Chapter 6 Hysterical Langer
To say they were shocked would probably be an understatement. Okay a gigantic understatement as soon as I turned to face them the room exploded with the sound of a million questions being asked at once that I couldn't understand a single word being said. It sounded like a high pitched scream that could make a deaf man hear again. All of them a just yelling at me without even appearing to breathe though I can hear their hearts quite clearly and know that they're just freaking out.
After a few painful minutes of trying to ignore the shouting they all finally calm down enough that they're just panting from their rants and just look exhausted. I didn't do anything the whole time as I knew it wouldn't do any good when they were-or should I say are?-in shock. I know that they want answers, but I'm not even sure what to say about what happened as I still can't seem to grasp how my heart restarted and how I was alive without it beating! I really need to take a look at my biology again and figure out how my mutation as Ware can do that.
As I wait for them to completely calm down I try and ignore the ringing in my ears that I'm sure will eventually make me deaf. I can hear things from miles away and anything spoken loudly to me or near sounds like it's coming through a speaker and the fact that they were all practically screaming at me means that I can't hear a single thing other than the ringing in my ears, and I have no doubt that Pepper is experiencing the same thing since her eyes are squeezed shut and her hand is trembling inside my own.
It's not like I can turn my hearing on and off-though I really wish I could, it'd make the meetings I go to far more interesting than they really are. When I think they've calmed down enough I take Pepper back to the cot with me and sit down in the middle and pull her next to me so that her head's leaning against my chest so that she can see the Reactor and know that she's not dreaming. I smile when I notice her peaceful expression as she begins to drift off into a light sleep, her arms wrapped tightly around my chest.
I know that procrastination isn't a good thing, but I want some time to think about what just happened to me and so I can block out the ringing in my ears so that I'll be able to hear properly, though I don't think it'll go away for another three hours at least. I finally look back up to see the others staring at me and Pepper sitting on the cot.
I can tell what they're thinking due to the emotions being fed to my brain, it's a rather odd remix of emotions as most of them are negative ones. Anger, rage, shock, fear, relief, grief, and fury-ha, that's a funny one since it's coming from Fury and I don't suppress the chuckle that starts at my chest and breaks into complete laughter by the time it reaches my mouth. The atmosphere in the room immediately changes as they all look at me in shock, fear, and anxiety all of them afraid that I'm going hysterical* which only makes me laugh harder but thankfully Pepper stays asleep.
"What's so funny Stark?" Fury asks his one eye narrowing in disapproval as he attempts to stare my laughter down and make me feel intimidated which only makes me laugh even harder and wake up Pepper who sits up abruptly in panic and asking: "What happened?! Where's Tony?" Which only makes my laughter worse and I start to think that maybe I am getting a bit hysterical.
"I'm here love." I answer her questions and she relaxes a little before turning worried as she takes in my hysterical laughter filling up the room that I can't seem to control. After a few seconds I manage to control my laughter by taking in huge gasps of air-okay they were huge for me, I probably sounded like I was having an asthma attack from the looks of fear and concern I was getting from everyone except for Pepper, but hey, when you have a giant cavity in your chest with a metal cylinder sitting on top of your lungs with your ribs grating against it you tend to have breathing difficulties-and calm down my racing heart enough that I am able to speak again.
"Your faces... they're... completely priceless!" I say in between gasps and still managing to choke on my breathing since I still can't control my laughter, it's as if I've inhaled some laughing gas or something! Okay I should not have thought that, I think as another wave of giggles escapes my lips. Yep, definitely hysterical. "You know, considering the fact that... I was just dead for 8 hours... you really can't keep yourselves from torturing a man with your rants and lectures can you?" I ask. I hadn't been able to hear them but I can read lips so I could 'hear' every word they were yelling at me and I feel my hysterical laughter turm to hysterical anger+laughter-I have no idea what to call it as I can feel myself breaking from the inside out and my brain doesn't seem to working straight.
"Tony... we didn't mean to-" Cap begins, but I interrupt him in my hysterical langer (laughter+anger=langer-don't ask me where that came from I have no idea).
"Blame me? Sure Cap. Every single one of you has been cutting down on my nerves with every single mistake I've made since joining the Avengers, despite having saved the world and yourselves from a Nuclear BOMB! Yet you all treat me like a self-centered narcissistic brat who doesn't care about anyone, and you never consider the fact that I'm still human as well as all of you! You all make mistakes but you always have a go at mine, despite the fact that I break down after nearly every debrief we have after a mission! All because I made mistakes, like none of you don't make your own mistakes!" I pause and glare at them all before continuing. "And yet all of you are ranting at me as though I wasn't dead for 8 hours and that I let the Arc Reactor explode on purpose!" Tears are falling straight down my face now in my hysterical langer and I discover that I'm on my feet pointing my index finger at them all accusingly as my next words come out.
"You've all been pushing at me to do all the work and funding on this team for only your own gain, and I work my heart out to get everything done for you so that you'll be happy, yet none of you seem to consider the fact that I have a job-a company for crying out loud!-that requires me to work on an almost daily basis so that I have almost no time for myself! I'm sick of this." My voice breaks at the last part and I find myself sitting down on the cot again staring at the floor as the tears burn my skin, but not before I saw the looks of shock, regret, and shame on all of their faces-even Fury and Natasha and they never show emotion when they can help it which is basically all the time, though they're trying and failing to put their masks back up. I finally let myself break down and feel Pepper push me gently onto my back on the cot whilst rubbing soothing circles on my arm. I feel myself drifting off, but not before hearing the words of an ashamed and regretful Captain.
"We never should have judged him like this."
Author's Note:
Hey everyone, I know it's been a while since I posted anything but school has been pretty hectic since it started back up again. Thanks for all your support however, I know this is another short chapter but I've had a lot of work to do and I just thought it'd be easier to write a chapter with Tony being hysterical but angry at the same time since I'm kind of feeling like that at the moment. I'll try and upload another chapter as soon as possible. Also for another fanfiction that I'm writing about Tony and the Avengers, it's one where Tony is a woman and ends up having to marry Loki after the battle of New York. I'm finding it a rather fun one to write at the moment as well as this one and I'm not sure whether I should post it or not, it'll be a long one like this one is, but it is rather interesting and funny. If you want me to post it then just either send me a message or keep reviewing on the story. Thanks for all your support!
*Hysterical-I spent a full 10 minutes trying to remember that word as I kept trying to hyperventilating because I couldn't remember the right word, it was pretty funny when I finally remembered it.
Mairai688