New Avengers: The New Initiative

CHAPTER XII

PIETRO MAXIMOFF'S POV

It was another one of those days. Pietro needed another distraction. He called it a distraction; everyone called it an addiction or an escape. Why did it even matter? It wasn't like he was participating in illegal activities; he only wanted to divert his attention to something other than the constant stresses of his Avenger lifestyle and... other personal hardships. It was still too recent when Jessica and him had broken up. It was never the best idea to enter a new relationship when a traumatic experience had occurred. After a while, Pietro and Jessica realized they weren't compatible, and it was an amicable decision to remain friends and team members. But that didn't make it any less painful or awkward between them. More than what he wanted to admit, Pietro maintained as much distance from her as he deemed necessary. Most of that distance included spending time with the X-Men's younger members at Professor X's school. Unlike his disgraced sister, enrolling in the school and establishing better control over his abilities didn't sound like a bad idea.

He wasn't like Jessica. She had the advantage of distractions by constantly burying herself with the responsibilities that came with her position as a team leader. His solution was not ideal, but at least with the training and education, he could have the comfort and numbness necessary to cope with a recent breakup. Yet, the crisis involving Wanda was an entirely different situation, a situation that no amount of training could ever divert his attention. No matter what he claimed, Pietro still loved and cared about his sister; it was the truth that would never change. However, after everything she had done, how could he ever ignore that?

"It isn't hard to sense the sadness radiating from you. Do you want to talk about it?" Jean Grey asked concernedly once she and Elizabeth Braddock, his closest friends, walked toward him as he sat on the bench.

"Sorry, don't worry about it. It is only about my... Ex-sister."

"Is she still on your mind?" Elizabeth asked, expressing a sympathetic voice in a British accent.

"Is that even a question? How could she ever leave my mind? But... All of it is still complicated."

"Well, no one said you shouldn't love her anymore. However, it is also okay for you to want distance from her along with not wanting to have a relationship with her."

"I am not concerned about that because, of course, I know that, but... I still can't believe the moment life decided to grant her a second chance; she once again trusted the ones who put her into that situation."

"That is not you. You have nothing to do with your sister's poor decisions."

"I know, and maybe I am overthinking it, but why is it different for me?"

"Maybe because you have a brain that functions normally?" Elizabeth jokingly remarked as she playfully shoved Pietro's head with her hand.

"Very hilarious, but our situations aren't so different. We both hated Tony Stark, learned the truth about what truly happened to our parents, died because of the consequences of our actions, and then came back to life. So how come she never changed, but I did?"

"Well, it seems you are more accepting of the truth than she ever was. Although, maybe the Mind Stone had some effect on her."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well, think about it. Your sister is a baseline human, and the Mind stone is a living embodiment of the first being. Don't you think that there are some unforeseen consequences of that?"

"Like what?" Pietro wasn't an idiot, but sometimes, the oblivion snuck in, and when he should have figured it out by then, he had his embarrassing moments where someone needed to spell it out for him.