I am so sorry this took so long to publish! I was on vacation for a while and did't have any WiFi or Internet connection. Then when I got home I was honestly brain dead. I wrote this chapter three times and it's not even that good... I also had to do a bunch of research on the brain and radiation. Lol! Anyways, I hope you like this very short chapter. I will try to make the next chapter longer and more interesting...
Tony Stark
I woke up to he deep calming voice of King T'challa. I'm guessing he wanted to see me before he got to work on Peter. "How are you feeling, Stark?" He was standing at the end of my bed with his hands behind his back. Pepper was no longer next to me and in the corner to the right stood a young black girl I had never met. She had on a white half-cut tank-top and brown shorts. She also had on a brown choker that said something in another language. I forced myself up and leaned my head up against the wall.
"Could be worse... could be better. I'm alive so I'm not complaining." I shrugged. "But I'm not the one you should be seeing. You need to see Peter." I looked back at them to see them both smiling. "What?" The young girl walked over to me holding a thin screen. She gave it to me and I swiped over all the information on it. "I don't understand." I muttered.
"We already took care of the boy, Stark. He is in recovery just as you are. The only reason we are still here is because of my younger sister, Shuri. She wanted to meet you and make sure the boy is alright when he wakes up. He has been awake for some time now." I read through everything on the document quickly. I've never been so confused before. "That look is of a man who is still in distress." I nodded slowly as the door opened. In walked a nurse with some jello for me. I hate jello.
"How- how did you do it? I mean I'm reading this... but how did you know?" I whispered, feeling ashamed. The younger girl took a step forward and smiled at me.
"It was a rather complicated mixture. With the right amount of Vibranium and Beta radiation we were able to counteract the gamma radiation. That lead to the serum to all bunch up in one area, allowing us to extract it from his body and blood stream." She smiled as she walked my way. We shook hands and I slightly grinned back at her.
"So... it's over?" I asked them both. They glanced at one another. I could totally tell everything wasn't okay. When was this going to end? "What's wrong with him?" They didn't say a word. "Tell me, now!" I slammed my fist on the wall and the girl jumped a little.
"Do you want to wake all the patients in here?! Quite down!" She said with he African accent. I glared at them before looking out the window. It was raining. "The kid has sustained a lot of damage to the brain. He... can't talk." I quickly turned my attention to them both.
"What?" My voice cracked as tears began to fill my eyes. "But, he will be able to, right? He'll get better... right!?" I forcefully yelled the last sentence like doing so would change things. My emotions were searching for a safe place. A place where I could shove them down and never feel them again. I wish I could just toss them in the garbage disposal.
"I'm afraid we don't know that, Mr. Stark. Yelling at us will only cause you more damage. In time the boy could regain his ability to speak, but until then... I suggest you put him through therapy. And I don't mean here... I mean with other children that have suffered the way he has." T'challa nodded slightly to me and stepped back.
"I'm sorry..." I huffed. I held my head in my hands, hoping my head ache would my problems would go with it. "Thank you both for everything you did. Is there any thing I can repay you with?" They glanced at one another and smirked. "I take it there is..."
"My sister wishes to stay in the Americas for a short while, but unfortunately I can not stay with her." I held my hand up, smiling.
"Say no more. She can stay at the compound for as long as she likes as long as she listens and obeys my rules." She happily smirked at me and eagerly nodded. She reminded me of Pete for a split second. There was a knock on the door. It opened slightly to reveal MJ. "MJ! Come in." She opened the door all the wall and slipped inside. She quickly passed my visitors and went to the right side of my bed. "MJ, this is King T'challa of Wakanda and his sister Shuri. Shuri will be. staying with us for a while." I expected her to freak out of at least be scared after what she went through, but instead she just nodded at them.
"Cool. Nice to met you." She handed me a DVD and I smiled. It was High School Musical 3.
"Thanks." I laughed. "Have you seen Pete?" She shook her head no and I cocked an eyebrow at her. "Why not?"
"I'm worried... I'll see him when I'm ready." She nervously rubbed her bare arm and looked away from me.
"It's okay. I understand." I reached for her hand and she took it. I squeezed it for a short time and then let go. "Can I see him?" I asked to no one in particular.
"Why don't you ask your doctor. I must be leaving now. Listen to Tony my sister." The Black Panther slightly bowed and smiled at me then he turned and left the room. Shuri sat in the arm chair on the left of me. MJ stared at her with a blank expression. I looked back and forth between them for a moment.
"What is your problem?" Shuri asked MJ with a frown.
"Nothing." MJ shrugged and then left us alone, slamming the door on the way out. I flinched at the loud sound.
"What is her deal?"
"She was the one who was taken with Peter. She's been through a lot. But, I think she's finally acting herself now." Shuri raised an eyebrow at him before pulling out a phone. At least I think it was a phone. I wasn't really paying attention to her.
"That must be difficult on her." A short pause. "Well, I'm gonna go see if Peter's awake. Get some rest Mr. Stark." She stood up and headed towards the door, but I stopped her.
"I'm charge of you for now, okay. I want you back in one hour, don't go off the compound, and please don't bother Happy Hogan. When you get back, we're gonna lay down some ground rules. Got it?" She gave me a thumbs up and left.
Peter Parker
I woke up trying to scream. I was sweating bullets and shaking in fear. Where was I? What happened? The last thing I remembered was being stuck in the torture room with aunt May? My mind was fuzzy between the facts and hallucinations. Was this whole thing a dream? My eyes darted around the room to see I was surrounded by people. I panicked. I made an effort to back up like I did in the cell under the bed. I couldn't scream, the only sound I made was small whimpers. Tony rushed to me, grabbed my hand and shoulder, and pulled me away from the wall. I was still trying to back up though, this time crying while doing so. "Hey, hey... buddy, don't hit your head okay. That's not gonna help. It's just me and our friends." I looked around to see it was only Pepper, Happy, Rhodey, and Dr. Cho. Without even thinking, I pulled Tony into a hug and held on to him tightly. He had found us. I was alive! Tony tried to pull away from me,but I puled him down again. He fell on top of me and we both started laughing. I let go of him and he pushed himself up. "Hey, kid. You did it, Peter." I grinned at him and opened my mouth to say "No,you did it." But nothing came out. I couldn't even make a sound. I looked at them all confused.
The doctor walked to my bed side with a tablet in her hand. I noticed she had a large scar on her face and she seemed on edge. "Hello Peter. I'm Doctor Cho. I know things seem scary right now, but you will be fine. We were able to get the serum out of your system with some help of some friends. But, your frontal lobe did experience a lot of damage. That's why you are unable to make any sounds or speak at the moment. When you're ready, we have you all set up in a program with other kids to help you regain your ability to talk." She smiled sweetly at me, but I frowned. What did she mean my ability to talk? I lost all control? So the- the serum did work! I just wasn't acting insane. "Peter? We all know you know sign language. What are you thinking?"
I signed "Go away." And flipped on my side. The hard impact hurt my stomach, but I ignored it.
"Peter. Why do you want us to go away?" asked with a higher pitch in her voice. I didn't respond or move. I kept my eyes on the wall.
"Pete? Don't shove us away like this. Please tell us what you're thinking." I was about to tell them they all failed, but I thought against it. "Kid?" I threw up my hand and spelled out the sentence I knew would only hurt everyone in the room and make Mr. Stark feel like Cho let out a deep breath when I was finished. "What did he say?"
"He said: You all failed. Go away." I could literally feel the pain radiating off of Tony. But at the moment, I didn't care. It was true. They ALL failed me and... who was I stuck in the room with? It was May, right? I looked around on the wall like the name would appear. I suddenly sat up, using my hands for support. Who was I stuck in that room with? I looked up to look at Tony, but he was gone. They were all gone. I didn't really want them all to leave!
It was dark outside, making it pitch black in the room without the light on. I tried yelling for help. Calling out to someone. I couldn't make a sound. Instead I laid back down, curled up in a ball and tried to fall asleep. I ended up just crying my eyes out. I sensed the door open and I jerked myself up to face whoever was on the other side. I wiped my tears away, and held in the sobs that were ready to come out. I stared at the figure out side of the room.
"Peter?" A small, frail girl walked in the room. She was hugging her chest tightly as she turned on the light half way. I love lights that let you adjust the brightness. Anyways, she leaned forward like she was waiting for me to say something. "I-I heard you were awake and they got the stuff out of you." I cocked my head to the left and looked her up and down. Who was she?
She had on a pair of skinny jeans and a lose t-shirt. Her frizzy brown hair was pulled back into a messy ponytail and it looked like she hadn't slept in weeks. I kinda felt sorry that I couldn't place her in my mind. So I asked her. She watched my hand movements carefully. When I was finished she fell back against the door and opened it, running down the hall. Calling for Tony Stark.
A couple of minutes later and I was acting like I was asleep. I had my eyes closed, my mouth forever shut, but my ears wide open. "He kept looking at me weird and then asked who I was! He didn't even remember me!" She cried.
"Alright, MJ. I think that's enough excitement for today. Nurse? Could you take her back to her room?" I heard the pitter patter of shoes going down the hall. "What does this mean?" Tony asked someone.
"It means he doesn't remember her. I'll have some tests run on him. Right now I feel like he's trying to push the awful memerois out of his mind." Doctor Cho said.
"So, he's pushing her out without even knowing he's doing it?" Tony asked as they walked out. Once I heard the door click shut, I let out all my emotions and began to cry.
