After everyone calmed and had some tea. (Bruce made his special calming batch for everyone) he gathered them into the living room. He sighed, a hand going through his hair. They were all so worried and looking to him for answers. "What's happened to Gage is fixable." TJ spoke, holding Lokis hands. "But?" Bruce looked away a moment. "But it's very risky. It'l require brain surgery. The extrmis is sticking to his brain like a parasite, spreading and changing and feeding off of him and changing him. It's between the right and left hemispheres which is what makes it so incredibly dangerous."
Clint spoke, his eyes watery. "Won't he die without this?" Bruce nodded. "Yes but I didn't want to sugarcoat anything. I didn't want anyone's hopes lifted too high because this surgery is just as dangerous." Quinn swallowed the lump in her throat. "But there's hope he can be him again? With the surgery?" Bruce nodded. "Yeah. I do this surgery there's a 80% chance he'l die on the table." Quinn's lip trembled, closing her eyes. TJ spoke, rubbing his sisters back. Speaking on her behalf. "Better for him to die fighting then to give up." Tony spoke next, holding Clint's hand. Kim busy with Quinn in her arms. "Let's do this. Soon as possible." Tony said. Bruce nodded. "I need to speak with him about it. Is there a way to communicate to the lab without going into the lab?"
Tony showed him, leading him to the lab doors, pressing the button on the outside. Bruce pressed it, speaking. "Gage? If you can hear me please come to the door." Gage did, walking up, looking defeated and miserable ans sweating buckets even in the cold air. Gage pressed the button. "Be real with me Doctor banner, am I gonna die?" "We hope not. I can take it out but there's an 80% chance you could die on the table." "Would I be put under?" "Yes. It would be better for you to be asleep for this." Gage smiled sadly, his eyes watery. "Then if I'm gonna die I'd like to do so in peace." Bruce nodded, biting his tounge against the hopeful words. "Is it alright to bring down visitors? To say goodbye?" Gage looked away, sucking in a breath. "Yeah. Just announce yourself when you come in." He let go of the button, sulking away back into the lab.
Tony and Kim visited him first. The others stood at the top of the lab stairs. Quinn was sitting, stoic and numb, hands clasped a little too tightly. TJ wasn't sure who to comfort more. Loki was seemingly more broken up by this then Quinn. When the door opened and Tony and Kim came out with tears in there eyes, Loki started to hyperventilation, gripping his hair. TJ went to him. "Hey, baby, whats wrong?" TJ held his arms gently.
Loki sobbed. "I...I can feel so much. It's so heavy." TJ went to hold him and gently escort him out when he struggled out of his arms, going to stand in front of Quinn. She didn't look up at him as he spoke brokenly. "How can you sit there? How can you be so stoic? How can you be so calm when there is so much death? So much fear, it's suffocating!" TJ grabbed Loki's arms, trying to get him away, to clam down.
Quinn had tears going down her face silently, wiping them away before standing, looking into Loki's green eyes. "I'm sorry you have to feel this. I've felt...everything since I was just a baby. You've had magic to filter everything. I've just been though this so many times I can count it on two hands... So maybe I'm just used to it." Loki sucked in a breath. "I'm so sorry." Quinn wasn't sure what he was apologizing for but before she could ask TJ managed to escort him away and to the kitchen.
Tony went to Quinn, wiping his eyes. "You ok?" She nodded. "Yeah. More worried about Loki then anything. His mind is fragile." Kim spoke, clearing her throat. "Clint, he wants to see you next." Clint stiffened from the wall,standing. "Never thought I'd be saying goodbye this way." Kim smiled sadly, eyes watery. "Thats what he said to." Clint smiled sadly before opening the door to the lab, walking inside.
Bruce spoke, clearing his throat. "Tony? Do you have any ice bags I could use on him? having it so frigid will make it hard to work." Tony nodded. "Yeah. Jay? Overfill the ice box. Were on our way." "Yes sir."
Quinn was shaking, watching the lab door, able to make out Gage and Clint. There was some words exchanged, some teas and a never ending hug. Clint nodded to something Gage said before walking out of the lab, wiping his eyes, looking at Quinn. She swallowed the lump in her throat and walked into the lab. Feeling everyone's eyes on her.
She felt the cold hit her first before seeing Gage, standing by the hospital bed. He looked up, seeing her. He smiled sadly, his eyes watery. "Hi." She smiled weakly, her eyes filled with tears as well. "Hi." she walked closer when she felt her stomach wanting to shoot up her throat. Before she could even have a moment she had to run for the trash bin, throwing up the tea Bruce had made, coughing. He went to her quickly, holding her hair back. Once she was done she spoke. "I'm sorry." He kissed her head. "Don't be. I know this is pretty damn stressful." She looked at him, tears in her eyes. "I don't think it's from stress."
He swallowed, studying her. "Its way too soon to be morning sickness." she shook her head. "Its the the extrmis speeding things up. I don't know what other affects it will have." He helped her stand up, holding her close. "I'm sorry I brought this on you." She looked up at him. "Please don't blame yourself. It's just as much my fault. We didn't know the effects of extrmis, we still don't." His lip trembled, his hand traveling to her stomach. "Guess I'l ever know." She sucked in a breath. "Don't say that. Lets not say goodbye. Lets just say...see you later." He held her tightly to himself, smelling her hair and feeling it's softness. He cried into her hair a moment. "I love you." She hid in his neck, holding on just as tightly. "I love you to."
They didn't let go until Bruce walked in, Tony, Clint and TJ following with ice bags. Bruce spoke up. "Ready?" Gage nodded. "Is it alright if she stays until I'm under?" Bruce nodded. "Of corse." Gage laid down on the hospital bed. Tony spoke. "Jarvis, bring the temp up to 30." "Yes sir." TJ and Clint started putting Ice bags on Gage's legs, arms, chest. Quinn held his hand tightly, watching everyone. Bruce brought over a drip bag, setting it up before putting rubbing alcohol on the spot on his arm.
Gage took his a breath, worrying he's breaking Quinns hand with how tightly he was holding it. Bruce went in front of him. "You realize we'l have to shave your head?" Gage nodded. "Yeah." Bruce nodded. "Then lets get started." Gage looked up at Quinn as Bruce started to insert the IV. He smiled sadly. "See ya later?" She nodded, sucking in a steadying breath. "Yeah. See ya later." Within moments he was asleep. Quinns lip trembled as his hand slid out of hers. Tony walked over to her, his arm going around her shoulders. She sucked in a breath, trying to remain calm. She slid out of her fathers arms. "Go ahead. You can start. I'l be up stairs." Tony nodded, kissing her head as she left the lab, Clint and TJ on either side of her.
Bruce spoke up, going to the top of the hospital bed where Gage's head was. "Jarvis, vitals please." His vitals soon popped up on a hologram on to the side of Bruce. His heart beat normal, blood pressure normal, body temp currently 465. Bruce took in a breath. He's seen others do brain surgery as in intern before he became the hulk. He's delivered countless babies, including Quinn and TJ but Brain surgery was a whole different ballgame. "Tony, are you sure you want me to do this?" Tony gave a sad smiled. "Like he said, he either dies in peace on this table or he burns to death." Bruce gave a bitter chuckle. "Thanks for the support." Tony put a supportive hand on his shoulder. "Bruce, I wouldn't trust any other doctor but you. You got this." Bruce let those words sink in a moment. "Hand me the shaving clippers." Tony grabbed the shaving clippers, battery operator, handing it to Bruce.
Bruce turned it on, starting to shave the chestnut hair off of Gage's head to nothing but fuzz. "Jarvis, a live image of his brain please." Soon a holographic screen shown above Gage's body. Showing his brain and the extrmis leeching off of it, branching out and glowing. Bruce took in a steadying breath, running a damp cloth of antiseptic over his head before getting a scalpel. He took a breath, cutting a clean slice down the middle of his head, using pliers to hold the skin to the side, soaking up any excess blood. Bruce sensed Tony's anxiety. He looked over. "You ok? You don't have to stay if it's too much."
Tony took in a breath. "It's not too much. Just scared. Theres an 80% chance I'm gonna lose one of the best bodyguards I've ever had and my little girl s gonna lose her future husband." Bruce raised an eyebrow. Tony shook his head. "You know it's gonna happen. They havnt said anything. Just continue. I want this over with." Bruce nodded, getting the bone saw, cutting into the bone carefully, taking parts of the skull away to revel his brain, pink but with a dark, blood orange parasite in the middle. Bruce let out a breath. "That was the easy part." He got his instruments, starting to carefully cut away at the parasite, little by little. "Jarvis, does this thing borrow at all?" "None that my scanners are picking up. It appears to be just on the surface but latched on tightly." "Great." Bruce said sarcastically.
Bruce cut away at the small, thin branches fairly easily. Bruce found out quickly that there alive and wiggled disturbingly on the thin pliers before quickly dying and turning black. Both Bruce and Tony shared a look before Bruce continued before there was just the large middle of the parasite left. He took the pliers and knife, trying to bring it up gently, happy to see it hasn't borrowed and that it seemed to come out easily until it didn't. Staying lathed on. If he pulls any harder then he could pull a chunk of brain out, leaving him to be god knows what. He managed to knife away were it latched on to, not damaging the brain any. Then while the parasite is still n the pliers, it starting glowing, pulsating bright orange. Tony knew what that meant: Explosion.
"Bruce, just throw it!" Bruce listened and threw it far across the lab, having it explode before it hit the ground. It made a fireball without much force behind it, knocking some lab equipment out of the way but no real damage. Bruce and Tony both took in a breath. Bruce spoke, looking at the vitals. "Jay? Is that all of it?" "There is still a remainder in his system that will work itself out but my scanners do not indicate any parasitic extrmis. Well done ." Bruce took a much needed breath of relief. "Lets sew him back up."
While waiting for news of Gage dying on the table or coming out fine Quinn tried to have coffee to steady her nerves but she found she couldn't hold it down, having to look for the nearest trash bin. Her mother came over, holding her hair by while she coughed the rest up. Kim spoke. "This must be so hard on you." She went with it, not ready to tell her family shes pregnant. She leaned into her mother, just wanting to be held. When they got up from the floor she grabbed a ginger ale on the way to the living room.
It was soon after Bruce and Tony came out of the lab and to the living room. Quinn attempted to ready herself for the worst but she knew she was doing a bad job as her eyes watered. Bruce spoke. "He's gonna be just fine. The surgery went well. There still some left in his system but he's going to sweat the rest of it out and his body is returning to a normal body temp." Quinn wasn't sure how to react.
With there luck she was fully expecting him not to make this but seemed luck was on there side. A happy sob came from her throat. Before anyone could comfort her she ran over to Bruce, hugging him. "Thank you so much." Bruce hugged back, kissing her head. "It's what family does: were there for each other. He's resting upstairs in his room, it'l be a little while before he wakes up. The drip is still in his system." She gave him a hug again before running up the stairs.
Clint took in a calming breath before standing, going to Bruce, smiling with tears in his eyes. "Thank you for saving my brother." Bruce smiled, not sure what to do with all the praise, he shrugged, cleaning his glasses in a nervous tick. "It wans'nt anything an actual brain surgeon couldn't do, really, you give me too much credit." Tony laid a supportive hand on his shoulder. "We don't give you enough credit. You delivered my kids, saved us anytime we called without compliant. You always have a room here. You don't have to keep running." Bruce nodded. Happy to have such a great family but unsure of how to handle it.
Quinn was wiping sweat away from Gage's forehead and chest while he rest. A large, white bandage wrapped around his head as he slept. She was so thankful to Bruce for being able to save him. She wasn't sure if she could handle being pregnant alone.
AN: Hope you enjoyed this chapter. If any of you have an Instagram my Instagram is Thatredheadgeek and my photo Edit Instagram is Soldmysoultomovies. Thank you for reading!