39 || visions of ghosts past

"Mom, what do you mean you have to get me ready for-"

Anderson-Marnell Apartment, Queens, New York, November 2016-

"Charles, I'm going to need you to stay outside." Alison stared at the half open door in front of her, trying to look in and see who could of possibly broken in. There was no sight of that person anywhere, or of anything that they could of stolen. "I don't want you getting hurt if it's a burglar or anyone who could possibly be worse than that."

Charles nodded, looking at the door from behind her. "Please be safe." He whispered, squeezing her hand quickly before letting go into the house, watching Alison push open the door all the way, creeping inside. He tried to not let his heart flutter as he watched her walk in, blocking out all of the bad thoughts that were flashing through his brain.

Alison heard Charles' small whisper as she walked into the house, swiping an umbrella that was still hanging on the hooks where the sibling's backpacks were supposed to be hanging after school everyday. The lights in the place Alison called home were dark and dim, the only bright light source shining in the apartment the lamp that was placed by the sofa in the living room. It made the whole apartment feel eerie and unsettling, almost sending a shiver down the girl's spine.

Alison had no idea what- or who- awaited her once she walked entirely through the door, only knowing that she had to protect her brother and keep him safe. Carefully creeping forward after one final glance back at her Charles, Alison edged her way to the middle of the main walkway, poking the front door shut with the beige umbrella that belonged to her cousin.

As soon as she had shut the door, it was like everything spiraled into hell at once. A shadow lumbered towards her, giving Alison no time to react as the person moved closer and closer towards her at a faster speed with every step. The person eventually got to Alison's spot, quickly grabbing the girl's throat and restraining her in a chokehold. As the person came into light, the familiar dark weave of a mask and a coy smile were revealed against the lamp light.

Absinthe. The one person that Alison had been trying to escape for the past six weeks, the person who knew of ways to restrain her powers, daughter of Thanos, and whatever else that woman had included in her "introduction" those many weeks ago, was standing in her living room, and keeping her in a chokehold, to top it all off.

"Alison Marnell." Absinthe chuckled, her full face coming into light. "My, my, hasn't it been a spell." Her voice was filled with what seemed to be an almost happy tone laced with venom, pleased with the idea of being back on mission. "If I last recall, the last time we had a little clash it was in this very apartment!"

Grasping for air, Alison batted at the woman's hand, trying to pry the claw-like hands off of her throat. No words came out of her mouth, unable to supply a quip or response to the woman's start of what was probably a monologue, only the gasps of air Alison was giving supplying the silence in the apartment.

"Of course, I had other things to do. Bigger and better things, of course. Dealing with some other pesky problems on Earth, but none I couldn't handle." The woman explained, her eyes staring straight into the depths of Ali's. A smile grew wider and wider on her face at seeing the fear in Alison's eyes, savoring the next words that she said. "But, now, I can finally do what I've been waiting for eons to do since I started this mission."

The woman's other hand flew to Alison's forehead, pressing against it with such a delicate force that before Alison knew it, her eyes were fluttering shut, sending her away to the callings of sleep, or something like it.

"Alison?" A voice called out, snapping the girl back to reality. The voice was familiar and soft, making Alison turn her head to see her mother standing before her, pride in her voice and evident in her soothing and caring smile. "You sure that you're ready for this? It's a big deal, you know!"

"What?" Alison whispered, looking around at her surroundings. It was her childhood bedroom in Boston, one that she hadn't visited since she was 10. The light yellow pastel coloring was still the same, the worn out look of the paint familiar as it always was. "Mom, what are you doing here?" She asked, a million questions running through her head. "Scratch that, I have bigger questions. What do you mean this is a big deal? What are we even talking about?"

Alison's mother laughed, shaking her head. "You'd really think that I'd miss this? Even if I was on job, I'd figure out a way to be here. Even if that meant that I'd have to cash in a favor with the guy who owes me a helicopter ride." She winked at Alison, smiling as she did so. Addressing Alison's second question, the woman looked at her daughter with an amused look. "Are you playing the dumb game so that we don't have to do this? You know, this is your sweet sixteen, there isn't anything to stress about."

"Is your daughter stressing about her birthday failing again?" Another voice butted in, knocking on the doorframe of the room, not even bothering for a gesture to come in before walking to stand by Alison's mother, revealing themselves to be Alison's father, Alex Marnell.

It was if the Battle of New York never happened. Alison's mother was still here, and alive, and her father was still here. The man wasn't buried in the sorrows of losing his wife, drowning his life in gambling and alcohol, leaving his only legacy of his wife on the steps of his niece's doorstep in New York. It made Alison's legs almost collapse under her at the thought that they were right here, in front of her.

Offering his wife a small kiss on the cheek, he wrapped his arm around his wife's shoulders, giving his daughter a concerned look. "Alison, your mother has told you that this isn't a big deal. Unless you're worrying about this going into a disaster like your eighth birthday party was. Because then you'd be allowed to worry." The man laughed, earning a soft chuckle and light punch from his wife.

"Don't listen to your father, Ali-Cat." Her mother interrupted Alison's father, staying inside the man's warm embrace. "Because he was the one who ruined that birthday party. Besides, you have nothing to worry about. You look stunning in the dress you picked out."

"My dress?" Alison turned to the mirror that was a part of the vanity in her room, her reflection revealing a stunning strapless pale pink dress that complemented her complexion, topped off with a complicated hairdo that the teenager knew could have only been done by her mother's delicately calloused fingers. The whole outfit was finished with perfect make up, and a bright red lipstick that finished off the perfect. Alison's breath was caught in her throat, to say the least.

"You look stunning, don't you pumpkin?" Alex Marnell stepped over to his little girl, his arms wrapping over the girls tall frame, still towering over his daughter by a few inches. The suit that the man adorned was sharp and crisp, with a pale pink handkerchief to match his daughter's dress. "You're going to have the boys flocking to you tonight."

"She's only got her eyes on one boy tonight." Kira Marnell teased her husband and daughter, walking forward to look at her family in the mirror beside them. The woman herself was dressed in a nice white blouse, and a long pencil skirt that complemented her bob cut perfectly. "And his name is-"

"Charles Marnell!" Alison's younger brother exclaimed, the thirteen year old running into the room with a laughing smile on his face. Sliding into the family mirror reflection, he fit in right below Alison, at least six inches shorter than his older sister. The boy was in a collared white dress shirt and nice black slacks, his hair gelled back in a swoosh. "Because I'm going to be the only boy there tonight."

Alison's mother chuckled at her son's antics, ruffling his hair, forgetting that the fluff on top of his hair was gelled, messing up her son's "hairdo." Her smile was full of pride and joy at her family, her eyes showing the same emotions. "I was going to say that she wanted to impress Matt, and make him jealous that he didn't ask her to Homecoming last month."

"Matt?" Alison asked, her face molding into confusion. "I don't remember a Matt at Midtown-" She stopped herself, knowing that she wasn't going to get anywhere with vague thoughts like that. "Wait, are Peter, Skylar and Ned coming?"

"Who are they?" Charles asked, his faced confused as he looked at his sister. "Are they people from my comic books? Did you read the new issue of Wonder Woman without me, and now you're referencing new characters from the issue?"

"No." Alison shook her head, looking at her younger brother. "They're from Midtown, the high school I go to? The one in Queens? Midtown School of Science and Technology? The one that Tony Stark made me go to?" She grasped for straws, trying to make her brother remember the high school that she attended, seeing the confusion on his face only grow.

"Midtown? Queens? Tony Stark?" Alison's mother questioned, shaking her head in almost surprise. "I knew that you were writing a new book with a new storyline that was kind of based in our real world, Alison, but this isn't the time for jokes. We have thirty minutes for you to get over to the venue, otherwise your uncle is going to have our heads."

"Uncle?" Alison questioned again, her mind again confused with what her mother was saying. "You mean Jackie's dad? I thought that he lived in Florida, working on something in marine biology. Because he and Auntie Carrie- your sister, Dad- were divorced."

"No." Kira shook her head again, her tone one full of teasing and almost mockery towards her daughter. "My brother. Your dad hasn't spoken to David in over six years. They haven't been on very good terms since they got in a fight at the last Marnell reunion."

"Your brother?" Alison asked again, looking to her brother and father for guidance. They just gave her weird looks, unsure of why she didn't know who her mother's brother was. Hell, the girl didn't even know that her mother even had a brother.

Apparently this man must of been really close to the family, otherwise she wouldn't be getting the weird looks that she was getting now. There was a small sense of unsettlement creeping into her at the moment, the confusion of what was going on now turning into more a feeling of unrest.

"Yes. The one that put this whole thing together?" Alison's mother questioned again, trying to refresh her daughter's brain. Looking to her husband with the slightest bit of concern in her eyes, Kira turned back to her daughter. "Uncle Clint? The one who shoots people for a living? Works with Captain America?"

Alison's unsettlement was bombarding her brain, her mind telling her that this was all a joke, and that this was all some big hoax. The Avenger, Clint Barton, the Clint that had kidnapped her earlier in the year, was her uncle? Letting out a laugh of shock, the girl shook her head, in disbelief and shock. "You've gotta be kidding me. This is all some joke right?"

Looking at her family's faces, Alison could see that it was clearly not a joke. Even Charles' face, who Alison would have thought would agree with her in the absurdity of the idea, was folded in a frown. Her father and mother looked at her with a concerned look even more heavily than before, her father's hands moving from her waist to her shoulders.

"Alison," The man asked, his voice steady and soft, as if not to spook the girl, "Are you sure you're okay?" His hands rested lightly on her shoulders, the warmth from them radiating onto Alison's bare shoulders in an almost familiar and calming way. Yet-

There was something so unsettling. Something so wrong about all of this. It made Alison panic, her heart racing as it was telling her that something was not right, that this was all fake, somehow. But it was all so real, she felt her father's hands on her shoulders, her mother's soft breathing over her daughter.

Uncertain about what to do, the girl tore her father's hands off her shoulders, a wave of panic rushing over her as she saw what she could of sworn was a ripple- no, a glitch- in the persona and surroundings of her room. "This isn't right." The girl protested the sight of her parents and brother before, shutting her eyes for a second in hopes to see them go away, opening her eyes to see her family still before her.

Desperate for some proof that she was right, and for some reason to escape what was the almost too perfect family, Alison shoved past her parents towards her doorway, running out of her childhood bedroom. Looking at the hallway that led to the stairway to the bottom floor- and the front door so she could leave- Alison tried running (with her powers, of course) only to find that she was running at a normal human pace, tripping down the stairs with uncertainty racing through her brain.

Was this some kind of hoax? Did Absinthe place another superpower dampener on her? Was this all some sort of hell or purgatory that she couldn't escape? Or was this another reality? Was this her reality, but she had been dreaming up the superpowers and Peter and the rest of her friends this whole time?

While turning the corner to head towards the front door, Alison tripped, her bare feet forgetting about the uneven tile that transitioned from the carpet of the living room area where the stairs led from to the front door. The girl fell onto the tile, wincing as she did so.

Someone had caught her tumble, walking in through the front door as they did so. Unfortunately for Alison, it was the one person that she wanted to see the least. Clint Barton stood before her, offering a hand up to his "niece."

Alison took his hand up, not making eye contact with the man. "Yeah, yeah. I'm fine." She muttered, looking down at her dress, which was slightly torn at the seam on the side. The girl didn't really care anymore, instead just trying to leave the house. Trying to shove past the man to get to the front door, Alison was quickly stopped with a simple hand on her forearm.

"Hey- hey- Alison." Clint stopped her, placing his hands on her shoulders, his head crouching down to meet her height, the man's parental nature taking over. "You okay? You look a little flustered, and more klutzy than usual." Laughing a little bit, the man shook his head. "Did Charles give you another embarrassing picture? Because I might of helped him find it in-"

Alison looked at Clint before her, shock still in her eyes at the idea of the man being her uncle, interrupting the man. "No. No!" She exclaimed, shaking her head at herself. "This is crazy!" Her hands threw Clint's off of hers, the girl pushing past the man successfully the second time, the man too confused on the way the girl reacted to stop her.

Alison rushed towards the door, racing up the two steps that elevated the doorway from the rest of the house. She could hear the rest of her family finally clamoring down the stairs, hollering at her to come back, Clint's voice joining theirs. The voices blurred together into a cacophony of worry, each of them screaming Alison's name.

The girl didn't listen, instead wrenching the door open to escape whatever this crazy fantasy of a place this was, scrambling outside of the house before anyone could follow her. Alison slammed the door shut behind her, coming face to face with the only true thing that Alison had seen so far in this fantasy.

Absinthe.

The girl was almost grateful to see the face of someone who wasn't a part of this messed up fantasy (or what she assumed was a fantasy), until she remembered that this "bringer of death" was out to kill her. Scrunching up her face with a disgusted look, Alison sighed, her senses still on high alert. "Oh. It's you."

Absinthe laughed, her voice echoing through the suburb set-up of the neighborhood that Alison had grown up in. The grass and driveway were perfectly kept, looking like something out of a television show. "Did you really think that you'd escape me in something of my own design? After all, nothing in life can be this perfect."

"That's obvious." Alison scoffed, looking at the woman who stood in the grass in front of the main entrance to the house. "Why do you think I ran away?" She spat at the woman, her voice laced with a sharp tone that was in no way cautious or scared like she was seconds before. Looking back at the too perfect house for a moment, Ali's eyes fell back on the woman's with a challenging look in her eyes.

"You know, I'm not surprised." Absinthe gestured her finger at Alison, a sly and amused expression coming to her face. "You run from everything. You run from your problems, your responsibilities, and the truth, so it seems after this last incident. I've got to say, I'm not surprised."

"The truth?" Alison scoffed, laughing coldly in shock and disbelief. "If you call absurdity and lies the truth, I would agree with you. But, since my dead mother and drunken father who abandoned my brother and I were inside of that house, I would have to strongly disagree."

"Really?" Absinthe questioned, a sharp and jarring laugh escaping from her mouth. "Absurdity and lies? Why, I was showing you the truth! It was what you always wanted, wasn't it? The truth? Besides, you should have pride in your heritage. Being related to an Avenger is something to take pride in."

"That's insane." Alison lightly dismissed, not even addressing the idea that she was related to Clint Barton. "Just something that you created in your perfect design of a life for me to stay trapped in while you kill me in the real world. Just another lie coming from your mouth, just like all the other bullshit that spurts from it."

"You have nerve, denying the family that is bonded to you by blood. Do you not remember the countless trips to the Barton farm when you were younger? The countless times your uncle tried to teach you how to arch? Or the biannual Barton BBQ that your mother dragged you to once?" Absinthe asked, listing moment after moment. With every word she spoke about a certain memory, a flickering image of that memory played beside the woman, only proving the woman's point even more. "Or are you too daft and too thickheaded to remember?"

"She's not." Another voice interjected, coming from the side of the driveway in a common New York accent Alison was all to familiar with, an unknown man appearing from a sparkling orange circle that led to another place. As soon as the orange circle appeared, it disappeared from sight, confusing Alison. The man was wearing what looked to be a cape? Cloak? Alison wasn't sure, but he looked like something like a wizard. "Although I'm surprised that you're daft enough to show your face again."

Almost consecutively, Alison and Absinthe spoke at the same time. The former asking, "Who are you?", with a face that could only be described as scrunched up confusion. The latter looking upset, spitting her words out venomously. "Stephen Strange."

Stephen Strange looked at both of the women with a nonchalant look before his eyes landing back on Absinthe. "Lady Arnora. I would recommend you leave now, or face the wrath of the Sorcerer Supreme." Tapping his hands together in an intricate way, the man brought up to circular spheres of spitting orange magic. Alison didn't question it, knowing that this was all probably part of this crazy vision that Absinthe had produced for the girl.

Absinthe hissed at the mentioning of her name, giving Strange a look of hatred. "Mark my words, I will be back. And I will complete my mission before I'm through with you, Alison Marnell." The woman spoke, before finally disappearing from the suburb landscape.

Alison watching the woman disappear from in front of her, sighed in relief. She had no idea how the man made her retreat so easily, but she was grateful nonetheless. Turning to the strange sorcerer man, she looked at him with a suspicious look. "Am I supposed to say thank you? Or..."

"Allow me to introduce myself." The man interrupted, letting his orange magic stop flowing from his hands, his fists relaxing, one of his hands holding out for Alison to shake. "My name is Doctor Stephen Strange, and I'm here to help."

<~*~>

okay this chapter was probably a bloody mess (sorry) but yeah it revealed a LOT

I probably contradicted a ton of stuff but I'm going to fix it later, like I do with most chapters

ALSO

um

haha

guys I've had this whole "Clint is her uncle" thing planned out since December so I'm so happy that I could finally execute it

it's like 2:30 AM so I'm going to go to sleep

I hope you all enjoyed and I'll see you in the next chapter

bye

-ash