(1)The Avengers: The Lost Goddess

24

I woke up in the middle of the night, screaming. Peter had his own room and didn't stay with me anymore. My nightmares had become increasingly terrifying.

My hair was stuck to my forehead with sweat and I was panting really hard. In this dream, I had been on top of the Avengers headquarters with Loki, he had pushed me off and I was falling. The ground came closer and closer; I could see Iron Man trailing after me but he couldn't reach me. My arms reached out for him as the wind ripped a scream away from me.

The whole dream was really foggy but I had this feeling deep in my gut that it was important. Just before I hit the pavement, I woke up screaming.

Steve ran into my room.

"I am so sorry," I apologized, still trying to catch my breath. "I woke you, I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize. Are you okay?"

"It was just a dream."

"I've never heard you scream like that; it was terrifying."

He stood in the doorway, the hallway light turning him into a silhouette. He was wearing sweatpants and I felt my cheeks turn red as I realized that's all he was wearing.

"Are you sure you're okay, though?"

"Yes."

"Okay, if you need anything, I'm right next door."

"Can you stay with me?" I blurted out.

He turned back to me and I saw him nod.

"I mean, Peter usually does, but he has his own room down the hall and--"

"Celestial," he cut me off, "it's okay. I don't mind."

He crawled into bed with me and got underneath the blankets.

"Why do you have such bad nightmares?"

I pulled the blanket tighter around me. His body next to mine made me really aware of everything.

"I don't know. They've just recently gotten worse."

"And it helps to have someone with you?"

"Yes. I don't know why."

"Well I'll always be here if you need me. Now get some rest. We've got a long day ahead of us."

And I did. I slept soundly the rest of the night. When I woke, Steve was gone, his side of the bed nicely made. I left the warm bed and dressed for the day. When I went into the living room, everyone was sitting around waiting for me.

"There she is," Clint said. "Fury wants us in the conference room."

When we were all settled in, I kind of zoned out as Fury talked. No one had a plan yet, and it still seemed like they all thought it would be a piece of cake. My leg bounced as I stared at a part of the table that had been worn down. My eyes drifted towards Tony who was already staring at me.

"Fight," he mouthed.

I frowned, not quite sure what he meant. He turned back to the conversation and, without knowing how he even knew what was going on, he piped up.

"Yeah, this might seem easy and all, but when the damsel in distress comes into view, it just makes everything more difficult."

Everyone turned to stare at Tony. Hopefully he wanted me to fight with him, if not, I would do it anyway. Very unnecessary.

"Excuse me?" I finally said.

"You heard me."

"No I heard you, I'm just making sure you're well aware of the battle you just got yourself into calling me that."

It was as if everyone was watching a tennis match. Their heads went back and forth between Tony and I.

"I think everyone is crazy to think that this is going to be an easy battle. But with you, nothing is ever easy. You'll show up and make it all about you."

"How so?" I challenged.

"Maybe if you would've just went on a date with this kid, we wouldn't be in this mess."

"I think he hated me and just wanted to take me on a date so he could get rid of me."

"Well maybe you should've let him."

Okay, no matter if this was real or not, that still hurt. Tony knew it, too. His face turned red and his cold demeanor slipped. I stood and leaned across the table.

"Everyone here thinks I'm the strongest Avenger, what would you have done without me? We go out at dark."

I kicked the chair out of my way and stomped to my room. That was kind of childish and petty, but if he could stoop low, I'd stoop even lower. It might not have been intentional or even real, but it still had the sting of a real insult.

Adrenaline coursed through my body and I took huge breaths to try calm myself down.

It wasn't real, it wasn't real.

I started chanting it to myself, making myself believe that he hadn't meant it. But the stupid little voice in the back of my head told me otherwise.

If he was able to say it, he had to have been thinking it.

Trying to ignore myself was harder than it seemed. No one came to ask if I was okay, then again I wasn't expecting anyone to. They were probably out there planning like I should be. Only thing is, they aren't planning for their deaths.

Okay, maybe I lied to Tony. I'm not as accepting of my death as I made it seem. Everyone and everything dies. I'd be crazy to not be, well, going crazy.

The sun made its journey through the sky, making the shadows in my room slant more and more with each passing hour. The darkness was imminent and I could feel it pressing down on me. My death was fast approaching.

When dusk came, I dressed in all black, skipping two knives into leg pockets on my pants and a gun into the waistband. Everything in my life had apparently led up to this moment and I was not prepared one bit.

I took a deep breath before leaving my room to meet with the Avengers.