"I don't understand" I say.
"I wouldn't expect you to" he says, not moving a muscle. His voice sounds distorted.
"I know. I can't have anyone knowing my identity can I?" he comments, which confuses me even more.
"Are you reading my mind?" I say, my lips start to tremble and I try so hard to make them stop.
"How else would I have known you were here?".
"Why are you doing this? Why come after me?" I barely whisper. He's in my head and he's making me panic.
"All I want you to do, is stay out of my way. Your very existence disgusts me and is getting in the way of my plan. You've been warned" he says in a monotone.
My hands start trembling along with my lips.
"What are you doing to me? It's like I........back in the library I had no control. I was stronger.......angrier....." I say.
He takes two steps forward but I stand my ground. "We're both of the same kind. I'm just stronger. So I have the ability to force you into your Blackout form. Your powers, destructive, your mind, blank, your strength, unparalleled. You are almost indestructible in this form, and could even take out The Hulk if you wanted. You can even fly, once you obtain that ability, but you........you're different. There's something about you that's.....interesting".
Okay, now I'm getting tired of this grand explanation, and my breath is coming back.
"Okay, when you finish preaching, can we skip to the part when you announce your big plan, and I cut you off in the middle of it cos villains take too long, kick your ass, and you go to The Raft?" I say, rolling my eyes.
He laughs, which makes me internally groan.
"Your young mind can't comprehend the smallest things" he says, before blasting me, sending me into the wall.
I get up and black mist starts swirling around my fingers. I blast him but he dodges. I keep doing so but he flies over my head and kicks me in the back.
"You would have made a great addition. You're just mislead by that lowlife" he says quietly.
I get up and brush myself off. "I may not have my suit or weapons, I can still beat you" I say, out of breath.
"Oh I bet, you just-" Dusk begins before a familiar face swoops from behind and floors him.
"You bad guys really do talk too much!" Peter exclaims. He quickly turns to me and grabs my hand.
"Ellie are you okay?!" He panics, before Dusk blasts him.
I sigh as Peter and Dusk start fighting. With all my strength I blast Dusk to send him flying down the alleyway. He turns invisible so I quickly look all around me to find his shadow, but I'm too late as he appears straight in front of me and places his gloved hand on my forehead.
Suddenly, pain is searing through my body, my head starts spinning and the dream is occurring again. For a brief moment I can look in his mind and he can obviously look at mine, but what's odd is that his is empty of memories that happen before a month ago, like he was wiped or maybe something different.
Abruptly, he quickly removes his hand and I sink to the floor, my head banging on the concrete ground. My eyelids become impossible to keep open and before they close, I see Dusk and Peter fight it out before my eyes finally close.
(A few hours later)
I wake up slowly in a medical room. But it's familiar. I hear a heart monitor beeping and a conversation happening outside the room. My vision becomes clearer and I realize I'm back in Avengers tower.
I sigh as I turn to my right and I see the heart monitor and a few small tubes that lead to my body. I look left and I see Peter, sitting in a chair right beside the bed, holding my hand, fast asleep with his head on the bed. The corner of my mouth turns upwards slightly. He could have been here for hours.
I look outside the window and I see Tony talking to a nurse. Jesus, he's gonna be so pissed. I'll never leave the tower again, I'll be a hermit forever, and I'll go that mad from the lack of oxygen I'll start writing demon shit on the walls.
Peter suddenly jolts awake and looks at me before letting out a sigh of relief.
"Are you okay?! You were so pale and I thought you were dying and then at library you were all over place and Ned and Mr Stark looked really worried and then-" he babbles on but it all sounds merged together because of how fast he's talking.
"Hey, I'm okay, I think" I say, moaning a little from the pain in my head. "What happened? Last thing I remember was you and him...." I say.
He looks down, as if he's not telling me something. "Peter, spit it out, whatever it is. Go on" I say a little more aggressively than intended. He sighs before he starts talking.
"In the library, you were......you were like.....different. Your eyes were all dark, and you were......glowing, well not glowing but....you were emitting these rays of.....energy, I guess. Your hair was kind of flowing behind you, and you were....so strong, stronger than me, which is impressive, me having superhuman strength and all. You kept shouting 'make it stop' before you lost it. Anyway.....I don't know. It was scary" he says, still holding my hand.
I look away from him and down at the duvet. Was this the 'Blackout' form Dusk was talking about? Wait, I've just remembered something else.
"When Dusk put his hand on my head, I felt this......burning. I think he felt it too. We could look into each other's minds, but I don't think it was that. It was like, something was hurting me from the inside. I felt the pain everywhere in my body. And then if this 'glowing' thing is happening.....Peter what's happening to me?" I mutter quietly.
Suddenly, the pain comes back. I wince and put my hands on my head. Tony comes in with the nurse.
Peter places his hands on either side of my cheeks. "Hey Ellie, look at me. Are you okay?" He says softly. The pain slowly goes away.
I nod, "it got a little better".
"What got a little better? That excruciating sensation in your body that causes you to go into a frenzy of pain and shock?" Tony says, looking at me unimpressed. I look down in guilt.
"I'm sorry. I.....I didn't know what to do" I say, ashamed.
"What were you thinking?! I should have never let you go. It's too dangerous" he says lowly. Peter stands up.
"Sir, blame me! I didn't keep her safe. I didn't protect her and it's my fault. She did nothing wr-" Peter pleads before me and Tony moan in unison "Parker, STAY OUT OF THIS!".
I look back at Tony, who looks more disappointed than angry. He moves closer to the bed, but still keeps his distance.
"Why did you do that in the library? It's all over the news!" Tony says, waving his hand towards the small TV in the corner.
"Did anyone see me?" I barely whisper.
Tony shakes his head and sighs. "One headline I saw was 'Teen girl has emotional breakdown over puppy video' which, let's face it, keeps you safe at least. The whole world just thinks you're my emotionally damaged relative whom I'm providing with therapy for your 'psycho issues'" He says, smirking a little.
I do the same. "They aren't too far off to be fair". The nurse nudges Tony, and his smirk turns to a frown once again.
"What is it?" I say, worry building up. Peter stands up, somehow still holding my hand.
He must be really worried about letting me slip even once, which doesn't help my guilt.
"Mr. Stark, what's wrong with her?" Peter says, his wobbling a little at the end.
Tony takes a deep breath.
"Parker, I think it's best you leave". Peter looks confused.
"No way! I'm staying here!".
"Tony, just spit it out" I mutter softly.
Tony takes a chair and sits on the other side of the bed, facing Peter and I.
"Well....here's the thing Ellie, that pain you're feeling, it's coming from inside you. And the thing that's causing it........is destroying you from the inside out".
"W...what's causing it?" I whisper.
"That serum that was injected inside you a month ago, we thought it was the new and improved. It's not. The effects were just delayed. There's.....there's a chemical that's spreading around your body as we speak, and if it reaches your heart, or your brain, or any vital part of you.....it....it could....." he trails off, but I can connect the dots.
Tears well up in my eyes.
"How long?" I ask. He sighs again.
"No telling. Could be a week, a month, maybe a year" he replies quietly.
I sigh as tears fall down my cheeks. I turn into Peter and rest my head on his shoulder. He kisses my head, but I know he's in pain too.
Tony leans forward a little. "I'm going to try everything I can to help you. We'll find a way, we...." he continues, but I block him out.
That's it, isn't it? I'm going die at the hands of this filthy serum I never wanted. The serum that ruined my life. The serum that took my dad away from me.
I really thought it was finished, but turns out, it never really started.