R͟u͟t͟h͟l͟e͟s͟s͟ {Q͟u͟i͟c͟k͟s͟i͟l͟v͟e͟r͟/ A͟v͟e͟n͟g͟e͟r͟s͟}

Chapter 28: Training

"Faster!" I heard Pietro cry as I swooshed by him in a millisecond, sweat pouring down my face. Depending on how I looked at it, the world was flying past me in a flurry of color, or it was going the speed of a snail. It was almost beautiful. Except the fact that there was sweat pouring down my face and I felt like I could fall over at any moment.

Gritting my teeth, I punched my legs faster into the ground, trying to gain more speed. 
We'd been at this for almost three and a half hours now, and during this last hour I'd begun to actually get a little tired. At this point, I was sore everywhere and I felt like I'd run a million miles. Which I just may have, knowing my speed. Despite this, I pushed myself even harder. I was going to impress him. We were going to defeat Wanda. I was getting stronger every minute. I forced myself to go faster.

Suddenly, a loud boom from behind me made me falter, and I tripped, my ears rattling. I skid across the road and rubble painfully and landed achingly on my back in front of Pietro, almost taking out his knees.

"Impressive," He folded his arms and looked down at me, rubbing his ear with his shoulder painfully, "You burst the sound barrier."

My eyes widened and dusted myself off and got to my feet. "That was me?" I asked disbelievingly.

"I don't think even I've ever done that," Pietro gave me a look reading, 'That was adequate'. I rolled my eyes.

"Thanks," I said sarcastically, wiping the sweat off my brow. "Is Steve ready?"

A look of discomfort flashed over Pietro's face. "He's... discussing things."

"But we're still training today, right?" I asked, confused. "Is it like a meeting or something?"

"It's better if you talk to him yourself," He gave me a half-hearted ghost of a smile and dashed off in a streak of blue.

"Show-off," I grumbled, kicking a piece of rubble. It bounced away, echoing as it dropped. I'd never seen the city so quiet before. It made me anxious just looking at it. Every corner looked like someone was hiding there, waiting to attack. I shuddered a little just thinking about it. Why did I have to be so important? For the millionth time, I wished someone like Steve could have my stupid powers. Like I was good enough to save the world. I was probably going to mess everything up.

Once again wallowing in self-pity, I took a deep breath and dashed off to find Steve. In a streak of purple, I tore into the building. Now that I had mostly mastered the whole running thing, as I ran it wasn't like I was going fast. It was almost like the world had transformed into slow-motion. It was insane. I understood now why Pietro could run through all of those obstacles a couple days ago. It was simple, honestly.

I stopped in front of one of the people milling around, holding their small daughter. She had short blonde hair and wore a white lab coat. "Hey, have you seen Steve Rogers?" I asked her casually.

Her eyes widened as she looked at me. "You may not want to go looking for him," She warned me cautiously.

"Why?" I asked, confused for the second time today.

"He's in a meeting with some of the most influential people in the world." She lowered her voice. "They think you're dangerous. Most of them want you killed."

Fear spiked through me. "What?" I said, shocked, "You can't be serious! What could I possibly-"

"I'm not saying that's how everyone feels. I'm vouching for you. I used to run the medical development department of S.H.I.E.L.D. I didn't know you personally, but I knew of you. I trust you." She shrugged, "You're an Avenger. If Fury trusted you, I'm perfectly willing."