"WHAT'S HAPPENING?"
Eszter rushes towards the front of the ship, watching from the camera view. The screen shows a picture of the planet, and unfamiliar things flash across the screen. Nothing Eszter understood, seeming to be in another language, she assumes.
"I think we're here," Strange responds, eyeing the screen as Eszter could feel her heart practically drop to her stomach.
Eszter could feel her hands trembling in fear because she knows that she will have to face the creature. Exhaling deeply, Eszter swipes her sweaty palms against the fabric of her suit, but it does no help as it glides across the material.
"I don't think this rig has a self-park function," Tony walks towards the control systems and looks up at the two arms. He rushes towards one and starts putting his hand into it. "Get your hand inside the steering gimbal. Close those around it." Tony smacks it close as Peter does as he's told. "You understand?"
"Yep, I got it."
"This was meant for one big guy, so we gotta move at the same time," Peter nods, assuring the man that he's ready. Then, Tony turns his head and sees the girl was only standing behind them, doing nothing but observing. "Hey, half-pint, think you can help us with your powers?"
But Eszter couldn't hear him. Her ears rung, heart beating against her chest, hands trembling at her sides; the enhanced was scared. The fear was running through her veins, and the teen was beginning to feel herself coming close to a panic attack, but she forces it not to show. She's a superhero, and she shouldn't let her emotions get the best of her, but Eszter couldn't get Thanos' voice out of her head.
They were echoing like a broken record, reminding her every day that she will destroy the world, not Thanos. But was that really what she believes? Eszter couldn't help but lean towards his story, seeming as her dreams were coming true. How could this not? Everyone is in danger.
Again, Eszter believed Thanos.
The enhanced didn't know whether or not her destiny was to destroy the world, or any world at that, but Eszter has always tried to ignore this burning feeling that withered away in her chest. For years, Eszter has been suffering from the effects of her powers; darkness has its way of manipulating those around them.
"Hey, half-pint," Eszter jumps, snapping out from her thoughts. "We can really use your powers right about now."
Hesitantly, Eszter raises her hands as the violet tendrils began seeping from her body; it connects with the steering that both men were holding onto. Eszter bites her lip in concentration, ignoring her self-doubts as she bends her fingers as the tendrils swim around in the air, keeping the steering somewhat stable. They couldn't feel that it was moving horribly, but to be frank, Eszter has a terrible view.
The teenager grunts as she uses her strength to keep the ship going forward. Doctor Strange creates an orange force field around the group, protecting them for precaution.
"We might wanna turn," Peter exclaims. "Turn! Turn! Turn!"
Then, the ship collides into Titan, slamming against an abandoned building, which made Eszter's job a bit more troubling. Peter and Tony use both hands to keep the steering in place when they felt it jerk. The spider-boy grunts. The enhanced bares her teeth, her arms trying to lower, but she could feel the weight of the ship not wanting to slow down. Eszter groans and blasts another wave of energy as her eyes shot a familiar violet color.
Eszter continues to help Tony and Peter by turning the steering, grunting as she struggles.
Crashing down to the ground, Eszter bends her knees to absorb the rough landing, but she wobbled lightly when she wasn't able to due to the landing. Pieces of the ship began to rip away as Eszter could feel the ship slowing underneath her powers; however, Doctor Strange kept them alive--for the most part. Without his force-field, they probably would've died.
Gasping from the amount of energy Eszter held, the enhanced felt lightly weak and faint as her powers slip away from the bottom of the ship. Panting like she couldn't breathe--like as if her lungs didn't access any oxygen as the energy wisps away like a river. Knees buckling right underneath Eszter, and suddenly, she falls to her knees; her hands reach out to catch her. Tiredly, Eszter glances over to the figure that crawled over to her.
At her side, Peter was kneeling next to her, a hand on her shoulder with a look of concern shown on his face. Luckily, the enhanced was feeling fine, and she nods, assuring him that she was okay. Peter purses his lips because he knows that Eszter wasn't okay.
"You all right," Strange asks, helping Tony up at his feet.
The man stands up, nodding. "Yeah. That was close. I owe you one," Tony glances at the enhanced, who was trying to catch her breath behind him, still sitting on the floor. "You good there, half-pint?"
Eszter lazily looks up, offering the man a smile as she manages to nod. She waves her hand tiredly. "Yeah, just gotta . . . catch my breath."
Peter glances up from beside Eszter, worried. "Let me just say, if aliens wind up implanting eggs in my chest or something and I eat one of you, I'm sorry."
Tony gives the boy a strict glare. "I do not want another single pop culture reference out of you for the rest of the trip," Eszter would laugh if she weren't so tired. "You understand?"
Peter quickly defends by adding. "I'm trying to say that something is coming," he crawls up to his feet, leaving Eszter side briefly as he nears Tony and Strange.
Eszter sensed something. She wasn't sure what it was, but it was like the air had shifted, and she could feel another presence--in fact, it was more than just one. However, Eszter didn't have the chance to voice out her thoughts when a metallic ball thumps inside the ship, rolling just past her and in the middle of the group; it explodes.
The force of the small gravity bomb forces the three men through the air, only a few feet, until they collided back onto the ground. Eszter didn't have time to form a force-field as her body slid backward until her back hits a broken piece of metal.
Eszter gasps in pain but quickly flicks her hair out of her face, glaring at the gaping hole on the side of the ship.
Entering the broken ship, three intruders stride in, but the person in the middle seemed to stand out than the others. Eszter's brows furrow as she tilts her head, her green eyes staring back at the metal mask and the glowing red eyes concealing the man's identity. However, he had two unfamiliar guns in his hands. Those don't look normal.
Aliens? It's possible, considering an alien invasion happened in 2012.
"Thanos!" A man covered in red linings shouts out in anger, his arm thrown out as two blades flew from his grasps.
Eszter's eyes widen as she sees the blades rushing towards her friend, which Strange had luckily stopped by creating his force-field. The creature-like man yells out--a battle cry if you will. Eszter looks at him with confusion and a bit of horror. All she could think is they were with Thanos, here to collect the Stone.
Strange thrusts his shoulders as the Cloak of Levitation shoots off from his shoulders and towards the creature, wrapping around his head and dragging him to the ground.
Then, the man with the red glowing eyes points his guns towards the weak girl, using her weakness as an advantage. The red-eyed man squeezes the triggers and begins firing at the girl, who instantly springs up to her feet. Eszter seeks shelter as she runs through the rubble, hearing the blasts whip past her.
Then, the blasts were no longer tailing her.
Eszter peeks up and glances at the orange sparkling force-field that was created before her. Her face expressed the look of fear; her green eyes were blown wide with panic. Eszter couldn't believe how many times she had experienced near-death situations.
To her rescue, Tony blasts the man with his repulsers, but the man seemed to easily deflect them when his shoes lit up, lifting him off the ground.
Huffing slightly, Eszter glances up to see Tony was trying to remove himself from the metal bars. Stopping to help, Eszter warps her powers against the contraption trapping Tony, the enhanced grunts. Suddenly, black smoke formed around the violet tendrils, replacing it as the contraption abruptly disappears. Then, the red-eyed man kicks Peter, and as he jumps around to avoid the blasts while diving for him, the intruder throws something at him.
Then, Eszter's eyes flashed the familiar violet color as she watches her friend become electrocuted; Peter's body collides onto the ground and rolls around. Quick on her feet, Eszter darts around the large metal blocking her, and standing before the red-eyed man, the enhanced catches his attention.
"Hey," the enhanced catches his attention. When he turns around, Eszter doesn't see the smirk he was making from underneath his mask. "You messed with the wrong people."
"Oh, sure," the man scoffs, voice dripping with sarcasm. "It's you who messed with the wrong people."
Tilting her head in confusion, Eszter's green eyes flash to violet, which the man became a bit aware of the suddenness, catching him off guard. The enhanced curls her fingers and lifts her hands when two bright orbs began to grow in her palms. The energy of the darkness surges through Eszter. The power was soothing and comforting, yet scary altogether.
Eszter isn't going to let someone else tell her who she's supposed to be. It's her life. Her choices. Her destiny.
The red-eyed man had never seen anything like Eszter before. He wonders where she comes from and what the hell she is. He was curious, but there wasn't any time for him to ask questions as Eszter tries to reach towards the man, but the red-eyed man had turned around and rushed towards Iron-Spider.
Quickly as she could, Eszter tried defending her best friend and tried to scare the man off, but it seemed like he was too much of an idiot to run. Instead, the red-eyed man dodges the energy blasts that explode just beside him; the man slides to dodge the energy, flinching as his arm shoots out to cover his face. Even though the man was fighting like an amateur, the man with red glowing eyes managed to grab Peter, holding him hostage as Eszter glares at him. She holds her hand out threateningly.
Behind her, Tony was running over to the man with red markings that decorated his skin; the man was struggling on the ground, cursing at the Cloak of Levitation that wrapped around his face. When Tony hovers the man, he takes the Cloak's place, his left leg pressing the man down with his armored leg.
"Everybody stay where you are," the man finally speaks. "Chill the eff out."
Everyone stood in a circle.
The red-eyed man held Peter in a chokehold while Eszter aimed her hand out at the man, hand glowing with the energy orb--Tony, too, hold one of the intruders by gunpoint. Strange stood across from Eszter, holding orange-plated shields that were decorated with symbols of his magic. It was a taut moment as they were in a stand-off, but neither one moves because at least one team member was held hostage.
Then, the man clicks something from behind the mask, and suddenly, his face is revealed to them all.
Eszter tilts her head--he's human, she thought.
She wasn't sure if that should mean anything, but it's the fact that there are possible worlds out there, and no one had ever stopped and thought about it. Ironically, Eszter used to believe in aliens--as a child, your mind is practically open to any ideas, and sometimes, you often believe them. They're too trusting. However, as she grew up, Eszter stopped believing in many things.
If Pietro were here, Eszter would tell him that she was right all along.
Snapping out from her thoughts, Eszter was greeted with an alien weapon pointing at her face. However, the enhanced doesn't tremble in fear. The man before her wasn't frightening, and Eszter knows that she could easily take him down. But with Peter in danger, the enhanced couldn't risk his safety. Her heart was thumping against her chest with adrenaline, the power seeming to be stronger than before.
Beneath the red and golden armor, Tony grits his teeth upon realizing both his kids were in harm's way, and he didn't like it. While the armor can protect one, the other didn't have any type of protection other than her own powers--not that Tony believes the Eszter can't protect herself, but her instincts aren't as fast as Peter's.
Sputtering out like a scared father, Tony shouts. "Hey, hey! If you gonna point that gun, you point it at me."
But he ignores Tony. "I'm gonna ask you this one time," his eyes flicker between the teen's and towards the older man. "Where's Gamora?"
"I'll do you one better," Tony's mask retracts into a million pieces as they remove themselves from his face. He was confused and frustrated. "Who's Gamora?"
"I'll do you one better. Why is Gamora?"
Glancing down at the man, Eszter gave the man a dumb look. "Are you serious?"
Seeming to be used to the creature's stupidity, he carries on. "Tell me where the girl is, or I swear to you I'm gonna French-fry this little freak."
"I'd like to see you try," Eszter threatens, her eyes flaring as the orbs brightened as broken metal began to shift around them.
"Let's do it. You shoot my guy, and I blast him," Tony threatens. His left-hand builds larger than usual; the billionaire thrusts his arm and the large blaster forms. Lighting up, an electrical charge zaps to life as the blue lights dance within the metal. "Let's go!"
"Do it, Quill! I can take it."
Behind the man, known as Quill, a woman with big black eyes and antennas sprouting out from her forehead. She hobbled closer towards the standoff, blanketed with a layer of webs, trapping her.
"No, he can't take it!"
"She's right. You can't."
"Oh, yeah? You don't want to tell me where she is? That's fine. I'll kill all four of you, and I'll beat it out of Thanos myself," Quill seethes, pressing his gun blaster against the red-plated armor. "Starting with you!"
Surely that was enough to crack the ice and relieve the water trapped inside with mysterious reasons as to who the hell these people were. And then, Eszter realized their motives: they think they're part of Thanos.
"Wait a minute," Eszter speaks out, confusion pouring from her words, but Quill fought himself not to believe anything she says. "Thanos? You think--"
"What master do you serve?" Doctor Strange cuts her off, making himself clear as he tries to straighten the situation out before they all starting killing each other.
"What master do I serve? What am I supposed to say, 'Jesus'?"
Eszter snorts, causing Quill to glare at her.
Tony looks away for a second to muster up the last bit of patience he has left for this man. He looks back. "You're from Earth."
Quill looks at him as if he was wrong. "I'm not from Earth. I'm from Missouri."
Eszter rolls her eyes, mentally dropping the objects gently to prevent the ship from getting more destroyed. "That's on Earth, dipshit."
Tony looks to the enhanced with a stern look. "First, you're not allowed to use those words. Only I can," he glances back at Quill. "Second, what are you hassling us for?"
Peter finally speaks up. "So, you're not with Thanos?"
"With Thanos? No, I'm here to kill Thanos," he removes the gun from the side of Peter's head but still holding him. "He took my girl--wait, who are you?"
Peter removes his mask, speaking with pride in his chest. "We're the Avengers, man."
Quill hums, still confused but let the teen boy go.
"You're the ones Thor told us about," the woman with antennas spoke up, still wrapped in webs.
"You know Thor?"
Quill nods. "Yeah. Tall guy, not so good-looking, needed saving."
"Where is he now?"
"Nidavellir."
💜
Nibbling on her thumb, the enhanced was sitting on a piece of rock as she stares at the ground. Her eyes were distant from the real world. Her pupils dilated as her vision blurs, flashes of her dreams came to mind as if a record was being played in her head. They presented different scenarios, and Eszter wonders which one will be real--which one will be her destiny. Each time, all she can see is her being the mastermind behind everything.
It was her that brought her friends to their knees. It was she that killed everyone.
No, it's a mind trick.
"What the hell happened to this planet," Quill interrupts Eszter from her own nightmares. The enhanced closes her eyes as she could hear the screams echoing in her head. "It's eight degrees off its axis. Gravitational pull is all over the place."
Peter walks over to Eszter, checking on his friend momentarily as he noticed her silence; the enhanced was hugging her knees, nibbling on her thumb, staring into space. Peter kneels before the girl and places a comforting hand on her shoulder, but Eszter jumps up in surprise. Peter quickly pulls away from his friend at the sudden reaction; his brown eyes filled with worry as he frowns, his heart hurting.
He had never seen Eszter so scared until now.
It was like Eszter was shuffling away from his touch as if she were afraid to touch him. Her breathing was shaky and heavy, shallow; Eszter's chest heaves up and down as the enhanced tries to ease her mind, but it was difficult.
"E?" Peter carefully calls, keeping his voice low and secretive as he glances at the group. They don't acknowledge the two. "Eszter, look at me."
However, Eszter looked anywhere but him. Her mind was playing tricks, and she hated it; Thanos has gotten into her head and was trying to manipulate her into believing his words. And maybe he did . . . that's what scares her.
Eszter didn't believe the world when they doubted her, but a single Titan can confuse her. Make her doubt herself. Her mind was being blended and creating a bigger mess mentally, trapping Eszter in a repeated loop.
"Eszter, listen to the sound of my voice," Peter speaks calmly. He starts breathing for her to follow. "Just--Just breathe with me, okay? Breathe in; breathe out."
Finally, the enhanced musters up the courage to look Peter in the eyes, tears swirling until they popped over the bottom of her lid. She's hurting.
"There you go," Peter chuckles airily, proud.
Not able to hold this secret any longer, Eszter felt the sudden need to spew out about the dream. She never knew that Tony had faced the same nightmares as her, which helped Eszter feel sane that someone else witnessed something horrifying. However, the enhanced wonders what Tony saw.
Breathing heavily, Eszter shakily grips Peter's shoulder, feeling vulnerable under his eyes. "I need to--there's something that I--" Peter frowns when she stops, but then a voice speaks up that causes the two to end their conversation.
Maybe now wasn't the time.
"--We got one advantage. He's coming to us," Tony turns around, noticing Mantis bouncing in the background. Then, he catches a glimpse of Peter nodding at Eszter before he pushes himself up at his spot. "We'll use it. Alright, I have a plan. Or at least the beginnings of one." Quill comes forward, not seeming as interested. "It's pretty simple. We draw him in, pin him down, get what we need. Definitely don't wanna dance with this guy. We just want the gauntlet."
Eszter shakily crosses her fingers, resting her elbows on her thighs as she presses her lips against her fingers. Her wet lashes fluttering, drying her eyes in the process. Peter tries not to stray too far from his best friend because if Eszter panics, he can jump to her aid.
To Tony's annoyance, Drax yawns widely, interrupting the hero's plan. He couldn't believe the people he was stuck with.
"Are you yawning? In the middle of this, while I'm breaking it down? Huh? Did you hear what I said?"
Drax glances over to the man. "I stopped listening after you said, 'we need a plan.'"
Peter looks at Tony with a look of confusion and a hint of humor, but the boy tries not to laugh at a situation like this. Eszter scoffs, though no one seemed to be taking this as seriously as them, but no one sees the bigger picture. They don't know what Eszter knows. All they know if Thanos is planning something big, and they need to stop him.
Tony turns to Quill. "Okay, Mr. Clean is on his own page."
Quill adds. "See, 'not winging it' isn't really what they do."
"Uh, what exactly is it that they do?" Peter asks.
Mantis spoke fiercely as an eight-week-old kitten. "Kick names, take ass."
"Yeah, that's right," Drax agreed quietly.
Tony pauses with an expression--he was in deep hopelessness with the team he was left with. "Alright, just get over here, please. Mr. Lord, can you get your folks to circle up?"
Quill mimics. "'Mr. Lord.' Star-Lord is fine," he motions for the other two to come forward with the group.
"We gotta coalesce. 'Cause if all we come at him with a plucky attitude . . ."
"Dude, don't call us plucky. We don't know what it means. Alright, we're optimistic, yes. I like your plan. Except it sucks, so let me do the plan, and that way, it might be really good."
Eszter wipes underneath her eyes and pushes herself from the rock. She folds her arms and stands between Drax and Peter. Peter glances at the girl worriedly, but she waves him off. Whatever was happening here had caught Eszter's attention, and the enhanced was in awe by the stupidity Quill's team reflects.
"Tell him about the dance-off to save the universe," Drax interjects, causing Eszter to perk a brow.
"A dance-off?" Eszter almost cackles at how ridiculous it sounded.
Quill stammers, trying to make himself look good in front of the Avengers. "It's not a . . . it's not . . . it's nothing."
"Like in Footloose, the movie?"
Eszter glances at Peter because Footloose has nothing with saving the universe. But it seem like Quill knew what he was talking about and a spark of excitment glitters in his eyes.
"Exactly like Footloose," Eszter and Peter glanced at each other. "Is it still the greatest movie in history?"
"It never was," Quill frowns, whereas Eszter chuckles from his reaction.
"Don't encourage this, alright?" Peter mutters a quick response before clamping his mouth shut. "We're getting no help from Flash Gordon here," Tony turns from the Guardians as he motions for the teens to take a step back.
"Flash Gordon?" Quill perks. "By the way, that's a compliment. Don't forget, I'm half human. So, that fifty-percent of me that's stupid . . . that's a hundred-percent you."
Eszter tilts her head humorously, she gives him a toothy smile. "I may not be a math wiz, but your math, in particular, blows my mind."
Quill merely grins in triumph, fixing his jacket in glee.
"Excuse me," Mantis interrupts, catching their attention, she turns her direction back to Strange. "But does your friend often do that?"
Eszter mutters under her breath, she shuffles her way around Peter and Tony as she rushes over to Strange's side, but she doesn't touch him. Strange's body twitches as a green aura was producing from the Stone and wrapping around his wrists. His head turning in every direction as his eyes were closed like he was in pain.
"Strange, we alright?"
Suddenly, Strange lets out a strangled gasp, a painful feeling running through his body as he lands back onto the rock he was hovering over.
Eszter gasps, reaching out for Strange as he seemed very disoriented. The teen grips the man's hand, he squeezes her hand suddenly, causing her to grimaces. She was confused and had many questions, like what Strange had done to put him through a strange trance.
"Hey, hey," Eszter calls, smiling like everything is okay when it really isn't. "You're good."
"Hi," Strange mutters.
Peter frowns. "What was that?"
"I went forward in time to view alternate futures," Strange begins, his eyes seeming to be stuck upon Eszter's knowingly before looking away. He wasn't afraid to see the girl's reaction, but from what he knows, Strange didn't want to alarm Eszter. But he saw something. "To see all the possible outcomes of the coming conflict."
"How many did you see?"
Strange exhales, defeated. "Fourteen million, six-hundred and five."
Tony hesitates. "How many did we win?"
"One."