Picking Up The Pieces

77. Now

There's a pain, it does ripple
Through my frame, makes me lame
There's a thorn in my side
It's the shame, it's the prize

In This Shirt by The Irrepressables (Atlantis Playlist)

February 21st

"What's on your mind?" Peter asked me quietly. The two of us were on the rooftop, the sun slowly rising in the distance. I hadn't said much since he had arrived. He and Aunt May had been there for thirty minutes, the older woman giving me a massive hug when she saw me to whisper good luck wishes before my father whisked her away to feed into the 'internship' gimmick. My dark hair was braided straight down my back, but the shorter wisps were falling into my eyes from the wind. Peter wore a pair of black joggers and a baggy t-shirt. He was standing next to me as I sat, leaning his weight against as guard rail.
"A lot," I admitted, looking up at my boyfriend grimly. "It's just a week until Hawkes should attack, but everything feels... it feels off." The brunet looked at me strangely, his big eyes so full of concern.
"How so?"
"Well for starters, I don't have Thor's hammer," I said bluntly, and Peter chuckled. "It sounds absolutely insane that he has the last piece I need to complete myself, the one piece I would benefit from having with this entire mess. I feel so unprepared. What if we lose? What if I die because I wasn't supposed to fight yet? I'm missing a crucial part of myself."
"Maybe... maybe it's meant to be this way," Peter offered. He gestured as he spoke, his hands hanging over the railing and almost moving with the breeze. "I've been around you for almost a year now; I know how you look when you're broken. These past few weeks, I don't know how to describe it best... but... you're complete." I tore my gaze away from him and out to the skyline, not knowing how to respond to his words. "I get how those other pieces helped you figure out who you are, but knowing the full extent of your powers and how to access that when they're hurting you like this seems stupid. You've been doing just fine, and you're a natural-born leader. You don't need anything else. You're... you're perfect."
"You're saying that because you're my boyfriend," I tried to protest, but his words of affirmation brought a smile to my face that I didn't even attempt to hide. Peter noticed, and the boy gave me a smirk. "You're despicable, Parker."
"And that's why you love me," he grinned, and I yelped in surprise as he bent down and swooped me up in his arms bridal-style. The two of us laughed as he spun me around on the rooftop, the rising sun illuminating his face with a orange and golden glow. Peter smelled of the cologne Aunt May bought him for Christmas, and all I could see was love in his eyes. As he reached a slow, he bent his face toward mine and kissed me, his lips pressing against mine with gentleness but still filled with passion. I kissed him back, one of my hands cupping the side of his face while the other held to the back of his head. In that moment, a few seconds in time that felt like a lifetime, he was right. I did feel complete.
As we pulled apart, reality struck back in its blunt force, and my smile faded slowly. Peter reacted accordingly, seeing this change hit me. He carefully set me back on the rooftop, our faces just a few inches away from each other. "Peter, whatever happens during the attack..." I tried to say, and my voice cracked. "You'll make sure my dad okay, right?"
"There's nothing to worry about, Belle," he shook his head, smiling again. This time, it wasn't one of joy, but in an effort to comfort me. "Everything is going to end up fine. It won't be easy, but I believe in you." I stepped back and turned toward the railing, unable to face him. "There's something you aren't telling me."
"I've been looking through my memory box and the files Nat released on the internet from SHIELD a few years ago, trying to see if there were any extra clues to beat Hawkes," I sighed. Peter joined next to me, placing his hand on my shoulder. I shook my head bitterly. "Sure enough, it was there. Fairly coded and very vague, but there it was: Project Genesis. It never officially started since HYDRA required all of us Elementals together, but the instructions to merging our powers together were finished."
"I don't understand."
"The reason Hawkes was able to build this army so fast was because the clues on how to replicate our powers were all there for him," I explained, clenching the railing with my hands. "Everything from splicing our DNA to bringing the dead back to life... including how to reverse it."
"That's great news!" Peter said excitedly, but his expression changed when he saw my face. "That is good news... right?" I turned to the boy and took his hands in my own. I focused on moving my thumbs around on his skin, not his worried face.
"Thomas, Zane, Amy, and I... we're the hosts for how these new Elementals get their powers," I told him. "We don't feel it, but they're all connected to us, meaning if we die, they lose their powers. In the case of Hawkes... the combined force of all our powers is what's keeping him alive as he puts all of his strength into carrying Colin. When the dead are brought back, they have to have something to pull life from. If one of the power sources is taken out of the equation, the newly revived and their carrier will die."
"I... I don't understand what you're saying," Peter shook his head, pulling his hands from out of my grasp and taking a few steps back. I watched him solemnly. "No! This doesn't make sense."
"None of the other Elementals know about this," I said over his protests. "If we can't stop Hawkes, one of us is going to have to sacrifice ourself to make sure he dies." My heart was breaking as I watched Peter grab at his hair, his eyes watering. "If all else fails, it's our only chance at stopping him."
"And- and let me guess, this person would be you?" he questioned me angrily. I stayed silent, and Peter let out a faint scoff of betrayal. A tear slid down his face, small yet glistening in the light from the rising sun. "Why... why, why?! Why is it always you? Why can't it be anyone else but you? I thought we had more time! You were just going to drop this on me and expect me to be cool about it?"
"I didn't want you to find out from someone else if that's the path taken," I tried to defend my reasoning, but I knew it wasn't going to do any good. It was breaking me to see him hurting like this. "Peter... Peter, please-"
"Let someone else do it," he begged me. He approached me quick, setting his hands on my shoulders and bending down slightly so that we were eye to eye. There was no looking away now as his dark brown gaze kept me in place. "Tell the others. After everything you've done for them, surely... I don't care if it's selfish! I can't lose you again!" Another tear slid down his cheek, and he shook his head at himself. I raised my left hand up and wiped it away carefully with my thumb, my own eyes watering as I did so. "Please." My other hand set on the other side of his face, and his eyes flicked to it in confusion. "Belle..."
"I made a mistake," I whispered, and his eyes widened too late as he realized what I was doing. His lips opened in an attempt to stop me, and his eyes turned a milky white. I hung my head in shame as I felt his memories of the conversation slip away, feeling his anguish. "You'll forgive me one day." Finished, I gave him a quick peck, his eyes returning to normal as I pulled away. Peter blinked a few times before smiling at me, his hand reaching to wipe a stray tear from my face.
"You okay?" he asked me, and I gave a quick nod.
"Something got in my eye, that's all."