Noelle - Day 79 (R.M.S. is BACK baby!)

Ok, I've got less than ten minutes.
But I WILL post this because I promised the instant that I finished enough, I would post R.M.S. parts!  Well I finished enough!  Yeah!  Can you tell I'm pumped?  It's nine o'clock when I'm writing this and I just had a cup of tea and I'm listening to my fave upbeat playlist so I'm kinda nutzo right now!

Anyway, just click the link (hurry, I'm running out of time to type!)

Random Marvel-based Story (Parts 38 & 39)

The next few weeks, everybody stood on edge.    Jess didn’t talk at all, but channeled a frighteningly large amount of anger at punching bags, finally murdering a grand total of thirteen one night after everybody had left - or so she thought.

“You know I think you’ve broken Captain America’s record,” said a vaguely snooty voice when the last sandbag collapsed under Jess’s spin kick.

She fluidly pulled out a shotgun and pointed it, only to see that she was pointing it at the shiny helmet of none other than Nova.  “What are you doing here?” Jess hissed, not lowering the gun; quite the opposite, she slid the extra safety latch off.

“Trigger-happy much?” Sam commented, brushing the gun away with his hand - a brave move, but useless all the same.  Jess flipped over Nova’s shoulder and pinned him to the ground.  He felt the freezing cold tip of the gun ease into the back of his neck.

“I said, why are you here?”  Jess said coldly, pressing with the gun until Sam’s skin turned pink.

Nova gasped for breath, struggling to get free.  He was so small though, that Jess barely even had to try to hold him down.  “I’m here because - hack - I can’t talk if you’re choking me!”

Jess didn’t get up.  “You know, every instinct in my body right now is telling me to pull this trigger.  Years of muscle memory might kick in at any second.”  She whisper the “s” in second, letting it draw out and echo like a viper’s hiss.

“I just wanted to make sure that you’re ok,” Sam managed to say.

She rolled off of him, not bothering to help the pancaked-form of Sam up onto his feet.  “Why wouldn’t I be ok?”  She grouched, pursing her lips.

“Admit it - you’re scared of the guy that sent the threats.  Something’s happened that makes you want to quit the team, and you just cut up thirteen punching bags - Danny’s not sparring with you anymore - is he?”

Jess’s eyes narrowed, but the gun slipped back into its hidden holster.  “Congratulations Sherlock Holmes.  You have found the clues - what do you make of it?”

“You’re stressed to a breaking point, and something doesn’t add up,” Nova said, doing his best, goofy impression of the famous detective.  “What are you leaving out of your account, Madam?”

“You call me that again and I will kick you in the stomach,” Jess said, obviously skirting the subject.

She heaved the snapped punching bag onto her shoulder, nearly collapsing under the weight.  “Here,” Nova said quickly, “Let me get that!”

Jess shook her head and slung the huge bag across the pile of others.  “I got the first twelve just fine, don’t you think, Sam?”   She spat, kicking the first bag and pulling another one out of storage.

Nova didn’t say anything, but sat down and watched as Jess pummeled the punching bag with her fists.  After ten minutes or so, he stood up and whispered, “Jess - you’re not Captain America.”

“No,” she said with a nod.  “I’m not.”

“What happened, Jess?  A month ago, you were one of my best friends, and we were taking down villains together!  Now you’re refusing to say a word to your teammates - actually quitting the team! - and you put a gun on my neck like it was nothing!  Danny said that you put a knife to his throat, and we’re getting weirdo threats asking for your dead body!  And still, you won’t tell us anything!”

Jess wasn’t budging, and unlike when Danny had asked the same question, she didn’t blow up.  She just sat there, panting, on the ground, waiting for Nova to finish his angry rant.

“You lied to us!  Your case files are nearly empty, half of the information deleted, and you’re threatening us with leaving the team!  Don’t you think that we trust you?  Are we still just your little pawns in your sick little ‘project’?!”  He slammed against the punching bag, building up steam.

“Why won’t you tell us anything?!  ‘Once this is all over, I’m leaving the team,’” He spat, doing an strangely accurate imitation of Jess’s voice.  “You would leave us at the drop of a hat if you wanted to, wouldn’t you?”  He added, looking directly at Jess’s narrowed eyes, shaking all over with anger.  “Wouldn’t you?”

Jess stood, slowly, carefully, choosing her words as wisely as she could.  “You’re not the first team I’ve left behind,” She said, struggling to keep her voice even.  “I left them behind to protect them, because honestly?  I can handle pretty much anything at this point.  You can’t.  You’re not ready for this.”  A tear slid down her cheek, but she angrily wiped it away.  “They’re weren’t either, and they paid for it, not me.  I won’t let that happen again.”

“Jess...”  Nova said, his tone softening a little.  This was the first time Jess had come even close to opening up about her mysterious past.  “Who did you leave behind?”

“That’s none of your business!”  Jess screamed suddenly, turning on Nova, who backed up a step.  She took a deep breath and added, “I’m not going to leave you behind Nova.  I swear.  I have enough guilt - enough blood on my hands.”

Sam nodded, finally understanding, even if only a little.  There were things about his past that he didn’t want to talk about either, and if Jess was the same way, he wasn’t going to push her anymore.

“You know,” she added, pulling out her bow for target practice.  “I used to think that you hated me!  You’ve never supported me being on the team, and I could have sworn that this mess would only make it worse.”

“I didn’t trust you,” Sam said, leaning against the wall.  “But I’ve realized that you’ve more than proven yourself at this point.”

For some reason, Jess’s smile only faded more at these words.  “Don’t trust me, Nova,” she whispered, releasing an arrow.  “People will die if anybody - ever - trusts me.”

And with that, she walked out of the training hall, leaving behind a very confused Nova and a bull’s eye in the target.

********

“What did you do?”  Nick Fury burst in to find his “Web Warriors” eating donuts and laughing - for once - at a joke that Jess had just said.

Jess swiveled her chair do meet Fury’s furious gaze.  “What do you mean what did I do?”  She asked with what she hoped was a jaunty grin.  Ever since that conversation with Nova, the team had finally gotten back into their routine.  Well, mostly, she thought with a guilty glance at Danny.  “You’ll have to be more detailed than that,” she added, returning to the problem at hand.

“Detailed?”  Nick Fury said sarcastically, and Jess braced for impact.  “I’ll give you detailed!  Well rather, I’ll give the hundreds of now-homeless people details about WHY their homes suddenly COLLAPSED last night for NO REASON!!!  How’s that for detailed??!”

“Tone it down a notch, Nick,” Jess said, spinning her chair until Nova became dizzy.  “And stop jumping to conclusions.  Look,” She said and flicked the paper Fury had handed her.  “These are mines.  This wasn’t me, that’s for sure.”

“Why would Jess be responsible for a bunch of random apartments collapsing anyway?”  Ava asked, but Nick Fury ignored her.

He jabbed a finger at Jess.  “This is going too far Jess.  I ignored the earthquakes, but this?  This is evil.”

Something about Nick Fury’s manner pushing Jess over the edge.  “You think this was me?  You think I don’t have the control - or worse?  All that stupid training was to keep me busy, I know, but I’ve had enough.  You’re the one who’s stepped over the line.  You’ve gone too far, Fury, and I’ve had enough.  I’ll walk out right now if this is the way it’s going to be.”

“You seem quite adamant about it for an innocent little girl,” Nick said, pushing Jess’s boundaries a bit further, “But that’s not what I’m here for.”

Jess sank back into her chair, eyes narrowed.  “You could just tell us what the new threat message says, instead of beating around the bush with the collapsed apartments.”

The team looked at her, but Nick cut them off before the questions could flow out.  “Fine.  Be annoyingly good at your job, Willow.  There is another threat message, and this time I want you to actually respond to it.”  He pulled up a holo-screen.  ‘Meet me at the top of the New York Art Gallery, midnight, tomorrow night.  I hope you want to party - don’t show up and the roof will accidently drop on two hundred people.  Come and their lives will be saved.’

“Clear cut,” Jess commented calmly.  When the entire team glared at her, she added, “Well the last two messages were very vague.  Those are the teasers - mainly to spook.  This is the negotiations stage.  Or, as some civilians would say, this is a nasty trap we’re about to walk into.”

“But of course we’re not going to just walk into it - right?”  Spider-man said desperately.

“C’mon, we’re dumb but not stupid!”  Luke added.

Ava spun around and glared at Luke.  “That is the dumbest thing I have ever heard,” She announced, poking Luke, “And I live with Nova!”

Nova, his mouth full of donut, somehow spat out, “Hey now!  Ruuudhskhwkhw...”  The rest of it barely could be heard around the soggy flying crumbs.

Jess winced and turned back to Fury.  “Nick, what’s your battle plan here?  Obviously, we can’t go in all guns blazing, and I don’t think that the Secret Service Trick will work again - not at an Art Gallery at any rate!  It worked in Denver, but the security will be too high tomorrow.”

The director rubbed his forehead and grumbled, “That was you using the Secret Service Trick in Denver?  I was sorting out that mess for a week!”

“I had to get some information - I can’t believe they fell for it anyway, I was barely fifteen yet!  Idiots.  Anyway, focusing now, seriously, what’s our plan?”

“Do I want to know what the Secret Service Trick is?”  Danny muttered in Jess’s ear.

“No,” Jess shot back.

“Our plan is to get into the party - I can get you passes - about an hour, maybe two hours early.  Scout out the place, look for traps or mysterious people.  In, out, quick,” Nick Fury snapped.

Jess shook her head.  “This party that he’s talking about, I’m going to be there anyway.  I’ll take care of the passes and what not.  Also,” she added, turning to the Web Warriors, “This isn’t a rock-the-house kind of party.  This is more of a tuxedo-and-champagne kind of party.  Wear fancy clothes and everybody be at Parker’s house by 6:30 tomorrow night.”

Everybody nodded - this was just a normal mission after all.  Jess knew what she was doing, and they trusted her for the most part, although the argument a month ago was still hanging over their heads like a black cloud.

“Mingle with the crowd, but only talk with people if you have to.  I’ll be there, don’t worry, and keep an eye out for anyone for anyone being suspicious - do not go after them.  This isn’t the Beetle or Doc Ock we’re talking about here.  This is the big leagues.  I would be surprised if a couple Avengers don’t show up,” Jess said, turning away.  Something was pulling at the back of her mind, something important, but she couldn’t put her finger on it.

“Why are you going to be at the party anyway?” Nova asked curiously.

“Because reasons,” Jess grumbled, adding, “I have to go, I have a date.  Bye.”

I actually mean it...bye. Love ya, post again tomorrow (duh)!