The Circus

Chapter 12

Peter PoV

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Clint had handed the spider experimentation task to some older scientists. Harry and I studied the scepter, making sure not to leave even the smallest scratch. Human mutation and enhancement seemed to be screaming our names.  First the spiders, then the scepter.

A small, but sharp pain shot through my side.

"Ow!"

"You dosed off. Again."

"I did?" I asked, yawning and rubbing my eyes.

Harry set the pencil he had used to poke me on the lab table and looked at me, eyebrows furrowed and gaze flooded with concern. "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing," I muttered, turning to the scepter.

"Don't think we haven't noticed you getting up in the middle of the night," Harry placed his hand on my shoulder.

"It's just the extra training wit Clint. Can't sleep but can't stay awake. It's weird." I shrugged it off.

Harry narrowed his eyes. I could tell he didn't buy that bull crap, but he let me be.

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It was a simple task and my first solo mission. Get in, get the file, get out. No one was supposed to get hurt. But nothing ever goes the way it's supposed to, does it? I hadn't meant to be heard; I hadn't meant to pull the trigger.

"Hands up!" He said, firm hands clasping onto his gun. I got on my knees and put my hands above my head. 

"Now-," I didn't let him finish that sentence. I stood up, my hair stood on end, everything seemed to be moving in slow-motion and my arm-hair rose. I dodged the bullet that raced pass me. I pulled out my out gun. 

"I don't wanna hurt you," I said, voice trembling.  

He started to pull the trigger.

BAM!

A thud on the floor. A ringing in my ears. My vision was blurry. I blinked, then looked at the body lying on the now blood covered floor.

I woke up covered in sweat. I was in my bed, in the Circus compound. I was safe.

He was dead.

 He was dead.

 Dead. 

I killed him.

 I killed him.

 Killer. 

I climbed down from my bunk, grabbed my web-shooters from the drawer in the desk next to the bunk, and walked out of the tent. I heard snoring as I passed where Harry slept and smiled. I placed one foot in front of the other, creeping as quietly as I could. As soon as I exited the tent, I let myself relax and padded towards  the Weapons Tent.

I got my Web-Shooters out of my pockets and started to practice. I had gotten better in the last few days. I always hit the target at least.

"What was that about?"

MJ's voice startled me.

"What?" I turned to see her leaning on the Weapons Table.

"You were thrashing in your sleep," MJ stated, rolling her eyes.

"I, It was nothing." I studied my feet, unable to look her in the eyes.

"Liar," She snorted, grabbing some throwing knives and launching them at target.

"Bullseye," She smiled before turning back to me, "I found something you might wanna take a look at."

She pulled a newspaper out of her pocket and handed it to me.

I took it.

Captain America Refuses to Sign the Sokovia Accords

Story on pg. 2

A man dressed in a red, white, and blue suit was displayed on the cover image. I'd only seen his face once before, but I knew exactly who it was. Captain America.

I turned the page and read the story.

Captain America and a handful of other Avengers had refused to sign the Sokovia Accords, which had been set in place to "Ensure the safety of the people."

"How'd you get this?" I asked once I had finished reading.

"I'll tell you in the morning. I want Gwen and Harry to read it too."

"Okay," I nodded, and we headed back towards to Lodging Tent.

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"How'd you get this," Gwen exclaimed as she fingers the two-day-old newspaper.

"It was in the Lobby," MJ shrugged, eyes returning to her sketchbook.

"What if was Clint's?" Harry asked.

"What if what was Clint's?" Pietro inquired as he and Wanda slides into the seats next.to us to eat their breakfast.

"Nothing," Gwen muttered.

"How are things with the scepter?" Wanda questioned.

"Good," I responded, "It's really interesting. Harry and I think it might be the key to human enhancement."

"Fascinating," Wanda murmured. We continued our conversation, ignoring the argument that Gwen, MJ, Harry, and Pietro seemed to have gotten into.

"We haven't tried it out on anything, Clint said he's gonna get us some mice to experiment on tomorrow. We're gonna start human experimentation by the end the month if everything goes well. And if we get volunteers of course."

"We'll do it."

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Word Count: 807

A little longer chapter this time. It was really fun to write. And, if you're confused, the solo mission Clint sent Peter on went wrong and Pete had to kill someone. Anyways, hope you enjoyed!

-Ambertail Out-