[Wanda and Jennie] Hubris

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At first all she was aware of was a cold chemical smell and the scratch of uncomfortable bedsheets. Then a stab of pain as her head suddenly throbbed. She opened her eyes to see a white tiled ceiling. A very familar ceiling.

83 ceiling tiles...

Jennie jerked up suddenly. The medlab, she was in the infirmary. She was home. "What...?"

The sound of Jennie's voice woke Wanda up and she sat up, book and blanket falling from her lap. The chair had not been the most comfortable but after weeks of exhausting herself, sleep had come rather easily.

"You're home, Jennie," she said quietly, shifting her chair closer to the bed. "It's alright."

"Wanda?" Jennie's voice was barely above a whisper. Her head ached terribly and she was having trouble putting her thoughts together. "Wanda...I'm...I'm home?"

"Hi, sweetie." She smiled. "Yes, we found you in Monaco and brought you home."

Her lip trembled. "You found me? I-" Jennie broke off as her eyes started to fill with tears. "Wanda, I did bad things, I'm sorry, I-" she sniffed, "I wanted to come home so bad."

Reaching over, Wanda smoothed down Jennie's mussed up hair. "Shh, no, it's all right, it really is." She took a deep breath, smoothing down her own emotions. No crying just yet. "Listen to me, Jennie, nothing was your fault, nothing."

"But I- I did, I overdid it with my powers. The street, and the cars and Manny-" Jennie choked back a sob. The image of Manuel's broken body was something she would never forget. "And not even that. T-there was a girl, and I did nothing, I didn't help her at all-"

The girl was on the verge of a panic attack and Wanda really could not blame her. "Jennie," she soothed, draping her other arm carefully over her in a half-hug, "I need you to calm down for a second. Take a deep breath. It is a lot to process but I need to tell you something, an explanation of what's been happening over the last few weeks. Bear with me, sweetie, and relax, yes?"

Jennie sniffled and nodded. She took several deep breaths, trying to calm herself.

"When I said that the past few weeks was not your fault," Wanda continued, "I meant it and not in an abstract way. Marius...when Marius fed on Manuel, he tapped into his power, like he always does when feeding. But Manuel is very powerful and, sadly, lacking in control for someone of his power level. None of you were yourselves, really, because you were all in an empathic loop. Marius had no control over it and he couldn't glean much control from Manuel and you simply do not have the ability to block that kind of power."

"Wait...wait what?" Jennie swiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "Are you saying that Marius was...controlling me?" And suddenly, several things clicked into place. The arguments she couldn't finish, her inability to call home, the...

Jennie lifted up her hands and stared at the vivid red marks on her palms.

"I think. I think I knew," she whispered. "I tried to call home and I couldn't. And," she began to shake. "Oh my god. Oh my god..."

Gently, Wanda tightened her grip on Jennie. "Unconsciously, yes, I do not think he was doing it on purpose but..." She shook her head. There, really, was nothing she could tell Jennie right now to make things right again. "It's okay, I'm here...you're home now, safe."

Jennie's covered her mouth with her hands and choked back a sob. "Oh my god..." She fought to keep from out and out crying. "And Manny? Where's Manuel, is he... he didn't?"

"Manuel is alive," came the firm reply. "Very, very injured but alive. We could not move him back to the mansion and he is going to need long term care at this point. But no, he is alive."

"And the girl? Did you find her? Will she be all right? And...and M-Marius?" She almost choked on that last name. Shock and horror were still churning around in her stomach, making her feel almost nausous.

"The girl is here as well, under observation. And Marius is right down the hall, he was unconscious the last time that someone came by with a status report. I've been in here since we brought you back to the mansion so I have not seen him for myself."

Whatever Jennie was going to say next was stopped by a whisper in her head, the uncomfortable sensation of another pressence in her mind, and a twisting feeling, accompanied by a strange emptiness. Jennie shuddered.

"He was still doing it." she whispered, horrified.

At that, Wanda's eyes widened a fraction but not enough to frighten Jennie more. "He must have...no, you woke up when he did," she said softly, still smoothing down Jennie's hair. "I think the Professor is in with him."

Jennie curled in on herself and began to whimper softly, the last two months hitting her hard, and finally she was able to feel her own emotions without any outside influence. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I'm so, so sorry."

Pushing herself out of the chair, she managed to fit herself on the bed with Jennie, gently tugging the girl onto her lap. "Nothing to apologize for," Wanda said softly. "Everything will be okay, I promise. After everything you've been through, you need to rest. Go to sleep and I promise I'll be here when you wake up."

The girl clutched at Wanda's shirt and began to cry, quietly. Safe. Home. I'm home safe. Thank god. Oh, thank god...