Picture is my edit of Glory Northern's S.H.I.E.L.D. File.
Music is "Eyes Closing" by Two Steps From Hell & Thomas Bergersen.
All rights go to their rightful owners.
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"There is so much more to you than you know. Not just pain and anger. There is good, too, I've felt it. When you can access all that, you'll possess a power no one can match." ~Charles Xavier
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CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
"Higher," Carol commands. "You can do it, Glory! You'll never be able to take off if you don't try to go higher."
Frustrated, I shout an obscene word and try it again. It's not like I've been at it for hours already or anything. It's not like I don't have Pietro here for support, or that Steve isn't here either. Today's just not my day. I've already fallen flat on my face.
Twice.
"I'm trying!" I shout back, trying not to sound mean.
"You need to focus, Glory. No bad guy is going to let you sit for five minutes and focus." Okay, so she has a point.
"I'm trying something different now," I say, tired of failing over and over. I reach down into my emotions, ignoring calm and peace. I instead grab rage, anger, destructive behavior. Anything I've ever felt angry about, any person who's hurt me, I take that emotion and fuel it to my power.
My hands start to glow golden. Carol's eyes get wide. "Glory?" she asks. "What are you doing?"
"Using a different emotion for fuel." I continue feeding the power, feeling the heat rise in me. I open my arms and jump up.
To my surprise, I rise farther than I've ever gone. At least twenty feet off the ground. I open my eyes and see how far I am. "Carol!" I shout, smiling.
I look to Carol, expecting pride, but instead I see concern and worry. "Glory-"
"I did it! Finally." I laugh to myself, twirling in the air.
"Glory!" Carol shouts, her eyes wide in panic. "Your hands!"
I look down to my hands and my smile drops immediately. They're starting to turn black. Cracks appear, hurrying up my palms to my wrists.
I scream and immediately stop using my abilities. I drop from the sky, falling towards the floor. Luckily, Carol has quick reflexes and flies to catch me midair. She sets me on the ground, taking my hands and looking them over.
The heat from my head starts to fade away, and it leaves am empty space. I feel dizzy, starting to see my vision go blurry. Black dots appear.
"Glory? Oh, no. Gloria, stay with me! Stay with-"
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"Guys, she's coming to," I hear a male voice say. Tony maybe?
"Get out of my way!" I hear another voice say, and this one I know for certain: Pietro.
I shift my head from side to side, trying to shake the daze from my head. I can't move my body. What's going on? What happened?
"Whoa there, kiddo," Tony says. "Don't shift so much."
"She is scared," I hear a Sokovian woman say. "She is wondering why she cannot move."
"G, just stay still," Clint whispers. "Open your eyes."
My eyes eventually flutter open. I see pretty much every Avenger standing in the room. A hospital room? Maria and Carol are outside the door talking, Tony is looking over my stats, Nat and Wanda along with Vision are standing at the foot of my bed, Clint and Thor are by my right side, and Pietro is on my left. They all look terribly worried, especially Pietro.
"Glory?" Pietro whispers, brushing a strand of hair away from my face.
"Pietro," I rasp. I move my hand over to find his, needing the warmth of someone I love on me.
"You took quite a beating, kid," Tony says, looking at me with sorrowful eyes.
"I didn't fight anyone," I say in a quiet voice. "What happened?"
"What do you remember?" Clint asks.
"I remember being frustrated," I recall. "I know I usually take calm emotions to hover, but it wasn't working. So I tried using anger instead."
Pietro sighs, bringing my hand to his lips as he kisses my knuckles, holding it there. It looks like he needs my touch as much as I need his.
"I flew alright. I flew up almost twenty to thirty feet. But my palms started glowing gold, then they turned ashen grey then black..." I pull my palms up to look at them. They're completely normal again.
Confusion must be the overall look to my face, because Tony starts to explain what happened after I passed out. "Well, you fell, Carol caught you, you passed out, and those went back to normal after an hour or so."
"How long have I been out?"
"Almost six hours," Pietro says.
"Oh, gosh, Pietro," I gasp, realizing how worried he must have been. "I'm so sorry." I reach out for him, pulling him close.
He buries his head into my neck, breathing me in. "It is not your fault."
I look to Tony, and ask, "Am I free to leave?"
He hesitates, but after a glare from Wanda, he nods. "Yes. You can go. Just lay off the anger for a while, 'kay?"
I nod, pulling back from Pietro's grasp. "Let's go home," I whisper to him.
He nods and helps me out from the hospital bed, detaching all the wires from me. "Thank you, Tony," he says.
Tony nods. "Stay safe, kids."
Pietro and I start to walk towards the exit, Wanda and Clint tailing us. "Do you guys need company?" Wanda asks.
"Maybe later?" I ask. "I'm super tired. I'm probably going to sleep."
She nods and hugs me tightly. "You are like my sister, Glory. Please, do not do that again."
"You felt it, didn't you?"
She pulls back and nods. "I was nearby. I felt it coming before it happened. When I walked into the room, you were falling."
Pietro pulls us both close to his sides. "You two are all I have in this world. Do not do things like this, okay?" We both hug him, and each other.
"Can I join the group hug?" Clint asks, sarcastically. "Course, we could sit here and talk about our feelings-"
"Oh, shut up, Barton," Wanda laughs. "You are family, too. Come here."
She pulls Clint in and hugs him too. "I really have six kids, you realize that?"
"Seven soon," I chuckle.
"I'm getting so old," he laughs.
"I get to babysit!"
Wanda looks at me like I'm nuts. "You try to babysit Nathaniel, then you see how much you like the Barton children." She turns to Pietro. "He has your name for a reason."
Pietro laughs. "You gave your boy my name?"
Barton rolls his eyes. "You did save me, after all. So he is Nathaniel Pietro Barton."
Pietro smirks. "I did not see that coming."
We part ways and before I can argue, Pietro sweeps me up in his strong arms. "I do not think you are weak," he says, reading my mind. "I think you are tired and I think I want you in my arms."
I blush and let my head fall into the crook of his neck. "How the hell did I get so lucky?"
He smiles and kisses my forehead. "I am a sucker for redheads."
When we get back to the room, Pietro sets me down. I shakily walk over to the kitchen and open the fridge. "You hungry?" I ask.
"Indeed," he says, coming out from the bedroom with new clothes on. He's changed into a plain, white T shirt and black slacks, loosing the running shoes. "How about you go get changed, and I will make us something to eat."
I nod. "I might get a shower if that's okay with you."
He pulls me in by my waist and kisses me softly. "Of course. Maybe next time I will join you." He kisses my blush.
"Tease," I grumble, and leave the room to his subtle laughter.
I take a quick shower, washing off all negative emotions down the drain. I dry my hair just enough so that it hangs in lose curls and put on mascara, forgetting any other makeup.
When I walk out, Pietro has just finished putting together a large fruit basket. I can't even tell how many different kinds are in there. "Wow," I say. "I'm impressed, Pietro."
He smiles. "You love fruit. You always go for it first."
I take a piece of the watermelon from the container and pop it into my mouth. "That's because they're healthy. They make me feel happy." I kiss him. "So do you."
Pietro places the fruit basket down and wraps his arms loosely around me. I lay my head to his chest, listening to the rapid beating of his heart. Rapid is normal for him. "You really had me worried, Возлюбленная."
I sigh. "I'm sorry, Pietro. I was just so desperate to move farther in my power. I guess I forgot that rage is a textbook bad source for power." I look up into his eyes. "It won't happen again."
"Promise?"
"Promise."
We walk to the couch and relax with each other, me on his lap, watching stupid funny TV shows and eating the fruit salad he prepared. What a way to spend the afternoon.
After an hour or so of The Big Bang Theory, Pietro turns to me, and says, "I want to take you out on a date."
END CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
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Russian words:
"Возлюбленная."
Enlgish translation:
"Sweetheart."
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Hey guys!
So, maybe it's just me, but I've been noticing fewer and fewer comments lately. I know you all are busy, but feedback is SO helpful. :)
Love you guys!!
Love and Light,
~Save_Pietro_Maximoff