Age of Darkness | Pietro Maximoff

Chapter Thirty-Nine: What Is Heavier: The World Or Its People's Hearts?

Music is "Sorrow" by Hans Zimmer & Lisa Gerrard from the Gladiator OST.

Picture is Civil War fanart.

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"I once knew a man.
He thought his heart was big enough for the world.
With his heart, he tried to life it,
And with his arms, he tried to hold it.

Like all men,
He never stopped doing what killed him,
And on his tombstone was written the saddest of words:
He tried.

But you are not Atlas;
You cannot shoulder the world alone.
Tell me, Atlas, what is heavier:
The world or its people's hearts?"

- Unknown

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No recommendations this update.

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CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

I see a familiar face, the face of my best friend, passed away as of last year. Her beautiful smile lights up the room, her laugh making me smile. She comes closer, almond brown eyes glued to my green.

Her hand stretches out, stroking my cheek with an affectionate gaze, one that says, "I'm so proud of you."

"Wake up, Glory. You're not finished quite yet."

"I want to be finished," I whisper, clinging to her hand. "I want to stay here with you."

She smiles sadly at me now, that small gesture changing from happiness to empathy. "That's not the Glory way." She leans in, placing a kiss on my forehead. "Wake up."

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"Wake up! Glory, wake up!"

I jerk awake, eyes flying open to see Pietro leaning over me. The room is white, probably a hospital room, but it looks like one of Tony's private ones. I must be back at Stark Tower, but how?

"Oh, thank God," he sighs, pulling me close. "You were out for hours!"

"How did I get here?" I ask, suspicious. "I was lost in space. I was hundreds of millions of miles from home. How...?"

There's a knock on the door, and when it opens, the god of thunder stands in the doorway, a small smile on his face. "Hello, Lady Glory. It is good to see you awake."

A huge grin breaks across mine. "Thor Odinson, you son of a bitch!" I jump up from my bed, detaching myself from all the wires as quickly as I can. A dizziness swarms my heard, forcing me to fall back against the bedrail. "Whoa."

Pietro takes my arm, holding me steady as I stumble. "Are you alright?"

"Yep. Just got up too quick." I give him a quick smile before turning back to Thor, going to hug him as soon as I'm steady. "Where the hell have you been? We've been looking for you!"

Thor sighs, giving me a big bear hug. "That, my young friend, is a very long story indeed. One for another time. I'm afraid we have larger things at hand to deal with."

I pull back, remembering my last thoughts before I blacked out. "You saved me?"

Thor nods, grinning. "That I did. You are most welcome by the way. It was a good thing I returned when I did. You were almost dead when I arrived."

"He had to restart your heart with his thunder," Pietro mumbles, his hands folded together. "You've been here at Stark Tower for four hours."

My smile fades. "Steve?"