*HARLEY'S POV*
It was 6:00 in the morning when I jumped awake to a deafening bang. My heart dropped as I walked to the window and pulled open the blinds.
Outside, there was a gaping hole in the street below. Pieces of concrete were scattered everywhere and people were scrambling around like ants. Shrill screams were caught in the air. There was a gigantic shadow cast upon the ground. I looked up slowly, my body filling with dread. It was what I had feared: the alien ship. They were here again.
I tried to control my breathing as I called Peter. I knew he probably wouldn't answer but it was worth a try. I didn't know what else to do.
It rang and rang but nobody picked up. "Shit," I mumbled and threw my phone on my bed as I raced downstairs. There was already a crowd of other people from my apartment complex gathered in the lobby, watching in fear as the spaceship got lower and lower to the ground. There were people from outside running in, their faces stricken with panic. "What is that thing?!" I heard a woman say.
Then, yet another factor to trigger everyone's fight or flight response, sirens went off all throughout the city. Everybody started yelling and screaming at once.
All I could think was I hope Peter's okay.
*PETER'S POV*
We weren't prepared whatsoever. The aliens arrived way sooner than we expected. First, we saw the shadow. The ship hovering over the city. Next, we heard the loud noise. They were bombing us. Then, we were outside and ready to fight. My heart beat against my chest and the adrenaline of fear entered my veins, but I wasn't backing down. I had to fight. I had to protect the city.
The main thing I was worried about is that we didn't have a plan. We always have a plan when we fight and it makes me feel better knowing what everyone is supposed to be doing. But I guess this time, we'll just have to go with it.
"Okay, okay," I reassured myself and took a deep breath. Tony was right beside me in his Iron Man suit. I could tell he was thinking.
"What are we supposed to do?" I yelled over all the screams and bangs and sirens.
"I'm thinking!" He shouted back. "F.R.I.D.A.Y., what's the best way to get into that ship?" He asked his AI implemented in his suit.
I couldn't hear her response over the chaos but he nodded his head. "Follow me," he said and flew towards the ship. I webbed onto the nearest building and swung along behind him.
Below, people were watching us and cheering us along. I couldn't help but smile.
Then, bad thoughts invaded my brain. Harley's apartment is really close to here. Is he safe?
My eye caught his apartment complex, up on the left, and it felt like there was a rock in my chest. I need to make sure he's alright.
"Parker!" Tony brought my attention back to the task at hand. I caught up to him where he was flying next to the ship and webbed myself to the side. He talked to me gently. "Right here, there's a bolt holding these two pieces of together," he motioned to the two pieces of metal. "I'm going to melt it with my repulsor. When I do, it's going to come off quickly which doesn't give us much time to break in and start the fight. We have to move fast." I nodded along to everything he said. I just hoped I could actually pull it off.
"I've radioed the rest of the team and they should be here soon," he said. As if on cue, a giant helicarrier arrived with the rest of the team and they jumped onto the top of the ship. "Let's do this," Natasha said as she pulled two pistols from her holster.
Tony nodded at me with a small smile and started melting the bolt. Within seconds, it was transformed into a grey goo and fell to the ground below us. The two pieces of metal it had held together peeled off the ship, also half melted, and fell to the ground as well. "Watch your heads," Tony mumbled as he watched them plummet to the concrete being stampeded by panicking civilians.
We busted into the ship through the hole Tony had created, weapons in hand and ready to fight. But there was no one there. We looked around the room in confusion. "Um, are you sure we're in the right place?" Clint chuckled as he strolled around the empty space. "This is the only alien spaceship currently on Earth, so yeah, I think so," Tony retorted.
"Guys," I whispered and put my index finger to my lips, telling them to be quiet. I pointed slowly to the ceiling. At this point, the room was dead silent. Everyone was watching me with attentive stares. They all turned their heads upwards and listened. The sound of dull footsteps seemed to ring through the silentness of the room.
Then, all of a sudden, they stopped.
Captain America looked around, not allowing himself to let his guard down. Then, after a few minutes of nobody daring to talk, he started. "Where did they-"
BOOM.
There were screams as our bodies were hurled across the ship and I silently prayed that nobody fell out of the hole.
I coughed and rubbed my eyes. There were clouds of dust blocking everything from my view. I shut my stinging eyes and winced, rubbing them again. I stood, with a little difficulty, and made my way through the dust.
I found T'Challa and Natasha sprawled out on the floor, Natasha's red hair glowing even through the dark atmosphere. "Nat? T'Challa?" I knelt down to help them. "Peter," T'Challa coughed. "I'm okay. Go help Natasha." I nodded and moved closer to her. "Nat? Are you okay?"
She nodded slightly. "I-I'm fine," she sputtered. Blood fell out of her mouth. "No, you're not. Come on, we have to get you somewhere safe. Quickly," I urged and tried to help her up. There was something holding her down. I looked down at her torso in terror. There was a sharp knife sticking out of her side. I grabbed the end of it and was about to pull it out. "No, no," she grabbed my arm. "Don't. I-I'll die from loss of blood." She grabbed her side and winced slightly. "The knife i-is the only thing k-keeping my blood in."
I nodded with tears in my eyes. "Natasha, please don't die. Please," I grabbed her hand. Tony, Steve, Wanda, and Doctor Strange were gathered around us now. There's no telling where the others were.
"I'll be fine kiddo," she promised. "J-just go save the world, okay?" She ruffled my hair. I nodded and stood up. The other Avengers bent down to Natasha and started talking to her. I wiped my eyes and turned around, hoping to find the others.
"Peter," I heard a voice calling to me from the deeper within the dust. "Hello?" I shouted. "Who is it?"
"Come to me Peter," the figure in the dust said back, in a menacing whisper. It seemed to come from all around, from all sides of me. I didn't know where to go.
"Where are you? Who are you?"
"Peter!" I heard someone scream. But this time, I knew exactly whose voice that is. "Harley!" I yelled and ran all around the ship, from corner to corner, feeling in front of me and looking for any sign of my boyfriend. "Where are you?!"
"Peter!" Again, from all sides of me, Harley's voice echoed. I felt like I was going insane.
"Harley! I'm here, I'm here, I just- can't- find you!" I fell to the ground and wrapped my head in my arms, crying. "Please be okay, please be okay, please be okay." I urged. Where did the other Avengers go?
"Peter," I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked up, my eyes red and swollen, to see Harley. "Oh my GOD, Harley, I was so worried." I wrapped my arms around him and he hugged me back, but he was very stiff. I pulled away, looking at him in confusion. I wiped my eyes vigorously. "Um, how did you get up here? W-what happened?" I asked while dusting myself off. "I was just watching everything from my room and next thing I know, some weird alien guy is basically kidnapping me!" He laughed. It was a weird, forced laugh. One that I've never heard him make before. "Oh, weird," I chuckle back. "So," he says, rolling up his sleeves, "where are the rest of the Avengers?" I clear my throat. "Um, I don't really know. They just kind of disappeared." Technically, that's not a lie because I really don't know where they went. "Well," he smirked, "guess it's just you and me then." I laughed nervously. "Yep. You and me, me and you."
"Why so nervous?" He blurted out of nowhere. I looked shocked. "What do you mean? I'm not nervous."
"You're sweating and your hands are shaking."
I looked down at my hands. They were shaking pretty badly. "Oh yeah," I rolled my eyes, "they do that sometimes." I gulped.
He got close to me, so close that he was towering over me. I looked at the floor, trying to stay calm. Tears invaded my eyes. I knew this wasn't Harley, and I know exactly who it really is. "No need," he pushed me up against the wall, "to be nervous," he smiled, "Peter."
"I'm not nervous," I stood my ground and held my head high. "And I'm not afraid of you."
"Afraid of me? Why would you be afraid of me?" He asked with mock confusion.
"I know you're not Harley. It's so easy to tell. You should work on your acting skills." I snapped at him. "Also, I know who you are. And I'm not afraid of you. You're a fucking coward."
He ran up to me and grabbed my neck. I struggled for air as he pushed me harder against the wall. "How dare you? You're a child. Stop trying to act like you're not."
"I'm... not... a child," I stuttered. He finally let go of my neck and I gently rubbed the sore spot already forming there.
"Oh? You're not?" He taunted. "Prove it."
"I don't have to prove anything to you. You raped Harley. The real Harley. He's traumatized."
"Aw, is he having sex problems? Poor baby." Eric, or as the Skrulls call him, Jalen, did a mock sad face. "Sorry about that."
"You're not sorry for anything," I scoffed. "I'm sorry that people like you exist. What the hell is wrong with you?"
"Humans don't deserve rights," he shrugged. "I don't care what a human wants, or doesn't want, for that matter. I'll do whatever the fuck I want to do."
"You're pathetic," I spat.
He came closer and I tried to run away but he grabbed my arm and threw me back against the wall. "Oh, no. You're staying right here."
"HEY!" I yelled, hoping someone, anyone, would hear me. "SOMEBODY!"
"Nobody's coming to save you."
"Where's my team? Where are the others?"
"Oh, you mean the rest of your hilarious attempt of an army? I did away with them. We needed some alone time."
"They are not an army," I said, "and what did you do with them?"
"I didn't do anything with them, Peter. They just can't hear you." He smirked. "My powers may be too advanced for your puny human brain to understand, Parker, but they're here. They just aren't here."
He snapped his fingers and the gloomy grey darkness withered away into a yellow light, where half of the Avengers were crowded around Natasha and the other half were looking for me. It was kind of blurry, and all of their voices were muffled, like I was underwater. "I don't know where he went," Tony said in distress. "One minute he was here, the next he was gone."
Jalen snapped his fingers again and the image disappeared. Same room, same time, but different situations. "Don't you love it? It's like we're in an alternate universe."
My heart felt ice cold and my head was spinning. What is this?! How will I get back?
"Please," I begged him, "please let me back to the others. I won't hurt you or anything, I promise."
"Oh, Peter, I'm not worried about you hurting me," he chuckled, "that's the last worry on my mind. I just want to teach you a lesson."
"What kind of lesson?" I mumbled. I was trying to sound brave and not fearful at all, but in reality, my heart was thumping against my chest. I just hoped his alien ears weren't loud enough to hear it.
He walked slowly closed, unbuttoning his shirt. He ran his fingers through his hair and then leaned down to whisper in my ear. "Maybe I can teach you how to be straight."
My eyes stung with newly formed tears. I looked him directly in the eyes. "Are you going to rape me?"
"Wow, you're so smart!" He mocked me and turned me around, pressing me hard against the wall. "Now close your eyes."
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{A/N hey guys! sorry to leave you all off with a cliffhanger, I know that sucks. BUT I only have 2 more days before I'm out for Christmas break which means LOTS MORE CHAPTERS soon! I have all of my finals scheduled for Friday so I'm actually about to die but it's fine. anyway, don't forget to vote, comment, and follow me so you don't miss an update! maybe somebody will save Peter? or maybe they won't? guess you'll have to wait to find out.}
bye for now✱
•2,329 words (a long ass chapter)•