AN: So I guess it happened again. Sorry, but I didn't write the chapter until this morning, so would you have preferred a hastily written chapter that's pretty bad, or something I've taken my time with? Well, you got the second option whether you like it or not. But anyway! I have chapter 29 for you! Hope you like it, it has a nice mother-daughter bonding session at the end!

Chapter twenty-nine

I found myself slipping in and out of consciousness frequently. It was like I was drowning in the ocean, no bottom in sight, with the surface not far away. I was struggling for air, but I was close to the surface, I could take deep breaths. When I broke the surface I found myself lucid enough to understand the grunted conversations that Deadpool and Wolverine had, but for the most part, they didn't speak at all. With nothing to hold me, I slipped back down into the sea of nothingness.

But as I slipped down, noises filtered down from the surface. The surface, it was closer this time, it was within my reach. All I needed to do was wake up. I pushed myself into consciousness, and when I opened my eyes, the sky was filled with Ice Beasts.

"Ice Beasts?" I gasped, but it was barely more than a murmur. After days, maybe weeks, of unused, my voice was barely more than a whisper.

"Holy %$*^." Deadpool muttered as he saw the chaos that surged around us.

Deadpool, surprisingly, did not register my exclamation. He was too fixed on the battle that raged all around him. I understood why, he was trying to find a safe way through the Avengers Quinjet.

As Deadpool was holding me in his arms, I saw all of the chaos that was happening in the sky, so I searched for Hiss and Drakki, as I noticed their absence almost immediately. If the Avengers had brought the dragons with them, as if they could've have left them behind, they would be in the air, fighting the Ice Beasts. The Ice Beasts... why were they even here? Slowly, I tilted my head to the side, looking for answers I could find on the ground. I was surprised at how hard it was for me to move, I almost blacked out actually. Almost, but not quite.

What I saw, however, made me want to dive into the darkness for a long time.

The Avengers were in a bad way. Hawkeye no longer had any arrows, and so was unable to fight anything without his signature weapons. His suit was torn, shredded and burnt in places. Iron Man flew past him, shooting his repulsor rays in the face of an Ice Beast. His armour sparked madly and parts of the metal suit were missing, exposing wires and other mechanisms that made it run. Thor was fighting as well as he could, but he was probably in the worse shape. He was covered in cuts and burns and even had a nasty black eye. I even suspected that his nose had been broken. Captain America had taken to defending himself against the torrents of fire that rained down from the Ice Beasts, his arms cut and bleeding. The Hulk actually seemed to be doing all the work, catching Ice Beasts and killing them easily. Though when the Ice Beasts died, they disintegrated into paper.

I gasped, that was what happened to my creations when they died. I had created this army of Ice Beasts. I looked around, from the looks of it, there weren't as many Ice Beasts as there had been originally. I couldn't even create this many Ice Beasts on a good day.

I locked my eyes with the last Avenger I saw, Black Widow. My mum. She had a small scratch on her forehead, which bled like crazy. Blood from the small cut mingled with her red, curly hair, before flowing freely down the side of her face. Her suit was torn and slightly smoking in places and no longer glowed with blue highlights. She wasn't using her guns, but instead wacked on coming Ice Beasts with what looked like electrified batons. Her movements, however, were ever so sluggish, her reactions not so sharp. My heart twanged. That was my fault.

Next my eyes travelled to Hiss and Drakki. My heart stopped completely, and my gut turned to ice. Hiss, Hissing Soul, my beautiful, brave, brash dragon was lying, crumpled in the snow. Slashes, ragged cuts and horrifying, heart wrenching bite wounds covered her hide. Bright red blood seeped into the snow where she lay. Drakki stood over her, defiant, devoted, diligent Drakki, who didn't back down as Ice Beasts turned their fire to her. She roared at the Ice Beasts, showed them no mercy as she sent fire ball after fire ball into their ranks. Her electric blue marks flickered like lightning in a thunder cloud. She was exhausted, but would not stop defending her friend.

"Hey!" Deadpool shouted into the madness. "Can somebody back us up over here? I got what we came for!"

Black Widow was the first to look over, and locked eyes with me. It was then where I realised where I got my blue eyes from.

"Ink!" She called out. She glanced around, making sure that no Ice Beasts would attack her before sprinting over to me and Deadpool. "Ink," she said again.

"Hey, mum." I said, my voice still not recovered. I gave her a small smile. I wasn't sure what else she saw in my face, but she blinked several time before turning to her team.

"Hey guys!" Black Widow called out. She got all of the Avengers' attentions this time. "Get us a path through to the Quinjet!"

The Avengers set to work. Instead of just attacking ice Beasts that came to them, they strategically placed themselves so a path way was formed into the woods, and presumably where the Avengers' Quinjet lay.

"Here, you look a little low on weapons." Deadpool said to Black Widow. He shifted my in his arms, though I was no less comfortable, and handed his two hand guns to Black Widow. She sheathed her two electrified batons in their holsters on her legs and took the two guns.

"Thanks," She said.

Wolverine ran out in front, making sure no Ice Beast landed ahead of us, Deadpool carried me in the middle and Black Widow covered our backs, firing the borrowed hand guns at any Ice beast that got too close.

We passed the fallen Hiss and Drakki. I locked my eyes with Drakki's; we both had the same shade of electric blue. She moaned, as if it were an apology and a good-bye.

"No," I muttered, clenching my fist at Deadpool's chest and hit him very weakly. "Don't leave my dragons."

"Avengers! Grab the dragons!" Deadpool shouted with gusto. As we ran through the path the Avengers had created for us, we passed Thor and Captain America. They broke from the fight to rush over to Hiss' side. Drakki nudged Hiss' head with her nose, trying to get Hiss to wake up, but to no avail. The two Avengers lifted wither side of Hiss by her shoulders, whilst also supporting her head. They dragged her through the path they had formed, her tail following behind. Drakki covered their backs, keeping a vigilant eye out for Ice Beasts.

And then we were running through the woods, fearing that the Ice Beasts would once again attack as they drew back into a cloud. But a noise echoed out into the air. It wasn't a roar, it wasn't a growl, I couldn't describe it, but the Ice Beasts all shuddered. Instead of attacking, they flew away, back to the mountain. They flew around the peak, and then dived down behind where we could not see.

I must've passed out for a second as I was overcome with sudden exhaustion. When I opened my eyes the bay doors to the Avengers Quinjet were closing. I was laid down on some seats, with hiss on the floor next to me, her lamp like eyes opened ever so slightly and she moaned. I put my hand to her head, then to Drakki who was also close by. I swept a dreary eye over the Avengers, Deadpool and Wolverine.

"Thank you." I muttered before I passed out.

I was drowning again, but this time, I was peaceful. It was more like dreaming of swimming in an ocean. The surface hovered just above me, looking up from underneath, slivery light flickering down into the depths. I could almost see my reflection, but the surface bobbed and dipped with waves. I also heard some sound, fractured and hard to hear what exactly was being said, but it filtered down nonetheless. Although it was very well within my reach, I cast a look down into the fathomless depths. It seemed like there were a thousand miles down to the sea bed, darkness obscuring those corners of my mind. It was something that would now always be present in my waking thoughts and worst nightmares. But I turned away. I kicked upwards, and broke the surface of my ocean of unconsciousness.

I opened my eyes, and took a deep breath. I stared at the ceiling tiles while my eyes adjusted to the harsh light. I was in a hospital, which didn't surprise me. There was a little tube at the base of my nose which blew air into my nostrils. I was hooked up to a machine that monitored my heart rate. I sensed I wasn't alone. Slowly, as if not to disturb them, I turned my head to my left.

Natasha was sitting in a chair, quietly reading a book. She hadn't noticed that I had woken up, I waited a couple of seconds, noticing the differences from when I saw her last. The cute on her forehead had been stitched closed and there were no traces of blood. She had been all cleaned up and wore normal civilian clothes, a brown leather jacket, t-shirt and jeans. But the biggest difference was that her curly red bob was now straightened out. I wasn't sure if I liked her hair straight.

"Hey, mum." I said quietly. She looked up, and smiled when she saw I was awake.

"Hey, Ink." She said. She closed her book and put it away. The noises from her movements were the only noises in the room, except for the beeping from my heart monitor, which surprised me. I was in a private room. I had fully expected to be in a public ward, but instead I had a room with a TV, an open widow and a door, which was shut. All of this was out on my money range, but I would worry about that later. "Is there anything you want to know?" Natasha asked.

"Hmm... give me a minute." I said; the question surprised me. I took another breath, I was still a little drowsy, and the bed was so warm and cosy. But I made myself think, was there anything I wanted to know? "What have I missed?"

"Well," My mum though before answering. "The doctors said that you had been-"

I cut her off. "No, no, I don't want to know about that just yet." I said. "What have I missed, as in what day is it, how many celebrity marriages have broken down and who won Britain's Got Talent."

Natasha chuckled quietly, "I don't know about the last two but... you missed Christmas."

I gasped, "No," I said in childish disbelief.

"Yeah," She confirmed.

"What day is it? Don't tell me I missed New Year too."I said.

"It's December thirtieth, you almost missed New Year." Natasha replied.

I huffed. I looked around the room, again, it struck me how quiet it was. "Where's Wade? I thought that he would be here." I returned my gaze to my mum.

"He... He took off not long after the doctors gave you the all clear." Natasha told me. "He said that he hated waiting. Something about it being the bane of all humanity."

I chuckled, "Well that sounds like Wade." I said before my stomach gave a loud gurgle. "Ugh, I'm hungry." I groaned.

"I can see if I can get you something to eat?" Natasha offered.

"Yes, please." I said with a smile, still being a little immature.

"Okay, what would you like?" She asked.

I smiled broadly. "A full English Breakfast." I said. Natasha looked a little lost. "So that's bacon, sausages, eggs, mushrooms, toast with butter, baked beans and hash browns. Usually you have black pudding and tomatoes as well, but I would prefer not to have that. Also can I have a pot of tea and some milk?" I added.

Natasha smiled. "Is that all?"

"Yeah," I replied.

Natasha left quietly, opening and closing the door softly. I wasn't sure how long she would be, so I turned my gaze to the TV. I looked around for the remote, but found it to be on the window sill. Since I didn't feel strong enough to get up and go get it, I felt contented just to sit and wait.

I laid my hands out in front of me; my arms were bare as I was wearing a hospital gown. I would have to ask Natasha to grab me some of my pyjamas from my apartment. I stared at my hands, struck at how bony they were. Bones and tendons pushed out against the skin, my wrist bones were more prominent then they ever had been before. I'd lost weight, a lot of weight... I pushed the thought out of my mind, determined to let myself be looked after and card for by the hospital staff. I simultaneously had to not worry about the gigantically high bills that would surely present themselves at the end of my stay. I should relax for however long I was going to stay here.

I didn't have to wait long until Natasha returned. She was back soon, entering to room when I wasn't paying attention. I had actually almost dozed off, but I wasn't going to tell her that.

"Your breakfast should come soon." Natasha said as she took her sea by the side of my bed.

"So... am I still going to get Christmas presents?" I asked. I was being silly and childish, but right now, I didn't care.

I was lucky that Natasha decided to play along, letting herself be a mum to the daughter she had just rescued. "Would you like to have your Christmas presents?" She asked with a smirk.

"Yes, please." I replied.

"We'll have to get the guys around, so we can all give them to you." Natasha said, getting out her phone.

"Seriously, you're calling the Avengers here to give me presents?" I asked, smiling. Natasha nodded as she dialled the number. "Can I expect Logan to come too?" I asked, I wanted to say thank-you to him, especially after he had come knowing the kind of messy past we had together.

"Somehow, I doubt it." My mum said.

The breakfast arrived while Natasha was on the phone. It was all piled onto a huge plate, with a tea pot big enough for three cups of tea. Although the bacon was the streaky kind, which I didn't really like, I was famished, so I ended up eating everything. I felt blessed that the portions were huge. The English food reminded me of my time in Manchester, memories of me growing up rose and fell, most of them had a soggy and grey background. Word of warning, if you like the sunshine, don't go to Manchester, it was always drizzling.

I gulped down the tea, savouring the flavour. It wasn't quite the same as the British stuff, but who cares? I was safe, and that was the main thing. I let Natasha talk me through what I had missed, as in how Deadpool had gone back to New York as quick as he could to find more help, getting his ass kicked in the process. She talked me through the rescue mission, and how I had somehow released a massive energy signature, which must've been me summoning all of the Ice Beasts. She described the battle against the Weapon X soldiers, and then the second battle against the Ice Beasts. She ended by telling me what kind of state Deadpool had found me in.

I sighed. I really wanted to hug Deadpool and tell him thank-you about a hundred times now.

The Avengers arrived, without Deadpool I might add, but I thanked them endlessly too. I actually almost started crying, but managed to blink back the tears. If I cried, I would be teased mercilessly by Tony, and that was something I could not bear. They told me how Hiss had recovered astonishingly quickly, although she still had bandages around her tail. The injury to Drakki's lead had healed up nicely and Mr. Rhododendron was ready to kill someone if he didn't see me soon. They couldn't come in the hospital, due to health and safety, but Tony gave me a wink which led me to believe that he was up to something.

Then came the gift giving. A lot of it was stuff that was still at my apartment: PJs, my kindle and my music player, but I also got a couple of gift cards, a new set of knitting needles, which were the nice bamboo kind, and the softest wool imaginable. It all made me happy, but I wasn't always comfortable with receiving gifts, generally it put me in people's debt, and that was a bad thing whilst growing up in a care home. I managed to let it go this time, because I had just been saved by the Avengers, so there was no way I was getting out of their debt any time soon.

"We have one last thing for you as well." Natasha said. She reached down to her bag and brought out a gift that looked like it had been sitting in her bag for a while. I giggled as my side table had been filled with various little presents and there was wrapping paper everywhere. I wasn't sure what I would do with this last present.

She handed it to me and I felt how light weight it was in my hands. I felt like an item of clothing. I raised my eyebrows at the superheroes that were gathered around my bed. I opened the gift, ripping the paper away.

In my hands I held a suit, a superhero suit. "Uhh, is this a new suit?" I asked. I marvelled at how lightweight it was, but the material seemed to be strong, with protective padding around the elbows, shoulders and knees.

"We thought you might like it." Tony said.

I smiled again. The suit was almost black in colour, but when the light hit it, it reflected with an electric blue shine. It also looked like there were parts of it that lit up. I wanted to try it on immediately, but knew that I would have to wait until I was stronger.

"Thank you." I said for the thousandth time. "Thank you for everything."

After a bit more talking, joking and making me feel like the luckiest girl in the world, the guys left. Natasha lingered behind, still sitting in her chair.

"I have something to tell you." She said.

"Okay," I said. She looked kind of guilty.

"SHIELD is sending me back into field missions, so I may not be able to visit you for a while." She said.

"That's fine, but will you make sure I have company? I'm not a fan of sitting on my own for ages." I said. From what Natasha told me, I was going to be here recuperating for a while.

"I will, and if I can, I'll send Deadpool your way." She said. I nodded.

After a good-bye, Natasha left and I leaned back. I fell asleep, and thankfully, dreamed of nothing.