039. wakanda

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› CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE ‹

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› CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE ‹

Raleigh leaned his elbows onto his knees, his legs pushed into the cool ceramic of the closed toilet. His unfocused gaze was directed on the damp blue cloth clutched in his hands, while his mind raced with long and hurtful thoughts. Peter Parker and Tony Stark had been added to the long list of people he had lost within just hours and he wanted to cry and scream about them and Loki and Thor, but he didn't have time to direct on his feelings. He needed to focus on the fact that Thanos and his Children were going to come for the Mind Stone.

When Bruce got in contact with Steve Rogers, he warned the male about what was happening and that he needed to find Vision. Apparently, that wasn't going to be a problem for him, as he hung up on Bruce not long after answering the call. Now he was just waiting with Bruce and James Rhodes for Captain America and the team to arrive at the Avengers Headquarters.

He was also waiting for Trystan Dagher to come as Rhodey made a point to show he was going to call Trystan and inform him about his whereabouts. Though Raleigh knew the man would already know about him being back since the news caught a short video of him helping Iron Man before him and Spider-Man disappeared—fortunately for all of them, the video was taken from a helicopter and they could only see the top of his head. Raleigh refused the offer to talk to Trystan on the phone because he wanted it to be in person.

His fingers dug into the cloth when his thoughts flicked back to the looks Loki and Thor gave him as he was shoved through the gateway. Loki didn't show any guilt for his action, only a longing; like he wanted to reach out and take his straining hand. He couldn't tell what Thor was thinking, but if he knew Thor, then the man was relived his brother had saved him. They saved him over themselves...

...and now he was here to fight a fight against someone who wanted to destroy life as he knows it.

He flung the washcloth away from him and the weighted material crashed into a small standing mirror on the sink. It and the washcloth fell to the tiled ground and mirror shards slid across the bathroom floor. A large chunk of glass slid to his dirtied shoe and Raleigh stared down at it.

Staring back at him wasn't someone he recognized. Of course, the features resembled him, but the skin around his eyes were stained a dark red and his normally bright blue eyes were dull, showcasing the pain hiding behind them. His hair was disheveled and scrapes covered every other inch of his pasty skin. He hated whoever this person was because this person represented everything he didn't want to be.

He was Raleigh Ridley. He survived three powerful blasts and a plane crash. He lost two separate families and didn't let their deaths affect him longterm. When he learned he was the reason for their deaths, he still refused to let it stop him. Instead, he used the powers that killed them and used them for the greater good. He stopped crime with a smile on his face because he didn't want innocent people to be frightened. He remained peppy at school even when his bruised ribs were nearly killing him, even when he was getting bullied.

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