Get Back Up » Quicksilver

chapter nine

"An emotional response," Tony agreed. "We're definitely starting with you."

I scowled irritably at all of them before taking a deep breath. "I knew the guy . . . who um, turned invisible."

"Invisible?" Wanda asked curiously.

"You mean the one with the cape?" Pietro asked me, looking at me curiously.

"Yes, the one with the cape, and yes, he turned invisible," I agreed to both parts. "His name is Parker Robbins. He's . . . okay, his cape, it allows him to turn invisible for as long as he can hold his breath."

"How does that work?" Tony asked, giving me a skeptical look.

"How long can he hold his breath?" Sam asked incredulously.

I had to try very hard not to roll my eyes at both of them. "I don't know how it works, Tony, I just know it does. He can hold his breath for around five minutes. He's practiced it or something, I don't know. Look, just-- Parker. He and I . . . when my powers were developing, we spent time together."

Steve made a pointed face directed toward me, right as Wanda and Vision exchanged an uncomfortable look. "Megan, did you . . ."

"We dated," I agreed shortly, my voice clipped. I could feel Pietro bristling beside me, and I couldn't bring myself to look up at him. "It wasn't for long, though. See, he's ah . . . he's insane. And I'm not exaggerating. He's absolutely bonkers, probably belongs in a mental institution-- he started talking about taking over the world," I explained, folding my fingers together and twisting my thumbs together. "The last time I saw him he was unconscious in a back alley. I got as far away from him, as fast as I can."

"Who exactly made him unconscious?" Sam asked, appraising me curiously.

"Me," I stated. Then I did look up at Pietro. His face was clouded with many emotions, but he didn't say anything. He wrapped his arm tighter around me, and pressed a soft kiss to my temple. 

"Okay," Tony said slowly. "So, Parker Robbins . . . invisible cape, belongs in a mental institution. Glad we've got that settled. Now onto the whackadoo who can apparently shape shift. How is that possible?"

"Shouldn't we be asking you that question?" Bucky asked coolly. 

"No, that's more up Bruce's alley," Tony disagreed. "What are our options here? Do we even have any?"

"Maybe another enhanced," Wanda volunteered.

"That seems most logical," Vision agreed.

"Yes, but it's only one option," Tony pointed out. "Do we have any others?"

"We could always assume aliens," Steve volunteered. "Ever since the Chitauri, we know that they're out there. Or . . . do we know if any Asgardians are capable of this type of thing?"

"Dunno, and Thor's not here to ask," Tony hummed.

"So why don't you call his girlfriend?" Bucky asked. Everyone in the room looked to him, and he shrugged passively. "If she's still on Earth, isn't she our best bet on figuring out if this guy's possibly from Asgard?"

"Assuming he's a dude," Sam muttered.

Tony stared at Bucky in evident approval. "All right, yeah. I'll contact Dr. Foster."

"Aside from what happened with fake Cap coming into Pietro and Megan's training session," Wanda said, "are there any other weird incidents anyone wants to bring up? Anything that, looking back, seems like it was not quite right?"

"Yeah," Sam said slowly, "I think there was some . . . conversation I had with you, actually, Tony. You didn't make any sarcastic remarks."

Tony shifted, making a face. "Just you and me?"

"Yeah, just the two of us," Sam agreed.

Tony shook his head decisively; "No, I haven't talked to you one-on-one in a while. Can't have been me. Did the fake say anything important?"

"He was asking a lot about that plane you and Rhodey have been working on," Sam agreed. "Acting kind of like he wanted to know what I know -- which, by the way, is not a lot."

"Now that you mention it," I said slowly, "I saw you at breakfast and you were doing the same thing, Stark . . ."

Tony blinked owlishly. "Uh, yeah, no-- I'd definitely remember that."

"I wondered why you only took half a bowl of Cocoa Puffs," I mused, leaning into Pietro.

"He ate my Cocoa Puffs?!" Tony demanded.

"Not our biggest priority, Stark," Pietro pointed out.

"I just think it's a little concerning that we've encountered fakes of each other and not known it," Sam said then. "I mean . . . Wanda's probably the most in the clear, here, since she's a mind reader."

Wanda shrugged modestly. "It would be a terrible idea to try and deceive me," she agreed. "And I have not encountered any fakes; I promise you I would've informed you at some point or another."

"What if he comes back?" Tony asked then. "What if we need a way to tell each other apart?"

"You mean if there are two of us in the same room again?" Sam asked. He shook his head, obviously not very into said idea. "I don't think I'd ever want that. You could spend hours arguing over who's who, depending upon how much the imposter knows about us."

"I wouldn't have any problem figuring out a real Steve," Bucky said then. "Or a real Megan, actually."

I blinked at him in confusion. "Really?"

"And how's that?" Steve asked.

"He's gonna say shoot you," Sam scoffed. "You're a super soldier and would heal, and she's indestructible and wouldn't be phased."

"I should hope you would not shoot her," Pietro said so quickly it almost came out a bark, his eyes narrowing at Bucky.

Bucky merely rolled his eyes. "I wouldn't. It's a short way . . . and it's not violent."

"Well, hopefully we never have to find out," Tony said then. "Look, I'm dismissing myself to call Dr. Foster. The rest of you . . . try not to get into trouble. We've obviously got a new enemy on the prowl, and whoever it is is working with this Robbins guy. Speaking of, JARVIS, start running searches on Parker Robbins."

"On it, sir," the AI said.

"I'll go speak with Coulson," Steve said. "Maybe he's got shape shifters on his radar. Sam, want to come with?"

"Don't see why not," Sam agreed. 

"We will see you all later," Wanda said then.

"And the rest of us . . . will stay here," I sighed, looking over to Wanda. I gave her a pointed look, and for just a moment, wished she could read my mind, and see how frustrated and stressed I really was over all of this. Pietro's prevailing silence was causing me even more panic. 

She turned to me then, almost as though maybe she could read my mind. "Do not worry, Meg. Everything will be fine."