Separate Universe (HP/MCU)

Chapter Seventy

Shuri had managed to figure out what was wrong with Henry. Apparently, the little boy had been having nightmares. The problem was, he was having nightmares about some giant purple guy that nobody knew of. He swore the guy, or monster as he called it, was going to come to Earth and kill a lot of people. He swore the guy would hurt and kill people in space as well. The more he spoke, and in such detail, scared his parents half to death. They were really worried about his active imagination.

Nanala didn't believe he was having visions like a seer—like Sybil Trelwney. Nanala had never heard of such a young child having visions, so she didn't think that's what they were. She and Bucky chalked up as his over active imagination causing bad nightmares. Nightmares often forced a lack of sleep, and would cause mood swings and emotional outbursts. She remembered she had a few when she was still in Hogwarts, so she definitely understood just how terrible they could be.

Bucky had been so worried that he was the cause of Henry's nightmares, or that Nanala possibly was as well, but to know that they weren't made the man sigh in relief. He knew the traumas that could be inflicted on a person because of their lack of sleep, and he definitely didn't want to be the cause of Henry's.

Shuri had only a couple of options to try to fix Henry's nightmares. She mentioned good stories at bedtime, such as a sweet fairytale or small poem. She also gave the options of light, gentle music, or happy music that talked only of the good things in life. Nanala was also given the option of deciding to put a small television set in Henry's room, so his cartoons could always be playing when he was awake, asleep, and when he woke up from nightmares.

The first night, Nanala and Bucky tried the bedtime story. They had read him Oh, the Places You Will Go, but the story didn't make much of a difference in Henry's sleeping or mood. Nanala and Bucky both tried to tell him funny, happy stories from when they were younger, but as it seemed, the second night was a bust too.

On the third night, Nanala hooked up a radio in Henry's room, and played a radio station strictly known for playing upbeat, happy songs. Again, the next morning, nothing had really changed. Night four, Bucky carried a small television into Henry's room, and Nanala put on Cars for Henry, since it was his favorite movie.

The night he watched Cars, he woke up from a horrible nightmare, this time he managed to scream out and terrify both of his parents. Bucky and Nanala were at a loss, as they tried to calm down the screaming, sobbing little boy.

"He's coming! He's coming after Steve comes here!" Henry wailed, but his parents were confused, upset, and frightened by his outburst.

That night, Bucky carried the television into his and Nanala's room, while the woman carried the crying child. Once he was placed in their bed, Nanala set up the movie again, before the parents laid down on either side of the little boy. Henry refused to have his parents be anywhere away from him, so he grabbed an arm from both parent, and wrapped it around his tiny body.

Bucky and Nanala could feel him shaking from terror, but they didn't want to upset him anymore. Henry never managed to go back to sleep that night, so he rewatched his favorite movie over and over again. Small snippets of the vision kept replaying every time he closed his eyes for too long, so he refused to try and fall asleep. He was terrified, and not even having his parents around fixed that.

A few times, Bucky or Nanala would wake up and hear him mumbling, "he's coming," but they didn't know what to do. Nothing like this had ever happened before. He had never screamed from nightmares. He had never had reoccurring nightmares, other than the one with the monster in the toilet when he was two, and after three days the nightmare went away. He had never been so convinced that his nightmare was real, and that it was going to happen.

After hearing his bone-chilling screams though, and seeing how terrified he was, Nanala and Bucky both began to believe that something bad really was going to happen. They didn't know what, but their gut was telling them that Henry was right. Something bad was going to happen, something was coming, and everyone needed to be wary of it. Nanala just wondered how dangerous it could be, and Bucky simply worried about the safety of his family.

The parents planned to go to Shuri first thing in the morning. They planned to tell Shuri what happened, and they planned to voice their concerns to T'Challa. If Henry was that scared, then the two parents needed to warn somebody before it was too late. Anything could happen, and it would be their fault if they didn't warn someone. Besides, for all they knew, it could be a fluke and nothing would happen, but they'd rather be safe than sorry.

Neither parent slept well that night. Why would they? Their son was scared, and there was nothing they could do to help ease his fears. He was like a little warning for them, and they would soon realize that they should've believed him the moment he spoke to Shuri about the purple man. He may have never gave anyone names, but he knew something was going to happen. He knew more than all of the Avengers—other than maybe Thor and Banner.

He seen into the future. He had been given a warning, but he was too young for people to believe. He wasn't the age where Nanala would believe he could be a seer. She never even though of the idea, but after everything that would happen, she would really wish that she had known he was a seer...