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MISADVENTURES IN PARADISE
v. KEEP BOTH EYES OPEN

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   NOWADAYS, RILEY HATED ADMITTING when she was afraid.

   It wasn't the type of thing people associated with her, the type of thing people wanted to associate with her. When they looked at her, they wanted to see a symbol. A token. They looked at her, and they didn't see Riley. Not at first. They would forever see her as Valor before anything else. It was the name she gave when she first introduced herself to the world, and it would be the name that went first on her grave.

   The word itself meant a lot to her. It was her valor that kept her heart beating. Not her village, not her powers. It was her. Her drive, her spirit. It would always be her. The one person she could always rely on.

   That didn't mean she never got scared though. It meant she had a lot of motivation to keep living, even when she probably shouldn't.

   But there were times she got scared, and when she was, she liked to close her eyes.

   Closing her eyes brought comfort. Because she didn't see darkness. She saw nothing. She learned this when she asked Fury about his blind eye several years ago.

   "Do you ever get scared when you look through your bad eye?" Riley had wondered. She couldn't have been any older than eight of nine. She was following him around HQ. Fury's little shadow, his precious protege.

   "Why would I get scared?" Fury often entertained her questions for the only reason of valuing his sanity. Agent O'Dair was terribly annoying when ignored, as he discovered early on.

   "Because when I close my eyes, I always see the dark, and I hate the dark," she said, only to hurriedly add, "Not that I'm scared of the dark! Cuz I'm not! And if Barton said I was, he's full of shit! I just don't like the dark. It's totally different."

   "Well, I hate to burst your bubble, Agent, but I don't see the dark. I see nothing."

   "Isn't that the same thing?"

   "Not even close," Fury said. "In the dark, there's no telling what's there. But if all you see is nothing, what do you have to worry about?"

   "So... if I close my eyes, all my problems go away?" Riley wondered.

   Fury stifled a laugh — which wasn't much of a laugh, technically. It was more of an enthusiastic sigh. "Something like that," he said. "But if you want to stay in the game, you've got to keep both eyes open."

   Riley never forgot his words.

   Whenever she got scared, she closed her eyes to see nothing. It didn't matter where she was or how long she did it. A glimpse was all she needed. Riley closed her eyes to remind herself that she was alive, that there existed a place deep within — far past her restless soul — that was calm and quiet, safe and sound. One day, she would never open her eyes again, but did that have to be such a scary thing? There was something reassuring about only ever having to worry about nothing.

   She'd been closing her eyes a lot these days. Because every time she opened them, darkness greeted her yet again.

   Rob O'Dair was following her.

   She was sure of it.

   He was everywhere. In reflections of puddles, squeezed between bodies on busy streets, ordering coffee behind her, admiring murals of Valor. He was the wind in her ears, the taunt of her fears. Everywhere she went, he was her shadow. Venice. Austria. Prague. Airports, groups of tourists, lines for bathrooms, hotel lobbies. Even when she was invisible, she saw him, and she swore he could somehow see her, too.

   But every time she tried to chase him, he vanished like he was never there.

   Her sanity was slipping, and she didn't know how much of herself she was prepared to lose to him again.

   Riley was perched in her hotel room, awaiting orders. Tonight, in Prague, the final Elemental would emerge. The Fire Elemental. She couldn't tell if she wasn't nervous or if she was too riddled with anxiety to feel it. It must've been the latter because every light in the room was on, nearly every door pulled open, and her gut kept gnawing at itself until it was as raw as she felt.

   She kept switching between apps on her phone mechanically, ravenous for a distraction. She did some research on the myths the Elementals came from, cross-referencing all that Beck shared and looking for anything new. She read up on the latest updates on the Belmont Trials, which Roman was handling as perfectly as she had anticipated, and now, she was rereading her texts with MJ to console herself. Again.

   MJ and Roman were her anchors these past few days, with the former offering a constant stream of reassuring messages and the latter going out of his way to ensure Rob was still locked up. Of course, Riley trusted Roman's word, but it made no sense.

   How was she seeing Rob everywhere? Why?

   A glimmer of light made her head snap upward. Her eyes darted to the tiny closet. Although there was no way anyone could be in there without her knowing it, her heart started to race. Slowly, she stood, but once she was up, she made haste and lunged. She was so sick of not being quick enough to catch Rob. Any little movement, no matter when or where, had her ready to pounce.

   But when she yanked the door open, all she saw was the dreamlike projection of Roman's soul.

   "GAH!" Riley shrieked, jumping back. "What are you doing in my closet!?"

   "Is that where I am...?" Roman stepped out, his soul moving straight through her figure. He squinted at the influx of light. "Gee, kid, you really have no concern for electricity bills, do you?"

   "Can you blame me? I'm getting stalked by the one person I can't seem to catch," she grumbled. "Any updates?"

   "Rob's still in the RAFT. Even paid him a visit today."

   "And?"

   "He's clueless. His soul's clean."

   Riley fell onto the bed, groaning. "Of course, it is."

   Roman inspected the room despite the disinterest on his face. "Have you considered the idea that all of this is happening inside your head?"

   "I know what I saw, Rome," Riley asserted. "I've been seeing him everywhere. I can't even catch the bastard in a forcefield!"

   "I'm not saying you didn't see him, technically speaking," Roman said. "But what if this is a PTSD thing?"

   "You think my brain's screwing with me." Riley scoffed. "No, definitely not. If he was a hallucination, he'd... I don't know, do something. He'd taunt me, or-or talk to me. But he hasn't! It has to be him. It has to be! How am I the only person that's worried about this?"

   "I don't know, Ri. If he escaped, we'd know," he reminded her.

   "Unless his powers have evolved," Riley said. "What if he can create illusions, too, just like me? Our powers are opposites but still similar. What if the Rob inside the RAFT isn't the real Rob? What if he's a fake? A fake that's so convincing that it got past your powers?" She sat up, the crazed look in her eyes juxtaposing Roman's raised eyebrow. "Mother of Stars, am I overthinking again?"

   "A little. But I guess that's why you're good at your job," Roman assured. "If Rob knew how to create illusions, one of us would've figured it out by now. But that isn't how darkness works. Shadow magic captures its prey by targeting its fear of the unknown. Even in myths on Asteria, they always told us that light is more deceiving than darkness."

   "Hm, true..." Riley mumbled. "It's the perfect distraction, you know? It's the only thing that could happen where everyone else thinks nothing of it except me. Whoever's behind this, whether it's Rob or someone he's working with, planned this perfectly. The worst part is that it's working."

   "Have you told Peter?" Roman wondered, to which Riley immediately flung a pillow at him. It soared through his projection, but he still yelled, "Ow!"

   "It didn't even touch you—"

   "You didn't let me finish." Roman placed a condescending hand over his heart. "It hurt my feelings."

   "You're lucky you didn't teleport here because I can hurt way more than that—"

   "Alright! Sorry I asked, grouch."

   "Don't call me that!" Riley whined. "No, I haven't told him. I was going to when I saw him the other night, but I wasn't even sure if I really saw Rob. And then... I don't know." Her lips curved faintly. "We were distracted the whole night. It was actually... really nice."

   "You didn't tell Peter, but you told MJ?" Roman asked incredulously.

   "I was planning on talking to him after this Elemental shit was over. The end of the world kinda outweighs my daddy issues," Riley said. "Hang on, how did you know I told MJ?"

   "...None of your business."

   Riley snickered. "Hey, I don't blame you for having a crush on her. But she's way out of your league."

   "She's out of everyone's league," Roman said without thinking twice. Riley's grin grew, and in return, his eyes flickered red — not with rage, but with embarrassment. "Don't start."

   "You think MJ's pretty!" Riley taunted in a sing-song voice.

   "I didn't say that. And if I did, I didn't. Got it?" Roman nodded to her phone, which had been buzzing innocently since he arrived. "I should go. And so should you. You ready for this Elemental shit? Last one, right?"

   "Yeah, I guess so," she said. "I haven't been too worried about it, I think. It's been going smoothly, which is probably a bad thing, now that I'm thinking about it. Maybe if Rob hadn't shown up out of nowhere, I'd get my head out of my ass."

   "Well, you forget what people say about you. It's going smoothly because you're there," Roman said. "I'll see you on the news later. Try not to get burnt to a crisp, yeah?"

   "Damn, I'll have to take that off my agenda."

   She smiled when he did, and she watched as his soul's projection flickered and vanished. But his disappearance snipped the strings pulling her lips upward, and as her attention drifted to her endlessly buzzing phone, Riley sighed.

   Time to get back to work.

   By the time Riley arrived at the underground vault that was being used for HQ, she was extremely late. It didn't help that she felt the overwhelming urge to investigate every "innocent" sound and shadow she passed. But before she could apologize for her tardiness, she was startled to see Peter Parker had joined them again.

   Watching the realization sink in, Fury ordered, "Not one word."

   "Fine," Riley said. "Have three: You're a dick."

   "Soldiers don't survive off pleasantries, now, do they?" Fury returned. "What's your excuse for your lateness? Still chasing ghosts?" Peter made a face at the question.

   "I'd say that's none of your concern, but you haven't exactly shown much concern about me this entire mission. Or my entire life, actually," Riley said. "You act like I can't read you like a book, Fury. Let me guess. I'm on defense to contain the area of impact, Peter's on support — though really, he should be on his field trip, but I digress. And Beck's on offense."

   Fury looked irritated, but he couldn't help that she was right. "Have a seat."

   Riley said nothing to Peter, but the little smiles they exchanged brightened the room. Being on good terms again felt like the first air of spring had returned. A fresh reset. If spring was the season of beginnings, what did that make summer? Sweltering, boiling summer, the season of long days, especially for the Avengers.

   In hindsight, Riley knew Peter would be back. She hoped he would make an exception just this once, but Fury was a creature of habit like anyone else. It wasn't hard putting the pieces together, especially after MJ mentioned her class trip was headed to Prague, not Paris. Riley meant to call Peter about it, but that was before she saw Rob for the billionth time.

   Despite the constant looming thought of Rob, Riley jumped into her duties with ease. She joined Maria in her efforts to initiate a city-wide evacuation in preparation for the Fire Elemental. As they worked, she stole glances at Peter, noting his clenched jaw, the downcast of his eyes as he stared blankly at the wall.

   "Parker? Parker!" Fury barked.

   He jumped. "Yes sir."

   "That thing is going to be here in a few hours," Fury reminded him. "Are we boring you?"

   "He's not bored. He's just thinking about how you kidnapped him," Beck chimed, to which Riley gave a nod of agreement.

   It didn't occur to her until then how Beck always seemed to be on the right side of every argument. It was such a simple thing, something that shouldn't be a big deal. But if Riley knew anything about her coworkers, it was that they never got along. Then again, patterns were made to be broken, weren't they?

   That didn't soothe her though. Part of her wondered if she was noticing all of these little things about Beck for a reason.

   "He had obstacles," Fury excused. "I removed them."

   "They still won't evacuate the city," Maria announced.

   Riley pinched the bridge of her nose, her thoughts crashing into each other. That didn't make sense either. Nothing did, apparently. Still, a reputable Avenger was warning the government of imminent danger, and no one was alarmed? What was she missing?

   Nat would put the pieces together sooner.

   "Idiots..." Fury muttered. He looked to Peter, who was more fidgety than usual. "So, what's the plan, Parker?"

   Peter was the only one in the room lacking the art of discretion. His eyes flashed to Riley. She nodded, motioning for him to breathe with her while no one was paying attention to her.

   "You don't need to test him, Fury," Riley defended. "He's paying attention."

   "I don't recall asking you, Agent."

   "Of course, you don't. You're going senile, old man," she cooed.

   Peter sighed. "I... will be in the cathedral, keeping watch for the fire monster. When that shows up, I will radio you guys, and then Mr. Beck, Riley, and I will—"

   "My name is Mysterio," Beck corrected.

   Riley wasn't sure where the nickname came from, considering mysterio meant mystery in Italian, but judging the fond look shared between Peter and Beck, it must've been an inside joke.

   Peter gently smiled at him. "That's when Mysterio, Riley, and I will move in."

   "Huh, it's almost like I'm always right," Riley mumbled, earning a stern look from Fury that she matched. Fury was scary, but learning Natasha's death glare was one of the best things her former mentor passed down to her.

   Beck's voice was grave as he insisted, "You guys need to listen to me. The best hope you have, the only hope, is to stop it here and now, no matter the cost. Maneuver it away from civilians if you can, but most importantly, keep it away from metal. If it gets too big, it'll be able to draw power from the Earth's core. After that, there's no way to stop it."

   A chuckle she wasn't expecting got caught in Riley's throat.

   It was a serious thing they were dealing with. She knew that. And yet, it was kind of hilarious, wasn't it? His warning sounded like a line straight out of one of Ned's video games. She sensed Fury thought so, too, because she caught the inconspicuous glance he shot Maria.

   Peter didn't notice though. His nerves were through the roof. "Hey man, my friends are here, and I can't help but think we're putting them in danger—"

   "You're worried about us hurting your friends?" Fury demanded, rising from his seat. "You, who called a drone strike on your own school tour bus?"

   "Wait, what?" Riley asked.

   How was this Rob thing managing to distract her from everything? Now that she was thinking about it, that must've been what those alerts from JO were about earlier. The alerts she ignored to take a stress nap.

  "The Starks gave you a multibillion-dollar A.R. tactical intelligence system, and the first thing you do with it is try and blow up your friends," Fury scolded. "It's clear to me that you were not ready for this."

   "That's not fair. I mean, terrorism aside — because I have no idea what you're talking about there. Who gave you the right to decide who's ready for what and when? Was I ready when I was two years old?" Riley asked. "None of us were ready when you first recruited us. The only difference between people like us and people like him is time."

   "That's rich coming from the same kid that demanded I make her an Avenger all those years ago!"

   "That's different. I didn't have a choice! You wanted to make me a weapon!"

   "And what are you now? A show pony? Wise up, Stark. You're still their weapon, no matter what you tell yourself," Fury said. "You forget who you are."

   "I know who I am. Do you?" Riley shot back. "You were the one who tried to convince me otherwise. You can't do that to every naive kid you meet."

   "You're treading thin ice, Agent," Fury snapped. "I said nothing when you decided to play House on the Prairie with Stark. That's fine by me. But when you're here, you're a soldier. You understand that wars breed casualties. You're here to do what you were born for. Don't let me believe I wasted my career making you!"

   Riley sharply inhaled, eyes falling shut.

   She wasn't a waste. Not a waste of space, not a waste of time. Not a waste of a spot on the Avengers team, not a waste of a career. She would be damned if she let Nick Fury and his newfound temper make her think otherwise.

   She pivoted on her heel and turned to exit the room. Before she could leave, however, Peter grabbed her arm.

   "Don't let him get to you," Peter whispered to her, despite the fact that he'd already let Fury get to him. The warmth of his hand on her arm burned, but she didn't want to pull away. Was it crazy if she wanted to be closer?

   "I told you, growing up a superhero isn't as fun as it sounds. Now you know what my entire childhood looked like." Riley forced a small smile. "I'm okay. I just need a minute."

   Peter hesitated. He always did when it came to her. All he wanted was to see her happy, and it troubled him when he couldn't be the one to fix everything wrong in her life. He just couldn't bring himself to set her free most of the time. But tonight, he would. Only for a minute, she promised. He slowly nodded, a combination of realization and concern glossing over his brown irises, and he let her go. The second she stepped outside, she turned invisible and took to the skies.

   It would always pay to keep her eyes open, to notice that nothing was ever as it seemed to be. No one was ever truly evil nor good. People were more than that, more than their worst moments. She knew that. She knew everything she'd been taught and recited it like biblical verses.

   Sometimes, being invisible would never be enough. But for now, she would keep her eyes shut and let the clouds be her safety net.

   As the night unfolded, she would later thank the clouds for being the reason she lived to see another morning.