Despite what she disagreed with Wanda on, Helena was thankful for the witch. Helena was given an opportunity she'd never had before. She could open up about her experience with her power, though somber it was.

The two had run out, grabbing takeout. They'd retreated back to their room, spreading the food out all along the floor instead of the bed, being courteous to the cleaning staff. Helena felt better with food in her system.

"I felt different when I was a teenager," Helena started randomly through their food. "I couldn't explain what it was, my power hadn't really shown itself. I'd told my parents about what I was feeling. Mom was...closed-minded. Anything mythical, she disputed. Dad was more accepting and concerned about me. Mom shut down my talk that something felt different about me."

"What did she think it was?"

"Oh, she wrote it off as puberty. She refuted the idea of her daughter with powers. Oh, yeah, she was one of those people." Helena sniffed, picking at the last bits of her dinner. "One day, I'd heard her and Dad in a huge argument. I'd eavesdropped a bit, and I couldn't stop myself when I heard my name mentioned. It turned out that my mother wanted me shipped away to the asylum, because all the talk of possibly having powers scared her."

"So, your parents aren't...?"

"They're human. My siblings are, too. I got the lucky gene." Helena sighed. "My older brother was moved out at that point, I think my sister was away at a friend's or something when this happened. Mom and I got into a shouting match, and I felt something...grow inside of me. It was different than being normally angry.

"Things started to get a little physical. When Mom grabbed me, Dad tried to get her off me. I screamed at my mother, and then I felt it explode out of me. It was like smacking into an invisible wall." Helena swallowed. "Mom lasted minutes since she'd had contact with my skin when it happened."

Helena's head throbbed with the memory. Black veins had crawled on both her parents' skin. Her mother had thrown up blood, eventually drowning in it. Her dad had watched his wife die. Helena remembered panicking.

I-I'm sorry, Dad! I-I swear I didn't mean it!

I-I know, sweetheart. I-I know.

We—we gotta call somebody!

And Helena had. By the time she'd asked for an ambulance, her dad had succumbed to his exposure from her power. Frightened and alone, Helena had fled the house. She'd gone to the one place she knew she could be: Rhett's house.

"You never went back?" asked Wanda.

Helena chuckled apathetically. "Why would I return to the crime scene? I already knew what had happened when my brother had called me and told me what happened. I went to their funerals, it was the most painful thing ever. Everyone around us gave condolences, yet they didn't know they were consoling the murderer."

"You didn't do it on purpose, Helena."

"I couldn't stop it, it just...happened." Helena's body began to tremble. "Frank took Winnie after the burials—Frank's my brother, Winnie our little sister. I couldn't go to them, so I stayed with my boyfriend, Rhett. Nobody knew what I could do, nobody could connect their deaths to me. I stayed with Rhett a while. Our relationship got rocky, mostly due to me. I didn't want to touch him, in fear of killing him.

"That didn't sit well with him." The raven-haired girl sucked in a breath. "He tried his damn hardest to bring me back to my old self. Nothing worked. Apparently, my lack of progress angered him. The fact I wasn't out of my grieving state angered him." Helena shook her head. "He was such a dick. He picked the fight, and...well, Rhett never had the greatest temper when he lost it."

"What did he do to you?" Wanda demanded.

"Not much. The emotion fueled my power, and when it exploded, Rhett took the brunt of it. When his body went haywire, he called me a lot of things. He wasn't stupid; he realized quickly what had happened."

W-what are you doing to me?!

I—I didn't mean to!

You—you killed them, too, didn't you? Your parents?

"My secret died with him," Helena whispered. "We'd gotten the police report, highlighting just what happened to their bodies. Like I said, Rhett wasn't an idiot, just a man with a bad temper when things got real bad."

"Was that Rhett's place, where I found you?"

Helena shook her head. "I wander a lot. Anytime an incident happens, I flee." She felt as though a weight had been lifted off her chest. Like she could breathe a little easier now. Not that I'll sleep any better. I'll still see them in my nightmares. She pulled her knees to her chest, having abandoned the rest of her food. Her stomach felt queasy. "Like I said, I'm cursed."

"Well, I'm not dead."

"Give it time," Helena muttered. "I'm a fucking time bomb waiting for its moment to go boom."

"Helena." Wanda crawled closer to the raven-haired girl.

"You get any closer, and I'll infect you."

"Maybe not."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, as you're telling your tales of woe," the witch started playfully, "I've been thinking. Your power is emotion driven, no? Well, that may not mean that you're incapable of making contact with other people. You're not on the verge of having another episode, are you?"

"I don't feel like I am."

"Let me try something."

"Wanda, no." Helena scurried back as the witch got closer. "I'm not...I'm not risking infecting you. You'd last only a week, and that's if you're lucky."

"Your power isn't at a boiling point, Helena. Please. Let me try, just once."

"Wanda, no—" Helena's heart spiked in fear as the witch wrapped her arms around her into a hug. She waited for the witch's reaction.

Instead, Helena felt...safe. Like Wanda was taking away her fear.

"See?" Wanda pulled away slightly, still holding Helena.

"I-I didn't think it was possible. I just assumed anything I touched died. And I'm not doing anything to try and hold it in."

"It's tied to your feelings. If you're upset, that's what triggers it." Wanda pushed Helena's hair out of her face. "Though I don't like the comparison, think of yourself like the Hulk. As long as you're in check, your power doesn't come out to play."

The discovery brought grief to Helena, despite it being a good discovery. She'd been shutting out Rhett because of her assumption. For that, he died. Why hadn't I thought of this?

Helena observed the witch, who was watching her with intent green eyes. Wanda's fingers had brushed her cheek when moving her hair away. It'd sent Helena's body a flutter. Fuck. I always knew she was pretty when we first met...but her bloodlust for the Avengers put that off. Maybe she's abandoning that. Maybe...maybe...

Before Helena could stop herself, she grabbed Wanda's face to connect their mouths softly. She no longer felt fear after this revelation. She was in no danger of harming Wanda. She was able to take a chance she hadn't expected to.

When Wanda jerked away, Helena began to panic inside. The witch's eyes were wide. I did something wrong. She's...she doesn't swing that way. I just fucked up.

"H-how long have you been holding that in?" was the witch's teasing response.

It was now Helena's turn to have her eyes wide. "I...I honestly don't know. Spur of the moment." Helena looked away, feeling a furious blush in her cheeks. "I-I'm sorry, Wanda."

The witch chuckled. "Don't apologize. Some of the most unexpected things can be good." She smiled, and Helena saw it as genuine.

Helena kissed the witch again, this time with more emotion. It wasn't negative, it was passion. It was relief. She held the witch's face gently, while Wanda's hands went to Helena's waist. Their food was long forgotten about as the two focused on the newest development.

Helena smiled against Wanda's mouth, giggling a little. I can actually be intimate with her. I'm not alone. I have someone who understands me. Her mind ran with all the possibilities this unlocked for the both of them.

If nothing stood in their way, the two girls had a shot at something stable.