Note: Yes, Surprise & Tragedy is back, and hopefully better than ever! I've done my best again. I re-read the previous Surprise & Tragedy, and really realised the plot holes in the story. So here is the new, improved Surprise & Tragedy. I even changed the summary! :O
Note 2: In this fic, Jessica will be making her re-entry! She will be in the story, just revised. In this revised version, she already has an established friendship with Peter, a childhood friend actually, and is in fact already a member of S.H.I.E.L.D, but I am thinking of adding another possible OC for fun. She is in training to become one of the Avengers. I thought that this set-up might be better. Tony is the only one who knows that Peter is Spiderman. They also don't know that Jessica is the one in training. Only Fury does. Also, Peter is Tony's biological son, so he's Peter Stark. I know, it sounds weird haha! Pepper and Tony are also married! Yay! *claps*
Note 3: Jessica's parents were killed in an accident when she was five. She currently lives with the Avengers.
Note 4: Will they still end up together? Well, review, and you'll find out!
Summary:
At the climax of the battle with Loki, Spiderman is critically injured. As she held the young hero in her arms, she felt true sadness for the first time. His blood..pooling beneath her. She didn't want to let him go. She just couldn't. She wasn't ready to let him go. Because she loved him.
OO-OO
OO-OO
Cries of pain echoed throughout the streets of New York city, only matched by the agonized sobs of suffering. Many bodies lined the streets, and everywhere you turned, someone was crying. Someone else had lost someone they knew and loved. Rubble fell from ruined buildings like a nightmarish snowfall. Flames accented the rubble which lined the streets. People ran screaming from the aliens which had dominion over the city's skies. Explosions rocked the city, knocking civilians off of their feet as they made a desperate scramble for survival. The only thing keeping them going was one single team. The only response team who had shown up.
The Avengers.
And the Avenger-in-training, also known as Phoenix.
But fear still lingered in the hearts of the many civilians.
Because it seemed like...
The aliens just kept coming...
They were currently gathered in Grand Central Station, where most of the civilians were gathering. It was currently the only secure spot. Hulk was positioned at the entrance, and Thor at the exit, as they were the main muscle-power in the team, to prevent the Chitauri from getting in. Which left Iron Man, Captain America, Black Widow, Hawkeye, and Spiderman to keep an eye out. The avenger-in-training, who was currently under the alias of Phoenix, was on her way to their location. It had been around ten minutes since she announced that Fury had finished her de-briefing, and that she was on her way. Spiderman seemed impatient, tapping his toes on the floor, crossing his arms. Iron Man was concerned. He knew who was behind that mask. His son. And his very son was about to wage into a battle.
"Where is she?" Spiderman asked impatiently, starting to pace back and forth.
"She'll be here soon." Steve reassured him.
They heard a crash outside the building. Followed by screams.
Chitauri screams.
Some cheers from civilians.
Captain America and Spiderman rushed to the entrance, pushing past Hulk, who too looked surprised. The sight that greeted them sparked a sense of pride. Ok, alot of the rubble was on fire, but there was a large mound of defeated chitauri soldiers, blood leaking out from beneath the pile. Broken and burned weapons littered the surrounding area. The civilains cheered as they ran for safety. Iron Man clapped his approval as Phoenix jumped up, over the mound of burned and mangled soldiers.
Ok, even Tony had to admit. The girl was...how would one put it? Hot. Of course he didn't think of her that way, after all, he had Pepper. But he had a theory that Spiderman had a thing for her. Well, it made sense, Peter and Phoenix were the youngest on the team, despite not even Tony knowing who Phoenix was. Hell, he was the only one who knew that Peter was Spiderman.
His mind flashed back to the current situation as Peter rushed forward to meet Phoenix. She was limping slightly, but grinning from ear to ear. Her bright, electric red hair was waving all around her. Her black face mask, which covered around her eyes with the corners shaped like flames, matched her elbow-length black gloves and flat boots. The bodysuit was a deep red, with gold flames creeping up her legs and arms. There was a fairly deep cut on her right thigh. Hulk came over, Captain America taking his space.
"Hey, you alright?" Iron Man asked.
"Of course." Phoenix tucked her hair behind her ears.
"You took a while." Spiderman noted.
"Sorry. It started raining out by HQ, so I kinda got...um..." Phoenix started nervously.
"Extinguished?" Spiderman asked.
"Yep." Phoenix laughed. "Sorry 'bout that."
"That's a pretty deep cut. You sure your alright?" Iron Man asked.
"Fire bird alright?" Hulk asked.
"Yes, big green, I'm fine." Phoenix held up her hand. Hulk gently high fived.
"So, spot anything on your delayed flight?" The faceplate opened and Tony grinned.
"Yes. The portal is on the balcony of Stark Tower." Phoenix reported.
"Well, we better go there." The faceplate retracted.
"What about the civilians?" Spiderman asked.
"Oh, Fury is sending the Air Force and the Military to get civilians to safe places." Phoenix stretched.
"When will they arrive?" Tony asked.
They heard the whirr of helicopter blades in the far distance, and Phoenix grinned. Waving with flame covered hands to indicate where the helicopter should land, Phoenix gestured to the Grand Central Station building. A brief flash of light from the pilot indicated that they understood. Once the helicopter had safely landed, and soldiers started pouring out, Hulk went to get Thor, Steve, Natasha, and Clint.
"I can't wait to be an official Avenger." Phoenix grinned. "I can go to a restaurant and send everyone a text saying 'Avengers Assemble'."
Spiderman chuckled fondly.
"But, we want to find Loki as well." Steve added as he walked over.
"Yep, we realised that, Capsicle." Tony grinned behind the Iron Man faceplate.
"Shall we split up? I believe it would be the most efficient way of finding my brother." Thor put in, spinning Mjolnir in his right hand.
"Thor's right. We can cover more ground." Spiderman nodded.
"So, team time!" Clint punched the air.
"Ok, Romanov, Barton, you two in a team." Steve nodded. The two assassins wished everyone luck before rushing off to the south.
"Thor, Hulk. You two." Steve grinned as Hulk mock-punched Thor. He waited until the two had thundered off to the right.
"Can me and Spiderman go in a team?" Phoenix asked.
"I don't know..having the two youngest..." Steve hesitated.
"Go on, Cap, let the two lovebirds go." Tony chuckled.
"I will burn down the Shawarma restaurant if you say that again." Phoenix sounded embarrassed.
"NO! NOT THE SHAWARMA!" Tony cried.
"Yes. I shall save some and eat it in front of you." Phoenix laughed.
What a beautiful sound...Peter thought.
"Ok, everyone's comms are working, so notify if you see anything. Tony and I will head to Stark Tower." Steve nodded.
"So, which direction?" Phoenix asked.
"As far away from Stark as we can be." Spiderman grinned behind the mask.
"Then east it is." Phoenix grinned as flames enveloped her body. She jumped into the air, and took off, a plume of black smoke following her.
Peter smiled before shooting out a web to a near building and swinging after her.
OO-OO
AN HOUR LATER
OO-OO
None of the Avengers had caught even a glimpse of the green-eyed trickster. Not even a glimmer of his armour. The team were getting increasingly concerned. If Loki attack Grand Cental Station...many more innocent lives would be taken. They were nearing where they had previously gathered, maybe twenty minutes out. So far, no one had sustained serious injuries. But, despite Phoenix insisting that she was fine, Peter couldn't help but notice that she was slowing down. He finally persuaded her to sit down and take a break. She collapsed heavily onto her back, with a happy sigh, before slowly sitting back up.
"Let me take a look at that." Peter smiled as he knelt beside her.
He gulped as he fully took in the depth of the gash. It was more of a stab wound than a gash, but a deep wound nonetheless. The blood flow had perhaps been halted by her powers, but as she slowly exhausted them, blood was beginning to flow steadily, slowly making a pool beneath her leg.
"Who caused this?" he asked.
"Just got nicked by one of the alien guns. No biggie." Phoenix winced as he pressed down on it.
"No big deal? Phoenix, this is pretty bad." Peter hid his concern behind the mask of confidence that Spiderman wore.
"I'll be fine. Really." Phoenix tried getting up, but the moment she did, all colour drained from her face. She swayed dangerously. Peter immediately got an arm round her waist, supporting her. Defiantly, she gently pushed him off.
"Still no sight of Loki?" Steve's voice sounded through their comms.
"No...we're good..." Phoenix drew in a sharp breath.
"Phoenix, are you alright?" Steve asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just out of breath." Peter was impressed at the front she put on.
"Well, remember we're all here if you two find Loki and need any assistance." Steve reassured.
"I know." Phoenix smiled.
Both teens froze as their comms started going static. A faint chuckle could be heard in the distance. Both teens prayed that it wasn't who they thought it was. But their luck had run out.
Because, marching towards them, was Loki, a large group of taller Chitauri soldiers following him, the ground trembling as they marched forward. Peter cursed. Their comms were out, cold. Dead. Zip. Nadda. Zero power. Phoenix straightened her stance, and clicked her neck, stretching out her arms and clicking her knuckles.
"I'll take Loki." Phoenix clenched her fists as fire formed round them.
"Are you mad?" Peter asked in astonishment.
"He's frost. I'm fire. As soon as the comms are up, call the others. If you take those Chitauri." Phoenix grinned as the flames once again enveloped her shapely body, giving her the form of a fire queen. A true definition of her hero name.
Before Peter could make a further argument, she took off, flying right in the path of Loki. The god chuckled before sending a bolt of blue magic towards her. He looked dumfounded when it merely sizzled on contact, not even harming her. Phoenix headbutted the god, and Peter laughed when the God when flying backwards.
"Fool mortal." Loki muttered before getting back on his feet, Phoenix hovering a few metres away from him.
"You call me a fool?" Phoenix scoffed.
"Yes. Mortals like you are influenced by emotions. But I am a God. I will not lose to you mortals." Loki held up his spear.
Phoenix's eyes widened as she saw where his spear was pointing.
It was pointing at Spiderman, who was currently grappling with a Chitauri soldier.
Loki's spear glowed brightly.
Blue.
And cold.
This wasn't like his previous shot.
He shot to kill.
And he wasn't going to kill Spiderman on her watch.
Not today.
Not ever.
She took off, shouting at Spiderman to move the hell out of the way. Spiderman's head turned just in time to see Loki fire the bolt.
Time seemed to slow down.
Making the flames around her body grow, Phoenix threw herself in his direction, pushing Spiderman out of the way as the bolt hit.
Everything flashed white.
Before everything sunk into black.
OO-OO
OO-OO
Peter's head rang with pain. All he could feel was a numbing pain. He couldn't move his body. Or even open his eyes. So he was confined to the darkness. One thought crossed over his current pain. Phoenix.
Why had she thrown herself in front of him? Why take that risk?
She couldn't know who he was.
Did she?
But Peter didn't even really know who Phoenix was. He had his ideas, but it was no way his childhood friend Jessica. She was wild, outgoing, and nowhere near this...mature...
He gritted his teeth and forced his eyes open.
At first, everything was a blur.
But he blinked furiously, focusing behind the mask, which was somehow still intact.
The force of the clash between Loki's magic and Phoenix's flames had knocked out the soldiers that arrived with Loki, leaving them strewn everywhere, some buried under piles of rubble.
Loki himself lay groaning on the ground.
But where was Phoenix?
Peter gritted his teeth, and forced himself up on his elbows. His body protested. But Phoenix had taken 90% of that blast. She would be in far more pain.
He got to his hands and knees somehow, and looked all round for his friend. His comrade.
Peter's heart caught in his throat when he spotted Phoenix's signature red hair by some rubble.
Adrenalin forced Peter to his feet. He winced, but rushed over, his pain temporarily forgotten as he ran to her side.
Jessica was covered in bits of rubble.
Peter scrabbled to pull it away from her.
He had to save her.
Because she had saved him.
Because he loved her.
The last piece of rubble was removed, leacing Phoenix curled in on herself, on her side.
Peter's stomach turned as he saw the deep gash on her forehead rapidly leaking blood, the wound in her thigh larger, blood already pooling. Her hair covered her face, the blood staining her beautiful hair.
Brushing it aside gently, Peter let out a choked cry.
Her mask was gone.
He saw a familiar face.
His suspicions were confirmed.
Facing him...
Was his beloved childhood friend.
Jessica.
He looked around wildly for something to stop the blood, jumping when his comm buzzed to life.
"Spid...man...how...you...worried...on...way...all...team" it was hard to tell who it was through the static.
"Loki. He's found us." Peter swallowed.
"Shit." that was definately Tony. "Situation?"
"Loki arrived with a bunch of enhanced Chitauri soldiers. Phoenix went for him. Something about Frost and Flame not mixing. Loki...he..." Peter choked back a sob. "He was aiming for me with...his magic...but Phoenix...she...she..."
"Take your time. Calm down." that was Steve.
Peter took a deep breath.
"She jumped in front. I was knocked out. Don't know how long for." Peter continued, trying to staunch the flow of blood from Jessica's forehead. "She was wrapped in flames. Could've been worse. But her foreheads bleeding pretty bad. Not to mention that stab wound in her thigh. Don't know about internal damage...and..."
"And?" Clint buzzed in.
"Her mask is gone.."
At this, the other Avengers gasped.
"Dad..." Peter muttered.
"Sssh!" Tony warned.
"Peter, is that you?" Natasha asked.
"Yes." Peter didn't care anymore. "It's her, dad. It's Jessica."
"Oh crap..." he could hear Tony barking at Jarvis to increase the suit's speed. "We're about six minutes out. Loki?"
"Loki's pretty out of it. But he's starting to get up." Peter looked down at his friend.
"We'll need to talk later." Steve warned.
"I don't care!" Peter shouted. "Just get over here!"
Peter went back to Jessica, cradling her in his arms. Her body was limp and lifeless.
Everything had gone terribly wrong in a matter of moments.
A spark of fury lighted in Peter's aching heart as he heard Loki get to his feet. Heard the clank of the spear.
Loki was standing up, glaring at the lifeless teen in Peter's arms.
The God was going down.
Even if Peter went down with him.
Peter gently laid Jessica down.
He slowly stood up.
And turned to face Loki.
"Ah. So the spider decides to make a move. After using the girl as his shield." Loki scoffed.
"I didn't use her as a shield. She protected me of her own free will. And now, your going to pay." Peter cracked his knuckles.
He ran at Loki, dodging the beams he shot at him. Knocking Loki's staff away from his hand, Peter did a roundhouse kick, sending the god flying backwards. Loki responded by grappling for his spear, hitting Peter with it. The two exchanged furious blows, hitting one another with a loud clang.
Peter went in for another hit, but Loki vanished.
Peter's head turned left and right, looking wildly for Loki.
His body froze up as he saw Loki, with his spear, standing over Jessica.
No way.
No fucking way.
That little sneak.
Peter started running over, the anger propelling him forward.
No way was he killing Jessica.
He knelt in front of Jessica with his arms outspread.
"Peter...nearly...there." his comm buzzed.
He grimaced as the spear dug deep into his abdomen, willing himself not to scream.
He was better than this.
Stronger than this.
Peter could hear a loud roar in the near distance.
Loki noticed this.
He sneered at the two teens before vanishing, leaving Peter to fall onto his side on the floor.
OO-OO
OO-OO
Pain...
A worse pain...
An overwwelming pain...
No...
He didn't want to die yet...
OO-OO
OO-OO
Jessica's eyes fluttered open. She immediately winced. There was a pounding in her hear. She closed her eyes again. When she opened them a minute later, she watched with horror-filled eyes as Spiderman fell to his side, tears welling up in her eyes as Loki vanished. Despite the pain and nausea coursing through her body, she attempted to pull him towards her.
But she only got the mask.
Spiderman had saved her.
She had a right to know who he was.
Jessica feebly reached for the Spidey mask, and gently pulled it away.
Her eyes widened.
Tears poured afrash down her face.
It was him.
It was Peter.
Her childhood friend.
Who she loved.
She could feel the screaming, white hot pain in her arms, but that wasn't going to stop her.
No.
Jessica gently pulled him towards her, and held him tightly in her arms.
The rain began to fell.
Heavily.
Washing away the blood.
But not all of it.
"Where are they?"
That was Steve.
Fueler by anger and despair, Jessica lit up like a neon light, bursting into flame. But Peter wouldn't be harmed by the flames. Because she wouldn't let them. She got one of Peter's arms round her shoulder, supporting him. She slowly stood up, choking back her cry of pain as blood spurted from the wound in her thigh. Broken ribs grinded painfully. But she had to hold it together.
For Peter.
Because he was her friend.
Because she loved him.
As she struggled forward, she heard his breathing slowing.
His pulse wavered dramatically.
"No...nonono! Peter, don't leave me! Don't leave. Don't go." She begged him as she forced them forward.
"I need you..." tears streamed down her face. "Don't go dying after I saved your ass. You can't leave. Tony'll kill me. Fury'll kill me. Pepper will kill me."
She took a deep breath.
"You just can't leave. We'll get through this together...I can't let you die..."
Her heart skipped a beat as his breathing picked up slightly.
"Because I love you."
OO-OO
OO-OO
The Avengers, minus Hulk and Thor, were making a desperate run. Both of the youngest members were in danger. They'd left Hulk and Thor to take care of Loki. They would be more than enough. Tony flew faster above the others, desperate to reach his son.
Heavy rain began to fell.
Like an omen.
Grey.
Dark.
Cold.
Like death.
"Can you see them?" Steve asked.
"No..." Tony swallowed before descending to stand next to Steve.
"Let's hope we find them soon." Clint sighed.
"We will find-" Tony was cut off as they saw a figure coming towards them.
Supporting another figure.
The former was wrapped in flames.
"I thought Phoenix couldn't generate flames in heavy rain?" Natasha asked as the team started running towards them.
"Is that you guys?" Phoenix stopped.
"It's us." Steve called.
"Please...help him..." was all Phoenix got out before she started falling forwards.
Steve ran forward and caught her as the flames extinguished, Tony swiftly catching Peter, noticing that he didn't have the mask on. Peter was unconscious, whereas Jessica was in a dizzy semi-conscious state. They gently laid the two teens down, with Steve holding Jessica in his arms.
"Listen to me. Jess, can you hear me?" Steve asked.
Jessica's eyes were bleary and glazed.
"Yeah...I'm not deaf you know." Jessica poked Steve.
"How much pain are you in?" Steve asked.
"I don't know...I can't really feel much. Carried Peter over here." Jessica sighed.
"How far?" Tony asked.
"I don't know..." Jessica's eyes fluttered dangerously. Steve felt sick as he saw the blood covering her face and neck. Not to mention the blood pouring down her leg.
"Come on." Steve clicked his fingers in front of her face. "Stay awake."
Jessica swallowed.
"How's Peter?" she asked.
"Not good." Tony admitted. "Could've been worse. The heat from those flames of yours stopped most of the bleeding."
"Good." Jessica's eyes drifted shut.
"No, no, stay with us!" Steve shook her gently.
"Thor, hurry it up. Nat, call Fury." Clint swore.
Both Steve and Tony felt sick.
The blood...
There was so much of it...
The young lives were slowly ebbing away...
They couldn't die...
They had their whole lives ahead of them...
Tony spoke quietly.
"Please...don't leave...don't go..."
OO-OO
OO-OO
How was it? Better? Worse? Let me know in the reviews!
OO-OO
OO-OO