Disclaimer: I do not own nor do I make any profit off of the Avengers. All rights belong to the MCU and The Walt Disney Company.
WHY pt. 3
I feel like I'm floating, as if nothing is touching my body and I'm just hoovering over air, clouds perfectly contoured to my body. There's a soft wind blowing over my body, fresh air entering my lungs, the temperature is perfect. Theres not a thought or care in the world other than the the soft cloud and fresh air, it reminds me of when you wake up in the morning from a really good nights sleep, when your going to wait to get up and lay in a blissful state of half sleep and awake, those are my favorite mornings. I could lay like this forever when suddenly the air is completely robbed of my lungs. I arch my back, mouth open wide trying to get air, bells ringing, suddenly my ears pop and voices around me are screaming. The clouds are gone, replaces by a hard flat surface and hands of different sizes. Something warm fills my veins and air rushes back into my lungs and the clouds pull me back in.
…
Tony Stark jiggles his leg up and down until finally Steve reaches over and places his hand on Tony knee, stopping his relentless tapping on the floor,
"Captain Rogers are you getting fresh with me?" Steve rolls his eyes, but withdraws his hand, "I don't really think this is an appropriate place for that, do you?"
"Stop it Tony." Steve grumbles, crossing his hands and leaning back.
"I mean any other time but now-"
"Is Happy back with May yet?" Steve cuts him off ending the conversation all together. Tony shook his head pulling his phone out to look and see exactly where the car was, from what he could tell, the car was just pulling into the compound. Good, he could only imagine what was running through her head right now. After pulling Penny out, a SHIELD medical craft had Penny life flighted straight to the compound on Tony's orders. As requested Helen Cho and her team were ready and waiting, Penny had immediately been taken into surgery as the rest of them arrived about twenty minutes later. So far they had been doing anything to keep busy, until Tony was reminded of one thing, May. No one had told May anything and by the lack of texts or calls on Tony's phone May hadn't been watching the news either. Immediately he sent Happy to the hospital and then called May's boss personalty to get her out of work, of course no one can say no to Tony Stark.
"They're just pulling in." Tony informed Steve who took a deep breathe,
"She's going to be a wreak Tony?"
"You don't know May," Next to Pepper, May was the toughest women he knew. He was Tony freaking Stark and she talked to him like he was the homeless guy that lived on the corner of her street, like she wasn't afraid of him, like he wasn't the richest man alive. He respected her for that.
"Tony?" A voice called, both men turned towards Bruce Banner. He was the only one that was allowed to step in between the operating theater and outside the medical wing where Tony and Steve sat. Sam was around here somewhere, Steve said it was to call his sister but that was thirty minutes ago. How someone could talk to their family for that long was beyond Tony,
"Talk to me?" Tony stood up taking large steps toward the big green man,
"She woke up?" Tony blinked, once, twice, three times,
"That's good right?"
"Not mid surgery Tony," Bruce clarified although he didn't think he'd have too, "They had to use the drugs Helen synthesized for Steve to put her under again,"
"Well if she woke up it means she's fighting right?" Bruce didn't know what to say, yes and no. It meant their was still a lot of fight left in her, but it also meant her body was working overhaul as she was open on the table. Bones healing in the wrong places, blood pumping through veins that hadn't been cauterized yet, so yes it was good, but at this point it would be better if her healing was nonexistent just for the hours she was in the theater.
"Update us when you can Bruce," Steve placed his hand on Tony shoulder pulling him back. Unwillingly Tony stepped back and followed Steve over to the recliners Tony had insisted be brought up for them to wait. He sat down, Steve followed and let the silence consume them.
"Tony...I know Penny was in shock but what was she talking about?" Tony looked over, he hadn't told Steve much about what had happened between him and Penny just that he hadn't needed her at the tower this last week. Slowly he took a breathe,
"Last week I told Penny to go home, told her I would text her when I needed her, but I..I didn't need her, so I, I didn't contact her." He shrugged, "I guess she was coming in to give me a piece of her mind." Steve waited until he knew Tony was finished talking and then sighed,
"Sounds like Penny." He mumbled,
"Ya...ya it does." Tony leaned back pushing his hand over his eyes. Tony never felt conflicted in life, he was always well aware of everything and only ever made a decision once and never regretted them, never thought he should have gone with a different option. That just wasn't how he worked, but here he was conflicted. What to do with Penny. He couldn't get rid of the kid, not after spending so much time with her, not after learning what he knew now. Hurried steps sounded down the hallway alerting him that he didn't have anymore time to think about it, because as he stood, May turned the down the hallway, Happy at her feet. She rushed up to him, nurse's scrubs still on along with a hastily thrown hooded jacket over her shoulder,
"What's going on?" She demanded eyes wide, hands shaking. Tony looked up to Happy who had just stopped behind her,
"What did you tell her?"
"I just told her their had been an accident." Happy breathed heavily, obviously May was in better shape than he was.
"Don't look at him, look at me, what happened, where's Penny?" Tony opened his mouth, then closed his mouth, he didn't exactly know the right words to say...that never happened, Tony always knew what to say...at all times, why was this so hard for him?
"Mrs. Parker, we've never been introduced, my name is Steve." May turned to the man introducing himself. Steve held his hand out to her, she looked down at it and then back up at his face.
"Otherwise known as Captain America, yes I know, I believe the whole world knows who you are, it's nice to meet you." She turned back to Tony, "Now where is Penny!" Steve looked at his empty hand and then dropped it before looking back up to Tony. He gave him an encouraging nod,
"Their was an accident at Avengers tower and Penny was there when it happened."
"Was she hurt?" Tony took a second too long to answer, "Was she!?"
"Yes," May stepped back running her hands down her jacket tying to steady herself,
"How bad? You need my insurance card don't you, I..I..I don't have it." Tony grabbed May's shoulder steading her frantic arms,
"May don't worry about that, you never have to worry about that here." It hit May then,
"Why is she here? How bad was she hurt Stark!"
"I brought her here, I have the best medical staff and most up to date equipment that has never been showcased before, as for how bad...I don't know." Lie, but how could he look at May Parker and tell her Penny had been both crushed and impaled. He looked up to Steve who still stood behind May. He didn't shake his head or nod, he didn't look upset or relieved, in truth his look said, "I would have said the same thing."
"Can I see her?" May stressed, Tony took a breath,
"She's uh..she's in surgery."
"Surgery!" May's eyes widen as she steps back, hand outstretched until she found the chair and then dropped into it to bury her face into her hands before looking up, "We're just going to have to sit here until they update us aren't we?" May knew how all this worked, but it was hard being on the other side.
"Ya, I have a friend allowed between both the theater and out here, so he'll update us if anything bad starts happening." May turns towards him,
"That's not conventional." Tony shrugged and dropped into the chair next to her,
"Welcome to the compound." Steve sighed and took the other seat next to May, she took a deep breath and then looked between the two,
"Are their any details? I heard a jet crashed into the tower... was she hit by debris...I need to know, I just can't just sit here." Tony looked over,
"We could play tick-tac-toe?"
"Tony!" Steve scolded
"Who is you're friend anyway?" May asked, a harsh note to her voice.
"Bruce Banner," Steve answered.
"7 PhDs, Bio engineering, medicine, gamma radiation, nuclear physics." Tony added with a shrug "A real genius I assure you."
"You're talking about the mad man that turns into a big uncontrollable monster able to destroy everything?" May questioned,
"That too." Tony answered,
"He's not like that anymore" Steve quickly threw in, "He looks like the Hulk now, but he's still Bruce." The words were meant to encourage her, but they only caused her more anxiety.
"Is this what Penny has been doing on her internship?"
"Yes" "No" Steve and Tony answered together. May sighed,
"Great."
…
I feel different, heavy, numb...kinda bloated maybe...I just don't feel right. I don't feel like I can move, nor do I feel like I can take a deep breath, but I do feel thirsty, the back of my throat feels incredible dry and...blocked. My eyelids feel heavy but I manage to open them. Everything is blurry, this only happens when I'm tired. I must be more tired than I though, even waking rested. Suddenly a blurred figure of brown hair stands above me and I feel something touch the side of my head,
"It's okay Penny nickle, enjoy you're rest sweetheart." Aunt May's voice is soft, her hands are gentle, a fog fills my mind and my blurred vision starts to swirl until it's all gone.
…
It's different this time when I wake. I still feel the same, heavy and bloated, a little less numb, theirs a weird tingling sensation on my right side. I feel like I can take a bigger breath and do so feeling a sharp intense pain deep in my body. I open my eyes at the sudden pain. It's all still blurry but I find with each blink it clears. Suddenly theirs a hand on my cheek,
"Penny honey?" My head feels weighed down but I manage to roll the back of my head against a soft material and find the voice,
"Aunt May?" Nothing comes out, instead I'm just moving my mouth to the words, she smiles and and brushes back my hair, I try to say her name again,
"No, shhh don't try talking just yet honey." She moves looking to her side and comes back with a cup and straw, carefully she brings it to my mouth, "Take a sip." I do and it feels great, cool, not cold. It helps to calm the heat in the back of my throat,
"Thank you." I manage to scratch out. Aunt May smiles,
"That's good sweetheart, you're doing really well." The last time she was this gently with me was when I was sick after my spider bite. I remember the fever making me delirious. One second I was hot, and one second I was cold, my skin itched and burned, my head felt so fuzzy and my lungs so full it almost seemed hard to breathe, but aunt May was there the whole time. She didn't work so much before and was able to sit with me the entire weekend. She would run a cold cloth across my forehead, made me drink water and chicken broth, spoke to me gently, almost like now.
"What's wrong?" I croak out, she smiles softly and places her palm on my cheek,
"You were in an accident Penny, do you remember?" Accident? I squint at her, and think...Mr. Stark...the tower. Slowly I nod,
"Elevator." She nods,
"That's right, you were trapped in the elevator, and they got you out and they brought you here and you're going to be just fine." My arm, my leg...my body. I glance to my right finding both my arm and leg wrapped in heavy casting made of metal, wire and plaster, hanging hammocks keep both my arm and leg elevated...I have to look away. Aunt May's smile is sad,
"Gross." I mumble,
"It won't always look like this." I hope not, it almost looks like the only thing keeping my arm and leg in place are large metal rods sticking out,
"Ya?" She nods,
"Ya." I take a second to look around. It looks like like a normal room and if it weren't for all the medical equipment that's what it would be,
"Where we?" I breathe,
"Avengers compound, Stark had you brought here, then he had me brought here, don't mistake this as me being happy, because all it is, is gratitude that you're going to be okay, because once you're well enough, I am going to be so angry and you are going to be so grounded Penny Antonia Parker. Stark said you weren't even suppose to be at the tower." Just speaking has gotten her riled up and angry flares through her words, quickly she pushes them away and changes her tone, "But for now I will coddle you and not let you out of my site okay?" I find the strength to nod. Again she smiles and take a moment to breathe,
"You like it here?" I can't help the smile on my face, "Meet anyone interesting?" Wrong question to ask, because aunt May frowns,
"Were you ever going to tell me you've meet the Avengers?"
"You've meet the Avengers?" I manage to raise an eyebrow,
"Captain America," her eyes widen, "Dr. Bruce Banner, Falcon, I'm really hoping to meet Thor,"
"He's with the Guardians." She tilts her head, "Or so I've heard." I cover, she doesn't look completely convinced but seems to drop it,
"You really scared me Penny." I swallow,
"I'm sorry." She leans back in her chair and nods,
"I know. I do, but you're all I have left. Penny when they came and told me everything.." She reaches her hand out to touch the metal contraption currently circling my wrist, "Penny I was scared."
"I'm enhanced"
I want to tell her, I heal much faster than anyone, these injures wont last, they never do. Instead I say,
"I'm sorry." She nods and touches my cheek again,
"I know, but you're still going to be grounded."
I tire out really easily and it's only two minutes later I feel my eyelids start to shut again, that's when Dr. Cho makes an appearance. She explains everything aunt May did only minutes ago, that I was in an accident, that I'm okay now, although she goes into much more detail. My right arm and leg were completely crushed. She explains it like putting a jigsaw puzzle together, she also tells me 6 out of the 9 surgery was spend just putting my bones back together, with metal rods and wiring. The other three were spend on removing and fixing any damage the pipe left behind. Someone must have told her aunt May doesn't know I'm Spider-Man because instead of just saying my enhancement kept me from taking the brunt of the damage she say's it's a miracle I didn't have to lose my spleen or small intestine. Aunt May who's an RN says she was shocked when Helen told her I didn't bleed out or loose any organs when I came out of surgery. Unfortunately my body worked so hard just keeping me alive that my healing factor has taken a hit and I'm not healing as fast as I should be and I feel it. A year ago I broke my arm when I feel overshooting a web, the pain was crazy and I hobbled back to the apartment however when I got home the pain was less and the swelling was already descending, and by morning it was pretty much as if nothing had happened. Apparently I've been either sedated or asleep for the past three days and I still have broken bones and stitches. After a twenty minute talk and and a solid 10 minutes of Dr Cho, checking every incision, wound, and bruise she put something into my IV and left me on strict orders to rest. She didn't have to worry because before she was even out of the room I was drifting.
I feel like I've been drifting for hours, I can see the sun setting behind my closed eyelids the color changing from orange to black. I hear the TV in the corner playing different TV shows, one second it's a talk show then it's a movie, something with swords, then it's the news, and then some reality show. Finally when I can't lay and drift anymore I open my eyes, a familiar face staring down at me,
"A hundred bucks to tell aunt May you're Spider-man."