"Hey, has anyone seen Wanda recently?" asked Janet aka The Wasp to a semi crowded room
Amongst the continued buzz of general chit chat there was a pretty unanimous response of 'no' that caused Janet to bite her lip out of concern.
She knew how volatile Wanda could be, particularly when her emotions got ahold of her, but going completely silent on everybody was out of character even for the witch.
"She'll be fine, shes been in worse binds than giving us all the silent treatment" announced Jessica Jones, the rough mouthed PI nursing a baby close to Janet.
"I dunno, this is different..." muttered Janet as her mind began to wander.
"Well we know shes got herself on lockdown in her room, right?" declared Jessica Drew aka Spider-Woman, striding towards Janet as she stuck her hair into a lengthy pony tail, preparing to hit the gym.
"So?" retorted Janet, confused as to where her colleague was going.
"Well go get that pretty little suit of yours and fly under the door to see what she's up to" finished Drew with an inherent 'you idiot' laced into the sentiment.
Janet looked shocked, the thought of betraying the trust of one of her fellow superheroes like that seemed barbaric.
Reading the face, Drew intersected again.
"Well if you won't do it get that Lang fella to do it instead"
"Scott wouldn't do that..." started Janet before been cut off again.
"He's a criminal and he's making us bug themed heroes look bad" finished Spider-Woman with an accusing stare at a copy of the Daily Bugle on the table.
As Drew walked off, Janet sighed rather disheartened by the whole situation.
Weren't they meant to stick together as superheroes?
That's what Cap always said anyway.
"Janet, a word?"
Janet nearly screamed as Vision came into her line of sight.
"What have we said about things like that?" she stared the synthezoid down accusingly before he continued.
"I apologise" said Vision with a slight bow of his head "I just overheard your concern about Miss Maximoff and I think we can get to the bottom of this together"
"You two haven't been up to..." started Janet before realising her mistake "Sorry, hard to let go of things in this game, you know?"
Vision nodded knowingly.
"I think that may be part of Wanda's problem"
*****
Vision led Janet to a more secluded part of the compound, not wanting to irk the others who were obviously less sympathetic to Wanda's cause.
"So what do you know Vision?" asked Janet, sitting on the edge of her seat.
"Well, I haven't spoken to Miss Maximoff for a few weeks now but..."
"She hasn't even spoken to you? Wow..." breathed Janet, suddenly feeling her concerns spike.
"No, and even then she was not happy" finished Vision.
"What do you suggest that we do then?"
"I'm not entirely sure" admitted Vision, his own concerns feeling ever more prominent "I do know that when I saw her she seems to have taken quite a likening to 'fast food'"
"That's...strange" mused Janet, furrowing her brow in contemplation.
"I thought so too" replied Vision.
Janet stood up and began pacing in front of Vision.
She wished she was wearing her suit at this point, shrinking and growing was far more relaxing than pacing.
As the two heroes pondered the situation with Janet still pacing, a sudden thought struck the stood woman.
"Hang on, so Wanda has been unhappy and ordering food in a lot?"
"Quite, it was very out of character" responded Vision, elbows on knees with his fingers pressed together in thought.
"For her maybe, but it is very typi...shit! what was that?" exclaimed Janet as she suddenly found herself on the ground with a scalding sting radiating around her right cheek.
"If I may be so blunt it appears that you have been hit with a...cheeseburger Miss" answered Vision, literally as ever.
"A cheesebur...what?" asked the confused Janet as she clambered back to her feet.
Hoping to find a more logical answer, Janet wiped her cheek to find a great smear of blood running down her face.
"Ketchup" nodded Vision to the substance Janet had thought was her own blood now coating her fingers.
"Why on earth would there be..."
Janet felt her words stop as a strange sensation ran through her hair, a feeling of being dragged but the rest of her wasn't moving.
"That would be the rest of the burger" answered Vision again as strings of cheese and meat dragged themselves out of Janet's hair surrounded by an all too familiar red mist.
"Follow that burger Vision, we've got to talk to her"
*****
"I knew it" declared Janet triumphantly as the mangled food remnants made the last turn into the corridor leading to Wanda's room.
As successful as the trail had been though, the situation took a dramatic turn as in a motion almost unnoticeable, Wanda's door flew open and snapped back shut to allow the burger into the dark room behind and nothing else.
Vision and Janet came to a grinding halt before the door, a faint smell of grease permeating from behind into the corridor.
"Wanda, we have got to talk" called out Janet with a gentle knock on the door.
Silence.
"Please Wanda, we only want to help you" pleaded Vision, hoping for some success where had found it a few weeks before.
Silence.
"For the love of god Wanda, open this door!" screamed Janet, not wanting to miss out so close to her goal now.
Still silence.
"You hit me in the head with a cheeseburger Wanda, the least you can do is open this damn door!"
Janet could feel the situation getting away from her as the silence continued to grow around her and Vision.
"Right, screw this!" shouted the Pym particle powered woman "open this damn door RIGHT NOW Maximoff or I'm shrinking myself through the keyhole!"
Janet hated how motherly she sounded at that point.
She also hated that she was screaming at an obviously hurting woman through her bedroom door.
Having burger grease matted into her hair didn't mark high on her list of happy moments though so something had to be done about this situation.
With a heavy sigh, Janet turned her back on the door.
"Come on Vision, she doesn't want our help"
Not wanting to give up on his friend, Vision lingered a moment longer but, eventually, he too turned away.
Naturally, that was when the door clicked open.
*****
"Good grief Wanda, what is going on that has got you holed up in her for weeks on end?" asked Janet, all anger melting away instantly and being replaced by the concern she had originally harboured.
Her concern was kicked up a notch as she laid eyes on the woman who had caused her so much grief that day.
Laid on her bed just like how Vision had found her last time he had been granted entry was Wanda but, unlike that time, there was a little bit more of Wanda than either of them expected.
"Go on, what do you want?" hissed Wanda, her accent adding a layer of aggression more than was maybe intended.
"We're worried about you Wanda" started Janet, not wanting to cross any boundaries too early.
"I'm fine, ask Vision" retorted Wanda between mouthfuls of food that came to meet her crimson lips.
"My sensors indicate that Miss Maximoff has gained approximately 83.6 pounds since her last physical examination putting her at nearly 205 pounds total body mass" Vision plainly delivered.
"That doesn't sound fine Wanda, you need help" pleaded Janet.
"Pfft, I am happy when I'm eating" announced Wanda and, as if to make a point, summoned a pan of cheesecake from above her head before enchanting a fork to feed her.
"But you're gaining weight at an alarming rate" said Vision.
"So? My magic can take the brunt of it" declared the witch, refusing to back down.
"OK, fair enough" nodded Janet, realising that was a fight that could not be won "we are finding you someone to talk to though, because you can not be alone any more"
"I don't want anyone" forced Wanda, a flare of red shrouding her slightly as she spoke.
"Well tough, you're getting them" defied Janet before turning on her heels and storming out, leaving Vision with Wanda.
"It will help you in the long run Wanda" added Vision, hoping his word may add weight to the argument.
Wanda simply ignored him, returning her full attention to the cheesecake disappearing between her lips.
"She will not be changed on this one Wanda, she wants the best for you" finished Vision before gliding from the room, closing the door behind him.
*****
It didn't take long for Vision to catch up his accomplice for the day who was busy looking exasperated whilst leaning against a wall.
"What's the plan then Janet?"
"I've got a few people in mind" she responded quite coldly, more from personal pain than anything.
It was difficult to see a friend look like that but not all was lost.
They had a plan after all.
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