Here to haunt me?

9. Thank you.

The man and woman looked at Juliette, and that was when the panic set in. When they finally spoke, she nearly feinted in her seat. 

In Sokovian, they spoke to only her. "You are the daughter of the red one."

Shit, shit, shit. This wasn't happening here. Not here, now, with her friends. Her friends who were sitting confusedly behind her. Peter was probably more confused than Ana, because she saw his spider-sense was still making him tense. 

Juliette got up with shaky legs. She walked forward a step, inconspicuously positioning herself between the pair and her friends. She spoke in her language, "Why are you here." Gods, she hadn't spoken Sokovian in forever. She'd missed it more that she realized.

The man laughed, but the woman just answered, "We are here for retribution. Your mother insulted our coven, and you are the only way the debt may be paid." 

Her face went white. She was shaking lightly, afraid and anxious but also mad. She directed it at the pair. "I owe you nothing. Leave us."

Peter knew something was wrong, because he started, "Juliette, is everything okay?" Ana nearly interrupted him. She was smiling, oblivious to what was going on between them. She said, "Are these people you know from back in the Netherlands?" Of course they had no idea that wasn't the language the three were speaking. 

Juliette turned around slightly, showing her face to Ana and Peter. "No, I don't know them." She said to them in English. Peter and Ana, who caught up quickly, got up too at this. They were both wary. 

The adults continued in Sokovian, all their attention still on Juliette, "Come with us." 

She didn't bother to switch from English when she spoke. "No." She practically cursed it at them. They were going to ruin everything. The two dropped their act and smiles.

In a millisecond, she noticed Peter moving unnaturally fast to cover both her and Ana. He knew they were going to strike, they weren't hiding their magic. Peter was about to both reveal he was Spider-Man and get hit badly by something he didn't know. Juliette basically sobbed when she realized her options.

Let Peter get hit and ruin his free future, or give up on the act she had been holding up for two years. She would have to do so much explaining, and apologizing for the fact that she had been lying to everybody for years. She swore a tear ran down her cheek when she said goodbye to her calm life. 

She moved an arm to stop Peter from getting to the front, and cried out when a blast of purple magic hit the red shield she had flung over the three of them.

Everything seemed to go fast again then. She was panting as the villainous power pushed against her shoulder. She looked at her friends and wished she hadn't. Ana was looking at her with wide eyes full of shock and confusion. She looked around Juliette at the red light taking the impact. 

And when Juliette looked at Peter, she saw the look in his eyes much clearer. He was looking at her, recognition flashing over his face. He realized what she had done to save him. He realized that she knew he was about to jump in front of her. You, he mouthed. Juliette nodded, smiling at him sadly.

The adults stopped throwing magic at the shield. Juliette turned around to see them sneering. They hadn't known her power had developed yet.

She took advantage of the situation by sending beams of red at their chests. Some of them struck, and the pair was sent back a few steps. She wasn't hiding her strengths anymore, so she crawled into their minds. They were harder to reach, guarded, but she got in. As quick as she got in, she took away their consciousness.