The JackDaw's Nest (Captain America, Avengers & Spiderman Fan Fiction)

Chapter 12 - Recover

It was Friday, the day of the Bloom dance. Jez lay in her old room on the helicarrier where she and Steve had slept numerous times. It looked the exact same as she had left it a few months before when she had moved in with Steve in Brooklyn. Now Jez had been lying there since she’d woken up that morning at about six. Someone must have moved her from Steve’s bed during the night. She stared at the roof watching a little spider crawl along it. It reminded her of Peter who she hadn’t seen since the night before. She knew that he’d be around but she waited for him to come to her.

Jez decided to get up and walk around for a while. It was ridiculous to wait for the world to come to her. She wasn’t going to school just yet but she wanted to stretch her legs and see Peter. Jez knew that she couldn’t zone out from the world forever and now was as good a time as any to cop on. She rolled out of the bed and crawled to her wardrobe where a backup suit hung. She got dressed and washed as usual. She had to behave like normal. It was a mission, an order.

Jez left the room and it was as if she had turned as green as Hulk. Everyone stared at her without trying to hide it. A couple of people were brave enough to ask her how she felt today. She replied with a forced smile and a nod. After about ten minutes Jez had to just duck into a room. It was hard to act normal when no one else was. When she turned around seven pairs of eyes were watching her every move. They picked up Jezebel’s vibe and continued what they were doing and saying.

Peter stepped towards Jez cautiously, as if she may explode at any moment, sending him, the remaining Avengers and Fury into the sky.

“Want some hot chocolate?” Peter asked knowing that it always made her feel better. Jez nodded and avoided eye contact with the rest of the agents and heroes. She took the hot cup from Peter and finally lifted her head to look at the Avengers.

Bruce gave Jez a supportive smile. If any of them had been crying it didn’t show. Jez hoped that she looked that way too. Tony looked the most off. He was being unusually quiet and didn’t bother to muster any witty comebacks. Tony and Steve had a strange type of bromance but under the insults they were a power team. All of them had gotten to fight with Steve against Loki. They had survived a war but one tiny vial could take one of the strongest down.

Jez wondered if the others blamed her like she blamed herself. She wondered if they thought that it was her fault Steve even thought about taking the vial. Bruce and Tony wouldn’t have because they saw her trying to stop him but the others weren’t there. They never saw Jez trying to save Steve from herself. Every second she wished that she had tried harder.

“Looking forward to the dance tonight?” Peter asked. This raised the heads of everyone else.

Jez shook her head and tried to laugh but the sound that came out sounded as fake and forced as it was.

“I think I’m going to call Harry and cancel,” Jez said to Peter sitting at the table with the heroes.

“Isn’t that Norman Osborne’s son?” Tony asked with interest. “Osborne as in OSCORP? Osborne as in Green Goblin?” Jez and Peter nodded in unison.

Jez remembered the question that she had to ask Peter.

“You don’t think that Harry knows about his dad do you?” Jez asked nervously. “The Bird Watcher used the same bombs as the Green Goblin. Where would he have gotten them if not from Harry?” Peter seemed concerned now. Harry wanted Spiderman dead and if he knew about his dad and got the same idea things were about to go downhill.

Tony stood thinking. He had his chin in his hand and was nodding.

“Well now you have to go and find out,” Tony said. “If he is a threat we need to know. You’re the only one who can do it.”

“What about Peter?” Jez asked really not wanting to see Harry right now.

“If he finds out my identity he’ll freak and kill me but he loves BlueJay and you,” Peter said. “He won’t hurt you and you know it.”

Jez nodded and placed her cup on the table. She stood up and was on her way to the door when she was called back.

“Where are you going?” Bruce asked. Jez turned and stood in a Miss Universe pose.

“If I’m going to be Bloom Queen I’m going to need a dress,” Jez said. She could feel herself returning to her normal self. Once she was outside the door they all started talking about her like she knew they would.

“Perfectly played everyone,” Fury said. “Nice work improvising Tony. We already checked out Osborne and he’s clear. We think the Bird Watcher just made his own version mimicking Green Goblin’s.”

“I don’t like sneaking around behind her back,” Peter said. “I think we should leave her recover in her own way instead of tricking her into it.”

“We need her to be back to normal ASAP Spidey,” Clint was saying. “You probably don’t get it because you don’t work here but the second her guard goes down someone else will be in and once one of us is down we start dropping like dominos.”

Jez lifted herself off the ground so that they wouldn’t hear her walking away. They were right of course but she appreciated Peter sticking up for her. Now Jez just needed the perfect dress and she knew where she was heading to find one. She felt like getting a dress that she had seen a couple of days earlier in a boutique. The same boutique that she had stopped the robber in.

Jez casually strolled into the store now dressed as herself. She spotted the usual shop assistant working and gave her a smile.

“Hey Sam. Do you have any new dresses in that I could wear to a dance tonight?” Jez asked leaning against the counter.

“Actually I do,” Sam said looking up from her magazine. Jez realised it wasn’t a magazine but a comic. BlueJay and Captain America graced the cover of the comic with the title ‘power couple’.

Sam noticed Jez staring and giggled. She flipped the magazine back open.

“I’m a huge fan of BlueJay especially since she basically saved my life,” she said. “She’s such a role model for everyone. She’s beautiful, funny, and smart and does good for others no matter what effect it has on her. If you ask me Captain America is a very lucky man.”

Jez choked then and thought she might word vomit. The girl gave her a weird look before leading her to the new stock. Sam didn’t know just how unlucky Captain America had been to have known Jez but what could Jez say?

“Why don’t you try this?” Sam asked Jez. “Blue looks like it would be your colour and I hear you’re nominated for Bloom Queen. A girl called MJ came in and stuck up your poster over there. I didn’t know she could advertise you outside of school.”

Jez took the soft material in her hands and smiled. It looked perfect. As she changed Sam told her the whole story of how BlueJay saved her through the door. She embellished the truth a little making Jez sound better than she was but she didn’t say anything. She wasn’t complaining. If anything it was making her feel better.

“What do you think?” Jez asked and twirled in her dress.

He so the picture of Jezebel's dress will be to the right :) Hope you're enjoying the story. This is a boring chapter but I  need time to move on a little before something happens. Next chapter will be better and the action is about to start! Vote, comment, fan and recommend xoxo