In Loving Memory [A Marvel Cinematic Universe Fanfiction] *Discontinued*

Blood

I'm back in that room under the bridge from last night, but it's just me and Beck. He looks at me and says the exact same thing he did in my vision that i've heard at least 200 times.
"I can't have you telling everyone what i'm doing, now can i?" Beck says with a smirk directly at me. He raises up a hand and a green laser shot out of it. I clenched my eyes shut, but it never came. When i open my eyes again, i see blood on the floor. It spreads faster than any one persons blood should spread. It starts to fill the room, already an inch of it on the floor.
I turn to see where it's coming from, and when i see all of it behind me, the shock if it shakes me so hard, i can't even scream. I stand there paralyzed, as i look out over the sea of bodies. Or more acuratly, bodies and their detactched heads.
Peter, Harley, Morgan, Wanda, Tony, Ned, Steve...everyone. People i know, people i recognize, and even some people i don't, like a man with shoulder length black hair and dead, blue eyes, staring directly at me. It sends a chill through my whole body.
The room seems to stretch forever, and so do the bodies. The blood is now up to my ankles, and i try to run away, but slam into Beck, who is now directly behind me.
"And just where do you think you're going?" He says, a gruesome smile on his face. "I'm not done with you yet."
But he doesn't touch me.
Instead, he steps out of the way to reveal Nat strapped to a stake, like she's a witch about to be burned alive.
"Nat!" I scream, running to get to her as fast as i can, but my feet slide on the floor and i don't move. The platform she's on seems to be getting farther away, and i run faster and faster, but i still barely move.
A green laser shoots out from behind me to Nat, hitting the floor just below her somehow in that part of the room, the blood isn't there, but it's up to my knees. Beck walks closer to Nat, and starts to make a circle of the green laser on the ground. The floor melts away, and i can tell what he's doing. He's going to let her drop.
Just like i did.
"Nat!" I scream, but it comes out as a whisper. No matter how loudly i scream for help, it comes out hoarse and quiet. My heart slams in my chest, feeling like it's about to burst right out. I have to stop running because the thick, crimson blood is slowing me down. "Nat!"
Something touches the bottom of my leg and i try to kick it off, but it grips it harder. I look down, but the blood is so thick, i can't see it.
The now floating bodies start moving. They start swimming towards me, none of them with their heads attached. I can kind of tell who's who. Another chill runs through my body when i see a decapitated Peter swimming towards me.
"Help!" I scream, but no noise comes out. It rasps in my throat and no matter how hard i push my voice, no sound comes out.
Beck finishes his laser circle and Nat falls through the floor. I thrust a hand forward, trying to use my powers to catch her, but it doesn't work. My powers are gone.
I can hear her scream and scream and scream, like she'll never stop falling, and it doesn't get any quieter. If anything, it gets louder. The severed heads join in on her screaming. Their wails fill the room in a relentless screech, pulsing through my head, loud enough that it seems like my head will explode.
"Shut up!" I scream as another hand grabs my leg. The bodies have swum to me by nowb and the blood is up to my waist. "Stop!"
They don't stop. They grab me in any place they can reach and force me down into the blood, holding me there. The screams aren't even muffled since i'm under the water. I can't see anything except vauge shapes. Headless shapes.
I try to push them off of me, but they're too strong. My throat and lungs burn for air, my heart still pounding.
The bodies disappear. The blood turns to water, and i can see the sky through it. But i'm sinking, and above me, a trail of blood hangs in the water, moving and changing like fog.
The blood is coming from me. There are 3 dark red blood spots on my white shirt under the black leather jacket, all reaching out to each other. One just below my scar from where my rib broke, one a couple inches from my hip, and another directly in the middle of my stomach. My lungs are screaming for air and my head sears with a burning pain, but my heart is no longer pounding like it was.
I try to swim up, but the only things that move are my arms, and with no air in my lungs, i don't float to the surface. My arms stretch, pulling at the wounds on my torso. Wincing, i pull my arms back, the burning pain from the wounds shocking my whole body.
I can't do anything.
So i just sink and keep sinking, the light from the sky getting darker and darker as i get farther and farther away from it.
Then everything goes black.
...
I wake up screaming. By now i've gotten used to that, it's normal. I have nightmares almost every night. On the rare occasions that i don't, they're really weird.
It takes a few seconds for me to realize i'm awake and for the terror in my chest to fade. I remember all of it. Every terrifying detail. The room, the blood, the bodies...
A chill runs down my spine and i try to cast those thoughts out of my mind as i unplug my phone from the charger and check it.
12 texts from Harley.
Did you get there, yet?
Are you okay?
What's Venice like?
What's the water monster thing?
And others like that. But one that sticks out to me is: Please stay safe. I love you.
I catch myself smiling at that one.
Then there's a knock on the door.
"Frankie?" Peter whispers.
I get up to open the door and therecs peter in his pajamas, bags under his eyes and his hair at wild angles.
"What are you doing up?" I whisper.
"I heard you scream," he says softly. "You actually woke uo a few people."
I see a girl poking her head out from her room. "Some of us are trying to sleep," she says.
"Betty," Peter says, but she cuts him off.
"Is Ned up?"
"Uh, yeah, but--"
Betty walks quickly to a door that i assume is Ned and Peter's room. She knocks and says "Ned, sweetie? I'm coming in." She opens the door and i hear Ned says something before she shuts the door behind her.
"Are you okay?" Peter says when he turns back to me.
"Uh..." I don't want to lie to him, but at the same time i don't want him to worry about me. "Just had a nightmare, that's all."
"It must have been pretty bad for you to wake up screaming."
"Actually, that's pretty normal."
"Really?"
"Yeah. I've kind of gotten used to it by now."
"That..." He looks away for a second, like he's thinking. "Sucks."
"You should know," i say. He looks straight at me.
"What do you mean?"
"I know you still get nightmares, and i know they wake you up sometimes."
"How?"
"You do know i can read minds, right?" I joke. I conjour up a small smile for him and he smiles a little bit back, but he doesn't really. Not like he used to.
"So, uh...Paris tommorow," i say.
"Yeah," he says, looking down again.
"It's going to be fine," i say. "Trust me, i know it's nerveracking, but you have to push through that. It's worth it, i promise."
"Shh! She could hear you!" He whispers, his face panicked.
"Go to sleep," i smile a little bit because it's so cute that he's panicking over MJ.
"Fine. 'Night," he says.
"Goodnight," i say.
He turns to go back to his room and i turn to go back into mine, but stop when i hear Peter say "Betty, get out." I laugh a little at that and ckose the door behind me, then go back to my phone to answer Harley's texts.
I love you, too. I type out, then press send.
I glance up the screen to the clock. 2:34 AM Venice time. Italy time is about 6 hours ahead of New York time, so it's...8:34 there. Harley should still be up. I notice that i didn't promise i'd be safe. How can i? I can't lie to him.
I answer all of his questions as best i can without telling him the actual truth about some things that only i know, like what the water monster really is.
He replies almost immedeatly with thibgs like "cool" and "that's nice"and "miss you already".
I decide to just call him.
"Hey," he says as soon as he answers.
"Hi," i say, skimming my fingers over the scar where my rib used to be, then bringing knees to my chest.
"What are you doing up? It's like, 2:30 there."
"You know why."
"Another nightmare?"
"Yeah."
"Do you want to tell me about it?"
"I'd rather try not to think about."
"Ok, i'll distract you then. Whatcha wearing?"
I roll my eyes. "Pajamas."
"Which ones?"
"Oh please. The only time you pay attention to my pajamas is when you're trying to take them off."
"Not true. Just last week, i complimented your llama pajama pants."
"As you should, because they're beautiful."
"Yes they are, hence why i complimented them."
"Whatever. Are you still going home tommorow?"
"Planning on it. It sucks you can't come with me like we planned."
"Well, maybe i can." I say, lying right through my teeth. I try to sound happy, but i'm not. "If we get this monster thing dealt with here, i could meet up with you there."
"Good, because my mom and sister won't stop asking about you."
"What?"
"Wellb my sister is probably your number one fan, and my mom just loves you, regardless of whether or not you're an Avenger."
"Why does your mom like me so much?"
"I have no idea, but she's asking what kind of food you like and when you're coming back."
"That's sweet. I like your mom."
"Try living with her for 18 years."
"True. Although i wouldn't know anythubg about that. Try living underground for 7 years, having experiments done on you for hours on end."
"You have a point."
"Don't i always?"
"Yeah."
There's a few secomds of silence between us before he says something else.
"So i've been thinking a lot...about us."
My heart sinks.
"We're both adults and we've been together for almist 8 months to the day, now."
"Yeah?" I say, just to say something, because don't know what else to say.
"Uh...sorry, i'm nervous."
No...he's not. He wouldn't...would he?
"Do you think...maybe...we should move in together?"
I didn't realize i was holding breath until i let it out. I thought he was going to ask me to marry him or something insane like that.
"Uh..." I think about what to say, but i can't figure it out. I can't keep lying to him, but i can't tell him what's really going on. I can't tell him he'll never see me, again. "I don't know," i decide.
"Just think about it," he says.
"I will," i lie.
"Ok. Get some sleep. I love you."
"I love you, too." I barely get out before i end the call and break into a sob so loud, i have to cover my mouth. I've learned that trying to stop it only makes it worse, so i just let myself cry until i calm down.
I didn't sleep again that night.
...
(Just to let anyone know who has already read the chapter just before this one, i changed a small detail that i had forgotten about that was in Far From Home. It doesn't affect muchb i had just forgotten that Oeter thought he didn't have to deal with the fire monster in Prague, but it's fixed, now.)
Despite being up before everyone else, i was running late when we were about to leave for Paris. I lost track of the time while reading Harry Potter fanfiction (Draco and Harry are endgame), which resulted in Roger knocking on my door at around 8:00 AM.
"We're leaving in about 30 minutes, Frankie, just letting you know!" He said through the doorb then leaving.
"Crap!" I say under my breath, jumping up and grabbing my bag on the floor. I take out a pair of black jeans, a red Billie Eilish shirt, and undergarments, changing as quickly as i can. Then i start cramming everything inti the bag and rush to the girls bathroom a little bit down the hallways. Luckliy, it's one with stallsb so i don't have to wait on some teenage girls. I take out the hairbrush and run it through my hair while i take out the other things i need; toothbrush, make-up, etc. After brushing my teeth, i settle on sinple eyeshadow and mascara, stuff everything back into the bag, and run back outside. And of course, me, the world's biggest klutz, rams right into someone.
"Sorry," i say before rushing past them and pulling my hair tigether to put into a ponytail. I loop my hair through the ponytail holder one last time before stepping off the staircase and into the lobby.
"Good morning," Roger says. He's sitting at a table with the man from last night that said something about witches. "This is Julian," He gestures to the man sitting beside him.
"I heard," i say, walking towards them. I see a few other kids i recognize from Peter's school, here. Mainly from prom and the few times i had to pick him up from school when he broke his arm after doing his daily Spider-Man things. Of course, it healed just a couple days after he broke it, but he had to fake it for a few weeks after that, because it would look pretty suspicious if someone who completly split their arm in half was out of the cast 3 days after he broke it.
"Hold on, i gotta take this," Roger says after gis phone rand for a few seconds. He walks into little hallway with a payphone by the stairs.
"So, you realky think it was witches?" I ask Julian sarcastically.
"Yup. Welcome to the new Dark Ages."
I can't stop myself from laughing.
"You know a witch, right?" He asks, genuine curiosity in his voice.
"Uh, what?" I ask once i gather myself.
"Scarlet Witch. Wanda Maximoff."
"Oh, right. She's not really a witch. Her powers derive less from the occult and more from an infinity stone."
"Which one?"
"The Mind Stone." The public knows all about how exactly we brought everyone back, thale infinity stones, and what Thanos did in the first place, so he knows what i'n talking about. "That's how i got my powers, too."
"And the Infinity Stones are space magic?"
"I mean...yes."
"Witches."
I don't have the energy to argue with him about this right now.
"What?!" I hear Roger yell from the hallway. "We're supposed to be going to Paris!" The person on the other line talks for a few seconds before Roger cuts them off and yells at them before immedeatly lowering his voice.
The TV on a shelf in the corner is on the news. I can't tell what they're saying because it's all in Italian, but i know it's about yesterday. They're showing a picture of Beck in full coustume, fishbowl and all. Then they show a picture of the water monster from yesterday. The screen switches to a news caster that says some things, then it changes again to a man outside with a microphone. He says a bunch of things in Italian but there are three words he says that i recognize.
"il famoso vendicatrice Frankie Grant è stato visto qui la scorsa notte," is what he says. He gestures to something above him and the camera angles up to a sign that says "HOTEL" with each letter in a different white box, the letters red.
"Hold on..." I mutter under my breath. I recognize that sign. I get up from the chair and walk to the door and sure enough, there's the reporter and camera man, along with a few other people.
The reporter speaks in Italian for a few seconds then the cameraman and the others behind the camera see me. The cameraman turns the camera to me and the reporter notices.
He starts speaking loudly and exitedly in Italian, and wals up to me. He says something into the microphonethen thrusts it to me, waiting for my response. Of course, i don't understand him, so i push the mic back to him and storm back inside.
"Insane," i say to myself.
I see Peter walking towards me, but he stops.
"I saw the TV," he says. "I was gonna--"
"It's fine," i say. I go back to the doorb but not to where the people outside can see me. I close my eyes and creep into their minds and tell them all to leave, which they immediately do. I open my eyes and hear them walking away and go back to the tables. Roger is still in the back on the phone.
I notice that most everyone is coming down the stairs, now. I know they're in our group because they're all teenagers speaking english.
"Hey, Penis Parker!" One of them calls out. I whip around to see what asshole just said that. "Is your girlfriend gonna protect you, now?"
"Shut up, Flash," Someone else says.
Flash turns to me and winks. I didn't ever think i would be creeped out by someone younger than me, but that wink made me nauseous.
"Yeah, i will. Speaking of..." I raise my hand towards himb trying to scare him. It works. His eyes go wide and he ducks under a table. So do a few other people. "Relax," i say. "I wasn't actually going to do anything."
I walk up to Flash cowering under a table and drag him out. "But i will if you cross me or anyone else here again."
"Freak," he mutters under his breath as he walks away.
That's it. I take 2 steps towards him befire Peter stops me.
"Ignore him," He says, grabbing my arm. I turn and notice his shirt says If you believe in telekinesis, raise my right hand.
So i do.
"What the hell?" Peter says as he feels his arm raising. He sees the blue and looks doen at his shirt, then looks at me, his face saying seriously? "Ha ha, very funny."
"I thought i was," i say, dropping his hand back down.
"Come on, let's head outside!" Julian calls out to our group. Everyone starts gathering up all their stuff again, so i walk back to the table i was at earlier and grab my bag.
...
"Hey man, are you sure you're good?" Peter asks Ned when we leave the building.
"Dude i'm fine!" Ned assures him. "Don't worry. Seriously, getting tranqed in the neck by Nick Fury? Probably the coolest thing to ever happen to me, anyway."
"It is pretty cool," Peter says. They start doing somethubg weird with their hand sand i soon realize it's some sort of handshake. "I'm just glad i don't have to go to Prague."
"Good news, we're going to Prague!" Roger announces to everyone as soon as he gets out of the door. He walks inbetween Peter and Ned, breaking their handshake. Peter shoots a confused look at me. I shrug my shoulders. Almost everyone their either s says "what?" or "huh?"
"Tour company called, they upgraded us," Roger says to everyone. Peter and Ned look at each other, both knowing something weird is going on. "You should have heard me on the phone with them. I really gave 'em hell."
"All i heard was crying," Julian says behind him. I can't help be laugh at that, but no one else does.
Roger tells everyone to grab their stuff and leads us behind the building to where the road is.
"Look at our upgraded ride!" He says as we all file out of the alley between the hotel and the building beside it. All the other kids make noises of admiration for it, but the second Peter and i see it, we immedeatly know what's happening.
"Peter, what's going on?" Ned asks.
Peter sighs. "I think Nick Fury just hijacked our summer vacation."
"I don't think he did, i know he did," i say, staring at the big black bus with windows so tinted, you can't see through them. Dimitri stands in front of the bus holding a sign that says "Midtown High".
Roger tries to introduce himself to Dimitri, but i already know he won't say anything back.
Peter hangs his head for a second then picks it back up, and we all walk towards the bus.
"I'm sorry," i say, bringing a hand to his shoulder. I was the last person out of the alley, so i'm behind everyone.
"Did you know about this?" He asks, the disappointment thick in his voice.
"No, i didn't."
I'm the last one on the bus, and just before i sit down towards the front, Dimitri catches my eyes. I just glare at him, even though he probably had nothing to do with it.
I'm really starting to hate Nick Fury.