Shadowed Past: Visions of Affliction
Chapter 3: Death, My Old Friend
Third Person POV
Alex was kicking and screaming in bed, which woke Steve up rather quickly.
"Alex?!" Steve shouted, looking over to see a horrific sight.
Not only was Alex crying bloody murder, but her irises were glowing bright red, her eyes wide open, and every single blood vessel in her body was also illuminated with the same shade of red as her eyes. Fresh tears rolled down her cheeks, and she stared straight at the ceiling above her.
Steve tried everything to try and get her to snap out of it, but she was lost.
He quickly picked her up in his arms, and sprinted out and down the hall to the direction of the medical ward.
Doctors and nurses began doing everything imaginable to Alex to sedate her determine the problem. Steve was shoved out of the room, and the only sound he could hear was Alex's screams. He felt goosebumps flood his skin, causing every hair to raise as fear washed over his being. He slowly backed away from the door to the room Alex was in until his back made contact with the hallway wall. Physically, Steve was frozen. Mentally, everything was happening at once. Billions of questions flooded his mind, fear interwove itself between every single muscle in his body, worry burned under his scalp, and worst of all, his heart broke.
Steve watched with watery eyes behind a wall of glass as the doctors finally sedated his soul mate, and began attaching many machines to her. An oxygen tube ran across her beautiful face, which was multiple shades more pale than usual. Multiple needles and IV tubes lay were shoved into the soft flesh of her arms, and a pulse reader lay clamped to her finger, where her wedding ring sparkled like a star far off in the galaxy.
The vision flashed in her head like a horror movie.
Alex flinched and gasped, her eyebrows knotted tight.
There was a large, purple beast. Bright lights reflected off of dirty gold armor upon it's head and body.
It was large, huge in comparison to Alex.
And it sat in a large throne, smirking no other smile than the one upon Satan's lips as he ruled his throne surrounded by flames and burning souls.
He wielded a large piece of armor with colorful gems. A golden hand, with a different gem on each knuckle.
Alex saw a glimpse of the Vision, and the yellow gem upon his forehead.
The missing puzzle piece to a part of life yet seen by Alex and The Avengers.
Alex's POV
"What do you mean, schizophrenia?"
"I'm sorry to deliver such bad news Mr. Rogers, but I'm afraid that's one of the only possible diagnoses."
"And the others?"
"Either way, from what we've collected so far, it appears to be a chemical imbalance in the brain. Nightmares themselves are alone a mental disorder than can cause many others as side affects. We'll have to run a few more tests to be sure. I'm sorry."
"Please, there has to be some other way. She seems completely normal besides these strange visions, I don't understand how it could be something so...in-depth if it's not affecting her 24/7."
"I'm not going to lie with you, the way her eyes were glowing along with her skin...that's not normal, even for a superhuman. It could be something to do with her genetic qualities, but I don't see how that could be positive in any way."
It was silent for a moment.
I tried my best to listen to Steve's response, but it was so muffled I couldn't understand.
"Knock knock,"
My eyes turned to the direction of the doorway to see Piper standing there.
"Hey," I sighed, happy to see her, also frustrated since my ease dropping session had officially ended.
"What happened, girl?" Piper asked.
"I don't know."
"Was it long after we texted?"
"No, probably not even five minutes...I just...lost it, I guess."
"Well, I saw the doctor was talking to Steve, so, maybe we'll know what's wrong soon and we can get you patched up, hospital bug."
"Yeah, hopefully." I chuckled softly.
Steve then walked into the room.
"You're awake," he smiled, his eyes lighting up like a child's on Christmas.
"I've been for about six minutes or so."
He walked over to me, "You've been counting?"
"Maybe." I grinned as he leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on my lips.
"Do you need anything, water, food, something?"
"I think I'm okay," I sighed. "I just wish all of these needles were out of my body."
"Well they need to stay in, for now."
"I know..."
"And I know that you're uncomfortable, and I wouldn't have brought you here unless I really had to, and, I had to."
"Steve, I trust you...and I believe you."
Steve nodded gently before kissing my forehead, running his hand softly over my hair.
Suddenly there was another knock on the door, and all three of us turned our heads to look.
"You seem to be very popular, Mrs. Rogers. I'm sorry for interrupting but I have to run a few tests now that she's awake...you both are welcome to wait out in the hall."
I looked up at Steve with concerned eyes, and he looked down into mine with sorrow filled ones. "It's gonna be okay," He whispered, wrapping his palm tightly in mine. His hand was flaming hot against my chilled one, our wedding bands lining up identically as our fingers intertwined. We shared one last kiss that took my breath away before he pulled back, taking his warmth and comfort with him.
Piper and Steve left the room in silence, leaving me to a stare down with a strange man who'd I'd never met who expected me to trust him with my life.
Exactly why I hated hospitals.
"So, how are you feeling, Mrs. Rogers?"
"Decent, I guess. A few aches and pains, but, hey, what can I expect?"
He chuckled to himself as he made his way next to the bed, fiddling with the machines I was hooked up to as our conversation continued.
"What about your head? Any throbbing, headaches?"
"A little, nothing irregular for what's been happening lately."
"Can you tell me a little more about these visions you've been having?"
"Uh, sure. They're very random, they kind of just take over whenever they want to, I'll black out and have a flashback from a moment in my life. But the ending will be different, even if the scene already ended badly in real life before, it will end even worse in the vision, usually with my own severe injury or someone I love getting hurt."
"I see. And how do you feel before these visions happen? Any signs when they're about to take over?"
"Sometimes I'll get a little light headed, but, other than that my eyes will just get super heavy and close and next thing I know I'm re-watching my own life."
"I'm going to be honest with you, I'm not exactly sure what's going on. Last night was quite a scare. Were you having a vision when the accident happened?"
"No...not really."
"Was anything happening in your head?"
My jaw clenched before speaking. I refused to tell this guy everything, no matter how much trouble it got me in. I knew that Steve had already told him all of the other information, and I wasn't going to share anything new with him.
"No."
"Are you sure?"
"Positive."
"Okay. Well, I'm going to run a few tests so we can try and get a better idea of what's going on."
I just nodded gently, not caring to respond orally.
Third Person POV
"Steve, she'll be okay." Piper said soothingly.
The two sat alone on a bench in the east wing of the medical ward, just down the hall and around a corner from where Alex was.
"She's strong, she's a fighter, but this is something that can defeat anything, or anyone." Steve said.
"What do you think it is?"
"I don't know. The doctor said that her symptoms seem very abnormal, even for someone with her genetics."
"And, last night, you said she was...glowing?"
"It was like a scene from a horror film." Steve said quietly, looking down. His eyes shone with the pain of what he had seen.
Silence fell over them.
Piper sighed prior to breaking the sheen of silence that had fallen over them both. "I've got some old mythology books in my room, we can start reading up if you'd like."
"Mythology?"
"You mentioned earlier that the doctor thinks it's something of the supernatural. And besides, after what happened with Dexter and Alex's mom, it wouldn't shock me if there was something un-earthly going on here. It's like this stuff chases her or something."
"I never believed in ghosts until what happened with Alex. I don't think I'll ever live that down."
"What about that time you peed your pants?"
"Piper, I never..."
"You're bluffing!" Piper exclaimed, a smile rising on her lips.
"Uh...no..."
Piper began laughing. "I never thought this trick actually worked! I've wanted to try it for years and it finally prevails!"
Steve just looked down, jaw clenched, cheeks bright red.
Piper noticed and tried her best to calm herself down. "Steve, I'm sorry, I just, the tension..."
"It's okay." Steve muttered.
"No it's not! I feel bad now," she snickered, "I didn't think I was actually going to point out something that actually happened."
The silence returned.
With a straight face, Piper spoke up, "So, was it recent, or..."
"It was back in the 30's. One night, Bucky and I watched a horror movie, and...yeah."
Piper snickered in her throat, her face staying flat.
Steve's head turned and his eyes burned a glare into Piper's face.
"I'm sorry." she said, biting her lip and clearing her throat.
Later that afternoon, Piper was called in for a job by Agent Hill and Steve decided to go back and visit Alex. It had been a couple of hours since the doctor had asked them to leave, and he was beginning to get worried.
Walking up to Alex's room, he knocked on the door gently.
He heard his wife's voice ring out, "Come in!"
Steve opened the door to see Alex lying up in her bed reading a book.
Alex's POV
"The doctor never came and told me you were done." Steve said.
"Huh, that's weird. Well, he finished about twenty minutes ago, so, you didn't miss much."
Steve pulled up a chair and leaned on the mattress. "So how have you been feeling?"
"Eh, the usual." I said, marking the page in my book and setting it aside.
"Do they know anything yet?"
I shrugged my shoulders. "Not to my knowledge, no."
Steve nodded in response.
"Have they said anything to you?"
"No." Steve replied.
"Where'd Piper go?"
"Maria called her in, they probably needed her to fax papers or something."
"I honestly feel bad for her, I mean, they treat her like a paper slave."
"She signed up for it though. They wouldn't let her hang around unless she did something."
"I know but I still feel bad. She's like a clueless puppy sometimes and I'm the worried mother."
Steve chuckled. He looked down and blushed, making me smile. He was so cute when he did that.
Suddenly there was a knock on the door, and Steve got up to answer it. Which was strange considering one of us could've just yelled.
Once the door swung open, I instantly recognized Natasha's red hair peeking over Steve's shoulder.
"Don't let those two hobos in here!"
"Hobos?" Steve asked.
"I'm just kidding!" I laughed.
"Hey sickie, we brought you some stuff to cheer you up." Nat said.
"Should I be scared?"
"Not that I'm a huge gift giver, but..." she reached into her bag, pulling out a bag of mini Reese's Cups.
"Aw yes!" I chuckled. She tossed me the bag and I caught it. "Thank you!"
"Not a problem."
"So, how have you been feeling?" Bruce asked, walking over to the bedside.
"A little better. I mean I feel fine other than when I have the weird visions attacks, so, I don't know." I said, stuffing my mouth full with the candy I'd been blessed with.
"Well, you don't look very ill. So, that's a plus." Bruce said.
"Not really, especially if it's all up here." I said, tapping the side of my head with my index finger.
"I know, I was just, trying to...ease the tension..." Bruce muttered awkwardly.
Steve's face was knotted in confusion, a look I'd grown used to seeing almost everyday, and Nat was biting her lip trying not to laugh. Bruce awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck as the silence swept over the room.
"So, is there a reason we're all standing here like statues...or?" Nat spoke up.
I shrugged my shoulders.
Bruce began looking through my files attached to a clip board next to my bed, and Nat sat down by my feet.
"I was going to ask you this before you got hospitalized, but, how would you like to come and see Clint with me this weekend?"
"That's be awesome! If, they let me out of here, that is."
"Alex, I don't know if that's a good idea." Steve piped up.
"I'll be fine, Steve."
"I think a little excursion out of base would be good for her." Nat said.
Steve shot her a death glare.
"I don't think it'd be horrible idea either, Steve." Bruce chimed in.
His glare shifted to Bruce.
"Maybe a little fresh air would do me some good."
"Honey, I don't know..." Steve trailed off.
"Please, baby?" I said, curving my bottom lip out and giving him my puppy dog eyes.
"If you do go I'm coming with you."
"I'd hate to break it to you, but you'll have to stay here and train the newbies."
"Nat, really?"
"I'm just saying! Besides, Als and I could use a little girl time on the way there, right?"
"Yeah, Steve we'll be fine, I promise."
"Just, please be safe." He sighed.
"Yes! Thank you!" I cheered. "C'mere and gimme a hug!"
Steve walked over and gently wrapped his arms around my back, and I laced mine around his.
He kissed the side of my head and muttered an "I love you" into my ear.
"I love you too," I muttered back, kissing his cheek.
"Yuck, get a room." Natasha said.
"Steve, can you, come here for a second?" Bruce said, standing by the doorway. He used his head to motion that he wanted to talk out in the hall. He was looking down at my medical papers with a concerned face which led to fear rising in my veins.
Steve walked out with Bruce, leaving me with the confused look usually plastered on Steve's features.
"I'm sure it's nothing."
"Nothing? Nat he was looking at that clipboard like it had my time and date of death on there."
"Don't say that, Bruce overreacts a lot. He makes something out of nothing."
"Are you sure?"
"Positive."
Third Person POV
"What's wrong?" Steve questioned.
"Her charts, they're not normal at all. Did that doctor say anything to you?"
"No, and what do you mean by not normal?"
"Look, her brain waves aren't too bad, but, most of her vital sings make no sense. It says her temperature is 110 degrees, her pulse is all over the place, her blood pressure, everything. But she looks fine. It's like they're not even her readings." Bruce said.
"Are you sure they didn't switch the papers or something?"
"It says her name and date of birth right there at the top. What puzzles me is why that doctor didn't say anything. Did you catch his name?"
"Now that I think about it, he wasn't wearing a tag or anything."
Bruce looked up with furrowed eyebrows and his jaw clenched. "Looks like we've got some digging to do. Don't tell Alex about her readings. We can mention that we think the doctor is a little strange so she can keep her guard up, but hopefully they'll release her soon since we are in the same building and she seems perfectly stable."
"I hope so."
While Bruce and Steve were having their hushed conversation, Natasha and Alex had carried one on of their own.
Alex POV
"So, Steve seems to be getting more affectionate in public with you." Nat said, winking.
I blushed a little, "Come on, we're not making out. Geesh, you act like we're all a bunch of horny teenagers."
"Well, I would say virgins, but..."
My cheeks turned even darker. "We're married, FYI." I said, holding up my left hand with my wedding band on it.
"I'm just teasing, calm down. You're turning purple already."
I covered my cheeks with my hands, feeling exactly how hot they actually were.
"Where is this conversation going?" I whined.
"I was headed towards having kids, but it kind of went off track."
"Kids? Why?"
"I don't know, I was just curious. Have you and Steve thought about mingling American flag and purple force fields yet?"
"It's crossed my mind, and I've sure it's crossed his, but we haven't really talked much about it. I think we're a little to busy to be raising a kid, Nat."
"I agree, plus I don't think Fury would be happy to have little spawns of us running around, but, that's not his decision."
"And a kid would be a huge target for any threat or villain out there. If Steve and I had a child, every evil thing out there would want to get it's paws on it to get their paws on us and corrupt everything. A superhuman child would literally be the key to destroying the planet."
She pursed her lips and nodded in response, agreeing with what I was saying.
I would ask if her and Bruce had thought about it in return, but, I remembered what had happened to Nat. She told me all about it once, and I couldn't sleep that night. I probably even had a nightmare or two that I just couldn't recall at the moment.
Just then, Steve and Bruce walked back into the room.
"We should probably get going, before they come and kick us out at least." Bruce spoke up.
Goodbyes were said, hugs were exchanged, and then only minutes later Steve and I were left to ourselves again.
"Bruce said something about that doctor of yours."
"Oh yeah, what's that?"
"Just, be careful. Bruce said he's a little weird."
"Yeah, I could tell. Hopefully if I can keep it together for tonight then they'll let me go in the morning. 24 hours of no breakdowns should prove it to them that I'm fine."
"I'm staying here tonight." Steve blurted out.
"You should go back to our room and get some rest, honey. You need it."
"I'm fine, I got 70 years of sleep, remember?"
"Yeah, but that was at least 15 years ago by now."
"70 out rules 15 by a long run."
"I don't care. I'll be fine."
"But what if you're not, and something happens...I can't leave you alone..." Steve trailed off.
I leaned my head to the side, looking over at him with a face that spoke of loving defeat. He wrapped his hand in mine, returning my look plus his adorable smirk.
"What am I gonna do with you?" I sighed.
He shrugged. "I don't know, but whatever you do, don't let me go."
"Never."
Later that night, I began drifting off into a peaceful sleep as I felt Steve's thumb gently caressing my palm, our fingers still locked.
I turned to him with almost closet eye lids and relaxed features, "Babe, go get some sleep." I yawned.
"I will, later." He said, lifting my hand up and pressing his lips to it.
A small grin found its was upon my face, just before I fell into the darkness that was the calm, comforting sense of rest.
My mind brought back a calming memory to dream about, one that brought a smile to my face every time I recalled it.
The ride back to Avengers Tower in the quinjet was rather quiet to start out.
Tony was in the pilot's seat, Bruce sat wrapped up in blankets with Beats earphones blasting music to for calming comfort; Thor and Nat wandered aimlessly around the small space, acting as if something new would pop up when they turned around. Even Clint was quiet, just sitting there fiddling with his bow and arrows. It was just a regular, boring flight back to home base. Steve sat next to me, his arm wrapped around my leather covered body. I leaned my head on his shoulder, hoping I would drift off to sleep. I was still cold from the forest, the tips of my fingers and nose still remaining nearly numb. Other than the humming of the engine and roaring winds outside the jet's walls, my sniffling was one of the only sounds within the area.
After sniffling for about the fortieth time, Clint finally spoke up.
"Hey, sniffles, are you trying to smell your way out of here or something?"
"No, sorry, I'm just cold." I said, snuggling closer to Steve.
"Maybe you should go cuddle with Bruce, he's sweating buckets over there." Clint muttered, getting a slap on the arm from Nat.
I looked over at Bruce, feeling horrible for him. He was covered in a sheen of sweat. His hair was beginning to absorb the moisture in small beads, causing his hair to bunch together about every eighty strands. His breathing was steady as he stared off into space with red and droopy eyes. It always pained me to see him like that, especially after knowing that he and I had shared the same type of thoughts and certain actions in the past.
Attempts, I should say.
"Okay, we are on the direct route back to the Tower. Please refrain from asking the pilot any questions as he does not care about your concerns." Tony said, fiddling with a few more buttons on the dashboard before turning around and jumping out of his seat.
Tony turned his sight to Thor, who he noticed was still standing since we boarded the jet almost two hours ago.
"Do Asgardians sit? Is that a thing or is it against the rules?" Tony chirped.
"I have no need to sit. For I will only become bored and drowsy, much like Lady Alex."
"Hey, watch it meatloaf." I replied.
"I am only stating the truth, Mrs. America."
I rolled my eyes, leaning my head back and groaning with irritation.
Tony and Clint both snickered, proud that their attitude had rubbed off on Thor.
"Sometimes I really want to slap all of you." Natasha muttered under her breath as she walked over to Bruce.
The rest of the ride home was a little less silent, more conversing and movement happened other than pacing back and forth.
Later that night, music thumped loudly inside Avengers Tower, and it was like a strange type of family reunion.
Piper helped me get cleaned up and get into a form fitting dress presentable for a party upon our return, even though I really just wanted to sleep...Tony was set on carrying out this party tonight.
I talked to many people that night. Conversing with Sam for a little while was nice, considering I hadn't seen him since SHIELD got corrupted from the inside by HYDRA and everyone was trying to kill us.
Even later into the night, after basically everyone had left, the main squad remained. We were all talking, laughing, trying and failing miserably to pick up Thor's hammer. Apparently we all "weren't worthy".
And that's when it began.
A beaten down robot, a skeleton with glowing eyes, stumbled into the room with the physique and movements of a zombie.
That night, under twinkling stars and clear skies, was when it all started.
Ultron began, and all of our lives changed.
Never again would my eyes see the same, and it was only the beginning.
The next morning, I awoke to a cheerful Steve informing me that I'd been released from the ward and could go back to the apartment.
I was so thankful that I could finally be freed from all of the IVs and beeping machines.
Steve went to go continue training the others, and I used the time I had alone wisely. Steve had told me to stay in bed, and just relax. He must have known that was a joke from the beginning.
As soon as he was gone, I broke out into full on research mode.
The base didn't have a library since everything was all high tech and fancy, but luckily; being the true nerd I was; I had a ton of old textbooks in a box in the closet. I'd brought them with me from the old apartment, to Avengers Tower, to here.
Even though, Nat, Bruce, or Steve didn't suspect a thing, I could multi task quite well.
When Nat and I had been talking, I distinctly heard what Bruce had said.
"It's like they're not even her readings."
The sentence pondered in my mind for what felt like days, when in reality it was only hours. I knew that my vitals were normal, but the readings were off. It had to be the machines.
Granted, this place had some of the best technology on the planet, I knew that the machines weren't just going crazy for any reason.
There was energy present that was throwing them off.
Two possibilities crossed my mind:
1) Energy surges because of someone tampering with the fuse boxes or something.
2) I was dealing with a ghost again.
Withing an hour or two, books were spread all over Steve and I's queen size mattress, and my mind was pulsing with fresh information.
Suddenly the door swung open, and I gasped, slamming the book shut that was in my arms.
"And what exactly are you doing?" Piper questioned, crossing her arms and pursing her lips.
"Um...homework?" I flashed a false, cheesy smile.
"Uh huh. Right." She said, walking over to the bed and picking up one of the open books.
"Mythology? What are you getting into?"
I was busted. I knew there was no way out of this one.
"I think there's something going on. With me, with everything. I know I'm not schizophrenic, and these flashbacks are headed to whole new level of weird."
"So you're thinking...monsters?"
"Ghosts, actually."
"Really, Alex?"
"Why are you surprised?! We've already dealt with creepy stuff and ghosts before!"
"I know," she sighed. "I was honestly starting to think the same thing."
"See! I'm not crazy!"
"Steve and I were going to start looking around in some stuff too. I thought about it the other night. I mentioned it when we were waiting out in the hall after your creepy doctor kicked us out."
"What do you think it is?"
"I don't know, but we better get working before things get any worse."
That night in bed, I told Steve what Piper and I had been brewing up, and he was ready to do whatever it took to make things right again.
And then the point that Nat brought up with me earlier flooded my frontal lobe again.
"Steve?"
"Hmm?" He said drowsily.
"Have you ever thought about, y'know, having kids?"
He turned to look at me, concern in his eyes.
"Yeah, why did you think I didn't want to?"
"No, no, I wasn't sure actually. I guess I never brought it up because it never really crossed my mind before."
"It'll cross mine sometimes, but, not a whole lot."
"I mean, do you want to?"
"Why, do you want to?"
"I don't know, that's why I'm asking you." I chuckled.
"I'd do anything for you." He said, running his hand gently across my cheek.
"And I'd do anything for you!" I laughed, slightly frustrated in a loving way that he wouldn't give me an answer.
A smile grew on his face, spreading onto mine.
"I think kids would be fun," He began. "But, it would also be a lot of work, especially keeping them safe."
"Yeah, I agree. I think I'd worry to much about them being a target for villains."
"But, it's not our decision. If God has a kid, or kids, planned for us, then they'll come." Steve said.
"Right." I sighed.
It was silent for a moment, before I decided to break it.
"I love you."
"I love you, too."