Day Eleven: Hallucinations
Snow fell off of Tony's shoulders as he entered the Tower. His steps were shaky as he pulled his coat off and made his way up to the kitchen. The snow in his hair melted making it stick to him by the time he got to the kitchen. He wasted no time in brewing a cup of coffee.
"FRIDAY," Tony called to the ceiling. "Turn up the heaters, please."
"Yes, Boss."
It wouldn't take long for the heaters to go up a notch and he'd probably be complaining about it being too warm soon. For now, he wanted as much heat as he could get, having almost frozen to death outside.
Well, that was a bit dramatic. He wasn't freezing to death but it certainly felt like it. He got caught up in a blizzard that he knew was coming but thought he could beat. He had dressed appropriately, not stupid enough to wear just a hoodie like he once saw the kid do, and wore a thick coat with gloves and a scarf. But he was damned and the blizzard came and was stronger than he was.
"Boss, your current temp-"
"Don't waste your energy, FRI. I know."
"Shall I call for Doctor Banner?"
Tony waved his hand lazily. "No. I'm alright."
He was not alright. He was burning up and it wasn't because of the heaters anymore. He grabbed his coffee and tried to ignore the rise in temperature. He took a long sip of his coffee as he made his way to the living room where he sat on the couch. His head throbbed like no tomorrow.
"Just need a nap and everything will be fine."
Naps don't cure everything, unlike duct tape which is the magic formula to anything. At least, that's what everyone and their mother says but Tony knows better. Always had, always will. But he won't ruin a child's dream of wanting duct tape to be the ultimate fix.
It turned out that napping on the couch wasn't the smartest idea. He woke up in a cold sweat and had spilled his coffee on him, either having forgotten to put it down or picking it up while sleeping walking. His body felt numb and he didn't feel like moving, despite his discomfort in his current position.
Where was everyone? He thought someone would be home by now. Pepper, Peter, someone. He leaned his head back and stared at the ceiling and that did nothing to help his headache. If anything it made it worse. Then a shudder ran up his spine at a familiar but strange voice.
"I'm afraid I must inform you-you-you-" FRIDAY's voice was full of static, making it hard to hear clearly. "Pepper Potts has die-die-died of hypothermia-a-a-a two hours ago."
"What the fuck-?"
Two hours ago? Why wasn't he informed she was out in the blizzard? He thought she was out on a meeting in a safe and warm building. Or was that last week? Two days ago? Tony rubbed his sweaty forehead and sat up. He almost threw up at the sudden action but managed to keep it down.
He turned the news on. He almost threw up again, seeing ambulances on a street with many passersby. In the center of it all was Pepper Potts' unnaturally pale and still body. He moved closer and immediately regretted it for the camera zoomed in on her face. It almost looked like there were cracks in her skin. Her lips were a frightening blue. Her eyes were dull and lifeless.
He turned the TV off. He placed his hand over his heart where it felt ready to burst. Maybe it was going to burst. He stumbled his way to the kitchen. He needed a drink. Not coffee, not soda, alcohol. He needed some alcohol to soothe his nerves. But he found his fridge empty. Completely empty. Nothing was inside.
"Boss-Boss-Boss-"
"Stop! I don't wanna hear it!"
He went back to the living room and collapsed to his knees before he reached a chair or couch. He gripped at his head and curled in on himself. It's okay. It's okay. This was just a nightmare of some kind. It was a nightmare or something. Everything was fine.
His body shuddered violently when he heard a scream. It wasn't just any scream. It was his mother's. He didn't dare to open his eyes knowing he was going to see her get murdered. Where was this coming from? Why did her screams echo all around him? Why couldn't it stop?
"Mister Stark?"
Oh, what a beautiful voice that was. It wasn't his lovely Pepper's but it was the next best thing, Peter Parker's. Everything was fine now. Peter was safe at least. His heartbeat began to slow and he breathed a sigh of relief. He hadn't even realized he was holding his breath until Peter came along.
Peter pushed Tony onto his back and held his arms by his side. Tony's breath hitched. Peter was similar to Pepper. Ghostly white, blue lips, terrible lifeless eyes. Snow tripped off of his small body. His clothes stuck to him. He tilted his head.
"You put a heater in my suit." Peter's voice was barely audible. "Why not put a heater in everything? I'm so cold, Mister Stark!"
"F-FRIDAY, what's happening?" Tony shouted, desperately.
"I tried to tell-tell-tell you," FRIDAY stuttered. The static was getting worse.
Peter started slamming his frail fists against Tony's chest. They cracked and broke the more he hit him. Tony shut his eyes and tried to remember his breathing exercises when he had panic attacks. When he opened his eyes, he prayed Peter's dead body would be gone and he'd be awake, back on the couch, or even better, on his bed.
Peter's body was gone but it wasn't at the same time. His body was shattered all over Tony's like he was a broken doll. Maybe he was. Tony forced himself up and backed away from the dead, broken child.
"FRIDAY! Do something!"
He didn't care how desperate he sounded. The sound of armor collapsing from behind him caught his attention. He looked over his shoulder and saw War Machine's armor shattered on the ground. Rhodey's body hung from the ceiling, trapped in wires.
Happy was next. He was also frozen as he made his way into the room. He collapsed and his body shattered just like Peter's. Shit, shit, shit.
"Stop...Stop! Leave me be…"
He couldn't stop himself from throwing up at last. Blood was mixed in with whatever his lunch had been. His body shook. He tried to stand but found himself collapsing back to his knees. He threw up some more. He slammed his palms against his ears when there was more screaming. It wasn't just his mother this time. It was everyone. Everyone.
How much longer was he going to suffer for? How much longer did he have to hear and see these horrific things? Why did the world love taunting him like this, like showing him the horrible possibilities if he wasn't there to save anyone?
"Mister Stark?"
No. No, not again. Please no.
"It appears Boss is suffering from hallucinations. His temperature is very high. I have called Doctor Banner."
What?
"L-let me help you, Mister Stark."
"Tony? Baby?"
No, not Pepper too. No.
Four pairs of hands helped him stand but he shoved them away, keeping his eyes shut. He backed up and hit the wall.
"FRIDAY says Mister Stark is suffering from hallucinations, Miss Potts…"
"Doctor Banner will be here soon."
"Let me handle it, Peter. I don't think you should see Tony like this."
"But…"
"I know you care about him, but he's not in his right mind. Who knows what he might do to you?"
"I guess…"
"I came as quick as I could."
That was Bruce Banner.
"Thank you, Bruce. Tony's really out of it."
Something sharp pricked his neck and Tony was gone.
Peter slouched in the chair next to Tony's bed. He held his hand and rubbed it gently with his thumb. It had been three hours since Doctor Banner had forced him into unconsciousness. He had seen Tony wake from nightmares before. They talked about their nightmares together sometimes. It was pretty hard to get Tony to talk about his most of the time.
This was different, though. Tony was violent during his hallucinations, screaming and hitting and throwing up. It was like watching a frightened, cornered animal. Peter never wanted to see Tony like that ever again.
According to FRIDAY, Tony had gotten a fever after having been caught up in the blizzard. He didn't take any medicine before napping and only relied on coffee and apparently napping on the couch. Tony woke up from a nightmare but didn't truly wake up. He was burdened by hallucinations.
Peter refused to leave his side until he woke up. He wanted to reassure him that everything was fine and that all his friends and family were okay. It was later in the day and he had been exhausted from his own patrol but he came immediately when FRIDAY contacted Karen and told him what was going on.
Peter leaned forward and rested his head on Tony's chest. His heartbeat had definitely calmed down since Doctor Banner took care of him. He didn't care if Tony would wake up screaming, Peter refused to leave. He wasn't going anywhere until he was calm enough to know everyone was alive and well.
It was at least another five hours later until Peter felt a hand running through his hair. He shifted and looked up to see an exhausted Tony awake. He went to lift himself off of Tony's chest, but he gently pushed him back down.
"Don't," he croaked. "Don't go."
Peter nodded. He shifted his body to get a little more comfortable but didn't get off.
"Everything is okay, Tony," Peter said, softly. "I promise. Miss Potts-"
Tony nodded slowly. "I saw her already. She was here for a while and told me what happened."
"Okay...And how do you feel now?"
Tony huffed a light chuckle. "Exhausted as hell. I wouldn't mind sleeping forever right now."
Peter pouted. "No sleeping forever."
"Joking, Underoos."
It felt so nice hearing that nickname. He was scared there was a chance Tony would forget some things. Fevers could do that. It was always something Peter feared when he or someone he loved got sick.
"But I'll stay as long as you want." Peter smiled.
"Thanks, kiddo."
Author's Note: This was an interesting one for me to write. I was originally going to start it off with Tony already being sick in bed but changed my mind. I sorta just went nuts with this, so if you got a "wtf is going on" feel, that's kinda good. xD
That's all for now. I'll see ya'll in the next chapter.
Thanks for reading!
~Kurosaki
