What is worse? To run and hide, or to fight and die?
Victor Faust, who once befriended the Maximoff twins, moves back to Sokovia in hopes of finding solace and peace. Now older and alone, he reopens his grandmother's herbal shop and tries to help So...
"Dad, do you really have to go? Can't you stay just this once?"
He knelt before Lyla. She always felt so gentle and delicate in his arms.
"I have to, my sweet. Wanda and Victor need my help." He gently nudged her chin with his nose.
"They are family too, remember?"
Lyla simply nodded and grabbed a hold of his neck. She was always so mature and understanding. His sweet Lyla... His first child.
His hands moved to her small neck.
In one swift motion, his hands twisted the sweaty neck. The loud crack of breaking bones was the last thing that came out of this thug's body as the gangster dropped to the ground.
Another two rushed into the hallway.
"What do you want, bro?!"
"What's your problem?!"
At different times, he would find the Tracksuit Mafia hilariously cartoonish. With their bright red tracksuits, their speech... However, now...
Clint pushed himself off the wall and shoved his knee right into one of the gangsters noses. The sweet sound of pain and cracking bones filled his tired ears. As soon as he touched the ground, he spun and kicked the second one's kneecap. Another bone cracked under his foot. Another pain he delivered to forget about his own. He pulled out a knife and cut their throats open. He ran through the dirt hallway. His heavy steps echoed all around him. He kicked down flimsy doors and jumped from the railing into the main hall.
They didn't even carry guns.
Clint drew his sword as more thugs rushed him.
"Honey, I understand. That's the reason I've always loved you."
"I thought it was my charming good looks."
"Certainly, not your sense of humor." His wife's voice felt so warm and real.
The warm blood exploded on his mask as his blade cut through gangsters throats, limbs, and hearts.
Laura kissed him again and again. He will never get tired of her lips. Her sweet, warm lips.
A metallic stench filled his nostrils as he escaped the warehouse, now filled with twenty fresh corpses. Cold air and thick rain did little to block the smell in his nose. The streets nearby carried the sounds of thousands of cars in the city that never slept. Barton immediately noticed a lonely figure sitting on the old bench. The surrounding shadows disappeared sporadically as a small flicker of fire shone from his cigarette. His icy blue eyes looked so inhuman in the dark alley. Barton's body tensed as he gripped his sword harder.
"Good evening, Clint."
"Victor?! How did you find me?" Clint moved closer, sheathing his sword.
"You aren't that hard to find." Faust took a long drag and blew out a thick gray cloud of smoke. "I just had to follow the trail of bodies. Come sit with me."
"Listen, I'm not interested in-"
"Just sit and have a smoke with me." He waved around a pack of what looked like homemade cigarettes. As Clint sat next to him, he immediately noticed he didn't feel the rain anymore. There was this thin blue aura that blocked away raindrops. Victor's face was partly hidden behind the smoke, but Clint still saw those gaunt and hollow cheeks and those tried and empty eyes.
He was just like him.
Clint wasn't judging; he took the cigarette, which momentarily lit up with a blue spark that came out of nowhere. He took the first drag and felt a weird sweet taste. The tension in his body was disappearing.
"What is this?"
"It's my herb called Matilda. I've discovered that she works best if smoked."
"It's good."
They sat there, slowly smoking under the night sky. The surrounding rain furiously drilled into the pavement.
"I'm sorry about Wanda." He cringed. He should have kept his mouth shut.
"I'm sorry about your family."
"Yeah."
Another long silence surrounded them.
"Does this help?" Victor dropped the used cigarette to the ground. His voice wavered and shook like it was hanging by its last thread. It probably was.
"It's that or putting a bullet through my head."
"Why not the bullet?"
"Because this way I can do something good. Until one of those fuckers gets lucky. What about you? Is there a bullet waiting for you?" He couldn't force himself to help Victor. Nothing could help them now.
"I quit the team. I..." Victor kept opening and closing his mouth. "I'm drowning, Clint. I wake up and expect to see her next to me. I sometimes have these... these."
"Flashes?"
"Yeah, flashes. I hear her soft, raspy voice." Victor clutched his chest hard.
"Their laugh." Clint whispered.
"The touch." Victor added.
"The warmth."
"Yes... The warmth. Tell me, do you still think it was worth it? Risking everything by being with Laura? Starting family?" Victor spoke without raising his eyes. His fingers slowly rubbed his pale hands.
"Yes." Clint surprised himself with his lack of hesitation. "Do you?"
Victor didn't answer. He simply pulled a suitcase out of nowhere. Inside there were rows of yellow and red leaves all packed in neat bricks, the same cigarettes, and several glass bowls with black mist moving inside.
"Those balls are filled with pure Bob's gas. Inhale it, and you will be sleeping for the next few hours. Matilda's leaves—you already know. If you munch on the raw leaves, your body will grow numb. It helps with pain. If you put them on with bandages, it can even slow down bleeding."
"Well... Thank you."
"Don't thank me, Clint." Victor stood up. "Just keep fixing the world for as long as you can."
Clint stood up, and the pair hugged. There was nothing between them, just solemn silence. When the world around them carried the screams and pleas for help, they just stood there. Unable to move on and unable to help others.
"What will you do?"
Victor moved out of their embrace. He started walking down the alley. His body gradually disappeared in the midst of the shadows and street dirt.
"I will find my bullet."
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Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for reading :)
This is a bit of a shorter chapter, but I wanted to keep this scene separate and not mix it with the previous or next chapter.
If you enjoyed it, please don't forget to leave a comment and vote. I truly appreciate it!
The next time, we will start off Victor's big arc!
