Pietro heard the gunshots ring out one after another and raced back to the door only to be knocked aside by Mordo's blast of magic. He waited to hear Raptor's raged shriek but the next person to come out of the room was Red Skull, splattered blood on his clothing. He got up and rushed through the door to find Hammer standing over Raptor's unmoving body.
"Raptor...?" Pietro shoved Hammer away and knelt down beside her. "Raptor speak to me..."
"She can't hear you." Hammer spat as he got to his feet.
Blood soaked into the fabric around his wrists as he pressed down on the bullet holes in Raptor's throat and head. The flow of blood continued to run through his fingers and with each beat of her heart the pulse grew slower. Pietro could hear the fighting outside going into the favor of Red Skull, he knew he should go help them but he didn't want to leave Raptor's side as her breathing slowly came to a stop. When it did he lift his hands off the wounds, he couldn't even see the skin on his hands they were so covered in blood. He brushed her scales gently and started to rise to his feet when a sharp pain pricked his neck. Pietro kicked and felt his foot connect with Justin Hammer's knee before running off.
"Pietro!" Wanda called over to him as she backed away with the others. "Come on, we have to retreat!"
Pietro glanced back at the room where Raptor's body rested in a puddle of crimson before forcing himself to catch up with them. She gave him a comforting, sympathetic look as she sensed his pain before running after Captain America. They made it to the jet with only a few more blows from Baron Mordo before Cap turned around to access the situation.
"Where's Raptor?" He asked as everyone tried to catch their breath while the jet automatically pushed off.
Pietro was looking at the drying blood in his palms and didn't bother to look up as he answered. "She didn't make it. They just shot her... they let her bleed out."
"We should've stopped them." Wanda muttered and continued trying to comfort her brother as he sat in the chair numbly.
"You're hurt." Sam commented as he saw blood run down from Pietro's neck.
"We're all hurt." Pietro snapped and wiped it off.
Wanda brushed some longer white hair away and found a small hole. "They took your blood."
Steve got an uneasy look. "Skull wanted to complete Project Extinction, to do that he needed her DNA, you two were made from the Infinity Gem that was in Loki's scepter, if he took Pietro's blood I bet I can guess what he wants to use it for."
"But they didn't know the scepter existed then." Wanda argued.
"Ideas change to become better versions. Whatever they plan on doing it won't be good for us."
"Especially with Justin Hammer's money and technology." Rhodey commented as he stopped sparks from shooting out of the palm of his suit.
Pietro ignored them, he didn't care what monster they were building now, whatever stood in his way he would destroy it until Raptor was avenged. When they finally got back to Avenger's headquarters they held a small funeral for their fallen comrade. He waited until everyone, including his twin; left the small plaque they'd placed in the shade of a tree that stated Raptor's name, her birth and death date, and that she was an Avenger. A few feet away Thor's plaque stated similar words but Pietro didn't listen as they said a few words about him before moving on to Raptor, which he finally came out of his daze to listen to.
"She was a brave warrior ready to fight to the death to save the ones she cared about." Steve said quietly before placing a flower down and stepping back to look down at the graves for a moment before walking off.
He looked down at it for a long time, not quite sure he was seeing it in reality and not just dreaming. Finally however, he gave in and with watery eyes laid a small box down in front of it before walking away.
"I will kill all of them painfully, they will feel our pain." He whispered as he looked back at the grave one last time before walking inside.
Wanda greeted him as he got inside but he just kept walking, she followed him with a concerned expression but still he ignored her. At the moment even his sister, the person who'd been through everything with him, couldn't make him feel better. Deep down he knew Raptor wouldn't want him to fall into this depressed state but he still allowed it to happen as he went into his room and fell back on his bed to blankly stare up at the ceiling. The memory of them splashing around in the pool without a care in the world rose up in his mind, he focused on that most recent memory of them having fun. If he had known her fate he would've tried convincing her not to go, to stay behind and wait for them. Pietro gave a small moan and clenched his teeth, he should've done something before they'd been forced out of the room; if he hadn't just stood there she might still be alive.
"It is my fault..." He whimpered before finally drifting off into new nightmares where he watched Raptor bleed out in front of him while he was too slow or not able to move at all.
YOU ARE READING
Winter
Fanfiction[Sequel to Raptor] Six months after Ultron was defeated things at S.H.I.E.L.D. had begun to calm down. Steve was working with the new Avengers members, even well enough to start a mission to fight HYDRA as they searched for the Winter Soldier, Rapto...
