"I hope everything can be completed smoothly! I just don't know what terrible plans Ultron has for that Quinjet," Rhodes said anxiously.
Wanda, wearing her sorcerer's robes, lowered her head slightly. For reasons she couldn't explain, an inexplicable sense of foreboding had settled over her.
"Things never go smoothly, and sacrifice is inevitable. You understand this, don't you? Wanda, I have witnessed many endings, including yours," the Ancient One said, having appeared beside Wanda seemingly from nowhere.
"But since He arrived, everything has changed. Events shouldn't have unfolded this way, yet... here we are," she continued cryptically.
"What do you mean, Ancient One?" Pietro approached, standing protectively at Wanda's side as he regarded the Ancient One with confusion.
The Ancient One glanced at him before turning her gaze skyward. "You will understand when you see it unfold. This is a future I once foresaw, but it has been completely altered."
"Previously, I understood most things. Though I could see the future clearly, I found it predictable. Now I cannot see what lies ahead. This once frightened me, but now it fills me with curiosity about what may come."
"Ancient One? I don't understand what you're saying," Wanda admitted, while the Ancient One continued contemplating whether to designate Wanda as her successor for Sorcerer Supreme.
The Ancient One was well aware of Wanda's chaos magic and how the white magic she employed was merely chaos magic transformed by Wanda's will.
But this wasn't necessarily problematic. In her quest to protect Earth, the Ancient One had even drawn power from the Dark Dimension. In her view, whether one wielded light or dark magic mattered less than the purposes to which it was applied.
From her current perspective, Wanda with her chaos magic appeared a stronger candidate than Strange. She learned faster and possessed greater raw power.
Yet Strange demonstrated unparalleled talent with temporal magic. The Ancient One had to acknowledge that once Strange mastered the Eye of Agamotto, his abilities would increase exponentially.
Protecting the Time Stone remained the primary responsibility of the Sorcerer Supreme, which left the Ancient One in a quandary. Both candidates had their merits—one possessed greater strength, while the other showed greater compatibility with the Time Stone.
[Natasha removed her gloves and extended her hand toward Hulk. He stared at her outstretched palm, his expression unreadable. After a moment's hesitation, he began to reach for her.]
[Suddenly, a hail of gunfire struck Hulk, the impact knocking Natasha to the ground. Hulk roared in fury at the unexpected attack.]
[Ultron, piloting the Quinjet, hummed contentedly: "I wasn't sure you'd wake up. I hoped you would. I wanted to show you. I don't have anyone else."]
[Barton reached the small boy and lifted him up: "Come on. Time to go."]
[Ultron continued his assault on Hulk, then redirected his fire toward Thor and Captain America standing near a memorial statue. Captain America took cover behind the monument, while Thor relied on his durability to withstand the barrage.]
[A nearby police officer wasn't so fortunate, struck multiple times before collapsing.]
[As Barton turned with the child in his arms, he realized the Quinjet's guns were now aimed directly at him. Knowing escape was impossible, he instinctively turned his back toward the gunfire, shielding the boy with his body.]
[Pietro, spotting this from a distance, immediately sprinted toward them, pushing them slightly away from their original position. In the church, Wanda felt a sudden, inexplicable pain in her heart.]
[When the smoke cleared, Barton looked up in shock, realizing he was unharmed. He turned to find Pietro standing there, his body riddled with bullet holes, breathing heavily as blood soaked through his clothing.]
[Their eyes met, and Pietro managed a smile: "You didn't see that coming?" Then he collapsed heavily to the ground.]
[Wanda felt her twin's death instantly and fell to her knees, screaming in anguish. Her chaos magic, unleashed by grief, erupted uncontrollably, instantly reducing all approaching Ultron drones to molten slag.]
[Thor swung Mjölnir and rushed toward the church. Captain America slung his shield onto his back and ran to Barton. Barton gently set the boy down and began checking Pietro for signs of life.]
[After feeling for a pulse, he found none. His expression grave, he looked up at Captain America. The boy stood nearby, staring at Pietro's lifeless form—the man who had died saving him.]
"So now we know why Pietro never appeared in our later footage," Tony observed with a slight frown, his voice carefully controlled.
"Wanda must be devastated. I can only imagine what she's feeling," Captain America said quietly, watching as Wanda's magic spiraled outward in her extreme grief.
"Damn, he was too exhausted. The high altitude, the oxygen deprivation—it seriously compromised his physical condition and slowed his reactions," Banner explained regretfully, analyzing why Pietro had fallen to the gunfire.
Tony nodded in agreement. "And his physique isn't particularly enhanced for durability. Even standard bullets could cause fatal damage."
"He could have been such an asset to the team," Natasha added with genuine regret. "It's tragic that he died at Ultron's hands..."
In Kamar-Taj, Pietro's mouth twitched slightly. He hadn't anticipated dying this way. Now he understood why the Ancient One had spoken of changed fates and altered futures.
He also realized why she had focused so intensely on his physical conditioning—to prevent exactly this type of fatigue. Pietro believed that under normal circumstances, he could have easily dodged the bullets.
Unfortunately, in the footage, exhaustion had overcome him. He'd been running constantly, using his powers repeatedly until he simply couldn't move fast enough, forcing him to sacrifice himself to save Barton.
Wanda looked at her brother solemnly. She had never imagined losing him. The very thought of living without Pietro seemed impossible to bear.
The multiverse observers watching the Sky Screen shared in the sorrow of Pietro's death. He had been fundamentally good, despite initially choosing the wrong path. He had recognized his mistake and changed course, only to die at the moment victory seemed within reach.
[Captain America carried Pietro's body while Barton picked up the child, both heading toward the rescue boat. Wanda remained kneeling in agony, her grief too profound even for tears.]
[Natasha regained consciousness to find herself cradled in Hulk's arms as he landed heavily on the helicarrier. He set her down gently before leaping away, intent on exacting revenge against Ultron.]
[Ultron attempted to escape in the Quinjet, but Hulk overtook the aircraft and forced his way inside. Ultron barely had time to exclaim: "Oh, for God's sake!"]
[Sounds of violent struggle followed, ending with Ultron being hurled from the aircraft by Hulk and crashing onto a passing train.]
[Barton returned the child to his mother, the two embracing tearfully amid their reunion.]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Support me at [email protected]/goldengaruda and check out more chapter of this or more early access chapter of my other fanfic translation.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~