There were tear stains on Peter's face when I found him in the compound's garage.
I paused briefly at the door, my eyes flicking down at the helmet he was clutching between his hands. The straps of my backpack suddenly became heavier on my shoulders. "You really shouldn't be here," I told him softly, though it was obvious I wasn't truly upset by his presence. The boy's chest sagged as he sighed, and he turned away to focus on the motorcycle propped up beside him.
"I had to make sure I could see you before you left," he answered, messing around with some of the controls on the machine. It was Stark technology like most things in the room. I couldn't remember the last time I had ridden one of my father's bikes, but I was depending everything on my ability to. "May's waiting in the car. Your dad said it would be better for us to not be around when Ross..." Peter didn't finish the sentence. The brief silence was quickly filled by a soft cracking noise, and my eyes flicked down to the helmet.
"Peter, you're-" The boy threw the helmet angrily across the garage into the wall, and I flinched involuntarily as the already cracked headgear splintered into pieces. His breathing pattern was hitched from the action, his hand still extended. Glancing at the indent in the wall my father had once claimed to be indestructible, I realized I had underestimated his strength. "I kind of... needed that."
"Why can't I help you?" Peter's head jerked in my direction after speaking his question, a rhetorical statement but still one I knew he wished I could answer. "Hawkes, the battle... now this. I can't just stay on the sidelines anymore- I can't sit back and watch you break over and over again!"
"If I knew a way to fix everything and not hurt you and everyone else, I would've chosen it by now."
"What? No!" The boy shook his head, pressing a hand against his forehead before moving to run his fingers through his hair. "You aren't the issue, Belle... I... I just feel backed into a corner." Peter slumped down on the floor, leaning his body against the motorcycle defeatedly. "If I had even one shot," he told me, lifting up a finger as he repeated himself. "Just one..."
"No- this isn't how this is going to go." I slid the backpack straps off of my shoulders, it giving a muffled thud as I sat down beside him. "My last memory of you can't be this until I see you again... it can't." I could feel my eyes welling up again, and I shook my head angrily. "If you're the reason I cry again today, Parker, I'm gonna kill you."
"You still manage to joke with everything going on."
"I'm not- oh, I hate you," I grumbled as I felt him try to wrap his arm behind me to pull me in, giving a sniffle as I tried to push my emotions back. He didn't attempt a remark, and we sat there hugging each other in quiet. The first time we had ever been in this position was after Homecoming, the night I thought Peter had died and we defeated Liz's father. Back then, it was exciting, almost as if some part of my world was starting over right. Now, it was agony.
Part of me wished I had never begun dating him. It wouldn't have changed our feelings toward each other, but maybe it would've made our predicaments easier. Maybe he wouldn't have felt so helpless about my fate, and I not guilty about being the cause of his pain. Then again... that might not have even happened because-
"I love you."
"I love you too, Pete."
"No, like... I love you," he repeated, and I knew he meant every part of that word. Our heads turned toward each other, pulling the hug apart as he sighed. "Promise me... promise me that you'll send a sign when you're back." I felt him take my hand in his, squeezing it tightly. "Something that would make me know right away that it's you." There was a sharp pain in my chest at that. "I'll always be on your side, Belle," Peter insisted. "If you call... I'll be there."
"I know," I told the boy, and I felt him sigh again, though this time in relief. That feeling halted the moment the garage lights flickered to a dim red, both of our heads jerking up toward the ceiling. "No... no, he said he'd come say goodbye." Peter was already pulling me off of my feet, the silent alarm freezing me in place. "Wait! I can't..."
"Isabel, you have to get out of here."
"Dad isn't here yet- Peter- I didn't say goodbye!" I stammered, placing a hand on the motorcycle for support. My brain was swimming. There was enough time to find him, I was sure of it. I couldn't let our last conversation be in the security room. I felt a new helmet pushed on my head, Peter's hand pulling the visor over my eyes. "No, no, no- I have to say goodbye!"
"Belle!" The world went clear again as Peter yelled my name, his hands clutching the helmet so that I was staring into his eyes. "You have to go." I stared at him blankly, trying to push back the coming panic attack. "Get on the bike, okay? I want to hear you say it."
"Okay," I murmured, and Peter gave a firm nod before racing over to the door I had entered from. I felt numb as I climbed on the bike, feeling the engine come alive under my fingers as I gripped the handlebars. The vibrations were causing the hairs on my arms to rise, and I wasn't sure if I was breathing. I took a final glance at Peter, who's hand was lingering over the button that would open the front of the garage.
"Don't die." The boy's voice cracked halfway through his sentence, and his hand slammed on the button. The garage flooded with light, causing me to squint, and I twisted the motorcycle's throttle. The bike flew forward, cold air blasting on the lower part of my face as I held on tightly. The path Earl and I normally walked was clear of snow, the salt he insisted on laying down a few days prior still present. It was almost as if he knew.
I was barely under the cover of the forest when I heard the shrieking nose of wheels behind me, and I took a quick glance to my right to see the large SUV speeding out of the compound's entrance road onto the snow. I increased my speed, knowing that it was likely there was another vehicle somewhere in pursuit.
"Isabel Stark, we have you surrounded." I glanced up momentarily to see a helicopter following above me, Ross's voice distinguishable through their speakers. I grit my teeth and continued forward, almost sliding off the path as I made a quick turn. "Stand down now. We're not afraid to use force if necessary."
"Loki, I know you hear me," I muttered. "Whatever your plan is, hurry your ass up or-" A thin force of wind brushed past my cheek, causing me to falter briefly before recovering and continuing on. I pulled myself closer to the bike as I moved downhill, and this time I saw the tranquilizer miss me and fly into the trunk of a tree. From its size, it would take two to get me down if I still had my powers activated. Now, I barely needed one. "Shit, shit... Loki!"
"This is your final warning!" I made an impulse decision and jumped off the path, the wheels of the motorcycle wobbling dangerously as I rode through the snow. I could see an armed truck in the distance struggling to adjust with the terrain to catch up, more trees blocking its path. "If you don't stop, we will open fire."
"Loki, please hurry up," I begged. "Please, please..." My eyes widened at a new whistling noise, and I barely had time to think before the small missile made contact with the bike's front wheel. I screamed as I was thrown up in the air, flying a few yards and narrowly missing a tree before plummeting into the snow. Unlike when I'd use my powers to soften a fall, this hurt. There was a loud crack, and my legs spasmed involuntarily at the extreme pain growing in my chest. Even attempting a breath was excruciating.
I sounded ragged as I pushed myself on my front, emitting a guttural wail once pressure was put on the cracked rib. I clawed my way through the snow, only moving a few inches at a time, but it felt useless at the sound of Ross's men growing closer. I made it a few feet before stopping defeatedly, staring at the pair of boots that had been waiting for me to arrive. No... no, I had seen those shoes before. It wasn't Ross, but it wasn't Loki either.
"You look horrible." I knew that voice. My vision was clouding again, and I groaned as a pair of hands carefully picked me up from the snow. My head was resting against a bare chest, but there was no warmth from that contact. The individual was barely more comforting than the snow. "Your friend sent me. I wish I had arrived sooner."
"Are you..." I slurred, blood filling my mouth. I couldn't make out his face. "... are you a friend?" He chuckled, but he didn't answer my question. His voice was strange,
"Just stay awake," the person advised, and my eyes narrowed as bright colored lights began to surround us. "It's a quick journey."
"Freeze!" There was a shuffling noise as a soldier approached us, stopping in his tracks at the sight of my rescuer. I was in too much pain to turn my head in the direction. "What the hell- what are you?!"
"I'd close my eyes if I were you," the individual warned me, and I squeezed them shut as a roar hit my ears. My stomach lurched, and the motion knocked the remaining air out of my lungs.