Inheritance of ash

don't.

"Okay," she said softly, almost in prayer. "You said 'don't'. Don't what?"

Nothing.

She squeezed her eyes tighter. "Are you... in there? Hello? Creepy voice guy?"

Still nothing. Not a whisper. Not a flicker. Just the distant hum of the compound's air system and the distant sound of someone laughing two floors below. Probably Sam.

She let her head fall back against the wall with a dull thunk.

"Of course," she muttered. "Mystery ghost man only shows up when I'm getting nuked by a scanner. Not when I actually want to talk."

The silence that followed was more frustrating than comforting. She wasn't sure what answer she was expecting-maybe a name, or a reason. Or even a second word.

But the voice was gone.

And she was left with exactly what she'd had before: a bracelet with an attitude problem and a creeping sense that her brain was starting to come apart at the seams.

Maybe she is crazy.

Maybe this was some slow unraveling and no one wanted to tell her. Bruce and Peter had promised not to say anything, but for how long? What if she lost control again? What if next time it wasn't just light?

What if she hurt someone?

She curled in tighter on herself, arms wrapped around her knees. "If I am losing it," she whispered, "can I at least get a heads-up? Like a memo? A vision board?"

Nothing. Again.

The voice was done for now. Or waiting.

Or maybe it had never been there to begin with.

⸻

Dinner was loud. It always was. Between Sam loudly insisting that Thor had cheated at Uno (again), and Kate dramatically retelling the tale of her battle with the broken toaster that morning, the table felt alive.

Peter was unusually quiet though, nudging peas around his plate with the end of his fork.

Steve noticed. "You good, kid?"

Peter didn't look up. "Fine."

"You sure?" Steve pressed.

Peter finally glanced over with a deadpan expression. "I had to sit through your 'Actions Have Consequences' video today."

There was a beat of silence.

Then Sam spit his water.

Tony choked on a laugh. "Oh no."

"I didn't even blow it up," Peter added, arms crossing. "Ned did. I just... helped. A little."

Clint grinned. "So you got detention and a Cap Talk. Brutal."

Steve, thoroughly unbothered, sipped his water with dignity. "I stand by my message."

"Your message was forty-seven minutes long," Peter said flatly.

Kate grinned. "I told you not to touch that gas valve."

"I thought it was the cool gas valve!"

"Cool gas valves don't hiss when you poke them, genius."

As the teasing rolled on, Tony's eyes flicked toward the hallway. His grin faded just a little.

"Where's Vicky?"

The room quieted half a second.

"Didn't she head upstairs a while ago?" Bruce asked. "Said something about a shower."