3 days since my confrontation with Kang

And they were good days

First, because thanks to Kang's memories I know of most of the dangers that I have to stop which are Hydra, the Hand, Killian, Gibborim, Agatha Harkness and Killmonger

Well actually the last two are not my enemies

Agatha because as I understand she is a sort of mentor for Wanda, while Killmonger is an enemy that T'Challa must defeat alone to become a great king

But like everything, there must be a catch, that is that there are some bits of memory I can't see

You will say that I already knew this

And you are right, but the catch lies in the fact that at first, I believed that those pieces of memory were only related to the position of the gems

But when training with my powers, I have tried to see into the future to see what sort of change my presence has brought, and I have noticed how some future events are blocked to me

Events that coincidentally correspond to Kang's blocked memories

Investigating I discover that events in which gems are used I cannot see them,

But this certainly does not mean that I got anything from this impediment because thanks to it I know that the gems will be used in 2012, 2014, and 2015, and strangely from 2015 to 2018 it as if one of the gems was used continuously, and then arrive 2018 where most likely the gems are used at the same time

You are wondering if from 2015 to 2018 I can see nothing, but in reality, I can see all the events of those years apart from those in which the gem is present.

With this information, I just need to be careful of these dates and making sure that I can take possession of the gems

Leaving the gems alone for a moment

Another success of these three days was the fact that Wanda accepted my offer even though I had to resolve some misunderstandings

(Flashback)

Two hours have passed and still, there is no shadow of anyone

Surrendering to the fact that they will not come, I prepare myself to return to the hotel

But I stopped because my barrier is signaling that Wanda is running this way

Turning around I saw Wanda screaming at me

"WAIT I'M HERE DON'T GO"

I was surprised to see her, and not because she accepted my offer, as according to what little I understood from her personality during our conversation I realize that I had a good chance of convincing her

But it's the fact that she came alone

"I am happy that you have decided to accept my offer Miss Maximoff"

Wanda hearing what I said seems suddenly saddened

And from the blushing eyes, I can deduce that she and her brother Pietro argued about accepting my offer or not

Well I can't say I'm surprised, as Pietro seemed to see me as some kind of monster

"I'm sorry for the delay, but my brother and I had a discussion about your offer. I hope that coming alone does not bother you"

Wow hearing her talk to me in this respectful way is weird, since the first impression I got of her is that she is not afraid to say what she thinks and does it abruptly and directly.

Trying not to let my surprise be seen, I reply by saying

"It doesn't matter, I would also have understood if you had refused my offer, I would have probably refused in your place"

Wanda, hearing my answer, seems strangely surprised

And for some reason, she looks prettier making that face, like a puppy

Trying, but failing to not smile, I say

"Anyway, I know it's a difficult decision, but I promise you won't regret it"

To hear what I said, Wanda seems to gather determined and says

"Thank you, but first of all I would like to make a request"

Oh this is an intriguing surprise

"Of course you can"

Wanda seems visibly relaxed hearing me and says

"Could you spare my brother and just take my soul"

"..."

"..."

"Wanda I'm not the devil"

"..."

" What but th-"

"Wanda I understand the reasoning that led you to believe this, but I'm not the devil and I certainly don't want your soul for what I'm about to do"

To say I'm surprised to find that Wanda considered me some sort of demon would be an understatement

But I shouldn't, as I been given that impression

This is getting more complicated than expected

"Wanda I assure you that I am a human being like you, in fact, my name is Bruce Wayne and I was born in London"

Yes I know that's Batman's name, but since I'm in another universe I think it would be cool to adopt this name, but as for where I was born it's true that I'm from the United Kingdom

"But then why are you helping us and how do you know about us if you are not the devil?"

I'm almost regretting choosing this option, maybe I should have been looking for a way to cancel her powers

Well actually with Kang's memories I found a way to do it without using my powers

But it is not feasible since there is a risk that way could kill her

"As I said yesterday I cannot reveal my reasons or how I know you, but believe me that I have no intention of hurting you"

Wanda hearing what I said she looks so shocked it's as she has been told that half of humanity has been replaced by aliens

"I feel the best way to prove it is simple and that is by doing what I promised you"

Wanda looks almost hopeful to hear me and she says

"Okay I'll try to trust"

Well that a start

"Before starting, however, you have to bring me to them"

Wanda seems hesitant before saying

"Ok follow me"

So she and I start going to where her parents were buried

All the way I and her remained silent, making the atmosphere embarrassing for me so I tried to distract myself by looking around

Yeah it didn't make me feel better

The buildings around us were either destroyed or so old that they looked like they were about to collapse

People weren't any better

On the street, I noticed a large number of homeless people of any age, from old people to children who were no more than three years old

By making sure they don't notice me, I started creating water and food in their surroundings and modifying their body to be healthy and strong.

Seeing the food and water materialize out of nowhere, people were confused and amazed, but they looked at the food and water with caution and fear

But they recovered quickly when an old woman came over and took the food and tasted it and said screaming

"it's good"

Immediately afterward she took a bottle and drink it in a rush as if she hadn't had a drop of water in days

Which might as well be true

People who saw this scene started slowly and cautiously to approach and taste the food and were surprised to see that it was actually good.

Seeing this more and more people approach the food and start eating

Some took it and left while others seemed to prefer to eat there

Wanda, seeing the scene, stopped, and with perhaps the first real smile I have her seen made, said

"Thank you"

If I had seen that expression that she is making now in any other situation, perhaps I would have fallen in love with her

But now I feel only disdain toward myself

Because if I had wanted, I could have done more, but by doing so I would have risked letting the world know my identity and what I am able to do.

And seeing the future where I do that, I decided to not do it

So I don't deserve her gratitude

"You don't have to thank me"

This seems to have the effect I didn't want it to have since she looks at me in the eye and said

"Many people here are starving and living in misery because of the war, which has led them to lose the hope of a better life, the hope that there is a life besides this, anyone in your place with your powers would have ignored their suffering,but you didn't do it, on the contrary, you tried to help them, for you this might seem like nothing, but what you did gave back that hope "

Please don't look at me like that, I don't deserve your gratitude

I am just an egoist

Perhaps understanding my displeasure, Wanda continues to walk without saying anything more

For my part, this choice of her is appreciated

We kept walking until we came to a hill outside the city

If what I've seen before has made me feel bad, what I'm seeing now is certainly killing me

The cemetery, if it could be defined as such, is full of so many tombs that they cover the entire hill

And despite the huge number of tombs, I noticed that there was only a small number of them with tombstones which confused me.

Noticing my confusion, Wanda said

"Most of the corpses buried here, we don't know who they are because during the bombing there was nothing left but parts of their body for this there are no tombstone on their tomb"

Hearing Wanda's explanation, I stopped

And I had to resist the impulse to bring everyone back to life and then go to whoever caused all this to make them pay

But in the end, I barely stopped myself

I don't know why, but when Wanda saw my face she smiled and looked happy, even though I don't know what there is to be happy about

But I must admit that seeing her calmed me down a bit

After a while, we arrived at the grave of Wanda's parents which, unlike the others, had a tombstone

It is the moment of truth