CHAPTER 42

Seems like the day is of honouring tradition, I'm in the same cell as Loki was in the Avengers Movie. It's clean, sleek and has obviously been upgraded since I moved in. It's only been a day and I've grown bored of my physical presence being here.

Sometimes, I'll transfer my consciousness to my spiritual presence which mostly involves sitting on a throne, tapping the scales occasionally to let in more dead people and occasionally reaping a really painful process for a soul. I've also grown bored of Gale's interrogation. Somewhere along the line, somebody figured I'd crack easier if Gale was my interrogator. Well they weren't wrong but they also weren't right either.

Being in this state of freedom had given me a little bit of irresponsibility. I played Gale's games much better than he did himself. He confused himself more than he came across answers. Eventually, he decided it was easier to cut right to the chase.

"How can we save the Avengers from your poison?"

"My poison?" I exclaimed. "Why does everyone still assume that?" So he had me talking, so what?

"Because you admitted to it." Gale spoke stubbornly.

"Under duress." I pointed out. "Have you even looked at the security footage of that night? I have." Gale's facade flickered and I scoffed. "I mean, if you're going to accuse me then at least do it properly." I looked back to Gale and winked. "Gotcha."

"You wanna hear tricks? There was nothing in the serum, Lana, you did that of your own free will. It was all you."

"That is true." I whispered somberly. "I did want it to end, all of it, this was bought on circumstance."

"No." Gale spoke harshly. "It was bought on by carefully crafted manipulation Lana. Your mother," Gale's words faltered. "S-she changed our thoughts and actions. Every horrible word, every thing I said to you that absolutely shattered you, Hell, the whole thing with Cleo. That was her, not us. She showed us visions Lana, of you turning bad, evil, killing without mercy."

"Why are you here Gale?" I shouted angrily, cutting him off. "Why are you so... Persistent, to find this cure? It's not your family!"

"You're right." Gale spat. "I'm doing it for your family, Tony remember?"

"What?" I whispered, confused.

The door to the detention room opened and the Avengers and Offspring flooded in.

"Ooo, an audience," I cooed, "I should've done my hair a little bit better."

"Lana." Steve growled disapprovingly. I shrugged.

My eyes locked in on Tony, I squinted, shifting my field of vision, then I laughed, doubling over. "H-He's not dying." I grinned, then my laugher dropped. "In fact... You're immortal."

Tony, still suffering with the grief of Pepper and his child's loss is surprised and rather confused. It seems like everyone is like that these days.

"What did you say?" Bruce whispered.

"When we went to Disney World." I admitted slowing, looking at the Offspring. "The seers gave me a potion that would heal anything. It's seems, that it included mortality too." I shrugged feigning a lack of emotion, whilst my internal thoughts were chaotic as an Australian storm. "Welcome to the world of immortality, something, you seem not to share with Banner, or Romanoff or Barton and maybe even their clones."

"Lana please," Gale spoke softly, he was begging. "Help us."

"To do what?" I snapped. "Chase villains to Disneyland and compasses in the Carribean?" I scoffed.

"We need the scythe, we know you have it, come with me to offer it to your Mother, help us." He doesn't know.

"You're not-." I stopped, about to say that Gale wasn't a Deathling. Turns out, Gale was a Deathling, he had an odd silver shimmer to his complexion. He died too, not as long as Becky or I but he too, had died, on that rooftop, after I'd came back. "You are..." I trailed off. "You're a Deathling." Now that I saw it around Gale, I saw it in other places too; around Tony, Clint, Steve, Thor.

"Yeah." He snapped haughtily. "So will you help us?"

"Mum isn't in a good mood right now." I twirled my hair around my finger. "I'd stop by maybe later."

Gale's face went blank, he crossed his arms. "Fine, we'll just have to force it out of you."

"You could try." I grinned. "Really, try your best,"

Steve turned to Gale, whispering something in his ear, Gale just glared back and grumbled. "I'm staying." Steve nodded, gesturing for the rest of the Avengers and Offspring to exit.

Once they were all gone, Gale turned back to me, walking to the control panel and opening the door. The scythe formed at my waist (it has teleporting powers, how's that?) and I unclipped it. "Let's do this." He doesn't know, that I'm Death now.

Gale walked inside, I sat down, cross-legged and beckoned for Gale to do the same, reluctantly, he complied. Since we were four, and Gale was a spy, we'd made a list of codes for one another. "Almost thought you'd forgotten them." He grinned.

"I'd never forget." I grinned back. Despite all those years together, I never thought of Gale as a childhood friend. We were childhood friends, deep down in our relationship we're still childhood friends, it just feels like we're not. If the makes sense.

"You forgot me." He pointed out, I rolled my eyes. He doesn't know.

"You never found me," I nipped back. "now let's hurry up before they come back and be the annoying pricks they are." Gale produced the scales and I passed the scythe. I touched his hands but he jerked away the same time I did, his hands were burning.

"Jesus Lana." Gale gasped, "you're freezing."

I shrugged. "That used to be my line."

"Smooth."

Slowly, I pressed my hands onto his, Gale surpressed a shiver as I went tumbling into another dimension, aware of Gale following me.