CHAPTER 6

    "You shouldn't have done that," I heard her voice before I saw her. "He was mine,"

    "No, he was mine." I replied as she came into view. Mistress Death. She wore her typical black robes and form-fitting dress that flowed around her ankles. She sat on a throne infused with bones, on either side of her, skulls opened, screaming in agony. Her literally bony hand caressed the skull on her left. Next to her, a scale with two fires; one black and one white with a golden tinge, sat on either side of her. Her scythe glinted in the low light. Her face flickered between human and a grinning skull.

    I was aware that I was in almost the exact same clothing as her except that mine was in red rather than purple.

    She tilted her head and then looked to the scales where the lighter flame was heavier than the darker one. The Black Mist shimmered around her.

    "There is an imbalance in the alignments," She said, pressing down on the darker side. Behind me, I heard screams and turned to see a large land. A large swarms of pale lights were slowly trickling through a section which was the judgement of the three judges. The souls would either be assigned to what they believed to be, heaven or hell. The ones that did nothing to be outstanding were sentenced to the void, a place where the memories of them would fade as did they. People who neither were good or bed were useless. They made no impact on the world and would be forgotten quickly in life and the afterlife.

    The screaming was a large wave of souls entering through the entrance to the Underworld.

    "A virus, wars, suicides, old age," My mother said behind me, "the humans will find something to explain the mass deaths. But it is to keep the balance of the imbalance that they have cause resurrecting their heroes."

    "So you just kill more," I say turning to her. "And then you get mad at me for saving one,"

    "It isn't about just one soul that escapes Death," Death said behind me, "it's the fact that it will happen again and again, humans are altering the natural way and unless they find a way to control their reproductive ways I have no intention of letting them flood their planet with their own foolishness."

    I sighed, looking back to the souls coming through the gates. Wishing I could be one of them, oh how it was much simpler, being dead.

    "Do not mourn your mortality, make use of your immortality, stop these humans from tipping the balance completely."

    "Can't you just bring specific people down here then?" I turned back to her, slightly annoyed, "stop them then?"

    "I do not control who comes in, Death is free for all-."

    "Except for me, Thanos and probably a few others." I interrupted.

    "Your friends wonder why you do not enjoy your new birth," She said. I looked away, watching the flame flicker, then to where the entrance to Heaven was wistfully.

    "That's because they don't know the damage they caused," I spoke quietly.

    "Find those responsible for this imbalance, eradicate it, and I will give you what you most wish for. You have the all the tools you need, you were almost there when you tried to use the derveries."

    "The what?" I asked, confused.

    "The Derveries." She said simply, the Mist rose beside her and from it drifted golden and white grains of the Mist. "The white and golden bring someone back from the dead, one of them gives immortality and the other, peace and forgetfulness. But it is up to you to figure out your own abilities. You have others as well, your intangibility, invisibility, the ability to travel through the shadow realm, your ability to see the destined deaths, which is only caused by prolonged eye or physical contact and your greatest; your Death. Giving you what you most need, a weapon, a connection to me and occasionally your stolen memories."

    "My memories?" I questioned carefully.

    "The ones SHIELD stole from you, with your use of the Mist they will come back, sometimes they may not be pleasant, but you will need them in your judgement and your choice of allies,"

    The connection began to fade and my mother smiled, "The Mist wants to show you one, do not worry my daughter, for I will always be there, helping where I can, but remember you are different from the others, not because of the magic that runs in your veins but because that you weren't a mistake, you weren't a science experiment."   

    Her words rung in my ears as the connection failed. You weren't a science experiment.

    "They're everywhere!" I screamed, rough and strong arms had a hold on my arms, I wildly kicked out, screeching, my stringy brown hair clung to the face of six-year-old me. Tears ran down my face in rapid succession. I couldn't decide if I should keep my eyes open or closed. If they were open, I might see their screaming faces running towards me for help, but if I closed my eyes it wouldn't make them go away.

    I took in my surroundings, a white room, padded, an asylum. The arms picked me up and dragged me out into the hallway. I began to sob and kept trying to struggle. A lot of people had died in this hallway one time, and they never seemed to leave.

    My eyes widening at the sight of a ghostly face, we locked eyes and I began to kick and scream again as it tried to speak to me. "No, no, no no NO!" I screeched, kicking out at it. I was pulled down another hallway by the men.

    I saw a logo; a bird with its wings extended. SHIELD. So I was in a SHIELD asylum. I managed to dissolve into a fit of sobs as I was dragged along by the men. They dragged me around another few corners, then stopped.

    "I need the Concealment program and for her memory to be wiped- completely." I looked up, eyes red rimmed, at the man who was giving the orders. He wore long, black, leather clothing and his skin was the colour of the chocolate Cleo likes. Fury. "We'll then do as we first decided, put her with Agent Smith."

    I breathed heavily as I glared at him with the utmost hate. My entire frame trembled with fear and hatred, emotions too strong for a six-year old. We locked eyes and he kneeled down.

    "You're too young right now," He said to me in a kind tone, "this will give you a second chance, but only because you are very important to us."

    "Make then stop," My voice cracked. "Make it all stop."

    "We will," He stood, speaking then to the men, "you know what to do."

    This time the arms weren't as strong when they dragged me into a room and put me in a chair.

...

    I woke up in the Avengers Mansion, the medical wing. The cardiac monitor, a familiar sound to my ears. I sat up in the bed, the medical dress crinkling as I did. Stepping out of the bed after removing all the inserts and needles was a troublesome process. The floor spun and I grabbed the side of the bed as I fell to the ground.

    "Note to self," I groaned as I rolled onto my back, "don't bring someone back from the dead."

    Mum. I thought. What had she said? I have immortality? Intangibility? Shadow travelling? I thought back to the first time I'd teleported, I'd been in a shadow then, had I simply transported from one shadow to another? That's how it had worked in Percy Jackson.

    I need to get rid of whatever had brought me back. I thought, then I don't have to stay here.

    But where?

    Like always- the books, or the database at least.

    "Alana?" I heard a soft male voice call, I recognised it as Bruce's, a few steps shuffled forwards, "James, quick! Get here!" I heard him call. Bruce's face filled my vision of the ceiling.

    "Alana what happened?" He asked me.

    "I fell over," I whispered, the words passing my lips felt dry and exhausted themselves. "I was just dizzy, it's nothing major, I just need a sec."

    "Don't worry, we'll get you onto the bed," James accompanied his father and I was careful not to look into their eyes for too long. The eyes were the windows to the soul, right?

    James slid his arm under my back cupping his hand under my right arm. Two thoughts flashed through my mind; "... is caused by prolonged contact..." and in the asylum when the man's hands were grabbing my arm.

    I released a shriek, practically jumping out of James arms, I stumbled and fell to the ground. I heard the shout of "Lana!" behind me, I flipped onto my back, quickly shaking my head.

    "Pl-pl-plea-ea-se," I said, tears running down my face, hands shaking in a signal to stop as I rose to my knees, an arm against the wall for support. "Please, just, a, second," I panted. James and Bruce backed away slowly. I rested my head on the wall, squeezing the last few tears out of my eyes and then taking a deep breath, I stood.

    "Are you okay Lana?" James asked.

    "I am now," I said, putting on a brave face, my hands trembling, Mist trickled from my fingers and I summoned it my into the palm of my hand. "Sorry about that, can I change?"

    "Um yeah, clothes are on the dresser," I nodded my thanks, and scooped up the clothes, sliding into the bathroom to change. When I re-emerged I missed the last seconds between and intense conversation between Bruce and James. Their heads snapped up simultaneously, eyes wide.

    "I'll leave you two to be," Bruce gave James an interesting glance and gave me a smile before exiting.

    "So..." James started, "what do you want to do?"

    "I haven't changed too much, gosh, to the labs!"

    "To the labs," James said, clearly relieved.

...

    James and I immersed ourselves in work at the new labs, I updated and redesigned some of my old plans. Like the Petsis, I modified it into a weapon that could be administered to a single subject in an entire room. I wondered what it would be like if I used the Dark Mist in it.

    "What happened when I was ... reborn?" I said casually to James who gave me a cautious look.

    "Are you sure you want to talk about it?" He said. I nodded and he sighed. "It was an old project called Project T.A.H.I.T.I apparently Coulson and a few others had undertaken it before. But the reason they used it again because..." James paused, his eyes scanning the walls.

    "Because why?" I asked.

    "There's been an astronomical amount of organised crime these days by supervillains, like crazy amount." His voice was low and hushed, "so Director Coulson decided that we had to resurrect a few dead superheroes, and you qualified as one of them."

    "Right, so is that why Angel and co. are always out?" James nodded.

    "They're recruiting," He explained, "we've been scrounging the Earth for anyone who has the type of abilities to fight these guys... SHIELD has increased its intake of new recruits by quadruple the amount. It's a mad rush to build armies."

    "Armies? But I thought you said it was just organised crime." James pulled a face that made me feel completely uneducated.

    "Lana, if you'd seen the figures, you would know,"

    "But what about the taskforce that resurrects people? That's so wrong, it's not right."

    "Desperate times call for desperate measures," James shrugged.

    "And a lack of fragility brings it all down," I countered, "but the doctors?"

    "Well there's about three different groups of a doctor and his two nurses and about twenty or so people who are employed for the job; specialists, experts, counsellors and the such."

    "Right," I said to myself. Nine and twentyish. "And my doctor's name?"

    "Gulliver, Dr. Gulliver, very rich, performed the first operation of them all, back when Coulson was trialling the system."

    "And are there any more?"

    "More what?"

    "People being brought back. From the dead."

    "I don't think so, you'll have to ask, maybe you guys can all have a support group or something." By the look on his face, he was toying.

    "Thanks," I turned back to my work. Deeply thinking about what I'd learnt.

...

    "Lana," I heard my voice called, and looked up to see Tony, he waved me over and I followed him. After a few moments, he asked, "You okay?"

    "Yeah, fine, peachy,"

    He gave me a suspicious look but then continued. "I'm having dinner with Pepper tonight and I thought it would be nice if you guys met under less pressing circumstances."

    "Sure," I said, remembering to not hold eye contact and looked at the ground.

    "I'm going to leave in an hour okay?"

    "Cool," I replied quickly, hoping that he'd just leave.

    "See you then," He walked off and soon as he was out of earshot I breathed a large sigh of relief, sagging against the wall. It took a few moments for me to gather the energy to stand and make it way to my room.

    Movement was almost impossible, it was a struggle to stand or find the motivation to do anything. I wasn't sure why but I hoped it didn't stay for long.

    It took me some time to shower and dress in a black skater dress with sandals. I tugged a brush through my hair and decided to leave the makeup at mascara. I snatched a silver-coloured jacket and folded it over my arm.

    I met Tony in the garage and he gestured me to the driver's seat in one of the fancier cars. "You know how to drive right?" He asked as I slid in. I laughed, starting up the car.

    "Seriously, how hard can it be?" I teased, trying to reverse the car but stalling it. Tony gave me a look, I winced.

    We made it out of the garage and onto the main road. I'd never really taken into account the distance to the city. It was about half an hour into what could be qualified as civilisation and then another half hour to the fringes of New York.

    I held the wheel steady, no erratic driving, nothing to seriously endanger us. Tony scrolled through his phone a couple of times and played some rock, but I kept my eyes focused on the road and kept alert. As we entered New York, Tony directed the fastest routes through the streets to the Avenger's Tower. We arrived at five thirty-two.

    The Avenger's Tower was lavish and even though Tony didn't technically own the Tower, he still resided in it for most of the time. It was the Avenger's foremost HQ and it was his responsibility (even though he was retired) to make sure it was in top run. He mentioned that another place him and Pepper liked to stay was Alaska, a complete juxtaposition to the life that he led here.

    Pepper was in a floaty red shirt and shorts when we arrived. A large green necklace hung around her neck and he smiled from ear to ear at our presence.

    "Alana," she greeted. "long time, no see,"

    "Being dead does that to you," I flashed a grin to show that there was nothing wrong with discussing that topic. Pepper relaxed a little when she saw my face.

    The dinner went smoothly, it was some sort of meat and pasta with a Caesar salad as a side dish. I didn't eat much, I wasn't bulimic and if I was depressed then it wasn't because of that either... I just, didn't feel the need to eat. Perhaps I should get Piggy to check me up.

    After dinner, Pepper pulled me aside and we sat down on the couch. I looked at my hands; long, nimble fingers that were clasped together.

    "Alana," Pepper started gently, "I just wanted to ask, if you were okay, I know it's not any of my business, and I haven't known you for long. But I just want you to know that I'm here for you. You're hurt and lost, I don't mean that in a degrading way but I saw your face at the party and I know you're not okay."

    I pressed my lips together, supressing a sob. "I'm not okay, I'm torn, lost and confused, and I hate it." I took in a deep breath and released it, "and there's nothing I can do about it."

    Pepper smiled gently, her eyes warm and a little sad, I quickly looked down, terrified that I'd see Peppers' death, I couldn't know something like that, constantly in fear, knowing the way that my father's wife would die. "I heard this thing once and it said, at any given moment, you have the power to say, this is not how the story is going to end." I looked up at her, in the eyes and all. "Make sure it ends the way you want it to, okay Lana?"

    I smiled weakly, nodding and looking down, a stray tear running down my face, "Thank you Pepper,"

    "Everything is going to be okay eventually," Pepper stood off the couch and offered her hand, I took it.

    If it's not okay then it's not the end.

...

    "Lana come see this," Tony called from a different room, I walked over to see a news report. A blonde woman with way too much makeup sat a pristine desk, her manicured nailed infused with one another. A man sat next to her.

    "... inside sources claim that there is-."

    "FRIDAY replay the last news broadcast." Tony spoke.

    The theme song from the new channel replayed Tony skipped the introduction. "And now in the latest news, sources are speculating whether or not billionaire Tony Stark has a child."

    'Jane' turned back to the camera, her piercing eyes glaring through the lenses. "Anna has more details,"

    "Thanks Jane," The camera switched to a perky brunette, "Well sources are speculating whether or not, Iron Man billionaire, Tony Stark has a child." Behind the reporter a picture of Tony showed, his face in a massive grin and his right hand raised, flashing a peace sign.

     "At the latest gathering of supers, a new face was spotted," Grainy pictures pulled up, me in my dress, the lighting making it difficult to make out my features, a better quality one showed. My head was slightly turned over my shoulder, looking around for Gale, a slight look of worry and apprehension on my face. "We believe this to be Ton Stark daughter, but what's weird is her lack of appearance anywhere, she's been completely concealed from public view."

    I tuned out and turned back to Tony, worry struck through me, I can't be famous! I don't have time to deal with crap like that! "Who took them?"

    "FRIDAY recons it was an inside reporter or Deadpool, maybe, he's done stuff like this before."

    I huffed exasperatedly and ran my hands through my hair groaning. "What are we going to do?"

    "We'll tell them," Tony said quietly, "it was only going to be a matter of time before they all found out. There's this fundraising gala thing on in a few days, we'll do it then."

    "Fine." I said, it was almost a whisper.

    The three of us all looked away from each other, lapsing into an awkward silence.