The Girl Who Held the Universe in her Hands | marvel [1] ✔

ONE

CHAPTER ONE
' I HAVE TO GO
SOMEWHERE . '

A sigh escaped Ash as she began the ascent of the stairs. The annoyance and frustration had worsened her exhaustion from the previous days, and even though her eyes stung from tiredness, she couldn't bring herself to sleep. That was if her mind could quieten too. Ash had to take a moment before continuing another flight of stairs, gaze drifting to an elevator before she shook her head and continued her journey.

Ash was slightly embarrassed at her wheezing when she reached her destination. Clearly, her time in 'retirement' had led to her fitness dwindling. As she approached the door, she closed her eyes briefly before opening it.

"Peter?" It was a masculine voice which greeted her at first.

"Sorry to disappoint," Ash replied, her voice echoing around the apartment before she moved further into the house and the living room. "Hey, Ben." A smile made its way onto her face as she approached the frail man who sat on an armchair.

"Ash," he answered, a grin also finding its way onto his face. "You're home." Her lips faltered as she leaned down to let Ben kiss the side of her head. "You look like you've fought a war."

"Well, you're not wrong."

"Metaphorically?"

Ash looked at him for a moment, a grin sliding easily over her features. "Of course." She lowered to her knees beside him, her back against his chair next to his legs, and she faced the TV he was watching. "Fought some chemicals in the lab, and they won. It's okay. We managed to get it out but gotta keep it covered for the next few days." She looked up at him. "How are you doing?"

Ben let out a long sigh, and Ash frowned. He didn't reply but placed a hand on her head, ruffling her hair. She didn't think her heart could drop further than it already hung. She didn't know how long Thor expected her to serve her sentence, but somewhere in her, she knew this would be her last time with Ben.

Ash shifted once more and rested her cheek on his leg, curling around him. They fell into silence and watched the TV, which showed the news.

"New York is in ruins after what is being described as an 'alien invasion' devastated the city. It isn't known what the death toll has amounted to, buildings and rubble are still being searched for survivors, but the aftereffects are still wreaking havoc as hospitals and police forces are stretched thin.

"The Mayor thanked a private initiative known as 'the Avengers' in his speech this morning. The Avengers are a group of enhanced or skilled beings who worked together to neutralise the invasion yesterday afternoon. And while there is no denying that these people helped save New York - maybe even the world - the responses have been varied. The government released the majority of the members' identities: Tony Stark, the billionaire engineer who recently revealed himself as Ironman in a press conference last year; Captain Steve Rogers, the experimental super soldier known as Captain America who was found frozen in the ice where his aircraft crashed in 1945 only a few months ago; Doctor Bruce Banner otherwise known as the Hulk who was an esteemed scientist until an experiment went wrong, causing him to turn into an enhanced being; Thor Odinson who's real identity is under debate after claims of being the actual Norse God of Thunder; Clint Barton and Natasha Romanoff, government agents and a final member who was left unnamed.

"Our social editor is here with the latest."

Ash's eyes remained griped on the TV, arms shifting to hug Ben's leg.

"Yes, thank you. While the overall response to the Avengers has been overwhelmingly positive, there has also been some criticism of the member whose identity remains hidden. This member seems to be a young female with abilities some are calling: 'hellish' or 'satanic'. As of now, the abilities of this girl have not been explicitly revealed, however, there has been an overall acceptance of a variation of telekinesis. This has been decided after the girl managed to, quite literally, hold up a building and prevent it from collapsing. On the scene, a few hours after the invasion, there were sightings of citizens praying and casting signs of the cross. After talking to some of the people there, it concluded that they were not there because of the threat of aliens but rather of the undisclosed member of the Avengers. They described to me bible verses of the second coming of Christ and of the Antichrist who was prophesied to come to Earth and bring about the end of the universe for Judgement Day with comparisons of this unknown member to said Antichrist."