Age of Darkness | Pietro Maximoff

Chapter Twenty-Four: Fear Makes Companions Of Us All

Music is "Fallen Hero" by Marcus Warner. (A/N: Play this starting when the Avengers meet with Tony and Glory. It will make you cry.)

Picture is Bucky and Steve from Captain America: Civil War.

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"I know you're afraid, but being afraid is alright. Because didn't anybody ever tell you? Fear is a superpower. Fear can make you faster, and cleverer, and stronger.

And one day you're going to come back to this barn, and on that day you're going to be very afraid indeed, but that's okay. Because if you are very wise and very strong, fear doesn't have to make you cruel or cowardly. Fear can make you kind. It doesn't matter if there's nothing under the bed, or in the dark, so long as you know it's okay to be afraid of it.

You're always going to be afraid, even if you learn to hide it. Fear is like... a companion, a constant companion, always there. But that's okay because fear can bring us together. Fear can bring you home... Fear makes companions of us all."

- Clara Oswald, Doctor Who

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CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

It was merely an hour after Tony left the room before I started to feel like I wanted to die. I could now fully feel the energy fields surrounding the cell, draining me of my powers. The percentage on the monitor outside the cell says 37%. Percentage left or percentage taken, I don't know, but I have a feeling it's the former.

My thoughts have wandered to Pietro, my team, my children. Will I ever see them again? What has become of them? Did Wanda and Logan get back to them? Are they going to do something stupid to attempt to get me back?

Who am I kidding. Our leader is Steven freaking Rogers. Of course they will. Captain Jump-Without-Looking.

Soon I wasn't able to stand, or even sit. I had to lie down, preserving my strength for a possible escape opportunity. My bones felt empty, and my muscles felt like they had left. My powers felt like they were being sucked away into the unknown. I always feel like I have a bubble of powerful energy around me, but now it feels like it's been popped.

"You can take this," I mumble to myself, dozing in and out of consciousness. "You're bigger than this body. You're bigger than these powers."

It was merely a day before Tony came back for me, guards hustling along side him. They enter the room, guns instantly aimed towards a reclining me. I slowly turn my head towards Tony, and he grimaces. I must look like a nightmare. "Are the guns really necessary?" he asks his leading man.

"We've underestimated her before, Sir," the brute replies. "Better safe than sorry."

"Jesus, Bellick. You can see her ribs. Chill out."

I chuckle once and cringe, my entire body aching. "Do I look like a threat to you, Officer Bellick?"

"It's Agent now." The man nods, loading his gun with a strange looking ammunition. "And yes. You do."

I roll my eyes and look to Tony. "Did someone post my bail?"

He nods. "We're letting you go."

My eyebrows pull together confused. "Why? It couldn't be that easy."

"We made a deal," Tony says, looking slightly downwards. "It's nothing you should worry about. Part of it is your release." He turns to a man entering behind him.

Of course, it had to be Vlad.

My slightly relieved demeanor fades in an instant, and I turn my head away. "Not with him."