Next Avengers: Secret of the Spider

Part 6

Penny woke up, head throbbing like a drum. She groaned and sat up, feeling stiff and sore.

"So you're finally up," a voice said. Penny jerked her head to the side, reflexes still working. Hawkeye was stirring there, fiddling with an arrow.

"Hawkeye," Penny exhaled, blushing violently. Hawkeye nodded upwards, putting the arrow back in his quiver.

"James must've hit you pretty hard in the head," he said, standing up. "You've been out for days." Penny sighed and looked down. She barely remembered the battle. She did remember getting hit, though.

"Don't be ashamed," Hawkeye said, sitting on the bed next to her. "James is still out."

"Really?" she asked, looking him dead in the eye. "Or are you just telling me that to make me feel better?"

"Both," Hawkeye replied, returning her gaze. Penny blushed and looked away, embarrassed. Hawkeye blushed as well, something that don't happen often.

"Penny," he said quietly.

"Yes?"

"Do you...like...me?" He slid his hand onto hers, making the two blush harder.

"Yeah," Penny replied slowly. "A lot." They looked at each other and smiled. Hawkeye put his hand under her chin and pulled her head close to his, finishing with a kiss.

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James was having nightmares. Ultron kept appearing in his dreams, crushing them and making them horrible. Finally, he couldn't stay asleep any longer. His eyes flew open, chest heaving and fingers tingling. He immediately put his hand to his chest where it was cut. It was fine, except for a scar that was left from the attack.

"Are you okay?" Torin said, hovering nearby. James nodded, still slightly stunned. Torin sighed. "At least you are awake now. Your dreams cannot reach you here." James sighed and closed his eyes.

"I wish they didn't reach me at all." Torin opened her mouth to reply, but closed it. She couldn't respond. She squeezed his hand sadly. He squeezed back. He wanted his father more than ever now. Tears sprang to his eyes.

"Dad," he whispered. "Why'd you have to leave?" Torin seemed almost started crying with him. She missed her father too. She pecked James on the lips before trying to leave. James didn't let go of her hand. He pulled her back, sitting up and setting his lips on hers. He'd wanted to do this for a long time. They held the kiss for a while, greatly enjoying each other. Finally, Torin pulled away.

"What was that?" she asked breathlessly.

"I don't know," James replied, "But I definitely want to do it again."

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Tony stared at his computer screen, trying to make sense of the last few days. First, Spider-Man gets killed by the Captain America robot James destroyed. Then, James nearly gets killed by Ultron himself. What is going on here? He slammed his hands on the keyboard and sat back, exasperated. He didn't even notice that a dark figure was sitting on top of an old iron man suit, legs dangling.

"Stark," it said harshly. Tony looked backwards at him, scared and surprised.

"What do you want?" he snapped, standing up.

"I came to warn you," the figure replied. "So stop being so whiny."

"Who even are you?" Tony asked, clenching his fists. The figure grabbed its hood, pulling it off and smirking. He had bright orange eyes and messy black hair.

"I'm Kier, for your information," he said.

"So you're Kier," Tony said, crossing his arms. "The rumors are true."

"Sadly, yes," Kier said, crossing his legs. "Now I know I should never had meddled in the affairs of your race."

"What have you come to warn me of?" Tony asked. "And does it concern the kids?"

"I have come to warn you about my father," Kier said, voice choking up slightly. He cleared his throat and continued. "He's controlling Ultron and rebuilding the robots. And yes, it concerns the others." Tony sat back and held his head.

"So that's what's been going on," he mumbled. "That's why Peter's dead and James got attacked."

"I wish I could help," Kier said. "But I've been a tad caught up with not dying. And Peter's death affected everyone, including me. At least the kids can take their parent's places."

"What?" Tony said, looking back up. "No way. They're not ready. They're too young still." Kier sighed.

"I was afraid you'd say that."

"What? Why?"

"There's a new rebellion going on," Kier explained. "The Avengers weren't the only mutants to have kids."