Alright. Here we go. This will finally close out this story, and feature something I am sure you all have been waiting for. This takes place during and right after the Decimation, even though the end credits scene last chapter took place three days after the Decimation.
Oh, and real quick. I've gotten several reviews asking about this. No, Oliver did not get dusted in the Decimation. He is still very much alive.
Well, let's get to it.
Chapter 15- A Speedster Returns
Nick Fury is driving through New York City with Maria Hill.
"Multiple bogies over Wakanda," Hill says as she continues her report on the unfolding situation.
"Same energy as New York?" Fury asks.
"Ten times bigger," she replies.
Fury is about to respond when Hill urgently warns, "Nick! Nick!" pointing to a car that has lost control. Fury slams on the brakes and just avoids hitting it.
He and Hill hop out of their car, and Hill makes her way over to the driver's seat. To her surprise, nobody is in the driver's seat. Or the car at all.
"They okay?" Fury asks.
"There's nobody here," Hill responds.
Suddenly, a sound of a helicopter in distress distracts them. Both Fury and Hill turn around right as a helicopter that is spinning out of control hits the side of a hotel.
"Call Control. Code Red," Fury says, still not sure what's happening.
"Nick," Hill says to get his attention. Fury turns to see Hill disintegrate into dust. Beyond her, he can see more people disintegrating.
For once, fear starts to take Fury. And he knows what to do. It's time.
Fury races back to his car and throws open the door, rummaging through his bag until he pulls out an old style pager. He goes around to the back of the car, and sees his hand start to disintegrate.
"Oh. Mother…" Fury manages to get out before he disintegrates. As his other hand disintegrates, the pager falls to the ground, having already been activated. It continues to beep for a few moments before a symbol of a gold star sandwiched between red and blue comes onto the screen. A signal to one of the universe's most powerful heroes.
It's quiet at the New Avengers Facility. Since the team left it hours earlier, the place has been deserted, with the horror of the Decimation not yet touching this place.
Suddenly, there is a flash of lightning. The lightning streaks into the Facility, then streaks out a moment later. Across the field, a vortex of energy opens up, and the lightning disappears inside it.
For what seems like the first time in a very long time, he no longer feels lost in darkness. For Pietro, it feels as if his mind is finally waking up from a long hibernation.
Images from his life flash before his eyes. Then, almost as if something has shocked him, he jolts awake.
Pietro looks around himself. He's standing in the kitchen of his childhood home. And to his surprise, Wanda is sitting at the kitchen table.
"Wanda!" he says happily. Wanda turns to him with the slightest smile and says. "Hello, Pietro. I'm sorry to say...I'm not Wanda. We thought it would be good for you to start off by seeing someone you knew and trusted."
"We?" Pietro asks. Not-Wanda nods.
"Who's we? Who are you?" Pietro demands.
There's a whoosh outside, and a figure runs past the window with a flash of light. Pietro looks over his shoulder in that direction. He then looks back at Not-Wanda. "What was that?" he asks.
Not-Wanda smiles. "Part of the reason you are here. As for where here is, and who we are, well...you'll have to go on in order to figure that out," she says, and she points to the doorway.
Pietro looks at the doorway, then back at Not-Wanda. She smiles encouragingly. He looks at her for a moment longer, then turns and races out of the room.
He quickly comes to a halt. The scenery changed all of a sudden, and he now finds himself in the top of Avengers Tower.
"What is going on?" he whispers to himself.
"A lot," a familiar voice says. Pietro turns around to see Tony Stark standing a few yards behind him.
"Mr. Stark," Pietro says in surprise.
"We're glad you're here, Pietro," Tony says. And Pietro realizes the truth.
"You're not him," Pietro says.
Not-Tony smiles. "Not exactly, Pietro. We're not even actually people, per-se. We just thought familiar faces would be the best way to talk to you," Not-Tony says.
Pietro looks confused. "Why am I here?" he asks.
"You're here because you've been brought here. Your world, your universe, is in terrible danger. Threatened by unspeakable evil," Not-Tony says.
"Then why am I here? I should be helping. Not stuck here. Wherever here is. And you still haven't told me where I am," Pietro says angrily.
Not-Tony grins. "You may be fast, Pietro. But your arrogance will be your downfall. And you still have a lot of room to be faster," he says. He then takes a few steps towards Pietro, and his face grows more serious.
"You cannot leave here, Pietro. You will lose. And you have not yet convinced us that you deserve to leave," Not-Tony says, a little more sternly.
Pietro glares back. Not-Tony gestures to the doorway and says, "Go through there. Show us your deserve your speed, and more, and you'll meet the reason you're here."
Pietro stares at Not-Tony for another moment, then turns and runs out.
Once again, the scenery changes rapidly, and Pietro finds himself in the familiar old church in Novi Grad.
Pietro groans as he looks around. "Why?" he calls out.
"Because this is where it all began," a chilling voice behind him says. Pietro turns, and to his shock, sees Ultron walking up behind him.
"Ultron. Or...not Ultron," Pietro says.
"You may have had a right to be angry at Tony Stark. But you allowed your anger to govern your actions. And you sided with Ultron," Not-Ultron says menacingly.
"He tricked us. He said he would help us destroy the Avengers," Pietro says defensively.
"You allowed yourself to be deceived. You would've sided with anyone who could've given you a chance at revenge," Not-Ultron says scathingly.
Pietro looks at Not-Ultron. And realizes he is right. Their anger, anger that was not fully justified, had led him and Wanda to just blindly follow Ultron.
Not-Ultron almost seems to smirk. "You aren't leaving here, Pietro, nor are you getting any answers. Not unless you can prove your worthiness."
"And how do I do that?" Pietro asks.
Not-Ultron again almost seems to smirk. "Unless you emerge the victor," he says. And with that, multiple Ultron Sentries appear seemingly out of nowhere.
Pietro's eyes widen, then narrow. He takes off, attacking all of the Ultron Sentries. These Sentries seem faster than normal, but Pietro manages to destroy them. Several times, he almost dies, but he finds the skill and determination to keep fighting. The battle seems to last forever, but finally, the last Sentry is destroyed by a blow to the head.
Pietro turns to face Not-Ultron, only to get blasted back by red beams from his fingers. Not-Ultron laughs as he stalks towards Pietro.
"You may be fast, Pietro. But it seems like you're not fast enough," Not-Ultron says with a laugh.
Pietro looks up at the menacing face of his old enemy. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, a surge of determination and adrenaline hits Pietro, and he knows he is not gonna die. He surges forward, dodging Not-Ultron's attack and delivers a punch to the side of his head.
Not-Ultron tries to attack Pietro. But Pietro dodges his attack and strikes back. The two continue to fight for several minutes, with Pietro's determination pushing him to keep fighting. Finally, he manages to get a blow landed right on Not-Ultron's chest, and drives his fist right through Not-Ultron's power core.
Pietro pulls his hand out. This time, Not-Ultron definitely smiles as he collapses. "Well done, Pietro," he says. Then, he disappears.
"Wait. You said you'd give me answers. Who are you? Where am I?" Pietro yells.
"You're in the Speed Force," a voice says from behind.
Pietro whips around. Standing just a few yards away are two people. A young man, and a young woman.
The young woman, who has shoulder length red hair, is wearing a uniform with navy blue pants, black and gold boots, and a navy blue and white jacket, with a symbol of a lightning bolt on the chest. A simple face mask conceals her identity.
The young man is wearing a body suit identical in shape to the suit worn by the speedster who saved his life in Sokovia. The difference is that instead of red, his suit is silver, with a tiny bit of blue in certain spots.
Pietro stares at them before asking, "Are you another illusion?"
The young woman smiles. "No. We're real people. And we're the reason you're here. Without us bringing you here, you'd be dead."
Pietro looks at them for a moment, then asks, "Who are you?"
They both look at him, before the young woman removes her mask, and the young man removes his cowl. Pietro is surprised, because the young woman looks a lot like Wanda, and the young man looks similar to her too.
The young woman smiles. "I'm XS," she says. "And I'm the Silver Flash," the young man says.
XS' face grows serious. "And you're here because the universe is in danger, and we need your help to save it."
"Uncle Pietro."
And there we go. Pietro has finally returned!
From the beginning of this series, I knew this is when I wanted to bring Pietro back. I did briefly consider changing things to bring him back during the conflict with Savitar during Worlds Collide, Heroes Clash, but decided to stick with this plan.
Also, to confirm something I've gotten many reviews about. Pietro is gonna gain access to the Speed Force. Also, quick question. Should I make his lightning blue to keep up the color scheme, or just stick with plain yellow lightning?
And, as many of you have speculated, future Nora and Stephen have come from the future to help. I decided to keep the XS identity for Nora. And for Stephen, I decided, for his alias, to combine his dad's alias and his uncle's alias. Also, for reference as to Stephen's suit design, imagine the Flash suit but in the colors of the outfit that Pietro wore during the Battle of Sokovia.
Now, this scene has connections to the post credits scene of Soldier of Star City. In that regard, the next story in this series is not the Endgame story, but rather a story set in the future that connects this and the end credits scene of Soldier of Star City.
Well, I think that brings this story to a close. The next story should be up within a few days, and I will post a notice to this story once its up. Thank you all so much for the amazing support. I love having such loyal readers. You guys are the ones who inspire me to keep writing.
Well, I have nothing else to say except to please review, and see you in the next story!