Picture is Jeremy Irons as Gregory Killbane aka the Black Death.
Music is "Ready Or Not" remix for the Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation trailer.
All rights go to their rightful owners.
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"People would look to the sky and see hope - I'll take that from them first." ~Ultron
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CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
"Gregory Killbane." The name slips off my tongue and is as sharp as a knife to my gut.
No. No, he cannot be here. He's not supposed to be here!
"I go by that name now," he says. "I guess that must be the title you know me by in your world. My real name is something I forgot long ago." His smile turns something evil as black fire starts surrounding him. "Ready or not, Gloria. Here I come."
I don't care what else he has to say. As soon as I see him open his hands, palms up, and black fire starts raging around him, I grab Vision by the arm and teleport us at least a mile away, but not before a small piece of the black fire burns me on the back of my right hand. The only thing I hear now is the menacing laughter that we left behind.
When I drop us by the hospital, surrounded by screaming people again, I start gasping for air, winded by both the strength I've used and the fact that I never expected to see someone I hate so much again.
Vision turns to me and looks at me strangely. "Well, that was odd."
"That man is a very, very bad man," I say, my hands shaking from adrenaline. "He is very dangerous. I-I-" My voice trembles and I can't get a control of it. I close my eyes and sit down on the ground, curling up into a ball. I rock back in forth, focusing on my breathing.
Vision sits down beside me and pats my back, awkwardly, as if he's unsure of what to do. "Breathe, Glory. Take a deep breath. It will help. Did you know this man?"
I nod, still unable to speak.
"In your world?"
"H-He was an ex b-boyfriend. Very a-a-abusive. He almost k-killed m-me, if it weren't for P-Pietro..."
"I read that he had anger management concerns." Vision keeps rubbing my back. "Does this help? It helps Wanda when she is overwhelmed."
I smile a little. "It h-helps a lot, Vision."
Vision gives me a slight smile and looks around us at the terrified people. "A good portion of Manhattan has been affected by this black flame. We should expect to see the government here any time."
"Oh yay," I whisper under my breath. "Government."
"Shall I retrieve Pietro for you?"
"W-Where is he?"
"Looking for you."
"Why are the coms out?"
"They are not. It must be just yours."
"What a-about all these p-people? Shouldn't w-we help them?"
"The government will help them, but they will want them to be quarantined until they know for sure what this black flame did to them. The best hope for us figuring out what it is is to evacuate and return later."
I nod, trusting him. He's so wise for such a young being. I can see why Wanda likes him. "I don't think I-I can fly or teleport again. Can you help m-me to the Quinjet?"
Vision nods and picks me up from the ground. Taking off towards the Quinjet on the west side of Manhattan, he coms to Tony about something which I don't understand. I don't understand anything at this point. What's it called when your skin feels clammy but you're ice cold and your heart rate is lowering? Oh, yeah. Shock. I lost the word there.
When Vision lands at the Quinjet, opening the door with his technopathy, I see a group of very anxious, very frightened Avengers. Steve and Carol are pacing, Tony and Clint are figuring a route out of the city without being noticed, Thor and Sam are arguing about either leaving or staying, Rhodey is laying on a stretcher, Nat is rocking back and forth in a ball on the floor, Maria is standing watch over her but her mind is somewhere else, Wanda is looking over Rhodey (probably for injuries), and Pietro is running around sporadically in the back portion of the Quinjet. He almost looks like he did at the end of Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
When Vision walks in with me in his arms, Pietro darts over to us, his face pure terror. "Возлюбленная!" he shouts, letting Vision rest me in his arms. Pietro tucks me close to him, resting his head on top of mine. "Is she okay? Is she hurt?"
"She's in shock. I suggest we treat her for such," Vision says, but I can barely hear. My vision is getting blurry, and my hearing is fading away.
Gregory. He's here. He's coming after me and my family. Again.
"Glory? Wake up!" I keep hearing Pietro shouting, but shouting just makes me want to leave more. I feel his arms shaking, and then I'm placed somewhere else. My eyes shut. Just a small rest. It won't hurt anyone.
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I'm in a large, black room. There are no windows, only one door, and it's cold as ice. I'm sitting in the middle of the room, chained to the floor. I hear people talking outside the door, angry whispers. Pulling on my chains, I struggle to get free.
When the door opens, ever so slowly, I see a large figure enter. As the light allows his face to become visable, a young Gregory comes into view. A large smile is plastered on his face as he approaches me, black fire and smoke coming in his wake.
Behind him follow four people. These four I know very well: Arry King, Cordelia Harrison, Vlad Spencer, and Aspen Penrose. Something is wrong with their faces. They're empty, like they aren't there at all. Their eyes are dark, their faces are very white and ashen, and they seem to move like zombies as they cross the space between the door and I.
No words are said, but they line up against the wall, and Gregory seems to be in control of them. I try to shout their names, for help, for anything, but my voice is lost.
When they are lined up against the wall, Gregory turns to me and says, "This is what will become of them." He holds his hand out and the black flame shoots towards my friends. It wraps itself around their necks and lifts them up so that they are dangling off their feet.
That isn't even the worst part. When Gregory snaps his fingers, my friends come back to life. They start flailing, grasping at the black noose around their necks. They're choking. Dying. And I can't do a thing to save them.
"No!" I try to shout, over and over. "NO!"
I hear the door open again, but my eyes are still glued to my friends' faces as the life comes out of them. They died, and I didn't do a thing.
They disappear, and in their place walk Carol, Steve, Wanda, Sam, Vision, Thor, Clint, Tony, Rhodey, Nat, and Maria. "No! Not them! Please!" I beg, but Gregory does the exact same thing.
One by one, each of the people I love most die. I thought it would be over after this, but silly me. He's missed the one person I can't live without.
The door opens again, and I scream with my entire being. The power I hold goes out in a ripple effect, breaking down the walls and everything around them.
Standing in the doorway is Pietro Maximoff.
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"We're going down!" I hear someone shout. "Brace for impact!"
"Wanda, get Maria. Sam, get Clint. Tony, get Nat and Pietro. Thor, get Rhodey, but be careful. He's injured. Carol and Vision, get Glory and I." I hear Steve giving orders, and the smell of smoke fills my lungs. "Do not leave one person on this jet!"
"Yes Sir!" I hear Carol say, and I feel her arms curl under me and pull me up. "Stay with me, kiddo. It's gonna be alright."
"I need to be with her!" I hear Pietro shout.
I open my eyes to see him getting all to close to Steve, angry. "Listen here, Son," Steve says, not backing down. "This plane is going down. Your girlfriend's best chance is to go with Carol, and yours is to go with Tony. Those are my orders. Obey them or be left here. Do you understand." That wasn't a question. That was a command.
Pietro backs away, still angry, but he grabs a hold of Iron Man.
Around me, the Quinjet is falling apart. Alarms are going off, smoke and flame are everywhere, and it only takes a few moments for us to go from 30,000 feet to none.
Carol flies us out, followed by Thor, Vision, and Wanda, proceeded by Tony and Sam. We're about five hundred feet off the ground and descending as I watch the destroyed Quinjet collapse in on itself and plummet to the ground in a burning pile.
"What the hell happened?" Sam asks as he sets Clint down on the ground. All of us have landed, and all of us are confused. "Either that was the world's stealthiest missile, or something went wrong with the engine."
"It doesn't matter," Steve says. "Not now. We'll figure out the why and who later. Clint, where were we heading?"
"Back to my place, again," he answers. "We're only a couple miles out."
"Are you alright with us heading there still?"
Clint nods. "Rhodey needs medical attention. I think that Laura can help with that."
I hop down from Carol's arms and steady myself on the earth. "Where are we, Clint? I must've fallen asleep."
"Location is classified," he answers. "No one can know where my family is, not even you guys. Especially with a new player in the field. A dangerous one." He nods towards the west. "It's this way. Sam, if you could pick me up and fly me, I can guide everyone there."
Sam nods, taking a hold of the handles on Clint's parachute and lifting him up. "Follow the birds, guys."
Carol turns to me. "Are you okay to fly?"
I nod. "I'll teleport on the ground for now. As long as I can see the place I'm going, it shouldn't be a problem." I turn to Rhodey, who is on a stretcher that Thor is carrying. "Help Thor with Rhodey. I'm good here." She nods and walks towards Thor. "And Carol?" She turns to me. "Thank you."
She smiles. "No problem, kiddo."
Tony grabs Nat and Maria, holding one on each of his arms and flies after Thor and Carol - who have Rhodey - and Sam, who has Clint. Soon after, Vision and Cap follow.
Pietro runs to me and hugs me tightly. "Are you okay, Возлюбленная?" He looks at me with worried, blue eyes.
I try to smile, but it comes out weak and fake as hell. "I'm okay. You get Wanda and run. I'll catch up."
"Are you strong enough to teleport? Wanda can fly. I could carry you if you need-"
"-I'm fine. Trust me."
He nods and kisses my forehead. I back away and shiver from any physical touch. Pietro notices and sighs. "Vision told me what happened in that factory. I should never have left you alone."
"We'll talk about this later," I whisper. "Let's get going."
He nods and goes to pick his sister up, running after the other Avengers. I float a couple feet off the ground and look straight ahead, after the silver speedster. My teleportation power is limited. If I can see where I'm going at the moment, I can teleport. I can't go anywhere if the place isn't in my current field of view.
With that in mind, I jump a few hundred feet at a time, stopping for a couple seconds to recharge each mile or so. It's good to be alone right now. I don't even watch Pietro near me when I'm this destructive. I feel like Carol did when she was Binary. So much power in such a small vessel is like dynamite. It's explosive is handled the wrong way.
END CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX