Surprise and Tragedy Chapter 3: Love & Lasagne, an avengers fanfic

Note: Hope you all enjoyed the new part 1 of Surprise & Tragedy.

Note 2: Jessica's full name is Jessica May Parker. Mwahaha :) just cause it fitted her name.

Note 3: I have been getting the question: Will I be re-doing the fights between the Asgardians and the Avengers? Yes. I will. Eventually. I really liked those scenes too! They were fun to write!

Summary:

At the climax of the battle with Loki, Spiderman is critically injured. As she held the young hero in her arms, she felt true sadness for the first time. His blood..pooling beneath her. She didn't want to let him go. She just couldn't. She wasn't ready to let him go. Because she loved him.

Previously:

OO-OO

Dark...

Everything was dark...

She could hear what was going on...

But couldn't move...

Couldn't see...

Only semi- conscious...

Was she dying?

Would she ever see the light again?

Peter...would she see Peter again?

She had to...

She wanted to...

OO-OO
S.H.I.E.L.D HQ
MEDICAL BAY
ROOM 10
SIX HOURS LATER
OO-OO

The Avengers, minus Hulk, Thor, and Spiderman, were currently waiting outside Room 10 in the medical bay, where Peter and Jessica were currently being treated. It had been an agonizing fourty minute flight out to home base...with both teens almost bleeding out. Jessica even flatlined and was dead for a whole minute. But The medics brought her back. She was holding onto life by a small thread. And any minute, that thread could snap. Peter...wasn't doing amazingly well, but he would've died if Jessica hadn't got him to the others on time.

Natasha and Clint had contacted Pepper and Jane, and they had all had a right go at Tony about Peter, a go at Fury about letting the two teens into S.H.I.E.L.D at 'this age'. Fury had spent an entire hour convincing them that the two teens had made their own choices. Tony had then had to explain to the others about how he walked in on Peter once, wearing the spidey suit but not the mask. Peter had got Tony to swear not to tell anyone.

Pepper eventually gave in, and wrapped her arms around Tony. Jane patted her friend on the back.

No one talked while they waited. Except checking up on Thor and Hulk.

Because there was nothing to say.

No words to describe how they felt.

They heard the whirring of machines suddenly stop.

They all feared the worst.

A tired-looking male surgeon came out of the room. Each of the waiting Avengers shot to their feet, Jane helping Pepper up.

"And?" Tony asked impatiently.

"The surgeries were successful. We were able to provide safe blood transfusions to replenish their blood supply. , your son is stable and expected to wake up soon. Thanks to Phoenix his wounds didn't bleed as much as they should have." the surgeon explained.

"And Phoen...Jessica?" Jane asked.

"She's stable. But critical." The surgeon glanced at the clipboard which he was holding tightly.

"The hell does that mean?" Clint looked confused.

"She must not attempt any strenuos movement for two-three weeks minimum. I am prescribing her strong antibiotics to counter the pain. One of her broken ribs punctured a lung. But her...powers...saw that she didn't need oxygen. I have successfully repaired her ribs and punctured lung. Her skull was fractured, but that has also been tended to. There will be some nasty scars, but be grateful she is alive. I..." the surgeon stopped for breath.

"Go on." Natasha tapped her feet impatiently.

"The two of them will have experienced some form of emotional trauma. I would advise that they get moved to the Stark Tower. Familiar surroundings will speed up their recovery. " the surgeon noted.

"Right. When can we go?" Tony asked.

"Give us ten minutes." the surgeon disapeared back in the room.

OO-OO

STARK TOWER
TWO AND A HALF HOURS LATER
KITCHEN

OO-OO

The team had successfully gotten Peter and Jessica back to Stark Tower, in their respective bedrooms. Tony had gotten Peter out of the suit, putting on clean boxer shorts, black tracksuit bottoms, and a black shirt, smirking when he noticed the spider pattern on Peter's duvet as he tucked the teen in. Pepper got Jessica sorted, in clean underwear, a long sleeved purple shirt, and black shorts, pulling the lilc duvet up to the teens chin, keeping one arm above the duvet, so it could be hooked up to an IV that Bruce had set up. Thor had closed the portal while Hulk subdued Loki.

With the retrieved Tesseract, Thor was able to return Loki to Asgard, where his father would guard Loki. Filled with concern for the young spider, Thor quickly returned to Earth, joining Hulk on his way back to the tower.

Once Bruce had returned, smaller and changed into a new suit, he had taken a look at the two teens. He was satisfied with the surgeon's work, and told the others that they needed to give the two teens space.

It had taken some persuading, but they complied.

So now Jane and Pepper were cooking up an easy meal of Lasgane, while Natasha and Thor served out the coffees.

"Friend Banner, when will the two young ones wake?" Thor asked.

"I can't tell you exactly, Thor, but soon." Bruce nodded as he gratefully sipped his coffee.

"It better be soon. I have some questions for them both." Tony finished his 3rd coffee.

"Questions?" Steve asked.

"Yeah. I think they love each other." Tony grinned.

Pepper nearly choked on her coffee.

"W-what?" Pepper stuttered.

"Come on. Jessica told me, on the helicarrier, that Peter got his injury protecting. But the reason he had to protect her was because she shielded him in the first place." Tony surveyed his audience. "And, even though she knew she could die, she carried him all the way back to us."

"That is indeed love, friend Stark." Thor gulped down his coffee, looking more normal in a blue shirt and black trousers.

"See? Even Thor agrees!" Tony waved his arms.

"Your point?" Jane asked.

"We get them to admit it." Tony chuckled.

"How?" Natasha asked.

"I don't know. We'll think of something. Their prom is in a month. That's our deadline. We get them together, and embarass them by sending them there in the way that'll make their classmates jealous." Tony raised his mug.

Everyone clinked their mugs together in agreement.

"Sir," came Jarvis crisp British accent.

"What is it, Jarvis?" Tony asked.

"Your son is awake, sir." Jarvis replied.

They all shot to their feet, Jane abandoning the dinner in the oven. Their footsteps were fast along the hallway, but quiet seeing as Jessica was still out. After a few minutes, they all burst into Peter's room. Said teen was sat up, yawning. As if he had just been asleep. The noisy group piled into the room.

"Shut up..." Peter grumbled. Tony immediately hugged him, Pepper joining him, only letting go when Peter drew in a sharp breath of pain.

"So, how do you feel?" Bruce asked.

"Hurts a bit. Tired. But I'm feeling better than I-" Peter stopped abruptly. "Where's Jessica?"

"In her room." Pepper gave an awkward smile.

"How is she?" Peter asked.

The group exchanged glances.

"Tell me!" Peter insisted.

"Well...you know she shielded you..." Tony started. Peter nodded. "And after you shielded her, you almost...went. But even though she'd broken all her ribs, and she was actually dying, she picked you up and dragged you back to us."

"What?" Peter looked surprised. "She isn't..."

"No. She's alive. She got you both to us on time. Although...she flatlined on the helicarrier...we got her stitched up. All fixed. The surgeons at S.H.I.E.L.D HQ saw to you both." Bruce explained.

"So she's ok?" Peter asked.

"Yeah. She won't wake up for a while though. She's in a low state of a coma. So it won't be a long coma...but she might not be able to hear us. She's alive though. She's safe." Bruce nodded.

"Thank god..." Peter let out a laugh. Of relief. A single tear fell down his face, which he wiped away quickly.

"Don't ever make me worry like that again, you hear me?" Pepper said sternly before smiling.

"I won't. Your not mad that I didn't tell you about..." Peter looked relieved.

"Being a superhero? At first yes, but I'm proud." Pepper grinned.

"Sir." Jarvis called.

"Yes?" Tony shot up.

"The lasagne is burning, sir."

Jane and Pepper shrieked before bolting out the door. The others left the room, telling Peter to get better soon. Bruce stayed.

"Can I see Jessica?" Peter asked.

"Well..." Tony looked at Bruce. The shy doctor nodded.

"Right." Peter swung his legs over the edge of the bed.

He pushed himself up slowly, biting his lip. Once he was on his feet, he swayed dangerously. Both Bruce and Tony dashed over, but Tony caught him. Once Peter was straightened up, he started slowly walking across his room, putting a hand on the wall as he struggled along, eventually reaching Jessica's room. He grinned as he saw the familiar room. A large room. A nerd's dream room. The floor was the pattern of Minecraft grass, the walls normal blue, but covered in Movie and Game posters, some of them signed. One whole wall was all glass cabinets full of Hot Toys collectible figurines, ranging from X-Men to Resident Evil. All the Hot Toys collectible figurines to date. In one corner was her bed. Next to her bed was a minecraft-inspired computer desk with a emo spongebob armchair and an apple mac computer. The wall by her bed was covered with shelves of comics and books.

It was a perfect replica of a Minecraft bed. Jessica's head was just visible over the duvet. On the wall opposite her Hot Toys collection was a huge 60-inch TV with stacks of games all around it, with a Nintendo Wii, PS3, Xbox Kinect, and a Gamecube. There were 2 large squishy red beanbags. On the wall next to Jessica's bed was a huge minecraft- style cupboard. One door led to an ensuite bathroom, another to a walk-in wardrobe.

Tony smirked at how nerdy the room was. Peter sat down with a sigh next to her bed. She was facing him, her eyes closed, bright red hair contrasting with her perfect porcelain skin. The scar on her forehead was a perfect line, but still ugly. Peter reached out, and gently stroked her face.

Tony motioned to Bruce, and they ran to the biggest lounge, dragging the others along with them despite their protests, everyone bundling into the biggest lounge, switching on the TV and getting JARVIS to switch on a videofeed. Tony shushed them all.

"Hey. It's me. I don't know if you can hear me right now." Peter spoke quietly. "But I just wanted to say I'm here."

You could've heard a pin drop.

"When you were getting us back...I was going. But I could hear you. Your voice brought me back. So I promise I'll bring you back."

Pepper dabbed her eyes with a tissue. Jane was sniffling.

"I heard everything. I honestly couldn't believe it was you. That you were Phoenix. Simple disguise. It worked well. I remember when you burned all of dad's expensive whiskey after a mission. His face was priceless." Peter chuckled.

The team laughed as they too recollected that day.

"You've always been there. So I'll always be here for you. I'll never leave. When you said you loved me...I felt happy. Because I've always felt the same. Everything you said...I wonder...did you mean all of it?" Peter looked straight at her.

Expecting no reply, Peter turned away.

"Every word."

Peter turned back. Jessica was looking right at him.

Her beautiful, emerald green eyes bore right into his own.

Jessica tried sitting up, but her face immediately paled. Tears welled in her eyes. Seeing this, Peter got up and sat on the edge of the bed, and gently pulled her up so she was leaning on him. Peter narrowed his eyes.

"Your cold." He held her closer.

"Hold up...she's cold." Tony too narrowed his eyes. "Is that a bad thing?"

"Side effects of blood loss. She'll be fine." Bruce tried to reassure, but still looked uncertain.

"Your shivering..." Peter bit his lip. He thought for a moment. "Move over a bit."

Jessica moved over. Peter stayed sat up, but held her closer. He pulled up the duvet, and smiled shyly.

"Warmer?" he asked.

"Yeah...I'm good." Jessica smiled before closing her eyes. "If I find out that Tony watched this on a video feed, he can consider his alcohol supply gone."

Tony gulped before turning the TV to a regular channel.

"Sir," came JARVIS' voice. "The lasagne has gotten cold. Shall I reheat it?"

"Yeah, do that." Tony sighed.

"That was so cute!" Jane commented.

"I know." Pepper blew her nose, eyes red from happy tears.

"No one tell?" Tony pleaded. "That alcohol is expensive."

"Everything you own is expensive." Steve chuckled.

"Should we wake them up?" Pepper asked.

"Ummm...nah...just leave some in the fridge for them." Tony grinned.

"Let's just hope it stays this peaceful." Steve nodded as they all left the room and made their way to the kitchen.

OO-OO
AN HOUR LATER
OO-OO

The Avengers were currently switched to the news. So far, it was a standard report. Damages. Who was missing. Those who had died. How the police were on rescue duty, searching. Then it moved on to a clip of a huge fire, and Phoenix walking out of it, carrying some kids. You could see the wound on her leg, and honestly, they didn't know how she managed to walk on it. The children were safely returned to their parents, and you could see the smile twitching on Phoenix's face as the parents thanked her. It then went on to show the Avengers fighting. It seemed that a stray camera had caught Phoenix and Spiderman fighting Loki. They all watched, dumbstruck, as Phoenix screamed Peter's name, and pushed him out of the way. Tears threatened to well down Pepper's eyes again as Spiderman woke up and frantically searched for Phoenix. The shock was evident, even through the Spidey mask, when he found Phoenix under the rubble. Although the camera was slightly fuzzy, you could still see clearly when Spiderman defiantly shielded Jessica. The look of surprise on Loki's face when Spiderman made no sound of agony.

Then it showed Phoenix waking up, just in time to see Spiderman fall. The tears streaming from her eyes forced tears out of Pepper's eyes. Jane joined her, both of them sniffling. A single tear fell down Natasha's face, the only betrayal to her inner feelings. They all heard what Jessica said as she dragged Peter along.

Then it cut back to the news reporters. Tony swore when they showed a picture of Jessica and Peter at a school event, that they had identified them.

"Leave it, Tony, there's nothing we can do about it. Besides, it might be a good thing." Pepper put a hand on her husband's shoulder.

"Good?" Tony looked surprised.

"Yeah. You know how they've both had troubles at school. Now, they don't need to hide who they are." Pepper suggested.

Tony looked thoughtful for a moment, glancing to the screen as it showed past clips of the Avengers fighting. The tired billionaire sighed.

"Alright. But I'm still dropping them at school every morning, and picking them up." Tony nodded.

"Alright." Pepper laughed.

OO-OO

Peter woke up the next morning to hear the sounds of laughter. And the smell of something burning. Someone was swearing enough to burn down a building. And by the smell, they probably were about to burn down a building. Sighing, Peter stretched, noticing that he was still in Jessica's room. He turned, and saw that Jessica was still asleep. Smiling, he gently got out of the bed, edging Jessica down onto the pillow.

With some difficulty, Peter made his way back to his own room, looking around. His room wasn't that different. The walls were custom, Joker wallpaper (Heath Ledger VS Jack Nicholson joker limited edition custom), the wooden floor was polished, there was a whole wall of collectible comics to the left of the door. On the right was the same TV from Jessica's room, with life-size Michael Keaton Batman and Christian Bale's Batman figures on the lrft of it. To the right, life size figures of the Jack Nicholson and Heath Ledger Jokers. The black beanbags had yellow batman logos.

The bed had a custom spider bedspread, and two doors leading to a walk in wardrobe and ensuite bathroom, both painted like the Tardis. One wall by the bed had shelves of books.

His second favourite picture was of the Avengers at comiccon.

And his favourite was them all dressed up. Tony refused to go as anything but Iron Man. Jessica was the Tim Burton Catwoman. Peter was the Joker. Natasha was batgirl. Clint was Batman. Thor was...Thor. Steve didn't want to dress up. Really didn't want to. But in the end Tony forced him to go as a stormtrooper. Steve's face had been hilarious. Pepper and Jane were pink and purple stormtroopers.

But his first favourite one was a picture of everyone when Jessica had first moved in.

He smiled.

OO-OO
OO-OO

Jessica gave a shiver as she woke up. The first thing she felt was pain. An overwhelming pain. And cold. Freezing cold. Like she'd been buried in snow. So cold...like she'd been frozen. She had to get warm. Struggling onto her elbows, tears streaming from her eyes, Jessica let out quiet, choked sobs. Somehow, she got her feet over the side of her bed. Swearing under her breath, she shakily got to her feet. Jessica immediately realised that this was a mistake.

Black spots popped up in her vision.

Groaning, she slumped to the floor, knocking over a glass on her desk.

Glass shattered over her as she collapsed on the floor.

OO-OO
OO-OO

"What was that?" Peter asked out loud.

Something had been smashed. And the sound had come from Jessica's room. Hurriedly tugging on his jeans and t-shirt (with the Periodic Table of Minecraft printed on it), and rushed out of the room, stumbling, only to be caught once again by Tony, who had also heard the glass smashing. Bruce soon appeared behind them, and if he hadn't been worried- Peter would have laughed- there was a long smear of chocolate sauce on each of the older men's faces. They'd obviously knocked something over. Or had a fight.

Gently pushing Tony off, Peter continued to Jessica's room, Bruce and Tony following suit.

They found Jessica lying on the floor surrounded by broken glass, curled in on herself. Bruce held Tony and Peter back as he knelt down, gently picking Jessica up and cradling her in his arms as he examined her. Her skin was icy cold to the touch, and her lips were blue, almost purple. There was frost in her hair.

"Tony, get Thor." Bruce slowly turned round.

Tears stung at Peter's eyes. His own body started shaking. He dared move closer. Bruce looked up to meet the teens eyes. Peter saw a look he'd never wanted to see in a doctor's eyes.

Panic.

Thor came thundering down the hallway, and nearly broke the door as he skidded into Jessica's room. He knelt beside Bruce.

"I have seen this before. It is a spell. Loki is a master of many enchantments and incantations." Thor mused. "Due to Lady Jessica's powers over fire, this is particularly dangerous."

"What do we do?" Bruce asked. "Ouch.."

Bruce removed one of his hands. It was covered in ice crystals. His hand immediately went to Jessica's neck. He immediately lowered her to the floor.

"Doc?" Tony reentered the room.

"Her pulse is very weak." Bruce bit his lip. "Thor?"

"Nothing you have on earth will help. This requires the work of a healer." Thor answered.

"Well, big guy, we don't have magical healing fairies here, if you haven't noticed." Tony said sarcastically.

"In normal cases, mortals are not granted entrance to Asgard. However, in this case, I believe I can take you all." Thor looked at them each in turn.

"Wait...are you.." Bruce stuttered.

"Yes." Thor continued. "I shall take you to Asgard."