Nightingale | An Avengers Tale

Chapter 23 ~ mistake

I am convinced that the worst sound to wake up to is that of a buzzing mosquito. At first you think there's a bee in your ear, and the next second you're relieved to find that you've only been a free blood bank. Then the cycle repeats as the next of kin seeks revenge on you for sending Karen off to her final resting place. This was exactly the situation I had just found myself in. The only difference is that I'm not sure whether this mosquito's name was Karen; in my defense it wasn't wearing a name tag.

At first, I was content to enjoy my comfortable position in bed and just ignore the vampire bug that was slowly sucking the life out of me. That lasted all of about three seconds; I guess I'm slowly becoming more patient.

"Ugh." I angrily exclaimed as quickly rolled over. "I'm going to kill you." I shouted as I slammed my hands towards the buzzing noise. As usual, I missed.

"Hey!" Peter's comforting voice rang out. "You ok?"

My frantic swatting stopped as I realized that I was not alone as I had previously believed. Fudge. I really have gotten sloppy. "There's a mosquito." I hoarsely replied.

He sympathetically nodded, but as I turned to glance out the window, I saw a small smirk spread across his face. It looked like we were back at Stark's old cabin, but I had no idea how I had gotten here. I remembered getting in the elevator, and that was it. Everything after was a huge blank.

"You ok?" His voice grew serious.

I slowly shook my head. "What did I do?" For a split second he hesitated, and that was when I knew it must have been bad. I tightly gripped my pillow, letting my nails dig into the soft surface. I ignored the feeling of them cracking under the pressure. "Pete. What did I do?" I forced my voice to remain even in spite of the panic I was feeling. Had I killed someone? Where was Bucky? I couldn't imagine him not being here after I'd been put under, but then again maybe he was the person I'd hurt, or worse, killed.

I could feel my steady breathing becoming more frantic as he still refused to answer me. I closed my eyes in what was quickly becoming my last futile attempt at preventing a full blown panic attack. "Did I kill anyone."

"Yeah." Peter paused. "Jack's uncle."

I opened my eyes as I let out a gasp of relief. "So I didn't hurt any of you?"

"Clint had to be taken to the hospital." He finally admitted.

"How is he?" I jerked up as I began to pray I wasn't the cause.

He hesitated again.

"Tell me." I turned to glare at him.

"He was trying to get you out before the bombs detonated." He hesitated again. "You kicked him in the head. He has a concussion, and he has lost hearing in one ear." He began to rush. "The doctor's initially thought it would just be temporary, but it's not looking so good right now."

"Why hasn't S.H.I.E.L.D. just locked me up?" I bit my lip as I waited for his answer.

"Because they knew you didn't mean to do it."

"I'm a danger to everyone around me." I muttered as I stared down at the wooden floor.

"You aren't a villain, Lil." He softly replied.

"Well, I'm certainly not a hero." I crossed my arms as I turned to stare at him. 

"You saved everyone back there." Peter began to argue. He immediately stopped upon making eye contact with me. "Fine. You're more like an anti-hero. Happy?"