A/N: Hey guys and girls, not going to lie I'm trying to get these updates going regularly as I'm aware some of you aren't in school/work/etcetera due to a certain pandemic going around and might not have much to do. Sadly, my prime minister decided it was a good idea for a lot of people to get ill before he takes any action, so I'm still in college and struggling to balance school with this with a healthy sleeping schedule. Am ABSOLUTELY exhausted not going to lie my teachers are just throwing exams in my direction and it's not appreciated as my actual mock is only a month away. Really wanna die, and am feeling a little bit stuck at the moment, but we're gonna keep pushing and hopefully it will get easier.
Anyway, I don't want to keep rambling about that, absolutely thrilled that the last chapter managed to get the exact kind of response I wanted. Literally thank you so much to everyone who left a review x
JennyElephant: Thank you so much, you are so lovely and that's such a lovely thing to say! Don't worry, the story isn't over yet but I'm glad you've enjoyed reading this fanfiction as much as I've enjoyed writing it.
Hermione Romanoff: Omg, thank you for not hating me, I was very much relieved that no one was furious at me over what I did in the last chapter. Don't worry, this isn't the end yet but whether the end will be happy or not remains to be seen…
Thunderstrike16: That's an interesting theory, and I'll say it is a little bit right but at the same time not? It's hard to say without spoiling anything.
Guest (1): No! I didn't mean to make you cry even though I totally meant to ;)
Estaciojohnrafael: How ominous.
Vixen122: Thank you for leaving the time to leave a review :D
.mouse: I like to cause pain?
Pvrkcrr: Uh-oh, perhaps you jinxed it with your prediction? Or perhaps it isn't jinxed yet, you'll just have to see.
Sachachandler: WOW! Thank you for reading this whole thing and I am very sorry it's so freaking long, and I'm also sorry I had to leave you on that chapter cliff-hanger hee hee. You've made me realise that its perhaps not the most uplifting thing to write with the whole pandemic business, but oh well. I'm glad you've enjoyed the story :)
Thanks to: Shadowedsoul2, JennyElephant, Hermione Romanoff, Odie.18, PrettyRecklessLaura, Thunderstrike16, Guest (1), Books-and-Cleverness-394, estaciojohnrafael, vixen122, .mouse, Breanna944, Mogor, Yoshi133, stabertiger, shatch, winchester3232, pvrkcrr, maliabitesthings, Pokechan123, DeadSanto123, Sachachandler and luffymonky26 for either leaving a review or following/favouriting on the last chapter. Oh my God, we're nearly at 2000 reviews! That's incredible, thank you all so much.
"Fool me once, fool me twice
Are you death or paradise?
Now you'll never see me cry
There's just no time to die"
Identity REVEALED! Romeo and Juliet made reality. The real tragic love story between Spiderman and the enigmatic Bluebell.
Adara Thomas- aka The Bluebell- an ordinary girl turned saviour.
Beck arrested: J Jonah Jameson and The Daily Bugle issue formal apology
Who is Quentin Beck? Inter-Dimensional Warrior? Or Disgraced Ex-Stark Employee.
Who killed the Bluebell?
The Bluebell: Dead or Alive?
MJ was sitting in the waiting room of a hospital, flipping through her notebook in which she had practically cut out every newspaper title she had seen in the past two days. Ranging from the New York Times to the Wall Street Journal. All of them told half-truths, but all of them had figured out the identity of both the Bluebell and the Spiderman.
MJ was slightly relieved however, despite Adara's identity going out, no one had dug up her past with Hydra, nor her true parent's identity. They seemed to assume she was an orphan girl taken in by the Avengers, which wasn't far from the truth. Any information about any of her past associations with Hydra, or the murders she had committed was either not-yet-discovered or journalists were keeping it quiet out of respect. She was, of course, presumed to be a dead teenage girl by most of the press.
Not even the Bugle had spoken a word against her, it hadn't said much after the humiliating truth had come out. They had been spreading lies, most of the general public had turned again J Jonah Jameson and his paper, the only thing they had said was an apology, squirrel away on page ten of the paper, barely noticeable but published to prevent more backlash from the public and regulators.
There was another story too, usually put on page two or three, not forgotten but certainly not a priority.
Multi-Millionaire innovated, developer and scientist, Norman Osborn, dead due to long-term terminal illness.
There was no mention of the Green Goblin. What point would there be in that? He was dead, had passed away late last night after he had grown suddenly very sick. MJ didn't know exactly what had happened, but didn't want to pester Happy, who was already having a hard enough time as it was. Peter was with him at the moment, he had pretty much been with him the entire time, despite being allowed to see Adara after she had come out of surgery, he had only been in once. MJ couldn't blame him, she had only been in twice. Ned, surprisingly, had had more guts. He'd been there four times, before he had gone home, the first one out of all of them to leave the hospital. Harry hadn't seen Adara at all.
MJ had always been quite distant from her parents, they had given her independence and respected her enough to make her own decisions. Therefore, they hadn't paid much mind when MJ hadn't left the hospital in two day. Most of that time she spent in the company of May, who seemed the most calm out of all of them.
"Are you sure you don't want to go home, hun?" Asked May, face creased with concern. "You look tired. You could take Ned with you."
MJ glanced at Ned, who was laid out across a few seats in the waiting room, a forgotten tech magazine laying across his chest as he snored. Behind him, the glittering city night glittered beyond the large window. Night time had fallen, the first time in a few days it had stopped raining. MJ blinked, how long had it been night time? She felt bleary, tired and as if she wasn't really there. She glanced back at the notebook in her hand and closed it, shrugging.
May looked more concerned, "when was the last time you slept?"
"I slept… Here," MJ said.
She was fairly certain had fallen asleep a few times sitting in the waiting room as one moment it would be two in the afternoon and then it would suddenly be eight in the evening, and she was barely aware of that time passing.
"You should go home," said May, "and get some proper sleep. Eat some food, as well. It's not healthy to be waiting here and…" She looked uncertain at her next words but said them anyway. "And things might not change for a while."
MJ knew she was right, but it still hurt to hear anyway.
"Yeah," she muttered and checked the time. "Yeah, maybe I should go home."
There was the sound of a door opening, they both looked up while Ned let out a slightly louder snore but didn't wake up. Harry and Peter walked in, both of them looking like they could be better. Peter had been keeping Harry company, MJ reckoned it was partly to avoid seeing or thinking about Adara. He looked tired, and pale, uncomfortable in the hospital environment. Beside him, Harry looked worse. Red eyes, scruffy hair, completely drained. Without a word, he sat down next to MJ and leant his head back against the wall, and closed his eyes.
"I'm going to go home," said Peter. "I want to get some sleep."
"I'll come with you," sighed May. She had only been waiting for him anyway.
They were back in their flat, luckily their address had never been leaked so no one knew that Spiderman lived there. Granted, getting through the streets would be difficult when everyone knew Peter's identity. Thankfully, they lived quite close to the house.
"Are you staying?" Asked Peter.
MJ shrugged, "maybe a little longer."
He simply nodded. MJ got the distinct feeling that the boy hadn't slept at all in these past two days, he looked unfazed and uncaring about anything around him that had happened. They were all feeling a little burnt out, especially emotionally.
"I'll see you guys tomorrow," he said, voice hoarse.
May was a little more jolly in her goodbyes, reminding them to go home and get some sleep. No one woke Ned.
MJ was left with the silent Harry sitting next to her, she glanced at him.
"How are you?" She asked.
"Not great," he muttered.
MJ realised she wasn't much good at comforting people, so decided to be more practical.
"When was the last time you ate?"
"Lunch, I think."
"Slept?"
"I got some sleep last night," Harry sighed and rubbed his eyes. "After my father passed, I went back to the tower. My uncle, he runs the company on the West Coast, he's come over to look after me and the company. And he's nice, but it's weird." He shrugged. "The tower felt so big and so quiet. So I just came back to the hospital this morning, to sort some things out. Even though I don't have anything to sort out really."
"What is happening to Oscorp then?"
"For now its unclear. But my uncle and the board are the ones in charge now, but the company is mine when I turn twenty-one."
"Will you take it?"
"Maybe, probably," he shrugged. "I've always expected to take over Oscorp after my Dad. I don't think I'll be ready when I'm twenty-one, but when I'm older. Twenty-five, maybe, thirty."
MJ hummed in acknowledgment and fell silent. The two of them continued to sit there for a moment, unsure of what to say.
"I'm not going to trick myself into thinking he was a good father," said Harry finally. "Because he wasn't. He was a shit one. Sure, he was rich and I could've had anything I wanted as a kid. But I never had a father."
"What happened to him?" MJ's burning curiosity got the best of her.
"He was ill," he shrugged. "It was terminal, he knew he would die soon and it drove him mad looking for anything to elongate his life. He came after Peter and I tried to stop him but then the building we were in collapsed on top of him. It didn't kill him, but his injuries matched with his illness… It became too much. I knew when I dragged him out from the rubble it would be too late."
"Are you mad at Peter?"
Harry shook his head, "his blood wouldn't have fixed anything. I'm sure of that. It might have just made things worse, enhanced blood is a dangerous thing."
"Will you try to find a cure?"
"Yes," he nodded. "I've got years before it affects me. I'll spend those years looking for a cure, and if that doesn't work I'll live my life to the fullest."
"That's a good motto."
And then there was more silence. Both of them looked up when Ned muttered something in his sleep and loudly shifted on the chairs again. MJ thought about waking him up and telling him to go home, but she reckoned he wouldn't stir easily.
"Did you see her?" Asked Harry suddenly.
MJ blinked, "yeah a couple of times since she came out of surgery."
"No– I mean, did you see her when…"
He couldn't say it but MJ knew what he meant. He hadn't been there, he'd been with his father but MJ and Ned had been there. The memory of it made her stomach curl. When she had seen the crowd gather and heard people shouting for a doctor, for an ambulance, she had already gotten a bad feeling. She had shoved her way through the crowd only to see Peter hysterically sobbing over the bleeding body of her friend. At first, MJ had thought she was already dead. It should've been impossible for anyone to lose that much blood and still be conscious, or even alive.
She remembered Peter begging her to not fade away, and the crowd around them mummering that she was far too young. MJ had wanted to scream at them, this was their fault for ever believing Beck, their fault. But it was already done. And Steve had been there, probably after seeing the chaos on the news, to hold Adara's hand as she slipped away.
"I thought she had died then," confessed MJ, not realising that she was speaking aloud. "In my head, I was just like 'this is it, she's gone.' And then the ambulance came and took her away. And everyone was trying to talk to Ned and I, they realised we knew her, to get an interview but I just snapped at them. Told them to fuck off. When I finally got to the hospital, she was already in surgery. The Doctors said they didn't think it would make much of a difference anyway. Her body has just completely shut down. She's on life support, I overheard one of the nurses say she was practically dead."
"But she's not. She's still alive," the hurt in his voice cut her like a knife.
"I think it might be better to let her go."
"Don't say that."
"She was stabbed twice, Harry, her organs are shutting down and she's in so much pain. You should've seen her when she was lying on the floor… I'd never seen her like that."
MJ had seen Adara in many phases. Angry, upset, happy, distant, annoyed, broken. But never vulnerable. In her head, MJ supposed she had always thought of Adara to be invincible. Every mission she came close to a grievous injury, or ever death but brushed it off with a witty comment and a laugh. But seeing her lying on the floor like that… It had caused something to click inside MJ. A realisation that they were just kids. Maybe they were in over their heads.
It was too late now anyway.
"I want to see her," Harry said firmly.
"Are you sure?"
"I'm sure."
They left Ned asleep in the waiting room and walked down the empty corridors to where MJ knew Adara's room to be. They had left most of this floor empty, mainly because if anyone realised who was being treated, it would bring a lot of unwanted press attention. Besides, when Captain America asked for some peace and quiet, you gave him so peace and quiet.
Adara's room was at the end of a long corridor. A janitor and nurse were the only ones there, each one gave the teens a nod of acknowledgement.
MJ hesitated before opening the door, and then knocked to warn Steve she was coming in. When she opened the door, she felt her stomach drop in the same way it had the first time she had entered this room.
Steve looked as if he had only just woken up, sitting in the same seat he always was. The only one who hadn't left Adara's side, not even Peter could bare to look at her more than once without breaking down. He looked like he had been asleep, his arms crossed over his chest and his head lolled back against the wall, only just lifting up.
He blinked at the sight of MJ and Harry.
"Why haven't you two gone home yet?" He asked, eyebrows furrowing. "Michelle, how long have you been here?"
She didn't want to say the whole time so just shrugged. "Just as long as Ned's been here. I'll go home in a bit… Harry just wanted to visit."
Steve turned a grim expression to the boy, "how are you holding up, son?"
Harry was staring at Adara, exactly where MJ had been trying not to look. She was a ghastly shade of white, her hair limp and brown and sticking to her forehead. There were several tubes sticking out of her, an iv drip and a heart rate monitor, as well as a mask to support her breathing. She appeared like she was dead, or barely clinging onto her last thread of life. MJ was just relieved that she could no longer see the blood pooling out on the ground around her, but her brain was already replaying the sound of Peter's hysteric sobs.
Harry looked green but nodded mutely in response to Steve's question. The man seemed to understand the lack of response, and glanced over at the girl herself.
"Nothing's changed," he said. "She's in a coma."
"How long will she…" But he couldn't seem to finish his question.
He knew what he meant anyway. "We don't know, son. She's in a bad way, but it's best that she's asleep now."
MJ knew what that meant. At least it meant she wasn't in pain. She had been in pain when she had been lying on the road. She leant against the wall for a second, even thinking about it was difficult.
"She'll wake up," said Harry in a tone that was more confident that any of the rest of them felt. "She always does."
Steve just looked solemn, MJ realised he didn't believe she would. She realised she didn't believe it either. Maybe Harry's confident positivity was forced, maybe it came from ignorance. After all, he hadn't seen her bleed all over the place. Neither of them disagreed aloud though, MJ placed a hand on Harry's shoulder and squeezed it.
"I don't think I can sleep at my own house tonight," she confessed. "Maybe Ned and I could stay over at yours? We could order pizza?"
Part of it was for her own sake, but also for his sake. That tower was impossibly large and impossibly empty, even more so now that Norman was gone. Harry looked at her and nodded.
"Or Chinese?"
"Chinese is better."
Steve's face showed he was either disapproving of their choice of Chinese, or their junkfood diet in general. MJ reckoned it was the second one.
She spared one last look at Adara, unmoving, her chests rising and falling in shallow breaths, and gave Steve a smile in farewell, which he returned. Soon, he was left alone in the room again, the only accompaniment being the sound of a heart rate monitor, steadily beeping.
Peter's dream was more of a memory.
The two of them were in the science lab, having been partnered for a chemistry project. This was before either of them had realised each other's identities, and before either of them had worked out their feelings for one another. Back then, they were just friends and teenager, with the spark of something much bigger glinting in their eyes.
"And what if I added this?" Asked Adara.
"Then it'll blow up," Peter gave her a look. "Did you not listen to what miss was saying two minutes ago?"
"No, I never listen," she said. "So what do we do then?"
"We just stir it," he gestured to the glass stirrer in his hand and began moving their liquid around in their beaker. "For about five minutes."
"I don't even get the point in science. I mean, it's not real."
"Yes, it is."
"Well, I'm never going to need it."
"What if you become a doctor or something?"
"Would you trust me with surgery equipment."
Peter snorted in agreement. "That's true. I barely trust you right now. Please put down the hydrochloric acid."
"Is it dangerous?"
"Yes, it's acid."
"What if I add it to what we're doing?"
"I don't know what'll happen exactly," shrugged Peter as he mindlessly stirred the chemical, "but I do know that we'll end up getting detention."
"That could be fun."
Peter knew what happened next. While they were working, Flash would come over to bother Peter. And while Peter was being annoyed by the tiny bully, Adara would pour hydrochloric acid into the chemical they were making, and it would suddenly blow up. It had been impossible for him to be mad at her for earning them both a detention when she had shot him that glittering smile and let out a musical laugh that made his heart skip a beat.
And then she wasn't there. In fact, no one was, the room was suddenly empty, desolate. The lights were dim, and the world outside was dark and grey. He frowned.
"Adara?" He called out and heard footsteps outside the science lab.
Still confused, he left the room and glanced down the corridor, the light flickering overhead to illuminate a familiar figure down the hall.
"Adara?" He called out, "what are you doing? Where is everyone?"
She shot him that glittering smile and again, and brushed her hair out of her face.
"Come on, Pete, keep up."
She ran round the corner and out of sight. He ran after her, turning the corner only to see her vanishing behind another corridor. Peter continued to jog after her, but she was always just out of sight, laughing and disappearing again. Around him, the corridors seemed to be deteriorating, was there even this many corridors in the school?
Peter slowed down as he rounded another corner and leant against the wall, "Adara? Dara, come on, this isn't fun anymore."
"Giving up?" She laughed again, "come on, keep up. You'll regret it otherwise."
She laughed again, a musical sound, and vanished around the corner again. But something about the way she said that last phrase left Peter feeling hollow, dread rising in his chest. This time, he didn't run, he walked, his breathing getting heavier.
When he turned the corner, this time he saw Adara crumpled on the floor, her eyes lifeless as blood pooled from her stomach.
"No," he muttered, "no."
He fell to his knees beside her, gripping her bloody hands and lacing his fingers through hers, except they didn't move in response, remaining lifeless. It hadn't gone like this, he had gripped her hand and she had gripped back while crying and whimpering at any movements.
But this time she was just dead. Dead and Peter didn't even get to say goodbye, he didn't get to tell her he loved her again or kissed her again or–
"Peter," May's voice stirred him from his nightmare.
He gasped for air and realised he was in his room, on his bed. Blinking, he looked at her, eyes adjusting to the darkness to realise that May was sitting and looking down at him, hand gently squeezing his arm.
"You were shouting in your sleep," she said, voice soft.
"I thought I saw… I didn't…. Is Adara okay?"
"Nothing's changed, Peter," she shook her head, "maybe you should just go back to sleep."
He ran his fingers through his hair, "I'm scared at what I'll see."
She frowned and inspected him, "what happened, you know it wasn't your fault, right?"
"Yeah, I know," he said but he didn't really believe it.
If he had just been quicker… If he hadn't been caught up with the Green Goblin… If he had just been there…
Then again, even as he faulted himself inwardly, he knew who was really to blame. In his mind he had planned out exactly how he would take out his revenge, how he would make O'Leary pay. His anger was hot and raw and blended with his grief, especially when combined with the knowledge that O'Leary would never pay. The only person who would ever be able to find him was in a coma, clinging to life by the thinnest thread. He was already gone, Peter knew it. He had taken another face, another name, and was now somewhere else in the city, in the world, hidden and untraceable.
Peter's need for vengeance didn't cloud his judgement. He knew he would never be able to find O'Leary and that thought made him angrier. He had only felt rage like this twice before.
When he had tried to kill the man who had killed his father. But Adara had stopped him.
When he had attacked Luka so violently he thought he could kill him. But Tony had stopped him.
But neither of them could stop him now. The only thing that could stop him was his own limitations. And sadly, he had plenty of those.
O'Leary would live on without consequence while Adara laid in a hospital bed, tubes coming out of her with no guarantee she would ever wake up.
"Hey," came a voice, stirring Steve from his sleep. "How are you doing?"
Steve blinked, he had fallen asleep, this time on purpose. There was a couch in the hospital room designed for that purpose, granted he was slightly to talk for it, so his legs hung off the end of it. It didn't bother him, it was better than when he kept dozing off in his chair, leaving his back aching. He sat up, rubbing his eyes to see Sam holding a shopping bag, gesturing to it.
"I'm fine," he mumbled, still feeling tired. "What time is it?"
"Already ten. Did you sleep through the nurses coming in?"
Steve frowned, "I guess I did." How tired had he been?
"I got breakfast," he said and set down the bag. "Maybe you should head back to the apartment for a bit and freshen up. I can stay here with her."
He was probably right, but the thought of going back to that empty apartment made Steve feel a little ill right now. Instead, he shook his head and stood up, stretching.
"I'll stop by later," he said as he sat back down in his usual chair.
"Seriously, Steve, you smell."
"Later," the blonde said. "What did you get for breakfast?"
As the two ate, both of them made sure that it was never quiet for more than a second. A silent room with only the sound of a heart rate monitor was never a good thing. Part way through the conversation, Sam's face grew rather serious.
"Steve," he began with a sigh, "the other day before the ambulance got there. The way you spoke to Adara… It was familiar."
"What do you mean?"
"I've fought in wars too," Sam said. "I've lost comrades, I've had to make sure they go peacefully and not in pain."
Steve looked at him solemnly and shook his head, "I thought she was going to die. She was in a lot of pain, I just didn't want her to suffer."
"But she didn't die."
Steve closed his eyes in slight annoyance for a second, and then looked back at Sam. "I know."
"Steve… I just want you to consider the fact that Adara might not wake up."
"Don't."
"You have to consider it," Sam glanced at the girl. "Nothing's changed since the surgery. And things might continue to… Not change. What then?"
Steve swallowed, he would be lying if he said he hadn't considered the though. What if Adara didn't wake up? What if she continued to remain comatose for weeks, months, years? Still suffering from her wounds? Still barely alive? What then? It was a moral quandary he had never pictured himself getting into, he had convinced himself that Adara slept peacefully, but one look at her pale face covered in tubes and an oxygen mask said otherwise.
How long would she stay like that? It was hardly a way to live and, if nothing changed, would it be cruel to keep her like that?
"Not yet," sighed Steve, leaning back on his chair. "I don't have to think about that yet. Besides, it's Adara. She always wakes up."
But his voice didn't carry any certainty.
Water pooled around her feet, to the height of her shins. Of course, of course she was here.
Pain jolted through her stomach and she gasped while halfway through standing up, collapsing back into the water and rolling onto her back. The sky was still a fierce orange, a never-ending sunset, the water swallowed most of her head, but her face was still above the surface as she let out panicked gasps at the pain.
A figure stood over her. A figure with orange eyes that burnt a harsher than the sky around them.
"You should not be here," said the Soul Stone, "you can still feel pain here."
"Is this a dream?"
"This was never a dream," its voice carried no emotion as it looked down at her. "Sleep."
She closed her eyes and the pain stopped.
A/N: Adara was going to have a very long point of view here, but I'd rather keep things vague and mysterious for a little while longer like the cheeky bastard I am. There's still like a fair amount of chapters to go, so don't panic. But also be worried, because I am still very much able to cause pain.
In the meantime, stay safe everyone! I know the world seems like a scary place and some of you might be vulnerable, or quaratined but this isn't permenant! As long as we look out for each other, make sure to stay hygenic and stay determined we'll get through this :) And, you know what may be the cure to the Coronavirus? Incorrect quotes!
Harry: What do you think Adara will do for a distraction?
Peter: She'll probably, like, make a noise or throw a rock. That's what I would do.
[Building explodes and several car alarms go off]
Harry: …or she could do that
And another one
Harry: Bad news- Adara locked her keys inside the apartment.
Harry: Good news- We didn't have to wait around for a locksmith.
Harry: Bad news- Peter finds it very concerning that I know how to pick locks and MJ tried to unlock my Tragic Backstory™. I was too embarrassed to admit that the reason I got Adara to teach me was because, at thirteen, I figured it was the kind of skill that would impress cute guys.
Harry: Good news- A cute guy saw me do it.
Harry: Bad news- It was Jason, and since he's already seen me fall out of several trees, cry because I saw a fawn that was just too damn small, and knows I can ride a unicycle, he'll never think I'm cool no matter what I do. It's too late. He knows
I'm also currently writing the next White Whispers and Whiter Shadows chapter for those wondering about that story, though updates will remain slow.
Adara: I remember the "selling their kid on eBay" story...
Luka: Who sells their kid on eBay? That's nuts.
Luka: That's a child. A living being that you made.
Luka: That shit goes on Etsy.
Okay one more, hope anyone in self-isolation finds some entertainment in this! I'll try and get the next chapter up soon… Right after I finish this English homework… That was due in last week
Adara: I would love to be mysterious but unfortunately I never shut the fuck up.
