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You remembered the first time you had turned. The cocoon fell away, and you had never felt more life. You just felt like something had been unleashed in you- a new life force. You had heard of Inhumans from your mother. You had no idea you were one. However, after three hours or so, you began to feel sick, faint, and dizzy. You grabbed the phone to call the doctor's office only to look up and see yourself in the mirror. You screamed in horror. Your eyes had turned a very pale, dull shade of gray, and your skin was beginning to have a gray, dusky tone to it. You looked like you were dead. You backed up away from the mirror into a plant in the corner of your living room, and as soon as you touched it, it died. However, you felt as if part of the sickness was relieved. You stumbled back into the kitchen and touched a small flower on the window sill. It shriveled, died, then crumbled away. You felt better, but then the horror struck you. You fed on death.
You did not show up to work the next day. Or the day after that. Or the day after that. And when you stopped bothering to call out sick, somebody called the cops. You already had your things packed for when this day would come. You opened the door quietly, and they stayed respectfully outside. "May we come in?" they asked.
"Sure," you mumbled.
You could see them scanning the dead plants now strewn around your house. "You haven't been to work in a few days and..." one of the men began, and you zoned out.
There was a sick feeling in your stomach. Oh no, you thought. "You should leave," you said abruptly backing away.
"Ma'am?" asked one of the police officers.
"LEAVE!" you shouted, but it was too late.
You were transforming rapidly. You imagined you probably looked somewhat like a zombie. "Are you alright?" asked one of the police officers reaching out to grab your hand as you stumbled backwards.
"NO, DON'T!" you shouted, but it was too late.
He fell instantly dead. The other cop pulled out his gun and cocked it. "I've heard about strange things like this..." he said nervously.
You could see the sweat forming. "Don't. Please," you pleaded.
"It's... it's my job, ma'am," the cop replied his voice breaking.
"Please, wait," you said lunging for the gun, but you accidentally gently brushed his hand.
He fell dead. "NOOO!" you shouted sobbing.
Your color returned, and you were feeling better. You ran from the corpses and grabbed your things. You loaded them into your car and drove to the edge of a forest. You shouldered the small amount of possessions and trekked inside. Afterwards, you drove your car in hiding it from prying eyes. No one ever came in here. It was wild land. No trails. No city. Pure trees though some of them had been cut down. You stayed there and survived on evergreen needles. It was hard, but you could not bring yourself to kill an animal.
One day, you awoke to blinding lights in your face. "Knock her out," said a voice.
"What?" you asked before it all went black.
You awoke in a cell. The cell you would remain in for the next two years. You were SHIELD's secret. You were Death. You were used as a fear factor to convince Hydra prisoners to spill their knowledge. One look at you was looking into a coffin. Though you insisted on plants, every so often, SHIELD would bring in a live animal and force you to kill it. Thankfully, you never had to kill any humans.
However, after two years, there was an outbreak. Hydra was being resurrected within SHIELD. A young agent came down to your cell claiming he was SHIELD. You had turned, and you hardly believed him, but you had nothing to lose so you followed him. You were just about free of the facility when you saw what was clearly Hydra soldier shoot the agent killing him. You turned to face the soldier, and he paled. You charged for him, and he was frozen in place. You grabbed him, and he fell limp. Using his body as a shield, you escaped and jumped inside a van you saw about to drive off. You were relieved when you saw the people in it were definitely SHIELD, but they all were scared of you. They dropped you off near the side of the road far away from the SHIELD facility.
You wandered around for a bit until you felt yourself being wrapped up. "Hi," said a male voice, and you looked up to realize it was a man with no eyes.
At Afterlife, they kept you secret. Only a woman named Daisy and another named Jiaying knew about you besides Gordon. Daisy secretly brought you to the new SHIELD, and Jiaying assumed you had escaped, but Fitz was able to keep you hidden from Gordon.
Coulson assigned you as a quasi-Avenger only to be used under extreme circumstances. Like Ultron. That was when you met Pietro. He was cocky, but loyal. He had energy, and he channeled it well. You were intrigued with him when Steve brought him back to the Tower. You studied him. Kept close. You noticed his sister studying you amusedly, and when you learned she was a mind-reader, it made things even more embarrassing. Your power frightened the twins at first, but they soon got used to you. "We call her Toxin," remarked Tony.
"Yeah. That's what I am. Toxin," you replied.
Though your powers would not help in this situation, you were excellent in combat, and the Avengers needed all the manpower they could get. So you joined readily. You did not want to admit it, but you kept a close eye out for Pietro. Relationships seemed so impossible to you, but you could not help it. You wanted him to survive this. The irony.
For a while, it seemed like nobody was going to live through Ultron's terror, but Nick Fury showed up with Coulson's helicarriers, and you were blown away. You were not transforming which meant you could touch people without killing them. The last people out there were the Avengers, a little boy, Wanda, and, of course, Pietro. You herded people onto the helicarrier all the while eyeing Clint and Pietro. You walked out of the helicarrier to go over to Clint to see if he needed help when a rain of bullets fell from the sky. They pushed you backwards and you stumbled for cover. When everything cleared, you saw Pietro- bloodied- standing hunched in front of Clint. He said something, then fell over- dead. "No!" you cried.
A shock of energy coursed through you which you assumed to be Wanda. "Y/N," said Natasha's voice.
"I feel sick," you replied wearily.
"Hold it, sweetie, we gotta get to New York," she said pushing you towards the helicarrier.
"So dizzy..." you groaned.
"You can't do this now, Y/N!" she shouted.
You fainted in Natasha's arms. When you awoke, you were fine in a hospital bed. You were in the medical bay of the Tower. As soon as you say up to leave, you felt it again. You needed your plants. You swayed out the room only to hear the distinct chattering of a bunch of different Avengers. "I'm sorry, but he's dead. He's not coming back," you heard Bruce say.
You walked into the room to see Pietro's body stretched out on a table. Wanda was crying softly into Vision's chest. Everyone straightened and backed away from you as you entered. Wanda watched you curiously. "May I?" you asked.
She wiped a tear and nodded. You put Pietro's cold, dead, lifeless hand in yours. The tears sprang to your own eyes, and you wept for the love that would never be- could never be. However, you began to feel more sick. You recoiled from Pietro's body, and Tony left quickly returning with plants for you. "Take it easy, Toxin," said Steve.
You killed the plants, and a feeling of relief washed over you. You began looking normal again, and gave Pietro's hand one final, mournful squeeze. As soon as you did so, you felt that unbridled sense of life like you did when the cocoon first fell away. Then you heard it. A gasp. You turned to see Pietro's color rushing back to him. He coughed a little... then some more... the he finally opened his eyes. "Pietro!" exclaimed Wanda.
She rushed over to her brother, and threw her arms around his neck. "Thank you, Y/N," said Wanda beaming at you.
"Me?" you asked incredulously looking around at everyone.
As it happened, you feeding on death was not such a bad thing as it meant that you had the unique gift of revitalization. You had never thought you could be anything more than a monster- or a vegetarian. You were the first Inhuman with two states of being and became extremely confident in your new-found ability. That, in turn, made you much more confident in your relationships with others. Which meant you were much more confident in starting a friendship with Pietro. Which meant you were much more confident in starting something a little more than a friendship with Pietro. Which meant that there were many more awkward instances between you and the Avengers besides catching you killing roses- they left a more satisfied feeling.
After Ultron, the Avengers went on hiatus. You found your way back into SHIELD surprised to see Lincoln there, but nonetheless happy. Daisy taught you how to properly control your powers. It was not easy. Housing death and releasing it constantly was a vicious cycle, but Daisy and you worked with it.
Upon your return back to the Avengers Facility, you found that Pietro was fully healed and was much more obnoxious than ever. However, you loved him immensely for it. Even when he you would wake up to him peering over you saying, "You didn't see that coming?" after you would jump. Or even when he stole your food and claimed that couples should share things with each other including meals. Pietro helped define a life-changing moment for you. Not your wedding. That came later. But one day, he and you came across a kitten half-dead on the side of road. You picked it up, and Pietro rushed you and it back to the Tower. You brought it to Banner who tried everything he could; however, his lab was not suited so much for kittens. The kitten died with a silent cry. Tears sprang to your eyes, but you felt a nudge. "Go ahead," whispered Pietro.
"Huh?" you asked.
"Bring it back- Persephone," he replied.
Regaining yourself, you stroked the kitten's head. It slowly moved a paw. A few minutes later, it opened it's eyes and stretched. "I'll get Tony. We'll see what we can do. And Persephone... I like it," said Dr. Banner scooping the kitten up in his arms.
You chuckled as you knew Bruce was falling more in love with it second by second. Pietro put his arm around you, and you kissed him. Persephone stuck. You liked it, and so did everybody else. You realized you were more than just Toxin. Life was more than just death.
