EVERYTHING HAD TO BE PERFECT. Every spec, every picture, and every destruction; it all needed to be perfected like the big showcase that it was. Not a single misalignment as the show will show its flaws. A master plan that a group of knowledgeable people constructed, all sharing the same story of being wronged by one man; an industry that chewed them up and spat them out like used gum, no longer having the flavor they desire. However, it didn't matter as the man was now dead, but to see Tony passing the most powerful A.I. system to a mere child--yeah, that was the most idiotic thing he has ever done.
It was so easy to come up with a sob story, something that will eat a good man's morals and sucker him into bending the rules to grant justice. Death of a family member and adding kids to the mix, Beck couldn't believe how easy it was to fool a bunch of paranoid freaks.
Ignorance and immaturity are what Peter Parker is; sure, he's an intelligent and remotely good hero, Beck will grant him that, but the kid lacks so many skills. Peter was unbelievably naive. Even dead, the boy wanted to make Tony proud. The boy couldn't see that the problem wasn't from far away but right next to him the whole time.
And then there's Eszter--the enhanced who's annoyingly hyperaware of one's thoughts, well, emotionally. Beck held his story up no matter what, but he was almost certain that Eszter would've called him out in front of everyone; she could've, and all of this would've gone down the drain in an instant, but by some miracle, Eszter withheld that information and avoided outing Beck. Pleasantly surprised by it, Beck carried on with his plan. Knowing that Eszter was struggling with her inner demons, allowing the man to slip through and get what he wanted.
Capable of getting rid of Eszter during the most important part, Beck was able to feign as a father figure in Peter's eyes; to play as a supportive figure in the kid's life and grant Peter, someone he could look up to, and act like the Tony Stark the boy needed. Somehow, it worked.
"You took everything from me!" The playback audio plays in the background, filling the studio with Beck's voice as the video floats around the monster, shooting it with green beams. "This is for my family!"
Huddled around a couple of tables, several other scientists and engineers sat around as they watched their work in action. Once staff for Tony Stark, now a bunch of people seeking revenge. They ogled the video playing in front of them, sparing small conversation among themselves.
"Pause," the real Beck calls, but the video continues. "Pause."
Williams jumps, pressing the button. "Sorry."
The video stands still, frozen but flickering.
"Yeah, uh, can you just fast-forward to the end?"
"Yeah. Standby."
Beck mumbles a few nonsenses here and there, watching as the video plays out quickly. "I'm not in love with this choreography, but it'll do. Kill imagine," he orders. William obliges. "De-cloak drones. Right, weapons?"
"You want to weaponize them?" William questions, earning a light hum. "Weapons only. Standby." The drones open their guns and repeat the process, reenacting the scene. "Nice."
However, Beck wasn't satisfied. "Stop. Something . . . I don't know what it is. It's something . . . just dou--you know what? Double the damage, and then run it again."
"You want me to double it up? Alright. Cover your ears."
The video plays over again with the same image, destroying the pillars on the side of the studio. The video repeats itself with more destruction.
"That's good! That's good," Beck beams excitedly as William flashes two thumbs up. "We're on schedule?"
"Oh, yeah. Uploading software hack to E.D.I.T.H. network, where drones will be able to create an event big enough to cover an entire city."
"Right. Well done. Make sure every drone is weapons hot. We need maximum damage."
Guterman chuckles, maybe a little nervously. "That's gonna cause a lot of casualties."
"Oh, yeah. More casualties, more coverage. London is a beautiful city, and it will suffer, but they can rebuild. If I'm gonna be the next Iron Man, I need to save the world from an Avengers-level threat," Beck informs. Lifting his arm, he inspects his gadget as he swipes a few buttons. "But when its new savior descends--" the holographic projection of Mysterio flies down and incapsulates Beck like a second skin, altering and amplifying his voice. "--all those casualties will be forgotten. Janice, you'll be in position with a quick change armor for the victory lap?"
Janice jumps up from her chair. "Of course. Do you want to try--"
"No, no. That's--" Beck stops talking when he notices the footage becoming slightly distorted around his waving arm. There was a lag. "What's going on with my hand? Why is that happening?"
"Oh, uh, one of the drones that came back from the plaza was missing a projector," William informs, unbothered. "It's fine."
Beck furrows his brows. "Wait, and you're telling me this now?" He inspects the systems from the little pad on his arm, flashing the green holographic font that expanded in front of him.
"It's one drone," William attempts to reason. "The image will be perfect, I promise."
Did Beck need to explain something as minuscule and insanely important as a piece of evidence was? Especially to a stupidly intelligent man? Clearly, Beck needed to nail the information in William's thick skull because the idiot lacks common sense.
"That projector is evidence. It's going to tell people what we're doing and how we're doing it," Beck walks through his own projection, causing it to break down and close. Then, he huffs as he does his best to keep his voice as calm as he possibly can, but Beck was struggling. "I am trying to fool seven-billion people here, including Nick Fury, who happens to be the most paranoid and most dangerous person on the planet. And if he catches on before I've killed him, then he will put a bullet in my head. And nobody wants a bullet in their head. Right?" The drones flew in front of everyone, aiming their guns at all of them. "William, can you look at me? Pull up E.D.I.T.H."
"Hello, Quentin," E.D.I.T.H.'s voice awakens.
Beck crosses his arms. "Yeah. Hi, honey. I need a level-five search, full resource protocol for this device."
A map is projected in the air. "Magnifying," E.D.I.T.H. informs as she zooms into the area where the projector was last seen. Once she found it, E.D.I.T.H. boxed it in a red box.
"There," Beck stares at the screen. "Search everything going in and out of that building."
"Located," E.D.I.T.H. plays a video of a girl picking up the projector before the video fast-forwards once again, but this time, it started with Eszter.
The enhanced was alone in the night, storming about as she attempted to shield herself with the hood over her head. Still searching for the one who had taken the projector, it took about a minute when Michelle came into view. Trudging after Eszter, they watched as the two teens were speaking to one another. But then, 18 seconds later, Peter came into view next.
As the feed continues, Beck notes as Michelle pulled out the projector from her back, and as the video zooms through the interaction, the projector showed exactly what they had done.
"Shit," Beck sneers low under his breath. His blue eyes narrowed harshly at the two heroic figures. "You know, William, one day, after I've had to kill not only Peter Parker but Eszter Maximoff, because of this, I hope you remember, that their blood is on your hands!"
"I--I--" William stammers.
Not only was Peter Parker's knowledge of their fakery, but they tried so hard to keep themselves under Eszter's radar--as far as Beck's aware of. He was so close to getting the point he needed to grant himself the victory, but with Eszter knowing that her suspicions are proven with literal proof, Beck was utterly screwed. As much as his drones will slow her down, Beck knows he won't be able to last long with Eszter against them, so he needs to get this show on the road quickly.
"Tell me, William, how do you break a witch without lifting a finger?" Beck randomly asks.
William's eyes flicker around the room aimlessly, growing immensely anxious. "Uh . . ."
"You get the witch to do it herself," Beck's lips curl into a smug smirk, and a malicious glint shone in his eyes, creating a burst of strange laughter that left his coworkers uneasy. "By simply destroying her from the inside out." Relaxing his muscles, Beck stretches his arms out and plants them on his hips, practically beaming. "Fellas, we've got a witch to hunt."
💜
It didn't take long before the three had arrived back at Peter's hotel room, completely submerging themselves with privacy and hiding away from prying eyes. There was a high chance of Beck snooping into their conversation or possibly watching them from any cameras. The possibilities could be endless, especially with E.D.I.T.H. to his favor, Beck possesses a powerful tool.
Now, Peter was mortified.
With E.D.I.T.H. in the likes of Quentin Beck, there's no telling what that man will do. Tony's creation proves to be constructive, yet destructive; now, this was suffocating Peter with tremendous guilt, knowing that he damn well screwed up and neglected to think of the consequences. He was so hung up on the idea of needing to be like Tony, and Peter assumed that role for Beck because of the similarities of his features.
I'm not the next Iron Man, Peter would normally say.
Regrettably, Peter can't take that moment back no matter how much he wishes.
On the other hand, Eszter was fuming; the enhanced had increased her distance between her and Peter, starting to pace the overly large room as she couldn't fathom the boiling sensation tingling throughout her skin. Eszter was practically trembling with anxiety, anger, and so many mixed emotions. Even as the enhanced tried to extinguish the fire in her gut, but Eszter couldn't seem to bother to contain the flames.
"You gave Beck the glasses!" Eszter exclaimed in a fury, narrowing her eyes into a menacing glare as she practically oozes with anger. "How could you be so stupid! That--Tony gave that to you, and what, you thought it was a good idea to give it to a stranger because he looks like Tony?"
Eszter's anger and frustration were deemed fit for the situation that Peter had put them in; although he expected this reaction from her, Peter wasn't sure how he would handle it.
"I--I--I just--I just thought that--" Peter stammers over his words. There was nothing he could say that would soothe the situation. "E, I'm sorry--"
"You're sorry? He's sorry," Eszter tangles her fingers through the strands of her hair as she squeezes the ball of hairs. "Peter, those aren't just some boring glasses that you can just give away. Did you forget that those are highly tech pair of lenses that happen to control drones!"
Michelle sat awkwardly on the edge of the bed, glancing between Eszter and Peter as she sat in sheer silence, not wanting to utter a word. Eszter's temper hasn't been the issue until a couple of minutes ago.
"I'm sorry, okay!" Peter turns around from the window after yanking them shut, fear to flash his features. "I know I messed up, but can we please not fight? He's probably spying on us right now or sending a drone to come kill us."
"You had access to killer drones?" Michelle stared, appalled.
However, she was dismissed.
Eszter flails her arms about, raising her voice to make it clear that it upsets her. "Beck is out there somewhere with E.D.I.T.H. Tony put his trust and faith in you, and you threw it out like it was nothing."
Defensively, Peter jerked around and stared at Eszter with a look of offense. "I didn't throw it out like that. I--I thought what I did would be better for everyone," he scoffs. Knowing Eszter was failing to acknowledge his feelings, Peter was a little bitter, considering she can sense them.
Finally adding her input, Michelle frowns anxiously. "Okay, guys, let's dial it down . . ."
"Why are you making it seem like I just betrayed Tony?"
"Because you don't even care!" Eszter booms with the truth, anger spilling past her lips. Clenching her fist tightly, Eszter raises it to her mouth as she grits her teeth, muttering low under breath. "I can't believe this."
Peter jerk his head back at the abruptness, furrowing his brows as he watches as Eszter was muttering some nonsense under her breath; he couldn't hear anything she was saying, but when she'd say something a little louder, Peter realized Eszter wasn't speaking in English. He couldn't understand a word the girl was saying, but Eszter definitely wasn't happy about the situation by the sound of it.
It still didn't deny Peter was hurt by the accusation, wondering if Eszter had meant what she said. But when she doesn't apologize, he realized that she was serious. Again, a harsh pang clash with Peter's heart conflicted.
"You really think that?" Peter pauses, searching for a sign of disagreement. Then, scoffing lightly, grimacing at the thought. "Wow. Um, okay. So, just because I don't express how I'm feeling, I'm suddenly the bad guy?"
"No, I'm not saying--it's just--" Eszter groans at the lack of words, cursing in Sokovian. "Forget it. You don't get it. You never would've anyway."
Something about this didn't sit well with Peter.
Eszter turns around as if she were going to leave the room; this irks Peter a bit as he steps forward, scrunching his face in frustration.
"Tell me, what don't I get 'cause from what I remember, I was grieving just as much as you," Peter fights back. His confused and flustered expression shifted into vexation, which was beginning to worry Michelle. "You don't get to feel like this and not me. Tony meant a lot to me, too, Eszter!"
Michelle gaped at the scene, baffled by the outburst between the couple. She's seen them fight before, but it's never been like this. Eszter and Peter have their small fights, but they've always been bicker here and there.
Narrowing her eyes, Eszter spat back. "You don't get it. Tony was like a dad to me. He and the Avengers helped me. I owe my life to him, and yet, he died," Eszter nearly cries as she juts her pointer finger into her chest, staring sharply into Peter's eyes. "But maybe you're right . . . you're not him."
Michelle gasps loudly. "Eszter!"
"You're nothing like him," she lets the words slide off the tip of her tongue slowly.
"Tell me again, which one of us can feel emotions? Or--Or a person?" Peter retorts. He felt almost relaxed to release this pent-up anger finally and to let himself let go of this overpowering emotion. Peter needed a push, and with a forceful feeling tipping it over the edge, he felt the bottle open up. "None of this would've happened if you had just--"
"Oh, my God!" Eszter cackles abruptly. "So--So, this is my fault now? I'm not the one that was stupid enough to give E.D.I.T.H. away."
Peter shrugs. "Maybe I don't want it. Maybe I don't want to be what Mr. Stark wanted me to be," he tosses something on the bed. "I never asked for any of this!"
Walking across the room, Eszter was trying to control her anger, but the enhanced was struggling to suppress it. "You think I did? I didn't think being an Avenger would be this hard," Eszter huffs as she clenches her fingers, feeling something building inside. "I didn't even want to be here in the first place! I could've been home with my sister, but you dragged me here."
Peter shifts from one leg to another, kissing his teeth. "And yet, she left. Without you," Eszter's glare hardens, but her attitude falters. The enhanced forces her mouth shut as she let the words wound her. "Haven't you noticed that everyone you're with leave you? That no one can even be in the same room as you because everything you touch self-destructs?"
Michelle's eyes widen, dumbstruck. "Peter!"
The fight between the couple sprung from something so minuscule, and it easily veered away from the topic at hand. Michelle was baffled by the abrupt attitude between them, but she couldn't believe her ears. It was like watching Peter and Eszter play Who Can Insult Better and continued to throw insults back and forth.
A quick swipe of Eszter's facial expression was wiped clean, like a blank canvas; the enhanced narrows her eyes into slits, scowling at Peter. However, Michelle stared between Eszter and Peter, but something was unhinging itself in the pit of her stomach.
"I think you should stop talking," Eszter threatens slowly, stalking forward like a predator.
Scoffing in retort, Peter crosses his arms. "You know, if you were actually a hero, you would've saved Tony. And your brother . . . he would still be alive."
Eszter's heart shatters at the mere thought of Pietro, but it also sparked a flame in her belly that struck the enhanced with a horrible feeling. Suddenly, Eszter lost control and let the demons roam free, overtaking the enhanced as she flicked her eyes up at Peter's brown eyes, but hers were violent purple.
Like a bomb, Eszter exploded with the darkness as it pushed out into the ground, closing in on the lights until it left the trio in absolute darkness. Michelle gasps in horror, looking around as she froze in place, trying to see something, but she couldn't; it was too dark for Michelle to see, but her fear sparked when she could hear strange and weird noises somewhere in the shadows.
"You can say whatever you want," Eszter seethes. Raising her hands, the violet hues dance around her hand as the energy orb settled in her palm, fiddling with her fingers as she balanced it together. The only light shimmering in the dark was Eszter, and suddenly around them, objects began to float. "You can call me whatever you want, but don't, and I mean don't ever, bring up my brother."
"Look at you, Eszter. You're spiraling out of control! If I knew any better, I'd say the real villain is you."
"Eszter, Peter, you two need to calm down!"
Eszter tilts her head. "You think I'm the villain?"
Michelle shakes her head, desperately trying to calm the situation. "No, no. Eszter, no one thinks you're a villain," Michelle gasps suddenly, losing her balance when the ground began to tremble.
"Fine. I'm the bad guy," the energy burns bright when a string shoots across the room and wraps themselves around Peter and Michelle's neck, strapping them like leashes on a dog. Watching as they gasp in shock, Eszter held her hands up as she tilts her head between the two. "I'm sick and tired of being told who I'm supposed to be when all I want is just be me. And all I ever get is the bottom of the barrel, but you, Peter, you always had the best part. Everyone loves you and sees you as the better person." The tears formed even through the bright hue of Eszter's glowing eyes. "I'm tired of feeling this burden."
Peter and Michelle struggle with air loss, seeming to have his senses suddenly knocked back to him. The boy was staring wide-eyed at Eszter. He choked out for air, but when he touched his neck, Peter furrows his brows at the hold around his neck; Peter wasn't certain what the hell happened, and it was like he blacked out with anger but was abruptly woken up.
Michelle gasps as he clutched her neck, clawing at the rope that bound around her throat, trapping the air from being able to access her lung. She panicked as she desperately tried to free herself, but Michelle didn't know what to do when her plan failed. Michelle was scared Eszter wasn't going to hurt her or even worse.
Slowly, Eszter's feet lifted from the ground as her body began to levitate.
"Whoa, did you guys see the lights--" Ned's voice perked up until he cuts himself off abruptly as h witness something horrifying. Standing at the doorway, Ned watched, appalled at the sight of his best friend using her powers against Michelle and Peter, but the sight of Eszter was terrifying. Ned was horrified. "Oh, my God!"
Eszter snapped her neck in the direction of Ned, giving him a better view of her face--the enhanced's features were slightly altered; Eszter's eyes were still glowing a violet hue, and she was still in her suit, but the area around Eszter's eyes is what caught Ned off-guard. The skin around her eyes was crackled open and exposing strange black lines that darkened her features, making Eszter look terrifying.
The enhanced stood frozen in the middle of the air, but once her eyes settled on Ned and sensing his immediate fear, Eszter soaked in that feeling and resorted back to herself again. She gasped like she was brought back in control of her body. Eszter frowns before shifting her attention to the figures in front of her; kneeling before her, the enhanced found Peter and Michelle struggle with the hold Eszter has.
She did it again--Eszter let herself slip back into that darkness and let the demons take control of her mind and body, letting them be as destructive as they wanted. It terrified Eszter just as much as it terrified her friends, and that's what hurt the enhanced when she could feel their emotions radiating with fear. It was exactly like the situation with Pepper, but this felt stronger--horrible.
Eszter was horrified by her actions. But, unfortunately, she had let her emotions get the better of her, just like Tony used to say whenever Eszter would act up.
With three pairs of eyes stuck on Eszter, the enhanced's chest heaves up and down a little too quickly, trying to control her breathing. But Eszter couldn't because all she could is: I hurt my friends. And this feeling . . . it was different. It was like it wasn't here. This is exactly what Eszter didn't want to be--someone unstable.
The tears pooled over her eyelids and ran down Eszter's cheeks, dripping off from the tip of her chin. She sobbed weakly, glancing down at her hands with her blurred eyes, but Eszter furrows her brows when she sees the violet and dark energy mixing a darker shade; the strings that connected from the energy cores lead to Peter and Michelle.
"Oh, God," Eszter breathes out shakily. She shakes her hands as she erased the energy lines away from her hands, releasing Peter and Michelle from their hold. They gasped out for fresh air, but Eszter was appalled. "I'm so--I'm so, so sorry."
Michelle coughs suddenly, gripping her neck as she could still feel the pressure around her neck. But when her eyes flickered up at Eszter, Michelle was terrified of her best friend; never once has she ever felt horrified or scared of Eszter, but today, what had happened, it changed Michelle's perspective in an instant.
"Eszter . . ." Peter's voice was rough and low, and even as he coughed out the feeling, the boy couldn't fix the raspiness. However, when he glanced between Michelle and Ned, Peter knew he needed to protect them at this moment. "Eszter, just--just calm down."
The world is spinning, and the only thing Eszter could hear was the soft cries from Michelle and the confusion and terror from Ned, but the betrayal and uneasiness trailing from Peter caught Eszter's attention. The enhanced glanced at her boyfriend, horrified that she'd let herself hurt him as she had with Michelle. This was never supposed to happen.
Eszter's glossy eyes meet Peter's as the couple continues to stare at one another, having a staring contest as the couple couldn't bring themselves to approach one another; Peter couldn't console Eszter, nor could she comfort him.
Ever so softly, Eszter whispers low. "I'm sorry."
Pulling the darkness in, Eszter turns around and runs for the wall, but the shadow wrapped around her body and taking the enhanced far away. Leaving her problems behind, Eszter chose to escape them instead.
☁︎𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞☁︎
❝ so, how are we feeling? ❞