Noelle - Day 137 (It's Finally Over)

Yep, the book is finally over with.
I have to say, I'm kinda sad.  But that's ok, because I've already made some progress with The Survivors! :)  Book Two is heading your way peoples!

This is the photo I'm painting for art class.  That's my little demon kitten, or so bystanders say.

Just in case your day needed brightening.

Random Marvel-based Story (Parts 91, 92, & 93)  {Where were we?  Ah yes, exploding bombs}

Everything was black.  Then a huge stabbing pain in my stomach, a force so strong it slammed me out of the water like a freight train hitting a squirrel in its way.

The beads of liquid spun strangely, webbing around me and dragging me back down, everything was still dark and fuzzy, and my head wouldn’t think straight.  Nothing was making sense.  How did I get here again?  Who am I?

Suddenly the sound caught up with time and the roar of the explosion jammed its way into my ears, implanting itself in there forever.  Flames ripped up my suit, burning against my bare skin, and my back arched.  I felt myself fly through the air, my left arm swinging uselessly.  Pain made its way up my spinal cord, ordering my brain to shut down.  Now.

Water peppered my face, and I didn’t even have the energy to scream as everything slipped away, getting darker and darker.  My back hit concrete and then it all went black.

And all that was left was pain.

*******

“JESS!!!”  Nova screamed.

The water exploded into a million droplets and the white foam went sky-high, ten, twenty, fifty feet, and then WHAM it slammed into him, the force of the explosion pressing against his eardrums.  Everything was whirling around and then suddenly, it all stopped, and Jess was flying away from him, skidding across the pavement, her arm bent in a way no arm should be.

He tapped his ears - no noise.  Just a weird ringing.  Shaking himself (and still not hearing anything) he zipped down to where Jess lay, limp.  “Oh, please still be breathing,” he muttered soundlessly as he landed next to her.  There was no responding gasp for air, no groan or quip.

He pressed on her chest, ignoring the black charred suit and the wed redness that was all over his fingers and yelled, “C’mon Jess, breath!”

She shuddered - miraculously alive - and her back arched as she sucked the oxygen.  It was like she was hungry for air and nothing could satisfy her need.  As soon as she stopped gasping, she fell back, limp, and whispered, “No.  Breathing is so overrated.”  And blacked out.

Nova laughed between the tears and picked her up, sniffling.  The moment he touched down in the hole of Avengers Tower, everybody was there - Spider-man, Ava, Black Widow, two girls that he had never seen in his life, Iron Man, the whole deal.  He felt somebody slide Jess’s weak, bloody body off of his shoulder, and he was pretty sure he collapsed at some point into Hulk’s arms.

Between the whirlwind of activity and the craziness, Nova couldn’t figure out where Jess was, except for Hawkeye whispering in his ear, “She’ll be fine, buck-o, calm down.  She escaped with a broken arm and scratches from head to toe and some fractures in her rib cage, but she’ll be fine.”

*******

The Web Warriors stayed the night.  They heard nothing from Nick Fury, and nobody wanted to fall asleep, but suddenly they were all waking up and Jess was there.

Her smile was stressed, and her face was still half-grey rock.  Her left arm was hanging from a sling from when she had crashed into the window the night before.  She had thrown on a sweatshirt that was way too big for her.  Her hands were covered in scratches, which probably meant the rest of her was too, and thin cut had wrapped its way around her neck.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered weakly as she rubbed her ribcage.  She limped over to the couch and collapsed.  Hawkeye handed her what was more a vat than a cup of coffee and disappeared with a mysterious grin.  She smiled after him and started, “I wanted to explain, but there’s something you need to know first - Nick Fury hears about NONE of this.  It was just a regular fight, ok?”

Nobody knew why, but they nodded.  Spider-man frowned, and Ava nearly said something, but Jess shushed them, sipped her jet-black coffee, and continued.

“I got my powers when I was ten.  My parents had abandoned me on the street with my three younger siblings - Astra, Mirage, and little Mozart.  I made some bad choices, made friends with the wrong people, and I had a bad reputation all-in-all, but I just wanted to keep my family safe.  After all, blood is thicker than water, right?”  She fidgeted with her left arm and added, “Mostly.”

“Anyway, Nick Fury gave me chances.  Tons of chances.  But problems with enemies and throwdowns eventually led to the Dragon Protocol.  I wasn’t allowed to use my powers.  Anywhere, anytime.  He set me up to join the Web Warriors.  I agreed.  I still wasn’t allowed to use my powers.  I wasn’t even allowed to acknowledge that I had powers or a family with powers or a past, really.  According to the all-knowing Nick Fury, I would be fine and any questions answered about where I had come from would lead to more, I quote, ‘uncomfortable situations’,“  She scoffed and snapped bitterly, “Nick Fury erased everything - my name, my home.  Everything.  And I agreed it was for the better.”

“Then things started to get worse.  Spidey and Doc O’Connors came up with a serum to nullify villain's powers.  They wanted to use it on me - they called it ‘fixing’ me.  I disagreed, especially after I found the details of the first test on a reformed villain from Europe.  He died of no apparent cause six months later.  So did all the other test ‘volunteers’.  We compromised at me taking Viytrium to dull my powers.  It was painful and degrading, but I agreed.”

Spider-man’s frown became deeper.  “And you thought it would be all laughs to drag us into this?  What about your...sister or whatever she was?”

“I’m sorry, and I was wrong to involve you guys, but you have to know it wasn’t all my choice.  Please, if Nick Fury finds out, he’ll quarantine me - take away my powers.  I can’t live without them - Power-man, could you?  Or you, Spidey?”

He winced, but held his ground.  “You didn’t answer the question.”

“Whatever memory wipe that was in my head was erased.  I’m guessing that Shadow was never supposed to confront me, but she started getting the same visions.  She wanted answers, just like I did.”

Ava raised her hand tentatively, like they were in a classroom and Jess was the teacher.  “One last question:  the recorder and carnival?”

Jess frowned, confused.  “How do you know about that?”

“When you disappeared after the cafe bombing, when you were making a deal with that guy, we found it with Danny’s help.  He kept muttering carnival.”

“I was never making a deal with him,” Jess whispered, then began to laugh a little.  “Is that why you guys were so mad at me all this time?  Jason is...well-” Her smile fell into a frown.  “-was my boyfriend from school.  He died in the bombing.  Shadow’s fault.  I was showing him my english paper.  Anyway, I implanted the idea of the carnival safe box in Danny’s mind the day he moved in.  Sorry Danny.  But I never recorded anything on it...that’s very weird.”

“You did the brave thing - fought the brave fight,” Iron Fist said with a grin.  “You were right to keep these secrets from us - but no more, ok?”

And then Jess smiled the biggest smile that any of them had ever seen.  “So we’re all good?”

“Heck, no!”  Nova snapped from the breakfast bar, stuffing a pancake in his mouth.  “You’re in sooooo much trouble!”

Jess grinned, finally safe, and although nobody noticed, her fangs were still there.

The End

Jessie Willow will return in The Survivors.  Will you?

See you tomorrow!