Capítulo 2174: 42
Chapter 42: When a Month Feels Like a YearNotes:
I have a surprise road trip tomorrow so new chapter tonight instead of in the morning. Though at this rate Saturday evening is going to end up update time instead of Sunday morning...oh well. In other news I really think this fic is going to end at 57 or 58 chapter wise. I'm almost done with the draft. You guys have no idea how excited I am to be able to work on a new project. Not that I don't love this one...its just been a while to spend on one project.
Chapter Text
One Month Later
Wanda stared at the customer over the counter. She desperately wanted to grab their venti, non-fat, half-caf, double pump of sugar free caramel and force it down the woman's throat. "I'm sorry, is there something wrong with your drink?"
"The moron at the register misspelled my name! It's Catherine with a 'C' not a 'K'!" The professional looking woman was just barely not screaming. "And I wanted one pump of caramel not two! It's too sweet now. You need to just redo it all."
Her eye twitched. It would be so easy to lift and then toss Catherine out the window. Honestly it almost felt worth it. Wanda's smile grew, it felt plastic as she imagined throttling the woman. "I'm so sorry you're not satisfied with your drink. I'd be happy to remake it for you." The pep in her voice was actually disgusting.
"Just get it right this time." Catherine sneered.
Wanda was a Hydra experiment. She was enhanced to the degree she could bring down the entire building on their heads. She'd thrown a rotten tomato at a general's face when she was a teenager! "Just one minute." She grabbed a fresh paper cup and remade the drink.
A roiling rage that was licking at her bones with it's flames was filling Wanda as she watched Catherine take a sip of her new drink.
"Passible." Catherine sniffed. "Honestly what your generation think you're doing." Her eyes hit the fake neck tattoo that curled around the edge of Wanda's jaw all the way up to her ear. "It's no wonder you're working here with that monstrosity on your neck. Honestly." Fortunately for Catherine's continued survival she turned on her heel and marched out of the coffee shop.
Wanda's hands clenched and then unclenched. She grabbed the next coffee cup waiting for her to fill. Her fake smile turned on the next customer. "Hi, sorry for the wait."
Wanda's nose wrinkled as she stared at the crackers she had in her lunch box. Processed food was just...gross. But it was what she had. She took a bite. This was a shitty, shitty day.
"You survived the Dragon! Good job." Amanda of the cash register dropped down across from her at the rickety table in the break room. "Damn woman finds something to complain about every time. Sorry I fucked up her name, I wasn't even thinking."
"She's a regular?" Wanda missed her training shift, she'd been on during closing shift. So few customers.
Amanda scoffed while pulling out a deeply inedible looking sandwich out of her bag. "Comes in everyday. She's a paralegal two blocks up. Acts like she's a damn partner at the law firm."
"Joy." Wanda could feel the sarcasm on her tongue.
Amanda snorted. "You get used to it. 'Sides, the other customers will tip after one of her tantrums so it's all good." She waved her hand. "Don't worry she's all bark and no bite. I can't wait to see her face if she finds out you're getting a law degree."
"With my monstrosity of a neck tattoo?" Wanda raised a brow, her voice dry.
Her coworker snickered. "I think it's rad as hell. I've got some ink on my back, but sticking it on your neck like that is ballsy as hell."
"My girlfriend thought it would suit me." Wanda picked up a second cracker, it was hideous. She wasn't falling asleep on her school work and forgetting to pack lunch again.
Amanda wiggled her eyebrows. "Girlfriend huh, well just so you know sneaking your girlfriend into the storeroom, to make out while on shift, is a no-no. That's how you got this job, Rob got caught with his flavor of the week. So don't do that, cause you're already way better than him."
"I'll keep that in mind." Wanda set the cracker down. She was going to just go hungry, it wasn't worth eating this. "She's out of town at the moment so it wouldn't be an issue anyways."
Amanda dropped her elbows on the table. "That's too bad, but still nice you have someone. I'm eternally single."
Wanda had a moment of 'oh no'. She was a god damn super hero...being a civilian was… the Starks had ruined her. She was used to insanity not...civilians wanting to talk about dating issues. God help her.
"So what do you think of Spiderman and Quake? I think they're so dreamy…" Amanda asked, eyes lighting up.
Purgatory, this was purgatory. "Yeah they're...something alright."
"It's just so romantic...It's weird Quake hasn't been around a lot. Do you think she's doing something for SHIELD?" She asked.
Wanda forced back her...she was trying to be ok with things. "I'm sure that's why she's gone."
"Right? I mean they couldn't have broken up! They're the 'It' couple! Like it's so romantic, she left a dark and dangerous life to be a hero with him. And they're always there for eachother and protecting each other. I mean I've never had a boyfriend who was that willing to show how much he cared for me in public. It's dreamy." She wistfully sighed.
Wanda bit back her instinctive humor at the Spiderquake thing. But also she disliked that narrative, it devalued Daisy. "Quake was a hero before Spiderman. She just moved from being a hero in the shadows to being one in the light."
"Yeah, she's pretty awesome. Did you see those battle scars she's got? I mean I know in her interview she showed her stomach scars. And like mentioned some of them, but seeing them when she did that ninja run was...wow. Totes badass!" Amanda agreed, nodding emphatically.
Wanda softened slightly, she knew she was being too hard on her coworkers. Sure most Americans felt soft and privileged to her. But that was a good thing that they hadn't suffered being trapped in a power struggle like her and Pietro. And Darcy had specifically been using the media to sell Spiderquake to endear them to the public. Not to mention it wasn't Amanda's fault that a solid ten percent of customers made her empathize with Ultron's point of view. "She really is."
"You just think she's cute." Amanda's eyes sparkled. "No shame, she's totes hot if girls are your thing. I just wish we knew what Spiderman looked like, other than fit as a fiddle. Man's got to be fine."
Wanda couldn't help her lips twitching at that. Peter was many wonderful things, a grown man was not one of them. "What if he wears the mask because he's hideous?"
"With a body like that his face could look like a butt and I'd be down." Amanda wiggled her eye-brows. "Dirty, dirty things."
She actually laughed at that. It was so ridiculous and she just...it was hilarious. So ok, maybe this wasn't too terrible...her timer went off. More customers...she took it all back. It was purgatory. Tony Stark deserved this, she did not.
////
Tony sneezed. "Well I'd say excuse me but well." He slid his phone into his chest pocket. With a theatrical sigh he looked at Noah. "Now I'd ask if you minded but I don't really care, you owe me some answers."
"Tony Stark." Noah looked up from his case of antique pocket watches. Which, anthropologist alien working in an antique shop. Irony. "I was expecting you." He pulled out a childs crayon drawing. It depicted what was clearly them in the antique shop.
He brushed the front of his suit. "Creepy." Tony picked up one of the watches. "So I've been thinking, you've been tight lipped on what this 'end of the world' threat the SHIELD team is supposed to be stopping, is. Which is odd, why not just tell us? Unless you're trying to create a stable causality loop. One that leads to the end of the world."
"My actions are already determined. I have only done what is required to prevent extinction." Noah closed the watch case.
Tony flipped the watch in his hand between his fingers. "Cute, now what is this extinction event?"
"Few families have accumulated as much power as yours." Noah was unnaturally still. "Fate already is in flux. Now the Stark legacy is in the hands of The Heart, The Queen, and The Destroyer. It will be worth recording what the children of Iron will accomplish. To destroy the planet and cause the extinction of your species or to save it."
His blood felt cold in his veins. "None of my kids would destroy the world."
"As you would never destroy the world?" Noah asked blandly.
Tony's teeth clicked. "Well, I never said I was perfect. Wait, no I did. My bad." He set the watch down on the counter. "What do you know about Thanos?"
"The Mad Titan?" Noah's face shifted, it might even be fear, also might have been gas. "He is inevitable."
He clucked his tongue. "How do we stop him?"
"I do not know that, the prophet has not seen it. Earth is not fated to survive long enough for The Titan to arrive." Noah flattened his hands on top of the glass case.
Tony tossed the watch at Noah's face. "Well, you're of remarkably little help. Maybe smile some more? Lose the creepy pod person impression." It was just depressing that that didn't get so much as a twitch of a reaction. "You're not good at this whole 'human' thing are you?"
Tony leaned back in his chair staring at the screen before him. "What do you think Pepper, think the alien pod person is right?"
"Well it's easy to see what he's saying. What are you going to do?" She laid her hand on his shoulder.
Tony rapped his fingers on his holo-table. "I don't care what he says, Daisy isn't going to destroy the planet. That girlfriend of hers, or the kids would stop her. Hell, she'd never do it while anyone she cares for is on this rock." His eyes narrowed. "But we can prepare for what's coming."
"Preparing doesn't involve putting the entire planet in a suit of armor does it?" Pepper sounded, almost, mostly glib.
He rubbed his goatee. "No, I think it's time we do what the Spawn has been suggesting. We make the world governments pull their own weight." Tony flicked his eyes up at her. "Kicking important people in the pants is a speciality of mine after all."
"Political involvement?" Pepper sighed. "I can make some calls. It's certainly doable."
Tony shook his head, lips curling into a smirk. "The Spawn's work with arch technology, let's sell some of it. On the condition that the countries that buy it agree to have easily mobilized military units for rapid response to planetary invasion, and cooperation with the Avengers in the case of alien invasion. Cheap power, they just have to play ball."
"You hate sports metaphors." Her voice was dry.
He spun in the chair, his hands coming to her waist. "They're lazy and unimaginative. What better for politicians?"
////
Darcy twirled a screwdriver between her fingers. She was...useless towards the mad science Erik and Janey were doing. Mad science Tony gleefully joined in on every evening. Which no time machine building for her...at least yet. She stared at her miniature arch reactor. "Do you think the new reactor is patent ready?"
"Uh...can it be used as a clean energy nuke still?" Ian asked from the stack of science fiction he'd been tasked to read for possible realistic issues with time travel. He'd developed a distant 500 yard stare of horror.
She rolled her eyes. "Obviously I fixed that issue dingbat. No I mean it could still take out a city block, but almost identical output. I'm not sure I can get it any safer."
"I thought your batteries were the ones that could take out a city block?" Ian blinked at her.
And he wondered why they broke up besides him being dull as dirt. "I fixed the battery issue, I cut the power they hold in half and built in a redundancy to prevent explosions. Like weeks ago, keep up. We're talking about the new arch reactor. I've been improving it so it can be used to power more than a few buildings. Honestly just using that shit for suits and one building is a crime."
"Right...yeah….I remembered that." His eyes flicked away from her, his cheeks heating.
Darcy considered whacking him. Nope, she needed a break. Without Bucky there to glare at Ian, it was like his brain to mouth filter failed. And she was going to crack something if she kept having to watch other people work on time travel while dealing with Ian forgetting everything anyone told him due to panicking over possibly destroying time itself. Just...she was going to start panic inventing. Which was bad. Probably.
She stood up sharply. "Sugar and caffeine are calling my name. Later losers." Darcy traipsed out of the lab.
As she hit the elevator she frowned. "FRIDAY, where's Hunter?"
"It's his lunch break. He is currently with Ms Morse." FRIDAY replied.
Darcy considered that. Whatever, she was just going a block down to the good coffee shop. It'd be fine.
It was not fine. Darcy flicked her wrist, her taser unfolding into her hand. Aiming at the first para-military sort who'd just jumped out of a fucking van, she shot him. He went down twitching. She ducked out of the way of a fist, tasing the goon said fist was attached to. And then took off down the road hitting her panic button.
Her feet hit the pavement as she sprinted. "Oh Thor, less donuts." She wheezed as her breathing turned heavy.
Darcy yelped as someone grabbed her from behind, lifting her up, her feet kicking uselessly in the air. She twisted, slamming her elbow into the goon's face. He dropped her. She landed sprawling on the sidewalk. Rolling to her back she raised her taser and shot goon number three.
He keeled over with a high pitched whine.
She scrambled to her feet, her back hitting the wall, there four goons left and they'd caught up. She had two more charges left on her taser. "Fancy seeing you here. Here for the huckleberry chai latte too?"
"You're going to pay." Lead goon's hand twitched towards his unconscious companions.
She might have used too high of a setting...naw, the setting was perfect where it was. "Sorry, no can do. Unless you take Visa or IOU?" Darcy's eyes narrowed and she shot the goon that had just lunged. He hit the concrete at her feet. "One more step and I'll fry all of your asses!"
In the end she'd only had the one round left. She'd used it but well...those self defence classes weren't really aimed at surviving kidnapping by paramilitary goons. And she'd given the one who'd finally gotten the bag over her head a terrific black eye. Also nearly bitten his finger off when they had taken the bag off so they could gag her. Sloppy forgetting to gag her first. Amatures. Darcy was purposely not thinking about her own brand new black eye. Or the fact breathing was difficult with at least one cracked rib. Tasing goons make them angry….who knew.
The van rocked as they went around a corner too fast. The sound of sirens following them seemed to practically radiate through the van. Darcy curled against the side of the van. Her panic button would lead superheroes right to her. And the cops were clearly doing their job today. It was going to be fine.
"I'm not getting paid enough for this!" A goon snarled as they went squealing around a corner.
A different goon replied, his voice sharp. "Well if the brief had been better researched, maybe half the team wouldn't be unconscious on the sidewalk!"
"Tasers aren't legal in New York!" The first goon half screamed as they hit a pothole, the entire van jolting violently.
Second goon growled. "And how did you miss the fact the Stark with boobs can throw punches? Advanced self defence should have been easy to find when you googled the bitch!"
"I'm not the one who selected the job without asking questions! THIS ISN'T WORTH SIX MILLION!" Goon one was full on screaming now.
Darcy would dearly love to mention something about how quick they fell to panic. Alas, the gag. Also her hands being tied behind her back.
There was a thud, on one side of the van. And then the sound of metal being ripped open.
"FUCK!"
Wheels screeched as the brakes were hit. A solid arm wrapped around Darcy's waist, and then she was swinging with a wonderfully familiar sensation.
It was just seconds later and her feet were hitting solid ground. Familier hands ripped off the bag. She blinked at the sudden light and sighed in relief. Peter half ripped the gag out of her mouth, and actually snapped the handcuffs in half.
Darcy lunged forward, throwing her arms around Peter's shoulders. The feel of the suit, the weight and presence of him more comforting than she'd imagined. "Thor I thought I was done there for a minute." She tightened her hug.
He hugged her back just as tightly. "Don't do that to me! You can't leave too! It's not allowed."
"You got me. I'm not going anywhere." Darcy buried her face in his shoulder. Thor that had been too close. Far too close.
////
Pietro paused to press a kiss to the crown of his sister's head. She was bent over her massive text. Their bond was pulsing with her frustrated determination. He knew better than to pull her away. Throwing herself into school and work was how she was avoiding dealing with the fact Daisy was missing. At least it hadn't been a break up or murder. Those would have been harder to deal with.
He zipped into the kitchen as the kettle whistled. Sorting through the boxes he found some of Wanda's favorite tea and dunked it into the waiting mugs. He poured the water in. Leaning against the counter he considered. Tomorrow was his first day at the fire academy. A few weeks and then he could start on the job training. So what to do with his last evening before training got going in earnest?
Pietro removed the tea bags. With a flicker of movement he stopped by Wanda's side sliding his mug into her hands.
"Thank you brate." Wanda looked up, a slight spark in her eye.
He grinned. "Do you think you'll miss me tonight?"
"Go, we both know you're worried about her." Wanda raised the tea to her lips, blowing at and seemingly realizing it was still too hot to drink.
He folded his hands behind his head. "Fine, fine. Please get some sleep at some point tonight."
"I promise, you as well." Her lips were pulled up in an amused smirk, some of the heaviness that had clung to her lifting, if only for a minute.
Pietro snickered, and then ran. He could microwave the tea he'd made for himself later. Sitting quietly at home with tea wasn't really him anyways. He even managed not to outwardly react to Darcy's massive black eye when she opened the door. Instead he just grinned. "Well hello lovely lady."
"Your flirting is getting worse." Darcy waved him in.
As he breezed past her into the apartment he noticed her shoulders softening. He paused as he stared at the food. Wrinkling his nose he shook his head. "No, kidnapping or no kidnapping you are not eating pop tarts and chocolate milk for dinner."
"Well if you want to do the delivery run Road Runner." Darcy traipsed back to her blanket pile.
He put the pop tarts away in a burst of speed. Then he paused and tilted his head. "I think it's a chinese type of night."
"This is why you're my favorite." Darcy let out a sigh, it didn't miss his notice the longer he was there the more she relaxed.
Pietro took off for the restaurant a few blocks over. As he went to wait for the order to be filled he called Peter. His foot tapped anxiously as he waited for the kid to answer his cell phone. "Kid, why is your sister in the tower and not with you and Ms May?"
There was a beleaguered sigh. -"Because she wanted to 'improve' the taser. Also I don't think she wanted Aunt May to you know...worry. Which is…"-
"Ah, I'll deliver your sister and take out in thirty mintutes. She can't stay mad at me for that long over it." Pietro accepted he would be back to just friends for a few weeks. Eh, he could live without benefits. "Think you could pull out the air mattress? I demand a rematch at Super Smash Bros."
-"If you didn't pick Sonic everytime you wouldn't lose."- Peter mocked before his voice went back to just sounding tired. -"Air mattress is already pulled out in Daisy's room."-
He felt a pang. To lose a sister, even if not permanently was...he didn't even want to think of it. "I'll add some potstickers to the order for you. Thanks kid."
-"I'm not a kid."- Peter grumbled. -"I'll let Aunt May know."-
Pietro winced slightly. -"If I get tased for this I expect ice and sympathy."-
Peter fell into giggles. -"Good luck."-
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