『ᴀʀᴄʜᴀɴɢᴇʟ || ᴀ ᴍᴀʀᴠᴇʟ ꜰᴀɴꜰɪᴄᴛɪᴏɴ

Ch. 29: Remember Me?

"Testing, testing- hey Sagacity!"

"I swear if you blast AC/DC or Black Sabbath music I'm going to come back to the tower and kill you myself," I hissed, folding my wings in as I landed on the ground. I stretched them out, shutting my eyes as I heard laughter coming over the comms, getting farther and farther away.

I heard movement before hearing Bruce, "He actually was planning on doing that."

I sighed, "That's something he'd do."

"I'm wondering something," Bruce hummed, "How many of us Avengers know your real name?"

"Well, you, Steve, Nat, and Stark all know. Clint and Thor don't know, so... four of you," I replied, before yawning quietly, "Jeremiah was the first person to know in general. Then went Steve, Nat, you and Stark."

"You can call him Tony, you kno-"

"No she can't!"

"Oooo, you don't want me to call you Tony. I'm calling you Tony then," I snickered, leaning down and grabbing a rock from the road and tossing it in front of me. I tilted my head, before stopping, "Bruce, are you connected?"

"Yeah, we are. I'm seeing everything your seeing," Bruce responded, and I could faintly hear the clicking of the keys on the computer, "Tony, what does the location say?"

"She stopped at Scarborough Memorial Cemetery-"

"I know where that is," I replied, "Why is she there?"

"Nicole, do you think that's where... your grave is...?" Bruce asked.

I continued running through the streets, passing by individuals on the sidewalks as they glanced at me. My visor was still on and blacked out, making only the bottom half of my face visible to people. I saw recognition flash through the eyes of little kids, pointing in my direction with huge smiles on their faces. I put a hand to my ear, sighing, "It might be... Steph has memories of what her life was like after I... 'died' and it broke her."

"So... she's visiting your grave. Maybe to find more memories that have been chained away," Bruce added.

"Most likely-"

Tug.

I turned around to look behind me, peering down at the small boy, seeing his huge grin, "Your Archangel!"

I smiled, nodding my head, "I am," I replied, looking up to see the boys parents standing behind him. The mother was holding another baby in her arms, smiling sweetly at the interaction her son was having. The father had a small, barely noticeable smile on his face, focusing on the boy. I looked back down to him, "What's your name?"

"My name's Alden. That's my Mommy and Daddy, and little brother Bradley," Alden smiled, pointing at the adults and infant with a grin, before turning to me, "Thank you!"

"What for?" I asked, tilting my head at the small ginger boy.

His mother walked up to the two of us, clinging tightly onto Bradley. Her ginger curls bounced as she walked over, smiling as her green eyes shimmered with admiration, "We were on a business trip in New York. Alden was just a little boy when the attack happened. You saved us from one of those large monsters."

I smiled, and gave a nod to them, "I'm an Avenger- it's my duty to protect you."

She laughed, her voice sweet like honey before she put a hand on her chest, "I'm sorry, I should've introduced myself. My name's Melody, and this is my husband, Houston."

I grinned at them, putting my hand out to shake their hands. Houston grabbed my hand, his small smile still present as he looked at me with his hazel eyes, "You look and sound a lot younger in person."

I laughed, letting his hand go, "I'm younger than most people think."

Melody chuckled, before tilting her head in curiosity, "What are you doing in Maine? Someone as big as you would be in more populated places."

My smile faded slightly, before I laughed quietly, "I'm trying to find someone."

"Oh? Someone knows who Archangel is?"

I laughed at Alden's remark, and nodded, "A few people do. But I need to get going. Maybe I'll run into you guys later?"

Melody grinned, "You'll always be welcome at our house! You did save our lives."

I gave them a curt nod, before taking a few steps back, opening a pocket on my left hip, pulling out a small circular disk. I tossed it to Houston, who caught it effortlessly, "When I'm on my way out, I'll stop by. That'll give me your location so I'll head to you for a little visit, okay?"

Alden jumped up and down, then turned to his parents, "Can we make dinner together for her??? Pleaseeeee!"

I laughed, saluting to them before turning around, walking away from the family as Alden's giggles started to get fainter.

I heard a chuckle come over the comms, before Bruce spoke up, "You're really good with kids, Nicole."

I scoffed, shaking my head as I turned the corner to the cemetery, my eyes scanning the area. It was surprisingly bare- not a lot of people there. Maybe three or four visiting dead relatives or friends, "Sure, I'm the best with kids. They're fun to be around sometimes."

My gaze settled on a girl dressed with casual clothing- jeans and a navy blue shirt. Her hair was brown and in a pixie, standing in front of a lone grave. My breath hitched. It's her.

I took a step forward, before I started running in her direction. I was smiling, feeling tears threatening to spill from my eyes as I started to get closer and closer to her.

I took a few steps before going to a halt. I grinned happily, before I spoke up, "Steph."

Their shoulders lifted in shock, turning to look over their shoulders. My eyes met the familiar brown ones, and her brows raised, emotions swirling in her eyes as she turned to face me entirely, "Nicki... Why... Oh god..."

I leaned forward to her, arms opening as I let out a choked sob, pulling her into a hug. My hands gripped the navy cloth through my fingers, pulling her closer to me as I felt her arms grip onto the fabric of my suit, "I'm so sorry- I'm so, so sorry... I should've gone back, I should've been there with you through everything."

I heard Steph sob, and I leaned back, sniffing as I looked at her brown eyes. My brows raised slightly as I saw sadness flash through her orbs, as well as other emotions. I recognized one of them all too well.

Guilt.

She reached up to me, attaching something around my neck. I grabbed it, trying to pull away before she connected it, but I wasn't fast enough.

I glanced around us, seeing the other three people making their way over to us. I narrowed my eyes from underneath the visor, raising my hands to blast them once I saw them taking out guns.

"I'm sorry Nicki..."

I turned my head to face Steph, seeing the sadness even stronger in her eyes. I pushed my arms out further, trying to summon the light to hit them.

"We gave you your powers. We can take them away just as easy," A familiar voice cooed off to my right, and I turned around, starring at them with wide, scared eyes.

A man with a scar cascading down his nose to the right of his jaw grinned menacingly at me, hands out as he walked towards us. His brown eyes stared me down as his black hair was slicked back like it always was. My fists clenched, and I pointed one hand at him, "Get away from me," I bit out.

"Remember me?" He laughed, before flicking a hand to one of the men around us.

A dart shot into my neck, and I raised my hand to it, tugging it out as I looked down at it. I turned my attention to the man, then to Steph, who was crying at this point. She had her head in her hands, shaking her head.

I turned my attention back towards the man with the scar, and bit out a growl, "You'll pay, Louis. You'll fucking... pa... y..."

I stumbled forward, falling onto the grass in the cemetery. My eyes focused on the tombstone Steph moved away from.

In loving memory of
Nicole Bree Miller
A daughter and friend
1996 - 2008