A Super-Soldier for the Modern World
Chapter 23
Amanda Carter was in some kind of limbo. She was in a fog. She heard voices, felt people working on her, but she couldn't move. She could not speak.
The doctors and nurses were blurry and the lights were bright. They hurt her eyes. Amanda squeezed them closed again.
What was happening?
Suddenly, everything went quiet. She opened her eyes again it was as if everyone was moving in slow motion. Amanda finally was able to begin to really thing, the cloud began to lift. All of the faces came into sharp focus.
Amanda still couldn't speak, but she quickly realized it was because she had a tube down her throat.
"She's fighting the vent," a nurse said.
Amanda fought to remember what happened. Why was she in the hospital and why did she have to be intubated?
"Vitals are returning to normal, doctor," another nurse said.
"Is she all right?" a man's voice asked.
It was a voice she recognized. Who was it? A face came into her sightline and it hit her. Steve Rogers. Steve was here.
"Yes," one of the doctors replied in a confused tone. "She has stabilized and has come out of the coma, Captain Rogers. Mr. Stark, what was in that syringe?"
Tony came to stand next to Steve. "I got it from Fury," he said.
"You put an unknown substance into this poor woman?" the doctor asked. "We're going to have to run all kinds of tests," he said.
"Doctor, Ms. Carter looks like she wants the tube out," a male voice said.
All eyes moved to Amanda whose hands were pulling at the tube.
She knew she wasn't going to take the tube out herself, but none of them knew that. All of them knew she was a doctor and she knew how to put in and take out an intubation tube.
"Hold on, Ms. Carter, we'll extubate you."
The doctors moved Steve and Tony back out of the way and moved to pull out the breathing tube.
Amanda gasped for breath and the doctors and nurses rushed around her to continue to check on her.
"How are you feeling, Doctor Carter?" one of the men around her asked.
Amanda moved to push herself up, but a shooting pain in her side caused her to freeze in pain.
Why did she hurt so bad?
"Amanda, lay still," Steve told her calmly.
"Please don't move, Mandy," Tony told her.
"What happened?" she asked hoarsely.
"We can talk about that in a bit," Steve told her as he gently squeezed her hand.
Amanda was confused. "I want to know now. What happened?"
Steve looked to Tony, who shrugged at him, and turned back to Amanda.
"You were shot," Steve told her. "You've been in a coma."
Amanda was still very confused. She didn't remember that at all. "What?"
"Would it be all right if I spoke with Amanda alone?" Steve asked.
"Well…" one of the doctors said. "She's stable and it appears whatever the medication was, she's recovering from the other substance and at an equally alarming rate. I'm not saying that you're in the clear yet, Ms. Carter, but you should be incredibly lucky that Mr. Stark brought that to you."
"We'll be back in a few minutes," another doctor said.
Amanda, Steve and Tony watched all of the medical staff filed out of the room.
"How are you feeling?" Steve asked.
"I'm mostly confused," She said quietly.
Her throat was raw and she just felt drained and limp.
"How long was I…in a coma?" she asked slowly.
"Four days," Steve replied.
"What happened?" she said. "Who shot me?"
"We haven't found out yet, Mandy," Tony said. "We're still trying. I'll leave you both alone, but I'll just be out in the hallway."
He squeezed her hand and managed a small smile before also leaving the room.
"I can't believe you're awake," Steve smiled. "I'm so happy. Do you need anything? Can I get you something?"
"Steve, what happened? Tell me the truth."
"I…the Registration Acts were passed and then I became an enemy…"
"I remember that. Then what happened?"
"On the day I was turning myself in, we were outside the police station and I was saying goodbye to you and the bullets came out of nowhere," he explained. "I am so sorry that I didn't protect you," he hung his head. "I couldn't move fast enough."
"Steve, it's okay."
"And this morning, some woman came in, said she was a nurse and injected you with what she said was some kind of medication. You were dying. Stark came back from speaking with Director Fury and had another syringe. And now you're okay."
"What is the medication that Fury had and when did Fury show up?" she asked.
"I guess Fury came back today. No one has seen him until now. And Stark said something about the Infinity Formula. He wasn't sure what that was and I definitely don't know. Do you?"
Amanda nodded slowly.
"It's the injection that keeps him from aging. You know that Fury has been around since World War II, too. He was seriously injured and his formula…it's been what has saved him. But he needs annual injections to ensure that it continues to work."
"Well, it appears that you'll also need annual injections…"
"I don't think there's an unlimited supply, Steve. Someone has to make it. And I think that someone is dead."
…
"It's nice to see you back, sir," Agent Coulson said to Fury.
"You might be the only one," Fury replied.
"I highly doubt that, sir," he told Fury.
"Do we still have the supply?"
"We…the amount of the formula has rapidly dwindled. And with a new person that will need to be on it. We should look into alternative means."
"Stark can begin work on an existing vile. He can figure out the chemical compound," Fury said. "Amanda is awake, though?"
"Reports said that her vitals are stable and she's off of the breathing machine," Coulson told Fury. "Tahiti is a magical place, sir."
…
To Be Continued…
…Author's note: so she's awake! But the Red Skull and his daughter are running around causing trouble! What is going to happen next? What do you want to happen next? Let me know!
BIG THANKS to everyone who has reviewed! I really appreciate it!
And I borrowed my "Tahiti is a magical place" from Agents of SHIELD. If you're a Marvel fan and aren't watching this show, you should!