PETER FORMED A PLAN THAT INVOLVED GOING INSIDE THE ILLUSION. It was a risk he was willing to take, and Peter was praying that the monster was actually fake, for if Peter were to fly right into the monster, things would turn south instantly.
"Ah," Peter prepares himself as he braces for impact, closing his eyes instinctively. "It's not real; it's not real, it's not real!" Just as he hoped, Peter slipped through the Elemental image and accessed the center of the illusion. Opening his eyes, Peter's bug eyes widen as he gawked in awe. "Whoa! That's awesome."
The drone Peter was holding onto stayed on track as it follows the invisible line and gradually rising, taking Peter along with it. Peter nearly forgot his entire mission because he was too busy admiring the drones, knowing Tony must've spent a lot of time and effort on them; Peter was gobsmacked. After all, Tony had really left this behind for him to have. Peter felt beyond stupid for giving away the responsibility of an A.I. system and hundreds of drones.
There was the other reminder that Peter had screwed up big time.
Nevertheless, Peter pulled himself out of his wonderous thoughts and got back to work; the boy clicks his web-shooters and slaps his palm on the top of the drone, leaving a wad of webs behind. Peter pushes himself up and over the drone, pulling on the stretchy webs as he leaps into the air, landing on another drone nearby. One by one, Peter stuck more and more webs onto each machine, sticking them together with a line of webs.
Leaping and flipping through the air, Peter shoots his webs outward while holding the lines of webs when he'd land on another drone, allowing him to plant each of the lines onto another drone. Peter skipped onto more, gradually making his way higher as he made sure to get every single drone.
Then, Peter jumps and flips backward as he allowed gravity to take him back to Earth, soaring through the air as he kept a grip on one single string of web.
"I hope this works," Peter clicks the spider logo on his chest, igniting the tasers that shot an inducing amount of electricity up the line.
Like a chain reaction, the electricity struck the first drone before spreading through the line that connects each of the combat drones, zapping each machinery. The drones started to malfunction as the electricity surges through each of them, burning holes into the illusion; falling apart, the Elemental image began to dissipate within seconds, including the image regarding Mysterio. Revealing to the world that everything wasn't real.
Peter landed below the chaos and on another drone, watching as the drones struggled to hold the illusion up.
Beneath him, the drone turned in circles, making Peter face the bridge and granting him a view of the man behind everything. Narrowing the eyes of his suit, Peter stared with a glint in his eyes, more determined and driven than he ever was before.
Beck had noticed Peter.
"I see you."
Suddenly, Peter was springing back and forth between the drones like a frog hopping over the lilypads to get across the stream. His stride never falters because Peter would make this right; everything he messed up, starting with Beck. The anger bubbling in his belly was used to light the fume and motivate Peter to use that to his advantage but the way he always does.
But Peter hadn't expected a drone to zoom through the air, knocking him off course and send him flying over the bridge; Peter grunts from impact, yelping when he crashes into the other bridge. Like a bug being hit on the wall, Peter's body peels off from the side of the bridge, leaving a dent behind. Gravity forced Peter to the ground.
Attempting to catch himself, Peter shoots his webs, but it was too late; the boy had crashed right into the ground, landing on top of the railing that separates the street and sidewalk. Peter groans in pain, coughing when the air was suddenly knocked out of his lungs. He quickly clutches the lower portion of his ribs.
When Peter looked up to where Beck hid, hundreds of drones began to gather into one location, swirling around in a circular motion as they became Beck's shield. But then, the other half of the drones target Peter.
💜
The crowd screamed and cried in chaos, fear eating at their minds as they sought shelter; terror rise from the skin of their backs, forcing the hair to stick up as their bodies tense with their flight-or-fight instinct taking over. Like a nightmare come true, the crowd felt as if their feet couldn't run as fast as they remembered, and dodging other people that ran against the crowd felt like it was impossible to escape.
Nevertheless, everyone was running with their hands clutched to their loved ones and trying to stay together in fear of losing their family within the crowd.
But the crowd's feet began to falter when dark smoke began to spiral on the ground in the center of the madness, and their curiosity appeared to overtake their fear. Merging with the dark smoke, dark violet energy intertwined like a beautiful dance.
Emerging from the magical dance that cast the eyes of the panicked crowd, Eszter stepped into the light and revealed herself to the world. The witch appeared different from the last time the world had seen her, and everyone noticed the subtle changes; Eszter's attire was altered from her classic suit from when she claimed the alias, Dusk. It was as if the girl had broken out of the shell she was trapped in, becoming something more divine.
However, not many people's reactions were of awe; it was mixed emotions, and no one knew exactly how to react. Some were relieved to find one of the Avengers to their rescue, but many others were afraid to have the witch come into their country. Wherever Eszter goes, chaos follows.
Eszter's boots touched the ground with a soft thud, stepping forward as the magic warped about, dispersing into thin air. The witch kept her gaze locked on the bridge where Beck hid, sensing the man and his panicked state; Eszter could feel him starting to crack from the confidence he once had. Her green eyes piercing through the bright sun and sharpening on the location where she knew Beck resided, picking up on his presence.
"It's Dusk," people began to whisper to one another. "What's wrong with her?"
But then another familiar life-force captured Eszter's attention, and when her eyes flickered toward the street portion of the bridge, the witch focuses on them. Tapping into his mind, Eszter could feel Peter's strong pain and his determination mixing strongly, but the fire in his soul was so much brighter; Eszter hadn't seen Peter like that since the time they fought Vulture. It felt good to see him pull himself out of his own darkness and back into the light, embracing who he should be regarding the Avengers.
Then, the drones moved from formation and stormed after Peter, shooting at him with heavy explosions chasing after him. However, Peter sprung into action and evaded the attacks, swinging himself up into the sky as he swings around the Tower Bridge.
Again, the screams sounded like an alarm when a dozen drones had found Eszter, and the witch knew Beck was aware of her presence. He was paralyzed with fear when E.D.I.T.H. signaled him of Eszter's entrance, but Beck couldn't let her stop him from what he had started.
Unaffected by the drones, Eszter stood in her spot as she ignored the terrified screams, concentrating on the drones as they were gaining speed. Their guns were pulled out from their sides, pointing at Eszter, and began firing bullets and explosions. However, Beck hadn't expected what came next.
Eszter lifted her hand as she swirled her hand around the magic in her grasp, forcing the drones to halt harshly as Eszter easily protected herself from the raining fire. Lifting herself off the ground, Eszter flicks her eyes over the drones as if she was looking at Beck from a distance, and with a swipe of her hand, the drones disappeared into nothingness. Everyone had stared, appalled and in disbelief.
💜
On the bridge, Peter was struggling with the drones that were continuously chasing him. He leaped into the sky with a car as his platform, shielding him from bullets beneath him, but as he pushed himself off the car, it explodes on the ground. Peter flips in the air before landing delicately on his feet on the top of the bridge, jerking his head up at the drones.
Peter leaps off the bridge and creates a bed of webs between the top of the bridge, then swinging close to the water as his back lightly grazes against the cold water, yelping at the icy water; Peter hadn't realized the fire on his back was burnt out. The drones exploded shortly behind him, but Peter found himself being shot at once again.
"Going up!" Peter grabbed a drone as it takes him with it. But still, Peter couldn't shake off any of the drones. No matter how many he seemed to destroy, they didn't stop coming. Then, Peter lands on the ground in his spidey pose, and his ears are filled with the exploding drones behind him. "I'm trying to get to Beck, but I can't shake these drones!"
Suddenly, Peter is knocked back from a sonic wave, and a car smashes into him, knocking the boy into the water. Quickly fishing himself out of the water, Peter leans against the edge of the bridge.
"I can help," Eszter flies onto the bridge and landing in front of Peter. Not a single ounce of emotion seemed to paint Eszter's facial expression, seemingly hidden behind the hard facade that she forced onto her features.
Peter glanced up at the sheer sound of Eszter's voice, visibly widening his eyes. "Eszter, you're here," the boy paused for a second when Happy's voice was speaking into the comms. "Yeah, yeah, Eszter's here." Eszter licks her lips uncomfortably, shifting a little on her feet as she trails her eyes elsewhere. Peter easily pulls himself up. "Think you can handle the drones?"
Flicking her green eyes up to Peter's brown ones, Eszter nods curtly. "Yeah, yeah. I got it."
The tension between the couple--would they consider themselves as a couple at this point?--was evident, and with that, neither of them decided to communicate. Eszter knew how Peter felt even if she didn't want to invade his privacy, but the witch was aware of how he feels about her. It struck Eszter's heart and leaving her like a heartbroken mess, but if she had to point fingers for the blame, Eszter knew she was at fault. A horrible reminder that she'll force herself to remember because if it weren't for her outburst, Eszter wouldn't have to feel so miserable.
Stepping back, Eszter builds space between her and Peter as he walks around her and closer to the car for cover; Eszter follows him as she doesn't bother hiding alongside Peter but subtly glancing at him with sad eyes.
Peter picks up a toy and tosses it across the bridge, watching as the drone sends a sonic wave and pushing the toy into the air; to Peter's dismay, the toy was torn into shreds as the drones shot at it.
"Uh, okay, um . . . you get the drones that are covering Beck that way he won't have anything covering him," Peter barely looks at Eszter, but the witch nods. "I'll get a boost inside with that--" He points at the drone across in the rubble.
"Yeah, got it," Eszter breathes out, shaking her hands when they started getting clammy.
Eszter flew into the sky without waiting for a response as the drones hadn't spotted the witch, but when she got closer, they started firing at her. Eszter blocked their attacks with the shield she built before her, protecting herself. Then, Eszter conjured all the magical energy surrounding her, filling the sky with darkness and dark purple magic. Everyone was watching in awe and sheer bafflement, staring at the dark sky as the purple magic shimmering through the sky and connecting to Eszter. As she crosses her arms across her face, Eszter whips them out as if she was slicing the air, dark magic exploded around her; Eszter grunts at the powerful feeling, but the witch watches as the drones malfunction before disappearing with the darkness that shortly followed the purple magic.
Eszter didn't notice she had caused a crowd to watch as she destroyed the drones in an instant. But Eszter looks back at Peter, watching as he shot into the air and through the bridge. The witch decides to let Peter deal with Beck while she deals with the drones. Ducking down with flight, Eszter whips her hands as she blasts the drones that were shooting at her; the witch flies away from Peter to protect the people down below, so Eszter continues whipping her magic all about.
Suddenly, Eszter jerks to a stop; frozen in her position with her hand still raised with the magic humming in hand, Eszter sensed Peter in pain. Twisting her head in the direction where Peter was, Eszter watches as the drones slid through the openings of the bridge, taking Beck's side. Suddenly, they were encased in total darkness.
Gritting her teeth angrily, Eszter grunts loudly as she shot the drone with her powers before she vanished into the darkness, turning her magic into a bomb. In an instant, Eszter appeared behind Beck with her violet eyes poking out through the darkness, sneaking up on the man like a shadow. Eszter held her hand at the side of Beck's head, twitching her fingers before flicking a small bit of magic into his temple and sending the energy through his eyes.
Leaning closer to Beck, Eszter seethes. "As I said, you can't hide from me, Beck."
Beck gasps in horror, stumbling back as the nightmares in his mind, unaware that Peter had managed to destroy each of the drones, dismantling the illusion that encased him. Eszter glared at the back of Beck's head with her glowing eyes, knowing exactly what she was making him see; Beck saw something that terrified him to his very bone, wondering how the hell Eszter would ever think of doing something this dark--Eszter is ruthless . No matter how much of a hero she claims, the witch has a dark side that didn't mind torturing someone for her own gain.
When Peter destroyed the drones, one of them unexpectedly ricochetted and struck Beck, barely missing Eszter as the witch disappeared. Appearing back in the room, Eszter stepped around Beck's frail body and watched as he crumbled to the floor, still tangling between reality and his nightmare. Pointing her hand at Beck, Eszter flared an energy ball in her hand, waiting for him to try something so she can stop him.
"Beck!" Peter spotted the man lying on the ground before Eszter, clutching his bleeding side. Limping over to the two, Peter glares sharply at Beck. "You lied to me. I trusted you."
Beck looked at Peter with a mock look. "I know. That's the most . . . disappointing part," Eszter purses her lips into an angry grimace, curling her fingers, causing Beck to wheeze in pain. Peter glanced at Eszter wearily, so the witch releases Beck. "You're a good person, Peter. Such a weakness . . ." Suddenly, he pulls out the glasses and hands them to Peter, but Eszter took charge as she stepped forward, snatching the glasses from Beck's grasp aggressively. "Stark was right. You do deserve that."
Peter shoots his hand up and reveals a drone cloaked from their eyes, pointing at Eszter rather than himself; still, Peter turned the guns upward as they shoot into the ceiling, grunting as he felt the drone shaking from each fire. Eszter noticed and blasted the drone right in Peter's hands, then turning back to Beck.
"You think you can kill me?" Eszter twists her wrist and closes her fingers, gritting her teeth as she seethes through them. Putting pressure in Beck's chest, he shouts in pain before gasping for air. "You can't."
Eszter struck Beck with the familiar violet string that connected to his chest, but it was pulsing; it was like a rush, a weird recharging sensation that fluttered in Eszter's chest, but it was almost relieving. She was so intent on getting more of that sensation until someone shoved Eszter back, causing the witch to stumble back and nearly falling, glaring at the person who had interrupted her.
"Eszter, stop!" Peter narrowed his eyes warningly, nearly glaring at the girl. "You're gonna kill him!"
The magic in her hands was raised and threatening, ready to attack the fool who bothered Eszter, but she halted. Staring back into scared, brown eyes, Eszter's glare softens into realization when she met Peter's gaze. He was appalled by her abrupt reaction, and much to his dismay, Peter knew that whatever is happening to Eszter, it was definitely changing her. He didn't like how the girl was acting right now, but there was no time to discuss her mal behavior.
Displeased by Peter's reaction, it halted Eszter from her dangerous acts and the thought of making him uncomfortable with her actions affected her. The witch had always had a different idea of dealing with people like Beck, but with the hero look, Eszter refrained from her own beliefs and stuck with obeying Peter's right ways. Conflicted with Peter's opinions compared to hers, Eszter clenched her jaw tight in anger, rolling her eyes in the process.
Ripping the glasses from Eszter's grip, watching her with careful eyes when Peter had gotten closer, but luckily, the witch doesn't react. She had let him take the glasses. Eszter lowered her arms, staring at Peter with a broken stare.
Peter places the glasses on the bridge of his nose. "E.D.I.T.H., turn off the drones," he orders.
"Biometric scan complete. Welcome back, Peter. Shall I execute all cancellation protocols?"
"Do it. Execute them all."
"Confirmed."
"Thank you," Peter thanks the E.D.I.T.H., then turning back to Beck. "How could you do this?"
"Because he's a scum bag who's trying to be somebody he'll never be," Eszter snarks, pacing the small space, creating space between her and Beck, unable to be around him.
Beck was struggling to cling to life. "You'll see--you'll both see. People need to believe . . . and nowadays . . . they'll believe anything," with his last breath, Beck laid lifeless.
"Is he . . . is this real?"
"All illusions are down, Peter."
Then, all there was left was Peter and Eszter.
Peter glances at the girl with a sad look in his eyes, and there was a strong need to talk to Eszter about their issues and what had happened within the last few hours, but Peter couldn't. A small part of Peter didn't necessarily want to reconcile anything with Eszter, but he can sympathize with the witch. He understands the pain she was going through, and Peter wishes he would've noticed this a long time ago, but he was blind.
The awkward silence was growing thick, and Eszter was finding it hard to breathe, and standing here as she could feel Peter's eyes lingering in the back of her head. Eszter dipped her head and faced the floor, briefly closing her eyes as she counts in her head, controlling her temper.
"Eszter . . ."
"You got back E.D.I.T.H., so that's great," Eszter interrupts quickly, planting her hands on her hips as she lifts her head. Turning around to face Peter, trying to act as normal as possible, but it wasn't easy. "Sorry about Beck, I didn't . . . no, actually, I'm not sorry. He deserved that and I'm not going to apologize for what I did. He deserves all the pain he caused."
Peter could see right through Eszter and how she was trying to avoid the conversation and then hiding it with dark humor. As much as he would've let slide, now wasn't the time.
"Nobody deserves it, Eszter. Nobody," Peter fights back firmly, but the girl scoffs loudly as shook her head in disagreement. Peter stared at Eszter as he tried to better understand her, gobsmacked to see this side of her. "Eszter, we need to talk."
☁︎𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞☁︎
❝ i know what you might be thinking, "that was anticlimactic!" and i 100% agree. am i willing to change it? not really. i'm a little lazy and didn't wanna overkill it, lol. soz. i also just wanted to get this finish so i didn't really think about what i was even doing. ❞