Venom | Avengers: Age of Ultron [5]

Chapter 29

"Ellie, come help me with dinner!" I sighed, downing the last of my drink before setting it down and standing up. "Better prep the barricades, 'cause all hell's about to break loose," I warned Nat, before going inside and over to where Clint was. "So, Chef Clint, what's the plan?" I asked. "We're making Pho. I tried it when I was in Vietnam with Nat on a mission," The meal only took about an hour to cook, and Wanda was sent to retrieve Steve while I got the boy. He had been asleep since we got back, and was currently passed out on the couch.

I went over to him, crouching next to the couch and gently shaking his shoulder. "Hey, kiddo. It's time to eat. You hungry?" I said softly as he said up, rubbing his eyes blearily. He nodded softly, hopping down and climbing into a seat next to Bucky. I sat on his other side, next to Clint.

The little table was crowded since there were ten people sat around it. Bucky, Clint, Nat, the kid, and I sat on one side, with Tanya, Sam, Scott, Wanda, and an empty seat for Steve on the other. I got back up as Steve emerged at the top of the staircase, Clint following. "No, I've got it," I held out my hand, going into the kitchen and starting to serve the Pho. Balancing 5 bowls on my arms, I passed them out to the first half of the table, then brought three more, leaving me and the kid without bowls.

I returned to the kitchen for the last time, grabbing a bowl for me and the kid, who we really needed a name for, and sat down, setting one in front of the kid, along with a spoon. We all started eating, but he just stared at his bowl. "It's okay, you can eat," I said, smiling and motioning towards the bowl. He leaned forward, scarfing down the food like it would disappear in front of him. I was about to tell him to slow down a little, but before I could, Steve leaned over and yanked the bowl away from him.

Something must've clicked in Tanya's head because she was furious. "Steven Grant Rogers, what the hell are you thinking?!" She shot out of her chair, glaring daggers at him. "He was going to make himself sick!" Steve objected. "That means you tell him to slow down, not yank the food away from him! Now he's gonna think it's all some sick joke, so when we put food in front of him that he starts to eat, we'll just rip it away from him to starve!" Clearly, this was a sensitive topic, given how she flew off the handle, but Steve just rolled his eyes. "Oh, let me guess, the 'Elves' did it to you," He made quotation marks when he said elves.

"Yeah, they did! I would go for weeks without food! Do you want to know what that's like?! Because if so, I will gladly do it to you," She snarled. Steve was standing at this point as well. "I'm tired of these stupid delusions. The Elves don't exist! They're a figment of your imagination, something you made up to make you seem special!" He shouted. The whine was kicking up again and was quickly growing louder. In response, Tanya lifted her shirt to reveal jagged white lines etched into her skin.

She rolled up her sleeves, revealing more scars, and pulled the hair back from her head to reveal a scar on her eyebrow and a large slit in her neck. "Do these look like delusions, or do I need to show you my back to really drive the point home?!" She spat. Steve wasn't backing down, so she pulled her shirt over her head, revealing her scarred and bony torso. She turned around, to reveal deep lacerations marking most of her olive skin, and something written in black on one shoulder. "What does that say?" I asked, my eyes lingering on the marking.

"Toom gorjeth u vela velemefe. It means a Weapon of death and darkness. It was their branding for me," She spat bitterly. "Stop fighting!" I shouted, clutching my head in agony. The sound wiped out anything anyone was saying. The kid was staring at us, fear clouding his eyes. "Get him out of here. Put him in my room," I ordered, pointing towards the kid.

My vision was blurry, but I could see someone scooping him up and taking off. The pain flared again, and I let out a scream of agony. At least I think I did, I couldn't tell at this point. I could feel myself slipping away, but willed myself to hold on. I stood up, lurching towards the door with my head still in my hands.

I made it to the grass before finally letting go.