Chapter 9- Last Hope
As the first on the scene, Wally was able to truly take in the damage caused by the small device. The whole room seemed to be crumbling. The white tiles were stained black with ash, some hanging precariously from the ceiling as if preparing to dive on him when he walked beneath. The shelves and all the tools upon them were scattered over the floor. Plaster and wooden planks covered the area where a wall had completely caved in and below that... a hand protruded from the mess.
That was Wally's only focus as he ignored the danger and rushed inside, pulling up the pieces of the inner wall. It took some time, even with his super speed and, soon, another pair of hands joined in the clearance. After a few minutes, Tony finally pulled away the last piece so they were able to get to her.
Blood covered much of her forehead from a deep gash above her eyebrow and, other than that, she seemed okay. Wally knew that could only be his perception from the outside.
Tony's hand fumbled at her neck, pressing around to find a pulse. It was easy to figure out when he found it as a shallow sigh escaped his lips. "Get her to the infirmary," he ordered Wally. "I need to find the device."
"Wasn't it the device that did this?" Wally asked him, indicating the chaos of the room.
Stark shook his head. "It was supposed to open doors to other worlds, not cause explosions."
The boy wondered if what Stark was saying was just wishful thinking. What else could it have been? His hands moved under Chrissy's knees and waist, pulling her up to his chest tightly before turning on heel and running, full speed, towards the infirmary.
[-]
Wally was summoned to a meeting at 6pm the following evening. Chrissy, though in a stable condition, was still out for the count. He hadn't wanted to leave her but he assumed the meeting would explain exactly what had gone wrong.
Stark was at the front of the room when he entered, looking totally lost for what to do. Barton sat on one of the chairs around the table, arms folded behind his head as he stared at the ceiling. Natasha entered after him, perching on the table next to Barton. It only took five more minutes before all important members were in the room. It was then when Stark finally turned to them.
"It was the device that caused the explosion," he sighed. "As of yet we have only discovered fragments but it looks like the thing was blown apart almost entirely."
"So we can't get you all to the other dimension?" asked Banner. "What now?"
"When Chrissy wakes up we can get her to make a new one. This just means that it'll take longer than we-"
"Woah, woah, woah," interrupted Clint. "You want to make another bomb?"
"It's the only-" Tony started but was interrupted yet again, this time by Natasha.
"Clint's right, Tony. If this one exploded, what's to stop the other one from doing the same? Who knows, maybe the one Loki built will to and we'll get lucky?"
"We never get lucky," Nick Fury pointed out solemnly. "But more time isn't really possible. The other heroes are arriving within the week in preparation to go."
"Well, they'll have to be patient. Just tell them we had an issue with the device," Tony replied. "There's no point in getting prepared if we haven't got anywhere to go."
The room fell silent as each mind whirred, trying to think of a solution.
Wally took that as an opportunity. "Hey, look. I don't think there's really a point in me being here and I'd much prefer to be there for Chrissy when she wakes up. Do you mind if I go?"
Stark waved his hand in an obvious sign for he was dismissed.
[-]
It was two days later that Chrissy finally awoke from her comatose state. Wally had stayed with her as much as he could, waiting for her eyes to open. There were moments that he thought it would never happen... and then it did.
He had been sitting in a chair, messing on with a tablet computer that Tony had given him to curb the boredom and help him be useful whilst waiting. It was the movement that he registered first, her head lifting slightly before dropping back onto the pillow.
"Wally?" a small voice asked as her eyes focused on him. "Obviously I'm not dead, then?"
"No, not just yet," Wally replied with a playful smirk as he set the tablet aside.
"I thought I would be for sure when I saw that thing bust open in front of me," she added. "Or at least blinded by the light or deafened by the noise. I think I'm definitely lucky to have all my senses about me."
"Yeah. I heard the explosion from the other side of the building. It was pretty loud."
[-]
There was a peaceful hour or so before Stark found out that Chrissy had woken up. He skidded through the door at such an alarming rate that he made even Wally jump.
"Hey," he said to the injured one. "How are you feeling?"
"Better," was Chrissy's reply, already beginning to sit up- obviously knowing why he was here. "Did you get more supplies in?"
"Yup," Tony replied. "Everything from the peripherals to the iron casing."
"Good," Chrissy nodded as she pulled back the sheet covering her.
"Wait, what are you doing?" asked Wally. "You should be resting, not building stuff!"
Chrissy's eyes wandered to him. "You told me that I've been out three days. I think that's enough rest." She moved to stand, though pretty much instantly swayed as the motion created a haze over her balance receptors. Wally caught her around the waist and pulled her into his side.
"See?" he asked. "That is why you shouldn't be getting out of bed right now."
Her focus did not seem to be on him, staring at something that Wally could not see. Then the floor dissolved from both of their feet and they began to fall.
