Disclaimer: I do not own Avengers: Age of Ultron and I do not mean to infringe on any copyright laws. This is a work of fiction and not meant for any monetary gain.
Rating: T
Author's Note: If you've read my companion one-shot "As Every Star is Destroyed" you'll know I absolutely loved the Maximoffs. While that one-shot focuses on Wanda and her feelings toward Pietro and his death, this one focuses on Pietro himself. Please enjoy!
There is one thing in our universe that can topple a regime without lifting a finger. One thing with the ability to destroy all good and all evil. One thing with power to rip everything apart.
That thing is a peaceful thing, yet it has killed more than anyone or anything before it. In fact, there had been nothing before it. This thing has the ability to twist everything around, yet it cannot be manipulated itself.
Time. Time can destroy the greatest of fortresses, dry up the deepest oceans, and can hurt you or heal you. Time is the all powerful presence that no one can escape.
Pietro Maximoff, like all others before or after him, cannot escape Time. But he can slow it down. When he runs faster than the speed of light, faster than the speed of sound, Time slows down around him. He has a few extra, precious seconds to think things through, to make quick decisions.
And yet, even he knows he cannot fully escape it. One day it will catch up to him, and he cannot delay that day.
The whole battle thus far has been an exhausting time for the superhero. Running around everywhere as fast as he can—it wears on a guy, even an advanced guy like himself. He's seen his own fair share of action, but nothing comes even close to comparing to the work he's done today.
Sure, it's been worth it; he's saving dozens of people from having to experience the pain of loss he and sister Wanda felt when they were young. He's helping people have a chance at a future. Saving the world makes you feel great inside, but mentally and physically it is wearing.
He's saved all the Avengers at least twice today, whether they realised it had been him speeded into an opponent or knocking a weapon out a hand. His sister, too, has been battling hard; just today her powers have at least doubled in magnitude. Pietro is quite proud of her, though he'll never admit it.
And yet, it really is tiring. His legs burn and the soles of his shoes are beginning to wear out, advanced designing finally meeting their match. His face hurts from hitting tiny airborne objects at unearthly speeds, not to mention the tears down his face from stinging, whip lashed eyes.
The robots are just everywhere, though. Pietro guesses if he ever stops to go to the bathroom they'd find their way there, too. To make matters worse, it isn't enough to just clear an area—they have to kill every single one of the damn things. If even one of them touch the core everything is lost.
Good thing Wanda's watching it, then, he thinks. She's easily the most powerful out of all of them. The old soldier's good, though his powers have the limit of his body reach; the metal guy is also powerful, but his armor can't survive everything, and already the paint is starting to chip and the limbs are starting to crumple in; the beast is strong and practically invincible, but he's covered in a few hundred of the suckers; not the mention the humans. The redhead is deadly and precise, but she's grounded, and while the archer has infallible aim, his arrows are limited.
Pietro himself isn't bulletproof, and he wears out and has to take quick breaks every so often. But Wanda, she just carries on. She doesn't wear out, and only gets the occasional migraine.
Wanda has always been the deep, thoughtful one of the two. Pietro, much like his power, is brash often, though with good meaning. He rushes into things, both literally and figuratively. Sometimes he doesn't always look deep enough into the side he's supporting. That has always been Wanda's job. She reads the situation, conveys the information, and then Pietro takes action and leads the two of them. He'd been the one to find out about Von Strucker's experiments. After a long conversation with Wanda they'd signed up. He'd been the one to initially follow Ultron, and after thinking about it Wanda approved.
And it had been Wanda who had discovered Ultron's ultimate goal. Pietro hadn't hesitated when she left the A1; revenge against Tony Stark is but meager, selfish thing. Vengeance isn't worth destroying billions over. Just imagine how awful things would be if the twins hadn't stood against Ultron.
And, to be completely honest, Pietro has been able to put aside his cold feelings towards the Avengers. Sure, he's still not Stark's biggest fan, but he's grown fond of them, especially towards the archer. From the moment they first met Pietro felt a little bad about hurting him, but the "old" man helped his sister and traded humorous remarks with him, so things smoothed out.
Pietro straightens up, hearing something sounding suspiciously like machine gun fire, but too loud to just be a gun. And it's coming from above.
Looking to the sky, Pietro sees Ultron in a quinjet, firing a steady stream down on the Avengers. And right in his path is the archer himself. Why doesn't he move? Pietro thinks to himself. Does he not see it coming? Then he sees the little brown head of hair underneath him and realizes the man is protecting a child.
Why? Why would he sacrifice his life for a random little kid's? Pietro doesn't understand. What Pietro does understand, however, is family, and the need to protect them. He'll do anything for his sister. They've always had each other, and they kept each other alive during the experiments. So maybe Clint's doing it because it reminds him of a sibling, or perhaps even children.
Of course. It makes perfect sense to the superhero now. If Clint has children of his own and he sees a little boy in danger, of course he will do anything for the kid. And if the archer dies protecting him…
…then he's leaving his own children, his own family alone. They'll have to suffer the same way Pietro did when he was young. They'll have to grow up without a dad, and because of that they'll grow up faster. They'll grow up tougher.
And they may even turn up to be like Pietro and Wanda.
Pietro has a choice, a path with two forks. He goes one way, he survives and his sister and he live a long life together. He goes the other, Clint survives to see his family and Wanda is left alone. Two very difficult choices, and either path leads to someone getting hurt.
The selfless way would be the hard way. He'll run in front of Clint and shield him, saving the archer and the boy while Pietro will die. Wanda will be devastated, though. She's lost so much already, and the only reason they survived all those years was because they have each other. Take him away, and where will that leave Wanda? Alone, heartbroken, grief-stricken. And rage, hot, angry rage will burn her up. Who knows what will happen? Good scenario, she gets depressed, kills Ultron, then stumbles through life lost. Bad scenario, she goes mad and kills everything and everyone she sees or gets so depressed she takes her own life.
Neither sound like good options, and Pietro knows he can't leave her. She's strong, yes, but with him. Apart from each other? They've never been separated for long.
But on the other hand, if Clint dies, imagine what his wife and kids will go through. Depression, shock, grief, anger—everything Wanda has to go through. And, unlike her, they haven't been forced to go through anything trying like this. They aren't as strong as she. Except they still have each other, unlike Wanda, who is all alone.
Can he leave her, his beloved sister, to a fate worse than death?
Oh, who am I even kidding, he tells himself. I'll just whisk Clint and the kid away or throw up some protection for them. I don't have to die or endanger my life.
Gosh, he's so dramatic, talking about death and sacrifices. Ultron isn't dead yet, and until he dies Quicksilver will just have to stay alive.
Pietro runs toward his comrade, already concocting a plan in his mind. There's a car a few feet away from Clint, and he can just momentum from his running to flip it on its side. The boy and the Avenger should be safe behind it, and Pietro can take shelter there too. The bullets surely can't rip through the car.
Time slows down. Pietro has a bad feeling, deep down in the pit of his stomach. He remembered something the scientists used to say: If something has a 1% probability of going wrong, it will go wrong.
It doesn't matter, Pietro reassures himself. Wanda is safe and that is all that is important, really.
The plan works. Pietro flips up the car on its side, and skids to a stop behind it seconds before the machine fire reaches them. Clint is still hunched over the child, unaware of Pietro's work.
Then fire rips through Pietro. Pain, hot, crimson pain consumes him, though it is all too fast for him to comprehend. Time slows down, and he sees Clint is okay, and the boy is okay. And deep down he feels Wanda is okay.
But he is not okay. He can feel the life draining from him from a half dozen bullet holes. The car hasn't stopped them, but Pietro has.
Wanda. A name, a precious, comfortable name he holds on to. Wanda. He has to make it, he has to be with her. She needs him, and he needs her. How is he supposed to protect her if she's gone?
All their lives, all their training, and all their pain—it all ends here for Pietro. He's done, he's all washed up.
And he doesn't even get a chance to bid his sister farewell. It ends here, with him dying in a street surrounded by barely-known acquaintances. Wanda should be here with him, holding him, whispering words of comfort.
Wanda should always be with him, and he with her. Visions flash through his head, but they aren't memories. They're his hopes, his wishes, his dreams. And they all focus on one person.
Wanda, graduating from college, finally getting a good education. Wanda, going on a first date with a boy. Wanda, getting married in a white dress and walking down a red carpet towards a man, her eyes gleaming in happiness. Wanda, cradling a child in her arms, love radiating from her. Wanda, growing older and curling up on a couch while reading a book. Wanda, sitting ashen and grey in a coffin dressed in her finest.
Pietro should be there for her. He should be at her side for the rest of her life, protecting her, teasing her, helping her.
Yet, because he makes one rash, selfless decision he can't ever be in her future. She's going to be a remarkable young woman when this is all over, and he won't be there to see it. Instead it will be him in that coffin, pale skin and cold, stiff body, slowly rotting away in the ground. Wanda is the most important person and thing in his life, and she's all he needs. With her he's unstoppable, and if she had been here with him he'd be alright. But she isn't, and he's not.
As much as he wants her with him, it is probably better that she isn't. He doesn't want her to see him this way. Pietro wants her to remember him as full of life, young, making sarcastic comments to ease the situation. Nothing else matters except her, and she won't be alright if she's sees him like this. Wanda is all that matters to him, and she's all that ever will matter.
Most of all, he just wishes he can say goodbye. If he has to leave her it might as well be on his own terms. Just a few minutes, he begs, but Time is unyielding. Time is counting down faster for him every second. He loves Wanda dearly, and even the thought of leaving her terrifies him. How can he go on without her?
Beside Pietro, Clint rises, seems surprised he's still alive, then looks over at Pietro. His expression darkens, and lines appear to be etched into his face.
"You did not see that coming?" Pietro asks feebly, his voice trembling though he tries to keep it steady. There's so much he wishes to say to Clint, so much he wants to pass on to his sister, but already he feels his legs giving way. He thuds to the ground, the pain no longer bothering him.
This is it. He has mere seconds left, seconds in which he tries to think things to his sister. He knows she can't hear, but maybe she'll understand somehow.
At least one thing he can be sure of, though—Wanda's strong, and she'll survive today. She'll survive tomorrow, and she'll keep living on. It won't be easy, but he can watch from above.
Time whispers in his ear he's had enough, and Pietro gives in. There's no place Time cannot reach him, so why try? He's lived a decent life, took the path less traveled, the one of sacrifice, and he's left behind a good legacy. Can he ask for any more?
Time takes away everything, destroys all in the end. One day everyone will fall prone to it, for Time is the beginning and Time is the end. One day Pietro knows Wanda will join him, but for now he's just thankful Time is more generous to her than to he.
And who knows, maybe her legacy will be the best Time has ever seen.
In an instant, Pietro has ceased to be. Time took him down as it takes everything down, good as he had been, but Time will also take the evil, and it will take it not too long after. Time takes down all regimes, all empires, all heroes, and all villains, some sooner than others. Time has a plan, though, and one day it will be revealed so that all may understand why they received so little or so much.
Above all, Time is precious, and one must make as much out of it as they can, for they never know how long they might receive. And one never knows when they'll be denied a simple goodbye or last words.