Night of Blood
Nick wiped the water from his hair as he walked into the lobby of the apartment. His dyed, neon blue hair looked even glossier under the lights with the raindrops attached to it.
'Shit. Can't believe that I had to run the training session today. Gonna kill Peter later. Why should I care that he finally has a date with Gwen?' Nick complained to himself.
As the third son of a member of the Inhuman Royal Family and one of the most powerful mutants on the planet, Nick was never going to live a normal life. Growing up in the Avengers compound and regularly going to the X-Mansion and Atillan for training also ensured that.
His older brother had his Inhuman DNA awakened by the Terrigenesis while his older sister had her X-Gene activated during a duel with some SHIELD trainees. Both ended up leaving the compound to stay in Atillan and with the mutants respectively. Leaving behind Nick at the compound.
He went through Terrigenesis and while it was considered a success, no powers were active for him, besides having a peak human physique. Without being a truly powerful Inhuman like his father and brother, he was abandoned by that side of his bloodline. And since he wasn't a mutant, he couldn't move in with his mother and sister who were both teachers at the Institute.
So he stayed at the compound most days to work as a SHIELD agent in training while also moonlighting as a vigilante with some friends.
He walked over to the elevator and clicked the button for the 13th floor. The doors closed while Nick began to sink into his thoughts.
Terrance called for a meeting with the team and he agreed to attend with the others, but thanks to having to take over the training session, he was nearly an hour late. The lights in the elevator flickered as it shook. The team set up their base in this building because it was pretty old and few people visited stayed there. The crime rate around the place scared most people off but a team of young heroes weren't bothered by that in the slightest.
When the doors opened, Nick stepped off and instantly felt a tingle down his spine. After being a hero for a few months and training for years, he was able to tell when something was off. He pulled out his knife and lowered his body.
Nick looked around and noticed that the weird feeling was coming from the apartment the team rented. He slowly crept that way until he was right outside the door.
The door was completely closed like it always was but there was something wrong. A small amount of blood was leaking under the door.
'We were attacked? But they didn't tell me anything. So either they beat them back and thought it was no big deal or...'
Nick didn't want to even think of the other possibility but that was most likely what happened. He pulled out his cell and dialed the code that would send an alert to SHIELD and his parents that he was in an emergency situation and needed backup.
'Just need to wait for them,' Nick thought while getting in position to break into the apartment. He reached for the knob for a second before changing his mind and kicking the door down. He charged into the room with his knife in hand but froze at the sight. There were 3 dead bodies and 10 people standing around the room, looking at him with sadistic smiles on their faces.
There was one body that had all of his limbs cut off while his head was placed on his chest. Another person was barely recognizable as their clothes and body were apparently burnt to a crisp. The last young man had dozens if not hundreds of stab wounds on his body, his face contorted in fear.
'Will. Ricky. Bobby,' Nick fell to his knees when he saw 3 of his comrades dead on the floor. They were a team of 5 and now 3 of them were dead in their base. And the last member of them was standing along with the people that had done this to them.
"Terrance. Why?" Nick was barely able to spit out.
He was the newest member of the group that Ricky had brought in. They grew up in the same group home and were close. He also had useful powers so the others had no problem letting him into the team.
Terrance looked at Nick's distraught face as his smile widened.
"Why? Can't a person want to be the bad guy? To want to get rich with their powers? To be able to kill whoever the fuck pisses them off? Why wouldn't I do it?" Terrance asked ironically
"Why we wasting time with him Time-Bomb? Let's just finish him off," one of the guys standing next to Terrance said. This was one of the men that their team had been running into over the past few months, trying to clean up the neighborhood. Actually, of all the people here, each of them was one of the last members of the groups that Nick's team had been arresting.
"What villain doesn't like a good monologue?" Terrance retorted before looking back and seeing Nick's face. He took joy in seeing the despair on the faces of others. But he was surprised to see that Nick was no longer in despair. Instead, he looked furious.
'They killed them for such petty reasons? Because they wanted to? Because they were committing crimes and we caught them? That was why my brothers had to die? You fuckers!'
Debris and blood began to float around Nick's body. The entire apartment began to shake. Terrance and the others felt their bones cracking and skin peeling. The smiles were no longer on their faces. All that was left was fear.
---
"I'm less than 30 seconds out, Ms. Nick. I'll call you back when he is safe," Spider-Man hung up the phone before putting it back onto his belt.
The first person to arrive on the scene was Spider-Man. He got there only 5 minutes after Nick sent out the signal. He saw the signal that Nick sent out and told Gwen that he had to leave their date for Spider-Friend business. She was understanding since there were few people that Spider-Man considered close friends.
As soon as he got to the apartment window, he broke through it without a second thought when he saw the blood on the window. But when he got in the room, he was shocked by the scene.
It looked like some scene straight out of a horror movie. There were blood and guts stuck to the walls and floor. Fingers and toes thrown about. The few faces he could make out were all contorted from fear. No anger or despair, just pure fear.
Fear, like prey that was cornered by a predator. Fear like facing something unexpected when one had planned everything out perfectly. Fear of a being that was so powerful they had no hope of surviving.
And at the center of the room, was most likely the cause of all that fear. Nick stared at Spider-Man, no longer looking at him like a friend. Instead, all Nick saw was a potential enemy. A threat that may need to be killed.
Nick stood protectively over 3 bodies that were covered by sheets. Where he and the bodies were was the only spot without a drop of gore.
Spider-Man held up his hands to show that he was not a threat. He could tell that Nick wasn't in the right state of mind so he didn't want to try and pressure him.
"Never knew you were a horror movie fan, Nick. Thought you preferred dramas," Spider-Man joked but Nick just stared at him. Spider-Man knew it was awkward so he didn't try to make another one. He saw Nick's hand twitch and his Spider-Sense told him that he was about to lose it.
"Nick. I'm going to slowly back out of the room. I won't go near you or the people behind you. Is that alright?"
Nick didn't respond but Spider-Man felt his Spider-Sense calm down slightly.
'Good. He is partially still there.'
Spider-Man slowly backed out of the room before jumping out the window and catching the wall of the floor below. He was close enough to leap back into the room in case Nick needed him but also far enough that Nick wouldn't see him as a threat.
After making sure that Nick wasn't going anywhere, he pulled out his Avenger phone and began making calls. The first was Nick's mom.
"Hey, Ms. Nick. He is physically safe but the situation over here is bad. Make sure you bring a good telepath and as few people as possible. I'll call SHIELD and let them know that we only need a few people good with diffusing situations."
"What's wrong, Spider-Man? What is going on with my boy?" came a woman's voice from over the phone.
"I...I don't know exactly how to say it. Seems like some of his friends got killed and he lost it. So much gore I can't say exactly how many people are dead in there but there are at least 5. He was also not talking to me and was about to attack me. The good news is that he is not mobile, he seems to be focused on protecting his friends' bodies. He needs you and someone that can get into his head though cause he doesn't seem like he is listening to words."
"What the hell is going on? Fine. We are about a minute out. Me and Emma will be the only ones that leave the jet. Make sure the Avengers don't mess up the situation."
"Got it," Peter hung up the phone before calling the SHIELD agents that were most likely about to break down the door. "Maria. It's me. Call off the SHIELD agents that are going to Nick's location. The situation is sensitive. Too many people and we will have civilian casualties on our hands."
He didn't know that for sure but that was the best way to stop the agents from going inside. They needed as few people in the room as possible.
The rest of that night was a mystery to most people. Besides Nick, his mom, Spider-Man, and the White Queen, no one else entered the apartment.
Plenty of rumors went around. Nick's X-Gene activated. He didn't tell the truth about his Inhuman powers. He just lost it and went full psycho on some people. Made a contract with a demon.
None of them knew the the truth. Not even the people in the room. The only people that knew the truth about what happened that night were dead or Nick.