Chapter 12

A/N

To be clear, these next few chapters will be extremely important to my future chapters, so pay attention intensively. You might miss a thing or two and get superrr confused.

Marvel quote;

"Director Fury, the council has made a decision."

"I recognize the council has made a decision, but given that it's a stupid-ass decision, I've elected to ignore it."

Sassy Nick Fury to the World security-not -my-division-dumbasses

~~@ @ @~~

The air is quiet.

The jet is quiet.

Nobody speaks.

Nobody bothered to.

The pain and confusion from my team are wafting back at me and as much as I try to ignore it I find it impossible to do so.

So I let it happen.

Feeling their emotions run rampant and free makes the pounding in my head grow even more.

I should stop.

But I won't.

I'm doing this for them.

They needed help.

My powers were slowly returning to their original fervour but it will take time.

Lots of it.

So for now, every energy I am able to collect is being sent out back to my team, in calm lulling waves.

They were in distress.

And I had to help them.

I need to.

Even though they are unable to say it, I know they are grateful I was doing it.

So despite the fact that my body is telling me not to overdo it, not to heal but to simply rest, I refused to stand by and watch as the team's emotions crumble apart before me.

The air in the Quinjet is heady with something dark.

I don't know what it is, but it's too stressful to ignore.

Scarlet had hit every one of us, exactly where it hurts.

"The news is loving you guys," Maria's voice echoes along with the jet, sounding somewhere from the corner. "No one else is."

Flashes of what happened in the City invaded my mind. I can still remember the destruction, the screams from the civilians as they ran.

"There's been no official call for Banner's arrest, but it's in the air."

I watch as Banner wraps the blanket around him even tighter, body huddled impossibly close. The Russian is sitting quietly next to him, eyes down, having no idea what else to say.

Thor is pacing quietly in the corner, his eyes flashing back and forth.

Steve was no better. He looked like he's seen a ghost.

Tony, is at the front of the Quinjet, talking to Maria. He shakes his head, sighing. "Stark Relief Foundation?"

"Already on the scene," Maria nods in reply. "How's the team?"

Like shit.

Tony glances around at us, his gaze forlorn. "Everyone's..." He shrugs, having no idea what else to say. "We took a hit. We'll shake it off."

Nobody expected us to be hit as hard as we did and it pains me even more.

We've always been Earth's mightiest heroes, something children talk about in excitement when they watch TV.

But here we were now, reduced to nothing but shells.

Maria is quick to understand we won't be of any help any time soon if we didn't rest. "Well for now I'd stay in stealth mode, and stay away from here."

Tony leans over the monitor and raises an eyebrow. "So, run and hide?"

Maria's face fall. She too has no idea how to deal with this. "Until we can find Ultron, I don't have a lot else to offer."

"Well," Tony shakes his head. "Neither do we."

The monitor shuts off and he approached Barton who was piloting from the cockpit.

"Hey, you wanna switch out?"

Barton had been one of the lucky ones, considering he wasn't mind-controlled. Despite that, he was doing great at keeping calm and collected.

"No, I'm good." Clint gives a small smile, head shaking. "If you wanna get some kip, now's a good time, cause we're still a few hours out."

Tony's brow furrowed. "A few hours from where?"

I watch Clint shrug. "A safe house."

God knows we needed that.

Wherever safety is, that is--

I shift on my seat, letting out a whimper when my stomach injury complained. My energy was depleted, the flesh was slowly healing.

Or, was it healing at all...?

I can't think of that right now, my main concern is relieving the team's distress. Whatever energy I've been gathering is simply being sent back out.

They were my priority.

They came first.

Yet, I can't ignore the dark energy pulsing at the back of my mind, the burn climbing a deep path up my heart.

It's not trying to control me. But I don't know what it's doing either.

It just feels like they're engraining themselves deep into my bones, marking their claim over the entirety of my being.

Accepting me.

"Hey," Tony walks over to me and gingerly sits on the bench beside my form. "You good?"

No.

Yes.

I wasn't sure.

I've lost track of everything.

I relaxed onto his shoulder, allowing my head to lean over him, feeling the world sway on its axis.

I was so tired.

He wraps an arm around me and I accepted the affection, too tired to complain.

"You're so stubborn," Tony chuckles, swiping at the stray hairs that had fallen on my face. "That couldn't have gotten any worse."

He was referring to the time when I refused to let go of the Hulk when we were still in the City.

"I'm sleepy," I tell him, my eyes slowly shutting close.

The room is darkening, my senses are disappearing and my groggy mind speaks up before I can stop it.

"I was in Scarlet's dreams too, you know..."

Tony stiffened but doesn't move, apparently wanting to know more.

"You were there... all of you..."

I am unaware that everybody has turned in attention to what I was saying. I am unaware of how slow my heart has gotten, or how cold my body has become.

"What did you see Blues?" Tony prodded, his hand squeezing my shoulder, making me open my eyes to see his brown orbs darken in concern.

What did I see?

"You, them... dead. I killed you."

It's cold. Why was it so cold? I start to shake, the tips of my fingers turning blue. I don't even realize my powers have stopped altogether.

My brain is foggy. Everything is foggy.

"Why are you not healing?" Tony's hands drift down to my stomach, to the burnt wound, realization dawning. "What's happening?"

"The pain... oh god the pain..."

I can't remember what happened. Nor can I stop it. The scent of smoke is still so clear, the bloody red skies as the me in the vision marches forward, intent to kill.

"There were these... jewels..."

"Blues--" He palms my drooping face and turns over, laying me down on the bench so I could see nothing but the ceiling above. "Hey, don't fall asleep!"

Something is wrapping around my chest, squeezing it to the point that I gasp. It squeezed and squeezed until I could no longer feel my body.

Everything was going numb.

I felt my heart pound.

I felt it slow.

Shadows cross over my darkening vision, their figures dissolving into nothing more but shapeless blobs.

"Tony?" Was that Steve?

It's the first I've heard him speak in hours.

"Blues..."

Tony voice drifted away and I shut my eyes, succumbing to my fate.