This is War | Infinity War [6]

THIRTEEN

THIS IS WAR | INFINITY WAR
Chapter Thirteen
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ELIZABETH SAT SILENTLY ON THE BOTTOM STEP, FOCUSING ON THE HOLLOW REFLECTION ON THE TILING BENEATH HER FEET. Her arms were crossed over her knees, head bowed in thought with her eyes focused on the cold reflection glaring back hauntingly. Gideon stayed silent on her arm, unable to speak any words of assurance. Instead, it merely measured Elizabeth vials to make sure she didn't spiral into an anxiety attack. She already had one at the mention of the Mad Titan, Gideon didn't want to think of what the teenager's reaction will be when she comes face to face with the very figure that haunted her dreams.

"You okay...?" Peter's hesitant question was enough to bring Elizabeth back to reality. The speedster looked up shakily with a forced smile, watching as he sat down beside her, hanging his arms over his knees. Peter tilted his head, looking over to Elizabeth with worry coating his gaze. "You've just... You've been extremely quiet, and I was half expecting you to sort out Mr. Stark and Mr. Strange's problems yourself..."

A faint chuckle emerged from Elizabeth chapped lips. She shook her head slowly with amusement. "Stephen doesn't like being called a 'Mr'. It's Doctor Strange or nothin'," she corrected through her stifled laughter.

Peter returned the laughter, smirking to himself. "Right, sorry. Doctor Strange."

Elizabeth nudged him jokingly. "Don't worry, I did the same thing." She then leaned closer to him as if hiding a secret from the two adults. "And I still do it sometimes to piss him off, it's extremely amusing."

The male teenager shared an amused expression as he laughed again at the speedster's comment. But the short live amusement faded when he glanced back at Elizabeth, finding her eyes attracted to the slick, metal floors again. "Lizzie? What's wrong?"

Elizabeth visibly hesitated before she shook her head, glancing back at Peter. "It's nothing," she said in an attempt at hiding her true anxieties. Peter was completely unaware of the true risk of this mission, and she didn't want to move her own fear onto him. He didn't deserve to be experiencing a similar overwhelming amount of fear that she was suffering from. "I'm just thinking," she answered, swallowing harshly and adjusting the collar of her suit awkwardly. "I just... I-I get a bit... Anxious whenever I know something is close to being finished. I start to think about everything that can go wrong..."

Her lie was believed as Peter slung an arm around her shoulder pulling her close to him. He grinned. "Don't worry, Mr. Stark has everything handled. We'll be fine. We fight the big bad and save the world. That's how it goes, right?"

Elizabeth forced laugh was also believed. She didn't want to defeat the boy's courage. She just couldn't bring herself to crush the teenager's spirits and tell him how Tony was severely underestimating this 'big bad'. She just couldn't. So instead, she forced up another lie that seemed less believable. "Ye-Yeah... That's how it goes..."

"I'll protect you, make sure you're safe," Peter blurted out to the surprise of Elizabeth. The statement caused Elizabeth to gasp with wide eyes, watching Peter instinctively skid away from her and stand, as if physically attempting to escape the situation. Pretend he never said it. After all, Elizabeth made it very clear last year that she wasn't interested in him...

"Peter—"

"Hey, what's going on?" Peter ignored her attempt at regaining his attention. He jogged back to Stephen and Tony, the sight of the incoming land catching his attention.