Ghost and Tricks - Book 1

We Turn to the Good Side

"Shut it down,"  the Spangled Banner said as we marched into the lab.  

I glanced at Pietro before scanning the room.  Evelyn wasn't anywhere, but the commotion between Tony Stark and the Spangled Banner caught most of my attention.  They were arguing about the cradle.  

But Pietro cut their argument short when he ran around and unplugged everything.  "No, no, go on.  You were saying?"  There was a loud sound and he fell through the floor.  

"Pietro!"  Wanda and I shouted, moving forward to see what happened.  

He'd fallen through the floor into Arrow Boy's layer-or whatever it was.  He put a foot on Pietro's chest so that he couldn't get up.  In the corner of the layer stood Evelyn, who was having a staring contest with Pietro.  

"Evelyn!"  I hissed.  "You're not supposed to leave my side!"  

She looked at me and mouthed, "when have we ever been in the same room?"  

Fair.  

There was a flash of lightening and Cape Warrior landed on the cradle.  Then something big and red came out and launched itself and Thor.  Then it went flying by the window, stopping right before it smashed into the window.  

"Sorry, that was...odd," the red man now with a cape said.  

I zoned him out and tried to get Evelyn to come over so I could keep a better eye on her, but she was glued to Arrow Boy.  It was like she was literally stabbing me in the back, the traitor, picking someone she just met.  

I watched the flying cape man cautiously and suspiciously as the Avengers discussed the red man.  Evelyn came over witch Arrow Boy.  The robot picked up Thor's hammer and handed it to him, which seemed to catch everyone off guard for some reason.  

We got three minutes to get ready, so Wanda, Pietro, Evelyn, and I went to go find some gear.  Pietro threw a jacket-cloak to Wanda and glanced at Evelyn and me.  They probably wouldn't have any clothes that fit us, but my jeans and busted sneakers weren't so bad.  My T-shirt had mud on it and Pietro surprisingly found me a magenta shirt for me and a leather jacket.  

My traitorous twin got to wear a cool jacket like Wanda's that was black.  She glanced at me as she tugged it on, and I knew there was something she wanted to tell me.  But she looked at her busted sneakers and fiddled with her hands, her eyes slowly glowing green.  

Pietro went over to her and murmured in her ear something that made her shake her head and hug herself tightly.  She was nervous.  It was probably the battle, but I could feel it was something else.  Call it a twin thing.  

When we got to Sokovia we all split up, despite my better judgement.  Every now and then I saw a blur of Pietro, one of Arrow Boy's arrows, or Thor flying through the sky.  Wanda got in the fight too, which gave me four seconds to breathe and catch my breath before more robots swarmed me.  

"And if you die,"  Spangled Banner breathed through the comms, finishing his great speech.   "Walk it off."  

I took a deep breath.  "Okay, sure.  Didn't know that was a thing but will do."  

I raised my hands, seizing two robots in the air with my telekinesis and smashing their heads against each other before throwing them in opposite directions.  My vision turned purple, and I tried to focus on the energy surging through my veins.  But it was too much, I'd never used my powers so much before.  I wasn't used to it.  My body wasn't used to it.  

I stumbled into the side of a collapsed building.  Robots swarmed me and I sent a blast of exhausted energy at them, crushing and bending them as they collapsed.  I collapsed myself and rested my head back.  

Pain seared through my head and a dizziness settled over me.  My vision blurred and I stumbled, collapsing to my side.  A harsh tug at my gut sucked the breath out of me.  

EVELYN!  

And I dramatically, painfully passed out.