With the thought of Veers in my head, I am able to go about cataloguing my supplies. Matches, some food, water, Peter's token, Cassie's rabbit, my spear, the healing elixir, bandages. The sight of the elixir makes me pause. If I had had it on me when Cassie was dying, could I have saved her?

I guess I'll never know.

My tunic is relatively undamaged, the only major mark being the slit across my abdomen where Carnage's blade had hit me. My pin still sits on my sash and I caress the smooth wooden surface with my fingertip, tracing the branches of Yggdrasil for a moment before beginning to repack my supplies.

Veers killed Yon-Rogg in order to save my life. Although I still don't know why she did it, I want to know. I want to know why she killed her friend, district partner, and Starforce mentor in order to save my life. What made me worth more to her, in that moment, than Yon-Rogg? What does my life mean to her? And what, if anything, does she mean to me?

I know why she made an impression on me, all those years ago. She stood up, despite the crash she had just been in. But I have no idea what I did to make an impression on her. And even if I had done anything memorable, hasn't she forgotten the past?

She thinks I have some connection to her past.

But I don't, not really. I only saw her once, on Midgard, and we didn't even officially meet. We just looked at each other. If I am a connection, then it is simply to the fact that she is from Midgard. I even told her I didn't know her, a lie though that may be.

So why?

I don't have any answers, but I want them.

Luis' voice unexpectedly fills my mind. Love at first sight, perhaps? The thought startles me so much that I drop the packet of food I'm holding. Is Veers in love with me? Is that what this is all about?

No, I tell myself vehemently. There is no such thing as love at first sight.

I finish with my supplies and sink down on the floor, my back against the wall. I don't know what to do. I'm stuck in this city, which is still haunted by Carnage, and I'm alone.

The desolation doesn't seem so thrilling, anymore.

Carnage is still alive and Cassie is dead. She died trying to kill him and he's not dead. I want to kill him, I really do, and I will. But right now, I don't have the will to move.

I force myself to eat and drink a little, get some nourishment into my body. It's while I'm sealing the packet of fruit back up that I hear the beginnings of the Avenger Anthem.

Someone else died today, beside Cassie, so I grab my spear, race to the door, unbar it, and head up into the dark street outside, staring up into the sky, for I want to know. As the music plays, Cassie's face appears in the sky, fading to ash just like her body did in real life. She is followed by Christine Palmer of District Five.

So that's the cannon we heard early this morning.

I count off the remaining contenders in my head. Okoye from One, Natasha and Clint from Two, Sharon Carter from Four, Wong from Five, Pietro from Seven, Veers from Eight, Cletus Kasady or Carnage from Ten, and me. There are nine of us left. Eight more who have to die before I go home.

The thought of all that death is actually depressing. But it's too late. I've already sworn my oaths.

I head back down into my hideout, barricading the door closed behind me, and walk toward the corner closest to the door. I sink down onto the floor, knowing I need to get some rest. I'll kill Carnage tomorrow. I have to.

Sleep comes quickly, bringing with it dreams. Between Cassie shooting me with one of her Pym Particles disks, shrinking me to the size of an ant and then stepping on me, and Peter covering me with spider webs, shooting them so quickly I can't avoid them, my dreams are very unpleasant tonight. So when Gamora shows up, holding a sword in her hand, I'm not very optimistic.

She attacks me, her slashes swifter and deadlier than they normally would be, back on the mountain. I am unarmed and have lost the ability to use my magic, so I just stagger backwards, ducking and trying not to die. But Gamora is relentless and finally lands a blow, her sword slicing my chest open, cutting across my heart.

I fall, landing on sharp rocks, and gasp for breath as pain fills me. She stands over me, her eyes fierce and unpitying.

"I have nothing to say to you," is all she says, before the mountains behind her blur and a bright light illuminates my field of vision.

The next thing I see is Veers.

She's standing where Gamora was, holding the same sword she'd stabbed me with. The Kree offers me a smirk. "Nothing but a scratch, huh? Good thing you have me around." Then she leans on the sword hilt, pushing it in deeper.

When I wake up, there's a canister sitting on the floor several feet away from my face. I startle, grabbing for my spear and ordering it to expand to its full length, taking a swipe at the canister before I realize what it is. By then, it has already rolled noisily across the room.

I sigh, my spear shrinking back down, and I stand, striding over to the canister. Kneeling down, I pick it up and frown. There's no note on it. A glance behind me reveals the note lying on the floor, having fallen off when I whacked the canister.

I retreat to the note and pick it up, unfolding the small piece of paper as I head over to the table. Setting the canister down, I look at the words scribbled there.

Kill Carnage. That's all I ask. Thanks for staying with Cassie. – Scott Lang.

I stare at the note for a long time before I set it down and open up the canister. Inside sits another note and a thick rubber container filled with gasoline.

I grin and pull out the second note.

If you get your chance, brother, take it. Whatever it takes. – Hela.

I freeze.

Whatever it takes?

Is Hela just saying that I need to win, or is she purposefully quoting the words Gamora said to me when I swore to her I would win? I don't think I've uttered those words aloud since being with Gamora, but I give myself a long moment to think back and try and recall any such instance.

Perhaps, due to remembering the phrase so often, I've accidently said it? But no, I don't think so. I normally keep my thoughts to myself; I can be a very quiet person. If I said those three words out loud, it was purposeful.

But I still can't remember.

I glance at the note again. None of the others have signed their names. Quickly, I fold the note and tuck it into my pack. Hela must have written this without the others knowing. She would have been aware of Scott's gift to me and would have been able to slip it inside. Why Thor and Valkyrie were left off the note, I have no idea.

I look at the gasoline again. Today, I'm going to kill Carnage. Both Hela and Scott think I should, and Cassie herself told me to. Besides, that symbiote is going to have to die sooner or later, and it might as well be by my hand. I will avenge the fallen.

So I eat a quick breakfast, make sure my container of gasoline and my matches are handy, and with my spear in my hand, I head out into the city. I have no idea where Carnage is and there's no Pietro to smoke him out, but if I make enough of a racket, he may come out to investigate. I get the feeling that no matter how much Carnage doesn't like fire, he's still hosted by a crazy serial killer and perhaps, perhaps, he won't think straight when deciding whether or not to check out the disturbance.

I'm walking along the main street of the city, throwing pieces of rubble through glass and making as much noise as is possible, when I see a portal opening about fifteen feet away from me, ten feet high in the air. Stopping, I stare up at it, my brow furrowed, and I hope that it's someone who will be more scared of me than I am of them. My spear lengthens, ready for a fight.

The person who falls through the portal lands on her hands and knees, instantly rearing back to surveil her surroundings. Her gaze falls on me almost immediately and she doesn't move, just brushes a strand of her wavy blonde hair out of her face, watching me carefully.

It's Veers.