A Blast From the Past Chapter 2: Just A Dream, a Twilight + Avengers Crossover fanfic

A Blast From the Past

Disclaimer:
As I said before, with the exception of Shaelynn Banner, I own nothing.

Rating:
T

Genre:
Romance/Drama

Pairing(s):
ScienceHusbands (Tony/Bruce)
Stevelynn (Steven Rogers/Shaelynn Banner)
Clintasha (I'm not sure, but, I might throw them in...If the opportunity presents itself.)
[lesser mentions, but, possibly referenced]
Carlisle/Esme
Edward/Bella
Jasper/Alice
Emmett/Rosalie
Jaob/Renesmee

Lyrics Used:
Carrie Underwood "Just A Dream"

Author's Note:
So this story has procured 4 followers, 3 favorites, and 2 reviews. So, I am taking that as a cue to write at least one more chapter (this one). If y'all want more, ya gotta keep reviewing, favoriting and following! Reviews are the food that I eat and the air in my lungs! I live on feedback! The more the better! Also, for this chapter, I'm taking very slight creative license with the song lyrics simply to change "Everybody's sayin' he's a-comin' home now" to "Everybody's sayin' she's a-comin' home now" :D

This Is Just A Dream

"I've missed you, too, dad." I couldn't believe it. It was Shaelynn. Standing right across the room. This isn't possible. No, this can't be happening. It's just...not possible. I thought to myself. The shock of the whole situation is too much and I can feel my knees buckle underneath me as I make to cross the room to her. I can't believe it. In the instant between my knees buckling and my body hitting the floor, Shaelynn closes the fifteen foot-maybe more, I really don't know-distance between us to catch me. That's not humanly possible! How did she do that? No one could move across the room that fast. It was like she had-I don't know-teleported or something.

After catching me, Shaelynn guided me over to the bed to sit down next to her on the edge. Finally regaining my composure, I voiced the question on my mind. "Is this some sorta sick idea of a prank?!" I asked. Not exactly how I wanted to say it, but, well...I wasn't exactly thinking rationally, at this point.

Shaelynn chuckled softly and tossed her long, brown, hair back behind her shoulder as she replied. "No. No, it's...it's no prank."

I was still at a loss. How could I possibly explain my dead daughter suddenly sitting next to me on the edge of my bed? "Well, then...If it's not a prank...Then..." I paused, mentally searching for any other plausible explanation. Finding nothing, I simply asked "Then, am I dreaming? I mean, is this even actually happening, right now?" I asked, desperately. Part of me was terrified that this really was just all an elaborate dream that I would wake up from all too soon.

But, Shaelynn just smiled at me fondly. "No, dad." She shook her head, chuckling lightly again. "No, you're definitely very much awake. And, yes...This really is happening, right now. I'm actually sitting here, on this bed, next to you."

"But...How?" Not exactly eloquent, but, it would do. I just needed answers. I didn't really care much about how I got them. "And, what happened to your glasses?" Now, that part of the initial shock wore off, I noticed Shaelynn wasn't wearing her glasses like she always used to which was odd. As I recall, she was always blind as a bat without them.

Sighing softly, she simply replied "Well, I can actually address both questions with one explanation." If she saw my confused look, she ignored it as she pressed onward. "But, it's...quite a long story." She warned.

Shrugging, I simply told her "I've got all the time in the world for my little girl." I couldn't help smiling as the fond smile returned to her face.

"Well, all right, then." She said, as she rose to her feet. I made to stand with her but motioned for me to stay seated. "Like I said, this is a long story. You might wanna just make yourself comfortable. We're gonna be here a while." Strange, but, okay. I did as she instructed and scooted back lean back against the headrest as she walked around to the foot of the bed and began pacing.

"Well, to start off with, we have to go back almost six years to my accident." She began. I didn't really wanna go back to that, again. But, if it would help explain why she was here, now, I would hear her out. "Look, I know you believed I died in that accident-and, you're...not wrong about that." Why was she being so cryptic about this. As I took in the pensive expression on her face, she appeared to be searching for the best way to explain this to me. "For all intents and purposes, I am dead. I mean, you can check for yourself, if you don't believe me. I have no pulse...No heartbeat...Nothing." I was confused. "The only reason I'm still capable of breathing is to use my sense of smell. The reason I'm standing here, today, is because of a man named Dr. Carlisle Cullen." Shaelynn paused for a moment before continuing. "Carlisle was there when the accident happened-he smelled the blood." What the hell?! What the hell is she talking about 'he smelled the blood'?! "He came to investigate-to see what he could do to save me. But, after taking one look at the wreckage, he knew...He knew there was nothing that could be done for me-medically speaking. So..." She paused for a moment as she turned face me, head on, staring directly into my eyes. "So, he took me home with him and..." She paused once again before speaking again, much softer. "And, he turned me."

Was this supposed to be answering my questions or creating all brand new ones? "I don't understand. Turned you into...what, exactly?" I asked.

"A vampire." She responded, very matter-of-factly. "See, Carlisle knew that the only way to 'save' me was to turn me because the vampire venom would heal all of my injuries and physical imperfections-that's why I don't wear glasses, anymore. Don't need 'em." She shrugged, casually, at the explanation for her now perfect eyesight. How can she be so casual about this? I wondered.

"I'm sorry, I must have misunderstood." That had to be it. I know my daughter didn't just say she was a vampire. "I thought you just said he turned you into a vampire!"

"No, you heard me just fine." She explained. Sighing softly, she returned to sit down next to me, once again. "Look, dad..." She began, her tone taking on a much more serious note. "I know this all sounds...Pretty damn crazy. But, I need you to believe me when I tell you that it's the truth." I looked into her eyes-always a clear indicator of her honesty-when I noticed. Those had changed, too. What is going on, here?

"Your eyes..." I started, lost in Shaelynn's new eye color. Before, they had always been a soft doe brown color. Now, they were a bright gold. It was both disturbing and fascinating at the same time. "They're-"

"Gold?" She finished for me. "Yeah, I know." She shrugged it off. "It's because of my diet." She explained, casually.

"I'm sorry...Your diet?" I asked.

"Yeah." She replied. "You see...In the vampire world, I'm what we generally refer to as a...Well, a vegetarian." She told me.

"A vegetarian?" What the hell does that mean? I mean, I know what a vegetarian is among normal humans but...with vampires? I have no idea what the hell Shaelynn's talking about. The scientific side of me can't help thinking Shaelynn sounds...more than a little crazy. But, the more rational and realistic side told me that I know my daughter. And, if she says she a vampire then...Crazy or not...I believe her. "What does that mean?"

Lightly pinching the bridge of her nose-something she picked up from me-Shaelynn appeared to be searching for the right words to convey what she was trying to explain. "Well...Ya know how vampires traditionally feed on human blood?" This conversation is starting to disturb me a little more. "Well, vegetarian vampires-such as myself-feed on the blood of animals rather than humans." She explained. It wasn't much but it was better than the idea of my daughter feeding on human blood. ... I guess. "Think of it like...Like a human living on a diet consisting solely of tofu...Nutritionally speaking, it's everything we need. It sustains us. But, we're never really...truly satisfied." I shuddered slightly at the last part.

"Why didn't you tell me this, before?" I asked, my voice a little more desperate than I really wanted.

Sighing heavily, Shaelynn fell silent for a moment, hanging her head for a moment. Finally raising her gaze back up to mine, she replied almost sadly. "Well...It was...kinda for two reasons really. For one, during the first year of my immortality-my newborn year, as they call it-I was extremely dangerous, as most newborns are. I was always thirsty-always looking for that next meal-almost like a junkie lookin' for a fix." Sighing, she added brokenly. "Plus, I was...I was so angry."

My paternal instincts were taking over as I was flooded with concern for my daughter. "Angry?" I asked. "What were you so angry about?"

"Because they took you away from me!" She cried out. Her voice was wet and thick with emotion. She sounded like she was crying, but, no tears fell from her eyes. Interesting...I wondered how she could sound so clearly like she was crying without shedding a single tear but I figured that could wait for another time. There was clearly something far more important we needed to talk about, first. Shaelynn paused for a moment, to gather her composure, before speaking again. "That's the other reason I didn't come forward, sooner. They told me it was too dangerous for me to try to contact you after I was turned. I was forced to let you believe I was dead. They told me that...That letting you believe that was...Well, they said that was safer. They told me that it would protect you."

Safer? Protect me? Protect me from what? I wondered. How in the hell could letting me believe my daughter to be dead for almost six years possibly do anyone any good? "Why was that safer?" I asked, trying to will myself calm.

Sighing again, Shaelynn returned to pacing back and forth at the foot of the bed as she spoke again. "I was told that if I tried to contact you after the change, that...That they would kill us both."

"Who's 'they'?" I asked, rising to stop her pacing. I gently placed my hands on her biceps to force her gaze to land on me. "What are you talking about, Shae?"

"The Volturi." She stated simply. "The way the Cullens explained it to me is that...The Volturi are a coven of vampires based out of Volterra, Italy. They act as...Well, you could think of them as vampire cops. They enforce our laws."

"Vampires have laws?" I wondered, a loud.

Chuckling softly, Shaelynn replied. "Yeah, we do. Well, really only one that's regularly enforced." She added, cryptically.

"And, that is..." I prompted. I had a feeling I already knew the answer, but, I needed to hear it for myself.

Snorting sarcastically, Shaelynn spoke again with a voice that reminded me strangely of Tony's sarcastic, light-hearted joking tone. "Don't go around telling your human dad you're a vampire." Clearly, she was paraphrasing, but, I got the point. Suddenly, her serious tone returned. "You see, dad...The Volturi are very strict about humans knowing that we exist. Technically speaking, humans-such as yourself-aren't supposed to know about us because humans-you in particular, yes, I know all about the 'Other Guy'-actually do have the power to destroy us." She explained. "So, whenever the Volturi finds out that a vampire has exposed them self to a human-and trust me...they always find out-they kill the human and the vampire. I...I just couldn't let them hurt you." The last part was so broken, I couldn't take it, anymore. I pulled Shaelynn into my arms and held her, tight. The contact-which I had been missing so dearly over the years-was enough to bring the tears back to my eyes.

After standing like that for a few moments, I finally released her as the tears slowed to a stop. "So...Why now?" I asked, shakily. "Why-after all this time-did you finally decide to reveal yourself to me?"

"Because..." She sighed. "Because, now...You're protected under S.H.I.E.L.D's treaty with the Volturi, now that you've become a permanent fixture with S.H.I.E.L.D." She explained, very matter-of-factly.

"Treaty?" What was she talking about? I didn't know about any treaty. But, then again, I didn't know that vampires were real until just a few moments ago. "What treaty?" I asked, curious.

"Well, you see...Years ago, back in the early days of S.H.I.E.L.D., there was a conflict between S.H.I.E.L.D. and a coven of rogue vampires." She stated. "Of course, S.H.I.E.L.D. was hilariously out-matched by the vampires with their army of newborn vampires so the Volturi stepped in." Shaelynn was sounding more and more like a student reading facts out of a history book, the more she spoke. "Once the battle was over and the newborn army shut down and the mature vampires had been dealt with...The Volturi was a little hesitant about wiping out an entire organization-that's not to say they couldn't do it-But, they had noticed that S.H.E.L.D. operatives possessed certain skill sets that couldn't be denied or ignored. So, they created a treaty with S.H.I.E.L.D. stating that as long as S.H.I.E.L.D didn't destroy any vampires, the Volturi would allow them to know about our existence without killing them. That treaty and that protection extends to all S.H.I.E.L.D. associates-the Avengers included-yourself, included."

Wow. It all seemed so simple and so complicated all at the same time. This really was a lot information to take in. Then, another question came to mind. "You said that humans-myself in particular-had the potential to destroy vampires?" I asked, curiously.

"Well, like I said...I know all about the Other Guy. And, quite honestly...Brute strength is...kinda key to destroying vampires." Shaelynn must have caught my confused expression. "Look, I didn't really wanna have to go into too much detail about this, but..." Sighing, she added "Look, the only way to kill a vampire is...to dismember them...be-head them...and burn the pieces."

Listening to my daughter's explanation, I can't help the shudder that runs through my entire body. The mere thought that I could kill my own daughter...Chills me to the bone. Shaelynn must have sensed this as she placed a calming hand on my shoulder. "Look...I know all about him. And, I'm not afraid of him." Shaelynn sounds so determined, so sure of herself. Even with everything that has changed...I'm beyond relieved to see that some things haven't.

"So..." I started, awkwardly. "Why, uh...Why, now? I mean, I know you said you couldn't tell me the truth until I became a permanent fixture at S.H.I.E.L.D. but...Well, it's been-gosh, almost a year-since I became part of both S.H.I.E.L.D. and The Avengers so...Why, now?" I asked. I really didn't want her to feel guilty I just...I had to know. "Why couldn't you just come to me back then?"

I watched as Shaelynn hung her head in shame and nearly regretted my words. I almost apologized until she lifted her gaze back up to meet mine as she spoke again. "I just..." Sighing lightly, she continued on. "I don't know, to be perfectly honest. I thought about it. But, I needed to be sure you were going to stick around after the Chitauri battle." I quirked an eyebrow at the reference to the Chitauri. How did she know about that? She just smirked slightly as she elaborated "Oh, yes. I kept very close tabs on you during that mission. I've been keeping an eye on you ever since...well, ever since your accident." Oh. "So, yes...I know about your subsequent suicide attempt-an act for which you'll likely never be off the hook for, by the way-I was actually there." She was? I never knew that. I never saw her. "You never knew it-you were never meant to. Not unless you needed me-"

"I've needed you for the last almost six years, Shaelynn!" I cried. I didn't mean to. I just couldn't hold it in, any longer. I instantly regret it as I watch her turn her back to me as she crosses the room to lean her forehead on her fist against the wall. A quiet sob escapes her lips and it breaks my heart.

"And, what?!" Her voice is thick with emotion and it sounds like she's crying. When she turns to face me again, there's so much pain in her eyes, it cuts right through me like a knife. "You think I've been living the damn high life ever since I was turned?! Like I never missed you?! Like I never needed my dad?!" Her voice trembles with emotion as she releases pain that I would wager has been steadily building over the last six years. "I needed you every damn day, dad! I spent six months traveling the world-deliberately killing as many humans as I could! And, do you know why I did it?!" I can't believe what I'm hearing. Why would Shaelynn willingly and knowingly become a serial killer? "I did it to hurt Carlisle!" She cried. What? "That's right. I did it to hurt Dr. Cullen because I wanted him to hurt just as much as I did when he took you away from me!"

"Shaelynn, I-" My voice stops as I can't think of any words that I could possibly say that would ever make any of this okay. "Shaelynn, I'm so sorry. I know that doesn't even begin to cover it, but, I am." As I spoke, I begin approaching Shaelynn, pulling her into my arms, holding her close against me as her sobs begin to wrack her entire body.

"It's not your fault, dad." She stated, shakily, as she finally pulled away to look into my eyes. Even after all that sobbing, her eyes are still amazingly dry. A humor-less chuckle escapes her lips as she added "Tony was right, ya know. The accident, my becoming a vampire...None of it was your fault. It's time you forgave yourself."

"Thank you, Shaelynn." I replied, sincerely. "That really does mean a lot to me." And, it did. It meant a lot to me to know that she didn't blame me for any of this. Not that I ever thought she would, but...Well, it was still nice to hear. I started to say something else when Shaelynn's phone started ringing.

Pulling the phone from her pocket, Shaelynn stated "It's Jasper." Looking from the phone in her hand back up to me, she added somewhat apologetically. "I have to take this. It could be important."

"Sure." I replied. I had gotten some of the answers I needed and it was enough to hold me for a while. Certainly long enough for her to take a phone call.

"Hello?" She asked. It must have been important given the look that crossed her face as she listened to the response. "Jasper, Jasper, calm down." That can't be good. "Alice saw what?" I watched as Shaelynn froze while sheer panic washed over her face. Aw, hell. "Look, send a picture of Alice's drawing to my phone." Her tone was serious and straight down to business but dropped dangerously low as she added "I need to see this for myself." As she pulled the phone away from her ear, she stared at the screen for a moment before the picture appeared. After staring the picture a while longer, she put the phone back up to her ear. "Get the others together-the mutts, too-and get your asses on the next flight to New York!" She ordered. "We gotta get ahead a this thing..." With that, she ended the call and looked up at me with sheer terror in her eyes. "Get the Avengers together. We have a problem..."

Resting a concerned hand on her shoulder, I asked. "A problem? Shaelynn, what's going on? Talk to me!" I was virtually pleading with her to let me in on what was going on, here.

Sighing, she replied "The Volturi are coming here, to New York. And, they have a very specific target in mind." Her voice was dangerous and elusive. But, I needed to know more.

"Who's the target?" I asked, my voice trembling ever so slightly.

"You." Was the only response I got. But, believe you me...It was far more than I ever bargained for.