NOTES:
Feel free to offer prompts in the reviews or via my tumblr (prettywhiteclouds).
Title is from "Cellphone's Dead" by Beck.
This has brief mentions of the start of a panic attack, so you may want to avoid it if you're sensitive to that.
Her fingertips were on fire.
Wait, what?
Her fingertips were on fire and she could feel the flames starting to lick up her arms.
No, there's no fire. Get up, get up, get up!
She rolled onto her side and tried to push herself up, but the contact between her palm and the cold floor only intensified the burning sensation dancing across her skin. She couldn't open her eyes, but she swore she saw sparks across the lids. All she heard was ringing. She felt panic rising and constricting in her chest and she felt her heart skip a beat, but then her mom's voice clearly in her head.
"Don't let it take over. You have control. Breathe."
So she focused on just that - breathing. In and out. In and out. She tried opening her eyes again. It worked, but she still couldn't see much.
Okay, I'm still in the lab. But what happened?
The lights had been turned off and broken glass littered the floor. She cautiously placed her palm down again to push herself into a seated position. Pain shot through and up her arm, but she kept pushing. She groaned (or she was sure she did as all she could hear was ringing.) Sitting was only slightly better than lying down. Less contact with the floor, but she could see more of the lab and how destroyed it was. She couldn't tell which hurt more.
"Jane!" The voice was muffled and too quiet, but she heard it and turned her head to look for the source. Darcy. The younger woman stood outside the lab with her hands fisted against the glass window. Why is she crying like that? Darcy had mascara streaking down her red, damp, face. Jane furrowed her brow and looked around the lab, though not too quickly because she was starting to feel a little nauseous. Thankfully most of the equipment was still intact, but the plastic containers and turn near her looked... melted.
She remembered talking to Tony earlier. He asked if she had some spare time to look at a prototype he'd developed for Natasha - an electrifying weapon, like an ultra taser. Jane had worked on armor for the rest of the team before, to help protect them when Thor utilized lightning in battle, and she was to add similar protection around the casing for the new weapon to protect Natasha.
Something went wrong. Why is Darcy crying? What did I do? Panic rose again and Jane shook her head in an attempt to clear it. I'm alive. Alive, thinking, and seeing. I can move. It's okay.
"J-Jarvis," she croaked. Her voice felt too small and her throat too dry. "Jarvis?" She blinked and concentrated on listening through the ringing.
"-ster, I am going to open the doors. For everyone's safety, please do not touch anyone. I am instructing them of the same." The AI's voice sounded like he was in a tin can. "You have been electrocuted, but the electricity is not leaving your body."
"How? That's impossible." Jane moved to pick up a metal clipboard on the ground near her. Her thoughts were moving like molasses and she struggled to connect her experiments with her current state. As soon as she touched the clipboard, a shock ran through her. "What the hell?"
"My thoughts exactly, Foster." Jane turned to see Tony and Darcy entering the lab. Darcy wasn't crying anymore, but her eyes and nose were still ruby red.
"You scared the shit out of me, boss lady," Darcy said, sniffling as she walked towards Jane. Tony held out an arm to hold her back.
"She's a living taser, kid, and not the kind you like. I don't need you accidentally dead right now."
"Can you turn the lights on?" Jane asked. She decided to try standing. It hurt like hell to move and her skin still felt like it was going to burn off. She used a nearby desk as leverage and was soon vertical. "There's glass everywhere and I need to look at the equipment. Figure out what happened…"
The lights slowly flickered on and Darcy gasped. Jane looked up and saw Tony staring at her like she had sprouted another head. "What? What's wrong? What is it?" she asked, lifting a shaking hand to her face. It felt like her face was still attached and she didn't feel anything weird. She held her hand in front of her to check for evidence of an injury and inhaled sharply.
Holy shit.
"Jane, don't freak out." Darcy held her hands up and seemed to be fighting back more tears. "We'll fix it! You'll be okay!"
Jane stared at her hand. It was covered in navy blue lines that looked like lightning bolts she had seen in the desert so many times. She exhaled, realizing she'd been holding her breath, and felt a ball of worry curl in her stomach. Stumbling to the right, Jane looked at her reflection in the glass window facing the hallway. The same markings covered her face and her eyes… the pupils were glowing. She looked down at her hand again and clenched it into a fist. Either the burning sensation was beginning to subside or she was getting used to it.
Jane frowned as a spark jumped from her fist to the desk lamp nearest to her.
"I'm getting the feeling that this isn't something you fix, Darce."