Come Back to Me

Chapter 1 - An Unexpected Surprise

Author's Note: I saw this movie in IMAX last Thursday, and was blown away by how good it was. Definitely does not deserve the critic rating that it has on Rotten Tomatoes, and is one of the best Marvel movies I've seen in my life thus far.

If you're reading this, then hopefully you've seen the movie also and already knows what happened cause this story will contain spoilers for those who haven't yet.

Also, I am not really familiar with the comic history of these characters since I only grew up reading Spider-Man comics, so I apologize for any OOC occurrences because I'll be going off of what I've seen MCU-wise.

And I'm only the owner of this story while everything else belongs to Marvel/Disney.


"Alright, be sure to have your work all done and complete when you return next week for Ms. Sersi and I to look over."

As the group of young students all began making their way out of the classroom, Dane started to grab his own things off the desk when he was approached by a young girl.

"She is going to be back here on Monday, right?" The student asked, who had been saved from a falling object by Sersi back when an earthquake had occurred in the room. "I… was hoping to properly thank her for…"

Letting out a sigh, the history professor gave her a small smile before saying his honest response. "I can't promise you that she will, but I can assure you that she's doing her absolute best to make her way back here."

That seemed to be a good-enough answer for the young girl, so she thanked him before walking out of the classroom to catch up with her friends. Dane chuckled quietly, and eventually left the room once he was sure he had everything with him… which he did except for the museum curator herself.

"Please, you need to talk to -" The last words he'd heard from her before their video call yesterday had disconnected. Dane could tell that there was something really terrible she had wanted to tell him, but was having trouble trying to find a way how. It couldn't have been worse than Thanos.

As he exited the Museum of Natural History, Dane adjusted his scarf and coat since the outdoor weather was rather cold despite the weather reports having forecasted sunny skies. No surprise there, honestly. He headed over to the nearest coffee shop, and a few minutes later, Dane sighed in relief as his body was filled with warmth after having taken a sip of hot cocoa.

"Alright, now which way again to the Z-" said Dane, but he stopped for a moment because it had suddenly felt like the weather temperature had jumped right up from 70 to 100° in an instant. "What the…?"

Just as he was about to remove his coat, the coldness returned and Dane looked up at the sky for a moment with a confused expression. The sun was shining as it usually did, so Dane just shook his head before continuing on with the remainder of his day.


(Later that night...)

"All over the world, it seems that there had been a momentary weather temperature increase, as well as unexpected cloudy skies. Even the oceans-"

Turning off the television, Dane yawned and stretched himself out a little in his comfortable living room chair. He also turned to look at the nearby coffee table, where several framed photos were placed. One of them had been taken by him on the first date that he'd went on with Sersi, and Dane sighed before wishing to himself that she was doing alright. Wherever on this Earth that may be.

He then decidied that it was time for him to go to bed, so Dane stood up and started to make his way up to his room when there was a frantic knock at the door.

"Can I help you?" exclaimed Dane, who was not really expecting any visitors at this hour of the evening. Instead of a response, the knocking only increased and became louder. "Okay, I'm coming!"

Arriving at the door, the history professor quickly opened it to suddenly find himself holding onto an individual that had just collapsed in his arms. "What in the… w-wait a minute… Sersi? Sprite?"

"Hey, Mr. Giraffe Guy. Look, I know you have questions, but right now, we gotta get her to a bed," replied the young red-haired kid, while Dane looked back and forth between her and the obviously-exhausted woman he was holding onto. " Where's the closest room in this place?"

A few minutes later, with assistance from Sprite, Dane had gotten Sersi to lay down on the guest bed and was finishing with placing a warm blanket over her, as well as a glass of water on the nearby nightstand. "Good night, Sersi."

After that, he left the room and went to look for Sprite, who was currently on the couch watching the news on the TV but on a muted volume. It didn't take long for the young kid to notice his return, though. "On the positive side of things, it looks like you've gotten her to move in with you."

Dane quietly chuckled before sitting back in his chair that was across from her. Before he spoke, he felt that there was something a bit different about the 12-year-old. "First, I would just like to say that I'm glad to see that the two of you are doing okay. But I'm concerned now about what exactly happened for Sersi to pass out in my arms right as I opened my door? And should I be expecting the other-"

"Don't…" Sprite suddenly spoke out loud, which surprised Dane. She then cleared her throat and gave him an apologetic look. "It's not really a pleasant explanation. One that I can understand will make you think differently of me after I finish, but hopefully you can understand why things happened. Also, he… um, Ikaris… no need for you to worry about him barging in or anything like that."

Dane nodded his head in silence, feeling less concerned but still confused. He waited a moment before giving his response. "All that I ask is for you to be honest with me, Sprite. No secrets or anything of the sort. Besides, it couldn't be as bad as what happened with the Avengers defeating Thanos."

That made Sprite chuckle and his face show a small sign of amusement, which also made Dane feel a little more positive. "Oh, I think what I'm gonna tell you will make that seem like a little kid's bedtime story."