Beyond death's veil

by Canuck_Lizard

Summary:

Evgenia Shabotova was barely even an adult when she sacrificed herself to stop Thanos and saved the Universe. But is mortal death really the end for such a pure soul or are there other mysterious forces at play?

Yuu is a new student NRC with no Magic and no collection of her past. Through the "Magic of friendship" and harrowing near-death experiences, will she remember who she is? Will she be able to take on these unfathomable new threats? Or will she fall into death's grasp once and for all?

Chapter 1

Notes:

This is my first time writing a fanfiction so I don't know how well it will turn out but I hope anyone who reads this will enjoy it!

All I could hear was silence, complete and utter silence. But only for a brief moment. And then… pain. The worst pain you could ever imagine. It really only lasted a few seconds, but after what felt like forever, the pain subsided. At the same time, I finally registered the voices around me. 

“KID! Shit, kid, can you hear me?”

“Evgenia! NO no, Evgenia, why would you do that? Why…”

“ F.R.I.D.A.Y., what’s your analysis?”

I block out the sound to focus on the faces in front of me. Tony, Steve, Peter… That’s right, we did it, we brought them back! I look around at everyone crouching in front of me with varying looks of sadness and… pity? Why would they… Oh… oh no. Don’t tell me he-

“Did… did Thanos…”

“We won, kid… we won, you did it”

“He’s gone? For good?” I meant to ask with hope but my voice came out scratchy instead. God, why did everything hurt so much?

“Yeah kid, we won, all thanks to you” Bucky said with tears in his eyes. 

“Good… that’s good… argh!” I tried to sit up by leaning on my right arm, only for pain to shoot through.

“Hey hey hey, kid. Take it easy.” Tony whispered as he bent down to hold me in his arms.

“It hurts…” Right as the words leave my mouth, I hear a sob escape Peter as Quill offers him his shoulder for comfort. Funny how only a few hours ago one was holding the other in a chokehold. Wait, no, that was five years ago… I saw them disappear in front of me… Before I could finish my thought, I sensed Mantis behind me. A feeling of relief floods my mind right as her hands touch my head.

“Is everyone… safe?”

“Yes kiddo, everyone is safe and sound now, the whole universe, all thanks to you…” Wanda’s voice entered my mind.

“Thank you… all of you…” the words left my mouth as my vision started to fade. They say the last sense you lost is hearing. My eyelids started getting too heavy to keep open. The last thing I heard was a soft thud. Scratch that, there were multiple thuds, one after the other. If I had a crazy guess, I’d say that the Avengers were all kneeling. Something reserved as an act of respect to a fallen hero, a teammate, a comrade, a family member. Now why would they do that? I’m perfectly fine and I didn’t see anyone else with any life-threatening wounds…I think as visions of my past flood through my mind.

---

 

A few hours earlier…

It was chaos. Thanos and his army were going to win. Looking over to Steve, I only saw the pure determination on his face. Even with only half the heroes left, he was ready to fight until the end. That gave me all I needed not to fall into despair. I fought every enemy I could get my hand on, but even with the incentive of a thousand suns, the hope to win was looking bleak. That was until I heard Sam Wilson’s voice say “On your left.” I hadn't heard that voice in half a decade. I couldn’t help but stare in awe at the sight before me.  All the heroes were coming through various orange circles. Some I knew, some I didn’t. We had a whole ass army at the ready. Oh hell yeah, now we’re fighting. There’s no way we’ll lose again. It won’t happen. I won’t let it happen. 

---

 

9 years ago…

I laid on my back as the rain poured over me. The raindrops seeping through the holes of my jeans, courtesy of whichever of Loki’s underlings decided to wreak havoc on this neighbourhood. I thought they had stopped like 4 years ago or something. Oh well, nothing I couldn’t handle. The advantages with being born with health issues and taken away at the ripe old age of 8 is that you quickly learn that no one in this world can protect you other than yourself. At least, that’s what I used to tell myself. Before I met them… 

“Guys, I saw one of the Chitauri’s escape through here!” a husky male voice announced rather loudly. 

Force of habit and survival instinct made me scramble quickly to hide behind one of the garbage bins nearby..

“Is it dead?” A female voice asks.

BAM!

I silently curse my awful spatial awareness for making me bump into the garbage bin so hard I might as well have announced my presence over a megaphone.

“Someone’s here.” A third voice adds.

Before I can even attempt to leave quietly I find myself in front of the one and only Ironman. With his laser weapon pointed directly at me.

Shit.

---

 

Back to the present

No one moved as the avengers paid their respects to the fallen hero. One that was taken way too soon. Half of them got to spend multiple years more with Evgenia than the other half. Last time they saw her (Bucky, Wanda, Peter, the guardians of the galaxy, T'Challa, Shuri…) she was barely even a teenager. It was quite a surprise for them when a new young woman was fighting alongside them against Thanos.

Peter thought he was hallucinating when they reunited briefly. It wasn’t until K.A.R.E.N. analyzed her DNA (don’t think too much on this part) that he recognized her. He had so many questions he was dying to ask. How is high school? Did she join the sports team or any clubs? Did Tony make that cool-ass looking suit? Has she explored other fighting forms? Did she drink or eat today? What the fuck is going on? One second he was fighting for his life on another planet and the next he’s back one art in, Wakanda was it?

Sadly, the young spider-boy would never get an answer to any of those questions. All he could do was lean into Quill’s embrace for comfort. He didn’t even know the guy, but he could tell that he was equally distraught at the sight before him. It felt like hours passed before someone, Pepper, managed to pull Tony out of his trance. The man couldn’t let go of his hold on the girl he considered his own.

He didn’t even want to have kids until he actually felt what it was like to be a parent. Peter Parker’s arrival only amplified that want for a family. When he saw the two briefly reunite in the middle of the battle, he was happy at the thought that his family would be whole again. Peter, Evgenia, Morgan, Pepper and him.

That dream was ripped to shreds however, when he saw her snap her fingers. A noble sacrifice, but he couldn’t help but think that it should have been him, or anyone else really. A selfish thought but one he had nonetheless. He couldn’t save her and he was going to make sure that she gets the goodbye she deserves.

He didn’t let go even when her body got cold. He didn’t let go even when they were transported back to the Royal Palace of Wakanda. He only let go when her body was placed in the morgue (don’t ask me why they have a morgue in the palace, I don’t know either.) He couldn’t wait to go home and hold Morgan in his arms, the same that once held the body currently frozen in a drawer.

 

---

 

A few days later

“I can’t believe that she’s really gone.” 

“ I know Parker, it’s tough but.. she would be proud. To see all of us able to be gathered here together.” Happy replied, giving Peter a well-deserved hug. 

“How are you holding up Rogers?”

“She was just a kid, Tony. Not even 18…”

“I know Rogers, I know. Think of the time she got to spend with us, her family.”

“Do you remember the first day we met her? Seven years ago…” 

Ironman sensed a foreign presence before anyone else did. That’s how he managed to appear before the stranger that defeated Loki’s creature. Only, this stranger could not have been older than 8…

“Rogers, we have an injured civilian here, get medical ready at the tower.”

My presence must have scared the child as she nearly hit her head on the brick wall while trying to back away from me. Poor thing was wounded all over and looked nearly frightened to death. 

“Hey kid, relax, I’m not going to hurt you”

That was the wrong thing to say. The little girl bolted and would have escaped had the rest of the team not gathered at the exit. Thankfully, a certain redhead assassin managed to grab her just in time. She’s a fighter, I’ll give her that, but the effects of her wounds must have caught up with her as she slumped over in defeat. Still conscious… barely.

Shortly after, the S.H.I.E.L.D. an ambulance arrived, ready to take us back to base. The little one slept in Natasha’s arms as agents made a quick assessment of her injuries. In the meantime, F.R.I.D.A.Y. scanned through all the files to try and find her legal guardians. By the time we got to the medical wing, the AI hadn’t found anything conclusive. Guess she’ll have to stay here for now. Little did we know the impact this little gremlin would have on all of us.

---

 

???

It doesn't matter where one may currently be, but rather, where one is going. For ages, I have been searching far and wide, high and low. Just as I was about to give up hope, you arrived. You are more important than you will ever know. You are the key, the saviour, the healer. My dear, come forth so that I may grant you a gift. Only for the purest  of souls are deserving of such an offer.

 

“Ah, my dear esteemed benefactor. My proud flower of evil. You are truly the fairest one of all.” 

 

“O magic mirror, thy wisdom I entreat… Reveal unto me the visage I see…”

 

“You, whose image the Dark Mirror has beckoned forth… If your heart bids it, take the hand of the one reflected in the mirror.”

 

“As flames reduce even the stars to ash. As ice seals away even time itself. As great trees swallow even the sky. Fear not the power of darkness. Now, demonstrate your power.”

 

“ For me, for them, for you. The hour grows long and time is scarce. Keep your grip steady, no matter what may come…” 

 

“And never let go” 

Notes:

Minor grammar mistakes fixed as well as "rewriting" part of this chapter. I wrote it at midnight a few days ago and it SHOWED.

Chapter 2

It was Grim’s purring that took me out of my trance. I’ve never heard a little furball make so much noise while simultaneously sleeping peacefully, curled up on the makeshift bed I made him. Usually I would simply have to lean over to glance where he’s resting but tonight I’m standing across the room, in front of the mirror. I could’ve sworn I heard knocking again. From the corner of my eye I vaguely spot a shadow with two round ears sticking out of an equally round head. Strange. My thoughts are quickly interrupted when the ramshackle bedroom is illuminated by green sparkles of light. A small smile escapes graces my face as I make my way outside.

 

“Tsunotarou! How are you?”

“Child of man, I have been recovering well.” His eyes scan my figure, looking for any signs of discomfort. “I’m glad to see that your injuries are mostly healed.” His soft gaze lingering on my left arm, now bandage-free, courtesy of professor Crewel’s healing elixir.

 

“Yeah, it’s crazy how quickly you can heal injuries here with minimal damage.” It’s true, all that’s left of the attack is a simple scar in the shape of a rose. Reminiscent of a certain someone’s unique magic.

 

“Shall we go for a walk? The weather is quite pleasant today.” The tall fae said, offering his gloved hand.

 

“I would love that.” I replied as we strolled across nrc campus, hand in hand. 

 

“Tell me, my dear child of man, have your friends been acting up lately?”

 

“I wouldn’t call it acting up when it’s their default mode”

 

“You humour me”

 

“I try…Malleus, do you ever…” the words die on my tongue as my eyes wander to his right, well, where the right horn used to be. “feel a sort of phantom pain there?”

 

“I do not understand. The horn is partially gone, therefore there is nothing to hurt. Are you sure that professor Crewel’s potion is working?” his gaze softens as he takes in my somber expression.

 

“The potion works fine. It’s my right arm. Sometimes I get a sort of…ghostly feeling there. Like a force of power travelling from my fingertips to my shoulder. Only to feel a burning sensation soon after.”

 

Malleus stops walking. I can tell from his stern expression that he is thinking of what to say next.

 

“Child of man, it is hard for me to relate to your pain. We have a cell in our blood that prevents us from feeling significant physical agony. Unfortunately, given your memories…current state, even with my access to all the medical books in existence it is difficult to aid you if you cannot even remember what caused this…marking of your arm.”

 

A wave of sadness and fatigue washes over me. “I see… thank you for trying at least Mal-Mal.”

 

“You always come up with such strange nicknames for me…it's endearing.”

 

I feel myself slowly blush at his comment. 

 

“Speaking of, have you made any progress…?”

 

“Somewhat, I remember bits and pieces here and there. But nothing concrete. I know I had a family or I was at the very minimum part of some type of team. There were a lot of battles, many strong emotions, dust everywhere. But I can’t remember anything specific.” I omitted from telling him about my dreams. They feel connected but also…different somehow. 

 

“Interesting. I will continue to research with what information

you have given me but I cannot guarantee that there will be any substantial results.”

 

“Thank you, Tsunotarou.”

 

“Anytime dearest” and with that, we had made it back to ramshackle. I bid Malleus goodnight as he disappeared in an agglomeration of green fireflies. Not before his lips graced my forehead in a soft kiss.

 

---

The hallway nearly swallowed me whole as I tried to make my way to my locker. There is too much noise. Kids are running around trying to find whether or not they got to keep their old lockers. Students are shouting as they realize that their former classmates are now teachers. Some are crying as their former partners didn’t want to continue their relationship with someone five years younger than them. Man, the freaking blip did a number on everyone. I must have zoned out as I nearly bumped into another student. Ah crap.

“Watch where you're going Penis Parker!” 

“Buzz off Flash” MJ! and Ned is there too. 

“Whatever” The self-proclaimed jock spouts as he turns to leave.

“Thanks guys” 

“Anytime buddy” Ned says as he gives me a hug.

“You good man? You look like you’re about to cry” MJ asks.

“It’s just… I don’t know. I feel like time has barely passed and yet everything is so different. I-I m-mean, just this morning. It was so quiet. Usually, Happy would pick me up and we would just chat about whatever before dropping off Zhenya…and yet today I-I felt like such a z-zombie…I-”

My sentence was cut off as MJ and Ned both gave me a bear hug. That was also when the dam broke loose. All the emotions that I had been shoving down, grief and sadness, it all came out at once.

 

“We know buddy, we know”

“If it helps, Mr Harrington is planning a memorial for her. He asked us if we wanted to write a speech. And since you knew her best…”

 

“I-I’ll think a-about it…” I wiped a tear from my eye. “I-I think I need some t-time first”

 

I still can’t believe that this is my new reality. Well, our new reality. I met Evgenia back in the training room at the Avengers tower. I was so impressed, watching her take on the Black Widow. She failed of course, but got back up every time. At first, I thought she was just some researcher’s kiddo that managed to catch the assassin’s eye. Later I learned that she was dubbed the unofficially adopted child of the Avengers. Seeing how both our schools were right next to each other, Happy and Tony found it easier to drive us both together in the morning and afternoon, depending on their missions and our extracurricular activities. The weekend before that fateful field trip, she had just been awarded a gold medal at the Junior Middle School State Badminton Championship. I felt like such a proud older brother. We all are, proud of her, I mean. It’s crazy, she would have been in our class now, if only…

---

The cafeteria hubb was louder than usual today. Students were socializing as usual but it seemed as if everyone was getting ready for a fight. Funny, considering Malleus' overblot was only a few weeks before. In the center of the room, at a peculiarly ordinary table sat a special group of first-year students.

 

“​​The mitochondria is the fuel of the cell, it is where magic flows-”

 

“The mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell, not the fuel”

 

“Same thing Jack”

 

“Crewel won’t think as much. You do want to be an honour student, no?”

 

“Leave him be, he’s already stressed out as it is” Yuu mentioned, passing a bubble tea drink to the blue-haired boy next to her. “Here, to calm your nerves.”

 

“Thanks”

 

“He better calm his nerves alright, I ain’t failing this presentation just because goosey deucey here can’t deal with the stress.”

 

“Anh how’s yer part goin’? Ya don’t get ter dunk ahn him if yer gonna embarasse us in front of everyone.”

 

“Epel” the aforementioned nearly jumped out of his seat before turning his head to look at his house warden giving him a stern glare. “Mind your accent, I thought we had solved this issue a good while ago”

 

“Sorry, slip of the tongue” the boy replied, though once Vil had turned around he rolled his eyes dramatically in rebellion. 

 

“I’ll be fine guys, I just need to go over this one part one more time before- hic ”

 

First strike. 

 

“Spade, you alright?” Howl asked 

 

“I’m alright- *hic*”

 

Second strike.

 

“Do you need a sip of water?” The shortest of the group asked, motioning to her bottle of water with her gloved hand.

 

“No, I think that’ll make it worse- hic ”

 

Third strike.

 

“Oh hell no. You’re not getting the hiccups” Ace checked his watch dramatically “25 minutes before our final presentation!”

 

“It’s not on hic purpose! hic ”

 

“Wait wait Deuce! I know what can help! My mother used to say that you get hiccups when your brain remembers that we used to be fish! So all you have to do is think that you’re NOT a fish!”

 

Silence surrounded the table, (occasionally interrupted by Deuce’s hiccups) as all eyes turned to look at Yuu.

 

“Are you fucking stupid?!”

 

“Do you still have some of Malleus-senpai’s magic smoke inside your brain juice?”

 

“No, I think a concussion is more likely for your neurons to form a conclusion like that.”

 

“You remembered something your mom said?”

 

Silence again.

 

“Uh, I think?”

 

“The hell you mean I think ?!” the fiery red head exclaimed.

 

“I-I don’t know! It sorta just…happened.”

 

“Think of it as a good sign-*hic*, you’ve been remembering vague pieces of info here and there *hic* but just now you’ve recalled a full *hic* saying from your mother hic.

 

“That’s one way to see it.” Yuu replied, scratching her head shyly with her bandaged hand. 

 

“Couldn’t you have thought of a more useful memory? Like figuring out what on earth happened to your arm for it to look like a dragon just shot fire at it?”

 

“Thanks Ace”

 

“As much as I’m glad that you’re able to slowly recall your memories, Yuu, I believe we should be concentrating on solving Deuce’s hiccups if we want to pass Professor Crewel’s class.”

 

“I will kill yall if we fail” Epel replied “In a video game of course” he replied bashfully as Vil sent another glare for his choice of words while Rook merely chuckled in amusement. 

 

His words might seem harsh to any bystander, but in reality, any NRC student would understand Epel’s reaction. Given the messy ordeal of the last spelldrive tournament, headmage Crowley had decided to only allow students who pass their finals to participate. He figured that this way, the students would be too busy studying and stressing to conspire any grand plans to ruin the competition. Albeit this initiative considering how their opponents would be teams from other schools. But that’s too far ahead for Crowley to handle. In fact, every house warden had made the message clear that not only passing but also excelling in every exam was necessary to help restore the night raven’s reputation after a certain dragon’s overblot. Diplomatic measures were taken but there was still a sense of unease on the school body.

 

“We’ll be fiiiine, just try holding your breath for 20 seconds…”

---

It was a somber environment in ruins. A chamber that was surely once used for ceremonies, once the pinnacle of this learning establishment's grandeur, now destroyed. The battle raged on. Blue fire roamed everywhere, hitting some, missing others. The woman in red tried to fight on, as much as she could while protecting the injured. Through the chaos, she could recognize her allies. There were others, all dressed in the same uniformed robes, fighting with magic that looked like it came out of… pens??? And yet, they were all fighting the same enemy. Total strangers, fighting in unison against a common enemy to save their friend. One who had been corrupted by strong power. And then,

 

Wanda woke up.

Chapter 3

“Glad to see everyone was able to be present at this meeting” brown eyes wandered around the room “physically at least, not sure how mentally present some of us are here” as they landed on Bucky. 

 

“Sorry, some of us are still recovering from having ceased to exist for 5 years”

 

“You might forget that I also dusted, same amount of time as you”

 

“What is this meeting for again?” Steve asked, trying to loosen the tension. 

 

“I’ve called you all here to discuss the new measures that will affect the missions that you will be conducting. Considering everything that has occurred, we, or rather, the council thought that including you in these decisions would be best for your mental state.”

 

This could have just been an email, Clint thought as the meeting dragged on longer than needed. Most people here don’t even have the energy to speak, as Valentina so graciously pointed out in Bucky. Whatever, it’s all the same anyways. Government officials fucked up, rebellions, terrorist attacks that they now need us to “tame”. I should call Laura to ask her if I should pick up Shawarma for supper… Clint’s mind slowly zoned back in on the conversation, right as Steve got up to restrain Bucky from lunging at the woman.

 

“What the fuck did you just insinuate?!” The winter soldier shouted, trying desperately to wrestle his way out of the arms of America’s sweetheart.

 

“I merely meant that enough time has passed for the team to be functional again. Simply moping around depressed all day isn’t going to save anyone.” Valentina de Fontaine replied, unafraid of the super soldier being restrained just a few steps away from her.

 

“You don’t get to tell us to act functional when we’ve just lost a team member!” Bucky’s voice cracked in desperation as Steve nearly faltered in holding him back.

 

“If you cannot return to your regular operations after 5 months then what use do you have to the team?”

 

That was the wrong thing to say. Bucky managed to wiggle his way out of Roger’s hold and pounced on the director. Tony and the rest of the team waited for a moment before leaping into action. Bruce tried to grab Bucky, only to receive a metal fist in the face. Tony tried to reason with the brunette but there was a hint of apathy in his voice. Guess he didn’t appreciate that she’s been dead for a few months, get over it comment either. It wasn’t until Thor got Bucky in a chokehold that Steve managed to knock him out…somehow. The C.I.A. director then left the room, her assistant following behind her shyly. Tony and Thor checked on Bruce while Steve brought his lover-I mean, friend to medical. It wasn’t until the room was nearly empty that Clint noticed that he wasn’t alone. In the corner of the room sat a redhead, eyes glazed over as if lost in thought,

 

“Wanda? Are you good over there?”

 

That seemed to bring her out of a trance. Looking over frantically until she made eye contact with Clint. 

 

“Sorry, I was distracted by something.” her head turned around, analyzing the empty room.

 

“Where is everyone? Did something happen?”

 

“You could say that, nothing to worry about too much.”

 

The girl looked down and Clint could nearly see a tear escape as she seemed to zone out again.

 

“Actually, I’m more concerned about how you’re holding up.”

 

“Wh-what do you mean?!” the woman in crimson asked, seemingly surprised.

 

“You haven’t stopped sharing memories about little Shabotova ever since the funeral. Yet you’ve been really quiet these last few days.”

 

“Oh, it’s nothing really…”

 

“I don’t want to push you but it’s okay to talk about this stuff. I know everyone has a different way to deal with grief but it never hurts to speak to someone else. You were among the closest to her after all.”

 

“Thanks but it’s not that…well, yes and no.” she said, hands trembling gently

 

“Here, sit down” Hawkeye motioned to the most comfortable chair in the room, usually reserved for the person in the highest position of power. “Why don’t you tell me more?”

 

“Well, I’ve been having this dream…”

---

“52..53…54…c’mon buddy, you can make it to 55.”

 

“Sit-ups aren’t that easy to do when you just ingested whatever the hell Ortho spilled into my cereal earlier.”

 

“Have you considered that it was an act of punishment from the great seven for claiming that as a dessert .” 

 

“Jack says that reducing sugar is essential for gaining the right body and mindset before a sport’s competition.”

 

“And what does Jack of all people know about nutrition?!”

 

Deuce stopped working on his abs and looked up at his roommate. “Have you seen the guy? He’s got the guns of a giant!”

 

“I guesss you haaave a point…or technically Jack does”

 

Both boys turned around at the sound of the upstairs door opening, revealing a sleepy figure dressed in a turquoise night robe.

 

“Mornin” Yuu yawned as she slowly made her way down the creaky stairs. Even after the whole VDC team pitched in to fix up the place it seemed like some things never did change.

 

“Look at you sleeping beauty.” Ace whistled jokingly.

 

“Where’s Grim?” The ramshackle resident asked, too sleepy to register her friend’s comment.

 

“I don’t know, I haven't seen him since supper last night.” Deuce answered.

 

“We assumed he was with you.”

 

“Huh…well, I’m gonna make myself some coffee, you two want anything?” she spoke softly as she waddled over to the kitchen area.

 

“Nah, we already ate.”

 

Knock knock knock.

 

“Now who could that be?” The one with the heart symbol on his face asked as he went to answer the door. Deuce got up and followed right after, curious to know who would show up here so early.

 

“Hey-hey, it’s the Adeuce gang!” 

 

“Hi Cater, what’s up? I wasn’t expecting you until 7.”

 

The Heartlabyul senior turned to the barely awake yet soon to be overly caffeinated girl.

 

“It is 7 am” He said, showing the time on his phone.

 

“Oh, I must’ve overslept without Grim there to wake me…” Yuu said in between a yawn.

 

“He’s not here?” Cater asked, with a curious expression.

 

The trio of freshmen shrugged in response. 

 

“We’ll circle back to that later. Have you two seen Headmage Crowley’s new post on the school’s magicam account?”

 

“The one about the requirements to participate in the tryouts for the spelldrive team? That’s been out for over a week dude.” 

 

“Ace! You can’t talk to a senior like that.”

 

“Deuce is right and you’re wrong, freshie.” Cater replied with a smug look on his face. “I’m talking about the one that just got posted a half-hour ago!” He exclaimed, shoving his phone in front of the fiery redhead. 

 

New Official Reglementations regarding the upcoming interscholastic spelldrive tournament. To avoid inner conflict regarding the limited selection of participants and to promote camaraderie, the school board has decided to make additional changes. Instead of having one team per school, we will allow one team per grade. Therefore, each school will have 3 teams instead of one, battling for the win. Additionally, there will be 2 awards instead of one for the winning team: The winning teams within their year will battle it out for the overall number 1 prize. Each school involved needs to submit the list of chosen participants before April 30th. 

 

“No way! That’s so cool!”

 

“I don’t fully understand, weren’t we already battling it out for first place to break our losing streak against RSA?”

 

“Yes you dummy, but this means that we have a higher chance of getting chosen! We will have a team for first years, another for second years and lastly one for 3rd years.”

 

“Oh, I see..”

 

“Anygays,” Cater replied, bringing the attention back to him in typical diva fashion. “I passed by our local bat-fae friend on my way here and he wanted me to give you this.” he handed an envelope to Yuu. 

 

Dear Miss Yuu,

It is my pleasure to formally invite you to the royal coronation of his majesty, my grandson prince Malleus Draconia. I have heard many tales concerning your person and would enjoy the chance to finally meet you in the flesh. Please respond to your earliest convenience.

Sincerely,

M.D. 

Chapter 4

Notes:

I tried to write a longer chapter but after reviewing it with a friend I realized that it was genuinely really bad. I could not in good conscious post it so here's a short chapter to keep you fed in the meantime.

The tunnel stretched on, as if never ending. The figure had been walking for hours and yet didn’t feel tired at all. There was no worry of fatigue. Every basic human need was met, hunger, thirst, energy…It felt peaceful. A rare commodity for this particular person. Finally, there was light. The figure was no longer shrouded in darkness. Instead, it was surrounded by a mystical forest. Flowers of every kind bloomed in a mosaïque. The view was ethereal. Breathless, the figure didn’t notice the presence of another behind her. That is, until it spoke…

“Beautiful, isn’t it?”

The figure turned around slowly. Eyes wide in recognition. This wasn’t just any stranger in a dream. The young man’s soft features came into view. This was someone she knew personally. The wind blew through his short grey…no not grey…

“Silver?”

“Yes Yuu, it’s me.”

“I didn’t realize I had fallen asleep.”

“You’re not the only one. Kalim fell asleep before me at our study hangout/party. He’s been stressing non-stop about the tryouts coming up.”

“I see…Wait but that doesn’t explain why you’re here, in my dream.”

“I’m not quite sure honestly. I was hoping to enter Kalim’s to try and soothe his mind but I felt this sort of pull. I followed it and ended up here.”

“Have you ever been witness to a dream like this? I didn’t know my mind could come up with such a breathtaking environment.”

Silver’s eyes narrowed in concentration. “I have, once. It was a long time ago so I’m not fully certain how similar it was to yours. I believe it was in one of Lilia’s dreams.” he spoke while slowly walking through the forest, careful not to step on any flora. Yuu followed his steps, eagerly waiting for the boy to continue. “It was before the war. Before princess Maleanor and Levan were even married. A time of peace and prosperity.” he stopped in front of a tree stump blocking his path.

“I wonder what this means…” Yuu whispered

“On a different note, how is your amnesia?” the knight asked, turning back to look at her. “I heard from Sebek that you managed to recall your mother mentioning something about fish and hiccups?”

“Oh that. I’m not sure, it sort of just happened. I’m working on remembering things, really I am. I just get small glances of what seemed like a past life with no extra details.”

“How so?”

“The only constant I have is this woman who sometimes visits me. She’s saying these words but I don’t understand the language she’s speaking. It’s so frustrating! I have no idea what she’s communicating but somehow I know that it’s important. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do!”

Silver’s gloved hand came to rest on the girl’s shoulder in an attempt to comfort. She didn’t even realize as tears were now flowing down her cheek and onto the ground.

“Does this woman visit you in your dreams or…?”

“Not always. Sometimes I zone out in class and next thing I know she’s standing in the corner next to Lucius or coach Vargas. Heck, half the time she doesn’t even say anything, she just looks at me. I-It’s not even staring! I feel like I’m going c-crazy!” The girl cried out into Silver’s chest.

“Sounds to me like someone’s spirit is trying to contact you.”

“B-but w-why?”

“I don’t know” the boy sighed sadly. “But I have an idea of who might. Come to Diasomnia next time you have the chance and we’ll try to help. We do owe you after all” he chuckled lightly.

“Sounds like a good idea” The girl sniffed, wiping her face with the back of her hand. “Sorry, I think I got some snot on your chest.”

The boy only smiled. “It’s nothing my magic in the real world can’t fix, don’t stress.”

They continued walking through the forest in silence, occasionally stopping to admire the wildlife within the scenery.

Chapter 5

“This conversation is going nowhere.” Azul lamented, raising his arms in desperation. The housewardens and their vices agreed in unison. No one could understand why the headmage called for this emergency housewarden meeting. The man himself didn’t bother showing up on time. Finally, after a good amount of time had passed, the feathered man’s appeared.

 

“Greetings students. Glad to see that everyone is here. Have you all discussed the relevant subject?” The man asked.

 

“We haven’t been told what the relevant subject matter even is.” Riddle replied, face palming. 

 

“Such troubled youths, always leaving the work up to the adults” Crowley sighed. “In any case, do you all  have the papers necessary to submit the list of participants for each team for your respective dorms?”

 

Both Azul and Riddle had their papers at the ready. Azul’s were stapled together and laminated in a folder. On the other hand, Riddle’s papers were neatly placed in a binder. Each list and information separated with a different color for each year. Azul eyed the shorter boy’s work. Jealousy tickled at the back of his mind. I should’ve thought of that. 

 

Vil had a similar idea. Only, his papers were separated with different high-quality glitter stickers with the dorm’s logo. Noticing the nervous look on the white-haired boy next to him, the superstar spoke up. 

 

“Where is your work Kalim?”

 

The Al-Asim heir held his hands together to stop them from shaking as everyone was staring at him intently. He could have sworn they weren’t due until next week! Right as he was about to speak however, another, deeper voice chimed in.

 

“Here Kalim, you forgot them in the library printer earlier.” Jamil said as he handed the folder to his Housewarden. 

 

So much for independence. Kalim thought, mentally hitting himself. How could he forget something so simple?!

 

Leona grumbled as he shifted in his seat. His ears were pinned back in annoyance. He could’ve been sleeping right now if it weren’t for this crazy bird man wanting to be the first school to submit the necessary information. He must have some sort of bet going on with the other headmages. The lists didn’t need to be submitted until April 30th. He lazily checked his phone: 18:00, April 12th. Whatever, he’ll just have Ruggie submit them virtually later tonight. Having finally found a somewhat comfortable position on the chair, the lion beastman was about to snooze off peacefully.

 

Suddenly, green light engulfed his vision. The Savanaclaw student let out a growl at the surprise visit of the man before him. Great, it’s the one time Malleus Frickin Draconia decides to show up for a Housewarden meeting and it’s right when he was about to fall asleep. Just great. He internally screamed.

 

“I have my papers ready.” The fae said in a neutral tone. 

 

Everyone was spooked, no one dared to move or say anything. It was the first time that Malleus had presented himself to a Housewarden meeting with the necessary material. Even Crowley had to take a moment to compose himself before accepting the dead tree pieces. 

 

“Why thank you young Draconia. How nice is it to have you grace us with your presence today! I was half-expecting sir Vanrouge to show up instead…” Crowley muttered the last part. 

 

“I have been trying to get a better grasp on my responsibilities as Housewarden before my journey at NRC ends.” The fae responded calmly. “Why should that come as a surprise?”

 

“No worries there, always glad to see a youth show interest in responsibility.”

 

The other students in the room looked at Crowley with an “Are you serious?” expression. 

 

“No one asked but I’ll just send mine later tonight, unless I forget.” a floating tablet said.

 

“Now that everything regarding the participants is dealt with, I have an announcement to make.” The birdman clapped his hands enthusiastically. 

 

“What now?” Azul sighed. He’ll have to stay up late reviewing the monstro lounge’s finances again. He hoped Floyd wouldn’t cause any crazy commotion again or that Jade wouldn’t accidentally poison a customer with his mushroom experiments. 

 

“We will be hosting a few guests here in preparation for the tournament.”

 

“What kind of guests?” Schonheit asked, wary of the possibilities. 

 

“RSA” 

 

Various loud groans and disgruntled noises escaped the people present at the gathering. 

 

“You can’t be serious”

 

“Those stuck up perfect princes will ruin our team spirit!”

 

“Nonsense! If anything, we believe that this will promote school spirit. A gentle nudge in the direction of motivation. A boost to make students train harder and better.” The masked fae replied, attempting to reclaim control of the room.

 

“I value and treasure my personal space greatly. I will not stand for our main rivals to pollute it with their mere presence.” Vil said sternly, looking at his shiny purple nails. 

 

“Agreed. I will not stand to have my dear Mostro Lounge bothered by them. ” 

 

“Regardless of pre-established policy? I thought any supposed good businessman like you would refrain from going back on your words.” Riddle asked, poking at the bear.

 

“That concerns NRC students. It is to avoid conflicts between different dorms. The RSA students are a different breed.”

 

“Gentleman, gentleman, let’s all take a moment to breathe. Your complaints have been heard and I believe it or not, I have in fact, made preparations for this.”

 

“Such as?” Leona asked, not quite ready to trust the man before him.

 

“The solution should be arriving right…”

 

A knock was heard at the door. 

 

“Now” Crowley said as he turned to open the door in his typical overdramatic fashion. The door opened to reveal…

 

“Yuu?!” All housewardens, including Idia’s tablet, exclaimed curiously.

 

“Yes that’s my name” she replied with a deadpan voice. She shifted her attention to Crowley. “You requested my presence?”

 

“Yes of course.” He took his seat behind his desk. “Students, this is your nearly appointed event manager. Miss Yuu will be hosting our guests which will in turn allow you to focus on your respective dorms.”

 

“I-what?!” Yuu asked, surprised at this new development.

 

“Sir, you can’t possibly think that letting these foreign male guests stay with our only female student is the best solution, let alone a good idea.” 

 

“I agree with Kingscholar. Yuu is magicless and lives alone other than Grim. Who’s to say the RSA student’s won't take advantage of the situation?” Malleus added.

 

The others nodded in agreement. It didn’t take a genius to see the flaw in Crowley’s “GREAT PLAN”.

 

“Your concerns are valid. However, it is no secret that Miss Yuu has proven herself to be rather resilient, has she not? I mean, living in an all-boys school as the only girl is not an easy feat. Not to mention the magicless aspect.”

 

I’d be more worried about her staying in one of your dorms. The birdman thought.

 

“In any case, the headmage Ambrose will be there as well to keep an eye out and make sure that no funny business occurs. Really, there is no need to worry so much.”

 

The meeting concluded shortly after with Crowley not budging on his decision. The housewardens silently made a pact to check in on Yuu themselves, not yet trusting their rival school’s principal. It had gotten late and most housewardens had to return to their duties. A certain semi-horned man stayed behind however.

 

“Child of man, may I ask you a question?”

 

“I think you just did.”

 

Malleus chuckled lightly. “You humour me”

 

“I try”

 

“Will you be participating in an exhibition match this year? I don’t recall it being mentioned earlier.”

 

“I had thought about it but considering what happened last time…” Yuu winced, recalling being knocked out by the spell disk. “And even besides that, Grim doesn’t want to.”

 

Malleus’s eyebrows perked up. “I’m sorry, did I hear correctly? Grim doesn’t want to play spell drive in front of a huge crowd? That is one of his dreams, is it not?”

 

“I don’t know, he’s been acting…off lately. He hasn’t been eating with us. He doesn’t like tuna anymore and half the time I don’t even know where he is at night.”

 

“Strange. Perhaps he is just stressed about the competition itself?” 

 

“It’s a possibility…Oh! Could you give me your grandmother’s means of contact? I got this letter a day or two ago but I don’t know how to send a reply to Briar Valley…”

 

Malleus smiled warmly. “Leave it to me, I’ll make sure the message is passed.” He said, grabbing the letter she offered. 

 

“I’m sure that she’ll be more than happy to finally see you in person.”

---

 

“Morgan Stark, you need to stand still.” Pepper said as she placed sunscreen on her daughter’s arms. 

 

“I don’t like how it feels.”

 

“I know honey but we don’t want you to come home with a sunburn now do we?”

 

If there was one thing that Stark’s youngest daughter hated more than sunscreen, it was a nasty sunburn. The whole family really did. That’s why they opted to have a picnic in the shade. Morgan really wanted to go play with the other kids in the park structures which is why she must now deal with the horror that is sunscreen.

 

“Can I go play now?” 

 

“Yes dear, you may go play. Just don’t go too far. Daddy and Peter are on their way. I’ll let you know when they’re here so that we can eat.”

 

“Okay!” the little girl said as she ran off to go play on the swing.

 

It was a swell afternoon in spring. Not too warm like summer and not too cold like winter.

 

“Do you want to play with us?” A little boy with curly ginger hair asked.

 

“Sure!” She followed him towards 3 other kids playing near the sandbox.

 

“We’re trying to make the biggest castle possible!” the little boy explained.

 

“You’re trying to make the biggest castle. I’m making a mermaid fortress!” A little girl with strawberry pink hair contested.

 

“You can’t do that! You don’t have any water!” The ginger argued.

 

“My mommy says that it’s supposed to rain soon!”

 

“Your mom!”

 

“What?” Both girls asked in unison.

 

“That’s what my big brother says when I talk to him. He says that I can win ANY argument with it!”

 

“That’s true! My big sis used to say that too!” Morgan added. 

 

Before the other girl could say anything, the boy spotted a bunny not far from where they were playing.

 

“Bunny!” He shouted and ran after it to try and catch it.

 

“Hey I want to pet the bunny!” the blonde girl said before also running off after the animal.

 

Not wanting to lose her two new friends, who she would later learn are called Maddie and Noah, the young Stark chased after them as well. 

 

They didn’t run far. The chase really only lasted for about 5 minutes. It ended when the bunny disappeared behind a foot stump. The trio looked around confused for a little bit before Maddie slipped and fell into a hole. She tried to hold on to Noah, whose arm was grabbed by Morgan who was then dragged into the hole. 

 

None of them were really injured. Moreso confused about what had just happened. It appeared that they had fallen into a rabbit hole. Only this one didn’t hold any lettuce or carrots or a nest for the little baby bunnies. No, this looked more like someone’s base. 

 

Cushions and blankets were shoved in one corner. As if someone had attempted to create a bed. A variety of food was displayed in another corner in an odd disarray. Milk cartons were spilled over as if they had been left out of the fridge for days. And yet, there was no spoiled milk smell. Noah grabbed a carton that was about to fall and was surprised that it felt cold. Almost like someone managed to keep it refrigerated without using a fridge.

 

Newspaper clippings were all over the walls. Most of them were about the battle of earth while others focused more on the infinity stones. Morgan was distraught at the sight before her: A portrait of her sister snapping her fingers with the infinity stones. 

 

“This place is freaky,” Noah whispered.

 

“MORGAN! MORGAN where are you?! Tony and Peter are here!” Pepper’s voice was heard not too far off in the distance.

 

“I-I should g-go” the aforementioned girl said, suddenly taken out of her trance.

 

“Yeah me too” Noah replied next to her

 

“Wait! I found this, it has your sister’s face on it!” Maddie said as she placed a notebook in her hands.”

 

“How do you know what my sister looks like?” 

 

“I heard you say big sis when you were staring at that portrait over there.” Maddie replied pointing at the portrait. 

 

The trio climbed out of the rabbit hole and made their way back to their families. Morgan ran and jumped in her dad’s arms to give him a hug when she saw him. Not before hiding the notebook in her pocket. She sees the way he looks sad whenever anything regarding Zhenya is seen or mentioned. Today is a fun day! No one should cry on a fun day!

 

No one noticed the notebook she hid. No one other than Peter Parker. He thought it was nothing at first. Little girls tend to keep diaries all the time. It was only when he noticed the logo on the back of  the notebook. A raven holding two keys while flying inside of a mirror. A chill crawled up his spine, his spidey senses were tingling. That doesn’t happen randomly. His spider senses are only ever active to serve one purpose and one purpose only: A warning of great danger.

Chapter 6

April 15th, 2pm

 

“Did you hear the news?” 

 

“About the spell drive teams? Apparently Ignihyde Housewarden’s computer nearly exploded because he didn’t format the file the right way or something.” A student from Scarabia said.

 

“No not that!” the Octavinelle student replied before breaking into a whisper. “Rumor has it that our rivals are going to be staying here in preparations for the tournament.” 

 

“That’s gotta be false. Are any of the other schools involved going to be visiting?” a bobcat student questioned.

 

“No, I overheard Houswarden Vil explicitly state that it was only going to be a few students from Royal Sword Academy exclusively.”

 

“That’s preposterous!” The Savanclaw student exclaimed rather loudly before being shushed by his friends. “Does the headmaster want us to be spied on?”

 

“That’s a quick conclusion to make.”

 

“You don’t get a word in this you scarabian worm! Your dorm has ranked dead last in every competition this school has had for the past 2 years.”

 

“Like yours is any better! Your Houswarden tried to hurt all of us before going berserk! I still have sand in my ears!”

 

“Oh you little snake!” The beastman student shouted before pouncing on the Scarabian student. Being slightly caught off guard, the boy tried to back up only to trip and fall onto the Octavinelle student. The 2nd year’s hat fell to the ground in unison with it’s owner’s body. Now all three were on top of each other. 

 

That didn’t stop the savanaclaw junior. He aimed to punch the purple-haired boy in the face. Only, the boy in question chose to duck. As a result, the innocent Octavinelle student got a black eye. The fight continued with the merperson-in-human-form taking the brunt of the hits.

 

Fights like these weren’t uncommon at NRC. In fact, going more than a week without a major fight is a privilege only reserved for the post-overblot recovery period. 

 

There really wasn’t anything special about this brawl. The only difference was the identity of the person who had just entered this particular area of the main hallway.

 

“Ahem”

 

All three boys turned to look at the newcomer. 

 

“Yuu?!” 

 

The second-year students quickly scrambled to their feet.

 

“Prefect! H-how are y-you? W-what b-brings you here?”

 

“You d-didn’t h-happ-pen to see anything, d-did you?” 

 

The main assailants asked nervously. Meanwhile, the Octavinelle student could barely stand properly. 

 

Yuu sighed in desperation. She knew exactly who these students were and why they were stuttering just from her walking in. There were two main reasons. 1: She’s a girl and they’re die-hard simps. 2: They’re scared that she’ll tell them to their respective dorm leaders. 

 

Her femininity was never a secret. It would just cause unnecessary stress. To any regular outsider, it might seem like a dumb thing to leave out in the open. But to those on the inside, it was quite a smart move. 

 

When she first arrived at Twisted Wonderland, there were some students who thought it would be funny to pick on the new magicless student. In fact, a group of first years had tried to jump her on her second day as half a student. Needless to say, both sides were surprised to see that none of the basic spells had any effect on Yuu. It seemed like there was a forcefield blocking the magical attacks.

 

This didn’t stop them however. They resorted to physical attacks. Or, they at least tried to do so. Her reflexes kicked into gear and she managed to take them out one by one. Word quickly spread of the quadro’s defeat. A mysterious magicless student who’s immune to basic attacks and fights like a trained assassin at NRC? Who would’ve thought! 

 

Unfortunately, Yuu still had to deal with the occasional challenger but it was mostly just for fun, if you could believe it. Stronger spells did affect her, the thorn scars on her legs serving as proof. But the third-years were too busy with post-secondary jobs and higher education applications. Most second-years thought that combatting a magicless student (regardless of gender) was beneath them. 

 

Not to mention how Yuu’s closeness with nearly all of the dorm leaders certainly played a part in keeping the more rowdy scholars at bay.

 

“Alright, here’s what’s going to happen.” she said, approaching the trio.

 

The boys in question tensed up.

 

“I have no idea what started, whatever that was. Nor do I plan on wasting your dorm leader's precious time dealing with yall.”

 

The boy’s posture relaxed slightly.

 

“T-thank you prefect! Your generosity is much ap-”

 

“On ONE condition.” 

 

The boys tensed up again as the girl took control of the room. 

 

“Y-yes?”

 

“Your friend over here looks like he’s about to pass out.” The prefect said, pointing at the barely-conscious octavinelle student. “You two are going to bring him all the way to the infirmary.”

 

“Oh, sure that’s not a problem.”

 

“Yeah we can do that” they said, taking out their magic pens.

 

“On foot.”

 

…

 

“You can’t be serious.”

 

“That’s on the other side of the school!” 

 

“Tough luck. Unless you prefer whatever punishment Leona and Kalim will dish out.”

 

“WE’LL WALK!” they shouted in unison, rapidly scooping up their friend before he hit the floor.

 

“It’s the fifth time this has happened today.” Yuu groaned, making her way to Heartslabyul. “I’m gonna be late for the unbirthday party.” she mumbled, looking at her watch.

…

 

“Seems you were right in your judgement after all, Crowley.”

 

“Why do you sound so surprised Ambrose? I find that I am quite often right.” 

 

“”Yes, well, the losing streak of your chosen team for the interscholastic spell drive tournament would say otherwise.” the wizard said with a chuckle.

 

“A win is earned on the field and nowhere else.” the birdman replied defensively. 

 

“Perhaps. Whichever the case, let’s hope that this visit will help strengthen friendly rivalries between both our schools.” the man with the long beard replied, emphasizing on the word friendly.

 

“With our resident prefect Yuu, it should go very smoothly.”

 

“Yes, it seems as if Miss Yuu is quite the peacekeeper.”

 

---

 

“Peter, do you mind calling Morgan for supper please? She should be playing in her room right now.” Pepper asked while placing the crockpot on the table.

 

“Sure thing.” The young man said as he made his way down the hallway. He passed by Happy, Tony and his aunt May having a conversation about wine. The Starks have been inviting them over a lot more often. It’s nice, even though it still feels like a piece is missing sometimes. 

 

He knocked on the purple door to his left. 

 

“Morgan, it’s time to eat. Can I come in?” he asked, leaning on the door. Peter didn’t think to check if  the door was slightly open. By placing his whole body weight at a diagonal angle, he inadvertently pushed the door open and stumbled to avoid falling flat on his face. 

 

“Uh, yes?” Morgan answered, putting her Barbie doll away in its house. 

 

“Sorry, I didn't mean to do that.”

 

“It’s okay” she replied, giving Peter a sticker with a smiley face.

 

Even though the young Stark made her way out of the room and into the kitchen, Peter stayed in the room. He couldn’t take his eyes off the object under the bed. It was that damn notebook.

 

Without thinking, he took out his phone and quickly took pictures of the pages. She would surely notice if her whole-ass notebook was gone. But if he had the pages digitized…

 

After having flipped through all the pages, he shoved the object back under the bed. No one was none the wiser when he sat down with his family to eat Shawarma.

 

…

 

“Peter what the hell is this?” Ned asked, looking at this computer.

 

The friendship trio found themselves in one of the school’s computer labs. It was the usual quiet. Not a lot of students stay behind to use  barely-of-age technology. 

 

“What, is the file not loading properly?” 

 

“It’s not a loading problem. The photo quality is just really bad.”

 

“Did you take these pictures while you were blinded or something?” MJ asked, looking from her book. 

 

“N-no. I was just in a hurry.”

 

“A-huh”

 

“Dude I’m starting to think you were blinded. Look at these pictures, they’re way too blurry to see anything properly.”

 

“Are any of them useful?” he asked, leaning in closer to the computer screen.

 

“So far, only like 2 of them.” Ned pulled up the two unblurred images. One of them was a page with unintelligible text. Something akin to Latin if it had a child with animal noises. 

 

“Well that’s pretty much useless. Unless either of you knows whatever language this is?” Spidery-boy asked with the slight hint of despair in his voice.

 

“Nope” “Sorry man.”

 

“Okay uh…let’s not lose hope here. What about the second picture?”

 

Ned displayed the second image. There was no text on this page. It looked more like a drawing. A very well-done drawing, MJ mistook for an image. 

 

Seven open coffins were lined up straight next to each other. Every coffin had a unique distinguished figure posing inside of it. A gold adorned mirror hung in the background. There was also a puddle of water reflecting different silhouettes under the figures.

 

“What the hell is this?”

 

“I’ve never seen anything like it.”

 

“I didn’t know Morgan had this much artistic talent. Kinda strange for a four year old.”

 

“Because it’s not. It’s the cover for another book entirely.” 

 

MJ fell out of her chair. Peter let a squeak escape his mouth and Ned spun around his chair so quickly he had to spin again after coming full circle. The voice that shocked them belonged to Flash Thompson. 

 

“Have you been listening to us this whole time?” MJ asked, regaining her composure. 

 

“Uh, no.” Everyone knew he was lying through his teeth.

 

“How do you know this image?”

 

“I don’t, but I’m pretty sure I’ve seen something similar in my library.”

 

“You have a library?”

 

“Yeah, cuz I don’t know if you noticed, but I’m like suuuper rich.” He brag.

 

“T-That’s great! Can we see it?” Peter asked with hope in his eyes.

 

“Now why would I just give it to you losers?” He asked in an overly dramatic matter.

 

“Uh, because you’re also curious about this image or else you wouldn’t have bothered to come talk to us to bring it up?” MJ replied sarcastically.

 

“ Fine . Stop by my house on Sunday and I’ll show you through my library. Oh, and make sure you wear some good quality clothing. I have a reputation to uphold and I can’t be seen hanging around a bunch of homeless-looking people.”

 

“Thanks Flash.” Peter replied with a deadpan expression.

 

“Whatever.” He muttered as he left.

 

Peter turned around to notice MJ staring at him intently. 

 

“What?”

 

“You seriously need to start standing up for yourself more.” 

 

“She’s right dude, it’s not sexy with the ladies.”

 

“Wait, whose side are you on here?” 

 

The trio continued their friendly banter for a little bit before exploding in laughter.

 

A little further away, outside of the school, a certain Flash Thompson smiled gleefully at his phone.

 

Flash: Mother, may I invite some friends over for a study session this weekend?

 

---

 

The tunnel stretched on, as if never ending. The figure had been walking for hours and felt so tired. They dragged their feet, blistered from having walked for so long without any rest. Everything hurt like hell. They were hungry. They were thirsty.

 

But they couldn’t stop. Running was out of the question. What was the purpose of using what little energy they had left to advance if they were going to pass out later as a result. 

 

That was a bad idea. They didn’t want to leave themselves vulnerable to…those things. 

 

Black spiders of all sizes were chasing after them in the never-ending tunnel. Each one of them had a splash of red adorning its back. 

 

Black Widows. Black widow spiders were chasing the figure. That was, until a flash of silver brought them somewhere else.

 

The room was white, very white. Not like snow. Not like sugar. Medical, factory, perfectionist white.  

 

This…this was my first day with them…

 

Yuu sat up on the medical bed, carefully looking around. It was quiet. A comforting quiet. There was no danger here.

 

A man with short brown curly hair and rectangular glasses approached her. His lab coat swishing behind him. It’s odd. She can tell the food on the plate he’s carrying towards her. She was malnourished. These are all little details that she can easily distinguish. But the face, the name, everything else, everything important, is unintelligible. 

 

She saw her younger self run away from the man, scared of the unknown. She had managed to snatch a pen from his pocket, holding it defensively. She didn’t know (at the time) that the man didn’t mean any harm. 

 

Another man, this one taller than the other, chuckled lightly. He had a moustache and a very short beard.

 

She’s a fighter. she heard him say in her mind.

 

A feeling of warmth engulfed her as another presence joined in. It was her. The red-haired lady. 

 

She spoke in a soft and comforting voice. She even crouched down to the girl’s level. After a short moment of coaxing, she managed to get the girl to relax and be fed.

 

That’s where the memory stopped. The little girl ate happily while the scientist checked her vitals and the taller man asked her questions about her family.  That’s where it should have ended.

 

Instead, the woman turned towards present Yuu. She started speaking in that unintelligible language again. 

 

I’m sorry but I really can’t understand what you’re saying. The younger of the two ladies tried to communicate.

 

Something seemed to click in the redhead’s mind. She walked over to a whiteboard nearby and started writing in what looked like…Russian?

 

The walls started shaking. The floor was collapsing. They didn’t have much time…

 

Yuu woke up with a start. It was that damned dream again. She still couldn’t understand what the lady was saying. But now she had a visual. She made sure to grab whatever paper was nearby to quickly write down what she saw before she forgot. 

 

However, after having barely finished writing the message, a burning pain surged through her right arm. The darkened veins glowed ominously as she shoved the paper in her back pocket.

 

Looking over at Grim, she smiled softly. Relief flooded through her as she saw his curled up furball form snoring on her pillow. Sure she didn’t know when he spawned home or why he smelled like dirt and blood. But he was here, safe.

 

The smile disappeared as another wave of pain came from her arm. She wasted no time to get dressed, making sure to cover her right arm with an evening glove. 

 

It was a gift she got  from Riddle in the infirmary after his overblot. It had become a tradition of sorts. Every overblotter gifted her opera or evening gloves with the colours belonging to their respective dorms. 

 

Without lingering a moment longer, she made her way to the one place that could help her at this late hour of the night. 

 

Diasomnia.

Notes:

Scarabia student B! My love :D

Chapter 7

Something…strange is happening. People are not happy. No, they are…confused? Angry, upset. There have been too many weird occurrences for them to just be coincidences. 

 

It wasn’t unusual for Mantis to roam around the ship while everyone else was asleep. It offered a rare moment of quiet and peace. A phenomenon that did not occur often with this rag-tag group. Add an Asgard god to the mix and it is just pure chaos.

 

The view from the cockpit was so pretty. She could stare at the milky way for hours. It truly was fascinating. To be honest, she was kind of glad to finally get to visit Terra again. It had been a while.

 

It’s only been a few months since what most people call the “blip”. A weird name to call it, she thought. She honestly didn’t notice much of a difference. Sure the world had changed in the span of 5 years but her whole family (minus Rocket) had also blipped. 

 

The only thing that truly shocked her was when she saw the person who saved them all. She didn’t know the girl at all. They had briefly met on the ship with the wizard, ironman and spider boy. But she didn’t know her.

 

All she knew with the short time they had was that she had a heart of gold. Imperfect, but always trying to be better. Human. She didn’t even recognize her until the man with the metal arm said it as he nearly choked on a sob. 

 

Even without her senses, she could tell that the girl meant a lot to the Avengers. Even Rocket mentioned on more than one occasion that they could’ve been good friends. 

 

Her train of thoughts stopped as she heard footsteps behind her. 

 

“Looking forward to landing, fair maiden?” A certain blonde Asgardian asked.

 

“Yes. I look forward to meeting the others.”

 

The god of thunder made his way to make himself some food. While Mantis was still admiring the view from space, she could hear the others rising up from their beds. 

 

A few days earlier

 

“Where exactly are we going?” Quill asked while attempting to connect his mp3 player to the ship’s speakers.

 

“The Xandarians have been complaining about some signal messing with their communications systems. It’s probably just some ragety-ass scammers who messed up during a heist.” Rocket snarked as he steered the ship.

 

“Whatever it is, we will fight it with honour!” Thor shouted with enthusiasm.

 

“We have almost arrived.” Nebula added.

 

Drax chuckled as he handed a half-eaten bag of chips to Mantis. She didn’t even get a chance to grab said bag before the sound of static rang through the ship.

 

“I did it!” Quill shouted as a very distorted version of O-o-h Child started playing.

 

“That’s what you’ve been working on for the past hour?” Gamora asked, in a semi-endearing way.

 

However, the joy was short-lived. As Rocket steered the ship closer and closer to the planet Xandar, a different noise came out of the speakers. Or should I say, noises.

 

“What the hell is this?” Drax asked. 

 

The noises grew louder. It became difficult for Rocket to concentrate on steering the ship. Quill grabbed Gamora and covered her ears. Mantis tried touching Rocket’s shoulder to help him focus while Thor hit the sound control device repeatedly in an attempt to get it to stop.

 

It didn’t stop, but it did reduce the volume of the noises. Once they had regained composure, the team was finally able to distinguish what the noises even were. Or try to at least. 

 

It seemed like a mix of morse code and…animal noises?

 

“I don’t know what the hell kind of creature is responsible for giving me an ear bleed but they sure don’t have a good voice.” Rocket remarked. 

 

“No wait, it sounds like part of it is morse code.”

 

“Only a Terran would name a bunch of beeps and boops something as cool as “morse.” Drax said.

 

“Well I didn’t name it!” Quill replied defensively.

 

“Can you decipher it midgardian? We can’t really seem to pinpoint its source.” Thor questioned as his eyes stayed glued to the projector.

 

“I am Groot”

 

“No, that is not what it says.” Peter facepalm. “I don’t know morse code but I’m pretty sure that’s what it is.”

 

“That’s helpful!” Rocket exclaimed, still attempting to find the source of the annoying audio.

 

“We could just record it and bring the audio back to Terra.” 

 

“That’s an excellent idea from the green one.” 

 

Peter pulled out a device to record the audio. The odd part occurred after the recording. Suddenly, the noises stopped blaring from the speakers. Unsure of what to do, the guardians continued traversing around to see if the source of the sound had already been dealt with.

 

After a good hour or two, they got a call from Nova Corps. Whatever they had done seemed to work as the Xandarians no longer had problems with their devices. It was weird, Quill still had the recording with the matching audio but no source was ever found. 

 

With no leads left and more questions than answers, the Guardians of the Galaxy decided to pay a visit to their friends in Terra. All in hopes of finding a morse code translator. 

 

“I am Groot.”

 

“Yes, yes you are buddy. Glad to have you back home.” 

 

---

 

Stephen’s day had been…strange so far. His sleep was plagued with nightmares. Every alternate universe where Thanos won played on repeat in his mind throughout the night. He finally had enough and decided to get his day started at the wonderful hour of 4 am. 

 

He was careful to be as quiet as possible as he walked to the kitchen inside the lavish new york mansion. His dear friend Wong had been staying there to recover from everything. Even though he knew that this was the best possible outcome, it didn’t mean that the back to back fights in the blink of an eye (for those who blipped anyway) didn’t take its toll on his body. 

 

The kitchen was cold, courtesy of New York’s spring weather. Strange leaned on the counter as he searched the cupboards for a teacup. The chilly wind flew in through the opened side window. Someone must have been out late and forgot to close it. That was the only logical conclusion. The opening was barely big enough for a small pet, let alone a grown human.

 

His train of thought stopped there as he remembered something important. There was no electricity left in the mansion. He can thank the most recent mutant attack on the neighbourhood for that. it shouldn’t be a problem but the battery heater was in the basement and taking it out would most certainly wake up Wong and the others. 

 

The most logical option would be to simply manipulate the energy to warm up his tea. Stephen relaxed his mind and concentrated on the water before him. Orange magic flowed through his veins as circular discs appeared. One was on his hand whilst the other was on the counter.

 

He’s done this hundreds if not thousands of times before. It really was just an ordinary spell. Any beginner sorcerer could learn it in a flash. In all honesty, he could do this with his eyes closed.

 

Only, it didn’t work. His mind lost contact with the discs as they fizzled out and extinguished. He tried again. It must just be an accident. It was a result of his mind still reeling from the nightmares. 

 

It still didn’t work. He must have tried at least 4 or 5 times before giving up. Just what exactly was going on? The man got up and carefully put his finger in the cup. Cold. Very, very cold. 

 

It didn’t make any sense. Even if the spell didn’t work, just having the energy discs in mere proximity should have heated the water. To a lukewarm temperature at least.

 

He looked away for one second. He wanted to see if there was something interfering with his magic. If the sorcerer supreme himself couldn’t conjure a simple spell, what forces are at play here? Maybe it was another sorcerer in training trying to pull a prank on him.

 

Crash

 

Stephen’s head snapped around so quick it could have detached itself. Luckily, it didn’t (somehow). His brain was trying to understand the sight in front of him. The cup had been knocked over.

 

It didn’t break. But something made it fall and spill its content on the marble floor. Already on high alert from this sudden unfolding of events, Strange caught sight of movement from the corner of his eye. 

 

It was too quick and dark for him to clearly see what it was. He could tell that it was small, about the size of a baby pug. A Puppy. Except, it had light blue flames coming out of what appeared to be the ears. The last thing that he managed to catch a glimpse of was the creature’s tail. It was long and slightly curled. He could’ve sworn he saw a pitchfork shape at the end of it. 

 

It wouldn’t be the craziest thing he’d seen. The furball could’ve been a visiting alien for all he knew. It seemed relatively harmless all things considered. Seemingly stuck in a trance, the doctor approached the drinking vessel to clean up this mess. 

 

Big mistake.

 

With a small yelp, he retreated his arm quickly. Holding his hand under the small stove light, he could already see blisters forming on his hand. 

 

The tea was warm. 

Chapter 8

Tony had never been fond of kids. He didn’t have anything against them. He just didn’t like them. Even as a kid himself, he knew that most of his peers were just trying to use him. His own dad would try to set him up with the kids of other wealthy and powerful people. Either as friends or as lovers.

 

During his playboy era, he was always careful, even if it wasn’t obvious. Can’t have the press know that he cares. On his 16th birthday, he was finally fed up with all of his dad’s marriage talk and drew up a very looooong list of reasons why he would never have any offspring. (Rich people in his dad’s social circle had a weird obsession with “maintaining the bloodline.”)

 

Kids smelled, they were gross, loud, impulsive, needy…But they also required care, support, attention, love and affection. Tony had received a few of these things from his own parents. On the off chance that he did have some kid out there, how did he know that the kid wouldn’t be better off without him? 

 

But when that little runner somehow managed to stumble into his life, he felt something. A need to protect. Perhaps it was the way that she stared him straight in the eyes the first time they met. Or maybe it was the way that she kept fighting even when it was clear she was going to lose.

 

While Natasha was trying to get that young girl to come out from underneath the table, J.A.R.V.I.S. was scanning through all possible files for a kid matching her age and description. Still nothing. They couldn’t just leave her in the medical area forever. Bringing her to cps would also be a bad idea, she’d seen too much. Not to mention how the presence of old wounds didn’t go unnoticed. 

 

Out of all of the Avengers, Hawkeye was the only one who had experience with taking care of kids, having a family of his own and all. So she stayed there for about a week before they could finally find information on her. Asking her directly wouldn’t work. The child was very quiet and reserved. Everyone knew that she was lying whenever they’d ask questions that she deemed were too personal. Why does she feel the need for secrecy? One can only imagine.

 

Later, Tony found old medical records that matched the young girl. There were multiplied reported signs of abuse. Genetic matching showed that she had one older brother, a methhead who had just gotten out of prison for the 3rd time. In short, there was no one else to take care of her.

 

The decisions was made. She would stay with the team for the time being. Evgenia had already proven herself to be a fighter. They could train, educate and raise her to be a powerful ally. Better than being left on the streets.

 

A few months later.

 

“We appear to have a strong warrior in the making!” Thor announced proudly. His long blonde locks blew in the wind as he rested on the camping chair. Him and the team were watching Clint teach Evgenia how to shoot arrows on a moving target. 

 

“You need to stop looking at where the target is and start looking at where it’s going to be.” Hawkeye told the girl as she positioned herself to take aim. 

 

Missed.

 

“That’s okay. We’ve been at it for a while now. Do you want to take a break?”

 

“No. I want to keep trying.”

 

“We can try again later.”

 

“No. I’m not a quitter. I want to be strong to protect my mom and brother.” 

 

Clint took a moment to take it in. He knew she wasn’t referencing his family. Although she got along with all the kids perfectly well, being more of the shy and reserved type. It was kind of an open secret that Zhenya’s bio family were ass. 

 

“She’s got strong potential.” Natasha poured a glass for both Bruce and herself. 

 

“Yeah well kids can be surprising.” 

 

…

 

When they were on the battle of earth, Tony nearly had a panic attack. Never had he run that quickly after seeing his adoptive daughter snap her fingers with the infinity stones. Memories of the time spent as a family surged through his mind. 

 

Him comforting her after her first nightmare. The look of joy and awe on her face when she got to decorate her own room. The way she ran up to hug him after her team (barely) placed 3rd during her first tournament. The panic he felt when he saw everyone turning to dust in front of him on Titan. The relief he felt when he saw her waiting next to Steve back on earth. The missions they spent together trying to help the survivors back home. The bouquet they made for Nat’s funeral…

 

His little girl died in his arms and there was nothing he could do. 

 

That was months ago. While the pain still lingered in his heart and mind, he was able to find a new normal. Peter would sometimes watch Morgan while he and Pepper would write messages to Evgenia. Maybe she could read them up there. It helped him that maybe she knew that mom and dad still cared.

 

Tony was pulled out of his mind with a knock on the door. Steve leaned against the doorframe, a solemn look adorned his face. 

 

“You alright there Tony?”

 

A lot of time must have passed considering the darkness seeping through the windows. Tony looked down at the picture frame in his hands. Their first family photo. Morgan was 2 years old. He didn’t realize he had been crying until he saw the droplets sliding off the glass. He moved his hand to wipe the tears away. 

 

“Yeah. I think I will be.” He put the picture frame down as he left the room. For the first time since the blip, Tony found sleep easy. He was finally able to rest, knowing that his daughter was in a better place. 

Notes:

I promise, next chapter will focus on Diasomnia. It was meant to be this chapter but I’ve been going through a writer’s block and wanted to at least get something out.

Chapter 9

Yuu was in pain. A lot of pain. The walk to Diasomnia didn’t take that long and yet just walking there felt like a century of torture. She was tired. The burning sensation in her arm was relentless. She finally made it to the dorm with enough energy to knock. 

 

“HUMAN! HOW DARE YOU AWAKEN THE YOUNG MASTER—Oh hey Yuu.”

 

Classic Sebek. Maybe she would find it funny if she didn’t feel like shit. 

 

“Why are you awake so late? Are you alright?”

 

“No, everything fucking hurts. I did get an invite from Silver though.”

 

“Come in.”

 

The common room was lively. Something uncommon in other dorms at this hour of the night. It shouldn’t be too surprising considering how most students were of the night fae race. Most were just quietly studying although a few did raise their heads in curiosity at the sight of the ramshackle resident. 

 

Guests from other dorms were rare enough. Guests from other dorms at the wee hours of the night were even rarer. While the prefect’s presence may not have been surprising in the day given her closeness with the house warden, seeing her visibly in pain at night without her feline companion was a first. Sebek guided her to the couch before going to fetch Silver. 

 

Ramshackle’s prefect had little time to breathe a sigh of relief before a certain bat fae popped up from the ceiling. She didn’t even have the energy to act surprised. She was more concentrated on the sound of Malleus practicing his violin skills in his room.

 

“My my, you’re quite the sight here, aren’t you?” 

 

“Hi Lilia.” The magicless student deadpanned. 

 

“What’s the matter? You’re usually so bright and cheery. A contrast to the sight before me.”

 

“My arm started hurting again, like really hurting.”

 

The bat fae landed on the floor with a concerned look on his face. As of right on cue, Sebek came back with a sleepy Silver following behind. 

 

“Show me.” 

 

The girl removed her evening glove. The sight was…certainly something. Her veins had darkened to an unnatural degree. Bursts of colourful energy flowed through them from her shoulder to her fingers. Every burst came with a painful burning sensation. 

 

Sebek and Silver looked shocked. They had never seen anything like this. Lilia however, looked like he was thinking. 

 

“I also had that dream again.”

 

This caught Silver’s attention. He approached the couch and sat next to the girl. “Please, say more.”

 

And so she did. She told them about the spiders. She told them about the two men in the hospital room. She told them about the forest dream with Silver.

 

“It does indeed seem like your memories are coming back, albeit not in the nicest way possible.” Silver muttered, looking pensively. He knew how often she had these weird dreams. They were clearly having an effect on her.

 

While the three youngsters were conversing, Lilia’s gaze was attracted to a piece of paper in the girl’s pocket. He swiftly grabbed it without her noticing. Once he actually read it, he had to take a moment to make sure he saw correctly. 

 

The last time that he had seen russian written down was in his youth. Back when he would spend the day with Levan and Maleanor. Now why would a magicless girl from another world have this language written down on a piece of paper? It’s not like he detected a russian accent from her voice. 

 

“Yuu, what is this?” 

 

The girl’s head turned around. Her eyes widened at the sight of the piece of paper in Lilia’s hand. Shit, she had forgotten about that. Yellow-green and purple eyes looked on in curiosity. “Oh that. It’s from my recurring dream. With the spiders and the redheaded lady.” She answered nervously. It sounded crazy now that she said it loud.

 

“I see, do you recognize this language?”

 

“Kind of? I think it’s at the very least slavic. Uh, that has to do with a group of languages relating to  Indo-Europeans…You wouldn’t know what that means uh-”

 

“No, no, I do. I have known many languages in my time. Although I have never bothered to learn any of them. A shame…”

 

“Oh.” She didn’t know how else to respond. Were things from her home common here in years past? Also, how the hell did she remember what slavic was and not her own goddamn name? This puzzle piece is not fun at all. 

 

“Child of man, what brings you here at this hour? I was not expecting you to be here so late after our walk.” 

 

“Tsunotarou!” Yuu ran (jogged) over to give him a hug. If she were taller, she would have noticed the smile that adorned the fae prince’s face. “My my, someone’s missed me.” He joked. 

 

The cute moment between the two didn’t last long however. The human girl’s arm started burning again, causing her face to contorte into visible agony. Malleus bent down to her level. With a calm face (although he was panicking internally) he used a simple spell to relieve the pain. His magic hadn’t recovered nearly enough for his ability to fully heal her arm to be a possibility. But he could relieve her pain temporarily (on occasion.) 

 

With the torturing feeling now gone, the two were able to relax on the couch. Malleus was explaining the procedures for his coronation while Silver and Sebek were debating the usage of modern technology. 

 

 Lilia groaned at the thought of the spell he would have to conduct on this piece of paper. He wouldn’t be able to do it himself, what with his magic nearly being depleted. He would need help from Malleus. 

 

Once he had returned from getting the necessary spellbook from the dorm library, he nearly gasped at the sight before him. Silver was resting his head on Sebek’s shoulder while the latter rested his against the armrest. 

 

On the other end of the couch, Malleus was brushing his hand through Yuu’s hair as she rested her head on his lap. Finally getting some well-deserved sleep. He hated to ruin the moment. However, once he noticed Yuu’s chest rising at a regular rate, he didn’t feel guilty anymore. She was clearly in a deep sleep. Their spell didn’t have any chance of waking her up. 

 

With a nod of his head, Lilia beckoned Malleus to follow him. The fae prince begrudgingly did so, not before making sure that his sleeping beauty was resting comfortably. 

 

“What is it that requires my immediate assistance?” He asked, trying to suppress the annoyance in his voice. 

 

“Relax, I just need your help with a spell. It will help your little girlfriend.”

 

Mal-mal didn’t even try to hide the blush on his face. Lilia was the first to pick up on his little crush. It had never been a secret with him around. 

 

A few minutes later. 

 

The pieces of the ritual were placed. Magic burst from Malleus’s hand as he recited the spell. The room was illuminated in green glowing sparkles. Mandelas and symbols danced on the ceiling. Finally, the sentence on the piece of paper was translated in front of them. A woman’s voice with a thick Russian accent was heard. 

 

Don’t trust the newcomers on May 31st. 

 

Malleus' eyes and hands stopped glowing. The spell was completed. They should be happy that it even worked, given the current magical state of the two conducting it. Green eyes found those of the bat fae. His purple pupils were shaking violently from what they had just heard. 

 

May 31st. 

 

The day of the interscholastic spell drive tournament.

Chapter 10

Notes:

I'm sorry for the wait for such a short chapter. I have been really busy with starting a new full-time job and getting sick over the weekend which has prohibited me from writing as much as I'd like to. I will continue to update the story but it might take longer than before. Anygays, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Groans and complaints from guards were ignored as Steve bulldozed his way to the medical ward. In his arms, he held the half-conscious body of the youngest avenger. Tony and Bruce followed not far behind. Banner was helping to carry a severely injured Ironman. Mantis had to lean on Peter just to be able to stay conscious until they got her to the medical wing. The mission had gone horribly. And it was all one specific person’s fault.

… 12 hours earlier…

 

The guardian’s ship had finally landed. Thor was happy to not only see his team again but to have the chance to eat good ol’ midgardian food. It had been a while. He was just about to jump out of the door when he felt a hand pulling him back. 

 

« What is the matter, Drax? » 

 

The primitive didn’t say anything, he only turned his head towards Mantis. The girl in question had wide eyes and was shaking nervously. Her antennas were glowing an ominous shade of orange, no. Red. Thor was taken aback. The last time he had seen her in such a state was at the battle of earth. Back when…he turned the memory away in his mind. The team decided to stick together to get off the ship. Clearly, Mantis felt that something was wrong. Unfortunately, she was right.

 

Explosions and debris flew at them from all sides as they finally exited the ship. They had unknowingly joined an ongoing fight. A brutal one too. Groot stretched his arm and grappled onto the remaining part of a semi-truck. With his other arm, he held onto the group so that they could get a proper view of the battlefield. 

 

The Avengers were fighting an Ultron remnant. A powerful one at that. The robot kept evading their attacks. Hell, it even managed to send Hawkeye’s arrows back at him. Having understood the gravity of the situation, the guardians knew that they had no choice but to step in. 

 

Rocket used the advantage of his small form to hop onto a war machine and after a quick communication correction that he wasn’t an Ultron henchman, managed to get a ride closer to the robot. Drax and Peter followed suit (on foot). While Mantis tended to their wounded allies and civilians,Gamora fended off the enemies nearby. Even Groot used his body as a shield to escort the innocents away.

But it wasn’t enough. 

 

4 hours earlier 

 

“We have intel indicating suspicious activity near the west coast. Recent sightings have also reinforced our theory that there is a dangerous enemy active in that area.”

 

Bucky groaned at the idea of going back on a mission so soon. As much as he missed the thrill of the fight (not with hydra ofc) the mood hole he had been in the past couple of days made him want to crawl in bed and stay there forever. Why did Valentina have to torture him with this at 7 in the morning?

 

“Perfect. Tony, Rhobes, Clint, Bruce, and I will take care of it.” Captain America announced proudly. 

 

“With all due respect, this situation is grave enough. Wouldn’t it be ideal to use all the forces available? You do have a large team after all.”

 

A sense of unease spread across the room. Valentina sure knew how to push people’s buttons. First Bucky, now Steve. 

 

“We only need to use the necessary resources. Sorry madame but our team  has changed in the past couple of months. Some of us still need time to recuperate in between missions. And seeing as you won’t listen to my suggestion of bringing in a psychologist…”

 

“Fine, you can take your version of the team out on the field. But should you need any backup I will NOT hesitate to send everyone in.”

 

Steve sighed. “If you must.” 

Back to the fight 

 

The team was really struggling. This wasn’t just a copy of Ultron. It was a simple killing machine with no goals or values. All it wanted was complete destruction. Rhobes was starting to lose hope. None of their weapons were working. They were going to need backup.

 

“Tony, should we-“

 

“No. They’re not ready. They’ll only compromise the mission.”

 

“We’re kind of at our wits end here Stark!” Clint replied, now using his bow as a brute force weapon since his arrows weren’t doing shit.

 

However, that didn't last long. A rumble scattered the ground as a certain thunder god prepared to attack. Light night shot through his core as he charged his powers. Only for that power-up to be promptly cancelled out when Tony crash landed on him. He had tried to tackle the Ultron remnant, only to be thrown back before he could regain control of his suit. 

 

“Not to push your buttons Tony but it doesn’t look like we’re going to win anytime soon.” War Machine barely had the time to blast an attack off of an injured Bruce before he got incapacitated himself from falling debris.

“We’ve already got our alien allies here.” 

 

It was not going well. Even with the aid of the guardians of the galaxy, the tides had not turned. If anything, the enemy was getting stronger as the fight went on.

 

“Fall Back!” Captain America shouted as he yielded the still stunned Thor’s hammer. 

 

Tony reluctantly followed Steve’s orders. But the remnant of the A.I. The robot had none of it. The creature took a large chunk of falling debris from a nearby rooftop and threw it at Ironman’s back. Stark only had time to turn around before it would stab him through the-

 

“Hey man!” 

 

“Kid, where’d you come from?” 

 

“We were just sent in!” The spider boy answered, juggling the rooftop chunk with other debris that was being thrown at him. A quick glance around made it evident that a wave of backup had arrived. Wanda was casting her powers across the battlefield. Red power (idk what to call it) shielded the injured civilians that couldn’t escape in time and energized the allies. A certain winter soldier was protecting his fellow comrade’s back. Even Black Panther was taking care of revitalizing Thor. 

 

“Who sent you in?” The unofficial father-son duo fought their way closer to the automaton. 

 

“Valentina!” Of course. Tony sighed in frustration. 

 

After a few minutes, they finally got close enough to fight the android in hand-to-hand combat. Tony fought lethally. He mainly targeted the head and chest, where he believed the power source was. Peter mainly focused on keeping the bot from escaping or backing away. With a strong kick, Tony destroyed the internal processor and the mech along with it. The enemy was dead.

 

Peter chuckled lightly, glad that the battle had ended successfully with minimal casualties, if any. Tony was about to do the same, before he realized that he did not feel tired at all.

 

“Uh Wanda? You can calm down your magic now.” He spoke into the intercom.

 

“Affirmative, our foe has fallen. You need to remove your magical barriers for aid to come to the injured.” Rogers agreed.

 

…

 

“Wanda?” Bucky questioned, noticing no response or change in the atmosphere.

 

“Guys, come near the east of the area!” Gamora urged.

 

“Is there another remnant?!” Spider Man asked.

 

“No, something’s wrong with Wanda! She’s unresponsive!”

 

With that, the team rapidly made their way to the aforementioned zone. Gamora was right, Wanda was not herself. Her eyes were full of bloodshed. A marooned crown adorned her face. This wasn’t Wanda. This was the Scarlet Witch.

Chapter 11

Lilia, what does any of this mean?

 

I…I’m not sure. 

 

May 31st, that’s the day of the tournament, is it not?

 

Yes

 

Then I shall tell Yuu upon her awakening.

 

You will do no such thing, Malleus.

 

Pardon me but I don’t understand why I would not? This warning comes from her dreams, therefore she should be in the know.

 

 I don’t deny that Yuu is connected to this. However, informing her of this new development will only add to her mounting issues to deal with. Look.

 

The bat fae gestured his head over to the common room. Anyone nearby would be greeted with the wonderful sight that is Yuu sleeping peacefully with her limbs sprawled across Sebek’s face. Silver was nearly about to slip off the couch.

 

The poor thing has pretty much passed out from exhaustion. Judging from the bags under her eyes, I’d assume this is the first peaceful sleep she’s had in a good while. You don’t want to ruin that, do you?

 

…

 

Then it is settled. You will carry on as normal. Pretend like nothing happened.

 

And what shall you do then? We can’t let this go unaddressed either.

 

…I will contact an old friend of mine…

---

And that is how Yuu ended up here. Well-rested and making her way to..who knows where? There’s so much to do:

 

• Clean Ramshackle
• Study for finals
• Keep an eye on Grim
• Prepare for the RSA boys
• Feed Grim
• Deal with Crowley
• Coach Grim on how to share his living space with the enemy
• Riddle unbirthday party

 

And yet, she just couldn’t be assed. Sure she got to sleep well for once. But that didn’t change the numbing ache in her arm, nor the endless thoughts swirling in her head, nor the constant hunger that couldn’t be quenched no matter what. The girl was so lost in her mind that she didn’t notice the arrow that barely missed her ear.

 

“Ah, ma chérie!”

 

“Oh…hey Rook.”

 

“What’s wrong? What has stolen the light in Mademoiselle's eyes?”

 

“I’ve just had…a lot to deal with lately.”

 

“I see.” The hunter took a moment to ponder. “Then you require the aid of an expert!” 

 

“Uh, what?”

 

“To the salon!”

 

The magicless student didn’t have the time to react before Rook picked her up (princess rescue style) and whisked her off to Pomefiore.

 

---

“Again! 1, 2, 3, 4”

 

The sound of heels clacking resounded across the ballroom. The warm afternoon’s light reflected off the chandelier yet somehow didn’t blind anyone inside the room. 

 

“Okay, break! Take 5 everyone, Epel come see me please”

 

The first year pomefiore students quickly and gracefully strutted over to their water bottles and healthy snacks. A certain purple-haired shortie silently groaned.

 

“Yes Houswarden?”

 

“You’ve done well. Your posture has improved a lot. Albeit your facial expressions need more work-”

 

“ROI DU POISON!”

 

All pristinely styled heads snapped towards the entrance. There were few people at NRC who would dare cut off Vil Schoenheit himself. Even fewer spoke french.

 

“Ah, my hunter. What is the cause of your interruption?” His well cared for eyelashes fluttered as his purple eyes scanned his vice. “And why are you holding Miss Yuu hostage in your arms?”

 

“Sorry Vil, I was just walking back to my dorm when-”

 

“When I almost harmed our little prefect with one of my stray arrows!”
Rook responded dramatically. “Naturally I went over to apologize but the poor thing” He gently caressed her hair out of her face “ was too distraught to register my words! I thought it only proper to give our Trickster a proper luxury treatment package as an apology!”

 

And because she really needs it. That was the silent part of the message conveyed. Vil couldn’t blame the girl. As much as he valued cleanliness and self-care, there isn’t much time to do so when you suddenly spawn in another world with amnesia.

 

“Very well. Bring her to my room, I shall take care of the rest. Epel, please continue practicing your facial expressions. We don’t want to see you lacking in front of the cameras.”

---

 

Yuu couldn’t remember the last time she felt this relaxed. Her head rested on the water-proof pillow, leaving Vil plenty of space to delicately massage her head. Had she not slept well the night before, she would’ve already fallen into a deep (natural) slumber.

 

« Dear Yuu » Vil tutted « have you not been taking good care of yourself? I didn’t leave all of those expensive products in your bathroom just so that they could collect dust. » 

 

« I’ve been trying…it’s just… »

 

« Just what? » the blonde asked as hé squirted a glob of lavender-scented shampoo into his hand. 

 

« I don’t know…I’ve been feeling…empty? »

 

Vil paused. « What do you mean? Have you not been eating well? »

 

« No…well yes but that’s not what I meant. I just feel like nothing is worth it, you know? »

 

« Like you’re overwhelmed by everything. » He responded, carefully threading through the girl’s tangled hair. Not matter but certainly somewhat unkept. 

 

« Yeah… »

 

« Well don’t dwell on it long. Before you know it, you’ll be on summer vacation. And unlike me, you won’t have to do any internships yet »

 

« Hmm…I guess yeah » 

 

A calm silence fell over them. Yuu closed her eyes and enjoyed the sensation of being cared for while the movie star worked his magic. 

 

« CRAP! » Yuu suddenly jolted in alert, causing Vil to nearly fall over his product basket. 

 

« What in the Seven-Yuu what’s wrong?! » he asked once he regained his composure. 

 

«  I have nowhere to go for the summer! » the girl exclaimed before promptly bursting into tears and sobbing into her hands. 

 

« Oh Yuu… » 

 

Through her hands, she saw a manicured hand gently grab her chin. Purple eyes looked at her softly. « You don’t have to worry about that. »

 

« But I don’t even know if Crowley will let me stay for the summer! Or what if I get pseudo-kidnapped again like during winter break! Or what if-« 

 

« That’s not going to happen. » Vil stated firmly. « I won’t let it happen. Listen Yuu, everyone here cares for you deeply, we’ll figure something out, okay? »

« Okay… » the girl blew her nose with the the tissue that Vil offered. « Can you bring me to the sink actually? I think some shampoo got into my eyes and it’s starting to burn… »

« Oh my! Yes of course! » 

 

---

 

« Over here Trapolla! »

 

The smell of teenage boy’s sweat filled her nostrils as the magicless student entered the gym. It seems basketball practice was going well for once. Heck, even Floyd was participating without complaint. Highly unusual. 

 

« Water break everybody » the coach called with his whistle. Just in time for Yuu to make her way to the bleachers. 

 

« Oh hey Yuu! How’s it goin-» Ace didn’t manage to finish his sentence. Instead, his face sported an surprised expression. 

 

« What? Is there something on my face? » she asked, suddenly self-conscious of her appearance.

 

« N-no! You look-»

 

« SHRIMPY! » 

 

One moment, she was sitting while talking to Ace. Next, she was ✨fairy✨. 

 

« Hi Floyd » Yuu managed to squeeze out from his bone crushing hug. 

 

« Shrimpy! You’ve come to admire our practice? » 

 

« Uh, not really. » she said once the merfolk let her down back to earth. « I was actually looking for Grim, but considering I haven’t seen him anywhere, I might as well stay and watch. » 

 

« Perfect! » 

 

« Oh uh, Grim was here just a few minutes ago » Ace finally managed to let out. 

 

« Really? How was he acting? » 

 

« Like usual, he dared Floyd to a race but then he proceeded to grab a basketball, set it on fire and aim it for Floyd’s head. »

 

« Sounds about right. »

 

« Yeah, Baby Seal lost the challenge for cheating so he ran off before I could catch up to him. » 

 

« Alright then…nothing too out of the ordinary there, at least. »

 

« In any case, what’s got you looking so beautiful today? »

 

« Oh my Ace, did you just call me beautiful~ » she teased.

 

« It-It’s not like I was looking or anything, I just happened to notice. What with you being the only girl here and all. »

« A-huh » she replied smugly.

The two continued to banter flirtingly. Not noticing poor Jamil attempting to untangle Floyd from the spare basketball nets. 

 

---

 

Ah great, I’m on cleaning duty tonight. Epel mentally rolled his eyes. Everyone thinks Pomefiore looks so clean and pristine but no one thinks of the hours spent cleaning up the pure gunk left behind. All the hair stuck in the drains mixed in with the different product smells…disgusting. 

 

With his favourite playlist playing in his earbuds, he fell into a routine. In fact, he was so focused on his work that he didn’t notice the black goop dripping from a certain Housewarden’s spare hairbrush. 

 

Autopilot sure can be a dangerous thing. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 12

Red magic sparked everywhere in a frenzy. 

The air was suffocating. Without even counting the aftermath of the previous battle, the atmosphere was blinding. The Scarlet Witch’s magic dispersed the debris and rubble everywhere but the ground. At one point, Gamora was pretty sure that she  breathed in a piece of somebody’s rooftop.

 

« Wanda! You need to calm down! » Clint shouted.

 

« You’re not thinking rationally dear! » Thor announced, attempting his hand at managing the situation. 

 

No response. It was odd. While the environment enveloping the team had clearly seen better days, it seemed to be at a standstill. If it weren’t for the short rapid breaths that were coming out of her, Bruce would’ve thought that Wanda was a statue frozen in time.

 

Strange levitated himself to Wanda’s eye level. He wanted to see if he could shock her out of this state. Meanwhile, Bruce, Steve and Bucky approached Wanda (from the ground), forming a defensive triangle of sorts. 

 

At the same time, Peter leaned on Tony.  He could feel the bruises on his body beginning to form. He just wanted to sleep. Right as he felt his heavy eyelids start to close, he sensed it. 

 

Beneath a pile of rubble nearby, there was a group of civilians stuck. They were mainly children. With the little energy he had left, the spider hero made his way to the group.

 

One by one, he used the last of his strength to get them out. They were injured, yes. But at least they were alive. When he got to the final civilian though…there was a bit of an issue. 

 

It was just a kid, 7 years old at best. His leg was severely injured. Truly gruesome, it was literally bent backwards. On top of that, the kid looked terrified. He flinched and attempted to back away anytime Spider-Man approached. 

 

“Hey, kiddo. It’s okay, it’s me. Spider-Man!” 

 

“Your mask is scary!” The child replied, shielding his eyes with his hands. 

 

“What if I let you borrow it?” Peter asked, trying to make his voice sound more soothing. “Can I trust you with my secret identity?”

 

The little boy slowly nodded. 

 

“Here” he took off his mask and handed it to the kid. “Now you can be a hero too.”

 

The kid looked at the mask with a curious look on his face before giggling and putting it on. It was clearly too big for him. But he didn’t care. He was just happy to be a hero for one day.

 

“If I can trust you with my identity, can you trust me to help you?”

 

“…okay…”

 

“What’s your name, little one?”  Peter asked as he crawled their way out from the debris pile. 

 

Meanwhile 

 

“Wanda, I understand that something is going on-“

 

“Oh really genius! I’m sure that’ll break through to her!” 

 

“Quit it Rocket! I don’t see you coming up with any better ideas!” 

 

While Rocket and Quill were bickering, Strange kept trying to break through Wanda’s mind for the ninth time. It wasn’t until she heard the civilian’s cries of pain that she (somewhat) managed to snap out of it. 

 

“Oh crap” Was all she could say. “Did…did I do all of this?” 

 

“No Wanda, you’re ok, it’s okay.” Strange reassured her. “We just need you to calm down and everyone will be able to go home safe and happy.” 

 

Listening carefully to Strange’s words, the girl in red took a deep breath. Her levitation magic slowly lowered her closer to the ground. 

 

However, just as her mind calmed enough for the unstable magic particles floating around to dissipate, she heard it. A faint voice. 

 

“…o…my name is Pedro”

 

But that’s not what Wanda heard. Memories of her past flooded her barely stable mind. Her childhood with Pietro. Their happy moments together, with their family. The Stark attack, true screams of Sokovians…

 

The Scarlett Witch’s mind couldn’t take it anymore. It was like a fuse lit a red glitter bomb. 

 

Chapter 13

It’s too early for this shit. Yuu made her way to the upstairs bathroom. She quickly ran a hairbrush through her beautiful bed head. Another day, another nightmare to live through. 

 

She didn’t even dare look at her arm while slipping the coral glove on, courtesy of Octavinelle. Malleus’ soothing magic was always appreciated but it seemed as if the more she used it, the less it was effective. Once it would wear off, the effects were felt tenfold. Like a drug. 

 

She put on whatever clean outfit she had and made her way down the stairs. Black spots danced in her eyes while Grim made his way down the steps as well. His tail brushed her exposed leg in a small act of comfort.

 

The machine barely had any time to brew a much needed cup of coffee when suddenly, an aggravating noise entered her eardrums. 

 

Knock knock.

 

“Fucking hell” 

The human girl had no patience nor will to deal with whoever was on the other side of the front door. There was only ever one person that knocked that specific knock at this hour and it was-

 

“Ah! My dear prefect!” 

 

Dire Crowley himself. It seems the ghosts gave Yuu the luxury of not having to move by letting him in. 

 

Yuu groaned. Another day, another misery. 

 

“What now sir?”

 

“My my, quite the snippy attitude prefect! It is not even double digit time!”

 

“Oh shut it!” Yuu slammed her coffee cup on the table. 

 

Dire Crowley jumped back in shock at the girl’s action. Never had a student's reaction caught him so off guard. 

 

“Miss Yuu-“

 

“Enough!” The girl angrily strode over to the bird man, her finger pointing accusingly at him. “You only ever come here to dump whatever  BS work you don’t want to deal with!”

 

“Why Yuu-“

 

“Nononono!” She waved her finger at him. “We are not starting the excuses now. I’m already busy with the finals and preparing this place for the RSA visitors that’ll be coming in later today! Not to mention the constant nightmares of who knows what! Aaaaand on top of all that, I still have to look for a way back home! Have you thought about any of that before coming here???”

 

“Please, Yuu, if you’ll just listen-“ 

 

“Nope! I’ve had enough! You can deal with whatever stupidity it is you have, by yourself! Goodbye!” 

 

Crowley didn’t realize that the girl had pushed him back outside of the ramshackle until she slammed the wooden door in his face. 

 

“My, what has gotten into that child?” The headmage pondered in confusion. It didn’t last long however, as he spotted movement from the corner of his eye. 

 

A little black creature was standing just outside of Ramshackle's vegetable garden. Its starkingly blue eyes bored into Crowley’s magical mask. He reached to touch it just to make sure that he was still covering up his face. He could swear that the creature’s blue flamey ears were bigger than when he last saw them.

 

“…Ah, Grim! So glad to have run into you!  Could you pass this message onto your prefect? She is acting so unreasonable this morning. I swear, I have never had to deal with a student this disob-“

 

“No”

 

“-edient…uh, pardon?”

 

“Get out”

 

Once again, the crow was struck with confusion. He never expected a reaction like this coming from the feline half student. 

 

“You are not welcomed here, Dire Crowley”

 

“Uh please, I only wish to inform you of some recently acquired news-“

 

“You are useless to us”

 

“I- what has gotten into you?”

 

“All you ever do is burden us with your menial tasks.” Grim’s voice resounded with an authoritative tone. It left no room for discussion. “We grow stronger by the day, and when we’ll have enough, we will burn everything to the ground. Vengeance will be long and painful, so while we still have enough patience, I calmly ask you to get out.” 

 

The headmage took off running without hesitation. He didn’t care to know what the hell had just happened, he just wanted to get out of there. Something was wrong, very wrong. 

 

“All I wanted was to let them know about the update I have on getting Yuu back home…seems like it will have to wait…” 

Chapter 14: Message from the author.

Notes:

Author’s note

Hiii sorry for being gone for so long. This is sadly not a chapter. :( buttttt this is a warning to let you know that the next few chapters WILL have MAJOR SPOILERS for the newly released Thunderbolts* movie. I strongly recommend that you watch it before reading the rest of this story when it will come out. Have fun reading! :D

Chapter 15

Notes:

Warning! This chapter contains “light” spoilers for the Thunderbolts movie. You have been warned.

 

“Remind me again why the main guy in all this isn’t here?” 

 

“He had some last minute chore his aunt needed him to do.”

 

“Y-yeah, totally. He was reaally bummed about not being able to come here earlier.”

 

Flash rolled his eyes internally. MJ, he believed but Ned, was just such a bad liar. He continued down the hall of the library. Why am I even helping these guys? He asked himself. Sure MJ’s energy is fun to be around and Ned’s skills are helpful in a surprisingly high number of situations. Whereas for Peter… the only thing he was really good at was flaking last minute. Count that as a double combo if you include his ability of making up shitty excuses. 

 

“This part is really old so there’s a good chance we’ll find whatever that symbol is.”

 

“Wait, so you invited us here without even being certain that there’s something with that drawing?” Ned asked. 

 

“No, if you’d used your ears to listen, you would know that I have seen it before…I just can’t remember where…”

 

“Great” MJ deadpanned

 

“I-I know it’s somewhere AROUND this area…more or less” Flash replied, trying to save face. He just wanted to impress his mom with friends that were good people, not end up in a 2 v 1 argument. In HIS home, nonetheless.

 

“Might as well start looking then.” MJ said before climbing a nearby ladder. 

 

Half an hour later

 

“Hey guys, check this out!”

 

Flash quickly ducked as the book Ned was waving from the ladder nearly hit him in the face.

 

“Hey, watch it! This hair isn’t easy to upkeep!” 

 

“Oh sorry” Ned replied, holding the book still this time. 

 

“What did you find?” MJ asked, her voice somewhat muffled, coming from behind the next shelf. 

 

“It’s this pocket book, similar to what Peter described.”

 

“Doesn’t look anything like those blurry-ass pics you guys had.”

 

“But it has the exact symbol we’re looking for!” 

 

“Gah!” Flash nearly jumped out of his skin. 

“MJ! How did you walk over so fast?!”

 

“I have long legs.”

 

“Fair enough.” He replied, composing himself in a more aloof way. 

 

“I have to go to the bathroom real quick.” Ned mentioned quickly before scurrying out of the library. 

 

“Make sure you go to the one on the left! The one on the right is-“

 

“GAH!” MJ and Flash heard a shrill gasp come from the hallway.

 

“-under renovations… because the toilet exploded…”

 

“Putting that strange detail aside, can you pass me the book?”

 

Flash looked over at the item in question before he handed it to MJ. The book had a golden lining that seemed almost like scales that covered its hardcover. The pages, although slightly worn, still held strong.

 

“Legends and myths of the nocturnal fae…that’s a fancy name if I ever heard one.” 

 

MJ opened the book at a random page. A dark green silk bookmark had been left in the middle. On it, there was the matching symbol from Peter’s awful photography skills. Whoever had published this book clearly invested a lot of care into it. 

 

Before either of the two could read a page, the sound of quick footsteps was heard. 

 

“Guys! We have to go to the hospital quickly!” Ned shouted as he rushed back inside the library. 

 

“What? Why?” Flash asked, annoyed that this new discovery was interrupted.

 

“It’s Peter!”

 

“WHAT?!” MJ shouted in response. 

 

“I just got off the phone with aunt may! She sounded really frantic.”

 

“Well we need to go now!” MJ announced as she made her way to the front door.

 

“Hold on just a minute.” 

 

“What now Flash?” Ned asked, increasingly stressed about his best friend.

 

“Listen, what’s the rush? We just discovered something that’s potentially major in solving whatever your guy’s mystery is. Plus, good ol’ Pete is already at the hospital, going there isn’t gonna help him any better.”

 

Ned visually grimaced. He looked like he was about ready to beat Flash up. But MJ beat him to it. 

 

“Listen here Thompson, there are some things in life that you just do. Peter is our friend and I know for a fact that is being there when he’s hurt matters a lot to him. That” she pointed to the book in Flash’s hands “isn’t going anywhere. Our friend needs us, so we’re going to the hospital whether you like it or not. Because that’s just what friends do, we show up for each other.” 

 

“Yeah that’s right.” Ned replied, taking MJ’s side. The two strode outside, nearing the exit gates. “Hey so that speech right there was pretty cool but uh…how are we going to get there? My nana is working until 5…”

 

“I don’t know, but we’ll figure it out.” 

They continued walking with determination for a few more minutes until they heard a car pull up next to them.

 

“You’re not going to get anywhere anytime soon by foot.” 

 

“I don’t see you offering any alternatives.” MJ replied.

 

Flash sighed. “Get in. I’ll drive you there.”

---

 

Meanwhile, at the hospital 

 

“Peter Parker room 34. Peter Parker room 34.”

 

Chaos erupted around as a middle-he’d brunette lady with a yellow top rushed to her nephew’s hospital room. Anyone would assume that she was a concerned family member.  Seems like it’s not an uncommon sight here. 

 

“It’s horrible Val. Half the team is unconscious. The other half looks about ready to burn the world down and omg there was blood on EVERYONE.”

 

 Mel raked her hands through her hair in an attempt to remove the red liquid. Although she wasn’t injured herself, simply being near the scene shortly after Wanda’s powers went berserk caused some to spray on her from the victim’s bodies.

 

 “I just hope there aren’t small pieces of charred flesh somewhere on me.”

 

“That is truly disgusting. Feel free to use my pass for the nearby hotel’s premium showers. Scratch that, please do use the premium showers. I’m giving you the rest of the day off…once you’ve finished the report on this incident.” 

 

“Alright, thanks Valentina.” 

---

POV switch, Valentina. 

 

Valentina Allegra De Fontaine caught a last bit of background noise coming from behind her assistant Mel before she hung up the phone. It sounded like Roger’s barking orders at a nurse to save his friend or something. She shook her head. Superheroes, they never learn when to quit and let the real professionals take over. 

 

She made her way across the watchtower, really basking in its grandeur. Renovations really are amazing, aren’t they? 

 

The woman with the grey streak of hair sat comfortably on the luxury couch. A nice treat she bought for herself after first moving O.X.E.’s  office here. 

 

She grabbed the nearby remote and turned the TV on. Not another cooking competition rip-off she thought to herself, flipping through the channels. Ah the news.

 

She turned the volume up once she read the headline: Public perception on superheroes continues to drop as death toll from recent battle increases. 

 

Aaand it’s a British interviewer, of course. 

 

“We are now going to head over to the scene of the crime itself with Henry who will share more details on this most unfortunate incident.”

 

“That’s right Claudia,” the British interviewer said, wearing a hazmat suit. “As you can see behind me, there is still toxic residue from the Scarlett’s Witch’s powers covering the battlefield. This has made it incredibly difficult for first responders to try and aid survivors-if there even are any since as you just said yourself, the death toll continues to rise. Reports also mention that these people were civilians, they did not participate nor ask to take part of this battle. ”

 

“Indeed, it appears that all of these deaths were caused by the superhero group known as The Avengers in collaboration with another intergalactic group who call themselves The Guardians of the Galaxy. Given the mysterious nature of these two groups as well as one of the former's refusal to sign the Sokovia Accords a few years ago before the Blip. As a result, public disapproval of these super powered superhero teams is at an all-time high.”

 

What a tragedy… the woman thought to herself as she turned off the TV. The huge smirk on her in the reflection told another story. Valentina pulled the drawer from the table placed in front of the couch. She looked down at the file inside, labeled confidential. 

 

“Project Sentry is ready to begin.”

Chapter 16

Notes:

Hey! So turns out that school is already kicking me in the gut :D. So here's a neat little chapter to start the school year strong. Also, I've started a youtube channel with the same name as on ao3! It's mainly going to be gacha mini movies and the first video is already up! It's pretty bad though so if you like gacha + Kpop Demon Hunters + just want a good laugh at my poor attempt at editing, be my guest! Have fun reading/watching!

“Moreow! Why is the cafeteria so busy today? I can’t even hear my own thoughts!”

 

“Really? I’m surprised the noise even affected you considering how little you seem to think before acting, Grim.”

 

“Hey!”

 

“Why is the caf so busy though?” Yuu asked while looking around. “Did you threaten to punish students from other dorms again?”

 

“How preposterous! I should have your head for merrily voicing such an opinion!”

 

“Is that really necessary, Riddle? Our Kouhai here is simply curious about recent events.” Cater sat down next to Trey while sneakily passing a wink to Yuu. 

 

“It has been a while since you’ve visited Heartslabyul. You should join us for our next unbirthday party.” 

 

“Thanks Trey but I’ll have to check with my schedule.” Yuu sighed as she rested her head in her hands. “I’ll already have my hands full this week with the RSA students.”

 

“When are they arriving anyways? I doubt that this newfound peace will last long…not with them around, that’s for sure.”

 

“Tomorrow. I’ve already finished the preparations. Now, they just need to show their faces.” Right as she finished her sentence, the magicless student felt two presences sit down next to her.

 

“Forget the RSA twerps! We have some actual news here!” A fiery redhead exclaimed.

 

“You’re going to like it as a housewarden.” The blue haired student said.

 

“Ah, well if it isn’t the Adeuce duo. May I ask what has brightened your mood so much?”

 

“Did you not hear? C’mon senpai, you should already know.” Ace shakes his head dramatically.

 

“We made it to the spelldrive team!” Deuce proudly announced.

 

“Oh nice one!” Yuu gave them each a high five.

 

“As much as I am proud to see that students from my dorm will be representing NRC, this doesn’t mean that you can goof off now. You’ll have to remain dedicated to your training.”

 

“Yes, housewarden.” The Adeuce duo sighed.

 

Yuu silently giggled.

 

---

 

That night

 

“Good evening, Child of man, how are you fair tonight?”

 

“Mhm, I’m alright.”

 

Malleus turned towards his human friend. “Is something bothering you? It sounds like your mind is preoccupied.”

 

“I think…I’m just stressed about the visitors coming tomorrow, you know?”

 

Malleus took her hand as they gently roamed the school grounds.

 

“I understand, welcoming strangers into your home is no easy feat.”

 

“Ramshackle is not my home.”

 

“Maybe not, perhaps you have what you humans consider, a warmer home back where you’re from. However, Ramshackle has served well as your current lieu of residence, correct?”

 

“I guess you could say that…I do miss my home though…”

 

An owl coos in the distance. A squirrel picks his last meal before climbing a nearby tree and curling up to rest. A wolf is howling with its pack in the far, far distance…or maybe that’s just Jack.

 

“You say you miss your home but you don’t recall anything from before you awoke here…how is that possible?”

 

Yuu stopped walking. They had reached a conveniently placed bench. The dragon prince offered her a seat as they stared at the night sky together.

 

“I guess…it’s more of a feeling…”

 

“How so?”

 

“I feel like I’m missing something. Like I’m not where I’m supposed to be…”

 

“Is that so?” 

 

Malleus looked at Yuu before gently placing a strand of hair behind her ear.

 

“But when I’m around you…there’s nowhere that I’d rather be.”

 

“I share the sentiment, Yuu.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

… (A short time later)...

 

Malleus stayed exceptionally still so as to not wake up the girl gently sleeping next to him. She looked so peaceful, resting her head on his shoulder.

 

“I thought that I might find you here.”

 

“Lilia, is anything the matter? I was quite enjoying the moment just now.”

 

The bat fae plopped down from the tree that he was previously hiding in.

 

“As much as young love continues to make my heart flutter, I have some news that is of utter importance.”

 

“Such as?”

 

“Yuu’s dream is related to your father.”

 

Notes:

Hey! So turns out that school is already kicking me in the gut :D. So here's a neat little chapter to start the school year strong. Also, I've started a youtube channel with the same name as on ao3! It's mainly going to be gacha mini movies and the first video is already up! It's pretty bad though so if you like gacha + Kpop Demon Hunters + just want a good laugh at my poor attempt at editing, be my guest! Have fun reading/watching!