Age of Darkness | Pietro Maximoff

Chapter Thirteen: To Fight And To Fly

Music is "This Place Is A Shelter" by Ólafur Arnalds.

Picture is Peter Parker aka Spider-Man in The Amazing Spider-Man: Civil War, A Marvel Comics Event.

· ~ · ~ · ~ ·

"I taught you to fight and to fly. What more could there be?"

- j.m. barrie

· ~ · ~ · ~ ·

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

I wish I could sleep. I wish I could close my eyes and drift off for a minute, maybe two. I'd suffice for ten seconds of peace of mind, but that's not going to happen. There's too much to do, too much for which to prepare.

Cap told me to bring Deadpool in for evaluation. "Bring in where?" I'd said. "Our house got blown up."

So now we're crashing at one of Nat and Clint's safehouses from their early S.H.I.E.L.D. days, totally off the books and in the middle of nowhere Montana. By "we" I mean anyone who's left. Natasha, Clint, Bucky, Steve, Pietro, Wanda, Stephen, Scott, and I, along with our new recruits, Jessica Drew aka Spider-Woman, Kamala Kahn aka Ms. Marvel, and Wade Wilson aka Deadpool. We're not the numbers or supplies we used to be, but the trio of New Avengers should be arriving in Montana any minute now along with Xavier's men and women he's sending to aid us. Stephen told him of our situation, and he's flying Storm, Logan, Shadowcat, Iceman, and Rogue to help us. Storm is flying them all here.

The safehouse is small and underground. The western half of Montana is mountainous, the Great Divide cutting the state in two. It's in these mountains we make our safe haven, and even though we're on the run, the view is something I don't think even Heimdall himself has.

"Where the hell is Thor?" Natasha mumbles, sitting on the sofa beside me, looking over my shoulder at my paperwork.

"I too wonder why he's not come to our aid," I reply. "Having a god on our side could really help."

"Demigod," Nat smirks, "but don't tell him that."

I chuckle, looking up from the files that Clint and Scott recovered to the small window that shows us the beautiful scenery in the frozen mountains. "What is Tony thinking," I sigh. "This is madness."

"You sound like Thor," she chuckles. "But I don't know. He's a good man-"

"-A good man with bad ideas about right and wrong," I interrupt. "I tried to get through to him. I really did. I guess I didn't try hard enough."

"Don't do that to yourself, Glory," Natasha says, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. "Tony is an ass and he doesn't listen to reason. I would know. I worked undercover for the man for months. This is not your fault."

"But Vision, and the Next Gen. Mutants-"

"-Are not your fault, either."

I breathe deeply in and out. "We should be united against Magneto, not fighting amongst ourselves."

"Возлюбленная?" Pietro asks, coming around the corner from the adjacent room.

I turn to look up at him. "How is she?"

He shrugs. "I finally got her to sleep. My sister is so wound up about Vision. We need to find a way to get him back, and as much as I am not... overjoyed at her choice of a lover, she needs him. Therefore, I shall get him back."

"For her," I say, amazed at his loyalty to Wanda.

"For her." He nods, coming over to sit by me. "How are you?"