Marvel Zombies Resurrection: Seeking a Bright Future

Discovery of Blood

Peter was sitting on a lone table in the refuge they were at. It was a slightly big place for all of them to be in, fortunately. He couldn't help but notice that in the past two days that they were there, Valeria had been avoiding him. Peter felt hurt that his niece in all but blood didn't want him near her, but he would respect her wishes. It was the very least he could do.

"Uncle Peter?" He blinked twice before noticing Franklin standing near the table with a preoccupied face. His dyed black hair was without his usual shine and Peter could faintly notice the blond fair resurfacing once more. It immediately made Peter remember, but he was handling it better. And it was all thanks to Moonstone. "Are you alright?"

"Of course, champ… Why the question?" Peter questioned back, a smile on his face. The smile was something he was voluntarily showing Franklin, but he felt everything but happiness right now. But most of all, he felt pain in his heart… for everything that was currently happening in the world.

"Is it because of mom?" Peter didn't visually flinch, but his uncovered eye betrayed him. He couldn't look at Franklin directly. Not after what he had done to their families. He didn't deserve his love after doing such a thing. But he would love them even if they hated him, because it was his job to protect them now. And they were part of his family, so he would need to see it through that they were alright in the first place. "Or because of Val?"

"You are smart, Frank… A very smart boy" Peter commented, making the teen grin slightly. Peter watched as Franklin sat besides him, both males watching Valeria Richards talking with Vivian Vision. "I am so sorry, champ… I couldn't do anything for them…"

A brief silence was around the two males sitting at the table. Peter had his eye closed, still not cleared to be without the bandage that his eye had. But it was just a second later that he opened it wide in shock. He could feel the comfort coming from Franklin, the arms of the teen hugging his torso, while the head was on his shoulders.

"It is not your fault…" Peter choked a bit in his sobs. He couldn't help but start crying. Peter knew that he needed to move on from what had happened, but he would have never thought it to be his own nephew to be helping him. "I saw everything, you know? How you were protecting us… how you kept apologizing over and over again. And while I was angry at the fact that you killed them, it was then that I realized something" Peter's face was covered in falling tears. Peter was very sentimental by this very moment, his psyche had been broken ever since he had to kill them. But he would do anything for them: Franklin and Valeria were his everything now. "They were already dead… You and dad had explained it to me that once someone dies, that is the end of the road. Is simply the cycle of life. And they were transformed into glorified zombies. Dead people who kept their memories, but they are still dead" Peter could feel how the teen left the hug and started to look directly at him, with Peter doing the same with his lone uncovered eye. "You protected me, Uncle Peter. You stopped mom from doing something she wouldn't normally do… So thank you…"

"Franklin… Champ… Thank you…" Peter sobbed out the words to truly express how he was feeling. Peter ruffled Franklin's hair a bit, with the teen just enjoying the moment with him. Peter had the biggest smile on his face, the biggest he had created ever since everything had started. It was a nice relief to not have to be on the hunt every single day, having enough resources for about two or three weeks more.

"No problem, Uncle Peter. I just hope that Valeria is able to recognize this as well" Peter looked at Valeria, who had been looking at them with a serious look before the teen huffed and looked away, continuing her chat with Vivian. It hurted him to see her act in such a way with him, the connection the previously had was stronger than the one he had with Franklin because she always asked him questions about science, something he was more than glad to answer. But now there was a rift that not even he knew how to repair.