The Girl Who Killed Half the Universe | marvel [3] ✔

ONE

CHAPTER ONE
' I NEED TO KNOW. '

Ash's eyes fluttered, but she couldn't move from her position. Even with her eyelids shut, the room spun around her. The swirling light was violent and burnt her sight. Her nose wrinkled at the sharp smell of citrus. She inhaled sharply, which spurred on a fit of coughing. Muscles locked in their position, all she could do was endure it, but every jolt of her body sent the ache in her head to multiply.

The door banged open as she slumped back. She kept her eyes shut, not having the energy to try and fight the brightness of her surroundings. Something stirred in her brain, and she knew she needed to get up. She didn't know why or what for, but the sudden desperateness to get up caused her eyes to snap open. She fought nausea and vertigo when she pushed herself up.

Her eyes found the wires connecting her arms to a sack of fluid and then to ones following heart and respiration monitors. She caught something looking like a resuscitation machine. She didn't have time to dwell on it. She had to get up.

Ash ripped the wires from her wrist, forcing herself not to react to the pain. Swinging her legs over the side of the bed as she pushed the blanket from her body. She pushed herself up but collapsed when her weight moved to her legs. Her hands shot out to grab anything to break her fall but brought it down with her - multiplying the crash tenfold.

The ringing assaulted her ears, and she almost felt herself black out. Ash gasped when she felt it.

She felt so weak.

Gritting her teeth, she shook her head and pushed herself to her feet again. Nearly falling again, she managed to save herself on a table, supporting her dead weight with her arms which started to tremble.

Her stomach churned, and she had no choice but to empty her guts onto the floor beside her. A gasp escaped her when exhaustion hit her like a train. Her knees and elbows buckled, and she fell backwards into a machine. It didn't do much to break her fall, and she found herself leaning against a crevasse between the wall and the resuscitation machine.

Ash blew out a breath, eyes drooping. She brought her hand lazily to her forehead to wipe a layer of sweat and rub her eyes.

The door barged open, and she slowly moved her gaze to them. Steve entered the room first, and his eyes desperately searched the room before he found her in the corner. He rushed towards her, Natasha and Rhodey to filing in behind him.

Eyes pooling with concern, Steve dropped to his knee.

"What-" Her voice cracked and spurred a series of coughs to leave her mouth. She only realised then how dry her mouth had become. "What happened?"

"Let's get you back to bed first."

"No," she snapped, hand stopping his from coming closer as she clutched it with as much strength as she could muster. "Tell me what happened."

He stared at her for a moment. "He did it."

Silence sat between them, and Steve wasn't sure if she understood until she looked away and slumped into the nook. Her mouth locked shut, and tears brewed in his eyes, but she didn't let them fall. "Where are the Stones?"

"Ash, you need to get some rest."

Understanding began to develop more in her head, and she didn't need his answer to clarify her question. Ash shook her head and bit her lip, fists clenching at her sides. She caught Steve's glance behind him before Natasha moved forward and took up his position as he stepped away.

She reached forward and grasped her hand. "Ash, listen to me. Your body has been through a lot these past weeks. You need to heal. I promise we'll tell you everything, but please, let us help you get back to bed."

Ash didn't have the strength to fight. Natasha's words were hard to process with the amount of information flying through her head. Her mind felt like it was floating above her body, and the touch of Natasha's hand on her shoulders and Steve's aid to get her to the bed didn't feel real.

The conscious part of her head heard the story of tracking the use of the Stones. How Thanos destroyed them, and Thor killed him in return.

Ash didn't care about that, not at that exact moment. She needed to know who was still alive. Shaking her head, Ash pushed herself from the bed and sprinted to the exit. She managed to bypass the trio but stumbled slightly, grasping the wall to steady herself. As Ash went to set off again, Steve's arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her back to his chest. She kicked back, writhing in his grip, a grunt of exhaustion slipping from her throat.

"I need to know- Peter- I need to know-"

Steve's grip tightened before he set her feet on the ground. "I know," he replied softly. Her knees buckled, and she inhaled sharply. "I know, sweetheart."

Ash went to fight again when his arm collected her legs and hoisted her into his grip, but he moved in the direction she headed. Her grip on his arm loosened before she sagged in his arms.

His footsteps were quick and paired with Natasha and Rhodey's behind. When they appeared in a room, Ash didn't focus on who was present, her eyes immediately found a screen, and she wriggled out of Steve's grip. Her feet stumbled, but she steadied herself on the desk below the screen, eyes flickering between the pictures of profiles.

Barton's wife and children appeared, but she didn't care about them. She inhaled sharply when Stephen's face stared back at her, and she fought the tears brewing in her eyes. Nick Fury, Wanda, Bucky, Sam, and T'Challa all passed, and hope grew in her chest.

Then her knees buckled.

Peter's grinning face peered down at her, and she slumped to the floor.

Something soft touched her arm, and through her teary eyes, she recognised him. "Rocket," she whispered, hand touching his face. Her gaze shifted to find the rest of the Guardians but only found Nebula, who stood in the corner and her own on the ground. She looked back at Rocket. "Pete?"

He sighed and shook his head.

Ash's lip trembled, and she lowered her head, sobs falling from her mouth.

Then she stopped, and her gaze found Stark. She immediately noticed how frail he looked, but at that moment, anger blazed her eyes.

"You took him to Titan." Her sharp words caused him to look up. "You said you'd protect him!" She got to her feet, anger making her steady. Baring her teeth, she threw a hand at him. Nothing happened, and she faltered, her eyes finding her hand void of black mist.

She inhaled sharply, and her attention moved from Stark to her hand.

The events leading to her here washed over her like a tidal wave. His control of her, Heimdall, Loki, and Gamora, the way she didn't fight him.

This was all her fault.

Ash straightened and wiped the tears from her cheeks.

This was all her fault, and there was nothing she could do to reverse it.

She cleared her throat and controlled her breathing. Moving passed everyone, she shrugged off Steve's hands and left through a door.

She had killed half the universe.