Age Of Miracles | Pietro Maximoff

Chapter Forty-Two: Though Hope Be Dim

Music is "Temple Battle" by Henry Jackman from the Kingman: The Golden Circle OST.

Picture is Mistress Death.

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"A man may fight, though hope be dim--a god will fight when hope be gone!"

- Thor Odinson

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CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

Stark Tower is no more. No rubble, no debris, no broken framework. There's a hole in the ground where the large building used to be. As I fly towards it, I see dark scars on the earth where shapes used to be. But now, there's nothing left. It's just...gone. And so is most of Midtown Manhattan.

Ten city blocks. Gone in a flash of magenta light. And there's only one to blame.

But I can't focus on that now. Several of the people I love most are supposed to be here. Tony, Pepper, Pietro, Elaine, my twins...

In a panicky frenzy, I circle the large crater. A third of Manhattan island has just been erased from the world, millions of people have just been vaporized, and I'm looking for six of them.

Angry tears fill my eyes when I see nothing for several blocks. "Pietro," I cry, hearing Killbane's voice following me but not stopping long enough to listen to what he's saying. "Pietro!" I shout, louder, hoping somehow he can hear me. If he can hear me at all. "Tony! Pepper! Nia! Steven!"

"Gloria!" Killbane shouts, flying in front of me.

I use my powers to push him out of my way. "Pietro! Elaine!"

"Look behind you!" Killbane shouts, not coming closer.

I turn and see something from the corner of my eye. A flash of silvery blue. It streaks across the nearby borough, coming to a stop in Central Park. A flickering flame of hope ignites inside me, and I rocket myself towards that silver trail, leaving Killbane behind in a flash of golden light.

I only stop when me feet hit the ground. I look around me, searching desperately for what I thought I had just lost forever. A few yards away, under the cover or a large tree, Pietro is sitting on the ground with three small figures in his arms. Smoke is coming off him in small amounts, and his chest heaves heavily, but he's alive and breathing. And so are Elaine, Steven, and Nia in his arms. Crying and terrified, but breathing and alive.

I break into sobs as I run over to them. Pietro's hazy blue eyes catch sight of me, and his a smile breaks across his face. He allows tears to fall as he motions our children towards me. "I thought I'd lost you!" I exclaim, furiously wrapping my arms around the small group. I kiss each of them, hold them tightly, and tell them I love them.

"I saw the light come from nowhere," Pietro mumbles as Steven and Nia crawl into my arms. My husband looks as shell-shocked as I do. "I...knew I had to get them out. So I grabbed the twins and Elaine and just..."

I hold the twins in my arms, giving Pietro a sympathetic look. "You ran."

His far away look fades and he turns back to me with a sad nod. "I ran."

I press kisses to each of the twins' heads. "Tony?" I whisper. "Pepper?"

Pietro wipes his eyes and shakes his head slightly. "They were in the lab, getting it ready for...you know...when it..." I close my eyes, trying not to cry, and he trails off. "We were on our floor. I was not fast enough."