Knock Knock [ Bullseye AU ]

Chapter 1 - ❝ Sanity ❞

❝ STRIKE! ❞

❝ T-They...they all think you're better- better  than me! ❞

❝ I'll kill him. I'll kill the Devil of Hell's Kitchen! ❞

Voices. Scenes. Lifetimes. All swirling around his brain, making those dormant neurons fire at inhuman speeds. Rare twitches of consciousness that would awake him from his medically induced coma. He never lasted long though. Dexter was a broken soul, crawling between Limbo and Hell, each realm tugging at the damage that defined his being.

Time and space were nonexistent. There was only hurt. Regret. Confusion. Sorrow.

He'd open his eyes and find himself in a hallway so long that not even those piercing hues of his could see the end of it. Every second. Every hour. Every day. Always. He was there, always. Limping along the never-ending doors that decorated the sides of said hallway, Dexter was at war with himself. What was he supposed to do? Walk? Was that his punishment? Although he had been visiting this hallway for what seemed like forever, the man never once dared to open one of the doors.

They all looked the same. Plain. No scratches, marks or dents. Nothing that would persuade him towards a specific one. The only difference between the many options was the changing number on each door.

#127

The numbers added up to ten. That was the only deciding factor. It was as good of an excuse to finally approach one of them, as any. Taking one deep breath and wrapping his fingers around the shiny doorknob, the ex-FBI agent slowly twisted it. Letting it slowly open ajar, Dexter was overwhelmed by a roar of cheers. So many people. All in front of a stage. Standing with pride and a subtle expectation of appreciation and laurel.

What was this?

❝ Your...AVENGERS...The All New... ❞

What? What was happening? Why was this being shown to him?

 ❝ Captain Marvel! ❞

❝ Sentry! ❞

❝ Ms. Marvel! ❞

❝ Iron Patriot! ❞

❝ Ares! ❞

❝ Wolverine! ❞

❝ H̵̫̋ḁ̴͆w̵̹͆k̷̟͑ě̶̗y̸̦̌e̷͊͜  ❞

Wait. What was that-

❝ -and The Amazing Spider-Man! ❞

Who were these people?

Dexter knew who the Avengers were. And even with their always-changing roster, he still had no idea who most of the people being introduced on the big stage were. But even amidst the confusion and intrigue, his attention was fixated on the archer. There was something about him. Just as potential theories began burdening his mind once more, the entire scene got quiet. A silence so eerie that it made his hair stand on end. The cheers stopped. The festivities grinded to a halt. Every single person that Dexter could see through the doorway simply...stopped.

All except for him. The archer.

He simply stared back at Dexter. With a gaze so overwhelming that his knees began feeling a haunting strain. He was the first to move. Calmly reaching behind him to grab one of the arrows that filled his quill, the archer nocked the arrow on the large bow.

❝ Get y̷̼͑o̷͚̐u̷̺̓r̵̡͒ ̸̠̃s̸̬͠h̵̨̏ï̷̗t̵̠̕ together, kid. You know what y̶̖̑o̸̺͘u̵͖͠ ̸͙͆h̵̥̎a̶͍̎ve̶̙͝ ̶̝̂t̵͍̽ó̵̗ do. ❞

Suddenly, the archer pointed that bow towards Dexter; he just froze. It was all too much. The hallways, the doors, the damn Avengers. Just as the arrow was released and threatened to impale him with as much accuracy as only he could display, the door shut close. Falling down in pure terror, Dexter's eyes glanced up at the splintered door. The arrow head having pierced through the flimsy material. But as the fear and anxiety began fading, one word stood out in the back of his head.

...B U L L S E Y E...