CHAPTER NINETEEN
❝ that funny feeling ❞
ASTER WASN'T SURE what planet her dream took place on. There were heaps of flaming ship wreckage and piles of dead bodies surrounding her, making her head swirl with sickening nausea. She stumbled forward and lifted her head, feeling her breath hitch when she laid eyes on Thanos and the Black Order.
Ebony Maw, whom Aster hadn't seen since she was little, bowed down on one knee in front of his leader. In his hands was the Tesseract, which he extended out for Thanos to take. "My humble personage... bows before your grandeur. No other being has ever had the might, nay the nobility, to wield not one, but two Infinity Stones. The universe lies within your grasp."
Taking the Tesseract from his servant's hand, Thanos crushed the glowing cube, revealing the Space stone. Pinching the stone between two of his fingers, he placed it in the gauntlet on his left hand, engulfing himself in a flurry of blue power.
Aster's heart dropped down into her stomach when she spotted Thor restrained off to the side of the gathering. There was a bloody muzzle encasing his mouth and one of his eyes was covered by an eyepatch. Past him stood Loki, who peered over into Aster's direction as soon as she laid eyes on him.
Taking a fearful step back, Aster's heart pounded. Could he see her? Nobody else seemed to.
Loki stared at her for a long moment before he finally tore his eyes away, refocusing his gaze on Thanos. The Titan lifted his hand to inspect the gauntlet, which had two of five spots filled with stones. "There are two more Stones on Earth. Find them, my children, and bring them to me on Knowhere."
Corvus Glaive and the rest of Thanos' children bowed down to him. Technically, they were all Aster's adopted siblings. Though, unlike she did with Gamora and Nebula, she never trusted them. "Father, we will not fail you."
"If I might interject..." Loki cut in, emerging from the ruins of a ship. When the Black Order all turned to him with their spears held high, he splayed his arms out by his sides and smiled. "If you're going to Earth, you might want a guide. I do have a bit of experience in that area."
Thanos clearly wasn't inclined to accept his help. "If you consider failure experience."
An irritated scowl took over Loki's expression. "I consider experience, experience. Almighty Thanos. I, Loki, Prince of Asgard..." Walking forward, he glanced over at his brother and his eyes softened. "Odin's son, the rightful King of the Jotunheim, do hereby pledge to you, my undying fidelity."
A dagger manifested into the hand that Loki had hidden behind his back, making Aster's eyes go wide. He thrust an arm up in an attempt to stab Thanos through the neck, though he was stopped by the space stone before he could.
Squinting down at the god, Thanos hummed, "'Undying.' You should choose your words more carefully."
The dagger clattered to the ground as Thanos grabbed Loki by the neck, lifting him into the air. Fighting against Thanos' tight grip on his neck, Loki's face began to turn blue. "You... will never be... a god."
Glancing over at Thor, Thanos tilted his head and snapped Loki's neck. Thor screamed in agony behind his muzzle. Aster gasped, staggering back and pinching her arm with a shaking hand. Begging herself to wake up.
Dropping Loki's limp body in front of Thor, Thanos taunted, "No resurrections this time." He raised his gauntlet into the air and curled his fingers into a fist, immersing the planet around them in a purple hue. The ground beneath Aster's feet began to tremble and crack as explosions sounded in the distance.
In a flash, Thanos and the Black Order were engulfed by a portal. Thor was released from his binds and he immediately crawled over to his brother's body, laying his head down on Loki's chest with a sob. "No... Loki..."
Aster ran over to them, kneeling down on the other side of Loki's body. "Thor..."
He couldn't hear her. Frustrated, Aster laid both of her hands on the god's arms and gritted out, "Thor!"
Startled, Thor finally lifted his head and locked eyes with Aster. His bloody face contorted in shock and a chill ran through Aster's body when she realized he could see her. "Aster—?"
An explosion cut him off, tearing them apart.
Aster sucked in a sharp breath and sat up, gripping the sheets underneath her in an attempt to grasp onto reality. She placed a hand on her forehead and pushed her unruly hair from her face, closing her eyes for a moment of relief. It was just a dream.
Still, there was a funny feeling in her gut. Why did it feel so real?
Blinking her eyes open, Aster let out a sigh. Her fear slowly morphed into confusion when she realized that she was in Peter's bed, not her own. Glancing around his bright room, she thought back on the night prior. She must have fallen asleep during their weekly movie night.
Kicking Peter's comforter off of herself, the seventeen-year-old stood and stretched her arms above her head. About a year and a half passed since she had become a full-time student and part-time Avenger, and life had been refreshingly quiet.
Aster spent her days attending school, her afternoons hanging out with Peter, Ned, and M.J., and her nights on patrol with Spider-Man. Tony and Pepper were busy planning their wedding, meaning that Tony was around a whole lot more. With each day that passed, he was straying farther and farther away from his life of danger and closer to a life of normalcy. At first, he was doing it for Pepper's sake, but Aster could tell he was beginning to find peace in such a quiet life.
As for Peter and Aster, things hadn't changed between them since the night Aster shied away from his kiss. Since then, there was always something unspoken between them, though they just chose not to address it.
With Peter nowhere in sight, Aster crossed her arms over her sweatshirt-clad chest and wandered out of his room. Tip-toeing down the hallway of his apartment, the sound of clattering plates and sizzling met her ears.
When Aster walked into the living room, a smile pulled at her lips. Peter was standing in the kitchen, with his back to her as he flipped a pancake. Music played softly from a speaker sitting on the counter and he bobbed his head back and forth to the rhythm. His curly brown hair bounced in the morning light flooding through the window.
Aster cleared her throat and said, "Good morning."
Peter jumped, nearly dropping a pancake mid-flip. He turned around, sill in his plaid pajama pants and an I survived my trip to NYC t-shirt. "Hey, I didn't think you were awake yet."
Sliding onto a stool at the kitchen island, Aster snorted. "I didn't mean to scare you. I thought your Peter-tingle would tell you to turn around."
Even though she wasn't sure if Aunt May was home or not, Aster was free to talk about Spider-Man all she wanted. Just days after Peter turned down Tony's offer to join the Avengers, May accidentally caught her nephew sneaking in through his bedroom window dressed in the webbed suit. She was not happy, though she eventually learned to cope with it after seeing how happy it made Peter. Still, May never found out that Aster was Starlight.
Placing a stack of pancakes in front of her, Peter shook his head. "It only works when there's a threat."
Aster raised an eyebrow. "So you're saying I'm not a threat?"
"No! I'm not... You can be a threat when you want to. Just... just not to me."
Giggling, Aster gawked at the food in front of her. "I'm kidding. Also, yum. If I had known that breakfast was on the menu I would have accidentally slept over a lot sooner."
Laughing, Peter handed her a bottle of syrup and a fork. "I hate to disappoint you but this isn't an everyday occurrence. I woke up early and thought it would be nice to get some breakfast in before the field trip today." The entire senior class was going to the Museum of Modern Art for the day, which Aster was actually excited about.
A brief moment of silence fell between them before a timid smile made its way onto Peter's face and he said, "Sorry I didn't wake you last night. You looked so peaceful."
Cutting her pancake up, Aster smiled. "It's okay, Dad knew I was at M.J.'s before so I'm sure he assumed I slept there." She caught a view of the time over Peter's shoulder and swore under her breath, "Shit, I need to go home and change." Shoveling a few bites into her mouth, Aster stood to go grab her things.
Peter called Aster's name and she stopped, turning her attention to him. "When we get back tonight, do you wanna grab some Thai food?" he asked.
Despite the pancakes she just ate, Aster was nearly salivating at the thought of Thai food. There was a place down the street that they often went to with their friends. "Yes. I'm sure Ned and M.J. are around too."
"If not, I-I mean, the two of us could still go," Peter proposed, shrugging to feign nonchalance.
Aster's lips parted with a smile and butterflies swarmed her stomach. "Yeah, I'd like that."
───
For the entire journey back to the loft, Aster couldn't stop thinking about her nightmare.
It left her feeling on edge, flinching at every gust of wind and passing car on her way home. She tried telling herself it was just her mind playing tricks on her, but what she saw felt so real. It felt eerily similar to the one time she successfully dreamwalked, back when she accidentally teleported her soul and body to where the Guardians were.
She hadn't voluntarily tried it since. Since she was unable to get back on her own last time, she didn't want to risk getting stuck somewhere worse.
Forcing herself to push aside her unease, Aster used her key to unlock the front door to the loft. Tony and Pepper were standing in the kitchen with workout clothes on, quietly laughing over two cups of coffee. The sound of the front door opening brought their attention to Aster. "Hey, how was the sleepover?"
"It was good," Aster said, hurriedly kicking her shoes off. She purposefully failed to mention that it was Peter's apartment she slept over, not M.J.'s. "I've gotta go shower and change or I'm gonna be late for school."
Glancing over at the time, Pepper frowned. "Late? It's early."
"I have that field trip today," Aster said, tilting her head at their matching attire. "Where are you guys going?"
Tony scoffed, "Would it be so hard to believe that I'm going on Pepper's morning run with her?"
Aster made a face at his words. "Honestly? Yes."
Standing and placing his mug in the sink, Tony rolled his eyes. "Oh, c'mon. I'm getting old. I need to stay active. Keep my heart healthy."
Raising an eyebrow, Aster shared a look with Pepper. "Isn't that what the arc reactor is for? Like a... backup generator if the real thing stops working again?"
"I told him we could go get donuts after if he ran with me," Pepper mentioned, taking a sip of her coffee to hide her smirk.
Tony threw his arms into the air and stared at his fiancée in betrayal. "Pep, way to expose me."
Aster giggled and made her way over to the stairs. "You guys have fun with that. Bring me home a donut!"
"We will," Pepper called after her. "Have fun and be safe today, okay?"
Sending them a thumbs up, Aster ran up the stairs to get ready.
───
It was late April, meaning that New York was finally beginning to warm up after the long winter they had. Still, there was a slight breeze outside, so Aster put on jeans and a thin sweater.
By the time she was ready to go, Tony and Pepper were already gone. With her nearly empty bag on her back, Aster checked the time on her phone and winced. After slipping on her shoes, Aster hurried to the front door and flung it open, ready to rush out of it.
Unfortunately for her, the hallway was blocked off by an orange inter-dimensional portal. In the middle of the sparking passageway stood a familiar man with black hair and graying sideburns, dressed in a red cloak. "Aster Stark—"
Aster slammed the door right in his face.
Holding her breath, Aster clamped her eyes shut. She stood there, still as a statue, and chanted, "Not today, not today, not today—"
"Unfortunately, yes today."
Startled, Aster flinched and turned when she heard his voice coming from behind her. The portal was now inside the loft, along with the man standing in it. Staring at him with narrowed eyes, Aster threatened, "Listen, Strange. I don't know who you think you are, but you can't just come in here uninvited. I've got places to be."
Tilting his head at her, Doctor Strange raised both hands and eased his portal forward so that it engulfed the both of them. Their surroundings transformed and Aster found herself standing in the front hall of a dark Victorian mansion. She peered around wearily. "Um, this is considered kidnapping. Where are we?"
"The Sanctum Sanctorium," Strange told her, not once taking his eyes off of her. He seemed to be caught up in the fact that she knew his name. "You remember me?"
"Yeah, you were my doctor back in 2014." Looking him up and down, Aster was unimpressed. "Hell of a career change."
"That's why he looked so familiar." Tony's voice made Aster spin around. Still in his workout gear, he snorted and sent an amused look Doctor Strange's way. "You should've just gone to clown college instead of medical school."
Doctor Strange rolled his eyes, muttering something under his breath.
Instead of questioning why Tony was there too, Aster's attention was drawn to the familiar figure at his side. Her jaw dropped and she stared at her old teammate in disbelief. "Bruce?"
Bruce Banner stepped forward, staring at Aster like he couldn't believe what he was seeing. His hair was greyer than the last time she saw him but everything else was still the same, even down to the blazer and sweater he was wearing.
"Aster," Bruce breathed, walking forward until he was right in front of her. He opened his arms and engulfed her in a hug, one that Aster didn't hesitate to reciprocate. "You're so... you're all grown up." He pulled back and held her by the biceps, boring his eyes into hers. "How old are you now?"
"Seventeen," she softly told him. Bruce breathed out a shaky exhale and ran a hand over his mouth. "Where have you been, Bruce?"
Tony crossed his arms over his chest, clearly just as curious as Aster was. Bruce glanced between his two teammates and a heavy sigh escaped his lips. "It's a long story and I promise to tell you when we have more time. All you need to know is that Thanos is coming."
Aster's legs nearly buckled underneath her. A wave of nausea swept through her, nearly making her throw up right then and there. She did her best to school her expression, though she wasn't able to stop her face from paling.
Not looking at his daughter, Tony shook his head, confused. "I'm sorry, who?"
"He has two of the stones already," Aster breathed, glancing between Bruce and Doctor Strange with wide blue eyes. "Doesn't he?"
Matching looks of shock contorted their expressions as they both turned to Aster. Doctor Strange narrowed his eyes at her while Bruce reared back, asking, "How did you know that?"
She swallowed hard, nervously shifting from foot to foot. "I... I woke up from a nightmare this morning. I think I was dreamwalking."
"Hang on," Strange intercepted, holding a hand up. "You can dreamwalk?"
"Not intentionally."
"What else happened in your nightmare?" Bruce tentatively asked.
Biting down on the inside of her cheek, Aster took a moment to collect her thoughts. "Um, Thor was there. So was Loki but... Thanos killed him. I don't know, we were surrounded by a bunch of wreckage and bodies. I woke up when an explosion happened."
Pointing at her, Bruce asked. "You were there too?"
"Hang on, you were there?" Aster countered.
Clapping his hands together, Tony stepped in between their back-and-forth conversation. "Okay. Clearly, both of you were there. Now, can someone fill me in? Who the hell is this guy?" His words were frantic and Aster could tell that his unease was growing. Clearly, she wasn't the only one with a terrible feeling.
Sighing, Doctor Strange shared a look with Bruce. "You want to explain, or should I?"
"I can start," Aster said, pulling the three adults' attention to herself. Averting her gaze from them, Aster hesitated. She had to tell them. "Remember how I've mentioned my father and how he's not a great guy?" Bruce and Tony nodded. "Thanos is my father."
Silence.
Doctor Strange placed his hands on his hips and tipped his head down, almost like he already knew. In a state of shock, Bruce's lips parted and he stared at her with wide eyes. Tony, on the other hand, had a series of emotions flash across his expression. Confusion, realization, fear.
But most of all, anger.
Aster had a feeling she wouldn't be making it to the field trip.
AUTHOR'S NOTE!
HERE WE GO!
almost two years have passed and things had been so good for aster.
but of course, nothing lasts forever.
this is the moment she's been dreading her entire life.
to clarify, the avengers know her birth dad was a shitty guy, but they didn't know it was thanos until now.
anyways, bruce is back, strange is fed up with tony already, and aster is worried about missing her field trip.
the chaos only continues from here, so stay tuned!
<3 mal