REMEMBER ME; peter parker

sixteen

At the sound of Thena's cries, the group surrounded the three as Gilgamesh's body began to grow cold on the jungle floor. 

. . . 

Later that night, all eight Eternals (including Karun) built a bonfire on the sandy shore next to a lake. Karun was reciting a beautiful scripture in Sanskrit, but to Thena and Talen, his voice was far in the distance. Talen was down to one remaining Eternal that still cared for her, and Thena lost the one person who could break her out of the Mahd Wy'ry. 

The next morning, Talen and Thena woke up early to spend a final few moments with Gilgamesh. Talen let Thena have a moment, the woman walking into the lake, letting the water come up to her knees and holding the box so carefully. 

Druig and Sersi appeared next to Talen, but didn't bother to acknowledge her. 

"When I left, I thought about taking over the minds of every human on this planet. Violence, fear, greed, all gone"

"Why didn't you?"

"Because without their flaws, they wouldn't be human." Talen glanced over at Druig after these words, catching a fleeting glance from him.

"Please, Druig. You can't stay here anymore." Sersi pleaded. "These Deviants are trying to keep us from killing their own kind. They have a conscience now. That makes them more dangerous."

Talen walked away from Sersi and Druig. The scenery around them was beautiful and she wanted to take it in before they had to leave again. 

Her phone pinged just as she sat down on a log. 

nat
how's it going, t?

Talen sighed before answering Natasha. She wanted to tell her everything. How they kept losing team members. How she lost the one person who felt like a father to her. How she still isn't being valued as an Eternal and no one seems to try. 

She knew Natasha wouldn't believe her if she just said it was okay. 

talen
i'm okay, tasha. it's rough but no different than what i expected. 

nat
be safe. 

. . . 

Chicago, this time. Way too close to New York for Talen's liking right now but she didn't really have a say in where they were going. 

Sersi and Ikaris departed from the group to meet Phastos while Thena, Sprite, Kingo (and Karun), Talen, and Druig sat in a small restaurant. 

"So," Kingo spoke, breaking the absolutely unbearable silence. "if no one else is going to finally address the elephant in the room, I guess I will." He locked eyes with Talen. "What are you doing here?" 

Talen couldn't find her words.

"I brought her here." Sprite interrupted. The two girls shared a glance, Sprite nodding at Talen as if to say 'go on'. 

"I was on a grocery run in London and got caught in the Deviant attack there." It was the first sentence she'd spoken to these people in centuries. 

"I was going to ask why you were in London, but I guess it's not so weird for you."

"It's a long story anyways."

. . . 

The group, now including Phastos, appeared in Iraq. Talen never really understood Phastos' powers, so when he made a giant, triangular ship appear out of the ground, she was more confused than ever. 

As they walked through the green hallways of the ship, Kingo continued with his dramatic documentary. The rest of them seemed to recognize the ship, but Talen had never seen it before. Thena interrupted the silence by stepping on a...chip bag?