[ 𝟏 ] 𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐃 | 𝐩𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐱𝐢𝐦𝐨𝐟𝐟

𝟎𝟗.

[ NEW YORK, NEW YORK ]

The jet whisked us to New York City at a pace far exceeding our expectations. Pilots tend to speed things up when the entire world is at risk.

The entire journey was disheartening. Most of the time, we sat in uneasy silence, dreading the inevitable confrontation at Stark Tower. The more time we spent in the plane, the more time Tony devoted to the Cradle. While his intentions were undoubtedly good, his penchant for making questionable decisions weighed heavily on us. It felt as if the fate of the world rested on our shoulders. What if, unintentionally, he created another Ultron? Or something even more dangerous?

Yet, there was no time to ponder the possibilities as we all hurried inside the balcony when we landed. Unsurprisingly, Tony and Bruce were already encircling the Cradle.

"I'm going to say this once," Steve declared immediately. The twins and I trailed behind him, eliciting shocked looks from the two scientists.

"How about 'nonce'?" Tony retorted.

"Shut it down!"

"Nope, not gonna happen."

"You don't know what you're doing."

"And you do?" Bruce questioned. "She's not in your head?" referring to Wanda.

"I know you're angry," said Wanda, stepping out from behind Pietro.

"Oh, we're way past that. I could choke the life out of you and never change a shade."

Ouch.

"Banner, after everything that's happened—" Steve began.

"It's nothing compared to what's coming!" Tony interrupted.

"Tony!" I advanced, my gaze fixed on him. "You don't even know what's inside the Cradle. If Ultron made it, how do we know it won't be exactly like him? Or much worse?"

"This isn't a game, Stark," Steve interjected, his voice escalating in intensity.

Pietro zipped around the room in the blink of an eye, swiftly disconnecting the Cradle from every power source. "No, no. Go on," he urged, tossing the last plug to the floor. "You were saying?"

A gunshot echoed through the room, and Pietro tumbled through the shattered glass flooring moments later.

"Pietro!" Wanda sprinted toward the newly broken floor, and I trailed behind her. While Wanda was driven by concern for her brother, my motivation stemmed from the amusement I found in his misfortune. We peered down at the void where the floor once stood, only to identify Clint as the perpetrator, looking unduly pleased with himself.

"What?" Clint sauntered over Pietro. "You didn't see that coming?"

I bit the insides of my cheeks, stifling a laugh. It was clear that Clint had taken down Pietro, seemingly siding with Tony for some unknown reason. However, I couldn't shake the feeling that Clint's actions were also a form of "avenging" the team and myself for what went down at the Salvage Yard, holding Pietro accountable for his sister's actions. It might not have been a grand revenge, but it was enough to bruise Pietro's ego, which was satisfying.