Quietus

past, present...

Two children played in the open fields that sunny morning, the boy chasing after his sister.

"Nie fér, ste príli rýchly." The little girl pouted as her brother caught her yet again.

"Just be faster, sestra." The boy stuck his tongue out, yelping when he bit down on it. "Hey! iadna rýchlosť, iadna mágia."

"Prepáč, Pietro." The girl apologized to her twin.

"Its okay, Wanda. Come, mama and papa are waiting for us."

The two twins start to walk back to their small hometown, unaware of the watching eyes. They reach the perimeter of the town when the young girl stops, sensing something off. Things were never this quiet in their town, it was always hustling and bustling with activity. She went to reach for her brother's hand when something latched itself around her neck, a shock going through her small body.

She let out a gasp, too soft for her brother too hear. She watched as he continued to walk away, heard as he offered a race before sprinting towards their house, unaware she was laying in the dirt, slowly becoming numb to the pain and unable to call out to her brother.

She felt tears fall down her cheeks as she mouthed her twin's name, boots filling her vision. She looked up, seeing the masked faces of her attackers. They talked quickly to one another, looking down at a screen. A red light scanned her body and the adults nodded before picking her up, slinging her over their shoulders. She gasped again, going to call out when a shock went through her body and she fell silent, letting the darkness take over.

A few blocks away, Pietro was entering their home, cheering in victory. "I won! Take that, sestra! Didn't even use my speed." He turned around, staring out into the empty streets. "Sestra?"

He went to go leave the house to look for her when a hand wrapped around his wrist and pulled him inside. The door closed quickly, locking. Pietro looked at his parents. "Pietro, stay inside. It is much too dangerous to go playing by yourself out there."

Pietro furrowed his brow. "I wasn't by myself. I was with Wanda. She is still out there. I need to go find her."

His parents exchanged a look. "Pietro, we must never speak of Wanda again. She never existed, are we clear?"

"Bu-"

"No. No buts. Wanda was never real. She was just a figment of your imagination we indulged. You are an only child, Pietro."

Pietro felt his head spin. He knew Wanda was real and he was going to prove it. He ran to the family albums, pulling them out from the shelf. He flipped through, eyes going wide. Wanda was not in any of the photographs, even the ones he distinctly remembers her being in. He was alone in them.

He stared at his parents as they walked into the room, his five year old brain going in hyper speed. "Wanda...is not my sister? She was never real?"

His parents faces told him everything he needed to know.

Seventeen Years Later...

"-moff!"

Pietro Maximoff jolted awake at the sound of Clint Barton pounding on his door at the Avengers compound, a puddle of drool on his pillow. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes, sitting up with a stretch. "What is it, old man?"

"We have training in fifteen minutes, kid. Come on."

Pietro listened as Clint walked away from the twenty two year old's room, deciding to roll out of bed. He got dressed in his training outfit, slipping his reinforced sneakers on. He jogged down to the kitchen to grab a breakfast bar, noticing Natasha Romanoff sitting on the couch, a look of concentration on her face as she looked something over on a tablet. He decided not to bother her as she worked.

He went about eating his breakfast before making his way to the training room, finding Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes there with Sam Wilson and Clint. It looked like they were just waiting on Tony Stark, Thor, and Rhodey.

"Hey Maximoff. Sleep well?" Sam asked, a smirk on his face.

"I did actually, thank you for asking." Pietro smirked back. "Where are Stark, Rhodey, and Thor?"

"Tony is in the lab with Bruce, he won't be joining us today. They are working on some scientific project I couldn't be bothered with." Bucky shrugged. "Thor and Rhodey should be here any second."

"Is Natasha not joining us?" Pietro looked around, noticing a distinct lacking of their resident female.

"She is working on a personal project." The way Steve emphasized 'personal' made it clear that there would be no more questions. "So, today, we are going to start with hand to hand combat."

Pietro raised his hand. Steve sighed. "Cap, I move too fast for anyone to touch me."

"You can't always rely on your powers, Pietro. You need to be prepared for anything." Steve looked around the group. "Sam, I'm going to have you fight Clint first while we wait for Rhodey and Thor. We will rotate partners."

Sam and Clint went into the middle of the room, taking off their weapons and gear.

Pietro tuned out their fight, letting his mind wander.

It was coming up to the four year anniversary since his parents died, ruled a murder-suicide. Pietro still remembers coming home from the store to find his parents dead, his father killed by his mother before she took her own life. He couldn't understand why, still doesn't. They had always loved each other and him dearly, it didn't make sense why his mother would snap and kill her husband before ending herself. Pietro couldn't help but wonder what would've happened if he had been there, would he have been able to stop her? Or would he have been the first victim?

He shook his head to clear his mind. There was no use in getting caught up in the past. It had already happened and there was no way to change it. What was done was done.

He may not have been able to save his parents but he could save countless others as an Avenger, already has.

There was no enemy too great for him to handle.

Translations:

Nie fér, ste príli rýchly- No fair, you're too fast

Hey! iadna rýchlosť, iadna mágia- Hey! No speed, no magic

Prepáč, Pietro- Sorry, Pietro