#thisismymess

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OUR UNIVERSE - PRESENT DAY NYC

[Y/n] [L/n] was a frequent visitor of Mel’s Comics, a ragtag little comic book shop in the heart of Harlem, New York.

Just a skip and a hop from her Grandmother’s apartment, it was one of the only places [Y/n] felt at home, it was a place she could feel herself, a place where expectation melted away like ice cream on warm summer’s day. It was her sanctuary.

And so, it was no surprise that Mel’s was also her supplier of all her Marvel needs. They kept their racks fully stocked, and it was the only comic book store she could find that housed the full collection of rentable Marvel Cinematic Universe content.

Of course, the MCU movies rarely lined the shelves with how often [Y/n] made it her mission to rent them to the very last second. Today was no different.

A mish-mash of movie phases were squished in her arms as she approached the checkout counter. The man running the counter, Jeremy, a lanky man in his thirties, with bleach-blonde hair and wire-rimmed spectacles, was a close friend of the young teenager.

Although they often only talked when [Y/n] spent her time occupying the peeling walls of Mel’s Comics, they got along splendidly.

Jeremy tilted his glasses away from his nose, and offered the young girl a kind smile. “Got another haul today, [N/n]?”

[Y/n] gave him a wide grin, nodding her head as she lugged the DVD’s onto the countertop.

Jeremy let out a dry laugh. “Geez, [Y/n], how many times are you going to watch these things? You know you can buy them, right?”

[Y/n] waved her hand dismissively. “Psh. Why take away the magic of coming here to rent them every week?”

Jeremy hummed, and continued to ring up the movies, and tapped away at his computer. [Y/n]’s name was always the first to pull up in the rental system, as she was oftentimes the only one to consistently rent the movies.

“Alrighty. With the family and friends discount, that’ll be-“

“Ten fifty.” [Y/n] finished, pulling out a wad of cash from her front jean pocket. Jeremy pulled the green paper out of her hands and counted it out, removing a few dollars from the cash register and handing it to [Y/n].

“I got my backpack today, so I think I can pass on the bag.” [Y/n] informed, and Jeremy nodded, pushing the stack of movies towards her. She pulled the backpack off her back, and shuffled the plastic containers into the large pocket of her bag, and zipped it closed. “Thanks, Jer!”

“Sure thing. And be careful out there, kid. It’s a bit icy today.”

[Y/n] laughed. “When am I not careful?” She pushed open the glass door, a small bell chiming as she exited the tiny shop. She stood outside for a moment, sucking in a deep breath of autumn air.

Ah, that fresh, tangy, New York air.

[Y/n]’s marvel obsession stretched far beyond her frequent stops at Mel’s, or reading the latest comic addition. Her obsession fueled her entire childhood, and the characters of the marvel universe acted as compensation for the many struggles she had met early on in life.

At only age 10, her father passed away from a severe case of pneumonia. He was a talented criminal investigator, who caught the sickness unexpectedly.

When [Y/n] was very little, she wanted to follow in her fathers footsteps, and had little interest in make-believe heroes. Why would she? Her father was already a real life hero in her eyes.

But life often has other plans. When her father died, her hope of real life heroes died with him. She began to doubt the goodness of the world, and she had nobody to run to.

With her mother out of the picture, all she had left was her grandmother, who was as feisty as they came. She could take care of herself, so she had no problem declaring guardianship over young [Y/n].

When she finally began to piece her life back together, she became fixated on the marvel universe. It offered an escape, a new outlook. A world where heroes really did exist. A world, where [Y/n] could finally see good again.

Clearing her head, she began to make her trek back home. Jeremy was right, the ground had a thin layer of cracked ice all over it, coating the side-walk in a death-trap of colder months.

Taking extra caution to avoid these icy patches, she slowed to a crawl, weaving her way around tourists, and everyday commuters.

She pulled her phone out from her pocket, earbuds already connected by the plug, and unlocked it. She scrolled through her music, careful not to become too absorbed in the screen of her phone.

Then, like a bolt of lightning shooting down the sidewalk, [Y/n] felt herself being shoved to the side by a shadowy figure. Her phone went flying to the ground, and she hit the brick wall of one the storefronts beside her.

Annoyance bubbling inside her, she quickly regained her composure. “Hey! Watch it!” She barked, but the figure was already booking it down the sidewalk. Her nose crinkled, and she bent down to retrieve her cracked phone.

Great.

When she stood back up, she noticed the figure disappearing into an alleyway, and she could feel curiosity begin to grow inside her.

Before she could stop herself, her feet began to carry her in their wake, and she slipped into the same alley. Finding it empty, save for a trash bin and a few empty beer cans, she became determined to locate the mysterious stranger.

Her eyes traced the walls of the alleyway, before landing on a ladder, connected to the fire-escape of the building to her right. It lead right up to the roof, and as she tilted her head upwards, she could see the figure slink out of view above her.

With a quick once over of her surroundings, she followed suit, cold hands gripping the rusted metal bars of the ladder, and she hoisted herself up, quickly ascending the tall height of the building.

With a quick glance down, which frightened her beyond what she could ever imagine, she continued her way up, slightly out of breath once she reached the top.

There was nothing but silence at the top of the building, besides the quiet whirring of the air conditioning units that supplied cool air to the apartments below.

Ahead of her, the figure, dawning all black clothing with a saggy hood pulled over their head, climbed the scaffolding-like ladder of a crane position just a few meters from the other side of the building.

“What the hell are they doing?” [Y/n] muttered under her breath, already making her way towards the crane. Some part of her brain was screaming “Stop!” At the top of it’s lungs, only the worst possibilities of what this person could possibly do at the top of a crane, 7 stories up, came to [Y/n]’s mind.

And so, reluctantly, her brain allowed her to give chase. She neared the crane, which she would have to make a bit of a jump for, and she could feel her heart beating out of her chest.

Inside her head, a war broke out.

I’m going to die. What am I doing? I need to go back.

But what if they’re going to jump? What if they’re going to sabotage the crane? What if somebody gets hurt, and you could have prevented it?

What if I get hurt?

What if you do, but you save a life?

The ever persistent vigilante inside her won the battle. She wrapped her fingers around the bars, leaning over the edge of the building, and pulling herself over with a heave and a sharp beat of her heart. She could swear she was falling to her death, when she realized she had made it safely onto the oddly designed ladder to the top.

She picked up her pace, clawing her way up the yellow colored crane, just a few paces behind the mysterious person.

Wanting to stop them before they hurt themself, or caused any damage, she decided to call out for them.

“Hey! Wait!”

They turned only for a moment at her words, but their face was hidden beneath a mask pulled up over their nose, but their eyes bore a striking resemblance to [Y/n]’s. They hesitated for only a second, before speeding towards the top, and disappearing over the edge.

Shit!

Biting down on her lower lip in frustration, she began to climb her way further up the crane, until her shivering body clawed itself onto the flattened area above. The figure was walking precariously down the narrow bridge of the crane, and [Y/n] clung to the bars of the bridge.

“Hey! What are you doing?” She called, voice quaking.

The figure did not turn this time, and only looked down at their wrist, as if checking the time.

“Oh God.” She whispered. She sucked in a breath, and pushed herself away from the only thing holding her high above the ground. She stood up. “Please, get down from here, you’re gonna get hurt.”

They turned around at this, and their eyes widened at [Y/n]. She was shaking like a leaf. Legs splayed out, trying to maximize the amount of balance she had. Her arms reached out to her sides to steady her. The person eyed her, and they seemed to want to pull forward and comfort the young girl, but instead, they squeezed their eyes shut.

The bars creaked under [Y/n]’s weight, and she could feel herself growing more and more light-headed.

“No. No, you need to get down. Please. It’s dangerous.” Their voice was low, but rang with power.

“Come on, please. You could fall.”

They held a hand out, as if trying to stop [Y/n] from talking. “Kid, you don’t know what you’re doing. You need to turn around, and get back down to safety.”

[Y/n] shook her head. “Not without you.”

“Kid, you’re just going to get yourself hurt.”

“Oh.” [Y/n] held back a sour chuckle. “That’s rich, considering you’re the one who came up here in the first place.”

They stood there for a moment, before checking their wrist again. [Y/n] noticed the clean, square surface attached to their wrist, and noted it was probably some sort of smart watch.

“I don’t have much time.” Their eyes didn’t leave the watch. A loud crack made their eyes snap upwards, paired with the startled scream leaving [Y/n]’s mouth.

The crane’s bars that were propping her up gave out, and now, clinging desperately to the rusted metal, she was hanging there, only a slip away from death.

For a moment, time stopped for the black-clad stranger. They watched as [Y/n] eyes shut in terror, and whimpers of fear escaped her lips. They felt themself being tugged towards her, wanting desperately to save them. But the clock was ticking.

They let out a struggled breath, and balanced their weight on the bars, shuffling back to where [Y/n] clung for dear life. They bent down to her level and their voice softened.

“Hey. Hey, open your eyes, okay? Take a deep breath for me.” [Y/n]’s body was quivering, but she complied, cracking open her eyes and letting the light flood in.

They tilted their head. “Look at me, okay?”

[Y/n] did as told, but still, fear, and confusion flooded her brain. Reaching a hand up to their face, they removed their mask, pulling it down under their chin.

What [Y/n] saw might have killed her right then and there, if it weren’t for the adrenaline already coursing through her veins.

It was her. Her face, on the stranger’s. Yes, older, and more sodden, but it was hers. A scar ran deeply over the corner of her lip, and bags clung to her eyes, but [Y/n] would know herself. And this was her.

Eyes wide, [Y/n]’s mind struggled desperately to wrap itself around this. Somebody who looked like her? Doppelgänger? Coincidence?

No. [Y/n] knew that there was no such thing as coincidence. Not like this, anyway.

Her identical, as [Y/n] mentally decided upon calling her, furrowed her brows in concern and placed her gloves hands over [Y/n]’s.

[Y/n]’s lips parted. “Who are you?” She managed.

“You shouldn’t have followed me. You let curiosity get the best of you.” She looked away. “I know how that is.”

[Y/n] shook her head. “I’m scared.”

“I’m running out of time, okay? You need to take my hand.”

“I can’t- I can’t.”

[Y/n] watched as her eyes narrowed. “I am on a mission, okay? A mission I cannot miss. I have ten seconds to get you down, and if you don’t take my hand, I’m going to leave you here.”

This frightened [Y/n] more, and the sound of snapping metal filled her ears. She could feel all her emotions building like a waterfall inside her, and tears began to sprout in her eyes. Her doppelgänger backed away after a few seconds.

With a tight-lipped frown, she said, “I have to go. I’m sorry.”

[Y/n]’s eyes opened, and she watched as she went back to her perch at the edge of the crane. Fear began to fill [Y/n]’s core, and she let out any sound that came to her.

[Y/n]’s screams filled her identical’s ears, and she tried her best to block it out. The seconds ticked away, before she tore her gaze off her stopwatch as her alarm sounded. Sparks filled the air below, turning everything a vibrant green color. They zapped and cracked like electricity, before they snapped apart to reveal a glowing portal, hovering above the ground, just below where [Y/n]’s identical stood.

It was dark on the other side, the sound of pattering rain present, mixed in with the unstable sound of crackling. She looked over her shoulder at [Y/n] who pleaded for mercy. Her right hand gave way as the bar snapped. Piercing screams filled the air and she began crying out for help.

[Y/n]’s identical was not as callous as she presented herself to be. She was not emotionless, as many of her colleagues in her world saw her as. She had a heart. She could feel pain, just as anyone could.

And the screams that her younger double was making broke her to the bone. She could stand it no longer, and with a harsh breath inward, and a curse under her breath, she lifted her hands, her power flowing through her finger tips.

She latched onto the portal through her energy, and she threw it towards [Y/n], whose grip was weakening, and she hastily positioned it beneath her flailing body.

With one last, “Fuck my life,” the powerful [Y/n] counterpart sealed the deal, as [Y/n] lost her hold and fell backwards, directly into the portal.

She watched as it sealed behind her, her alarm ringing from her watch

Damn. Working with the multiverse is hard.

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tags:

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