no title because i have no imagination
As soon as the bomb went off, Pietro knew he had to be quick and efficient, he had no time to waste. He wouldn’t have long before the agents waiting in the helicopter would notice that he hadn’t left the scene and would come looking for him. After quickly scanning the scene, his eyes landed on a body so mangled that it was completely unrecognizable, perfect for his plan.
Being sure no one else was around, all having left after the first explosion, Pietro made his way over to the dead man and switched their clothes. He felt a little bad for stripping a stranger down to his underwear, but he was dead so it wasn’t like he would know anyway.
He made sure to keep a few of his weapons, not wanting to head into the unknown completely un-weaponized, he didn’t know what was waiting for him and he didn’t want to be unprepared with no way to defend himself. He could fight, obviously, but his fists would only get him so far if hundreds of soldiers attacked him with rifles.
After taking a quick breather and another look around to make sure nobody was watching him, Pietro left the scene completely undetected and ran. It didn’t look too suspicious since everyone else outside of the building was running too, and as soon as he was far enough away, he relaxed a little. He couldn’t believe his plan had worked, he had a long way to go but he didn’t think he would get so far, he may be one of the best, but he was also taught by the best. There was a big chance they already knew about his plan and were already after him, so he couldn’t let his guard down so soon.
He knew he shouldn’t get too excited, but the fact that he was one step further to freedom brought a small smile to the boy’s face, it was all he had been thinking of since the moment he was shipped off to the red room and all he could think about was all of the things he was going to try that he had never been allowed to before, like churros. He remembers his first mission to America and seeing the small stall in a park and all of the delicious treats he was just dying to try, that was something he could do now, and as small as that was, he couldn’t be more happy.
But that would have to wait, he still had to find some money and a change of clothes. As much as he didn’t want to do it he knew his only choice was to pickpocket someone, it’s not like he had the time to get a job. Making his way to a populated area, Pietro scanned the crowd, finding an older man who looked like he wouldn’t miss his wallet.
He walked over to the man, playing up his childlike doe eyes and ‘accidentally’ bumped into him, sending them both flying to the floor.
“Oh, I’m so sorry sir, I wasn’t looking where I was going,” Pietro cried, “let me help you up,”
As Pietro helped the man up, he quickly slipped his hand into the bulged-out pocket and slipped the wallet into his own. Thankfully, the man didn’t notice and instead walked away after quickly thanking the boy for helping him up.
Pietro couldn’t guarantee that there would be enough money in the wallet to get him a change of clothes, but he hoped there would be, he didn’t want to have to trip over another elderly citizen and make himself look like the criminal he was.
Luckily for Pietro, there were 30,430 rubles in the wallet, definitely more than enough to get him by for the time being. Throwing the rest of the wallet in the trash, he made his way to the nearest clothing store, the next step in his plan.
He couldn’t get anything too out there and he also couldn’t get himself something that made him look like an agent, those are two things that would a hundred percent make him stand out in the crowd. Taking inspiration from the people he had seen in the streets, he picked up a plain black pair of jeans, a blue hoodie and a black pair of sneakers, making him look like your average teenager. Being Russia, it was cold, but Pietro didn’t want to waste any of his limited money on a coat just in case he needed it, he was used to being out in the cold anyway, and the Red Room didn’t exactly care how their agents felt out in the field.
For the next part of the plan, Pietro had wanted to stay in Russia to see if anyone found ‘his’ body, but he wasn’t so sure that would be a good idea anymore, he knew the quicker he left Russia the better. If he was still in the country, if they worked out that his body wasn’t really his body then they would have a better chance at capturing him and taking him straight back to his personal hell, and that couldn’t be an option. He had to leave Russia immediately.
He had plenty of experience smuggling people in and out of the country, so smuggling himself wouldn’t be a problem at all. After a quick brainstorm, he decided his best bet was to sneak himself onto a cargo plane. The Planes left Russia for America every hour of the day, so he just needed to get on one that was packed to the brim, leaving less chance for him to be seen.
During his planning process, he decided he wanted to go to New York. New York is a large, densely populated city, making it harder for him to be found if it comes to it and he is tracked to the city. There were plenty of places to hide there and he knew he had a better chance of survival knowing that the Avengers resided there.
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Sneaking onto the cargo plane was a lot easier than he expected it to be. Whilst he was waiting he had worked himself up with anxiety, getting caught would be the worst thing for him, he would get arrested and the police would try to find his identity just to discover he doesn’t exist, it would be a nightmare. Luckily, he didn’t get caught and deep down he knew he wouldn’t, he had never been caught before and he wasn’t about to start now.
The journey wouldn’t be too long, but it was still going to be almost ten hours which only left Pietro to himself and his thoughts. He was scared, as much as he wanted to pretend he wasn’t, he was about to restart his life completely. He didn’t know how to cook, he didn’t know how to buy food or acquire a place to live or do anything that did not entail stealing information or killing someone. He didn’t know how to look after himself, they may have done it cruelly, but the Red Room had looked after him for seven years and they were all he knew. He didn’t know how to be a regular citizen.
Deciding that getting a little sleep couldn’t hurt, Pietro got as comfy as he could and closed his eyes, he wanted to be as energized as he could when they landed in New York, he had a lot to do and he didn’t want to be exhausted when he got started on the rest of his plan.
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Pietro’s eyes snapped open once he felt the plane descending and all of the anxiety that he had willed away had hit him at full force. He had never expected the first step of his plan to work, never mind making it to New York, but he did and he was over the moon. He had never felt happiness like that before and he never wanted the feeling to go away.
Remembering that he was still technically on a mission, he focused and got into position. As soon as he got on the plane he looked around and found the best place for him to hide when the plane would be unloaded. He couldn’t just run out, the plane would be parked on a landing strip meaning there was going to be too much open space, making it easier for him to be spotted. That meant he had to hide inside one of the crates. With his super hearing, he knew that the crate he had chosen was being delivered to a school in the city which made it the perfect place to hide, he didn’t only get a lift to America, but he was also getting a lift to the middle of the city without having to be seen at all.
Quickly and quietly, he pushed himself into the crate, he had made sure the opening he had created would be able to close and stay closed so he wasn’t too worried about anything falling out, or worse, himself falling out and risking himself getting caught in a foreign country.
He had shut himself inside the crate just in time for the plane doors to be opened and for the workers to start unloading the crates. He held his breath as he waited to be lifted, just praying that he did not get caught so far into his journey, it would feel like a stab to the heart, being so close to freedom but getting discovered at one of the easiest points in his plan.
Someone appeared to be listening to his prayers. The crate was lifted and the whole thing didn’t collapse around him and his opening did not fail. He was finally able to breathe again when he felt himself being loaded into the waiting truck that would take him straight to Manhattan and for the second time today, all he could do was wait.
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Pietro was a lot less on edge now that he had made it to the city, without the fear of a Red Room assassin jumping out of nowhere ready to kill him on the spot he was a lot more hopeful for the rest of his plan, it would only get easier considering the next part consisted of what he had been trained to do for his entire life. Minus the killing, he wasn’t planning on killing anyone ever again unless it was necessary.
He wished he had a window or something that he could look out of during the drive, it was a little unnerving not knowing if he was being driven to where he expected to be or if he was being taken somewhere completely different. But if he was then that was a problem for future him, he would deal with it if he had to.
He used the short drive to mentally go over the rest of his plan, it would be hard but for someone like him, it was just a smooth slope from here, if anything was to go wrong then he would only have himself to blame and he would probably deserve it after making a silly mistake that would cost him his freedom.
Still in the confinement of the crate, he could feel the truck pull to a stop and with his enhanced hearing he could hear the driver’s plans to drop the crate in the school’s storage unit and head off to get some lunch, leaving the school to unpack it themselves. He was a little curious as to what was in the bags that he was laying all over but he knew it would look weird if someone was to see that someone had been rummaging through whatever was delivered.
Finally, when the crate was dropped off and he couldn’t hear anyone’s heartbeats nearby, Pietro cautiously eased himself out of the wooden contraption and took a look around. It appeared as though he was in some sort of warehouse, a pretty empty one at that so he’s grateful he took the time to listen out for anyone. Still making sure to focus on any sign of other people, he snuck out of the warehouse, making sure to avoid any security cameras and made his way to the closest street he could see.
He was almost overwhelmed by the amount of people wandering the streets but he quickly pulled himself together and got a move on. Taking a peak at a stranger’s phone as he walked by, he could see that it was only one pm leaving him with more than enough time for the next part of his plan. He didn’t exactly know his way around the city and he didn’t feel like talking to any strangers unless he had to, so he had to rely on the street signs to point him in the right direction to the nearest library.
He wasn’t too excited for the next step after finding his destination, it wasn’t that he was nervous that he would be caught, he knew for a fact that he wouldn’t, he just felt a little bad that he was about to hack into some strangers bank and steal some of their hard-earned money.
Walking into the library, Pietro tried his hardest to look like he belonged there, but he had never been to one before so he didn’t exactly know what the protocol was and unfortunately, didn’t have a choice but to talk to the older man behind the reception desk.
“Um, excuse me, sir?” Pietro asked, putting on an American accent.
“What’s up, kid?”
“I just moved here and I need to use the computer but I don’t have a card. I was wondering if you could make an exception. I need to do some stuff for my new school,” he had seen the sign behind the desk just as he had begun talking so he hoped his big eyes would be enough for the man to give in, if he didn’t he didn’t know what he would do.
“Ah, I guess I can make an exception, just this once though, if you need to use them again then you need to get a card,” the man handed Pietro a pass and after thanking him, Pietro made his way to the computer in the furthest corner where there were no cameras, preventing anyone from seeing what he was about to do.
After downloading a VPN, he made quick work of creating false documents for himself and his imaginary mom, using the names Peter Parker and May Parker. He also made another set for himself, wanting to have something to show that he was over the age of twenty-one, just in case and so he could get himself an apartment. He was a little hesitant to use his real last name but he figured there were enough Parker’s in the world that he wouldn’t stand out in the crowd. After completing the documents, he now had the resources to get himself a PO box and make himself a bank account, well, two bank accounts, one for him and the other for his fake mother.
Then came the part he was dreading, he quickly searched up the most hated billionaire, not wanting to take from someone who didn’t deserve it and decided on whoever Aldrich Killian was. Pietro was a bad guy, but at least he didn’t do it because he wanted to. Deciding the guy wouldn’t notice a couple million was missing, he smoothly transferred it over to ‘Peter’s’ account, making sure to leave no evidence of it ever happening and wiped his search history after noting down everything he needed.
After thanking the helpful librarian again, Pietro left the library and made his way to the bank, unless he wanted to wait for his credit card to be delivered to the PO box, then he had to go and pick it up himself so he could have somewhere to sleep for the night, he also had to pick up his new ID, otherwise he wouldn’t legally be able to book a hotel room whilst he waited for everything else to be ready.
Whilst at the bank, he really had to play up his sweet innocent kid persona, or the bank teller wouldn’t have given him his credit card without his guardian present. He made her feel bad enough for him that she handed it over without any further questions and just left him to it. He had to do the same with his ID, but even if they didn’t let him have it he would have just stolen it anyway, it would have been an inconvenience but he’d have gotten them anyway.
With the penultimate step in the plan finally completed, Peter felt as if he could finally relax, all he had to do now was find an apartment, he wasn’t in that much of a hurry since he now had enough money to temporarily live in a hotel, but he still wanted to get it done as soon as possible. He wanted to feel free and settled as soon as possible.
It seemed as though he was having a winning streak lately, because as he was walking down the street, heading for the closest hotel his eyes caught sight of a for sale sign, hanging out the window of an apartment.