chapter nine.
❛ monstrous ❜

_____

5 MONTHS AGO.

THAT WASN'T THE only night Arlyn had trouble sleeping, along with Peter too. So after over a year of dating, they thought it'd be best to sleep together, minimizing the amount of times they'd be woken up or have to call each other in the night.

The first night was difficult, to the say the least. They weren't really sure how they would do things. Arlyn was too nervous about somebody in her family walking in on them sharing a bed, so they decided to try sleeping at least in the same room.

Peter had shut the door, just finishing changing into his pyjamas. Arlyn laid in her bed, waiting for him to join her to turn off the light.

She had set up a sleeping bag beside her bed with a few pillows. Peter laid in the sleeping bag as Arlyn turned off her light-switch across the room with a small flick of her fingers.

"Good night Arlyn," Peter whispered.

"Night Pete."

20 minutes must had passed before she noticed him shuffle around a bit.

"You still awake?" Arlyn asked, peering over the edge of her bed to find him laying on his back, eyes wide open.

"Yeah."

Arlyn thought for a moment. She knew why he couldn't sleep, and in some way it was also why she couldn't sleep either.

"I'm here," her voice was as quiet as a mouse as her hand dropped below the bed, open for his own, which he gladly held. Peter laid on his side, one hand under his head and the other interlocked with Arlyn's.

And not too long after did they end up falling asleep. Their physical connection was somehow a link to reality, a way for them to come back from nightmares knowing they were merely dreams, or not dream of them at all.

Things seemed to be going well for a while, as they got slowly better at falling asleep together (soon moving to share a bed together) and Arlyn managing to train often at the Avenger's facility. That was, until a certain cloudy day in Queens, New York.

The invisible menace was back again, and Arlyn was after him. Peter was out of town for the weekend, and today of all days she had to be stuck facing this guy alone.

One day after school, Arlyn was prowling the rooftops as she normally did when she heard a commotion a few blocks down. When reaching the point, farther away from the main roads was a car crash. This crash only consisted of one car though, and it had been flipped over. She knew this invisible man had to be the cause of this.

Arlyn swooped down, making sure to stop any cars passing by, which were only a few that either stopped and watched in fear or sped off frantically. It had crashed near the side of the road, and as Arlyn got closer she could hear multiple voices.

"I'm gonna get you out of there, calm down m'am!" Arlyn called out, pulling onto the car door with her magic, attempting to pry it open, but it was quite jammed. As it inched open, Arlyn was stopped short when she felt something smack across her face, plummeting her to the other side of the road. Her face hit first. She could taste blood dripping from her nose already.

"Come out and play, you coward!" Arlyn called, getting up on her feet and glancing around for the invisible man.

A few footsteps sounded beside her, and she quickly threw up a forcefield, sending the man flying backwards, giving her enough time to open the car door. It finally flew off, and Arlyn then began pulling the woman out. She was cut short again when pinned to the ground, feeling hands wrap around her neck harshly.

"You'll never be a hero, all you are is a puny teenager who'll pay for the disease you carry."

With one push, a force of energy struck out of her, which hit him, yet only loosened his grip as he grunted in pain. Arlyn grabbed onto the hands that were suffocating her, gripping them off her throat with the pull of her energy, pushing him fully off her.

She had a little extra time now to get the woman out of the car, and the blonde woman with cuts and soon to be bruises slowly crawled out.

Arlyn knew the man was coming closer again. Behind her laid the car door, and in a split second she sent it flying towards the man's body, throwing him to the ground and making his suit slowly reappear in glitches.

"You're sick, you're sick!" He called out. Arlyn's whole body fumed, kicking off the car door and kneeling over him, sending a rush of energy towards his face in a swing of a punch.

Screams erupted behind her, but she ignored them, sounds drowning out around her with each punch.

"You deserve to die, all you things with powers do."

"You're a disease."

"The world will die and it'll be your fault."

"Everyone around you will die because of you!"

Each word that came out if his maniac mouth was silenced by a punch, and soon enough he stoped talking. She couldn't tell though, even when blood coated her bruised knuckles, and his eyes rolled into the back of his skull, and all she could feel was pain that turned into power. Her once red knuckles blazed purple, her energy fuelling her, making her into something she'd never felt before. Her eyes glowed a bright purple as she screamed with each punch.

But slowly the world came to a full stop around her when the world shouted her name. Arlyn's eyes stopped glowing, as she turned around to see the woman being pulled away by police men, others trying to open the back door to the car. But they couldn't do it, not when only Arlyn had the strength to.

A little girl sat upside down, stoic and bloodied, in the backseat through the window. Her mother screamed at Cosmo. She had been screaming for some time now.

The world crashed onto her shoulders. Her hands were bloody, she could see that. She could also see the dead man underneath her. Arlyn's breath became frantic as she pushed herself off him, crawling towards the little girl in the car. By now the police had found a way through the front doors, pulling her out. Arlyn stopped crawling when she noticed the looks on their faces.

The look of disappointment on everyone around her, and the look of death on the little girl they grabbed.

Arlyn's knees wobbled with each word that hurled her way once she stood. She wanted to throw up. Her throat tightened as she begged for air. She found herself blasting into the sky, flying straight towards her apartment. She had to get away. She had to get this blood off her hands.

She somehow made it through the front door to her apartment, breathing sporadically with a pale face.

The television was on, and there she was on the news, everything around her being caught on camera from a helicopter view. She could barely read the headlines through her tears; she didn't want to anyway. Her mother sat on the couch, turning to her with a look she couldn't decipher.

She spoke to her, Arlyn could tell she wasn't happy.

Arlyn simply shook her head. She had to get away. Get away.

Something grabbed her arm as she walked backwards. "Get away!" Arlyn shouted, pushing something away to her right. Kai stumbled backwards, holding his arm. She watched the remnants of her powers disappear into the air.

I hurt him. I hurt him. I hurt him.

"Just get away from me..." Arlyn whispered, walking backwards until her back hit the wall, and she stumbled around the corner, storming towards her bedroom.

Once she made it inside, she pushed the door closed with such force that a wave of energy knocked it shut, shaking the room lightly, only making her more hysterical.

Her shaky, bloodied hands ran through her hair as she let out a strangle scream. Inevitably, an uncontrollable force echoed off her body, shaking her room and knocking things off shelves. She had never wanted to get out of her body more than she did now.

"Why do I keep hurting people?" She cried, handing flying to her mouth to stop her uncontrollable sobs that vibrated across the room.

Stop. Stop. Stop. She wanted it to stop.

Arlyn fell to the ground, clutching her body as tightly as she could, holding her mouth to hide her strangled cries as sobs wracked her throat.

What had she done?

_____

Arlyn didn't get out of bed until the next morning, much past the start of school. Her mothers knew what had happened, and decided not to disturb her. Arlyn couldn't help but think her family's lack of interaction with her was driven by fear.

Was everyone in New York afraid of her now?

The house was empty when she left her room. She raised her hand to try and fly the remote into her hand before her breath hitched in her throat, lowering it and walking over to the remote to do it manually instead. One wrong move and maybe she'd make the apartment crumble.

Arlyn quickly switched away from any news channels, and onto some re-run of a show she'd seen a hundred times. Heading to the kitchen, she was about to make some breakfast, before she heard the front door opening. Arlyn thought it may had been one of her parents coming home from work, but it was much too early for that.

She was correct in thinking that, seeing as it wasn't her parents, nor anyone in her family.

Tony Stark stood at the doorway with a paper bag and coffee in hand. She stiffened behind the counter, eyebrows furrowing at the key in his other hand.

Stark shut the door, jiggling the key in his hand. "Your moms gave me a spare. Nice ladies."

Arlyn's fingers fiddled with the hem of her pyjama shirt. "Why...why are you here?" She asked hoarsely.

Stark shrugged, walking towards the kitchen counter and putting the objects down. "Stopped off at my favourite breakfast place. Thought you may want some breakfast. You like egg muffin sandwiches?"

Arlyn, still quite confused, nodded nonetheless. "Got myself some coffee. Not you though, kids your age are way too young for caffeine."

She stared at him in question. He let out a quiet sigh, pulling off his glasses and shoving them in his pocket. "How are you doing?"

Arlyn knew he knew what had happened. That was probably why he was here. She never thought someone like Stark would do such a thing.

But by the looks of her, he was grateful he had. Deep bags hung under her eyes, which looked incredibly tired. Her face was pale, and her hair was tied back into a messy ponytail, with her pyjamas still on (a loose t-shirt and sweatpants).

Arlyn looked away from his gaze, eyes falling to the countertop. She opened her mouth to reply, but it took a few moments to speak. "I'm okay."

He stood in silence, staring at her, as if that wasn't the right answer. He saw right through her as if she a ghost. She dared to look up at him, and he looked at her with different eyes than before.

Something fatherly hung in them as he looked into her eyes, begging for her to tell the truth.

Arlyn had begun to nod her head, trying to convince herself that she was alright, but that nod slowly turned into a shake. She bowed her head, bottom lip trembling, her eyes burning with old tears. "I'm not okay," she finally got out, barely able to choke out a sob before she flew her hand to her mouth, trying to hide the emotions she felt.

Stark rounded the counter, and surprised Arlyn with and embrace. She dropped her hand, awkwardly clinging onto his shirt. She could tell Stark hadn't done something like this besides with a significant other in a very long time, but he still felt like a natural. She let herself cry into his chest, wondering if he would be mad; his outfit was probably worth more than her entire closet.

Stark pulled her away, but still kept his hands on her arms. Arlyn sniffed away the last of her tears, shaking her head again. "I'm sorry."

Now it was his turn to shake his head. "Don't be sorry. Be better."

Arlyn glanced up at him in question, so he continued. "I'm not gonna yell at you because you're not my responsibility, and quite honestly I'm afraid of what'll happen to me if I do, powers aside."

She almost cracked a smile, glancing to her feet. "So..." Stark continued, "I'm gonna say it gets easier. And it also gets harder. But it's all worth it."

She knew it was worth it, deep down, being a superhero. Maybe she just needed someone else to tell her so.

He dropped his hands, handing her the bag. "This cost way too much money, even for me, so I better see you eat it."

She finally let herself grin for a moment. "Alright."

She dug through the bag, pulling out a wrapped egg muffin. Arlyn frowned as she analyzed it once unwrapped. "No bacon?"

Stark scoffed, walking around to the barstools. "You don't get to be picky. I bought that for you."

Arlyn shrugged "I'm kidding." She rounded the counter and sat down beside him, taking a bite out of her meal.

"Sure you were. So. Tell me about your grades."

"That's confidential information."

He made a buzzer sound. "Nice try, punk. You can't use the same excuses I used to."

"You had school back then?"

"One more word and I'm walking out of this apartment right now."

_____

I LOVE THEM SO MUCH AHHHH STARK BEING LIKE A FATHER TO ARLYN MAKES ME SO SOFT WTF

ok but anywaaayyy oof this was a tough chapter. and u know whats worse?

there's only one more flashback scene. and then apart from present day chapters, the book is done. wow im sad

also did u catch the god of war line reference heheh

thanks for reading again!!! see ya next chapter loves xx