Maximoff Chalet, Swiss Alps:
"Okay. If you had to choose between Jared Leto or Sean Penn, who would you marry?"
"Neither," Natasha spoke with a scoff, making me raise an eyebrow as she smirked.
"Really? Okay, what about Ryan Reynolds?"
"Who?" she joked, looking even more amused as I gave a slow blink.
"Okay, first off, that's blasphemy."
"I know who the man is, Speedy."
"Oh, don't you start with the nicknames. I don't want to give Tony approval to come up with more," I grumbled and I was a bit surprised at the genuine, melodic laugh that escaped her, a smile slowly spreading across my face.
"Well, what if I'm the only one using them?"
"Uh-huh, as long as I can call you...what would be a good nickname for you?"
"Anything but Sunshine or Tomato-head."
"Sunshine? Tomato-Head."
"Steve's bad at nicknames and insults," was her response, drawing a hum from me as I finished off my glass of wine.
"This is quite fun, you know?" she replied, swirling her own glass still half-full as the bottle itself was nearly empty, "but I can't help but notice that you still look sober."
"So do you."
"It will take more bottles of stronger stuff than white wine to get me drunk and I'm a trained agent. What's your secret?"
"Enhanced metabolism."
"All I hear is you're cheating~", she spoke with a teasing smirk, drawing a groan from me as I fell back into the sofa.
"Okay, see, it's not my fault that I'm like this. Besides, I'm sure with enough research, I can make some hyper-potent ethanol vodka/ moonshine that can get me drunk."
"You or Tony?"
"Whichever one of us two breaks first," I replied, making her roll her eyes as I closed mine. Letting the comfortable silence stretch as I enjoyed the warmth of the cabin, I was surprised to feel something warm and furry settle over my legs.
Opening my eyes, I raised an eyebrow as Natasha had thrown open the comforter she had worn over her shoulders, smirking as she just shrugged.
"You looked cold."
"I am a literal space-skating furnace...but thank you," she just gave a simple nod, leaning back into the throne of pillows she had built around her.
"Don't get used to it, though. I usually don't share blankets this early."
"To me, this is already a step up on the scale," I spoke with a grin, resting my arms along the back of the sofa, letting my fingers sit just short of an inch away from her shoulder.
"Keep pushing your luck and we're pushing you down to a five."
"Oof, hard to please," I murmured, a soft laugh coming from her lips before the two of us continued to bask in the peace, away from anything that causes us str-!
BRRRINNNGGGG!
'Spoke too soon,' I thought as I stared at the iPhone on the table, which vibrated heavily and drew both of our attention. Sitting back up while Natasha took the comforter back, I let out a sigh as I saw the caller ID.
Stark.
"Tones, I love that you want to check up on us, but I swear, if this isn't a cosmic emergency, I'm gonna run to your house-"
"Flash, you're on speaker in front of the UN."
"-...forget everything I just said. Why are you calling me?" I asked, putting the phone speaker when I saw Nat leaning closer as if to listen.
"Well, the lovely people of the council are having a hard time believing your intel on Thanos and his army. I didn't want to interrupt your date, but could you do me a favour and come here to confirm the intel?"
I looked at Natasha, who was already rolling the comforter and putting on her winter boots.
Well, there goes the mood.
"Sure, give me about...thirty seconds and I'll be there."
"We'll be waiting. Oh, and we're at the UN building in New York."
"Got it. See you in thirty," I replied, ending the call and letting out a groan as I stood up and looked at my date.
"Well, there goes our fun mood."
"It was quite pleasant, to be honest. I didn't expect myself to enjoy it that much."
"Well, that's a win in my books. So, should I take you back to the compound or you want to come with?"
"While I would like nothing more than to give Ross high-blood pressure, I think it's better if I go to the compound instead."
"Sure thing. Hold on," I wrapped an arm around her waist as I activated my Super Mode and took off, grabbing her coat along the way.
The Atlantic Ocean filled my vision with a step before another step brought me to New York, slowing down as I got to the Avengers' Compound and stopped.
Natasha gave a slight jump as I let go, staring at me with a look of...slight disappointment? as I handed her coat to her.
'Why would she...? Ah, I see.'
"You wanted to see the world frozen again, didn't you?" I spoke with a knowing smile, chuckling as she just gave a slight nod.
"A bit, but perhaps we can do that for the second date after we win this war. Choose some place tropical," I was a bit stunned as the woman walked away, my eyes dropping a moment at her waist and the ass that swayed with it before I looked up and saw her pleased smile.
'Oh, you tease,' I thought with a groan as I shook my head, ignoring her giggles as I turned and began making my way towards the U.N. building.
Let's just get this shit over with.
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United Nations Council Building, New York:
A few moments earlier:
"You wish for us to renege on the United Council's orders to label Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanoff and Bucky Barnes as wanted criminals? Is that correct, Mr. Stark?" Ross asked with a piercing stare, Tony lounging back in his own chair as the leaders of the world stared at him.
"That is correct, Mr. Secretary of State. While I know that you do not wish to do so, the battle coming requires all Avengers and our allies to be present lest we want for the Earth to be destroyed."
"And why should we do such a thing, Mr. Stark? As far as this council is concerned, Mr. Rogers and his companions broke not only the Sokovia Accords, but several international laws," U.S. President Matthew asked with a raised eyebrow, to which Tony smiled.
"May 4th 2012, the Battle of New York. We all remember that, right?" Tony asked, sitting up as the council just let out confused murmurs. "Well, according to a valued source of mine that has been doing undercover work the past couple of years in space, that was only the scout party. The actual army is way larger than that and their boss makes Hitler and the Red Skull look like toddlers throwing a tantrum."
"And can we meet this source?"
"He's currently out a date and I'm not a man that wishes to cock-block another guy, but I'll see," Ignoring their murmuring as they went back to whispering to each other, Tony dialled Pietro's number on his phone and waited.
A moment later, it was answered and Tony felt amused as he heard Pietro's irritated tone.
"Tones, I love that you want to check up on us, but I swear, if this isn't a cosmic emergency, I'm gonna run to your house-"
"Flash, you're on speaker in front of the UN," Tony cut him off, saving him from whatever he was going to say as he went silent.
"-forget everything I just said. Why are you calling me?" he recognized the frustrated tone of a man that was just interrupted from perhaps something happening, filing that information away for later.
"Well, the lovely people of the council are having a hard time believing your intel on Thanos and his army. I didn't want to interrupt your date, but could you do me a favour and come here to confirm the intel?"
"Sure, give me about...thirty seconds and I'll be there."
"We'll be waiting. Oh, and we're at the UN building in New York."
"Got it. See you in thirty," Pietro ended the call on his end as Tony closed his phone, giving a shrug to the council as they stared at him.
"As you heard, he'll be here in thirty seconds."
"So, he is close by, then?" Ross asked, drawing a snort from Tony as he leaned back.
"Nope, the kid's just fast. To him, the speed of light is like a third of his top speed, I believe. Hell, I've seen the kid run the length of two galaxies and get back to Earth in like a few minutes. Then again, that was probably with Thor's help."
"You expect us to believe this, Mr. S-"
"Alright, who doesn't believe me?" President Matthew jumped as a figure appeared right beside Tony from thin air, the genius in question looking smug as Pietro stood beside him with a frown. "Oh, and hello to all of you world leaders. It's a pleasure to meet people of your calibre."
"See?" Tony chimed in, swirling his paper coffee cup with a carefree smile as Pietro sat down in the chair next to him. "Twenty-seven seconds, which is terrible for you. What? Were you and Romanoff too busy playing footie under the table to stay on schedule?"
"For your information, we had a lovely dinner and we're having a very nice, adult conversation before you interrupted us."
"What is the meaning of this, Stark?" Ross' hiss drew the two heroes' attention, both raising an eyebrow at the sight of Ross standing with a glare. "Pietro Maximoff is supposed to be dead and his body buried under Sokovia's rubble for the past four years. If you've been harbouring a rogue, unregistered and enhanced person that was partly responsible for what happened in Sokovia, then-"
"He's not so different from how he is in my timeline," Pietro interrupted with a smirk to Tony, who chuckled into his coffee as the speedster turned back to stare at the Secretary of State. "For your information, Mr. Ross, I am not the Pietro you know that got lit up by bullets.
I am one from another timeline where I fought a time-travelling speedster dictator and choked him out in the Earth's core. I'm just legally being Pietro Maximoff."
"...What?" Most of the presidents and delegates looked confused, to which Pietro just shook his head.
"It's a confusing story and I don't feel like telling it, especially to you all. Just think of me as Pietro Maximoff that's time-travelled."
"Even...even if what you say is true, Mr. Maximoff, you still fall under the international legal ramifications of the Accords. You would still need to sign."
"Well, I don't want to."
"You don't have a choice," Ross replied, a frown on his face as he stared at the speedster. "The Accords were made because of what happened in Sokovia and because of the collateral damage you 'heroes' caused since you first appeared."
"Okay, what of this? I sign an agreement with President Matthew here as well as any future president where it states that I cannot operate outside the parameters of the Accords unless it's a dire situation? Let's say for example...genocide is being committed halfway across the world."
"You sign the Accords or you give up your title as a hero, Mr. Maximoff. We've already had this argument with Mr. Rogers and we're not going to have it with you," The delegate from France spoke with a frown, to which the speedster scratched his head with a sigh.
"Always the French wanting to chime in."
"Excuse me?"
"I said it's always the French that want to chime in. There, you heard it?" Pietro asked with a lopsided smirk, drawing a gasp from the leaders as he then turned to stare down Ross.
The next moment, Ross fell back into his chair as Pietro appeared standing atop his desk, hands in his pockets while the pistols of the guards around the room fell to pieces to the ground.
"Mr. Ross, do you want to know what my top speed is?"
"W-What?"
"It's approximately, and this is to my roughest, closest estimation, three to four times the speed of light. To me, at my full speed, the world looks like it's a frozen painting. Not only that, but I can manipulate my molecules to vibrate at such intense speeds that I pass through solid matter as though it wasn't there and I can survive in space without a ship or a spacesuit.
Do you understand what that means? It means that theoretically, I can destroy every single nuke on the planet and throw them into the expanse of space. It means that with just the wrong word from someone, an entire country ceases to have life on it.
But I don't do that. Why? Because that would make me a villain, a bad person in the eyes of my friends, family and loved ones, and I don't want to be that. I want to be a hero and to be a hero doesn't require a title or approval from you guys.
Being a hero means to be the person that does what's right even if everyone does the wrong thing, and right now, doing what's right means getting those pardons for my allies and preparing all of you for an army that's going to destroy this planet down to its last atom if we aren't prepared."
Hopping off the desk, Pietro vanished and reappeared next to Tony, sitting back down as the genius leaned forward.
"As the kid said, we're not here to negotiate with you all. You can either sign the full global pardons for Steve Rogers and the others or you can spend the next three weeks explaining to your citizens," Drones appeared from thin air, drawing more gasps from the leaders as several dozen cameras zoomed in on them, "why their families are dying because a few of you don't like the heroes that protect you."
"It...it will take us ten minutes to draft the executive emergency orders."
"Wonderful," Pietro rose with a smile, Tony doing the same as he adjusted his tie. "Then, we'll be waiting at the Avengers' Compound for them. Oh, and if possible? I want Ross to be the one who hands them to us."
"I will do so," Ross looked enraged despite how much he tried to hide it, drawing a chuckle from Pietro as he winked and walked out with Tony.
As the two exited the building, Pietro clasped his hand on Tony's shoulder, who tensed and prepared himself as their surroundings changed.
"Hey, I'm getting used to it," Pietro just stared at Tony as the man stumbled forward, shaking his head as he decided to help guide him.
"Sure thing. Now, let's go tell everyone the good news."
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At the same time:
Wakanda, Africa:
"Okay, I've done an analysis on everything and I believe that we are ready for the extraction process," Shuri spoke as she turned a holographic knob, adjusting a spectral graph before looking at her subject.
"I put my faith in your hands, Ms. Shuri."
"Please, just Shuri," she replied with a wave of her hand, drawing a smile from Vision before he felt Wanda's hand gripping his.
"A-And what should I be doing?"
"Well, the stone is made up of several personalities and some of those are attached to the stone. What I want you to do is to peel away Vision's personality as it is and keep it stable while also making sure that the stone doesn't destabilize."
"And what should happen should the stone destabilize?"
"I will be lost in the sea of personalities that make up my existence and the stone will release a burst of energy equivalent to Tsar Bomb."
"...What he said," Shuri spoke with a slow nod, drawing a frown from Wanda as she nodded, leaning down to lay a soft kiss on Vision's lips before pulling back.
"When this is over and should everything proceed perfectly, do you wish to get married?" Vision's question draw a choke from Shuri as she turned, looking at Wanda who looked both elated and shocked.
"A-Are you being serious?"
"Very, yes. The time I've spent lying here has shown me that I wish for nothing more than to be at your side in every capacity," Wanda's eyes shimmered with tears as she let out a short, breathless laugh, Shuri staying silent as she watched the witch nod.
"Yes, Vis The answer is yes."
"Well, now I have a promise to fulfill with all my being," Vision spoke with a joking tone, drawing a giggle from Wanda before Shuri cleared her throat.
"I love a good rom-com as much as the next girl, but you two are spiking the emotional biometric monitors. However, once we do get this rock out of your head, I call being a bridesmaid."
"I would not mind," Wanda replied, taking a step back as Shuri opened a complex, floating lattice of blue and yellow data streams that made up the neural pathways connecting the Mind Stone to Vision's head.
"Okay, we're initiating the resonance baseline. Wanda, be prepared to act in three...two...one...Now," Taking a sharp, deep breath, Wanda's fingers gracefully weaved dense, swirling ribbons of crimson energy from her fingertips.
They gently slithered through the air and anchored her magic to Vision's forehead, who closed his eyes as several miniature machines began to hover around the stone.
As one, each of the seventeen machines spat out brilliant beams of blue vibranium-laced lights, gently tapping against the beam's outline.
The next moment, Wanda's eyes snapped wide as Vision's body went stiff, the Mind Stone responding with a deafening psychic scream that shot outwards in the form of a concussive wave of mental feedback.
A ribbon diverted from Vision's forehead and split into several dozen strands, protecting the minds of all in the lab and close by as the feedback hit him.
"W-What-"
"Don't stop working, Wanda! It's just the Stone fighting back!" Shuri grunted, manually beginning to work the process of the stones as Wanda nodded.
Over the next hour, the two worked endlessly, lab assistants and guards evacuating and leaving the area for them as they worked. Her arms trembled and her mind ached as Wanda kept a dense lock around the Mind Stone, Shuri herself having a focused yet strained expression on her face.
"P-Percentage, Shuri?" Wanda gasped out, forcing a rogue strand of yellow cosmic energy back into the stone.
"99.4% and rising! We're good!" Shuri shouted back, her fingers flying across various holographic keyboards as she bypassed an overlapping neural junction. "I've cleared the primary logic gates, but the motor function pathways are wound tighter than a spring. You're going to have to dampen the resonance and then pull it out before the stone finishes rewriting its own feedback loop!"
"J-Just...say when!" Wanda gritted her, drawing more energy to keep the stone stable while wrapping her own mind around Vision's.
"And...now!!" With a cry that sounded distorted, her ribbons wounded tightly around the stone as the bindings around it loosened and let go.
Ripping it out and leaving a hole in Vision's forehead, Wanda wrapped her energy around the stone and gasped as it settled, Shuri advancing with a vibranium dome that opened and snapped shut around the stone.
"Hah, how is he doing?" Shuri asked, looking relieved as Vision's eyes fluttered open.
"W-Well, I guess the last thing to do now is plan a wedding."
A/N: And we end it here!! Pietro's date ends, he talks with Tony and the UN and Vision is now free.
Oh, boy, is Thanos fucked.
Next chapter: You're done, pal.
As always, read, enjoy, review and until the next one...
Ba-Bye~!!