The void yawns in front of you, a cavern of darkness and dread. " Scarlet Witch, answer me!" you scream, tears of frustration running down your face.
" This is the future for your universe if Dark Phoenix wins... The people from my universe want to destroy yours so it will save theirs from disappearing," Scarlet Witches disembodied voice echoes.
" What? Don't they know that once you leave my body that all their people will stop disappearing!"
" No they don't," she answers mournfully. " The chaos magic has brought me a vision of the future... They'll send Dark Phoenix to destroy your universe unless you stop her. She's the one who will create the vortex that will devour your universe."
" Can't you use the chaos magic to tell her that once you leave my body everyone will return to theirs, and this bridge between our universes will be closed!"
"I can't, I'm not strong enough yet..."
Gritting your teeth in frustration you pace back and forth, " But if Dark Phoenix is strong enough to destroy the universe, then surely she can figure out what's happening, right?"
" She can't, the phoenix force is not all knowing. It's an entity unlike Chaos Magic. Chaos magic is tied to the very fabric of existence itself. It can create and destroy all realities across multiple dimensions."
" Fantastic," You throw your arms in the air, " Well what can I do to get you strong enough to leave? You said it was time before, but we don't have the luxury of waiting around for you to get strong if this is going to happen. Wait, when is this going to happen?"
" At the end of this month..."
" So I have a few weeks to fight off the Dark Phoenix or the whole universe is destroyed? Awesome., Your stomach churns as anger and fear writhe in your belly like a pit of snakes.
Scarlet Witch ignores your sarcasm, " If you want me to get stronger, you need to wield the chaos magic more. You need to train, you need to prepare for this fight. I hope I'll be strong enough to leave you before Dark Phoenix destroys your universe, but just in case I'm not at least you'll be more prepared than you are now and will stand a fighting chance."
You sigh, staring into the void, thinking it over. Then your mind flashes over the way you took down your kidnappers, and hope flickers in your chest, " What if I'm prepared now?"
" You aren't."
" Yeah? How would you know?"
" You wouldn't have been kidnapped in the first place... You would've been able to read the minds of your attackers and obliterate them in a heart beat, much less be held captive."
Shame heats your cheeks, " Well how come you didn't tell me this in the beginning-I could've been training for weeks now!"
" I didn't know back then... All I knew was that the more time went on the stronger I felt. But after you fought off the kidnappers and every time you've used the chaos magic I noticed that I felt a little stronger each time."
" Then I guess I'll have to train."
" Yes and Tom as well..."
" Yes, of course. So where is this attack going to take place?"
" I'll show you..."
Suddenly you're ripped out of the void and plunged into a city. The same city from the first dream you shared with Tom. Roaring wind whips around you, blowing debris. Screams stab through the roar as people flee, jumping over the rubble and broken glass on the street. A man hobbles past on a bloodied leg and you turn to find the giant vortex behind you. It's filled with all manner of energy, light, dark and all colors. It stretches into the sky over a dark void, flashes exploding inside it as it hungrily devours the city, ripping apart buildings, growing in size the more it destroys.
" Y/N!" yells Tom, he's in front of you grabbing your arm as scarlet energy snakes over your hands. " We're in that dream again!"
" I know! But where's this city Tom? We need to find out where it is so I can stop the vortex!" You scream
" I don't know!" he yells, spinning in a circle, " Wait, you have to stop the vortex? How?!"
" I don't know! I-I'll try wrapping it in chaos magic. I need to stop it or our universe will disappear!" Yanking out of Toms grasp you sprint towards the vortex, scarlet energy exploding like lightning over your body. Shooting your arms forward you send a surge of it charging towards the vortex, but just before the chaos magic reaches it a tendril of dark energy lashes the building next to you. It explodes with a deafening crash, brick flies everywhere, glass shatters and you're thrown sideways into a shop front. Smashing into chairs and tables, agony erupts as your bones break and blood runs down your ears from the force of the explosion. You strike the back wall of the shop and land in a crumpled heap at the base...
You jolt out of bed, heart racing, scarlet energy pulsing over your body as you stumble out into the lounge room of the hotel, collapsing onto your knees. The dream felt so real. Phantom bites of pain echo along your body from where you hit the shopfront. It's night time and the city lights blink at you serenely from the windows, a contrast to the terror you feel . The silence is heavy, punctuated by your gasps for air.
You hear a thump then racing footsteps as Tom comes running out of the bedroom. You spin around and stand up, " I thought I'd lost you," Tom croaks, face tortured, eyes red. He rushes over, cupping your face in his hands and brings his lips to yours. You frown in confusion at Toms tears, cupping his face gently when he parts.
" You went flying into that shop, and when I reached you, you weren't breathing..." Tom trails off a haunted look in his eyes.
A pause follows in which you both stare at each other," Was I dead?"
" I don't know."
" Can I look through your memories to find out?" Your heart races as a serpent of dread coils in your stomach at what you might find.
"Sure," you clasp Toms hand, scarlet energy snaking through it as you go through his memories and relive what he saw in the dream. He's screaming your name, web shoots from his arm as he hauls himself through the broken window. He leaps over broken furniture, glass and concrete. Your body is in a mangled heap at the back of the shop, covered in bricks, dust, blood and a sheet of wall. He rushes over, tears marring his vision as he frantically hauls the bricks and wall off you. He screams your name again, his voice lost in the roar of the vortex as it gets closer. Your chest is still and he feels for a pulse, but then he wakes and you're both brought back to the present.
You're breathless, nausea roiling in your gut. You both stare at each other, as a heavy silence follows. You don't know if you died and neither does Tom. " I think you would've survived... Scarlet Witch is very powerful." Tom says, voice strong, but you can see the doubt and sorrow in his eyes. The idea of not knowing whether you die or not in a few weeks terrifies you so much that you shut down. You don't want to think about it, and you want to distract yourself so you change the subject," Was that the only dream you had tonight?"
" Yeah, why?"
" Well I had another one, before that dream. It was all emptiness and darkness. There was no one left, everything was gone, it was awful... Scarlet Witch said that's what will happen if we don't stop Dark Phoenix from destroying our universe, she's the one who sends the vortex."
" What? Why does Dark Phoenix want to destroy our universe?"
" Scarlet Witch said it's because the people in the Marvel Universe know that their people are disappearing into ours, so they're sending her to finish off our universe so people stop disappearing from theirs... It's going to happen at the end of the month and Scarlet Witch said we have to train for it so she can get stronger and leave before it happens, or so I can protect us. But I don't even know where to begin! How do we train for this? Who will show us what to do?" Tears well in your eyes, as you start pacing, hands fisting your hair, "I don't even know where this city is..." You collapse onto the couch in defeat.
Tom's staring into space, his face frozen in despair, " Okay... So basically, Dark Phoenix will destroy our universe if you don't stop her or get Scarlet Witch out of your body by the end of the month?"
" Yeah..."
" Shit," Tom flops down next to you, running a hand through his hair.
" I don't know what to do..." You stare into the distance, hopelessness weighing you down.
For a while you and Tom sit in silence, ruminating over the events that are about to happen and figuring out ways to try and stop it.
" Hey, I just remembered something! The Marvel Comics are factual accounts from the Marvel Universe, right?" Tom shoots up in his seat.
" Yeah?"
" So, maybe there's something in them about Scarlet Witch that we can learn and it might help your training. If we know the scope of her powers we can get you practicing them," Tom beams and for the first time you feel a bud of hope bloom in your chest.
" Yeah, you're right. I can't believe I'd completely forgotten about them." You peck him on the lips. " You genius, I'll start looking things up tomorrow."
" I'll help you."
" And we also need to figure out where that city was. Maybe I can run through your memories again and try and find a business name or a landmark or something that might lead me to it," You sit up straighter, touching Toms leg.
"Yes, but I think you should try and do it without using your hands. Try and get into my mind by using your thoughts," Tom smiles.
You grin back, " Training."
He nods.
" We'll do it in the morning, and do some research as well. You need to train too, so you can be in peak Spiderman form."
" Is it weird that I already did some training when I was back home in London?" Tom says sheepishly.
" What? But the FBI told us to keep a low profile."
" Yeah... Well I didn't do it when anyone was around or anything. Harrison wanted to see how far and how fast I could shoot my webs, and well, so did I. So one night we went out to this park and I was shooting my webs there. We used the trees as markers."
You groan, " Oh my god Tom what if someone saw you?"
" But they didn't," he gives you cheesy grin and you roll your eyes.
" Well at least one of us has had some training," you grumble.
" I'm used to it I guess. I have to work out for my job, I've done gymnastics and stunt training as well. We'll just have to come up with training plans for our powers."
" Agreed," Your chest feels lighter knowing that there's some sort of plan in process. But there's still a seed of doubt in your stomach because you don't know what the outcome will be when Dark Phoenix attacks. You don't know if you'll be strong enough to stop her. You don't even know exactly how to stop her... You sigh, head aching from all the stress and thoughts racing around.
" Let's go back to bed, and we'll deal with it in the morning after a good night's sleep," Tom murmurs, kissing the side of your head.
" Okay," You both get up and go back to bed. Curling against each other and falling into a dreamless sleep.
******
It's the following morning, and the sun rises bathing the hotel in a golden blaze. You and Tom are sweaty, breathless and tangled in the sheets as euphoria courses through your body. Tom groans when he finds his bliss and kisses you once more as you relish this tender moment between you both. It feels like the calm before the storm, and you clutch onto his shoulders a little tighter, before he releases you.
" I don't want to get up," you groan and Tom playfully nips your neck.
" Well you have too. We got to do some research and training today."
You pout, sulking a little, " Can't I just stay in bed with you all day?"
" Don't tempt me," Tom groans, " I'd love nothing more than to spend the whole day in bed with you," He smolders before kissing you again, and climbing out of bed and heading to the shower. You admire his perfect body as he walks around the bed.
He starts the shower and you smirk," Well it looks like I'm the one who gets to watch you bathe." Water runs down his hair, over his chest and abs, and your mouth goes dry at the sight. You bite your lip as your desire for Tom increases, even though he had you in ecstasy moments before.
He runs a hand over his hair, flicking water off his face, " You should join me," he grins and your stomach flips. The water runs over his whole body, somehow making his muscles appear more chiseled. You eagerly join him and soon you're both spent, floating on a cloud of bliss.
After your shower and once you're both dressed, you call the café where you work part time as a barista while Tom makes coffee and orders breakfast. Ever since meeting Tom your shifts at the café were fragmented. Unfortunately you had to cancel more frequently, because you'd been bogged down with college, finding out you had super powers and you were also kidnapped. You only worked on the weekends and the last shift you worked was the weekend before you got taken. So you call this morning to see if you're on the roster and your supervisor Chelsea answers, relieved that you're back safely. You ask if you have any shifts for the weekend and there's an awkward pause before Chelsea tells you that you've been replaced. Your mouth drops open in surprise and Chelsea apologizes, saying that they needed someone more reliable, and that you kept cancelling your shifts over the past couple months so her hands were tied. You understand where she's coming from but your shoulders still slump in disappointment. Chelsea's saying that they didn't know what the outcome of the kidnapping would be so they had no choice but to hire someone else and that she's very sorry. You assure her it's okay, then you hang up.
" Well I've been fired," You say, as Tom brings you a hot cup of coffee, the delicious aroma wafting through the air.
"Are you serious? Why did they fire you?"
" It's because I've been cancelling shifts the past couple of months, and then they didn't know what would happen after the kidnapping so..."
" I'm sorry to hear that... Maybe you can get a job at another café?"
" I don't think I have the time right now, and lately I haven't had the time to have a part time job, so I kind of see it as a bit of a blessing. I can focus more on college, you, and saving the universe..." You sip your rich coffee, relishing the taste.
" Yes, saving the universe. No pressure at all," Tom winks, sipping his coffee as well.
Breakfast arrives shortly and you're ravenously hungry after your night and morning with Tom. You both devour delicious eggs, creamy pancakes and a side of mouth- watering bacon. After breakfast you both start researching Scarlet Witch and Spiderman powers through your phones. Combing through Marvel fandoms and databases, and comics online, you've both compiled a list of the abilities for both Spiderman and Scarlet Witch. With the research you've both pulled up, hope grows in your chest because Scarlet Witch and Spiderman are both quite powerful. Maybe we can win this.
Together you and Tom compile exercises to strengthen and test the limits of your abilities. Your exercises range from how many minds you can read and manipulate, to how many things you can levitate, destroy and repair with the chaos magic. You're even going to try and create something with the chaos magic because it can create all things. Tom's exercises include testing his " spider sense" which you'll help by throwing things at him with your chaos magic, to testing his superhuman strength, and practicing using his webs with moving targets and swinging through hard to reach places.
A grin of satisfaction and steely determination settles over you as you pore over your list. Tom stretches his arms behind his head, satisfied with the training routine you've both mapped. You feel guilty about the first thing on the list, knowing that you'll be invading peoples privacy but for the sake of saving the universe you know you need to test your abilities. After you both do the first thing on the list you'll do the next thing which is testing Tom's strength and that will be it for the day, once you've both mastered those exercises you'll make your way down the list.
Tom takes your hand, " Are you ready for this?"
" Yes," You both stand up from the couch to do the first thing on the list;
1. Go to the mall and read as many minds as possible.