Age Of Miracles | Pietro Maximoff

Chapter Twenty-Two: No Heroes Or Villains

Music is "Betrayer (Extended)" by Michael Salvatori, C paul Johnson, & Skye Lewin from the Destiny: The Taken King OST.

Picture is Colin Ferrell as Gregory Killbane.

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"The thing none of you will ever understand is that there are no sides. There are no heroes or villains. There's just what I want and how I'll get it it."

- Erik Lensherr, Magneto

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CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Calculations and preparation takes a few hours, but with everyone helping, it went far faster than it would have if we didn't have the twins on our side. They sped things along tremendously. In the end, we're left with a perfectly organized office and a machine in the center. It looks a bit like the vessel Ultron created Vision in or something. It's big enough for one person to lay down as if dead.

I feel Wanda shiver next to me, but it's actually quite warm in the room. I turn to her. "What's wrong, Wanda?"

She shakes her head slowly, eyes entranced on the machine in front of us. "It... It looks exactly like..."

"Like the old one we built after Ultron?" Tony suggests, hands on hips as he stares at the creation. "Yeah, that's because it is. Parts of the old one were recycled, and since they're hard to come by, I just un-recycled them." He gives a funny look on his face. "'Un-recycled?' Is that even a word?" He shakes his head, eyes moving back to the five of us. "Anyway, it works just as it did before, Wanda. It can send one person through at a time using the power from the Arc Reactor here," he pats the giant box of energy at the base of the machine, "and the Soul Gem."

"Shouldn't we get a hold of Strange?" Elaine suggests.

I smirk when Tony does. "He's already called him, haven't you, Tony?"

Tony nods, and before he can answer, a large sphere of orange light appears to our left. Stephen waltzes out of the magical shape, giving us a welcoming grin. In his hands is a small box, just big enough to hold an Infinity Stone. He turns to Tony, offering it to him. "You called, Mister Stark?"

Tony rolls his eyes, taking the box. "I told you, Doctor. We're the Awesome Facial Hair Bros!" Tony gives Stephen an excited look as he holds up a hand for a high-five. "Am I right?"

Stephen sighs, face-palming himself as he gives Tony his high-five, only with half the effort. "Right."

"Are you ladies done flirting?" Pietro sighs impatiently. "Can we get on with this already?"

Tony squints his eyes at Pietro and then Elaine as she chuckles under her breath. "You two think you're sooo funny. Fine then, impatient children. Let's get this on and we'll be good to go."

As he attaches the small box to the Arc Reactor, the entire machine beginning to glow purple, Wanda shuffles closer to me, whispering, "Does he even know how to work this thing?"

I shrug, watching Tony closely as he finishes. "Let's hope so."

"You know, last time was an accident," she adds. "We were just trying to bring my brother back from the dead. We did not know that Killbane was acting on his own accord, using the Arc vessel. We have no idea what he actually did."

I give her a gentle side hug. "Let's hope we can repeat that accident."

Tony claps his hands together once, announcing his completion. "Alright, crazy kids! It's finished." A pause. "Now what?"