Altered - A Marvel AU

Chapter 33 - Nightmares

Steve's POV

Megan was acting strangely, as soon as she walked in, she suggested we all do something together in our room to let loose and unwind the stress we've all been holding in. Naturally, I knew something was up as soon as she looked at me and I detected longing, of course, I could've been wrong seeing as everyone thought of me as being thick-headed.

So throughout the movie, which I wasn't even paying attention to, Megan had curled up beside me in the bed, her hand resting on my thigh. Now it's probably obvious why I couldn't concentrate on the movie. Her head was resting on my shoulder and about halfway through the movie I heard snickering, I looked up to see the rest of the team holding back their laughter. "What?" I asked, annoyed at their reaction, Clint pointed at Megan as Natasha burst into giggles.

Megan had somehow converted me into her snuggle toy as one of her legs was over my own and her head rested on my chest with her arms hugging me tightly around my waist. "Just because she's hugging me, it doesn't mean anything." Nat rolled her eyes, "yeah, and I'm not secretly attracted to gay men." Everyone looked at her and she smiled, "Just kidding." I shook my head, "She's been through a lot, you don't think maybe she just needs a friend by her side right now." "If that was true, she'd be sleeping on me right now." Tony mumbled and I shot him a death glare.

"Maybe you guys should get some rest, I'll tuck Megan in too." They all muttered various forms of agreement and filed out of Meg and my room. I gently leaned back, careful not to wake Megan and I wrapped my arms around her, soon I could feel the gentle hum of the vents lull me to sleep as well.

***

We were all standing in front of the mountain where Megan was sure Kronos would show and lo behold, Kronos appeared wearing a crisp black suit in his human form. He walked towards Megan and I could notice her hands shaking on either side of her hips. She spoke, however, in a confident voice, "Kronos, you're alive." "Yes, and I can tell you're happy about that, my dear." Megan's laugh was nothing like her carefree giggles, it was more of a vengeful, spiteful laugh. She sized Kronos up, "What do you want Kronos, hmm?" "To control the Olympians my dear."

Megan sighed, "You know I can't let that happen, millions of lives are at risk if you somehow possess any influence and power at all." Kronos spread his hands, "While that may be, I would still need to win over the other gods, assuming they don't wage war on me. Right, Thor, son of Odin." Thor grunted and Megan frowned, "I've seen you, you're pure carnage, destruction, I think if you can appoint the greek gods to do your bidding, there's no stopping you." Kronos laughed a deep belly laugh, "Smart girl." He praised Megan and she nodded, "I fear this is your last chance to surrender Kronos." he shook his head at her, "No Megan dear, this is your last chance to trade sides, be my queen again and we'll rule the cosmos." "Not a chance, psycho." Megan muttered and Kronos smiled, "Well then, let the festivities begin."

As soon as Kronos raised his hands, a swarm of demons came rushing towards us, Nat paled beside me, "They... um that's a lot." "Yeah," I nodded, "Stay safe." "I'll try but no guarantees." Just as the two sides were about to meet, Megan yelled in defiance and all the demons disintegrated in their spots, she coughed and pushed us all back with a flick of her wrist, she raised a transparent black hemisphere that encased her and Kronos, "Now, Thor." She yelled and Thor raised his hammer, calling on a bolt of lightning as it erupted within the sphere, locking Kronos and Megan inside, and the rest of us out.

"NO." I roared, trying to run towards Megan, she looked at me and smiled a sad smile, a single tear rolled down her cheek as she signed me something. She held up her index and ring finger, her thumb pointing outward as she waved it back and forth. Then she held her hand over her heart and moved her hand outwards towards me. I knew immediately what she was trying to say and I struggled to keep back my own tears as I repeated her sign.

Kronos struck her in her back and the golden scythe's tip showed through her stomach as she fell to the ground and I screamed. She turned around, causing Kronos to lose grip of his weapon as she held out her arms, she closed her eyes and rose several feet off the ground. Kronos started to yell at her, his eyes wide in fear as he stared at her, I could make out just a few words, "Are you crazy? This will kill the both of us." She remained unaffected and continued chanting until a white light blinded us all, the hot air blasting us back.

I landed in a pile of debris and I coughed up blood as I tried to get up, my limbs felt heavy as I made my way over to the black hemisphere that was now crumbling, rainbow lights shooted into the orbit from it. I made my way there shouting Megan's name and once I got there I saw something that chilled me to my very bones. I saw a black and golden suit, similar to the one Nat and Megan had stitched together for her, empty with no body. No one was around and Kronos was gone.

I screamed out in pain, the one person I had truly loved as a soulmate was lost, taken from me. I heard someone's voice vaguely scream my name "STEVE. STEVIE." Only one person had called me Stevie and her voice was now haunting me as I remembered all the fond memories of when she called me that. "Stevie, baby." I woke up trembling and sweating bullets, my hair matted down and I could feel someone cradling my body against theirs.

"Stevie, please wake up." Megan's croaking voice woke up my senses completely as I looked at her through tears, "You're alive." I said, holding her face in my hands. "Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" "I just... I had a really bad nightmare." I explained and she nodded, "That's Kronos messing with our heads, I have them too." I held her hand, "Don't freak out." I whispered and she looked at me with wide eyes as I leaned in and kissed her, she didn't respond immediately but soon enough she threw her arms around my neck and kissed me back. "Meg, I have something to tell you." I rested my forehead against hers as I mumbled the words, she smiled, "Ok, then say it." "I... I lov-"

Nat burst through the doors holding the side of her nightgown which was soaked in blood, "NAT." Megan screamed, rushing towards her, "I'm fine, damn demons scratched me up real bad. Kronos is coming after you." Nat rushed her words, her face getting paler by the moment as Megan launched up and flew outside, she yelled, "Look after Nat, Steve."

I looked down to see Nat wincing in pain but she seemed to be relatively okay, I took off my shirt and ripped it to shreds, using the longer ones to apply pressure to Nat's wounds. Her nightgown was fully up so that I could bandage her, "If Meg walked in, she'd kill us." Nat laughed then winced as her abdomen curled inwards. She coughed up blood and I hesitated for a second before I rushed to Megan's bag, getting the Nectar out that was supposedly there to heal her in an emergency. The bottle held a golden liquid and I remember Megan telling me that it was the drink of the Gods and that a person could literally burn up using that.

But in a split second, I yanked open the bottle and immediately Megan's scent drifted across the room, vanilla and honey. I quickly poured only a little bit on Nat's wound as her skin began to steam, "Uhh, should that happen?" I could tell Nat was trying to hold back screams of pain as the nectar somehow burnt her skin and healed it, I wiped my forehead and sighed in relief when I noticed that Nat's skin had stopped steaming.

I threw the closed bottle onto our bed before I picked up Nat and rushed to her room, to see Bruce turned into Hulk, smashing several demons that had somehow made their way through. "Bruce, I need you to take care of Nat." I said, hoping he could understand me and not squash me like a bug, Nat reached out and stroked Bruce's face and he relaxed as he took her in his arms. "I'm going after Megan." I yelled and I ran out of the room, running in all halls but to find that Megan was nowhere to be seen.

"I have her and you can't get her back." that wretched voice screamed out and we could all hear the triumph in his voice, immediately all the demons retracted and I stood in a dimly lit hall as Tony ran to my side, still in his boxers. "What the fuck happened?" He yelled and I struggled to keep my dream from repeating back to me, "Kronos took Megan and they're both in deep shit."