All characters from Marvel belong to Disney as well as all characters from Twilight belong to Stephanie Meyer. I own nothing except my version of events.

A/N: Hello Everyone!

I am terribly sorry for not posting this past Thursday as I normally do. Unfortunately I caught a cold earlier this week and my brain has been a foggy mess and completely useless ever since. Fortunately I'm feeling better now and we're back to our scheduled programming.

Sorry for the delay!

Chapter 20 Reborn

Time seemed to move at a snail's pace as we all waited in anxious anticipation. After two days Edward had broken out in a fever, something that both Bruce and Dad took as a good sign. By the third day his skin had started to soften, it was still hard as stone but it was somehow more malleable. Again, another good sign.

It had been six days now. His body was responding as we'd expected and we were all becoming increasingly optimistic. We had decided to take turns after the initial six hours. Those of us strong enough to take on a vampire in hand to hand combat or through powers had all taken shifts. That left Emmett, Jasper, Marcus, me, Bruce, Wanda, Steve, and my dad in his Iron Man suit to watch over him. Luckily the vampires took over the night shifts to allow us humans a full night's rest.

It was currently my turn to watch over him. I had decided to play Debussy in the background, remembering how much he enjoyed it in the past. I was reading a book of poems out loud, figuring if he could hear me he would at least have something nice to focus on, but if I were being honest this activity was more for me. I refused to sit here bored out of my mind, just staring at Edward's prone body or at his monitors displaying his vital signs for the entirety of my watch. I was on the fourth hour of said watch when the music abruptly ended.

"Lunch time." I heard the love of my life's voice through the speakers instead. I looked towards the door, finding Steve there with a tray of food in his hands. I waved him in and he proceeded to input the code to unlock the door.

"Thank you." I said, as he placed my lunch on a nearby table.

"How's he doing?" He asked quietly.

"Same. His temperature rose by two degrees… I think he's getting closer to the end." I deduced. We were hoping that as he reached closer to a normal human temperature he would slowly regain consciousness. He was practically there already.

"What do Jasper and Marcus have to say?"

"That he's fine. He still appears to be dreaming, alternating between negative and positive emotions. Jasper thinks he's having nightmares. Although the fact that he's dreaming at all is obviously a good sign. Marcus says he still looks the same since the beginning, the appearance of his soul hasn't changed."

Steve nodded and picked up the sandwich I'd left untouched placing it in front of my face. I giggled, taking it from him and complying with his silent demand. He stood behind me, massaging my shoulders as I ate, not bothering to say anything else as we both watched over Edward.

I was glad Steve seemed worried about him now, considering his initial reaction to Edward when he'd first arrived at the tower hadn't been positive. Especially when Edward wouldn't hear from anyone else but me. He was also bothered by the way Edward watched me. He hadn't said it directly but I knew by the awkward tension in his body and the discernible irritated expression on his face. It was something he didn't necessarily have to say out loud. I could imagine how he felt. I think if I were in his shoes I would have surely said or done something to stake my claim on him. He was a better person than I was for sure, but that was one of the many things I loved about him. He always inspired me to be a better person.

Once I was done eating I turned my head to place a loving kiss on his hand in thanks. I tilted my head back and smiled up at him.

He bent down, not being able to resist giving me a kiss on the lips instead. "I love you." He said against my lips.

I smiled at him happily, returning his love and devition. "I love you."

Without warning, we were burst out of our bubble. Edward's machines suddenly going haywire. I moved frantically to his side checking the machines until he broke out in a convulsion.

"Call Bruce!" I ordered Steve, covering my body with solid energy to hold Edward down before he flew off the bed.

"He's on his way." He said frantically, rushing to help me keep him on the bed by holding onto his flailing legs.

"He's soft." Steve said in wonder as he held onto him. Even through my power I could feel it too but I was still panicking internally and didn't comment on it as we waited for Bruce to appear.

His body abruptly stopped, and with it so did his heart, the monitor beeping a final ominous tone.

"He's flatlining!"

"Fuck!" Steve exclaimed, letting go now that Edward had stopped convulsing.

"Where's Bruce?!" I screamed as I started heart compressions.

Steve ran to comms, I could hear him talking to someone while I tried not to panic. I couldn't let him die, there had to be something else I could do…

Without another thought I did the only thing I could think of. I sent an electric shock into his heart, trying to pump it back to life. I retreated my arms but his heart monitor was still emitting that disturbing noise, going on and on for what felt like an eternity.

"Come on, Edward!" I yelled, placing my hands back on his chest and shocking him once again. His heart monitor beeped once, giving me hope for a split second before taking a nosedive as it flatlined again. "You said you'd try not to die, you idiot!" I yelled at his unresponsive body.

"Bella-" Steve started but I shook my head, not willing to accept defeat. I recognized the tone in his voice but I refused to accept his sympathy, at least not yet.

I just needed one more try.

I placed my hands back onto his heart again and increased my power. His body lifted off the bed, falling back down with a loud thump. I began to finally lose hope, starting to feel like this was finally the end to Edward.

That is until he suddenly gasped for breath, his eyes shooting open and looking frantically around him.

"It's ok!" I tried to say, pushing my own feelings aside to tend to him. "We're right here. You're ok, Edward." I said, trying to reassure him.

I could hear his heart monitor beeping a little more rapidly than normal but I figured it was due to the shock, not to mention it was a more comforting sound in comparison to the one it had previously emitted. His eyes somehow found their way to me and his body relaxed onto the bed.

"Bella." He whispered so softly I barely heard him.

Just then Bruce rushed in, shortly followed by my father. I moved away to give them space. I could see Steve doing the same. He moved over to my side, pulling me into him and grasping tightly on to my shoulder. I wrapped my own arm tightly around his waist, trying to use his somewhat calm demeanor to relieve the tension in mine.

We both watched as they asked him questions and ran blood samples to make sure he was ok. He was responding to everything they'd asked while still looking completely confused. The only thing he couldn't remember was how he had gotten here to begin with. Bruce said it was normal. He was just disoriented and not used to normal human inputs from the environment around him. He also thought we shouldn't worry too much about his lapse in memory. We didn't know for sure what he had been through while he had been in transition and therefore he couldn't determine anything else until Edward acclimated to his new body. He just hoped he would remember after the initial shock.

We left the room after some time, not wanting to disorient Edward even further with our presence and so we took that time to inform everyone else of Edward's now conscious state.

After Bruce and Dad were done they retreated, coming outside to join the gathered family.

"He's asking for you, Emmett, and Jasper." Bruce informed us.

We all nodded, I took a hold of Emmett's hand as we walked in. I felt like I needed his support and gleaning from his own expression I could see he needed it too.

"This is really strange." Edward said, looking at the three of us then directing his attention to his hand as he lifted it in front of his face to analyze it. "I forgot what it was like to be human again. It's… overwhelming." He finally concluded. "I think my head hurts." He added in confusion, lifting the same hand he had been inspecting and placing it on his temple.

"Yeah, being human isn't all fun and games. Wait until you have to pee… or get the runs when you eat something bad." They all turned to look at me in confusion, Edwards face quickly turning into horror. "It happens." I said, shrugging my shoulders. "At least you're a man and you don't have to worry about your period too." I added, just to gross them out some more. I giggled at their expressions. Men, I thought, shaking my head in slight annoyance.

"My throat feels dry and my mouth is… sticky?" Edward asked in confusion, not really knowing how to describe what he was feeling properly as he opened his mouth, smacking his lips and tongue together.

I giggled at his experimentation and looked out the window motioning Bruce for water.

He looked up at me and smiled, "I remember that sound. I mean, it sounds different but it still sounds like you."

"Well, it is me. You're just hearing me with different ears."

Bruce came in then with a cup of water and handed it to me. "Take small sips, little by little."

I nodded, grabbing it and moving over to Edward's side. His hand started to shake as he held onto it and I placed my hand around his to help him guide it to his mouth. I gently placed it on his bottom lip and tilted it back, pouring a small amount. He hummed in relief as he swallowed the first sip but greedily tipped the cup back, pouring too much all at once. He choked back on it, spluttering as the water fell out of his mouth. I lightly pat him on the back until he caught his breath.

"You got too greedy, dude." Emmett commented with a laugh.

"I haven't had water in practically a hundred years." He said, "Can you blame me?"

"Nope. Water's pretty great." I added helpfully.

He snorted awkwardly causing me to giggle again. "I think there's water up my nose." He grumbled, as he began wiggling his nose back and forth in annoyance.

It was like watching an alien learn how to function in a human body. It was so weird to witness.

I looked up at Jasper then, realizing he'd been silent during our entire interaction. I moved away from Edward, grasping onto Jasper's hand in silent support. He sent me his emotions then. Fear, wonder, excitement, trepidation. It was all a mix of emotions, some that I understood and others that I didn't. I squeezed his hand letting him know I was here anyway. It must be scary to face something that you never once imagined could be real.

We made small talk then, Jasper slowly opening up more until we watched Edward slowly drift off to sleep.

"It's still so unreal." Jasper finally said aloud.

"Like a dream." Emmett added in wonder.

He nodded, agreeing before he spoke up again, "This changes everything."

We all nodded in agreement. This was even bigger than the synthetic blood discovery. We remained where we were, all watching Edward's chest as it slowly rose up and down at his breathing.

"Okkkk, this is creepy, watching him sleep like this now that he's back." I commented.

"Hmm… you could consider it payback for all the times he did it to you." Jasper commented sardonically.

I zapped him with my finger and he flinched away from me, rubbing his hand over the spot and chuckling quietly so as not to wake Edward.

"He's human." Emmett muttered out finally.

He wasn't wrong. I suddenly wondered how long he would wait to do it himself. I was going to worry half to death when he did, but I vowed to be there for him every step of the way. Not only for him but Jasper too. Though now that I was thinking about it Jasper had not once commented on it. I looked up at him, silently asking him with my emotions.

He looked down at me contemplating his answer, until he sent me his confusion. I concluded he was undecided. I nodded slightly, tilting my head onto his shoulder.

His reaction made sense. He would probably have to discuss it with Alice first, though from what I'd heard from Peter their relationship was tenuous at best. Jasper was still in Volterra, helping Marcus keep the vampires in line while Caius' was dealing with his own personal problems. It was working out pretty well. Although Jasper had not been a previous Volturi leader, he lived in infamy amongst his own kind, gaining tremendous respect from his past in the southern vampire wars. Even after he had joined the vegetarian Cullen's he had retained his reputation.

Alice had not been happy with the outcome however. She joined Jasper for a short time in Volterra but quickly grew bored and claimed she missed her family. She'd moved back with the Cullen's not even a month after moving to Volterra. She'd visit every once in a while but not enough to maintain a healthy relationship. I had a feeling this new development would either be the thing that united them once again or the tipping point cementing the end of their bond. I had my suspicion of what Jasper would choose though, he'd expressed he was confused but I think it was because he knew what Alice would ultimately choose… and I'm also pretty sure it would be the opposite of what he would want for himself.

But I didn't pry anymore after that, allowing him to have his own time to process. I knew if he needed me he wouldn't hesitate to come to me. We lived so far away from each other but we were always each other's sounding boards during the hardest of times. We both came from two supremely different pasts and saw the world in completely different ways but it somehow worked for us. Ultimately I knew he would never lie to me and in return, he knew I would never lie to him, but from what I could see from him now I also knew he wasn't ready for the truth. At least not yet, and I understood that too. It hadn't been long since he's known of the vampire serum and now it's suddenly turned very real. It hasn't been enough time to process it all completely.

Leaving Edward in his room, we walked back to the waiting area and noticed everyone was now gone except for Steve, Dad, Bruce, and Marcus.

"So what now?" I asked, wondering what we were supposed to do now that Edward was awake.

"Nothing." Bruce answered. "We continue to observe him for the time being. We don't need to continue with guard duty. His vitals are normal and he should sleep through the night. I'll monitor him on my tablet until morning and then we can run more tests."

"If they come out normal again, then what?" Emmett asked this time.

"I'm not sure. I guess we will all have to come to a consensus as to what to do with him then."

We all nodded just trying to come to terms with the success of the serum. I wasn't a vampire and even I was still having a hard time processing everything.

They shooed us away then and we all separated, at least most of us did. Emmett had quietly signaled for me to join him and Wanda. I broke away from Steve quietly letting him know I'd meet him at our apartment later. He simply nodded in understanding, placing a soft kiss on my lips before leaving.

I followed after the couple in quiet contemplation, wondering what Emmett would want to discuss, though I had a sneaking suspicion of what it would entail. To say I wasn't looking forward to our upcoming conversation would be an understatement, but I also knew it was necessary. In a way, I was also grateful that Emmett had chosen to include me at all. He and Wanda were partners and he didn't necessarily have to include me in the decision making process but he did and that meant so much to me.

No one uttered a single word until we made it to their apartment.

"You're doing it." Wanda stated, with worry tainting her beautifully accented voice.

He nodded without hesitation. I knew he would want to as well, now that we all knew this was actually real.

"Can you wait?" She begged him.

"Why?"

"Just in case Edward has a delayed adverse reaction." Wanda explained.

"How long?" He asked her, it was reasonable for him to want a time frame.

"I don't know… a month?"

He remained silent after that, watching her intently, until he shifted his attention onto me. "Bella?" He finally asked me directly.

I was leaning against the wall with my arms crossed over my chest at the entrance of their living room, watching their conversation unfold quietly. I knew he was asking for my thoughts on the matter but I was nervous to give him my honest opinion. I knew he wouldn't like it.

"I think you should wait too." I confessed.

"A month?" He asked in disbelief.

"Yes… I don't know. We can discuss the right time frame that we can all somewhat agree with. I know you want it now Emmett but you have to be reasonable. This is new. Something could still go wrong with Edward. We're optimistic but we just want to be sure. You mean the world to us and you can't expect us to willingly put your life on the line like that and be happy about it. Especially Wanda." I reminded him.

He looked back down at her in quiet contemplation, analyzing her demeanor.

It didn't take much to see she wasn't handling it well. She was anticipating a fight and her emotions were too close to the surface for her to be able to cope with it all. Wanda wasn't opposed to expressing her feelings normally but she hated to fight with her loved ones. She tended to hide her real emotions when they shifted over to the negative side of the spectrum. She liked to keep her cool most of the time, it made it easier for her to maintain control over her psychic abilities. It was something she had learned to do since she was little and it had transferred over into adulthood.

I could see Emmett coming to the same conclusion I had. I knew he wanted to say no but I also knew, by the look on his face as he quietly watched Wanda, that he would agree with whatever she chose.

"Ok." He finally said, accepting our suggestion.

At his response Wanda's once tense body relaxed, wrapping herself around him. He returned the gesture, placing a gentle kiss on the top of her head. He looked up at me then.

I silently nodded, knowing they needed time alone. I retreated back quietly, exiting their apartment and making my way to my own.

Steve was waiting near the entrance when I entered. He didn't utter a single word as he caught my expression, immediately pulling me into his loving arms. I released the breath I had been holding, finding solace in the one place I craved to be always. He continued to soothe me, gently running his fingers through my hair. He quietly guided me into our bedroom and removed my clothes and his own, pulling me down to join him under the covers knowing I needed his loving reassurance more than anything else.

Enveloped in the warmth of Steve's body I slowly released the remaining tension in mine. It had been a long, exhausting week. Both my mind and body had been pushed to the brink of exhaustion and I was finally coming to grips with it all.

After some time Steve had managed to fall asleep. I focused on the feel of his gentle breaths gliding over my skin and the sound of his calm breathing to lull me to sleep. Allowing myself to finally embrace the peace and serenity only he had the power to invoke in me.

Yet another A/N: I posted an update on my profile this past Thursday alerting my followers that I would not be uploading a new chapter that day. If you want to stay in the know, I suggest you follow me as well so that you are alerted to any updates concerning whatever story I am currently writing at the time. I prefer this method of communication instead of pretending like I actually wrote a new chapter, having you guys click on said chapter, and disappointing you when you realize it is nothing of the sort. It also feels like a waste of an upload.

Anyway, I don't want to leave you in suspense but I CANNOT wait for Chapter 22, it's going to be exciting!

Have a wonderful week everyone!