CHAPTER 12
Real?
KASSIDY lunged forward in an attempt to go after Peter, but was stopped dead when the room completely disappeared from around her. In fact, everything had disappeared. She was now surrounded by nothing but black. Nothing but shadows.
"Now, now, Kassie."
Becks voice filled the air around her, seeping into her ears and brain. She shook her head in attempt to get rid of him, but it did nothing.
"Don't call me that!" Kassidy yelled, turning in circles as if that would help her spot the man.
Out of nowhere, a drone flew at her, hitting her in the stomach and knocking her backwards. Limbs flailing in every direction, Kassidy expelled energy from her feet, attempting to steady herself before she ultimately fell to her death. Luckily, she had slowed herself down enough so that when she hit the ground, she stayed conscious. The wind was knocked straight out of her lungs, and she curled over in pain, grasping her ribs.
"You're making me do this, Kassidy." Becks voice rang out. "It's your fault."
A woman's scream echoed throughout the abyss, and Kassidy's eyes widened as she attempted to find the source of the noise. A wave of green engulfed the girl, and she was soon standing on a familiar Manhattan street, Avengers Tower looming over her.
The screaming continued, and Kassidy ran down the street, her eyes scanning the area around her for clues. She had ran far enough that she ended up at the base of the tower, destruction all around her.
"It's your fault they're dead."
The scene changed.
The screaming got louder, and a man's voice was added to the mix. Kassidy strained her ears in confusion, and a gasp left her lips when she realized just who it was she was hearing.
Her parents.
"No!" she exclaimed.
The scene changed once more, now an image of her parents, bloody and bruised. Her father was holding her mother in his arms, cradling her. Kassidy cautiously made her way forward, her lip trembling. When she was within reach, her father suddenly spun, his eyes completely black and empty.
"You did this!"
He dropped Caroline from his arms, her body turning to dust as it hit the ground, just as Kassidy's had the year prior. He lunged at his daughter, his arm outstretched in an attempt to grab her. Kassidy fell back onto her butt, crawling backwards until her back hit something. When she turned, she let out yet another scream.
Iron Man was dangling from the nonexistent ceiling, a rope around his neck. Tears welled up in Kassidy's eyes and she began to back herself up the way she came, shaking her head.
"Not only did you kill your first set of parents..." Becks voice taunted. "You killed your second father, too. Tsk, tsk, Kassie... When will you learn?"
"SHUT UP!" Kassidy yelled, tears streaming down her face. "SHOW YOURSELF AND FIGHT ME, YOU COWARD!"
Yet another drone appeared out of thin air, this time spraying bullets straight at the girl below. Kassidy threw up a forcefield, but had done so half a second too late, resulting in one of the bullets drilling into her leg. She let out a cry, falling onto one knee.
"When will it be Peppers turn?" Beck asked, his drones still putting on a violent attack. "And then who?"
Morgan appeared next, her brown eyes wide and full of fear. They landed on Kassidy and she tilted her head in confusion.
"Kassie?" she called. "Why are you doing this?"
Kassidy let out a choked sob, but shook her head. She squeezed her eyes shut and put her hands over her ears, eerily similar to a small child.
"This isn't real!" she yelled, shaking her head back and forth.
When she opened her eyes again, she was shocked to see that Morgan was gone. The black emptiness now back.
"I don't think you know what's real, Kassie."
The half-constructed building suddenly materialized around Kassidy again, leading her to believe Beck had finally given up on his sadistic game. She turned and let out a cry of relief when her eyes landed on Peter.
"Peter!" she exclaimed, trying to move as fast as she could with her bullet wound.
"Kassidy!"
Peter began to move towards the girl, but before he could make it very far, a drone materialized out of thin air, pointed straight at the boy. Kassidy's eyes widened in horror as the drone emptied its ammo; straight into Peter.
Kassidy's knees buckled from beneath her. She let out a blood curling scream on her way down. Her head fell to the ground, and she let her tears stain the concrete below her. Beck had just murdered Peter. She was alone.
"Wow. I didn't think it would be that easy."
The ground beneath her changed. She was curled up on a patch of gravel now, the few small rocks below her wet with tears. Kassidy shakily lifted her head, trying to take in her surroundings.
After turning her head to the left, her eyes finally landed on Peter. The real Peter. He was backing up, Beck walking towards him, cornering him.
"Peter!" she called, her voice a shell of itself.
She attempted to push herself to her feet, but stumbled back to the ground when pressure was put on her left leg. So, she stuck to crawling towards the boy. Peter had now backed himself completely onto a set of train tracks. He lifted his head in confusion to look at Beck, but he had no time to register what was happening.
A train barrelled through him.
Kassidy's mouth dropped open in horror, but that horror soon turned to rage. She pushed as much energy as she could muster from her hands, pulling her body into an upright position.
"You're gonna die for that." she seethed, her body shaking.
Becks body turned to face the girl, and he let out a small chuckle. This enraged Kassidy further, and she pushed her hands out in front of her, attempting to burn Beck from the inside out. Before the purple energy could touch the man, however, he dissolved into thin air.
Peter was in his place.
Her power hit Peter in the chest, throwing him back onto the tracks and into the way of the train.
The train that Kassidy had just seen kill Peter.
"NO!" she screamed, a hand flying to her mouth.
Kassidy pushed herself forward, looking at the fast-moving train in shock. Tears were running freely down her face. She had just killed Peter.
"Oh, Kassie." Beck sighed from behind. "You know, I almost feel bad for you."
With that, bullets sprayed the back of Kassidy's torso, throwing her forward and into the side of the train. Her body scraped along the side of the fast-moving object before landing on the ground beside the tracks, falling unconscious before she landed.
*
When she woke up, Kassidy was confused and in pain. It took her a few moments to recall what had happened leading up to her passing out, and her heart beat immediately quickened.
She had killed Peter.
Peter was dead.
Blinking the sleep away from her eyes, Kassidy looked around at the room she was in. She was propped up on a couch, and there was a desk and chair in front of her. She had no idea where she was, or how she had gotten there. An idea suddenly dawned on her, and she began to take quick, unstable breaths. This was a trick. She wasn't safe. Beck was toying with her.
Kassidy attempted to push herself to her feet, but collapsed back onto the couch the second she put pressure on her leg. She grasped her ribs in pain as she landed, letting out a cry.
"Oh!" a voice called.
A man appeared in a doorway behind her, clad in a button-up shirt, shorts, and a baseball cap. He quickly made his way towards the girl, holding his hands out.
"You are awake!" he observed, a thick accent evident. "Found you near the tracks on my patrol. Very dangerous."
Kassidy looked at the man with wide eyes, hardly taking in a word he was saying. She glanced at the doorway, trying to decide whether or not to make a break for it.
"English?" the man asked, tilting his head in confusion.
"Uh, yeah." Kassidy nodded her head. "Where am I?"
"Security office." the man explained. "Am security officer. Anton."
Anton stuck his hand out to the girl, and Kassidy shook it hesitantly. She glanced around the room once more, before looking back towards him.
"Do you have a phone?"
"Yes!" Anton exclaimed, practically bolting towards the desk.
He pulled open one of the drawers and grabbed something inside, brandishing a phone towards Kassidy with a wide smile.
"You need?" he asked, extending it towards her.
"Yes, yes, I need." Kassidy nodded gratefully.
Kassidy took the phone from the man's hand, trying to type Happy's phone number in as quickly as she could with her trembling hands. As soon as she had typed it in, she put the phone to her ear, waiting. It didn't take long for the man to answer, and when he did, Kassidy's eyes welled with tears.
"Happy." she cried, her lip trembling.
"Kassie?" Happy asked. "Hey, what's going on?"
"Happy. Peter- I- Peter's-," Kassidy stammered, unable to get a word out. "Peter's dead, Happy."
Tears that had been pooling in Kassidy's eyes had finally moved over the edge, running down her cheeks freely. Anton had attempted to give her privacy while she was on the phone, but his head peaked around the door frame in concern.
"Kassie, are you okay?" Happy asked in confusion. "What are you taking about?"
"Beck! Beck made me. He's not who you think he is." Kassidy exclaimed. "He made me do it, Happy-,"
"Kassidy, Peter is here with me." Happy told the girl. "He's safe. He's alive."
Kassidy froze. Her breathing ceased and she shook her head in denial. How could Peter be alive? She saw him get hit by that train.
"Kassie, where are you?"
*
She didn't know if it was fear or relief that had taken over her body when the jet had come into view. Kassidy hadn't been able to stop crying since she awoke and Anton had done his best to comfort the teen girl. He had given Happy their location, and it wasn't long before he had shown up.
Anton had practically had to carry Kassidy towards the jet, her leg far too weak to support any of her weight at the moment. As soon as the jet had touched down, Happy was on the stairs, taking them two at a time.
"Kassie?" he called out, squinting his eyes. "Are you hurt?"
"Happy!" Kassidy replied, trying to quicken the pace with Anton.
When they finally met, Anton handed Kassidy off to Happy, shaking his hand. Happy wrapped an arm around Kassidy's shoulder and thanked the man profusely before leading the girl towards the jet. Kassidy was about to ascend the stairs with the man when she stopped dead in her tracks.
What if this was a trap?
"Wait." she said pushing away from Happy. "I thought you said Peter was with you."
"He's in the jet, Kassie, he's not in good shape." Happy explained, holding his hands out. "It's alright, he's explained everything."
As if on cue, Peter appeared on the stairs, his face bruised and cut, and a slight limp evident in his walk. Kassidy's eyes welled up again, but she shook her head.
"Tell me something only Peter would know." she demanded, her voice shaking.
Peter stopped his trek down the stairs, and seemed to mull over his thoughts. He didn't protest the demand, however.
"One time when we were on patrol, part of your suit got caught on something, but you didn't notice. You started flying around, but your entire-,"
"Okay!" Kassidy exclaimed, cutting the boy off. She didn't need Peter to tell the entire story of her flashing half of Manhattan to Happy. "It's you."
Peter let out a sigh of relief and practically jumped down the remainder of the stairs. Happy awkwardly scooted out of the way and onto the jet, while Peter pulled Kassidy into his chest. As soon as they had made contact, a fresh wave of tears spilled down the girls cheeks. She buried her head into the crook of Peter's neck, sobbing.
"Shh, it's okay." he cooed, rubbing her back soothingly. "I've got you."
"I thought I killed you." Kassidy sobbed, shaking her head. "He- he made me-,"
"Hey, hey." Peter pulled away and cupped Kassidy's face, forcing her to look up at him. "I'm alive. I'm alive and I'm here, okay?"
Kassidy lips trembled again, and she nodded her head. "You're alive." she agreed, a small smile forming. "You're not dead."
*
☹️
My poor babies.
Happy to the rescue<3