#not tagging bruce because he doesn't have any lines yet lol

[froizetta]

Since it's WIP Wednesday, I've decided to post an excerpt from a longer WIP to motivate myself to write it! If it's technically on the internet, I can't just not finish it, can I? Right??? Fingers crossed I can make this a regular thing with other WIPs...

So anyway, here's part of chapter 1 from my early-career superbat identity porn fic!

“The thing you’ve gotta remember,” Jimmy said firmly with a slightly overenthusiastic wave of his jack and coke. A little bit of liquid sloshed out onto the countertop. “The thing you gotta remember. Is.” He blinked. “Ah, cripes. What was it again?”

Clark absently took a sip of his own drink. The whisky was at least a pleasant burn in his throat, even if it wasn’t exactly his favorite flavor. “Gee, I don’t think I can help you with that, Jim.”

Jimmy beamed. “Oh yeah! The thing you’ve gotta remember is, that there’re plenty of fish in the sea.”

Clark couldn’t quite suppress the wry quirk to his smile. “Wow. That’s some original advice right there.”

“No, but for real though!” Jimmy insisted, slamming an emphatic fist on the table. “Just. So many fish. A whole ocean! Of women! And, uh, also not women!”

“That does sound like a lot of people.”

“Exactly,” Jimmy said, nodding sagely. “You’ve just gotta widen your net, is all. To more than, like, one fish-woman.”

Ah, yes. Clark was honestly a little surprised it had taken him five drinks to bring it up. Apparently, Jimmy had needed some Dutch courage before embarking on the ‘romance advice’ portion of the evening.

Clark could humor him on it, at least. “You mean Lois?” he asked.

“Yeah I mean Lois! Don’t get me wrong, Lois is great. But she’s just one fish,” Jimmy said emphatically. “Like, sure, maybe she’s a really cool fish. Like… Like koi or something. Koi are actually pretty amazing, did you know they—” He paused and then shook his head. “Wait, no, this isn’t the time for fun fish facts. What I mean is, just because koi are cool, doesn’t mean there aren’t equally cool salmon. Or tuna. Don’t let the koi blind you to all the…the really hot tuna around you. You know?”

Jimmy looked concerningly pleased with his increasingly labored metaphor. Clark charitably chose to blame this on the alcohol rather than Jimmy’s abilities as a writer. “Maybe you’re right, Jim. I guess it’s pretty silly to be so stuck on her, huh?”

Jimmy frowned. “Well, I wouldn’t say that. I think you guys would be great together, you know that.”

“I’m not sure her new fella would agree with you,” he said. Embarrassingly, the glumness in his tone wasn’t entirely feigned.

“Don’t be so pessimistic,” Jimmy said insistently. “We don’t know that it’s like that. Maybe it’s just a pity date?”

It wasn’t just a pity date, Clark was pretty sure about that. Lois had been wearing the perfume she wore whenever she wanted to impress someone. And yes, that was a creepy thing to notice, but he couldn’t help it, okay? Super-senses make a lot of things really hard to ignore.

He shrugged. “Maybe. But it’s none of my business anyway. I know she doesn’t see me that way, and that’s fine.” And it was. He knew that to Lois, he was just a coworker – and a bumbling, awkward, country bumpkin of one at that. Even though he definitely hammed up the act to create distance between Clark Kent and Superman, the real Clark Kent still wasn’t the kind of guy who would appeal to someone like Lois. She’d want someone classy and sophisticated. Someone like her.

Probably someone like whatever guy she was on a date with right now, in fact.

“And, I mean… it's Lois,” he added, as neutrally as he could manage. “She’s out of most people’s leagues. It’s not— I mean, I never really thought I had a shot with her, you know? So I’m not about to get all bent out of shape because of one date. Honest.”

Apparently, this wasn’t what Jimmy had wanted to hear, at least judging by the way his face fell. “What? No no no, that’s not what I— Look, I’m not trying to say you don’t have a chance there. In fact, I think she’d be lucky to date you. But what I mean is, it’s not the end of the world if she doesn’t see that. You’re an awesome dude! I just think you deserve to be happy, with or without Lois.”

“Oh,” Clark said, then blinked and ducked his head, taken aback by how hard that had hit him. Jimmy really was a great friend. He suddenly felt guilty for spending their evening together daydreaming about eating pizza on his couch. “Shucks, Jim, that’s…that’s real nice of you to say.”

“I’m not being ‘nice’, I’m being honest. Listen veeery closely, Clark.” Jimmy set his glass down and grasped Clark around the shoulders, looking him straight in the eye.

Clark tensed. “Um. What’s happening.”

“Shush,” Jimmy said. “You’re listening.”

“I am?”

“You are. Now focus and take this in. Really internalize it.” His gaze was a little unsteady, but still intense and undoubtedly sincere. “You – Clark Kent – are a bona fide catch.”

Clark couldn’t help but let out a snort of laughter. It would be easier to take Jimmy seriously if he wasn’t starting to slur his words. “A ‘catch’? Are we still on the fish metaphor?”

Jimmy blinked. “What? No, no. Look, you’re smart, you’re a successful reporter. You’re probably the nicest guy I know. And you’re tall, like…what, 6’1”? 6’2”?”

“Something like that,” Clark half-lied with an easy smile.

“Yeah, so. Tall. Trust me, as a short guy, that’s a big plus. Everyone loves tall guys. You’re, you know, the tall, dark and handsome type. Like Superman!”

His smile froze. “Oh?”

“Yeah! Chicks love Superman. Not saying you look much like him, of course—”

“Of course,” Clark agreed.

“—but you’ve got, like. A similar appeal.” He squinted up at Clark. “You know, I’m not the best judge for this type’a thing, but if I feel like you’d clean up real nice if you made the effort.”

“Hm. I dunno, Jim…”

Jimmy was insistent. “You could change up your style, maybe. You ever tried contacts?”

“I’m afraid they don’t really agree with me,” Clark said apologetically. Which was true, in a sense. The glasses were pretty integral to the whole secret identity thing, after all.

“Shame,” Jimmy said, finally letting go of Clark to lean back. But as he did, something over Clark’s shoulder caught his eye. He grinned. “Oh, hey, my first piece of evidence that you’re a catch: I’m 90% sure that guy is checking you out right now.”

“What?” Clark said and made to look behind him.

Before he could turn, Jimmy grabbed his face in both hands. “Shhhhh!” Jimmy said urgently, even though Clark wasn’t saying anything. “You can’t just look. That’s waaay too obvious.”

Clark was pretty sure Jimmy was being more obvious than looking himself would have been, but he stayed obligingly still while Jimmy peered over his shoulder at the mystery man.

“Okay,” Jimmy said eventually. “So I’m not great at telling when guys are hot, but I’m pretty sure this guy is hot. And, again, definitely into you. I’m 95% sure.”

“I thought it was 90%?”

“Sure, but I’ve accumulula… accumama…” He frowned and shook his head. “I’ve got more evidence since then, see? So I’m surer now!”

In retrospect, he probably should have insisted on Jimmy eating something more substantial than bar snacks over the last couple hours. “Sure, Jim,” he said gently. “It’s, uh, getting pretty late, though. Maybe we should head home soon?”

“It’s—” Jimmy squinted his watch and balked. “It’s only 10:30, so no way! I’ve got a new mission now, and it’s to wingman you with this probably hot guy. Trust me, I’m a great wingman.”

Clark raised an eyebrow. “Are you? What would you even do?”

“You know, the usual. Hey, have you met my friend Clark? He’s like 6’2” and a hotshot reporter at a big newspaper. And then I just slide out—” he made a slow swoop with his hand “—and just like that, bam! Take that, Lois! Clark’s got a hot date of his own!”

Clark raised the other eyebrow. “That’s…not particularly subtle.”

“Well, subtlety isn’t a part of the Olsen Wingman Experience. But it works!” Jimmy said brightly. “I even managed to wingman my ex-girlfriend while we were still dating, although that was mostly an accident. But it was still very effective. Thanks to that, I know for sure it works.”

“Oh!” Clark said. And then frowned. “Oh. I’m, uh. I’m sorry to hear that. Do you wanna talk about—”

“Nope,” Jimmy said firmly, decisively. “Tonight isn’t about my borderline traumatizing romantic history, tonight is about you. You and this totally hot guy who I’m, like, 99% sure is into you.”

“Mm. I see you’ve accumulated more evidence.”

“Yeah, actually! I—” Jimmy’s eyes widened. “Okay, crap. It’s 100% now. He’s coming over here.”

Clark blinked. He’d been half-convinced Jimmy had just been imagining things, but… “He is?”

“He is! Just be cool, okay?”

“Jim,” he began in protest, but before he could say anything else there was a presence at his back. Clark turned to greet the stranger. And stared. Because— Huh. Huh?

Either those whiskies had been a lot more effective on him than he’d thought, or that was Bruce Wayne leaning ever-so-casually against the bar next to him.

[gffa]

Im having tons of fun crawling all over your dick grayson tag and checking out the comics you've commented on. Batman year one:scarecrow has to be my favorite bbydick and bruce dynamic lol, but also if my dad nerve pinched ME to keep me out of the fight idve gone ballistic immediately upon waking. Betcha dick made *very sure* bruce could never keep him out of a fight that way again (though i didn't quite understand what dick meant when he said he feared batman in a godfearing way? Like its a raw as hell line but i dont quite get what he meant)

Excellentttttt, there's a lot of really fun Dick Grayson comics out there, and that one is just an absolute joy. (I would also recommend One Bad Day: Mr. Freeze, because I think it captures the same feral gremlin angel baby energy of Year One: Batman/Scarecrow! But also Robin & Batman. And Batman: Dark Victory.) The art combined with the dynamic is just so top-tier:

Dick just REFUSING to be serious about Bruce's cranky moods!

Dick casually flinging himself upside down on the couch while talking to Bruce! Refusing to let Bruce snipe at him, he's serious about this, too, you know! What's making you such a pill tonight?

Dick scooting under Bruce's arm to get a better look at some evidence in their case, like he's so little! And he just WRIGGLES RIGHT IN THERE, absolutely no thought for personal space! Or leans his head right on Batman's arm to get a closer look! And that's something that will continue even when he's big as an adult, he has never met personal space of a loved one that he would not casually violate!

Hopping up on the table to curl up with his arms around his knees, like he's not a tiny baby child, and going, "Bruce, seriously, something's wrong, talk to me." as if he's the adult in this situation while sitting there like a TINY BABY CHILD.

Leaving money for a guy they just beat up!

Bruce PICKING HIM UP BY THE SCRUFF OF THE NECK like he weighs nothing, like he's just a pet cat to haul out of harm's way!

Dick trying to flirt with the receptionist and Bruce LOOMING with a cracking knuckles gesture, like if you even THINK about taking this tiny baby child seriously about how he's offering a date, it will not end well.

THEN MOVING DICK OUT OF THE WAY BY PUTTING ONE HAND ON HIS FACE AND SHOVING, I love Bruce, he's awful and the best.

Dick noticing details and asking really good questions, like that kid may not be as trained as Bruce is yet, but it definitely shows he had a natural affinity for detective work, that he's probably genuinely one of the best detectives out there after Bruce himself!

But also the "god-fearing way" and the nerve pinch lend it some nice crunch, because those moments (for all that this is a genre where these things should NOT be taking totally seriously, this is comics) are really kind of fucked up. I think, while Dick doesn't fear Bruce as a person, he can see the person Bruce is underneath the persona, there's part of him that understands Bruce is not always in control of himself and he does things he later regrets because of it. The whole mini is undercurrented with Bruce being in a bad mood, being surly and snapping, beating up people with more force than needed, slamming tables in his frustration, not talking things out. Dick sees how that plays out, it's why he keeps needling Bruce to talk to him--and Dick's not going to let any of that hold him back, he clearly feels safe enough to tease Bruce, to wriggle in under his arm, to lean on him, to snap back at him. But he also knows that Bruce can do things that are terrifying. He fears that Bruce is going to shut him out. He fears for the people in Batman's way. He knows Bruce will regret those things, but when Batman swoops down on someone he sees as being in his way, that's terrifying, like a wrathful, vengeful god. He's not really bothered by the nerve pinch, he gets why Bruce did it, and it hardly slowed him down that much. He understands that it was Bruce's way of protecting him, because he didn't want Dick to get hurt, but also I think Dick probably sees it as a challenge--to avoid it or overcome it again in the future, it's good training! Like, what a beautiful, wonderful, sweet, fucked up dynamic those two have! What a hilarious feral gremlin child he is, what an incredible "the child has to be just as mature as the adult, sometimes more mature" deliciously awful dynamic that is! Anyway, if any of you others enjoy Batman comics, please read Year One: Batman/Scarecrow, it is so funny and delightful and fucked up in a way I'm not sure it meant to be but sure is tasty as hell!

[meidui]

Tony modelling for an ad campaign for Avenger themed makeup (there were enough knock offs in the market that the media team felt the need to establish their safer and more inclusive brand in the space after some of the products illicitly using their name were found to have harmful chemicals in it.) and Tony volunteered to model because Nat refused on principle and he was the next logical/only willing choice

In any case, Tony looks GOOD wearing it, in the lipstick especially, and he wears a face full of the products home after a shoot. His lips are Iron Man red and his eyeliner is Black Widow-ed catseye, his eyeshadow is Hawkeye purple, his highlighter Thor Thunder shimmer, and his scent is Star Spangled Slay (he helped pick the names that he KNEW would annoy some of the teammates that refused to contribute lol. Also Hulk also has an eyeshadow palette but Tony doesn’t look good in the green tbh no offence Bruce), all in all he looks GOOD.

And the team cat calls and is properly appreciative of his glamorous look, except for Steve who is all quiet and looking down and seems all squirmy. Tony starts challenging him (is he uncomfortable because of outdated social norms? Does he think Tony doesn’t look good? Either way Tony’s getting to the bottom of it)(and no they are not together yet) and Steve finally looks up and stutters that no no Tony looks good! Great even!!! No really it’s a good look, Steve especially liked the lipstick, what a nice color!!!!

And Tony’s skeptical and like hmm, then you won’t mind wearing it? And Steve no!! Definitely not!!! And Tony’s like, bet, and swoops in and kisses him in the cheek, leaving a 💋 mark on him. And Steve’s all stunned and Tony’s all satisfied like, hah got ‘em, and Steve looks at himself in a nearby reflective surface and then is like ummm looks nice but maybe I need more of this nice color on me to really see… and Tony doesn’t lose in a game of chicken so he kisses his other cheek, his jaw, and the tip of his nose. And Steve’s like better thanks 😳🥰

And so every time Tony wants to put on some lipstick from the line when they go out (for marketing you see and cuz sometimes a guy wants to feel pretty), Steve’s like, hmmm can I sample that new color?? And gets a 💋or two (this is also clearly marketing cuz when Steve goes out with whatever color kissed all over his face that color sells out). Until Steve’s got his favorites and is all, idk if I want to wear Widow Black today, and the Hawkeye Cupid’s Bow is to purple undertoned for my outfit so ssiiihhhhhgggg I guess it’s Iron Man Red or Red-Blooded-Apple-Pie (seriously Tony?) for me today if that works? No not Mjolnir Mauve either Thor, no it’s a great color Thor I just don’t think it works with this shirt… yes it’s because of color theory shut up Clint

AAWW STEVE GETTING KISSES ALL OVER HIS FACE TO SAMPLE TONY'S LIPSTICK COLOUR IS SO SWEET

steve has favourites but does not put on lipstick unless the colour is transferring directly from tony's mouth to his mouth

extends to the bedroom where tony leaves lipstick marks all over steve's body and afterwards if it washes off it's makeup and if it doesn't it's a hickey

this launches another ad campaign where it's just close up photos of the lipstick kissed onto steve's face and the tag line is like "this is what it would look like if you kissed cap in shade ___" . bam, profit

btw if you want to read some stevetony and lipstick fics i do have recs🥰

[zeawesomebirdie]

Heyyy there, ask back ^^

🎵Do you make playlists for your fics?

🌠What are your top three most commonly used tags on AO3?

🙌What's a line or paragraph of yours that you're proud of?

[for this ask game here]

Hey hey, thanks so much for the ask!!

🎵Do you make playlists for your fics? I do!! All of my longfics have associated playlists, and actually I had a song lyric title era and some of the wips I have yet to post still have those song lyric titles lol. I actually need to make an updated playlist masterpost, but all of the ones I've made can be found on my spotify profile ^.^ Here's a few of my most recent ones!

Time Don't Matter To Me - ~1 hour, country; for a Bruce Wayne/Barry Allen Old West!AU in which Bruce is a vigilante gunman and Barry is the US Marshal out of Dodge City Bruise Your Lover (So He Remembers Once You're Gone) - ~1 hour, pop punk; for a Bruce Wayne/Dick Grayson fic I'm working on for @ful-crum in which Dick and Bruce fuck in the Cave and then Bruce ghosts Dick for two months please stay until i'm gone - ~1 hour, 2000's pop punk; for a Dick Grayson/Jason Todd fic in which they take turns playing on Jason's gameboy maybe everything that dies someday comes back - ~1 hour, 70's folk rock; for a Edward Nygma/Dick Grayson fic in which it is six times Riddler saves Robin and one time Dick saves Eddie

🌠What are your top three most commonly used tags on AO3? Selectively Mute Link (Legend of Zelda); Alternate Universe - College/University; and Established Relationship. And tbch, only two of those three is even currently accurate because I take five million years to actually post things!

🙌What's a line or paragraph of yours that you're proud of? I actually already answered this one over here, but I'm gonna answer it again because I have been SO proud of my writing lately 😌 Once again I'll give two paragraphs, one from a posted fic and one from a wip!

From but when i'm alone on the longest nights, i think of you and your fairy lights [Beedle/Link, rated T, chose not to warn]

The snow only barely slowed his racing steps to the monster, and Link made it to its side before it had time to reposition its blade.  He ducked under its stomach, dodging its hooves while striking upward with his broadsword and opening a rain of blood and innards.  The lynel turned almost clumsily now, its back legs not quite raising high enough to clear the snow while it tried to face him directly.  It swung for his head, and he ducked, swiping at its unprotected front legs and feeling the crunch of bone shattering against his blade.

And from the latest insomniac!coldflash one shot (yet another part of Stories I Tell Myself When I Can't Sleep) in which Len wakes up in the middle of the night to Barry inexplicably in his bed and does not recognize him at first because he doesn't wake up fast enough

He really needed to wake up faster, damnit. He needed to be able to make a plan, any plan to get himself away from the man, even if all he could do was hit the emergency alert on his phone to get the Flash here. What was it Barry said he was doing tonight? Something to do with Iris’s wedding, but Len couldn’t remember just what it was right now. What time was it now, would Barry even be awake? Fuck, and when had Captain Cold ever needed to rely on the Flash like this before? He only started keeping his cold gun in the living room rather than the bedroom just last week, for christ’s sake! Cisco was going to have a field day, especially if Lisa was the one to—

[friendlyneighborhoodcapricorn]

MCU!Peter Parker x Enemy!Reader

Synopsis: reader and Peter have been dating for a handful of years. Neither of them had expected, however, to be on opposite sides of a battle.

A/N: Just because tasm!Peter is my fave, doesn't mean I don't write for mcu!Peter :) I feel like I should clear that up lol.

Tags: None as of yet, but if you'd like to be tagged in any future works involving mcu!Peter, just let me know and I'll make sure to add you then :)

Warnings: lots of angst, swearing, canon-typical violence, but nothing too bad.

And also, reader is not American in this. I imagine they're from some sort of fictional country in the Marvel universe, but I left it open for interpretation. Could be Sokovia, could be Canada... It's up to you lol.

You held your breath as you watched your opponents line up. These used to be your allies: you had fought alongside these people on numerous occasions, even went to space to kick an alien's ass with them.

When you were fourteen and suddenly gained the ability to control the weather, it was the Avengers who had taken you under their wing. Clint had practically adopted you, while Nat was like an older sister or aunt to you. You were closest to them, although you did love the others as well.

But Clint and Nat were the only ones of the original team to be standing by your side right now. Thor was off doing whatever it was he did when he wasn't trying to stop his brother from total word-domination, and you weren't sure where Bruce was, but Tony and Steve were on the opposite side of this conflict.

You couldn't help but find it ironic: not too long ago, it had been them having a fight like this. Only recently the whole team had somewhat reconciled, and now you were already tearing them apart again.

But this was on them.

You were the only one who knew perfectly well how absolutely fucked up the government of your country was, and you were the only one who knew perfectly well how hated the Avengers were in your country. It was why you didn't live there anymore.

When the Avengers had learned about some secret weapons program that might have ties to HYDRA, they had decided to strike hard and fast before it could become more than it already was.

You warned them not to do it, begged them, but Tony and Steve -who, you supposed, were the unofficial leaders of the Avengers- decided your opinion didn't matter because you were too young. They were arrogant enough to believe your country wouldn't strike back against them.

That they wouldn't use HYDRA's faulty weapons to fend off the invasion -because that was what it was, there was no way around it.

That the weapons wouldn't blow up half the country, and your family with it.

Steve and Tony's ego was the reason your family was dead.

You couldn't be blamed for wanting to hold them accountable. You couldn't be blamed for wanting revenge. You had tried to stop them, you knew what it was like in your country, and they ignored you because you were barely eighteen and had no idea how HYDRA worked.

So you threatened to go to the press to make their actions public and start a lawsuit going against the Avengers who had participated in the attack.

Who were, apparently, willing to battle it out with you for refusing to back down.

They murdered half a country, and yet you were the bad guy.

You knew now how Wanda had always felt.

She was on your side as well, still not a fan of a Stark, but also immensely understanding of your situation. And Vision would follow Wanda to the ends of the earth, so he was with you as well. The ant guy, Scott, had shown up as well. You had no idea who had called him, but it didn’t matter: you were grateful for his support.

Steve and Tony had Sam and Rhodey on their side, but save for Cap, they all relied on mechanical suits. Suits that could very easily be thrown out the air by sudden gusts of wind and bolts of lightning.

And then there was your boyfriend, Peter, who was trying to stay out of this. You couldn’t blame him, not really. You were important to him, yes, but so was Tony. Tony was practically a father figure to him. You understood he didn’t want to get caught up in this mess.

“You don’t have to do this, (Y/N),” Steve called across the open space between you.

“No,” you said softly, letting the wind carry your voice to them. “But you didn’t have to invade my country either.”

You saw Tony roll his eyes, knew he was about to pull the HYDRA card. “They were working with HYDRA-“

“Were they?” you cut him off. “The hundreds of thousands of people you killed?”

“You’re being unreasonable,” Steve tried to reason, but you saw Sam and Rhodey exchange an uncomfortable look. “Your government was working with HYDRA, we had to do something to stop them.”

“I told you not to do it,” you said. “I told you what would happen if you did. And you ignored me, even though I was the only one who had any idea how they’d react. My country doesn’t care for it’s people-“

“Name one country that does,” Tony muttered, but you ignored him.

“-but I thought you guys would. I was wrong.”

“We do care, (Y/N),” Steve argued, always the diplomatic one. “But we had to stop HYDRA.”

“Stop trying to make this about HYDRA!” you snapped, and the wind picked up around you. “This is about how you fucked up.”

“How is it our fault that your country decided to try and blow us up?” Tony retorted.

“Because I told you that would happen! I warned you over and over again, and you still went!”

“We didn’t know the weapons were going to malfunction,” Steve tried.

“No, but you knew they were going to use them. I told you they would. And you. Didn’t. Listen.” You smiled bitterly. “Because I’m just a kid, right? What would I know of how the world works?”

“(Y/N) has a point,” Wanda said, putting a hand on your shoulder.

You weren’t aware of how tense you were until you felt yourself relax a little at her touch. You weren’t sure if she was using her powers, but you didn’t particularly care either. Wanda’s magic had never scared you.

“You never listen,” she continued, her flowery dress billowing around her legs in the strong winds. “You never consider that someone might know anything better than you.”

“This isn’t about our egos, Wanda,” Tony said, clearly exasperated, but Wanda wasn’t done yet.

“Isn’t it? Because from what I recall, this isn’t the first time your ego has gotten people killed. Maybe you have the luxury of forgetting about Ultron, but I don’t. Because he’s the reason my brother is dead. And you know what the worst part is? I saw how sorry you were, and I forgave you. And then you turned around and did it again.”

You saw Tony falter, but Steve sighed. “It looks like we’re not going to be able to solve this by talking.”

“What are you going to do, Cap?” you asked. “Kill us all so we can’t start that lawsuit? I mean, what’s five more people, right?”

“Speaking of five,” Clint started, sounding a little smug. “You do realise you’re outnumbered, right?”

There was a moment of silence, no sounds but the howling winds your anger had caused.

“Actually, they’re not.”

You didn’t want to turn around. You knew who you’d see if you did, and it already took all of your control to keep from striking him with lightning. Seeing his face wouldn’t help.

“Really?” you heard Clint ask. “I thought you were better than this.”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Barton,” Peter said, sounding closer as he pushed through your little group, and you closed your eyes.

“I’m not the one you should be apologising to, kid.”

“I know.” You felt someone grab your arms. “(Y/N), will you look at me?”

“If I do, it’s only to blast you into a million little pieces,” you said, but you opened your eyes anyway.

Peter looked torn. “(Y/N), I’m sorry. I didn’t mean-“

“You didn’t mean what?” you cut him off. “You didn’t mean to betray me? You didn’t mean to condone the murder of several thousands of people? What, Peter? What the fuck do you think you can say that makes this shit okay?”

“It’s not like that, I swear, I just- I…”

He fell silent, which was enough of an explanation. The worst part was that you weren’t nearly as angry as you could’ve been. Peter was forced to choose between his mentor and father figure, and his significant other. And after his luck with father figures, you weren’t upset with him for picking Tony’s side.

You were, however, pissed that he had lied to you about it.

“I thought you said you were gonna stay out of this,” you reminded him.

He had the nerve to look hurt. “I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, I’m sure you are,” you muttered.

“But you don’t have to do this.”

You stepped back. “I do. You’ve made your choice, now respect mine.”

Wanda touched your arm again, a silent sign of support, and you looked past Peter, who was still hesitantly standing in the middle of what would soon be a battlefield, to Tony and Steve.

“Are we gonna do this or not?”

“I’d rather not have to,” Steve replied. “But you’re not giving me a choice.”

“You have plenty of choices. You just have a tendency to make the wrong ones.”

You didn’t give anyone the opportunity to protest. If you know there’s gonna be a fight, make sure you throw the first punch was what Nat always said. She didn’t have to say it now for you to know she was thinking it.

You raised your hands and called down hail the size of basketballs, going straight for Steve. It wouldn’t knock him out, he could withstand this, but it would at least slow down any attack he came up with.

From the corner of your eyes you saw one of Peter’s webs flying your way, but you threw out your arm and a gust of wind threw it of course.

Meanwhile, Nat was busying herself with Steve. Looked like Steve was getting fried today. Oh well, he chose to do this.

Scott was now several feet taller and attempting to bat Sam out of the there while Wanda went for Rhodey. Clint was trying to disable Tony’s suit without accidentally killing Tony.

You ignored everything that was going on around you and focused on Peter, who looked like he’d rather be anywhere else.

“(Y/N), please,” he pleaded.

You were tempted to bring a hailstorm down on him, or make a blizzard and let his issues with thermoregulation take care of it.

“I already told you: we’ve both made our choices.”

You tried to knock him off his feet with a gust of wind, but he dodged it easily, knowing the movements of your hands by heart from years of fighting together.

“They’re sorry about what happened to your family, (Y/N),” he tried desperately, still dodging every gust of wind you sent his way.

“That’s not what this is about,” you snapped, your anger rising -and with it, the pressing heat in the air as well. “You know it isn’t.”

Peter, for his part, made a few valiant attempts to tie your hands together with his webs, but was mostly too busy dodging whatever you went his way.

“I know you’re hurting-“

“Damn right I am!” you spat. “I’m hurting, these assholes think everything they do is justified, and you- you think not disappointing your mentor is more important than doing the right thing!”

It happened almost without you realising it. One moment you were snapping at him, the next you were watching as a steady stream of purple-white lightning come down from the sky and hitting Peter square in the chest.

This was the strongest lightning you had ever summoned, and it took all your strength to keep it from getting out of hand and laying waste to everything in its path.

You were barely managing, when someone made the mistake of grabbing your shoulder and yanking you back. You stumbled and lost the control over the lightning you had summoned.

You heard a strange buzzing noise, and then the world exploded into that same purple-white light.

You squeezed your eyes shut to prevent being blinded, and threw your arms up to shield your face. You didn’t dare look up until that buzzing noise had died down.

The second you opened your eyes, you wished you hadn’t. The concrete was scorched black in intricate patterns. No one was left standing. Not even Peter or Steve, who both had superhuman endurance. Everyone was sprawled on the ground, passed out -or worse.

You staggered back. This was your fault. Your powers had caused this. You could’ve killed them -fuck, you might have. You were too scared about the answer to try and find out.

All you knew was that you had to get away from here, as far as you could possibly get.