Pietro Maximoff's alarm went off at 4:30 am. He slammed his fist on the 'off' button and got out of bed, quickly changing into his track suit, chowing down a few energy bars, and jauntily strolling out the front door. It was a great morning for a run. He stretched out a little, and then took off down the street, euphoria sweeping through his body as he picked up speed. In less than a minute, he arrived at the track halfway across the city and began running laps, his body a blur as he ran around and around…. he was on his one-hundredth lap when he felt a swoosh of air and crackle of energy go past him.
Startled, he came to a stop and looked around. There was only one other person on the track…a lean man dressed in a red tank top and yellow Adidas shorts. Pietro could've sworn the track was empty when he started running. He hoped the man wasn't some sort of Mutant-hater…. not that Pietro wouldn't be able to beat him down before the man even knew what was happening, but he preferred not to have another one of those miserable Friends of Humanity types shouting insults at him. The man stood at the starting line, watching Pietro intently.
"Pretty cool!" He yelled, giving Pietro thumbs up. Pietro ran over to the man, relieved at his friendly tone.
"There's usually no one on the track this early. You must be a pretty dedicated runner." Pietro said.
"Do you want to race?" The man asked, grinning.
Pietro laughed. "I don't want to crush your self-esteem, dude."
"C'mon, race me!"
"Alright then…I'll apologize for this in advance, though." Pietro said, laughing at the man's enthusiasm.
They took their marks at the starting line….Pietro counted down. "3…2…1…GO!"
Pietro's smug grin turned into a look of pure disbelief as the other man sped past him in a blur mixed with lightning, then lapped him again for good measure. Pietro skidded to a halt at the finish line where the man stood with his arms folded across his chest. He didn't even look a bit exhausted.
"Um…" Pietro said, "This is definitely the first time I've seen something like that…are you a Mutant? Inhuman? Alien? Or maybe one of Dr. Strange and Brother Voodoo's friends?"
The man shrugged, eyes sparkling. "I don't know…. let's just say 'freak of nature.'"
"I'm Piietro Maximoff, by the way….my mutant name is Quicksilver. What's your name?"
"You can call me Scarlet Speedster," the man said.
"Cool name. My sister's called the Scarlet Witch and there's this other dude I know called the Scarlet Spider. You guys should team up or something. I—I've never met another speedster quite like you before." Pietro said.
And with that, the two men became good friends.
A few months later, they were fighting side by side with the Avengers. One sweltering summer afternoon in the heart of New York City, a battle was raging between the Sinister Six and Avengers. Usually the heroes didn't have any trouble stopping them, but they were short on team members. Only Captain America, Spider-Man, Quicksilver, and Scarlet Speedster joined the fray. Everyone else was fighting Ultron bots in London…, which was a problem because the Sinister Six were putting up an unusually good fight.
Scarlet Speedster fought Green Goblin and Venom in the middle of the street. Quicksilver ran over to help, but to his horror, Green Goblin pulled out a long knife while Scarlet Speedster was distracted and stabbed him. Quicksilver watched Scarlet Speedster fall onto the ground, blood and guts spurting out of the wound in his stomach. Spider-Man and Cap rushed over and took out Goblin and Venom as Quicksilver ran to Scarlet Speedster's side, cradling the man in his arms. Scarlet Speedster gasped, blood gurgling in his throat and dribbling out of his mouth as he tried to speak.
"Shh…it's okay." Quicksilver said. "I'll get you to a hospital."
The Scarlet Speedster grasped Quicksilver's hand as Quicksilver applied pressure on the stab wound.
"Pietro…" he managed to gasp out before he coughed, spewing blood all over the place. He held Pietro's hand tighter, his eyes glazed over in pain. "P—Pietro—I failed…" Tears streamed down his face.
"Hold on, you're going to make it!" Quicksilver said. "Stay with me!"
Scarlet Speedster shook his head, wincing. "I'm sorry," he sobbed.
Quicksilver tried to fight back tears. "It was nice knowing you…you're the only speedster friend I've had."
Scarlet Speedster squeezed Quicksilver's hand and tried to smile, but he was in too much pain.
"What should we put on your-your-" Quicksilver asked, but he couldn't finish the sentence.
"Barry Allen." Scarlet Speedster said.
"Okay, Barry." Quicksilver said.
With that, Barry Allen closed his eyes and died.