Disappeared- {Pietro Maximoff}

Chapter 36

"The more a man boasts, the stupider you can trust him to be. Did you really think I would allow myself to be taken by you?"

"What do you mean?"

Alex cast a disdainful look down at her bleeding mother. The illusion crafted by Nyx had been a powerful one; despite Theundruk's promises, Alex had still hesitated and nearly caved. It was alright though, Alastair's love for his mother had turned out to be the only reliable part of their plan and it was the one thing Alex's safety was reliant on.

The plan.

Pietro would be annoyed. He had been reluctant from the moment Alex had suggested that she allow herself to be kidnapped, that's why he had suggested it as the emergency backup. The initial one had been Alex waiting in a safe area to let Theundruk extract the information from the various people and computer servers and imbed it in her mind, but they needed time for that to happen. Then she would teleport her, Alastair and Pietro out.

When Alex read Pietro's mind and found out about the Panfortis, she had realised there would be no escape for her at that moment. It was too much for her to manage, the Panfortis minds were unique, took more of her to teleport and she was already tired.

So, kidnapping. Allow Alastair to think he had won, he would not be able to resist hurting Alex and keeping her alive a few days longer, and it turned out that those few days were enough for Theundruk to bring C.R.Y.P.T.'s downfall upon them even sooner.

What went on in the mind of the Mind Stone was a mystery Alex was happy to leave unsolved, as long as the Stone remained on her side.

Theundruk had slowly been building links between Alex and the rest of the those involved in C.R.Y.P.T., from the founders to the janitors. With a simple thought, Alex could kill them all. Or turn them into her puppets. Or let them live the rest of their lives in peace. She hadn't decided yet but the number of options was pleasing.

Out of the corner of her eyes, Alex saw Alastair's hand bearing down upon her, probably trying to slap her but that was when Alex finally let herself go.

The hand stopped mid-air, Alastair's face going slack before he crumbled onto the floor. Theundruk made Alex smile, and drop the heart she had teleported out of him on the ground.

He would not be needing it back.

"Thirty minutes, give or take, till your body shuts down," Theundruk's voice was tinged with Alex's Italian accent, as strong as it was when she had first arrived in America, "I think that allows us enough time to talk."

"Alex?"

"Is not here right now, apologies."

Alastair couldn't move and could barely speak as he slowly began to die. Alex's body smiled, "Don't worry, I will not take long with you. I am, in simple terms for your simple brain, the Mind Stone."

"I knew it."

"You know nothing. You want power, yes? But who does not? You believe yourself to be special when truly, you are the same as a thousand others. For all her faults, I would pick Alex in every universe if I could. She is brave where you are cowardly, loyal where you are sly, kinder than anyone needs to be."

"And she'll never be happy."

"It is not for heroes to be happy. They guard and gain moments of happiness in knowing the world is safe; it is that which separates them from everyone else. And Alex would rather rely on the certainty of spots of happiness than anything fake that you could, and did, offer her."

When Alastair twitched, mouth moving with no words coming out, Alex reappeared, speaking entirely in her voice as she mentally shoved Theundruk back,

"Alastair, it's not over yet. I can still...if you promised, were sorry, I could find it in me to forgive you. Death is what you deserve, for everything you did but I can make it easier for you. Both mentally and physically."

It took a few seconds for Alastair to make a sound and when he did, it was a harsh laugh, "Little Ena, of course, that is what you want. It always was your weakness, even as a child. No matter what I did to you, you never learnt."

"Because I truly believed everything to be my fault. Now, forgiving others is how I learn to forgive myself, to stop feeling so guilty for everyone I have hurt. It is my penance and my pride, to give others the chance I was given."

"If only I could believe that. But I cannot, as how could you be so naive as to think forgiveness actually helps."

"I've seen it," The more she spoke, the more Theundruk's influence began to fade away. Emotion was creeping into Alex's voice, anger rising, "Not always, I've had to learn in horrible, horrible ways that some people don't deserve it. Like you, like our mother. But I've also had people who have earned my forgiveness and it's those people who give me hope, and I am all the stronger for having them in my life."

"The Maximoff boy."

"The twins, especially Pietro. He is the greatest example of how the world can be changed by our little acts of kindness, by my choice to forgive him and allow him the chance to regain himself after losing it to hatred and H.Y.D.R.A.."

"He will just disappoint you."

"He didn't want the Panfortis. Also called me naive, told me they weren't worth saving. Now he's the one who rescued them and is looking after them. I know too, if I asked him, he would stay with me and continue to help with them," When no response came from Alastair, Alex shook her head, "This isn't about him, anyway. This is about you and me."

"I want nothing to do with you. Let me die, leave me here,"

"Don't die like this. Alone, unloved, forgotten. Surely you don't want that, even I don't want that for you."

"You ruined my life."

"I was a child," Alex's voice cracked, and so did the mental barriers holding back her tears. They spilt down her cheeks, falling onto the floor, patterning the dusty floor with tiny constellations, "They're just children. How could you ever— it doesn't matter. It does not matter."

"Weak," he snarled.

"If that is what you believe," Alex said, raising her hand, "I don't care to correct you. It's not worth it for the short time you have left in the world."

|| Ready to leave ||

"Make me feel happy," Alex commanded and felt a warmth spread through her body as Theundruk complied. She nodded, ready to leave. Alastair watched her with half-closed eyes, seeming calm but she could feel the pain in him.

|| He deserves it ||

"I know," Alex said, and then to Alastair, "I will never allow your stain on this world to spread and I will never forgive you."