i own it all.

A VAMPIRE

Earth’s splendour wasn’t always in the form of its natural offerings — a lot of the nature had been destroyed — but Crystal still found it spectacular. She loved the customs, the openness, the sharing, everything that Attilan refused to do essentially, and Crystal was grateful to be exploring new territory. She was grateful to be an inhuman delegate, though she had given herself the position. In her defence, prior to the attack on the Watcher, she had come by it honestly. As impressive as many things on Earth were, a pool was not one of the, but with Pietro, Crystal could make it work. On the bright side, it was made of sea water and not chlorine — she was not a fan of the molecular structure of chlorine.

Another bright side was the fact that they were alone in the pool. Being friends with an Avenger certainly had its perks, Crystal mused. “I don’t always need a moon cave with hot springs,” she replied, examining the pool for a moment. “What I do need is your company and your shirt off so we’re doing well here.” Pietro would absolutely love that comment! As he scooped her up, she laughed and began to heat the pool as he requested. Since it wasn’t entirely salt water, it was an easy job. “It’s truly romantic,” Crystal agreed. “Are you satisfied with your makeshift hot tub?”

Pietro had been around the world, and super-speed meant that there was hardly a corner of Earth that he hadn’t at least passed through during his lifetime. He had seen the most devastating, terrifying places, but he had also seen the most beautiful sights at the same time, and got to know the people that inhabited those landscapes. Nothing, though, compared to the feeling he got when he watched Crystal reacting to those places. He figured he could be in the middle of a Walmart parking lot and still feel that flip in his stomach if the sight prompted a grin to appear on Crystal’s face. She reminded him over and over again, even without meaning to, that there was beauty in a world that he had once considered cold and cruel, and that was pretty extraordinary.

When he’d first started dating Wanda, Johnny had never expected to warm up to her brother. Pietro was brash and annoying, impulsive and conceited. He was a lot like Johnny, actually, which didn’t do him any favors. Despite what he lead the public to believe, Johnny had never really been his own biggest fan. Seeing the same qualities he disliked in himself reflected in someone else — someone who, arguably, handled those qualities a little better than Johnny did — didn’t exactly make him eager to befriend the speedster. Unfortunately, as his relationship with Wanda grew more serious, it became clear that he and Pietro needed to at least be on good terms. Just like Sue was endlessly important to Johnny, Pietro was a vital part of Wanda’s life. He couldn’t love Wanda and hate Pietro; it would only upset her, and that was the last thing Johnny ever wanted to do. He knew it was the last thing Pietro wanted to do, too, which was probably why they had the awkward ‘actively trying to be polite’ thing going on.

Unfortunately, politeness was a whole lot easier said than done. Pietro always kind of grated on Johnny’s nerves! It wasn’t his fault the guy was so irritating. Everybody else probably thought so, too, they were all just too nice to tell him to his face. “I mean, I can name pretty much all of them, but I guess I’m just better at this than you are!” Yeah, okay, that was immature. He should probably apologize for that. He wasn’t going to, but he probably should. “Yeah, and some guy dressed like a spooky avocado said he was your nemesis last Tuesday. You can’t take these guys at their word, man. They’re villains.” Johnny glanced over to Harvey, rolling his eyes. “You sorted it for the next two minutes. That’s only gonna make things worse.” Mole Man could be reasoned with, but only if you didn’t punch him first. The Fantastic Four had learned that a long time ago. “Usually it works pretty well, but since you just super punched him, he’s probably gonna be a lot less receptive!” Sighing, he looked out at the moloids who seemed to be cluing in that they needed to attempt an ass kicking. “I really liked this shirt,” he grumbled, cursing himself for not coming out already in his uniform. He hadn’t counted on Pietro knocking out Mole Man and making him deal with the consequences! Groaning loudly, Johnny flamed on, mourning his shirt as it went up in smoke. “You’re taking me shopping after this,” he informed Pietro, voice a little distorted by the flames. “You’re taking me shopping, and probably buying lunch. I deserve that.” He tossed a fireball into the middle of a large cluster of moloids, watching them scatter away from the heat.

As most people grew older, they began to think about how their families would change over the coming years. They envisioned nephews, nieces, brothers and sisters in law, how their jobs would change, their education would grow, and all of those nice little American things that people in this country seemed to take entirely for granted. Pietro had never been like that. In Serbia, the only thing that you could focus on was the fact that you might not live to see the next day. Every single week was a struggle, your family were not merely a support system but a lifeline, and many hands made for less backbreaking work. Pietro had never thought about what it would be like to walk Wanda up the aisle at her wedding because for one, he had always assumed Django would be around to do it, and for another, it seemed like wishful thinking. More than that, it seemed like tempting fate, which was the last thing he wanted to do at any given time, especially when it came to his sister.

As a thief among heroes, it wasn’t rare for Scott to feel somewhat out of place. Sure, some of the other Avengers had done criminal stints — he was pretty sure Hawkeye had a record, and although Natasha was a reserve member, she’d definitely done the crime thing before — but unlike the rest of them, Scott couldn’t actually bring himself to regret the actions that had landed him with a fair amount of warrants. He’d stolen plenty of things that he’d never been caught for, but he didn’t particularly feel bad about them. The people he’d stolen them from could afford to replace them, after all. And the thing he had finally got put into cuffs for? He would’ve done that again in a heartbeat, right down to driving an insanely expensive car into an insanely expensive pool. He knew he couldn’t exactly be a reformed criminal if he didn’t regret his crimes, but somehow, it didn’t bother him much. And now, thanks to Quicksilver, he wasn’t even the only sort-of-reformed thief on the team! It was totally refreshing.

“Uh, this is a classic,” Scott insisted stubbornly, throwing a glance over his shoulder to Pietro. It was easier said than done while crawling through a vent, but Scott was good at this stuff. He was a pro! “You obviously don’t know Tony very well. He definitely meant for us to go literal Mission Impossible.” Scott had always been a fan of the classics when it came to heists, and there was nothing wrong with that! Everybody loved Oceans 11 and Mission Impossible. “Some of them do,” he admitted with a shrug. “I mean, technically speaking we could’ve flown in, but what’s the fun in that?” Powers made thieving ridiculously easy, but sometimes Scott wanted a challenge. It got boring if there was no risk involved!

There were a lot of things that Pietro had done in his life that he would regret until his dying day. Aligning himself with his father, blind to the lies and manipulation, and following his lead to the letter until the moment it all became too much, when he realised that there was more in common with Magneto than he thought in the first place. Pietro, far more than Wanda in his opinion, was in danger of becoming exactly like Erik Lehnsherr, or whatever name he decided to terrorise people under this decade. He needed to do something differently, he needed to become something different, and the Avengers provided an opportunity for that, just as SHIELD had. When it came to his various thefts, the response was far less clean cut. Sure, he regretted some of the families that he had taken food from, but it had always been because his own was starving, and he left enough for them to survive as well. At least in that regard, he wasn’t a terrible person!

If there was one thing HYDRA had right, it was the stupid slogan. Steve couldn’t count the number of times where he felt that the last raid would be the very last one, only to find a new HYDRA cell emerging out of the woodwork in another town or country. Loath to give any ground to them, Steve did have to admit that their roots were deep. He had a better chance of scrubbing prejudice out of every person before knowing with certainty that HYDRA was completely eradicated.

Thus, the raids. He and Pietro were on the op tonight. They were no Laurel and Hardy, but the cooperation was improving on some level, Steve supposed.

We’re waiting for your patience to show up, it’s slow as shit, Steve thought, nevertheless keeping the quip to himself. Guys like Pietro needed encouragement and acknowledgment, not a smart aleck comment and a dismissal. 

“We’re waiting for a pattern,” Steve answered, sure he’d answered this question every time the two of them went searching for a cell. “Guards always make arrangements. Eventually, they slip up.” He watched one man meander around the roof, hands cradling a rifle. That rifle would be long gone by the time Pietro got to him. If he faced Steve, the bullets would bounce off the shield like rain. “You’re too cocky, kid. Sooner or later, one of these bases could have some kind of technology to stop you. Then you’ll wish you discussed a game plan.”

Pietro had never considered himself a soldier, not necessarily. Magneto liked to call the members of his Brotherhood freedom fighters, remind them that every fight they went into wasn’t for themselves, or for vain glory, but for the betterment of their kind. Pietro, at one stage, had believed every single word that came out of his father’s mouth. He had acted on his orders without taking a moment to consider why he was doing it at all, or to think of the tactics to use to ensure it was a success. After all, he was the fastest man - or one of the fastest at least - on earth, and that meant that by the time he got the job done, everyone else was just recognising he knew about it in the first place.

Training had allowed him to put his powers to more creative uses, but they had never relied on his intelligence being a factor, simply because it hadn’t been necessary in the Brotherhood. He was the brute force, after all, nothing else. It was different with the Avengers. They encouraged cooperation, understanding, coordination. Pietro couldn’t really deal with most of it, though he knew Hydra needed to be taken out, so he was willing to play along until the fight was just ahead of him.

Back in SHIELD, Clint had something of a reputation for pickup up strays. He’d done a lot of killing with the circus, done even more when he broke off on his own, and sometimes… sometimes, he just wanted to save someone. Sometimes, he’d have someone in his scope with Coulson’s voice in his ear ordering him to pull the trigger, and he’d find his finger uncooperative against the metal. He told himself that if he could save just one person, if he could give a single person the same second choice he’d been awarded, it’ll all be worth it. It probably shouldn’t have surprised anyone when he offered that chance to Pietro. Sure, the kid was annoying, but Clint had been positive that he meant well. He’d been sure that he was trying his best, sure that he was only misguided and not actually bad. He’d taken a gamble, and it’d paid off. There’d been roadbumps along the way — Pietro taking a slew of bullets meant for Clint was a notable one — but the kid was a hero now. That was all that mattered.

Unfortunately, he hadn’t gotten any less annoying after his switch over to the light side. Some things never changed, apparently. It was tragic, but Clint could live with it. He’d gotten used to annoying over the years! “I don’t — I don’t do anything with my face.” It was a lie and he knew it. His face was the ultimate traitor, showing people what was going on in his head long before he could stop it. “I’m a resourceful guy. I’ll find a way.” Despite the words, there was a smile tugging at the edge of his mouth. “You didn’t bring me any souvenirs? I’m kicking you out, man.” He was pretty sure Pietro hadn’t actually traveled the world without moving, but still. “The door’s never done much to stop bad guys, anyways,” he replied with a shrug. They only ever kicked it down, and that just made a mess. Rolling his eyes, he couldn’t stop the smile from coming out in full force. “Sarcasm, buddy,” he provided. The smile faded as Pietro continued. Clint hated to see the guy distressed, despite his ribbing. “Us guys? I don’t really keep tabs on anybody. Tony might, though.” Tony kept tabs on just about everyone, Clint was pretty sure. He had Skynet right there in his Tower to help him out!

Pietro was an Avenger now, tried, tested and true. He had the card and everything to show for it, and the many, many hours of training that he had stacked up in the training room over the past few months alone. That meant that the other Avengers trusted him enough to not only fight and train alongside them, but to protect them in battle. That was a bond that few could truly understand, it was deep and for many thankfully unattainable due to their relatively peaceful lives, but it was one that Pietro had more than ten times over now. Growing up it had been only his sister that he could rely on, and that had changed. Still, even though he knew he had been accepted, there were still times when he felt as if his teammates looked at him with fear in their eyes, wondering what he had done under Magneto’s reign, and what he would do in the future. Pietro knew he was unpredictable, it was his most prominent character trait, but loyalty was something deeply important to him.

New York would always be Peter’s base of operations, he couldn’t even imagine leaving New York for extended periods of time. It was his home, the place he loved most in the world, and a place he would die to protect. There really wasn’t anything more to it than that, Peter’s family lived there, Uncle Ben always went on about how New York made dreams come true, and Peter was determined to protect that ideal.

“Dude, if I were a villain, I’d totally steal a name from Transformers,” Peter replied. “Technically, it’s Magnetron, but what’s the difference?” It’d be a little weird if the guy claimed to be Optimus Prime, he was a great alien, but Magnetron was super evil! Clearly, this villain was aiming for something big and bad. Peter could respect that mentality. “Which video?” Shia did a whole lot of weird things, it was hard to figure out which one Pietro meant specifically. Honestly, Peter kind of adored the guy because of it. He wished he could have been in that Shia-Extraordinaire where he watched every thing he’d ever been in. Peter would have loved it. “I like the latter definition better, more original,” he decided, snorting. Peter had never been attracted to robots personally, but it seemed like something Doctor Doom would be into. Probably Johnny, too; everything made Johnny Storm horny. “Comparing yourself to a fly is really messed up, man. You gotta work on your self-esteem,” Peter said seriously. He got the whole bug affiliation, but he did not claim to be like a fly. “What kinda food do we wanna buy?” Peter asked before launching himself off the side of the room. Pietro wouldn’t be far behind with a reply.

New York was far from the most beautiful place that Pietro had visited over the years - in fact, he was pretty sure that it was impossible to narrow it down to a single city, town or village, considering that each of them were different and unique in their own ways - but somehow, over the years since he had arrived here and joined the Avengers, he had found himself returning to it again and again. Super-speed meant that he could be on the other side of the world in an instant, other countries were totally accessible to him, but at the end of the day, New York was home now. It was where the people he loved and cared about lived, it was where the Avengers were, and it was where he had been given a second chance. That, more than anything, was enough reason for him to give a shit about what happened to the city.

“I’m gonna start calling you hammy,” she threatened. As he began setting himself up according to her instructions, Kate couldn’t help but snap a picture with her phone. In her defence, the image was hilarious, and it would make a great addition to her Instagram. Everyone deserved to see Pietro Maximoff hanging upside down, attempting to drink a milkshake. Kate wasn’t going to selfishly keep that to herself. “Hey, tornadoes are just doing their best,” Kate retorted, wrinkling her nose. Maybe he had a point, but she was going to blissfully ignore that fact, thank you. She loved to ignore what she didn’t want to hear!

“I don’t have powers either,” Kate pointed out. “Just because they haven’t chosen a dangerous lifestyle doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t be able to fight for their own wellbeing and what they believe in.” Sure, she would be happy to see the civilians not take a violent route, trying to figure out how the fear toxin was invented, but Kate didn’t disagree with them. “They deserve to try to reclaim some of their power. Taking that away from them would just be cruel, and you know it.” As the subject matter changed in seriousness, Kate cocked her head to the side. “Definitely hilarious,” she replied. “You couldn’t even stay there for ten minutes if people were ignoring you, but all right, speedy, you’re on.” As Kate spoke, she flipped open her phone’s timer and walked towards the balcony. “I’m waiting, hammy,” Kate said.

“That’s the worst thing I’ve ever heard,” Pietro informed her. “You’re going to tell people about your friend Hammy, and they’re not going to picture anything like me. They’ll be shocked when they show up and I’m hot, Kate. I can’t have strangers thinking I’m a complete idiot!” It was bad enough having that video out there of him tripping over a cat at hyperspeed. He was pretty sure Stark had assisted Clint in figuring out a way to take it, which was even more irritating. “See what I mean?” Pietro said with a grin, vindicated in his point. “Yeah, but you’re you. You have training, you have tech and weapons, and you have support.”

“If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again,” Kate quoted. “Try putting the milkshake on the ground and then grab the straw with your tongue or something.” She was a little concerned about the fact that she was genuinely trying to help Pietro achieve his weird milkshake upside down goal, but at this point, Kate was pretty much down for anything. “I don’t know, I would rather conquer my fears than run from them,” she admitted with a shrug. It was quite literally what she planned to do with her father and his weird criminal empire. There was no chance she was allowing Derek Bishop to hold any power, especially over her, anymore. “Civilians are just like us,” she pointed out. “They want to feel brave and powerful, too.”

Clearly, Kate was more in support of the civilians fighting against what they were witnessing. She wanted people to feel safe, and if that meant being an idiot, Kate was there to pick up the pieces. It all came with the superhero territory, she guessed. “Oh, no, that’s never gonna happen,” she said simply. “New Yorkers are rowdy and they’ll do whatever they want when they want.” It was really obvious! “You can try it right now if you want, once you beat the milkshake puzzle,” Kate suggested. “It’ll be hilarious.” Pietro was not patient enough to handle a stubborn crowd.

Pietro blinked a few times, processing what Kate was suggesting, and then got to work setting it up according to her recommendations. “I feel like an inverted hamster,” he informed her, working way harder than was strictly necessary to try and get the straw into his mouth. Pietro was agile on the field, but the rest of the time, super-speed made for some clumsy movements. The number of times he had ran into the wall when he was just starting out with his abilities definitely went into triple digits, something Wanda could and would attest to. “Yeah, but that’s because you would fight a tornado if someone wasn’t pulling you away from it,” Pietro teased. At her next words he sighed, pushing himself upright on the sofa.

There were kids who grew up wanting to be heroes, and there were kids who just wanted to grow up to be something. Pietro was one of the latter. Growing up in various small villages across Eastern Europe meant that he never believed he would be a hero, or a doctor, or an astronaut, or find his way over to America like several of his neighbours had attempted to. He had just wanted to keep himself and his sister safe. Now, though, things had changed. He was in America, he was an Avenger, and that meant that he had a responsibility to the public, a responsibility to protect people and to be the hero that other kids wanted to be.

There were very few people in the Avengers that shared Pietro’s particular proclivity towards … well, kleptomania. Maybe it wasn’t quite as advanced as that, he could hold himself back when absolutely necessary, but stealing had been a way of life - a way to ensure survival - for nearly as long as Pietro could remember, and he wasn’t going to change that just because he was with the Avengers now and that meant he was supposed to be some squeaky clean all American hero. He was still Pietro Maximoff at the end of the day, and he wanted to stay somewhat connected to his father. There were many other things that Django had done and loved that would have been better to explore, but Pietro was never one for a choice that wasn’t the easiest - or the most fun.

Clint had never had much trouble making friends. In the circus, you had to be charming enough to distract people from your hand slipping into their back pocket, and in the life that followed, it was always a good idea to make yourself just a little too likable to shoot. Keeping friends might not be his strong suit — Clint had always had an unhealthy habit of pushing people away even when he wanted them close — but making them? That was easy. He figured just about no one was surprised when he managed to befriend both Wanda and Pietro, figured they were all just as entirely unshocked when he practically adopted the twins once the battle was over. 

He understood them both a little more than he’d care to admit, knew what it was like to be manipulated and preyed on by people who took advantage of your desire to fit in, your desperation to be loved. He knew what it was like to have an absolute bastard of an old man hanging over your head, too, even if Harold Barton was nowhere near as nasty as Magneto. He also knew what it was like to desperately need a second chance, and he’d done his best to give that to them. In his opinion, neither of them had wasted it. That didn’t mean he was excited when Pietro randomly zoomed into his living room, scaring the absolute shit out of him. “You gotta stop doing that,” he said when he’d recovered from the initial heart attack of suddenly not being alone. “One’a these days, I’m gonna shoot you. I’m gonna feel just terrible about it, too.” He rolled his eyes as Pietro started eating his way through the kitchen. “Door wasn’t even locked,” he admitted. He liked an open door policy with his tenants! It was totally a good thing. “You don’t like it? I was havin’ a blast with it.”

None of the Avengers, at the end of the day, were entirely innocent. Stark had been a weapons manufacturer, capitalising off the deaths of thousands, Banner had destroyed cities, Thor had killed thousands of creatures over thousands of years, even the Captain had led his troops into the bloodiest war of the last century. Clint was no exception to that, but there was something different about him that made Pietro trust him a little more than most. Maybe it was just the fact that they jibed each other every time they were in the same room and that presence made them more receptive to each other’s company. Maybe it was just because he was less intimidating than Steve Rogers to go up and talk to. Either way, Pietro was glad of Clint in his life, though he doubted he would ever be able to say that without throwing up.

The fact that Clint had been so supportive of his sister was only another point in his favour, and one that overwhelmingly brought Pietro over to his cause. As far as he was concerned Wanda deserved all the love in the world, and he knew now that he was not sufficient to meet that quota. She needed more people, and Clint was a good part of that. “And miss out on the look on your face when I do? Never.” Clint was very expressive, it wasn’t Pietro’s fault that pissing him off was so damn entertaining! “You can only shoot whatever’s standing still, and I never am. See? I just went to Cabo. See again? Berlin!” He was totally bullshitting, but he could do it, and that was the point! “That’s even more stupid,” Pietro said, furrowing his eyebrows. “I never said I didn’t like it,” Pietro began defensively. Then he realised Clint was being sarcastic, and he shrugged, but there was no heart in it. “Yeah, okay. I’m not having a great time. Is there any chance you guys keep secret tags on dear old dad that I don’t know about?”

Technically, Peter was a reserve Avenger. He went the first person they called unless they were desperate or busy, but it didn’t make him any less committed. He just had different priorities, and his would always be New York’s citizens, and in order to properly protect them, he had to be on the streets. For today, some of his time would be away from his usual hangout, but partnered with Pietro, if the worst happened, they could be back in the city central quick. Besides, the world needed him, and Peter couldn’t morally ignore that. Reserve Avengers counted for something, thank you very much!

“Magitron,” he repeated with a laugh. “They gotta be a big fan of Transformers, right? This name is hilarious.” No one who disliked Magnetron would name themselves basically after the evil car-alien. Clearly, Peter hadn’t paid much attention to Transformers. He had been more into Star Wars and Harry Potter, and shamelessly, too. “What did Urban Dictionary say?” He asked with a grin. Understandably, Peter loved hearing about dumb things on the internet, and Pietro always seemed excited to share. He wasn’t sure if that was enough to bond the two, but Peter liked to think they were pretty close. Pietro always seemed interested in what he was doing at least. “We swing/run in there and I’ll distract the Magitron while you take it out,” he decided. Pietro moved too quickly for any villain to notice and Peter was great at pissing villains off. It was foolproof. “Ah, man, we’re gonna make time for food! Can you take us to Italy for some pasta? I could use a good, uh, bola… bolognese? Did I say that right?”

Pietro respected the fact that Spider-Man was overwhelmingly loyal to the place in which he grew up. After all, he had seen so far that New York had its fair share of special neighbourhoods where people were close and their bonds with their neighbours were almost familial, and Pietro knew all about family loyalty, sometimes to his detriment. With his past firmly behind him, Pietro was determined to protect the world at large, but if he still had ties to Serbia and the village he had grown up in, there was no doubt he would’ve returned there. Instead, the people had cast him and his family out, and after that, there had been no solid place to call home for years, decades, until they reached the city.

Pietro had never been subtle about his adoration for Daisy, and frankly, she hoped he never would. It wasn’t like he fawned over her or informed her how incredible she was, although that would be acceptable. Instead, Pietro just hanged around Daisy, exactly like he was now. Pietro even slowed down for her once in a while, exactly like Yoyo, and she had to admit it kind of made her fond of speedsters. Two great ones, inhuman and mutant alike, couldn’t be a mere coincidence. Regardless, Daisy was a huge fan of Pietro, and she would always be honest about that. He was entertaining, exciting and always up for an adventure. These days, Daisy didn’t have many standards in friends as long as they weren’t secretly evil. Clearly, HYDRA and losing the Secret Warriors had done a number on her.

“We’re hunting down another group of Watchdogs,” Daisy replied, stretching out her shoulders. Like Pietro, it wasn’t necessary for her to warm up prior to a fight, but it was a grasp at normal. God, it’d been a long time since she’d had anything normal for more than twenty-four hours. “Nah, we can’t steal Coulson’s car,” she said snorting. “You wanna run or should I speed us over there?” Daisy had never feared speed, and considering that Pietro had literal super speed, she doubted he would mind. “I’m guessing run us over, but I’m fine with showing you the dangers of the road.” Daisy purposely forged extra drivers licences to be safe! “The Watchdogs can be pretty brutal. They got numbers, and sometimes, they persuade the powered to their cause. They hunt down my people, kill them brutally,” she explained. It was an enemy that Pietro would take seriously and personally. Mutants and inhumans were in this together, far as Daisy was concerned.

Pietro had always felt far more comfortable surrounded by people who understood something of his struggle. Inhumans and mutants went through many of the same challenges after all. They had to learn how to cope with being different than the people around them, had to live through the same displays of discrimination whether overt or far more subtly sinister, and they had to adapt and train their abilities so that they didn’t hurt themselves or others accidentally. (Pietro may also, coincidentally, have something of a soft spot for the inhumans considering he was best friends with their princess. It was barely even a fraction of the reason, though! Maybe an eighth.) Daisy was definitely one of those people. While he didn’t know everything about her history, background and experiences, he knew enough just from talking to her to know she hadn’t been raised with a silver spoon in her mouth. She knew hardship, she knew pain, and that meant she was a lot easier to talk to than some other Americans.

“It’s like you just spelled out Hanukkah,” Pietro said with a grin, always enthusiastic to deal with that threat in particular. It was a cause close to the hearts of people that he cared about, and it was part of his job, too. He had never imagined that he would reach the stage when he felt his fingers vibrate and his feet jump from place to place while he was working, but he had also never imagined that he would be this content, either. Perhaps Marya had a point when she said life surprised you in good ways sometimes, too. “Why not? We could absolutely hotwire it within, like, three seconds. You know how to drive it, right? I’ll get us fuel on the way, if it runs on normal fuel. Or is this a case of we shouldn’t do it? Boring!” Loyalty was something Pietro respected, but boy was it annoying sometimes! “I can’t say no to you when you ask so nicely, Daisy. Still, I gotta admit I’m interested now. Just how bad is your driving? Should I carry out a survey? Phone a friend?” When Daisy started talking mission specifics, Pietro tried to remain still, and certainly removed the smirk from his face. “So we take them down instead,” he said, and then a beat later, holding up his hands, “in a totally non-lethal, flowers and honey-bee kind of way. At least tell me I get to tie them to each other, that’s always hilarious.”

Pietro was a goddamn Avenger, that meant that he didn’t revel in chaos and misery, he fought back against it, protecting the innocent lives of civilians and ensuring they never needed to live a day in fear, and all that fun stuff. Sometimes, though, there were issues that couldn’t simply be punched in the face, which meant that Pietro’s area of expertise was entirely useless. He wasn’t stealthy, couldn’t gain information discreetly, wasn’t a scientist or a super genius, and that meant that for the foreseeable future he was delegated to random bad guys popping up out of nowhere, and some R&R.

Of course, resting never came easily to Pietro. The city being in a bit of a pickle right now meant that the grand majority of leisure facilities were currently empty, or close enough to it. All Pietro had to do was flash his Avengers membership card and he was into the pool, Crystal in tow. “It’s not a moon cave with hot springs, Princess, but it’s the closest thing you can get this side of the Atlantic.” Pietro grinned over at Crystal, extending his arms to gesture to the glorious view of a subpar public pool. Some of his gusto waned, and he shrugged a shoulder. “Okay so it’s not the best I could do, but at least we know no one is actively peeing in it while we’re in there. Come on.” Pietro scooped Crystal up, a grin on his face as he did so. “What do you say you turn this thing into a hot tub?”

Pietro wasn’t exactly the definition of a ‘team player.’ In fact, he was pretty much the exact opposite of that. He acted on his own frequency, was on a different wavelength than the grand majority of people, and often found that they did nothing more than slow him down or irritate him, more than often both at the same time. That being said, he had been an Avenger for years now, had developed into the role even if he often felt as if it wasn’t one that quite suited him, and that meant when random super-villains appeared out of the blue, he was one of the first they called.