Age of Darkness | Pietro Maximoff

Chapter Eight: I Have Lost Myself, But Here I Stand

Music is "Our Final Hope" by Steve Jablonsky from the Transformers OST.

Picture is my edit of Mary Kate Olsen as Lorna Dane, aka Polaris.

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"I have endured.
I have been broken.
I have known hardship.
I have lost myself,

But here I stand,
Still moving forward,
Growing stronger
Each day."

- Unknown

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CHAPTER EIGHT

{Glory's P.O.V.}

"What do you mean he just 'let you go'?" Vlad shouts, as Steve explains how the rest of the mission went.

Steve stands straighter, his face turning from an open, wide-eyed look to a firm grimace. "It's just like I told you, Spencer. Magneto took his Brotherhood and escaped. He used his telepath to overwhelm Wanda, Strange, and Vision, and without our mental protection, we where put into a deep slumber while they escaped."

Vlad's fists clench and he looks almost ready to start swinging. "How the hell does that even happen? You have not one, not two, but three freaking telepaths!" He turns his head towards Wanda. "This is your fault."

Pietro leaves my side and rushes at the speed of sound to Wanda's. "Leave my sister alone, asshole."

"Brother, I am completely able to defend myself," Wanda whispers to him, trying to get his glare off of Vlad. "Perhaps we should focus on the issue at hand."

"Wanda's right," Nat says, uploading pictures to the overhead screen. "We have security footage from Stark's building. I was hoping Glory could shed some light on who we're dealing with."

She pops the first picture overhead, one of a man clothed in red armor and a purple cape. His hair shows his age under his protective helmet, but his figure is that of a young man. "We all know Magneto, otherwise known as Erik Lensherr slash Magnus slash Eisenhart."

The next photo comes on, a girl in all white. Her blonde hair cascades down her shoulders and she seems to be pushing her fingers to her temples. "That's Emma Frost," I say. "She's also called White Queen. She's a mutant with telepathic powers, so that's the telepath you were looking for. She's very powerful, but I wonder why she's helping Magneto..."

"She does not normally help him?" Pietro asks.

I shake my head. "She's not necessarily out to help human kind or even mutant kind, but if it aids to her personal agenda, she could take either side. She's an anti-hero." I motion to Nat to display the next photograph.

It shows a slimy, disgusting looking young man, with greasy hair and oily skin that had an unusual hue in his skin. He seems to be leaping in the hair with his long tongue out. I can't help but remember this guy from my childhood in shows such as X-Men: Evolutions and Wolverine and the X-Men and chuckle.

"What's funny?" Clint says. "Besides this guy's face."

"That's Toad, or Mortimer Toynbee. He's like a frog, as his alias depicts. He has many... talents. He is an expert kickboxer, mechanic, and machinist. He can create a paralyzing mucous and a venomous spit. He can stick to pretty much anything, and can communicate with amphibious life."

Thor crosses his arms. "This sounds like a worthy opponent. Why did you laugh so?"

I roll my eyes and laugh once more. "He has many gifts, but he's a goof. He never takes anything seriously. He's always the one who gets caught." I turn to Pietro. "I can't count the number of times you threatened to leave him in jail because he never could escape the cops. I could beat him... while seven months pregnant... blindfolded... deaf, no offense, Clint."