Call him petty, but if there was a way to slight or put a dent in Tony Stark's wealth (no matter how minuscule it was) then Liam would be the first to take the chance. Granted, Liam could open a warp gate and take three steps to go from New York to Germany, but hey if they were going on a private jet, then they were going on a private jet.
Agreement. Petty. Humor. Vindication.
The said Avenger didn't raise any questions about it, but if the frown that marred his face was anything to go by, then Liam's intent was understood. Stark, however, had opted out on the jet and had flown to Germany using his suit. Unfortunately, Happy Hogan had the dubious honor of flying two superpowered teenagers to a fight with rogue Avengers.
"So uh...," Peter tried to strike up a conversation. "Why do they call you Happy?"
Happy's response was to generate a division via rolling up a tinted screen. In any other situation, Liam would've laughed at the reaction, but he was keeping his eyes trained on the suitcase that Tony had rudely thrown at him before the plane flight.
Oh, Liam knew what it was. He just didn't want to touch it, even with a ten-foot pole. With the only other person cutting themselves off from the possibility of conversation, Peter turned to Liam. "So did you look at your suit?"
"No," Liam frowned. As if to spite Tony Stark even further, there was a flicker of sapphire light before the jacket of Liam's original vigilante ensemble fluttered over his shoulders. "It's Stark technology, I don't trust it. Double negative points if he's putting me in spandex."
"Double negative is positive?"
A glare was enough to tell Peter that his commentary was very much not appreciated. Though it wasn't enough to deter Peter. For some unholy reason, the junior vigilante was keyed up on the urge to converse with people and Liam couldn't find the heart to deprive him of it. "Well, I mean...uh--what's wrong with spandex?"
Liam shuddered. "I don't know about you, but I don't like wearing form-fitting clothes that leave little to the imagination of the general public. No, thank you."
"But it's fine?"
"It's fine for you because you have exhibitionist qualities," Liam corrected without missing a beat. Of course, Liam wasn't going to confess to the fact that he appreciated the suit on Peter. He was a hypocrite, no one needed to tell Liam twice.
" Seriously ?" Peter was past being embarrassed by Liam's suggestive remarks. There was a round bing! that interrupted their conversation before he could devolve any further. The plane lurched forward and Peter yelped. He squandered and instinctually wrapped his hands around Liam's arm.
"Ever been on a plane before?" Liam raised an eyebrow, resolutely ignoring the fact that they were in contact with one another.
"N-No," Peter squeaked. The whir! of the plane grew higher in pitch as it shot down the runway before tilting upward as it gained altitude.
"Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!" Peter hissed as he reached up and rubbed his ears. Liam frowned before he reached into a warp gate and pulled out a pack of gum.
"Here," Liam handed a tinfoil-wrapped slip to Peter. "Gum helps with altitude changes."
"Thanks," Peter took the packet gratefully and quickly shoveled the gum into his mouth. He chewed thoughtfully on the offered treat before he frowned. "That works. Okay, this is weird."
Liam snorted. "You tell me. Never had to deal with attitude changes that much, huh?"
"No," Peter shook his head with a resigned air. "I never really got on a plane ever since..."
Liam pursed his lips and refused to say anything. While Peter had never shared this information with him, Liam already knew what he was talking about. On a plane ride, his mother and father had died. It was a bit morbid, but Liam clamped his mouth shut. Instead, he patted Peter on the shoulder consolingly, a silent show of support.
"But anyway," Peter turned back to Liam. "Shouldn't you at least see the suit?"
Peter wasn't going to drop it, was he? Liam sighed and curbed the urge to massage his forehead. "Alright, let's see what he's made."
Deftly placing both of his thumbs underneath the locks, the reincarnation flicked them both open with a set of clicks! Gingerly, he pulled the suitcase back and immediately grimaced at the items within the suitcase. Of course, the suit was fucking spandex. Go figure.
"It's...not that bad?" Peter tried tentatively, noticing the look on Liam's face. "I mean you have a really cool mask!"
Well maybe it was some consolation, but it wasn't much. The mask was fashioned in the likeness of a men-yoroi, Samurai facial armor. However, it was only for the lower half of the face. Sleek and black, the lips were curled back to show the visage of sharp teeth and canines.
Liam inspected it, holding it up to the light and at different angles before putting it back into the suitcase. "I'm keeping my jacket."
"That's fine," Peter agreed disarmingly to the declaration. "It suits you!"
Whether or not it suited Liam was another question entirely, but Liam appreciated the sentiment nonetheless.
"So have you ever been out of the country?" Peter asked.
"Yeah," Liam shrugged. "Been here and there. Not much."
"Oh, where'd you go?"
"Seoul," Liam replied dryly. "Johannesburg. Novi Grad. You know."
"Oh...yeah," Peter blinked. There was a tint on his cheeks that betrayed the embarrassment he was feeling. Liam clicked the suitcase before poking Peter in the temple. "Wanna finish our homework and then binge some movies?"
"Yeah, that sounds good to me."
They had taken the liberty to take two weeks' worth of homework from their school in advance so they didn't fall behind on their schoolwork. It was fairly easy considering Liam had been fed up with the whole situation to flip to the back of the textbook and obtain the answers. Not his greatest achievement, but who wanted to sit during a plane ride rotting their brain over math equations? Certainly not him.
It was in the middle of their movie binge that Peter started dozing off. If it was intentional, Liam wasn't going to ask, but Peter had used his shoulder as a cushion for his nap.
The reincarnation sighed and looked over to the boy draped over his shoulder. His breathing was soft and almost inaudible, and his curly hair was falling over the top of his forehead in swirling cascades. He looked peaceful... soft.
Liam was seized by the desire to bring the other closer, but he refrained from doing so. Instead, he sighed and quietly clicked the movie off.
Despite his agreeing with this egregious mess of a plan, Liam couldn't help the bitterness that bubbled up within him. The reincarnation huffed as he sent a withering glare at the suitcase that sat innocuously by his feet.
Was he jealous? Liam wasn't even going to try and deny it. Yes, he was jealous that Tony Stark managed to get to Peter Parker and be on friendly terms with him simply because he was Ironman. The same Ironman that made Sokovia occur...and Liam despised that. What right did he have to just barge in, use Peter Parker as a device to locate Ronin, and have the gall to spit on his face like that?
What did the years of his friendship with Peter amount to? Him leaning back when Tony Stark located Liam and got him to join a farce of a defense initiative?
But then again, it was an exercise in futility, wasn't it? Peter was always destined to become an Avenger. Liam was the outlier here...the anomaly. He was the fool for being too soft-hearted and coming close. It was his fault.
Worry. Questioning. Comfort.
"I'm fine," Liam exhaled softly. He looked over at the boy dozing off on his shoulder and squeezed his eyes shut. In a quiet blip, Peter was leaning on a tower of pillows fashioned to support his weight. Liam, on the other hand, was sitting away in another row from him.
Surprise.
"Yeah well," Liam shrugged. "I'm pissed. I don't want to do this."
Protest. Worry. Concern.
"I still like him...," Liam admitted, and it hurt how true that was. "I don't think I'll ever stop liking him. But liking someone shouldn't come at your own detriment. It's better this way. He's going to be part of something I don't want to be, and once Thanos is done...we'll drop off the grid."
Concern. Worry. Acquiescence. Reminding.
"I know," Liam replied, and his heart ached at the reminder. He and Urania would be through thick and thin together. "Thanks."
Affection.
He stole one last glance at Peter and closed his eyes. Liking...or loving someone didn't mean keeping them to yourself. It was about wishing them the best and their happiness. Liam was willing to give that, granted that he kept the distance. It was only fair...considering how much he had uprooted with his mere existence.
For humanity's bliss. And Liam would have it no other way.
***
It was stifling. He knew he had emotions but in this dream, he couldn't feel them. It was like a glass wall, knowing that there was something beyond but he couldn't reach it. Couldn't access them. He felt cold...devoid of any emotions but only fueled by an obligation.
Liam watched as his body moved without his input, but somehow everything felt different like there was a heaviness to his movements that was not there before.
"Y-You killed them. You killed them all."
He turned over his shoulder, face blank. There was an alien that was peeling itself off the ground. At first glance, Liam was reminded of Thanos but corrected the assessment. While the two had similar builds, Thanos was purple. This alien had skin the color of beige and he was wearing leather armor.
"They were a threat," the words slipped his mouth. "All threats to humanity must be exterminated."
"You killed them all! Even the children! The mothers!"
"Yours is a race that seeks to conquer," Liam's dreaming body continued. "You could've easily settled down upon one planet and sustained your people...but you didn't. You set your sights on Earth, and once you did you declared your lives forfeit."
"Is that what you will say, Cannibal?!" the alien roared. "That is your verdict? You may be feared across the universes, but I see you are no more than a hypocrite!"
He didn't say anything more and kept his silence. The alien roared as he grabbed some greatsword and hefted it effortlessly. "You will die by my hand! Your reign of terror ends here!"
He charged raising his blade above his head.
Liam didn't know exactly what happened, but there was a twitch in his wrist as he grabbed the hilt of his own sword. In the next millisecond, the alien's furious battle cry was cut short. His eyes widened as his body collapsed onto its knees. His head rolled and he stared up at Liam with palpable fear.
"H-How--"
"Papa? Papa!"
Out from the wreckage, an alien child saw the horrific sight of his father being cut down. "Papa!!"
He ran over to the head of his father, and somehow the elder alien managed to grip onto the fading threads of life and look at his son fearfully. "Run. You must run."
"Papa!" the son cried in return. He shook his head furiously as globs of tears ran down his cheeks. "I won't leave you! You promised that w-we'd see blue someday!"
Whatever person Liam's dream was taking the point of view of, they had no remorse left in their bones. With a quiet metallic sheen! the blade was drawn and the father's eyes widened. "N-No! Please! S-Spare my son! I-I beg of you, we were wrong!"
It didn't matter. In the next second, the blade was plunged through the child's chest. Liam stared down at the younger alien dispassionately before ripping his sword out and flicking it of blood. The child collapsed, his eyes unseeing and rasping breaths tearing themselves from his throat.
"NO!" the alien cried. "NO! CANNIBAL! I'LL KILL YOU!! I'll KILL YOU I'LL KILL YOU I'LL KILL YOU I'LL KILL--"
His screams were cut off with a stab downward to the head. His brain was punctured and, again, Liam withdrew the blade and flicked off the blood. He stared down at the corpses of the two before turning away. There was nothing in his heart. No emotions, no reactions.
Nothing.
***
Peter woke up to the quiet hum of the jet engines and the impersonal warmth of a stack of pillows supporting his weight. Groggily, he sat up reaching up to rub at his eyes. Last he was awake before he dozed off, Peter had been watching a movie with Liam.
That begged the question...where was Liam?
"Awake?"
Peter blinked before he spotted Liam sitting in another row. There was a haunted look in his eyes as if he had seen something horrific. Nonetheless, the reincarnation went for a wane smile, but Peter couldn't help but notice the difference. There was a new distance within that smile...an impersonal reservation.
Peter had the feeling that Liam was building up his walls again.
"Yeah," Peter exhaled. "What about you? You look...tired."
A breathy fit of bitter chuckles escaped Liam's lips as he waved the concern away. "It's nothing...I just had a bad dream."
"A bad dream?"
"It's nothing," Liam repeated with a shrug. He looked out the window before changing the subject. "We have around thirty minutes before we land at our destination."
"Oh, that's good," Peter nodded. They descended into an awkward silence that left Peter wanting to pull out his hair. What happened? Why...Why did it feel like Liam was so much more distant...so much more cold? It was like that time during eighth grade when he was so afraid that Liam would go to California to take his own life. And the way that Liam looked after he defeatedly gave up in the face of Peter's askance. It was disheartening, like a flame sputtering out.
Peter nibbled his bottom lip in guilt and sucked in a quiet breath. He wanted to say sorry to Liam to wave away this air of gloom, but he knew that Liam wasn't going to accept any words. Liam would only ever see it as useless lip service.
"Are you okay?" Peter asked tentatively instead.
"I'm fine," was the clipped answer. A lie. It left a sour taste in Peter's mouth...but he kept his mouth shut. He knew Liam, somehow, wasn't in a good headspace, and the last time Peter prodded where he shouldn't have...
Yeah, Peter was not receptive to poking the sleeping dragon. Yet he couldn't help it. Liam was Peter's friend and he had no desire to see him like that. "You sure?"
Liam's eyes flitted back to Peter. His gaze was searching and whatever Liam found had the reincarnation forcibly relaxing his posture. "Yeah, don't worry about me."
"Hey, kids!" Happy called out. "We're going to be landing so you better buckle up!"
At that, Liam's expression closed off and Peter leaned back worriedly. This was all going to be a mess, wasn't it?