Greetings to all.
This is the first time I translate one of my stories (since I am a French author). My original text is "Nuit de cendres" which is already posted in french, but I wanted to improve in writing in English.
It's a story about the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Peter Parker as the main character. The plot of "Peter was trained by HYDRA, but was saved afterwards by the SHIELD and the Avengers" isn't new. But it's an interesting base to create a story. Consider this fiction as the "first part" of my AU "Lost Emotion".
If you spot any mistakes, please tell me.
(All the characters belongs to Marvel, except 16 original characters.)
Peter Benjamin Parker. This is how I was called at birth.
As far as I can remember, I have always lived alongside my entire family : my parents Richard and Mary, my aunt May and my uncle Ben. At that time, I was a kind and shy little boy, who didn't require any special attention. I never cried to tears or made a tantrum, scrupulously respecting the instructions and warnings of my blood relatives.
Our life was simple and modest, in the borough of Queens.
I loved my father's humor, particular for some but still managing to make me laugh. Even when I was sad, he snatched me a smile every time because of his comical clumsiness. My mother was the one who spent the most time with me. She cuddled me with tenderness and attention, not hesitating to stay long hours by my side after a horrible nightmare. My aunt scared me at times when she got angry, but I loved her wild spirit. As for my uncle, he was an humble and calm man, always the right word and never giving in to the slightest provocation or threat.
They were my guardian angels. Being with them was enough to fill me with happiness.
When I could read, write, and talk correctly at only three years old due to be a precocious child, I began to devour all the books within my reach. I spent endless hours confined in my room, contemplating the illustrations of children's stories and reading short novels I could easily understand. Certainly, I enjoyed playing outside, but I preferred the tranquility of my personal space to the monotony of the public garden three blocks away of our house.
One day, while paying attention to the television, I saw a report on Stark Industries and its eccentric CEO named Tony Stark. I couldn't catch a lot of informations, except the praise of the boss of the company. He described himself as a "genius, playboy, philanthropist, billionaire". And it was a shock when he confessed to the public he was the superhero Iron Man, thus boosting his already recognized popularity all around the world. Instantly, I admired this man. My heart exalted when I saw the images of his red and yellow armor flying in the sky and firing with his repulsors. His heroic deeds filled several pages of magazines, which I never tired of reading again and again until I knew them by heart. I also had fun imitating Iron man in the living room, and my family played along with me, which made me really happy.
When night fell, the moon could be seen from the window of my room. I took in the hollow of my hands a small object shining with the luminous circle : a crystal fragment, cut in the shape of a diamond with a spherical angle, tied around my neck like a pendant. I have always possessed it since my birth. So, the innocent little boy I was prayed every night before sleep, the jewel warmly covered with my fingers and my heart filled with hope.
It doesn't matter that I can never see Iron Man in any other way than on television. I don't care about wealth or fame... All I wish is to be happy with the people I love.
And then, time stopped when I was eight years old.
I was sick, bedridden because of a cold. May and Ben used to take care of me when that happened, since my parents often came home late because of their work. This time, all my blood relatives were at home to heal me, each one in turn.
My head hurt too much to sleep, so I just stared at the sky behind my window for long hours. Suddenly, a loud sound of broken glass burst on the floor below, making my heart jump. After that, male voices roared threats in an unknown language. Sensing a danger, I took off my blankets in a flash and hide deep inside the closet. I was terrified, completely motionless...
The door of my room opened in a hellish crash. Heavy footsteps swept over the space, and I heard through the closet furnitures falling on the floor, drawers opening with frenzy and my belongings destroyed. They were searching in every corner of my room. My heartbeat intensified...
Don't come here, don't come here, don't come here... I repeated in my mind, eyes closed, breathless and curled in ball like a cat.
For what seemed like an eternity, the strangers muttered things between them, and they finally left the room after several minutes. The adrenaline that had taken me before evaporated, and I sighed with relief. When I get out of the closet, my eyes widened when I discovered my room completely upside down, as if a storm had brutally ravaged everything in its path. Drops of sweat soaked my forehead because of fear and my weakened health. I didn't knew the identity of these guys or what was their goal, but only one thought remained clear in my mind: I had to run away.
I staggered down the stairs so fast that I was stumbling a few times. It was only after I'd passed the last step that I noticed blood flowing on the floor. I was trembling at this sight, almost out of breath... After a moment of hesitation, I walked in the hallway. When I turned my gaze to the living room, my legs collapsed on the ground and my face turned white... I couldn't believe what I saw.
The lifeless bodies of my parents, uncle and aunt, lying on the ground, bleeding and riddled with bullets.
No... It's not true... It can't be true... It's a nightmare...
No sound came out of my mouth. I didn't even have the strength to scream.
I slowly crawled near my mother's corpse, totally ignoring my legs and hands bathing in blood. Her messy hair and the red color that covered her didn't prevent me from seeing her face... Eyes closed, livid skin and a dull and pained expression. The same traits were found on my father, May and Ben.
It was at that time that I realized they were dead. Sadness overwhelmed me and burst into tears at the corners of my eyelids.
"Mom... Dad... May... Ben..." I whispered between my lips, my lungs burning.
I was unable to move. My body was cold. A horrible sensation of nausea rose in me as I breathed the disgusting smell of the living room, but I held myself not to throw up on the dirty floor. Suddenly, a shiver ran through my spine, as if my conscience suddenly awoke. I slowly turned my head behind me... Four men were armed with pistols, dressed in a black outfit with a strange emblem on the left forearm that I couldn't see. One of them was a little ahead of the other three. His dark eyes were devoid of humanity or remorse.
The chief stared at me with an impassible and terribly calm look, then he gave an order to one of his colleagues. The latter executed himself, his gun pointed on my forehead.
Suddenly, I became fully aware of the situation I was... These guys weren't thieves but murderers. Someone sent them to kill my parents, May and Ben. And now that it was done, they would eliminate any witness of their crime... I realized that I was going to be the next to die.
All my senses faded, as if my mind had separated from reality and had abandoned my body... My vision was blurred by tears and I waited for my end, mentally formulating a desperate prayer :
Help me…
In a single second, the wall on my left burst into a thousand pieces. I quickly covered my face before the dust blinded me, which wasn't the case of the four men who began to cough and growl like wild beasts. Fear forbade me to look at what was happening, so I continued to hide my gaze as deafening bangs echoed through the hollow of my eardrums, mixed with the strangled cries of the murderers. This cacophony lasted only a few moments before being quiet.
Once I had recovered from the shock of this intervention, I removed my trembling arms and instinctively looked up to the one who'd saved me... And what I saw remained forever etched in my memory.
A helmet with bright eyes. A red and golden armor which belonged to only one person in this world.
Iron Man.
My idol was there, right in front of me. I couldn't turn my eyes away from him, too shaken to make any movement... In any other circumstance, I would have jumped of joy, asked him hundreds of questions and screamed that it was the best day of my life. However, the blood on my skin reminded me that I was the only survivor of a tragedy.
The superhero turned at me after finding out that the assassins were unconscious.
"You're not hurt, kid ?" He said.
This sentence woke me up from the shock, and I nodded quickly. Suddenly, a distant and regular sound made its way to my ears... I didn't pay attention to it because of the events that happened earlier. It sounded like a clock, which was strange since the house didn't have a watchmaker. When I carefully focused on the nature of the noise, it sounded more like a countdown. It was then that I understood, and I threw a panicked look at Iron Man... He didn't need more to deduce what it was, and he pressed me strongly against him before evacuating quickly with his repulsors.
And before we knew it, a blazing explosion rang out.
The blast of the explosion was so powerful that the armor lost its balance and crashed violently on the ground. I found myself lying on the grass, half-sounded. I gathered all the strength I had left to get up. The air around me was suffocating. Flames and smoke rose in the black sky, where I saw the burnt remains of the walls and foundations of the house where I grew up. The smiling faces of my family reappeared in my mind for a very short moment, then their portraits deteriorated through the crackling fire.
At that moment, my heartbeat fell silent.
I let myself fall on the ground. The last thing I heard before I lost consciousness was a siren and a distant mechanical voice.