Title: Miscalculation
Alternate-ending for Avengers: Age of Ultron. In those few seconds between life and death Pietro makes a decision that saves the lives of three people-an innocent little boy, a man who deserves to go home and the only person he has left to love. In those few seconds Pietro Maximoff learns what it means to be an Avenger.
A/N: Yup, still in denial here. I couldn't take the angst anymore so here it is guys. Please note that this is my first Avengers fanfic so I am going to apologize in advance for any mistakes you may see.
Disclaimer: I don't own Avengers. Everything belongs to their respective owners.
Had he moved a second too late Pietro would have been pierced by multiple bullets.
Fortunately, he didn't move a second too late. He was early enough to rescue Clint Barton and the kid from the oncoming hail of bullets, however, he was late enough for one bullet to imbed itself in his lower right leg.
"Shit!" Pietro cursed as he toppled to the ground face-first. His vision was jarred for a moment as his head made impact with the ground. Holding back a groan of pain, he laid on the ground for a moment, trying to regain his senses. All the energy he'd been running on for the past hours left him, and his body ached everywhere. He barely had the energy to open his eyes.
"Pietro!" he heard Wanda's voice crackle through the earpiece Stark had provided them earlier. It was his sister's worried tone that finally gave Pietro a burst of energy to snap his eyes open. Everything was so bright. "Pietro, are you alright?!"
"I am...fine...," he managed to reply. "Wanda, you have to get out of there now. The carriers they are...," he winced as a fresh wave of pain hit him,"...they are leaving."
"I can't leave. The core, I have to protect it. I'm an Ave-" Wanda's voice was cut off and static vibrated in his ear.
"Wanda? WANDA?!" Any fatigue Pietro felt was overpowered by the stronger instinct to protect his sister. He struggled to stand up, gritting his teeth through the pain until he was able to stand on his wobbly legs. His right leg throbbed with pain and his head was pounding, but for now he ignored it and prepared to run.
Before he could make a step, a hand landed on his shoulder. He turned around to see Barton standing next to him, one hand curled around the kid he'd rescued.
"Where are you going? It's time to go."
"To my sister." He jumped in place, jittery. He needed to run. He needed to get to Wanda. Now. "She is still back there, guarding the core." His eyes looked down, right at the terrified boy who was clinging tightly to the archer. The boy reminded Pietro of himself years ago when he had been scared for himself and for his sister, awaiting the rescue that will never come.
Now, as he looked at the boy who looked back with eyes full off hope and gratitude, he couldn't help the rush of pride that washed over him. Nothing would ever change what happened at the apartment years ago, but maybe, just maybe, Pietro could do something to make sure no child would ever go through what he did.
That, Pietro decided, was what it means to be an Avenger.
"Is everybody clear?" the Captain's voice called out, shaking him out of his inner monologue. Damn. That was dramatic, even for Pietro. Stark was more influential than he thought.
"Captain, I have go back. My sister-"
"Then go already," Clint interrupted. "Go grab Wanda and get on the carrier. No one gets left behind or-"
"-or forgotten. Yeah, yeah, whatever you say Lilo." Pietro shook his hand off his shoulder.
Clint gave a small smile and prompted him forward. "By the way, kid. Thanks for...you know."
Pietro flashed him a crooked grim before disappearing in a flash of silver.
'Silver, huh? Quicksilver has a nice ring to it.' Clint made a mental note of the name in case Pietro ever decides to officially join the Avengers. Right now, he had a kid to return to his mother.
Wanda felt pain flare up her right leg.
Pietro, was her first thought. Ever since they were kids they had always been able to sense when the other was hurt. The pain in her leg was quickly followed by a dull throbbing in her head.
"Pietro!" she cried into the earpiece. "Are you alright?"
For a few terrifying moments she thought he'd never answer, but then his voice came through, albeit sounding weak, and assured her that he was fine. She almost collapsed in relief. When Pietro told her to come to the carrier, her head whipped around to the core just in time to send a hex towards the robots that came too close. As much as she wanted to be by her brother's side by now she had a job to do.
With her attention focused on the core she didn't notice the robot sneaking up behind her.
Wanda felt hot metal on her back and she screamed, trying to shake off the robot. She grabbed it by the head with both hand and focused her powers there until it exploded into scraps of metal on her back. The impact caused her to fall to the ground and she watched as the enemy forces advanced to the core. She raised her hands out to send a hex, but nothing came put. Her energy was completely drained. The only thing she could do was watch in fear as the robots neared the core.
It was like the apartment all over again, only this time the core was the bomb and Pietro wasn't there to hold onto her hand tightly and tell her it was going to be alright. Once those robots touch the core, it was all over.
Before that could happen a flash of silver whizzed past the robots and suddenly they were nothing but torn, metal limbs. The core remained untouched.
One moment Wanda was lying on the ground, and the next moment she was being lifted up, watching the scenery flew by quickly in a blur.
"You didn't see that one coming, huh sister?"
Wanda didn't know wether to laugh, cry, or combine both. She settled for a small smile. "Quoting Agent Barton, I see. I thought you did not like him."
Pietro shrugged. "He's not so bad. And for the record, I said that line first so technically he was quoting me."
"Hey, Terror Twins. You might wanna hurry up. The boat is ready to sail," Stark's voice said.
Pietro turned the corner and saw the final carrier. He could see Agent Barton and Captain Rogers standing on the edge of it. When they saw the approaching twins they started making huge gestures Pietro could not understand, but Wanda was able to decipher it.
"The carrier is leaving!"
Indeed. The transportation device was starting to rise in the air. Pietro pushed himself to go faster so they could make, but the pain in his leg was becoming more unbearable and slowing him down. Clint was panicking on the carrier and Pietro could hear him shout," Faster, kid! Faster!"
Even if he could reach it in time the carrier was already too far up in the air to jump. His eyes landed on the road leading to the edge of the floating city. The damage from earlier had caused it turn upwards like a skateboard ramp.
Pietro got a brilliant, possibly insane, idea.
"Hold on!" he yelled. Wanda clung to his shoulder tighter and braced herself.
Pietro ran. He ran though his legs might give in any moment, though his bullet wound was leaving a trail of blood behind him, though his idea might lead him and Wanda falling to their dooms, because after the day he just had anything seemed possible right now. Even defying the laws of physics.
He ran up the ramp and jumped.
The air was cool to his face and Pietro momentarily enjoyed the view of Sokovia below him. So this is why a lot of people dream of being able to fly.
His hand reached for the edge of the carrier but it barely touched it. Panic seized him. After his insane, bound-to-fail plan actually worked, he still couldn't reach the carrier.
Before the twins could be pulled by gravity, Clint's hand shot out and grabbed Pietro's. The weight was too heavy for the archer and he pitched forward. Luckily, Steve was there and grabbed his leg before he could go over the edge. Steve held onto a nearby chair to anchor himself before he started to pull. Pietro thanked whoever was possible for the Captain's inhuman strength.
And just when Pietro thought it was all going to be alright fate decided to be cruel to him.
Wanda started to slip from his grasp."Pietro!" she yelled, reaching for him. Pietro fumbled and reached for her hand. His palm was sweaty and slicked with dirt and blood, and he blames it for what happens next.
Wanda's fingers loosen and she falls.
Pietro wanted to jump, if his sister was going down, he will go down with her. He tried to pull his arm away from Clint's but the archer didn't let go. In fact, he held onto him tighter as if he knew what the younger man was about to do.
With one last grunt of effort from Steve he hauled both of them on the carrier. When he saw Pietro alone, concern immediately overcame his features.
"Pietro...," he said softly.
Pietro curled up on the floor and let his emotions consume him-sorrow, rage, grief, self-loathing. All of it rolled around inside of him in a negative storm.
"Pietro...," he tried again.
Pietro didn't hear their voices, all he could hear was his own voice screaming inside of him. The one person he didn't want to lose was just taken from him.
"Pietro..."
No, no, no, leave me alone, shut up, shut up, shut up-
"For fuck's sake kid! Look up!"
Clint's voice shook him from his reverie and he looked up to he best sight he has seen since seeing Sokovia in mid-air just moments ago.
Vision hovered in the air, cape billowing dramatically in the wind. In his arms he carried Wanda who gave Pietro a shaky smile.
"You didn't see that one coming, brother?" she asked cheekily.
Pietro could practically feel Barton's smirk behind him, but for now he allowed himself to give in to the fatigue and fell asleep right then and there. He heard Barton laugh saying 'I am not carrying him' and the sound of Wanda kneeling down next to him. He felt her hand in his hair and the other clasped his hand. She whispered softly to him in their mother tongue.
"We made it brother. Now you can stop running, now you can rest. I will still be here when you wake up."
Pietro held on to that promisebefore he slipped away.
And so Pietro Maximoff spent his first day as an Avenger with getting shot in the leg, forming an odd budding friendship with an archer and saving the world with his sister by his side.
Not a bad way to start.
Thank you for reading!