"So, what's the sitch, Nicky?"

I shakily sigh, holding my phone. I pace around my room. I needed to talk to my friends, so I decided to call the one person I knew to trust.

"Andy, I just need to talk to you about something important. Bring Nova and Meg, too." I rub at my temples. "Meet me at that Thai place we always go to."

"Will do, kiddo." Andy says, hanging up the call. I ready myself to go to the Thai restaurant. I just leave on my clothes and walk out of my room.

"You sure you're okay, kid?" Dad is relaxing on the sofa, drinking some cold water. I shrug.

"You're a bad liar. You were basically flipping out at whatever you saw." Dad says worriedly. I frown slightly.

What if I'm crazy? Will he lock me up in some crazy asylum? No. He wouldn't do that. Anyways, I don't give a damn.

"Nope, I'm okay. I just imagined you were dead, that's all. Nothing to worry about!" I yell, an unexpected anger flowing through me.

"I'm leaving. I'm going with Andy to that Thai place. I'm coming back later." I say. No one tries to stop me as I push my way out the door and race down the stairwell of my apartment building.

I'm greeted by a gust of wind to my face. It's about 5:00 pm now. The streets are busy as always.

I walk quietly, sticking my hands in my hoodie pocket. This city is still bustling at night. Traffic never stops in New York.

My mind wandered to my vision.

Dad.

He was just laying there, lifeless. I was trying to shake him, wake him up. He couldn't have been dead.

And then I felt his hands. They gripped my wrists tightly. No matter how much I try to forget that moment, it is still embedded deep in my memory.

I am nearing a crosswalk and stop. I notice that both of my shoelaces have come undone. I pause for a moment to tie them.

There's an eerie silence in the air. I look up to view my surroundings. The people around me are gone. The city is quiet and lifeless. I'm all alone now.

I look up at the sky. Flashes of red lightning light up the heavens. It's strangely mystifying.

A newspaper flies around and lands on the ground before me. I pick it up. The headline is in big letters.

WHERE DO WE GO, NOW THAT THEY'RE GONE?

I look at the year. 2023.

The newspaper turns into dust in my hands.

What is this? This is probably some joke. The year is 2016. I'm probably tripping balls on something.

The only problem is that I'm as sober as a judge. Or maybe I was somehow secretly abducted by aliens and this is why I'm receiving these messages and now I'm a strangely powerful fetus.

I'm losing my marbles right now, so I better just snap out of it! Okay, Iverson. Calm down.

"Um...hello? I don't know what this is, but...I think you got the wrong person!" I shout into the lonely night.

No one answers. Not even the wind.

"This isn't funny! I'm just an fucking nobody. I don't even know what the hell I'm doing." I ball my fists. "I'm a miserable failure."

This has always been your destiny. You were born for this, Lazuli. You and your sisters.

A soft, gentle voice whispers in my ear.

What is my destiny? Who are you? I don't know what is happening to me. What is lapis?

You'll find out the answers soon, little Lazuli. I know you have it in you.

Soon, the scene disappears before I can respond and I'm taken back to my world. I look around me.

The city is as lively as ever. Everyone is bustling about, trying to go places. The traffic is still the same. The cars are honking loudly once more.

I let out a sigh of relief. Everything is okay again.

I'm still shaken up about this new message. What the hell is wrong with me?

I cross the sidewalk, going to the Thai restaurant.

I enter the restaurant. Andy, Meg, and Nova are already seated at a table. A fourth person is sitting next to Nova.

It's MJ. I kind of knew her from decathlon, but we never actually had a conversation. We had started talking a bit, and we got a bit closer through the decathlon team.

"Hey, guys! Sorry I'm a bit late." I smile shyly. The girls look up at me and greet me.

"Girl, a Queen is never late. Everyone else is simply early." Andy grins, sipping her water.

"Iverson, I gotta say, that was a dramatic exit you made when leaving school. I live for it." MJ says, giving me a small clap.

"Hell yeah, Nic. I've been wanting to throw some hands at old snake face for a while. Glad you got to throw a hit in." Meg says, smirking at me.

I smile at my girl friends. You just gotta love them. We all order our food and wait for it to be brought out.

"Okay, so...I gotta tell y'all something big. I only told Zel this." I say, laughing.

"Don't leave us hanging, Nic!" Nova says, gesturing me to tell.

"So. It's official. Peter Parker and I are a thing, I think. Okay, maybe it's not official. I don't even know if we're even together. I barely told him like today." I blush.

Andy squeals in delight, fanning herself. Meg holds out her hand to accept $5 from Nova. I notice MJ look crestfallen. I don't know why she looks sad.

"Ugh, finally. I've been telling you all since we first met in middle school. Parkerson has finally sailed!" Meg grins proudly.

"Okay, guys. Enough! Let's just calm down for a sec. Besides, that's not the only reason I brought you guys here today." I say, looking at my friends.

I look behind Andy to the T.V.  There was a news report about that building fire that I was at. It shows me and the guy plummeting down almost 42 stories, but Spider-Man catches us.

Everyone is captivated by the report. I look down at my food. Thankfully, the intelligent part of me thought not to show my face. No one can EVER know.

"Wow. That must've been scary having to jump out from such a height." Andy mutters, sighing.

"I can't imagine being in a situation like that." I say, trying to put on my poker face.

MJ eyes me strangely. Does she know already? Can she read my mind? Or maybe I'm doing a piss poor job of hiding my identity.

She just looks away from me. Okay, good. I wouldn't want a target on my back.

We all continue eating. Maybe I shouldn't tell them about my visions. Will they even believe me?

"Also, why didn't you tell us sooner that your dad is THE Tony Stark? THE Iron Man? I would've been jumping for joy!" Andy basically shouts. Luckily, it's just us in the Thai restaurant.

"Um...I don't know. I feel like people would've treated me differently, and I would have a target on my back because a lot of people hate my dad. I'm just trying to have a normal life, but lately, it has been batshit crazy."

Meg tilts her head curiously. "Why is that, Nic?"

I look around at my friends and take a deep breath. "Please don't think I'm crazy. Please."

The girls look at me concernedly. Andy looks into my eyes and grabs my hand. "Girl, if you think you're crazy, then I must be a boring person."

I smile back, closing my eyes.

"It's just that...I see things. Terrible dreams, and visions. The first thing I saw was Peter, and he just turned to dust in my hands. There was blood coming from my nose and eyes. You all were there, dead." I shook my head, trying to forget it.

"It's okay, Nic." Nova says, holding my hand. I smile at her. I continue on.

"Then, the second vision was about my dad. Everything around me was destroyed. The sky was dark, and it looked like something in a dystopian film. My dad was just lying there on some rubble. He was dead. And I couldn't help him." I felt tears stinging at my eyes.

"It's just a dream. It's nothing to be worried about." MJ says, trying to comfort me.

"But what if it is something to be worried about? This voice...it was in my head. It told me that 'no one can stop the war' and that 'it's been in my head all this time.'" I shuddered, thinking about the voice.

"And finally, my last vision was five minutes before I got here. I had stopped to tie my shoelace and suddenly I couldn't hear the cars honking, or the people talking. I was alone. The sky had red lightning in it. It was just quiet. No one was there. There was a newspaper and it had the year 2023."

"2023? It's barely 2016. That's years away." Meg says, giving me a curious look.

"And then a voice spoke to me. It called me Lapis. It told me that this is my destiny. Me and my sisters were born for this and I would find the answers soon." I said. I looked at Andy, Meg, Nova, MJ. I just wanted them to say something.

"That's some scary shit, girl." MJ responded, breaking that short, tense silence.

"Nic, I'm glad you told us. That is scary. You don't have to suffer alone. You are not crazy." Andy smiles at me, calming my tense nerves.

I sigh in relief, closing my eyes. See, Iverson? Everything works out.

I could hear a small ringing in my ears. At first, it started slow. A flurry of voices were all in my head.

"Oh my gosh..."
"We should..."
"She's so..."
"I can't believe..."
"You what..."
"What the..."

They were coming from every direction. I can hear clocks ticking and phones ringing. Every little sound was amplified. It's getting louder and louder.

I clutched my head. Get out of here, Nic. I scrunched up my face, feeling my head throbbing.

"What's going on? Nic!" I hear a voice yelling. It's coming from the distance.

"I gotta leave. I'm sorry, guys." I say, slowly getting up, and walking to the door.

"You're bleeding!" Andy shouts. I wipe at my nose.

"Someone, please-" I say, my voice cut off by a high-pitched ringing. I moan in pain, trying not to attract attention.

"Nic, you need to slow down!" Meg says, trying to calm me down.

"Stay away from me!" I yell, trying to push everyone away. I push my way out the door, feeling the pain in my head.

I'm a ticking time bomb.

Please. Stop it. I can't bear any more pain.

Now, I can feel the pain spreading throughout my body.

Get. Home. Now.

I try to hold in the pain, but nothing seems to work. I can't see anything anymore. All I see is darkness.

As I cross the sidewalk, I see a car racing towards me. I scream, holding my hands out in front of me. I feel a rush of energy erupting from my body.

I feel power surging through my veins.

This is it. This is how I lose control.

Time slows down, and I can hear my heart beating faintly.

The ground shakes. I hear glass breaking. Car alarms are blaring. People are screaming.

I look around me. The car is stopped abruptly, a large dent visible on the grill. The metal lampposts are bent. The electricity is out everywhere. Glass windows are broken.

My heart is beating so quickly that I can't think. Blood is dripping from my eyes and nose. I collapse into a heap on the ground.

All I can think is one thing.

What did I do now?

I did this.

I did this.
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Yes children, we are getting somewhere. And yes, Nic is having visions about the wars to come. (Infinity War and Endgame) I know, SPOOPY. She doesn't know that yet.

And there is STILL more to come. You guys are gonna lose your marbles. Oh, I feel so bad for putting poor old Nic through this. She's gonna fight the battle of her life...in her mind.

And yes, the evil person talking to her is Thanos. I wonder how he got into her head? We'll explore that later.

Thanks for reading this chapter and let me know what you guys think!