Broken in Half - Avengers

Chapter 1 - The Nightmares Return

Dedicated to flashwolfy
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It was very, very cold. Elytra could feel it seeping into her body from the moment she opened her eyes. She wasn't on Earth, no, but the stories her uncle told her of space made her think it wasn't quite that either. "It's a void." Elytra thought, looking at the blackness that filled her vision, except for the little white stars in the midst of it all. "How peculiar."
In a flash, a blue abyss swirled above her, and a snake-like beast peeked out from within it. Elytra tried to summon a sword, or throw an ice spike at the demonic Chitauri, but her powers didn't work, and she screamed. Or, not. No sound came out of her mouth, try as she might, and Elytra attempted to scream as a hill appeared behind her, and the Chitauri snakes slid through the sky, occasionally shrieking and causing her to recoil in fear.
She turned to the hill behind her, only to put a hand over her mouth. The hill was made of bodies, and they were all too familiar. The glint of a shield caught Elytra's eyes, in the hand of a motionless figure laying at the bottom of the pile of corpses. She opened her mouth, and this time a single word came out, echoing throughout the void. "Steve."
"STEVE!" Elytra screamed, running over to him. She picked up his limp hand, and checked for a pulse. Nothing. "No." She breathed, looking up at the rest of the Avengers, all dead in a pile of bones. Taking a step back, the air grew thin around her, and a loud, bone-chilling voice forced Elytra to spin around.
"You killed them." Loki spat, staff in hand, riding on the back of one of the metal reptiles. "No." Elytra whispered, stumbling back. The snake lowered its head, and Loki stepped onto the ground in front of her, leaning down to meet her tear-filled eyes.
"Yes. You. Did." He gave her a sickening smile, and disappeared in a swirl of green smoke as Elytra stumbled back, falling onto the hard cobblestone ground. "NO!" She screamed, as the Chitauri swarmed closer, and she was drowning in an ocean of blood and ice.
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Elytra sat up in bed rather suddenly, running a hand through her tangled mess of hair. "It was a dream, just a dream. Calm down Elytra, it was only a dream." She attempted to calm herself, slipping down from the loft and pulling a sock over her frozen, shaking foot, and making her way to the bathroom, like every morning nowadays. Elytra took the brush and quickly brushed out her tangles, braiding and tying it at the nape of her neck. She sighed, letting her trembling hand turn the knob of the faucet on, and cupped the water in her hands. After washing her face, Elytra wiped her hands on a towel and came out of her room, into the hallway.
She ran silently down the hall, entering the elevator. The clock read 5:47 in the morning, but Elytra pushed away the horrifying thought of sleep, clicked one of the glass buttons, and the elevator lurched upwards.
The doors slid open, and Elytra ran down the hall as fast as her little legs could carry her, stopping at his door. She put her hand on the knob, and it opened with a small click. Just making out the sleeping form of Steve, laying in his bed, Elytra let out the breath she didn't know she was holding. He was safe, he was alive.
After checking on every single one of the Avengers, Elytra went to the kitchen, wanting to get her mind off the visions in her mind. She opened the cabinets, hovering slightly when she was too short to reach, grabbing all the ingredients to make breakfast for everyone. Elytra had cooked quite a bit in the last few months, as she had woken up almost every night with uncontrollable nightmares, and had run out of things to draw in the early hours of the morning. She still felt like a burden to the rest of the group, so she made sure they ate, if only once.
Elytra pulled out the flour, sugar, and countless other things she would need from the cupboards. She took eggs and milk out of the fridge, and set them on the counter with the rest of her items. Having memorized the recipe already, from many nights and mornings spent in the kitchen, Elytra took out a large bowl and spoon, measuring out things and mixing them together.
She set the bowl of batter on the counter, and put a pan on the stove, turning it on low. Setting a spatula and plate to the side, she heard a set of footsteps come out of the elevator, and looked over at Sam, who was leaning against the fridge, tired written all over his face. "Why are you up this early El?" He asked, taking a mug and pouring coffee that she had made earlier into it. "You know why, Sam."
He took a sip, sighed, and said, "Want some help?" She nodded, and Sam scrambled the eggs and cooked bacon as she made the pancakes, and breakfast was ready by the time the rest of the group had woken up. Steve, of course, was the first to arrive, rubbing his eyes as he sat down on a stool by Sam, and Elytra passed him a large stack of pancakes, bacon, and eggs, as well as a container of syrup. "Thanks El."
"You're welcome." She said quietly, fixing a small plate, a pancake and a slice of bacon, for herself and sitting down next to him. "Did you get any sleep at all?" He poured the syrup and took a bite of his pancakes, and looked over worryingly at her, seeing the faint look of horror on her face, one she had almost all of the time. "A little."
"Good morning!" Tony called cheerfully, pouring himself a cup of coffee, and adding a caramel colored drink from the bar to it, before standing opposite her. "Hey Icy." He smirked, and she looked up for a brief moment, before staring back down at her meal. "I got you a new sketchbook and pencils." He said, sliding them over to her. Elytra gave him a hint of a smile, which the boys hadn't seen in at least a week, when she had gotten her last one.
"Thank you Tony." She flipped through it, before setting down on her seat while she washed her plate and put it in the cabinet. Elytra picked up the book and pencils, making her way over to the couch, as Natasha stepped out of the elevator. "Morning, boys, Elytra." She greeted, getting a plate and sitting at the stool where Elytra had been moments before.
As the group began a conversation, Elytra flipped open her sketchbook and opened the new pack of pencils Tony had gotten her. She began to get lost in her own train of thought, pulling out the small device she had been given a while ago, and putting the earbuds in her ear. After hitting 'Shuffle', she blocked out the world, and let the memories flow through her head, trying to find something worth drawing.
Cameron had disappeared five months ago, and hadn't came back. Pietro couldn't stay, but visited whenever he could from what everyone called the 'Otherworld'. No one really knew how he could cross, but he could, so no one really cared. Tundra had went back to his realm with his brothers and sisters, so Elytra hadn't seen him in a while either. She had somewhat isolated herself from the world, if not physically. Not even Vision could really get through to her.
"She held the world upon a string..."
The soft music played in her ears and she began to mindlessly move her pencil on the paper.
"But she didn't ever hold me..."
The pencil danced, making the drawing come to life before her eyes.
"Spun the stars on her fingernails..."
Elytra set her sketchbook on her lap, looking down at the beast that stared back up at her.