NEXT AVENGERS: Destiny

Contest Winners!!

Of course, the mere thought of his past caused him to feel a pressure in his chest and panic to settle in his brain, almost as if he was still there and his inner suffering had decided it wasn't done with him yet.

But he was totally fine. He didn't get messed up.

He couldn't be messed up.

Could he?

***

He hated talking about his childhood. If anything even remotely revolving around Ultra City, the Scavengers or his parents came up, all he wanted to do was up and leave. He wanted to go shoot, run or punch until he couldn't think or breathe anymore. Sometimes, he'd stay and tough it out. Other times, he'd get up and storm off immediately.

The reason he had this mentality towards the topic was because it hurt so much to think about it. It hurt to think about how he was orphaned at such a young age. It hurt to think about how the very city that contained him was bent on killing him. It hurt to think about how so many of the people he had considered friends had to die

But, at the same time, it also hurt to keep it all bottled up. There were so many things regarding his past that he kept from the others. He hadn't been truthful about how many people had actually been lost during Ultron's reign. He was always vague when they asked about the battles they had against the machines. And most importantly, he never ever told them about the tortures that the robots put him through, both physical and mental.

Yet he knew there was a reason he kept it all to himself. He knew that if he ever decides to tell them about all the horrifying events, it would hurt them too. They would start feeling bad for him and blaming themselves for not helping any sooner. Worst of all, they would begin to think that it was all their fault, and then they would start feeling as pained as he did.

And no one deserved to feel pain like he did.

***

Francis sighed to himself as he closed the door, slumping against the wall. It had been a very long day. They had begun training at seven in the morning, only for their session to get cut short due to a super-villain attack. After fighting the new baddie (Francis had already forgotten what he had called himself) they had discovered he was in kahoots with Hydra. So then they had to fly all the way out to wherever Hydra had stuck their headquarters this time just to destroy whatever super-weapon the guy was supposed to be diverting attention from. At the end of the day, Francis was exhausted.

The archer couldn't help but feel a little bit of hope rise up in his chest. Maybe he'd actually be able to get a good sleep tonight. Francis couldn't remember the last time he'd slept for more than one hour. After all, the nightmares were what got to him the most. He was so haunted by them that he couldn't even sleep anymore. Tonight, however, could be different.

Walking over to his drawers and removing his combat uniform, Francis pulled on a pair of plain black sweatpants. Too lazy to take a shower, he went ahead and walked over to his bed.

~

The familiar sense of fear gripped him like a vice, suffocating him and driving him to a state of even further panic. He could hear screams around him, all sorts of screams. He couldn't see anything but black, almost as if smoke was enveloping him.

Eventually, the black cloud dissipated, and he could finally see.

He ended up wishing he couldn't.

Red covered the streets, the crimson liquid seeping down buildings and cars, painting the asphalt. Smoke from fires filled the air and settled in the sky like a thick blanket. Bodies were strewn about in random places, mangled and cold.

Francis stumbled back, trying to distance himself from the scene in front of him. He turned around, trying to see any means of escape. The only thing that met his gaze was more death.

The boy could feel bile rising up in his throat, the contents of his stomach threatening to come right back up. He grimaced as he swallowed, forcing it all back down. Now was not the time for that. He had to find a way to escape this.

Turning to his left, Francis was about to take off running. Anywhere to escape this horrendous disaster. But what he saw next was even worse than the whole situation in whole,

There, laying on the ground before him, were the bloodied bodies of his parents. Bobbi's golden locks were almost stained entirely scarlet, a large gash in the center of her forehead. Her once bright blue eyes were wide open and bloodshot. Clint had his arm extended, looking as if he was reaching towards his wife. There was a huge hole in the center of his chest and the bone of his right arm was exposed.

The tears leaked out of his eyes before he could even process what was in front of him. Francis turned around as quick as he could, desperate to be any place but here. However, his problems only seemed to get worse.

The familiar metallic silver was the first thing that his eyes caught on to. He could feel himself shake as he forced himself to look up at the glowing red eyes. To his terror, the android was already looking back down at him. Then, he spoke, his chilling monotone voice filling the void space between them.

"You're next."

~

He felt as if he was choking on air as he woke up, a cold sweat drenching him as he all but tossed himself out of bed. Panic was still at home in his system, making it feel as if he wasn't able to take a breath in. He stumbled into his bathroom, tears painting their way down his face as he gripped onto his sink, trying to grab a hold of himself.

He turned on his faucet, splashing water onto his face to try to get himself to calm down. Once he felt as if he could finally breathe again, Francis leaned back against the wall, sliding down until he was sitting on the ground. Pulling his knees to his chest, tears continued to dance down his cheeks as he thought back to the nightmare. Not being able to deny it anymore, the archer cried even harder as he forced himself to accept what he knew deep down was true all along.

He wasn't okay.

Not one bit.

ISNT IT AMAZING?!?!?

Thank you so much for entering and I look forward to seeing you in the Next Chapter :D

~Lorna