"Copy."
Pietro Maximoff adjusted his goggles, rolling his shoulders once.
"Plan A. Showtime."
And then—
The world went silent.
Cars on the street below became frozen sculptures. Pedestrians were statues mid-step. Even birds hung suspended in the air like decorative props.
Silver light streaked straight up the glass façade of Avengers Tower.
In less than a blink, Pietro reached the 90th-floor exterior window.
He pulled out a micro high-frequency vibration cutter and traced a perfect circular opening in the reinforced glass.
"Entry secured."
He took a breath. Touched the golden collar tucked inside his jacket.
"Curtain up."
In a flash, he slipped through the opening and into the hall.
The scent hit him immediately—heavy incense, sweet and intoxicating.
He ignored it.
At the center of the transformed penthouse stood Lorelei.
She was facing away, speaking lazily to Tony Stark.
In this near-frozen dimension of stretched time, everything moved like syrup.
Easy.
Pietro grinned.
The golden collar rose in his hand.
He became a silver thread slicing through stillness—
Twenty meters.
Ten.
Five.
Another 0.1 seconds and he'd snap the collar around her neck, walk out a hero, and collect applause.
Then—
The moment he crossed into the five-meter radius around her—
"BZZZZZZZ—!!!"
An invisible pulse shattered his temporal bubble.
Tony Stark's engineered psychic field—woven from the Mind Scepter's neural frequency and amplified by Lorelei's enchantment—detonated outward.
The stretched timeline snapped like glass.
"What—"
Pietro's thoughts blanked.
A voice filled his mind.
Soft.
Warm.
"Have you been running for so long… aren't you tired?"
"Rest now, child."
It was maternal. Lover-like. Comforting beyond reason.
The adrenaline vanished.
In its place—warmth.
Safety.
A bliss he had never known.
Like sinking into an endless embrace.
"Stop running."
"Your love is here…"
Two meters from Lorelei—
His knees buckled.
Thud.
The golden collar clattered onto the velvet carpet and rolled gently to her feet.
Lorelei did not flinch.
She rose slowly, elegant and unhurried.
Her fingers brushed Pietro's cheek.
"Did you come to bring me a gift?"
His hand trembled.
"I…"
He looked up at her.
She was radiant.
Perfect.
How could he ever harm her? How could he disgrace her with something so crude as a collar?
"Yes…"
His voice turned dreamy.
"I came… to offer my loyalty."
"Pietro! What are you doing?!"
Natasha's voice screamed in his earpiece.
"Move! Don't listen to her!"
But now—
Natasha's voice was grating.
Harsh.
Annoying.
"Shut up…"
Pietro ripped out the earpiece, crushed it under his heel.
Then he dropped to one knee.
And kissed Lorelei's foot.
"My Queen."
…
Hidden in the shadows, Silas Lawton stared in disbelief.
"…You've got to be kidding me."
The fastest man alive?
Surrendered in under a second?
Speed record for capitulation.
"Silas! Get out of there!" Natasha barked.
"Pietro's compromised! He'll give you away!"
"What?!"
Too late.
Pietro slowly lifted his hand.
And pointed directly at Silas' hiding spot.
"My Queen…" Pietro said adoringly.
"There's another rat. Hiding there."
"Pietro—!!!"
Silas didn't hesitate.
He bolted.
"Catch him," Lorelei said lazily.
"If he's a rat… don't let him scurry away."
Tony stood up, eyes cold.
"F.R.I.D.A.Y., initiate internal maximum security protocol. Seal all exits."
"Yes, Boss."
The AI's voice echoed across the tower.
"All blast doors locked. Infrared scanning activated. Sonar sweep online. Iron Legion deploying."
Panels snapped open.
Dozens of Iron Legion drones shot into the air, blue optics scanning violently.
"Crap! Crap! Crap!"
Silas flattened low, using invisibility to its fullest advantage—but sonar compressed his escape routes.
"Whoosh—!"
A repulsor blast grazed past his head, shattering a vase.
"Almost lost my head!"
"Left! Silas, east corridor!" Natasha commanded through the tactical link. "There's a blind spot!"
He dove into the hallway, scrambling.
Back in the throne room—
Lorelei barely cared about the fleeing infiltrator.
She had something new.
Something faster.
She tilted Pietro's chin upward, studying his youthful face.
"What a handsome little thing."
Her fingers ran through his silver hair.
"What's your name, darling? You move very quickly."
"My name is Pietro, my Queen. Pietro Maximoff."
His eyes burned with fanatic devotion.
"I am the fastest man in the world. I can do anything for you… before you even blink."
"Anything?" she asked softly.
A knowing smile curved her lips.
There was something intoxicating about her—dangerous, mature allure that made Pietro's breath hitch.
"I do enjoy… a quick tempo."
She turned and began walking toward the inner chamber—Tony Stark's former bedroom, now draped in crimson silk.
"Come along, little one."
She glanced back, eyes half-lidded.
"Let me see… just how fast you really are."
Like a puppet pulled by strings, Pietro rose instantly and followed her.
"Tony," Lorelei called before stepping inside,
"Don't slow down. When I return, I want to hear the world cheering."
Tony bowed slightly.
"As you command, my Queen."
And returned to his work.
-----
Meanwhile—
The infiltration had failed.
Plan A had fallen in 0.1 seconds.
Plan B was running for its life.
And the clock toward global enchantment was still ticking.
--------------
T/N:
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