"Hey, wrap your hands, at least," I chuckled as I approached Stacy, sweat beading both our foreheads. The girl looked up from the punching bag at the sound of my voice, a bit relieved when she saw me. "You're still a newbie; we don't want any unnecessary injuries."
"Yeah of course," Stacy chuckled. She took a look back at Amy and Zane, both using the virtual room to train, before she let her smile fall. "Just... am I doing okay? This is an entirely new thing for me. I barely managed to survive PE classes before this, but now... this is a whole different level."
"Hey," I comforted her while grabbing a roll of athletic tape from a shelf. "I didn't expect you to come in here and be super great at this."
"Thanks for the support."
"Come on, you know that's not what I meant," I sighed, and she smiled a little. I took her hand and looped her thumb with the end of the wrap, moving it around her wrist and I carefully set it up. "Even when I was a kid, I struggled to keep up with these guys. I trained because my life depended on it. Granted, funny how that situation seems to be playing all over again-"
"Bella," Stacy stopped my rambling, and I gave my head a quick shake.
"Sorry," I apologized before starting on the next hand. "The point I'm trying to make is... we've been at this for years. For Zane and Amy, it's like this fight for survival has never had a break. I was with the Avengers for a year and doing training on my own beforehand. Hawkes brought you into this mess and gave you powers you never thought you'd have to control. You just have to learn how to live with them."
I stepped back when I finished wrapping her hands, grabbing the red punching bag and holding it steady in front of her. "Curl your hands like you're going to punch something," I told her, and she did what I told her. "Fix your thumb so it isn't under your other fingers, otherwise you could break it." Stacy readjusted her grip, and I gave her a nod of approval. "Now, stand with your dominant foot slightly behind you, kind of like a lunge. Let your knees bend a bit. Once you feel like it's a good position, come give the bag a-"
Boom.
The punching bag shook wildly in my grasp, the chain holding it attempting to swing back and forth from the strength of her punch. I wasn't expecting it, and my muscles tensed as I had to put more energy into holding it in place. A gleeful smile spread across Stacy's face from the success of her hit. Her fist retracted, and I braced myself and the bag before the next strike. Boom, boom, boom. The girl laughed, bouncing back and forth on her feet.
"I think I'm getting the hang of this! she said excitedly, and I agreed with her internally. She was picking up the form with every punch, her body already showing how the blood transfusion was rewiring her brain. Everything I had taught her over the few days had come flying from her as if she had known it since birth. Growing more confident, Stacy pulled her arms up to protect her upper frame as she began to knee and kick the bunching bag.
I readjusted my hands, ducking behind the bag to avoid getting hit, but my protection was wearing thin, breaking as she put more strength into her attacks. Sensing defeat to be near, I stepped aside right as Stacy delivered her final blow with a yell, a punch that snapped the bag's ceiling chain and sent it flying across the room. Stacy grinned at me proudly as she panted for air, but the expression faded as the slow, sarcastic clap grew louder and louder behind her.
"Bravo," Amy congratulated her mockingly as she stepped out of the virtual room, her dark wings folding as she approached us. Zane watched her warily, his eyes not leaving her as he bent down to grab a drink from his water bottle. "You beat a defenseless target," she continued, smirking. "Feeling proud? Enjoy the sense of accomplishment?"
"Amy," I started, but Stacy was faster.
"Yeah," she nodded, wiping the beads of sweat on her forehead away with the back of her hand. They froze together into a disc and hovered in the palm of her hand for a moment before she let it flow between her fingers a few times and crushed it. "It felt nice. Doubt you were able to do that on your first try."
"Not all of us can get juiced up on someone's blood, Snowflake," Amy sneered, noticing the confidence in the other girl's tone and taken aback slightly. "Some of us actually put the work in. Isabel's blood may have saved your life, but it's my DNA that gave you everything you feel flowing in your veins. Remember your place, newbie."
"You don't scare me, Amy," Stacy said back to the Fire Elemental, her tone icy cold. I had always known her to never shy away when someone would verbally attack her, but Amy was someone who could turn things physical. That had never been Stacy's ground. "Ever since we've met, all I've gotten is this little attitude from you. If you haven't forgotten, I'm older than you. You have all this stuff to make you seem strong, but let's face it: you're just a scared little girl who bullies people to feel something."
"You wanna say that again?" Amy questioned, her eyes tinting with the maroon aura as her anger got the best of her, her wings flaring defensively. It was clear the last sentence struck a nerve. "You don't know a thing about me." Stacy stood her ground, which only seemed to enrage the Elemental more. Her left wing jerked toward the wrestling mats. "Let's hit the floor. No powers, just some good old-fashioned fist fighting."
"Alright, Gunderson, that's enough," Zane stepped in as Stacy's face paled, putting a hand on Amy's shoulder. The girl quickly turned away, giving him a glare. "Let's just go back to training-"
"No, if she wants to threaten my honor, she needs to stand by what she said," Amy hushed him before locking eyes again with Stacy. Her feathers quivered in rage. "No empty statements. It could be... what would you like to hear more, Isabel? Team bonding?"
"Let's do it," Stacy accepted, and my eyes widened in shock. Zane had the same reaction, and he ran after Amy as she stomped to the mats.
"Stacy, I know you want to prove yourself, but you can't win this fight!" I told her quietly as she ripped off her wraps. "Do you not remember me saying 'years of experience?' Amy plays dirty, she's bitten people before." Stacy didn't respond to me, grabbing her water bottle and taking a chug. "Stace, she doesn't lose. I swear, don't ignore me on this!"
Stacy dropped the bottle, gulping the last of the drink and giving me a side glance. I could see the fear in her eyes, but there was a drive behind them that kept her from standing down. "I'm not ignoring you," she told me. "I know I'm not going to win this, but I don't care. Amy's never respected me, and Zane's slowly following down that road. I may be the weakest member, but I can't make it obvious. I just have to prove I don't run away from a fight."
"That's the Amy in you talking," I hissed at her, following closely behind as she veered toward where the other two Elementals stood. Amy was stretching her shoulders while Zane looked like he was taking the same stance I was. "You're going to get hurt!"
"Well, you did tell me to give it my all, didn't you?" she asked, and I closed my mouth miserably, knowing it was now a lost cause. Stacy tightened her ponytail and cracked her knuckles when she reached the end of the mat, twisting her head from side to side with a satisfying crunch. "Rules of the arrangement?"
"Simple," Amy told her, rolling her shoulders a final time before giving her wings a shake. "Last one standing wins. No powers, no leaving the mat, no time outs..." The Fire Elemental glanced between Zane and I. "... and no interfering." She smirked at the other girl. "If you find this out of your comfort zone, I'll gladly let you tap out."
"Well, I'm not much of a quitter, but I'll let the offer stand for you as well," Stacy said back, and Amy's smirk turned into a snarl. Zane inched his way over to me as the girls took off their shoes, standing across from each other as they waited for one to make the first move.
"You aren't actually supporting this... are you?" he whispered to me. I shook my head, unable to look away from what was about to unfold. "You're the leader here; do something."
"If I stop them now, Amy will think I'm just trying to keep a friend safe and Stacy will believe that I don't have faith in her to be on the team," I shook my head in explanation. "I'm just worried about the outcome."
"Let's just pray there's a decent fight before a tap out, then," Zane sighed, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. "Otherwise, we might have another situation like this again." Amy lowered into a lunge, her wings extended fully and her eyes glowing red. Her lips were parted as she took slow, calculating breaths. Stacy stood on the opposite corner, her fists raised the way she had been hitting the punching bag. Her arms were shaking.
Amy launched forward with a roar, pushing off of the ground while her wings flared up as she gave a hard kick in Stacy's direction. The other girl dropped quickly and rolled underneath the Fire Elemental, almost getting stepped on. Amy went to stomp on her hand, but Stacy grabbed her ankle and flipped her over her body and back on the mat. Zane flinched as Amy's wings twitched in pain, a few feathers detaching from the blunt force. More dropped as she stood up, but it didn't phase her. Amy threw a punch with her right fist, and Stacy stepped backward to avoid it. The other girl's curled hand kept moving, backhanding Stacy across the face.
"Shit," I cursed to myself as Stacy swung a punch of her own at Amy, her nose already starting to drip blood on the mat. Amy's left wing moved forward and caught it, holding the girl in place while she delivered a swift knee to the gut. Stacy keeled over, and Amy's wing let go so that the Fire Elemental could elbow her into the ground. "Come on, Stacy," I whispered as the girl coughed for air. "Get up."
"That blood coming out of you?" Amy gloated, enjoying watching the pain her opponent was in. She flipped her over with a yell, allowing all of us to see the blood smeared across Stacy's face and staining her white hair. Crimson laced her lips, coating the front of her teeth as she strained to breath. Amy leaned forward, getting up and close to view her work. "It's mine." My eyes flickered over to the girl's hands moving slowly on the ground, turning so that her palms were pressed on the mat.
"Then come and take it!" Stacy screeched, and she threw herself up and grabbed on to Amy's shoulder for support. Her legs kicked up in the air, and before the Fire Elemental could process what was going on, Stacy had her thrown down to the mat and in a headlock. Amy screamed, punching and scratching at Stacy's thighs as the girl kneeled over her.
"I can't watch this," Zane mumbled, and he turned and stepped away as blood dripped on the mat from the various injuries. I was truly astounded by Stacy's will, watching as pained tears went down her cheeks from the cuts she was receiving. For a moment, I thought I was going to watch Amy lose. Then it hit me: to Amy, this was war.
And in war, you will do anything to achieve victory.
Amy's teeth dug into the soft flesh of Stacy's hand, and the girl howled in agony. Her headlock slipped, and Amy rolled away. As she stood up, watching Stacy check her hand, she spat the blood from her mouth. Her wings rose slowly above her head and glowing eyes, and she looked like a devil. "Girls who mess around with things they don't understand get their fingers burned," she seethed, and my heart dropped.
"Amy, no!" I screamed, moving toward her in an attempt to stop her. Amy's jaw dropped, and fire erupted from her mouth like a dragon. Stacy lifted her undamaged hand up in defense, and a burst of ice came flying from her palm. The room shook as their powers came in contact, creating a blast that knocked all of us down.
I groaned, rubbing the back of my head as I pushed myself up into a sitting position. Zane coughed, and I looked over to see him struggling to get back up on his hands and knees. I blearily looked back at the wrestling mat. Amy sat on her knees, panting from the power she had just summoned, while Stacy stood above her with her palm curled up to the ceiling. A white aura smoked from her eyes, just like how the rest of us did when our powers took control. The room was deathly quiet, and no one dared to move.
"I don't like cheaters," she growled, wiping her bloody nose with her other hand, and Amy lowered her head. If this was HYDRA, she would've been knocked unconscious, tortured, maybe forced to do something that would give her some level of trauma. Instead, Stacy threw her hand at the ground, causing an uneven splatter of ice to form. "I win." With that, she turned and left the training room, leaving the rest of us to wonder what all we had witnessed.
______________________________
I stood along the banks of the Hudson River outside the compound, moving my arms back and forth as I controlled the waves to the same rhythm. Before the Accords, it had been one of my favorite spots to train by myself. I used to be able to raise the water hundreds of feet in the air effortlessly. Now, the easiest movement made my shoulders sore.
"Rough day, huh?" Peter's voice surprised me, knocking me out of focus. I took a step back with my right foot and turned, throwing the water I had been concentrating on in his direction as my extended hands faced him. Peter yelped as he clutched his backpack in his hands, dodging my attack at the last second. He quickly laughed it off, continuing his approach. "I surrender, I surrender!"
"Oh, my God, I'm so sorry," I quickly apologized, taking the backpack and setting it down on a dry patch of grass. I wrapped my arms around his neck, his going around my waist as we hugged. "May still has you going to school?"
"We can't all drop out to get our GED on our own," he joked, giving me a peck on the forehead before letting go. He sat down on the ground, patting the area next to him for me to join. I rolled my eyes in amusement, plopping down and smiling as he wrapped his arm around me to pull me closer. "Besides," he continued, "It's safer for everyone to have someone around in case something happens."
"I'm glad there's someone there to protect them," I told him, and the corners of his lips lifted as he smiled. "Speaking of protectors... we had a bit of an incident in training today."
"Oh, boy, do tell."
"Stacy won a fight."
"Stacy? Like fashion major, never thrown a punch before, obsessed with her hamster Stacy?"
"Yeah," I nodded. "Against Amy." Peter gave a whistle of approval, and I set my head on his shoulder. "It was a good fight too until Amy tried to play dirty."
"What happened?"
"Stacy used her powers to defend herself and knocked the girl right off her feet." I nuzzled my head deeper, and Peter set his head on top of mine as we stared out at the river. "She's used them maybe... a few times, but never like this. And... I had her start on a punching bag today. Stace was taking hits to the face and still going strong. Her personality's changed a bit too. The person I met my first day of school and the one who walked out of that room with a bleeding nose? They're starting to become completely different."
"You know, when you fell from the sky that one day and came back from space... and the Framework... and now..." Peter started to say, and I scoffed. "Hang on, let me speak, Belle." I settled down, and Peter's hand rubbed my upper arm. "You changed a little every time. Sometimes it was temporary, but there were things you held on to. It's how you dealt with things; you saw the world differently."
"Yeah, but that was me adapting," I sighed. "Stacy is literally taking on parts of Amy's personality... and some of my own."
"You did say that there would be side effects to her taking the blood," he pointed out. "Not to mention that Hawkes had her for a month? Who knows what he all did to her, what she saw. It would definitely change her. And Amy... that girl scares me. I think she would actually kill me if you asked or I just pissed her off. She's had it out for Stacy ever since I met her. I can't imagine what it would be like to suddenly have powers, lose everything you believed in, and then find out the only person who was in your situation hates you."
I nodded quietly, processing his words. Everything he spoke made sense. Still, his words rolled a wave of guilt over me. I had to tell him about my coming death, but just like my father, I knew it would kill him. "You know," Peter told me, "I can't remember the last time we were alone." I lifted my head from his shoulder and looked around, hearing nothing but the soft crash of the Hudson's waves on the bank and the birds resting in the trees. "Quiet and peaceful."
"Well, don't jinx it-"
"Hey, love birds!" The two of us looked over our shoulders to see Happy Hogan stomping toward us down the hill, his face red as he huffed for air. "I didn't drive you here so you could distract her, Parker!"
"It's fine, Happy!" I waved him down with a chuckle. There was a bark, and my jaw dropped. "Oh, my- is that?" Harley bounded over the hill, her tail wagging as she ran toward me between Happy's legs. The man almost fell over, but the dog didn't care. "Harley! Harley!" I jumped up from the ground and bent down, falling backward as she bowled me over. Peter laughed as Harley licked my face. "Down girl, it's okay! I see you, I see you."
"Well, you were right," Peter smiled as I carefully pushed my dog off of me, keeping a hand on her head to scratch behind her ears. "That wasn't long." Harley barked at him, and he gave her back a scratch. "She was so hyper in the car."
"Oh, I'll take your word for it," I said back, giving another glance at Harley before meeting his brown eyes again. "You wanna... go watch a movie or something? I've just realized we've never watched a rom-com together. If we don't fix that, what kind of couple are we?"
"Obviously a terrible one," he continued, wincing to play along with the act. He offered me his hand and helped me off the ground. "What are we doing with our lives? I think I'm filling up with shame." I looked down at our still conjoined hands, raising an eyebrow at Peter.
"We're still holding hands," I noted, and he lifted them proudly.
"It fits perfectly."
"Oh, please," Happy gagged, and I gave him a glare. The older man leaned over, holding his chest. "This is too gross. I... I can't." Peter gave me a mischievous look before smirking back at Happy.
"What would you do if I hug her right now, Happy?"
"Don't you dare!"