kellyhorse: Sorry to hear that! I had originally planned to do all of what we have so far as flashbacks, but felt it was more important to build up her backstory than jump directly into the main part of the story. The chapter after next will actually begin to join timelines with the movies, and we'll start seeing Peter, and then the rest of the Avengers soon after that as we hit Civil War and then Homecoming. Thank you for the feedback nonetheless, and thanks for reading up this far!
~Ilenthalum, Ilvoria~
December 29th, 2015
Water splashed across Creature's face, cooling her burning skin. Even with the apartment's cooling mechanisms running at full power, the building was nearly unbearable. It was the hottest time of day in the desert city, and most people were lazing about at home, content to sleep away the heat of the afternoon. Specter said Dragon was crazy to go out to the markets, her naturally colder body affected the most by the heat, but the boy had just grinned and shrugged it off. He was most productive in the heat, his own fire flaring underneath his skin in joy at the prospect of a hot day. Dragon had happily volunteered to get tonight's groceries for dinner, not at all bothered by the heat flash hitting the city hard.
Maybe it was the heat flash that tipped her off, most denizens of the city spending a quiet afternoon indoors making other movements seem off. But Creature knew a planned ambush when she heard one, and right now, there were people in the lobby of the apartment building who weren't supposed to be there. With Judge napping in his and Crown's room, she was the only one to notice, her inhuman hearing far superior to that of her family.
Even asleep, Judge can feel sudden, drastic changes in thought in those immediately around him, so Creature does not go to him, knowing he will wake. The spike in her mood shift will be enough to jolt him from sleep. No, her first action is to go to the living room, where the others are gathered.
"Ten men in the lobby, on their way up." She announced. Everyone's attention snapped to her from their own activities. "They're taking the elevator, they know Judge or I would hear them sooner if they took the stairs. Five more in the lobby, and I can't get an even count on the streets outside. They've got more men than they've ever brought."
Haven was the first to speak, giving orders and directing their retreat. "Pack your bag and find Dragon, Creature." He said curtly. "Specter, get yours and Dragon's things. Crown, Nova, get your things and all of you, get to the ship as soon as you can."
Creature didn't hear their responses, already on her way to the room she shared with the other girls. She didn't have much to pack, having kept her most important belongings in a backpack by the foot of her bed for just this reason, and she was already halfway out the window when Specter entered the room.
"What's wrong?" Dragon asked the moment Creature found him. He'd finished his shopping at the open air market and was on his way out, bag full of ingredients slung over his shoulder.
"Stoneshades. Lots of them. Get the ship ready, the others are on their way." Creature summarized. He held out a hand and she passed him her backpack. He knew her too well.
"I'll see you at the ship." He said.
"Safe and sound." She replied.
"Safe and sound." He repeated.
Specter and Crown were nowhere to be seen when she slipped back into the apartment through the window she'd left open. Good. They'd gotten out, and judging by what she could hear from the Stoneshads, they hadn't been caught. Judge was in the bathroom, likely packing their stash of medicines and bandages. They wouldn't want to leave those behind.
It was then that she heard it. A thud, a grunt. Out in the living room, where the door to the hall was. Where the Stoneshades had entered the apartment. Another thud, another grunt, a hiss of pain. Haven.
"Just tell us where they are, Evander." A haughty voice said. "The Matriarch wants them almost as much as she wants you. She's got such lovely plans for you lot."
"Go to hell." Haven spat.
Creature crept out of the bedroom and into the hall. No one would see her, the hall turned and then entered the living room. Counting the sounds she could hear, there were six of them in the living room with Haven, and the other four who had taken the elevator up were scouting the hall and other apartments on this floor.
"You're going to wish you were in hell once we're through with you, Evander." The same one who had spoken before said. Creature took stock of what she had access to, formulating a plan to surprise the Stoneshades and use that advantage to take them out.
A hand settled on her shoulder, and she turned to Nova. "I have an idea, but it's going to be risky. Even if we get past these guys, there are the men in the halls and surrounding the building-"
Supernova cut her off. "The crew of the CSS Mistral is my family, and Haven is more than just a father to me. The Stoneshades will not win."
"What are you-" Creature is again cut off.
"It is time for me to return to the plane I was born of." Supernova stated simply, beginning to walk forward, rounding the corner into the living room. Creature can only stare dumbly after her, the words not sinking in right away.
Just as she's about to follow, Judge finishes his packing and exits the bathroom. Spotting her, he grabs her and drags her through the bedroom she'd entered through, hand clamped over her mouth to keep her argument from alerting the Stoneshades to their presence. Down the fire escape they go, and they've just gotten through the back alleyway to where the others are waiting with the ship not far away when he releases her.
"We need to go back." She said. "Nova-"
"Creature, don't you dare go back." Judge ordered, eyes blazing a fiery blue.
"I don't know what Nova is planning, but she's going to die, we need to go help!" She yelled desperately.
"I'll get her." Crown volunteered. "I'll get them both out, don't worry." And before either of them can say anything, Crown is darting down the street and into the back alley they'd used to escape.
Judge begins to pace as the time passes by. After three tense minutes, Creature took a step toward the alleyway. Judge grabbed for her arm, but she dodged him, breaking into a run. She'd just made it to the mouth of the alley when a huge flash of light and heat threw her off her feet.
Judge is immediately at her side, helping her up, and he's said something but she can't hear him. She can't hear anything as she stares at the empty air where their apartment building once stood. There is nothing there. Nothing at all, in a perfect sphere around where the building had stood, just far out enough to have taken with it all of the Stoneshades that had lied in wait in the street.
Judge pulled Creature to her feet, said something else she couldn't hear, began to pull her toward where Dragon and Specter waited with the ship. She broke away from the boy, rushed forward to grab what she'd seen glinting on the charred ground. A ring and two bracelets. They really were near indestructible.
Creature's hearing has returned by the time Judge has gotten her back to the ship and gotten the ship itself up into space and on autopilot, trying to get as far from this planet as they can. The four of them gather in the living room, and no one speaks. They're all huddled onto one couch, soaking in each other's presence.
"Safe and sound." The whispered proclamation breaks the shocked silence. Dragon's gaze is fixed on Creature's arm. On her tattoo. She had been wearing a tank top because of the heat, and it is easy to see that some of the letters on her arm have faded to black. The colors Haven, Nova and Crown had picked, all gone.
Dragon and Specter each rush to check their own tattoos, but Judge doesn't even try. They all know what it'll look like. It is more than they can handle, Dragon, Specter and Creature, to see Judge sobbing, head in his hands. The three of them have never seen Judge anything less than perfectly composed, and it is scary to see him like this. But then the initial shock wears off, and they are sobbing, too. They've lost half of their family.
