Age Of Miracles | Pietro Maximoff

Chapter Fifty-Nine: The Best and Bravest

Music is "In Paradisum" by Thomas Bergersen.

Picture is Cillian Murphy as Gregory Killbane.

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"When you're a soldier, when you go to war, you see people die. Your friends. People you're closer to in some ways than your own family. In training. In battle. Even suicide. And it's easy... it's easy to ask what it was for. If any good came of it... They're alive today -- along with hundreds of others -- because of you.

"I want to give you another perspective. You can help us stop criminals and madmen before they hurt anyone. You can tell us when natural disasters are about to happen. We're going to go out there and put our lives in the line anyway. You can give us the gift of knowing it's for a reason. The best and bravest people I know are prepared to take that risk. Not just prepared -- we want to. But to do it right -- to do it the best way we possibly can -- we need you."

- Carol Danvers, Captain Marvel

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CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE

{Two Months Later}

A promise is a promise. That's what I tell myself as I grip the Infinity Gems tightly in my hand. They're opaque and grey, whatever power they held two months prior is long gone. Still, I can hear the tiny utterances of the spirits that reside inside. They remind me of the promise I made to them, the one I had to make before they would let me used them to fight Thanos.

"Put us somewhere we will never be found again," they asked me.

I look up ahead of me, seeing the great big world of New York City from the untouchable rooftop of Stark Tower. "No problem," I mutter to myself.

I settle onto the tiny ledge of the pointed top of the Tower, a place only flying heroes can access. I pull the little watch from my pocket, one that Tony made for me a few days prior. It's like a normal watch, only with a tiny yet powerful Arc Reactor inside.

"This will let you jump from universe to universe," he stated as he gave it to me. "You can visit your home universe, visit Earth-1, or just go play around. I only made one. Can I trust you with it, kiddo?"

You can guess what I said.

I slide it onto the wrist of my empty hand, raising it in front of me. I push my powers into it and open a portal to an empty world in front of me. I remember seeing this world when I went to Earth-1 for help, when we went looking for the Infinity Gems to begin with. It was abandoned and vacant; there's not a living soul still in that universe. It will be a perfect place to let the Infinity Gems rest in peace, without me having to worry about them being used again.

I look down at the faded Gems in my palm, giving a little smile towards them. "Thanks for everything," I whisper. With a flick of my wrist, I send the Infinity Gems flying into the void. I close the portal, heaving a sigh of relief, knowing I'll never see those damn things again.

My shoulders relax, and I let myself sit on top of the world for a little while longer. The sun is starting to rise over the largest city in America, the golden yellows and oranges sending the first rays of light across the skyscrapers. I chuckle to myself at the sight, never happier to see another sunrise. It's the ultimate sign of hope for me, the fact that the sun will always rise, no matter what happens. For a while there, while I was alone among the debris of the Earth, I didn't think I would.

"Elaine would have loved to see this," I whisper to myself. Then I remember, in the midst of my laughter, how I want to show her this sight from on top of the world. My smile falters, and sadness pings in my heart again.