The New Avenger

Justice

Peter's POV:

Captain Rogers has pulled me of Percy, and Stark has taken his away. But he isn't gone. He's seared onto my eyelids. He's a murderer. And I couldn't stop him.

"Where is he?" I scream, trying to pull away from Captain Rogers grasp. He's to strong.

"Peter you've got to calm down." Rogers doesn't let go. Fury fills me up, consuming me. How can he expect me to calm down? They're dead. Because of Percy. Even the thought of his name sends rage coarsening through my veins. "All that rage you feel Peter, don't waste it on him. Whatever happened here, it wasn't done by one person. Maybe not even a person." He tightens is grip.

"Percy confessed." My throat tightens, but I won't give into it. Rogers may be wrong about it not being Percy's fault but I can't waste my anger. When I find Percy, then I can let it all out. 

"I'm no doctor Peter, but even I can see that your friends were killed by blunt force, with some sort of long flaming weapon and, in a couple of cases, what looks like claws. I don't think one high school kid could do all that by himself."

"He confessed." I whisper, quieter this time. But it is Percy. It has to be Percy. Percy killed them. No matter how much I don't want it to be true, it is. 

"I am not saying he is free of guilt. But he was not working alone, it is not possible. Some sort of monster had to have done this."

"Well Captain," I sneer, making it a taunt, "I don't know what it was like in the 40's but today there aren't monsters sneaking around central park with teenagers. As you said, you're obviously no doctor." It's a low blow, which would have been a lot more effective if he wasn't still restraining me. I'd like to say it was unnecessary, that he could let me go and I would act reasonably. It's a lie I can't even sell to myself. If he let me gone I would run, do anything to find Percy. To kill him.

The world is unreal, everything is nothing. Except Percy. With him gone everything will return to normal. Or as normal as anything could ever be with all of them dead. DJ. Radi. Joy. Matt. Josiah. I nearly double over in pain. Because they're dead. If Captain Rogers hadn't been holding me back, and inadvertently up, I'd have fallen to the ground. It all washes over me. Until I can think of nothing else. 

"You're right. I'm no doctor. But facts are facts. Anyone can see them. Peter, you have every right to be upset. In fact it would be more worrisome if you weren't. But right now don't you think it is more important to find whoever really killed your friends?" 

"Or we could not waste time looking for something that isn't there and bring the real killer to justice." It is Percy, Rogers needs to see it. It has to be Percy.

"Peter, we cannot accuse someone without sufficient evidence. When the evidence is found, well, we can cross that bridge when we come to it. But now we have to find out exactly what's happened. Percy is safely contained, where he can't hurt anyone. When the time comes we'll do what's right."

"How do you know what's right?" I ask, the weight if the world falling onto my shoulders. An ache descends on me, filling my body, pushing me to the ground. My stomach heaves, exhaustion, stress, sleep deprivation, everything. A thousand slights. A million injuries. I don't want to know what's right. I don't want to fight, or struggle or try. All I want to do is sleep. Sleep for an eternity. Leave everything behind me, until none of this matters. Until it's all so small and insignificant that you couldn't imagine any pain coming from it. I want that wonderful balm of nothingness to sweep over me, making all this hurt go away. I want my head to clear, the throbbing to stop. This everlasting something to turn to nothing. 

I'm not angry at Percy. I'm not furious, either. Just tired. Disappointed. I have no energy to be angry. He was supposed to be my friend, and he betrayed me. But I was supposed to be his friend too. And he'd told me the truth about his past, almost like he'd been trying to warn me. Then I left him with them, even though he'd practically begged me not to. Maybe he'd known something like this could happen, he was prone to unintended violence. I'd left them here, together. Now they're dead. And it's someone's fault. Maybe mine. Maybe Percy's. Maybe none of the above. But there is certainly plenty of blame to go around. 

"I don't always know what is right. But I try as hard as I possibly can to choose the best possible option presented to me. It is not only are actions, or our intentions, which set our path. It is a combination of the two." Captain Rogers says. His face is gentle, and I realize he has let me go. Somehow my legs are supporting me, "I'd like to say I can't imagine how you're feeling right now,  but we've all lost friends getting here. I'd have done anything to save him, but I couldn't. I couldn't even stop the one's who'd killed him. And I have to live with that every single day. You'll have to live with your friends deaths every single day of your life too. Finding whoever killed them, maybe it will bring you some peace. I don't know. Whoever did this is a monster, and they will pay for their deeds. But it doesn't have to be by your hand. I hope you understand that."

And I do. I very nearly do. I don't know what I'm supposed to do next, where I'm supposed to go. But I have to find Aunt May. I have to find whoever killed my friends. I have to be sure it wasn't Percy. So maybe I'm not as clueless as I thought. Because maybe I do know what's right. Maybe I can find something deep within myself, something that can guide me. Or maybe it's been guiding me all along, without me even knowing it. 

My Aunt is missing, gone. Perhaps forever. And so for her I have to carry on, I have to do what is right, not what is easy. Because with great power comes great responsibility. I have great power, power that no one else has. So I have to do things no one else can do. A huge, overwhelming, all consuming task, sure. But someone has to do it. I'm best suited to the task, because I want to do what's right. And that has to count for something.

"Well, let's get started."

A/N

I am currently 85th in fanfiction and am dying because that is incredible!!!!!!!!! But since I am a calm, reasonable person I am not inappropriately excited (because I am mature). I am also totally not lying.

My apologies if this chapter is terrible, I don't feel wonderful. But I've been trying to update regularly on Friday afternoons, so here you go. Happy Friday everyone!!!!!!!! And thank you so much for reading my story!!!!!!!!!