Heartbeat (A Beautiful Thing - SpideyChelle book 2)

Pepper knows

A/N hey just a lil note to you guys to say and criticism or thoughts about the book so far a gladly accepted. Anyway, have fun with this chapter

Michelle POV

I blink some more, attempting to wake from my misty haze of colour patches and shapes. The strange woman is holding tightly on to my wrists. She was pushing me against the soft side of the rocky cavern. 

Who was she? 

Once I was semi-conscious I move to pull my arms free and cower instinctively 

"Hey get off me" I shout, jerking my arms into a fighting stance even though they are weak and flimsy like fresh noodles.  

"Oh you're awake then" the woman says in an unrecognisable tone which makes me ask what her intentions were

Don't touch me" I breath wearily, flinching back into the cavern. 

"I'm not gonna hurt you I just need to get to the centre. I haven't seen many people and you were just lying there so I thought I'd move you. To be honest you looked dead but you can't help me anyway your just a kid"

"The centre, what do you mean?" I ask curiously

"Don't worry, you could never understand" she replies turning away on the heel of her thick boots

"You- You need to help me get out of here" I beg

"And I will. Hopefully. Anyway I must go, Thanos will arrive soon" she speaks in a low tone

"No, I can come with you. I've seen things that would help. I need to get back. I can help you trust me" I plead. I couldn't let this woman get away from me whoever she was. I needed her to help me find Peter. Withering, I sit there shaking as I watch her walk away, the tail of her long jacket creasing in the light breeze. 

"Please" I call  in one last attempt

"Look once I find the origin point I will help everyone in this place. The best thing you can do I keep yourself busy and help anyone who comes this way" she snaps

No, she was leaving. Getting further and further away. And then she turns to me to give me one last smile, her coat shifting slightly just to reveal a brown cassette tape. I focus my eyes for a second to read a name etched in red pen on the cover: "Peter..."

Wait that wasn't who I thought it was it?

What was I doing? 

I was SpiderGirl, I had superpowers I was fucking superhuman and I was sat here moping around here like a sad puppy. How ridiculous. 

I hadn't used my powers since I had been here. I didn't feel right. I had only used the suit to try to contact Peter and if I was right it had almost been a fortnight now if my estimations of time had been correct. I didn't feel right to use it after this long but nevertheless, I curl my middle fingers and glance to the heartbeat bracelet and make one bold move. 

I shoot for the back of her calf, and in one swift moment, I jump towards the spindling line. This catches her attention. 

"Gamora, you need me," I  tell her assertively 

 "How do you know my name and what the hell was that?" she steps back astounded

"Your Peter's boyfriend right?" I ask, hoping I am right on my hunch 

"Wait you know Peter?" she asks confused

I spend the next five minutes getting her up to speed about who I was and my connections to the guardians and to Stark, my powers and finally the fight with Thanos.

"That son of a- how could I ever have called that guy my father?" Gamora curses under her breath

"You're Thanos's daughter??" I gasp 

"Adopted, but your Stark's daughter right?" She smiles with a glint of hope

"Adopted too" I chuckle at the irony of this situation 

"He, he would always talk about him" she muses "he would talk about him as if he were a God. Stark was the only threat to him ever"

"Wait so that means" I mutter

"We're the adopted daughters of the two most powerful men in the universe" she replies

A smile plays on my lips

"That's pretty cool" I laugh, trying to lighten the mood a little. The only thing I can think of is what would Peter say if he were here. And that's when I remember that I haven't told her

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Pepper POV

I push the front door open with my free hand and drop the shopping and dry cleaning on the table beside me.

"Tony, you there?" I say out into the seemingly empty house. Nothing "Tony" I yell again walking towards the kitchen and spare room. Still nothing. 

Something shiny catches my eye as the light refracts off it, I look down slightly confused only to be met with a plethora of broken shot glasses almost floating on half a bottles worth of scotch. Oh shit. 

"Tony!" I shout louder; this time going straight down to his workshop

I climb down the spiralled staircase hoping to find him tinkering on some suit. Maybe something that could rescue Michelle. My eyes instantly dart to another bottle of whiskey, stronger stuff this time. And then I look up to find him awkwardly slumped asleep over his chair. 

I go to wake him and in response get a groan, a grunt and a snore. He wasn't dead, that was one thing. 

I look at what he was working on. A black tab flashes on the screen "Peter Parker's screen. Click to see".  I know I shouldn't but I really want to. So, I make sure Tony isn't going to wake up any time soon and leave with the IPad in my hands. 

"Camera mode will show what is in the vision of the person. Screen mode will show you the display of the suit plus any incoming calls or inference with the system" the screen flashes

"Camera mode," I say, attempting to unlock the system. 

The display goes black for a second before showing me what the suit can see. At first, all I can make out is a crossing bouncing up and down where Peter is carrying it over his shoulder. I watch for a while, nothing really happens until he reaches his flat. The camera in the suit pans around to let me see a note from Peter's Aunt and then he dumps the suit on the table so that all I can see is the sink and a large knife stuck in a mixing bowl. 

I was about to just put the IPad away and wake Tony when I hear Peter scream. I can see the pain in his eyes. They must have had a fight and that's when he runs over to the kitchen counter and look at the knife almost longingly Then he goes to do the unthinkable. I gasp wondering if Tony knew about this. I have a million thoughts running around my head. Did he do this regularly? How did I not notice?

"Signal interrupted, signal interrupted" the screen flashes yellow

"Screen mode," I say steadily 

The screen flashes between red and black before crackling and eventually revealing a face and a voice. It is blurry at best but I would recognize that face anywhere. 

I forget to breathe for a second as I watch the scene play out in front of me. I didn't seem real. They were just kids for crying out loud. They shouldn't have to go through this. And Michelle, my heart couldn't take it, she looked as if she wanted to break out the screen but really it was just devastating. She was lost, lonely, damaged but then again so was he. So was I