My fingers lightly traced the scarring flesh of what was left of my arm. I couldn't help but wince. The touch didn't really cause more pain, but it still hurt. Both physically and emotionally. It hurt to know that a I had lost a whole limb. It made me feel helpless. Daily tasks like putting on clothes or cooking, were nearly impossible.
And the phantom pains were getting worse. The strange tingling aching sensation would creep up on me at the worst times. During the weeks on the sub, there were times I was hit with pain so bad I had to stop for a few moments. Arrow, would use her powers to blanket me in gentle warmth when this happened, and it did help, but it wasn't a permanent solution. Christin said, that my prosthetic could help mellow out the pain a bit.
I flopped back on to my bed, already exhausted even though I had only been awake for a less than an hour. I sighed. My eyes trailed around the room I was given. Nothing was there to distract me yet. No pictures, no furniture other than the essential, nothing personal. Hopefully that would change soon too.
There was a small clock on the nightstand next to my head. 6:03. I closed my eyes, and took a deep breath. It was five hours and fifty-seven minutes until my appointment. I felt a million snakes slithering in my stomach at the thought of it. Which didn't make sense, as I had seen quite a few army doctors without feeling like I was going to toss my stomach. I didn't know why I was so worked up about this one.
I needed a distraction. So, I got up from my bed and thought about taking a walk around the house. There were a few places here that I hadn't seen. As far as I could tell this place was built like a patchwork quilt. Some parts matching some parts not. I had only been on the second and first floors, and I had no idea where the stairs to the other floors were yet.
I was walked down the hall, when I heard…music? Well, I thought it was music. The beat was good, modern but pleasant; it was the lyrics that were weird! Some guy was singing about Stonehenge, then he started talking about Spanish food, and then he went into somethings that I didn't even WANT to hear about, before going back to Stonehenge. What. On. Earth!?
I probably shouldn't have opened the door and walked in but I couldn't help myself. Inside was a bed room, with deep purple and bright green walls. A loft bed, and a large mirror rested on one wall in the back.
"Hey!"
I turned to the right, finding Arrow sitting in front of a desk that had a strange piece of tech, a computer I think it was called, resting on top of it. But it was her clothes that made my eyes go wide. She was wearing nothing but underwear and an oversized long sleeve shirt.
"Sorry," I said, looking away. My face began to burn.
She turned off her music, "It's fine. I just didn't think you were awake, yet."
"Well, I am," I said I still couldn't look at her.
"Okay," she said slowly.
There was a sudden chirping coming to the other side of the room.
"Oh, so you want to come out now?" Arrow said. She was answered with more chirping.
Arrow rolled her eyes, before getting up from her seat. Thank God, that the shirt she was wearing was long enough to almost be considered a dress. She walked over towards a large black cage in the back of the room next to the bed. She opened the cage's small door, and carefully reached inside. She pulled out a small fiery orange and yellow bird, with a shiny black beak.
Arrow looked up at me, "Are you okay? Your face is turning into a tomato."
"No, no I'm fine. I'm fine," I insisted.
"It's not Zappy, is it? You don't need to worry about him, he's just noisy sun conure," she said scratching the bird's head.
I just stared at her. Having a bird was not something that was normal 70 years ago, unless it was chickens. Much less a conure. Whatever that was…
"You want to pet him?" Arrow asked.
"Uhm, no, no thank you," I quickly answered.
"Soot yourself," Arrow shrugged, letting the parrot crawl onto her shoulder, before returning to her desktop.
"So, uhm what music were you listening too? Because it sounded…Uhm."
"A little weird?"
"Yeah…"
"Well, that's Ylvis, for you. Their songs are brilliantly, sung and written, but they're about the most stupid topics."
"Are they usually such, uhm…adult…topics?"
Her brows furrowed, "Adult? Its about a mysterious rock formation in Europe…OH you talking about the second verse. That's right! That must be serious taboo for you."
I titled my head, "Are you sure it's okay for you to listen to that?"
"Hey, Old Man, I listen to them because they make me laugh, and compared to the music that Jenette listens too, this is nothing," She turned back to her computer and began to type on the keyboard.
I stayed silent for a moment, before I noticed something on her monitor's screen. A red and gold robot?
"What's that?" I asked.
"Stark's latest escapade," Arrow answered.
"Howard?" my voice fill with hope at the familiar name.
"No, Tony. He's Howard Stark's son."
"Howard has a kid?" I felt my eyes widen.
Howard? A son? It didn't seem possible. Howard was a decent guy, brilliant, but he honestly didn't seem like the kind of guy to settle with only one gal, much less have a kid with one.
"Yeah, no one else saw it coming either. But the resemblance is incredible," Arrow pulled up a picture of Howard's son, and I was amazed. Other than the weird facial hair and a few other small differences, Tony looked just like Howard.
"Your right," I mumbled.
"And they act quite similar too, both billionaire playboy philanthropists, with brains," Arrow rolled her eyes, "Like we need more of those."
"So, why are looking up Tony? Are you trying to contact Howard about me through him?"
Arrow froze, "No, and I hate to break this to you Bucky but…" She sighed, "Howard Stark had a car crash in 1991, killed both him and his wife."
I flinched. That was another knife to the gut. Howard was gone too? I had already learned about all of the Commandos' fates (Most of them passing away at some point in the past 10 years, with Logan as the exception, having vanished years ago), Cap was gone same mission I was pronounced dead on, and Peggy had passed away only a month before I woke up. It was all awful.
I sighed, "So, what are you doing researching Howard's son?"
"Surveillance," She answered vaguely.
"You didn't have to give me all of the details," I let the sarcasm drip from my words.
She chuckled, "Sorry, force of habit. Now, how to explain, why I'm technically cyberstalking Tony Stark," She paused, "Well, when something…different…happens in the outside, we take notice to make sure it's not one of our kind gone rogue. We track their movements for a bit, figure out their motives, what makes them tick, and determine whether we need to step in or not. Just in case if things go south."
"And you can't let the Army or government organizations handle them if they get out hand? I'm sure they've made some for that job."
"Well, not in good conscious. Those government organizations do exist, but they also support the same people who are taking our children away, whether they know it or not. And those government people just lock them up like common criminals. They don't understand the fear and grief that comes with these powers, and instead of helping the people need answers and support, they just send them away. It's best if we keep to ourselves, and save our own. From those who would wish them harm and from themselves."
"You think that none of them deserve to be lock up?"
"Oh, there are quite a few I wouldn't mind staying in prison, it's just so many can just be acting out of fear. You can't judge a person's choices when you don't know what options they had," Zappy must have sensed his owner distress as the little bird cuddled up next to Arrow neck.
I nodded, before deciding to switch topics, "So, why are you watching Howard's son? Is he mutant to?"
"Stark? Oh, no he's not…At least we don't think he is. I mean the fact that his family went from poor fruit sellers, to billionaire inventors in the time that they did, does kind of imply rapid heightened intelligence and that could point to a very mild case of technokinsis, but that's not why we're looking into him," she clacked into the keyboard, pulling up a video of the red and gold robot, "This is why."
I raised a brow, "A robot? Did Tony build it?"
"He is it. It's a suit. About a year ago the genius had a pretty traumatic experience and ended up switching his company from weapons to clean energy. And that wouldn't really pique our interest alone, but that's not the only thing he changed. He built the suit, and for the past year he's been stopping people from using his weapons. Dubbed himself Ironman."
"And that catches your attention?"
"Yep," She popped the 'p' with her lips.
"Why? Sounds like he's doing a good thing."
"Look we got nothing against Stark, some of our scientists even try to recreate some of his designs, but if he pokes his nose where,it doesn't belong he could get seriously hurt. The last thing we need is a media frenzy about some of our agents getting a fight with one of richest men on the planet. And you know the reporters are going to paint us as the bad guys."
I nodded, "So, you're watching him to make sure he stays safe."
She shrugged, "You could paint it like that I guess, but Stark is not the only one we got our eyes on. Dr. Bruce Banner, Eddie Brock, Peter Parker, Dr. Henry Pym, and his sort of girlfriend, Janet van Dyne. Just to name a few, and don't even get me started the 'Norse god of thunder' that showed up last year."
Norse god of thunder? Nope, not asking about that right now. One topic future at a time, Bucky. I already got a doctor's visit today; I don't need to worry about what ever that means right now.
"Hey, are you okay?" Arrow suddenly asked.
"Yeah of course, why?" I quickly said.
Her eyes narrowed, "You need to work on your lying. You suck at it when you're troubled. What's on your mind?"
I paused.
"It's your arm, isn't it?"
I took a deep breath, "How did you…?"
"Well, your eyes keep drifting towards it, and your hesitation right now."
The conversation went dry after that, and we descended into a silence that was only interrupted by Arrow's keyboard, and Zappy's occasional cheep.
"Can I ask you something?" I hesitantly said.
"You can ask me any, Bucky," She looked up at me, while scratching Zappy's head.
I swallowed, "Do you know the doctors that Christin asked me to see?"
"Eye-spy and Clipper? Yeah, I went to training with them. They're Aunt Amelia's daughters," She paused, "You don't have to worry about them. Clipper, can have her scrubs in a twist, and Eye-spy does get overexcited but they are real sweet deep down."
I swallowed, okay. So, Arrow knew these people. That was reassuring. "Are those really their names?" I asked deciding to change the subject.
"Oh, no. Their birth names Mara Jean and Cari."
"Then why do you call them…?"
"They're their chosen names," She paused, "I should probably explain further. In mutant culture once you earn your mask you are allowed to choose another name. It's sort of a code word, that represents the start of adulthood and the end of childhood. It becomes the formal name that most will call you, unless you ask them to call you by something else, or if you have rank title to go with it. Like dad. He's called Clan Leader Striker."
I nodded slowly, "So, when you get your mask, you rename yourselves."
"Well, we don't completely abandon our birth names but yeah."
"So, what are you called?"
She paused, "I haven't really decided, yet. I have a few in mind, just haven't made a public decision. But I'll have to choose soon, especially if I want to go on more missions."
I nodded again, and the sound of footsteps came from the hall.
"You better go get dressed and head downstairs for breakfast, while it's still quiet. Once my little brothers and sister get up, it'll be chaos," Arrow said.
I nodded and took Arrow's words to heart. It took me a few minutes in order to get the t-shirt over my head, and sweat pants on, but I managed. I quickly made my way down the stair and towards the kitchen. The sweet smell of what I hoped were pancakes filling nose. In the kitchen, was Kate, Nico and Christin. The clan leader was currently manning the stove, flipping a number of flapjacks in four black pans.
"So, big brother what's on the agenda today?" I heard Christin say.
"Well, you formally announce your return, then you have a call with King T'Chaka, you need to renew our peace treaty, and plan new trade routes," Nico said.
"Don't forget you also have to call, the Professor, see how many kids he's sending our way this summer," Kate said.
"Got it, anything else?" Christin said.
"This is one more matter of business, though I still think your answer to it will be the same," Nico sighed.
"It's about my successor, isn't it?" Christin said.
"The Counseling starting to get impatient, and the clan is growing concerned…" Nico stated.
"You don't need to remind me. And I have told you I already have someone in mind I just don't want to force the duties of successor on them just, yet," Christin explained.
"Morning," I said quietly, fully walking into the kitchen.
"Good, morning kiddo," Kate greeted me with a smile, "How'd you sleep?"
"Good," I mumbled.
"That's great, you hungry?"
I nodded.
"Come take what you want from the big plate, next to the stove," She got up from her chair at the kitchen bar, walked into the kitchen and opened the icebox, "You want maple syrup? Or do you want to try some of the strawberry sauce I'm about to make?" Kate asked.
"Uhm, no thank you," I answered, not sure if I wanted to be adventurous with future food, as I grabbed a few of the pancakes.
"Shawnen!" Someone screeched from the second floor.
There were rapid and loud footsteps that suddenly descended the stairs. I didn't even get to look at who it was before a sharp burst of wind blew around the room. Something, or someone, suddenly clung to my leg. I looked down the find the 11-year-old boy who looked a lot like Arrow. Shawnen I remembered his name was.
I had met Shawnen the previous evening and from what I had seen I knew he was an energetic trouble maker. He had been constantly picking on his younger sister, talkednon-stop, and never sat still. Add his mutant ability of super speed and well I considered that a recipe for disaster.
Christin just looked at the boy clinging to my leg, and sighed, "What did you do now?"
Shawnen didn't get a chance to answer, as Sable charged down the stairs completely soaked, in water. Her golden curls were now sticking to her skin, and her clothes were dripping wet.
"Where is he?!" The little girl screamed.
"Sable what happened?" Kate walked over to Sable, while stopping Christin from doing it himself.
"Shawnen broke into my room and dumbed water on me," Sable said, shooting what I thought was a pretty good death glare towards her brother.
"Shawnen?" Christin said, raising a brow.
"It was just a prank," Shawnen said.
"Shawnen, you know what happens if you sister gets wet," Kate said sternly.
"Her powers aren't even active in the day," Shawnen said.
"It doesn't matter. Pranks like that aren't funny, and you're old enough to understand that. And you both old enough to behave yourselves, especially considering that your father just got home. Did you think he wanted to come back home from a mission to find the two of you fighting?" Kate said.
The kids were silent. Their eyes staring down at the floor.
"That's what I thought," Kate started again, "Now Shawnen apologize to your sister."
"Sorry Sable," Shawnen grumbled.
"Good, now both of you go get dressed and then come down for breakfast," Kate ordered. To which both of the children quickly complied.
"I could've handled that Kate," Christin said, "You didn't have to step in."
"Oh, shut up. You just got back, have a full day ahead of you and I'm freeloading. Helping with the children is the least I can do," The mutant woman said taking her place at the bar.
I finished getting a plate and took a seat at the table nearby. As I ate, I just listened in to their conversations. It was probably rude but I didn't have much to do, and right now any sort of information I could get was helpful.
"I am concerned about the boy's recklessness. He is going to hurt someone badly one day. We should be more with him," Nico said.
"Oh, calm down, Mr. sour puss. He's a kid, not one of your trainees. At least not yet. And considering his parents, I'm surprised that he's this mellow with his mischief," Kate said taking a sip of her drink.
"Yes, Christin did do some questionable things at his age," Nico said.
"Oh, like you never did anything!" Christin snapped.
Kate chuckled, "I was actually talking about his mother. Alice got into trouble for all sort things."
Footsteps, these heavier and much calmer came down the stairs. I looked up from my meal, and my eyes widened. Arrow was coming down the stairs, but she was wearing something I had never seen before. The outfit was skin tight, and made out of a thick navy colored material. Her shirt, had only one sleeve, was high collared, and looked like it was made out of two pieces of fabric that twisted around her torso, exposing a small part of her stomach and back. Her pants were a slightly darker blue, worn tight, had the appearance of the finest leather, and had this odd cross-stitch like pattern on the outsides. All of this was completed with a matching mask and boots. She was beautiful, even with the clashing orange bird perched on her shoulder.
"Morning everyone! What did I miss?" Arrow greeted.
"Look at you!" Kate exclaimed, happily.
Christin's eyes misted a little, "My little Flare is all grown up."
"Dad…" Arrow groaned.
"No, no let me have this moment, short-pike. Because it feels like only yesterday you were that curly haired toddler who danced naked in the kitchen while wearing cookie cutters as bracelets," Christin said.
I tried, so hard not the laugh at that image.
"Dad!" Arrow nearly screamed.
"What? It's the truth! I probably still have the video somewhere in the house's computers," Christin said.
Arrow just shook her head, grabbing a plate of pancakes for herself, and this weird block of what looked like diced veggies and other foods. She walked over the breakfast table and sat down in the chair next to mine. She set the pancakes in front of her, and the veggie block in front of the bird.
"Morning," she said to me, tucking some of her hair behind her ear.
"Morning," I said slowly, after taking notice the number of golden piercings that decorated all of her outer ear. How did I not notice that before?
"So, what's with the outfit?" I asked.
"Oh, well. This is traditional mutant clothing, and this will be the first time I'll be going to Nexus, as a fully-fledged adult, so, I wanted to make it special," Arrow explained.
Zappy, chirped in agreement as he gnawed on his food.
"So, that's what you people wear? Bodysuits?" I asked.
"Well, yeah, unless it's a formal event, then some of us might choose a dress," She answered.
"And the…?" I gestured towards my own ear.
"Oh, the piercings? Yeah, we like to skewer ourselves with metal. But I only did my ears because I was too scared to do to my nose, tongue or somewhere…else."
I felt my eyes widen at that thought. Time for a change of subject, "So, why are you going to Nexus?"
"You, don't know? I'm going to accompany you to your appointments as Dad will be too busy today, and to also act as translator if needed," She answered.
I nodded, feeling slightly better that I wasn't going alone.
I walked out onto the porch, finding everyone out there waiting. All of the goodbyes had been said to those who were staying, and Arrow, wasn't the only one dressed up now. We all stood there in silence for a few moments.
"So, are we going?" I asked.
"Patience, boy," Nico snapped.
"Just give it minute Bucky," Arrow said, "Our ride will be here in few moments."
I raised a brow but I didn't say anything. I remembered that Arrow had said it would take hours to get to nexus, and I only had a little over an hour before my appointment. So, I think that me being a little concerned was kind of warranted. But these guys have always had a way, even if I couldn't understand it at first.
Suddenly, the space on the far side of the porch began to ripple. The rippling became more and more violent, until a bright glowing blue flash ripped through it. The flash grew wider until I could vividly see another scene inside of the spinning sparking blue circle.
"What is that!?" I nearly screamed.
"The entry portal," Arrow said, nonchalantly.
"Portal?" And just when I thought I have seen everything.
"We use them to get to nexus, they are the only way to travel without being tracked," Arrow explained as Christin and Nico walked towards the portal.
"How?"
"Certain mutants, can generate large amounts of unknown energy, and while most of them can use this ability to form shields or beams of energy, there are some of them who can bend space and time to form worm holes. It's rare, but not impossible."
My eyes were still wide, even as Arrow pulled me towards the bend in space and time. As we walked through, I didn't feel anything. It was just like walking through a door way. If the door was a break in reality. On the other side was what looked like an indoor train station. The walls around us were made of marble bricks. We were standing on a raised platform, and head of us, it looked like train tracks cut through the floor. Though, what was on them didn't look like a train at all.
The sound of voices, speaking in chosen tongue, drew my attention. Christin was greeting a boy, who looked about my age, maybe a year younger. He had light caramel skin, and reddish light brown hair that was worn in many tight braids. His mask was pale purple as was the rest of his outfit was, and it appeared to be a similar style to what Arrow was wearing. His golden eyes, flicked over towards Arrow and he flashed a charming smile. Arrow looked away from him, shyly smiling to herself, and I could've sworn that her cheeks were blushing slightly.
After Christin was done speaking with the boy, we began walking over towards the 'not' train. With looked like an orb made of blue tinted glass, with no noticeable wheels.
"So, who was that?" I asked leaning towards Arrow.
"Oh, that was just Junia, he's one of warpers," Arrow said, her cheeks still tinted pink.
"How do you know him?" I asked, scared of what answer I would get.
"Well, he is also Clan Leader Frost Mist's son," Arrow said, "Our Clans have been on good terms since Dad was young, and he's close friends with Frost Mist. So, me and Junia grew up close."
A Clan Leader's son? Just Like Arrow, was. Parents were close? Could have Christin betrothed Arrow to that guy? No, no, Christin wouldn't do that to his daughter, but then again, I didn't know all that much about mutant culture. Maybe planned marriages were something that they used to keep peace between Clans? He sure was sweet on Arrow. The thought of them getting married, it didn't sit with me well. There was something about him, that I didn't like.
We all took seats inside of the large glass orb; it was surprisingly comfortable. All the glass, or at least I thought it was glass, began to hum and a gentle glow over took the orb. I felt like I had been lifted a little, like when an elevator slowed to a stop. But before I could figure out what had happened, we were whooshed forward, out of the darkened station, and into the bright yellow sunlight of…the most beautiful place I had ever seen.
I leaned closer to the glass, my hand resting on it as if trying to touch the world outside. The city, was large and looked like something out a science fiction book. Large golden arches stretched towards the skies and over the city, cradling it. As the orb travel along its track through the city, I got a better look at its architecture. It was a mix match of ever culture I could think of, China, America, Italy; it was as if each country had a building to represent it. But that didn't mean that they traded fashion for function, each building also had certain slight changes, that made it possible for the nearby wildlife to thrive just as much as the people living there.
Then there was the mountain. The settlement was clearly near the ocean I could see the enchanting waters, from the view of the orb. On one side there was ocean, but on the other side was the mountain. The whole thing was giant, I couldn't see beyond from where I was sitting. Its top was slightly curved, it seemed to be made of marble and metal deposits that glistened in the late morning sun light. There was something that looked like the golden skeleton of some kind of castle or palace that stuck out on the side facing the city, with a large platform that the orb's track was heading straight towards.
I couldn't stop looking around and staring at everything, when we finally got of the orb (I needed a better name for it). This place was beautiful, like a heaven on earth. Even in my wildest dreams I hadn't seen anything like this, which completely ruled out the possibly that I was sleeping. I looked up at the towering presences of the mountain, feeling it's might and strength, then I turned around, seeing the view of the city. I quickly walked over to the balcony at the edge of the platform, and just gaped in awe that such a place could exist. It was spectacular.
"You, okay?" Arrow said walking up to me.
"Uhm…Yes, and no," I said looking towards her.
Arrow raised a brow.
"Well, yes because this place is amazing, but no because it's making me think that I actually did die on that rocket and went to heaven," I explained.
"Well, you're not dead, I can tell you that," Arrow said.
"It's just," I sighed, "Two months ago I was wrapped up in the second worst war anyone had ever seen, and now…I was constantly fighting, the world was constantly fighting. Sometimes I didn't see what was after the next punch or mission. To see this place, with all this peace. Makes me realize that this was what we were fighting for. It's nice to know that once place on the planet managed to achieve that."
"Don't be so fooled by its pretty face. Sure, it's a wonderful place to call your home, but it has it's down sides."
I looked at her confused, "What do you mean?"
"Behind all the glitter and gold, there is a deep sorrow that has touched everyone who has lived here. You might understand that one day," She turned around and began to walk, "Come on, we don't want to be late for your appointment."
As much as I wanted to asked about it further, it was clear that Arrow wasn't going to talk about it anymore. So, I just nodded and began to follow her.
I was quite glad that we were walking to the hospital, rather then taking another orb. The streets, were alive with shops, that ranged from small out door stands to large stores, people talking and laughing, and children playing outside. Everyone dressed similarly to how Arrow was, tight clothes, and all of the adults wore masks. I stuck out like a sore thumb in t-shirt and sweatpants, but I didn't feel like I was. Every time I made eye contact with someone, they didn't stare at me like I was some stranger, they only smiled like I was one of their own. Everything was so happy and vibrant, it made it hard to understand what was the deep sorrow that supposedly touched everyone here.
Once arriving at the hospital, Arrow sat me in the waiting room, while she went to check me in. The nauseating anxiety I felt this morning was now coming back with a vengeance. I remembered that Dr. McClain said that there was a good chance that I could get a working prosthetic as she had done all she could to preserve my nerves, but there was this small stab of fear in the back of my mind, that it wasn't enough. That there wouldn't be a way for them to merge my nerves.
The prosthetic wasn't my only worry. This was also supposed to be a well visit, to make sure that I didn't carry any kind of viruses into Nexus and get my body up to date with all the advances in medicine. What if the found something wrong with me? What if I really was sick? I certainly felt like I was at the moment.
Needing a distraction, I looked around the waiting room, it was mostly empty which I guess was a good thing. No one was hurt and waiting for help. The closest other people near me, was a young couple and their daughter, who looked about six. The young couple didn't look like the others outside though, they…kind of looked like me. Civilian outsider clothes, and no masks. These guys were not mutants, though it was pretty clear that their daughter was.
The little girl was really cute, beautiful auburn hair, button nose, and a face full of freckles. It was her eyes that gave away her nature. They were a bright blue, but like a cat's eye, with a slit pupil rather than a dot. They were beautiful, bizarre but beautiful.
The mother looked up at me, "Excuse me? Do you speak English?" she asked.
I pointed to myself.
She nodded.
"Yes, I do ma'am," I answered.
"Have you been here before?" She asked.
"Uhm…no this is my first time in the city."
"Oh, then sorry for bothering you. It's just that, while everyone has been so welcoming, we haven't really fit into the culture all that much, you know?"
"Yeah, I know."
"So, what are you here for?"
"Honey!" Her husband suddenly spoke up, "We're not supposed to ask about that. Remember?" He wasn't trying to be rude, his voice seemed to hold mostly fear, and anxiety.
"No, no it's alright," I said.
"Still, I'm sorry. These new rules are kind of hard to get used to. I guess that I was just looking for a distraction, were meeting a new doctor today, and we're a bit nervus," the mother explained.
"We're in the same boat then. What doctor?" I asked.
"Dr. Amelia McClain, do you know her?"
"Yeah, actually, she…uhh…treated me after…well…" I nodded towards my stump, "Saved my life."
The mother nodded.
Arrow walked back in to the waiting room. She gently touched my shoulder, "They're ready," she said.
I took a deep breath and nodded, getting up to follow her. I did wave goodbye to the family, flashing them what I hope looked like a reassuring smile.
The room I was lead too was split in half by a heavy curtain, my side only had a bed, a few chairs and some equipment I didn't recognize, and it was a good guess to say that it was the same on the other side. I sat on the bed and nervously tapped my foot on the floor.
Arrow looked over at me from one of the chairs, and smiled, "You don't need to worry, Cari's gentle."
Someone whom I'm guessing was a nurse walking in not long after we arrived. She took my vitals, and a bit of blood from my arm. She asked me a few questions which I answered to best of my ability and then left. At least that part of the appointment was done.
After what felt like hours, the door finally opened again, letting in a young woman who was the spinning image of Dr. McClain. Of course, she was younger and her hair was shorter, but the resemblance was uncanny.
"Hello," she said, her voice astonishingly lacking her mother's southern accent.
"Good to see you, Cari. Has my brother drove you up the wall yet?" Arrow greeted.
"Nice to see you as well, Row, and you brother is insufferable," Cari said.
"Really, because some times I think you too just need to get a room," Arrow teased.
Cari shook her head before turning towards me, offering a hand to me "Hello, my name is Dr. Cari McClain, it's James Barnes, is it not?"
I shook her hand and nodded, "Yeah, but you can just call me Bucky."
"Okay, Bucky. Let me ask questions, just to confirm what your file says. Alright?"
I nodded.
"You were recently in an explosives accident that caused a complete amputation of you left arm, correct?"
"Yes."
"And said lost limb was never recovered."
"No."
"Okay. Have you been experiencing any phantom pains? Twinges or aches?"
"Yeah, both twinges and aches."
"Alright good sign, means active nerves. Do you mind if inspect the amputation sight personally?" She asked, while putting on rubber gloves.
"I don't mind," I said.
"Then I'm going to need you take off your shirt, and lay down"
I nodded slowly, pulling the T-shirt over my head, and laying myself flat on the bed. I didn't like having my shirt off, not only was my stump viable, but all the other scars were as well. The explosion didn't just take my arm, it also gave me more cut and burns than I could count. All of them had turned to scars, by now. The raw red ghosts of past wounds crisscrossed on my flesh. They weren't pretty. Thankfully, Cari didn't seem to mind.
For a few minutes the mini–Dr. McClain, poked and prodded at my stump. She would ask me things like, "Can you feel this?" and "Does this hurt?", to which I would only nod or shake my head. Finally, she pulled away and hummed. Her expression clearly one of deep contemplation.
The door, opened again and in walked another girl, about the same age as Jenette. Pale coco colored skin, with frizzy golden auburn hair, and sparkling bright green eyes.
"Hey, y'all," the new girl greeted.
"Hey, Mara Jean," Arrow greeted her.
So, this was Dr. McClain's other daughter.
"Good, to see your still alive, Row!" She turned to her sister, "Hey, sis! So, what am I building or this guy?"
"Well, I'm a bit on the fence with him," Cari answered.
"On the fence about what?" I blurted out.
"Well, let me explain. When we have arm amputations, depending on where the amputation happened changes what kind of prosthetic we attach, due to this we have three different types of prostheses to choose from, but…" Cari explained.
"You're right, in the middle of two models," Mara Jean cut her sister off.
"Okay, so does that mean I'm eligible for two out of three types?" I asked.
"Well, technically, yes. But it's not that simple. Listen this isn't going a perfect replacement for you arm. It's not going to feel the same, and it's not going be the same on your body. It's going to be made of foreign material, that's going to weigh different. It might also put strain on you body if we're not careful. Our goal here is going to get you the model that's going to put the least amount of strain on you body, okay?" Cari said.
I nodded.
"Well, they're two models that could work here. One would attach right on you stump and give you and elbow and working hand. However, I don't think this is our best option."
"Why not?" I asked.
"Well, your stump is about three inches too short for my liking too use this model. Now we could make up for the lost space by making the part above the elbow joint of the prosthetic longer, but that would also add more weight to the arm and that would pull on you shoulder. Possibly injuring the muscles up there," Cari explained.
"So, what do you recommend?" Arrow asked.
Cari took a deep breath, "In all honesty I think it would be best if we just removed the shoulder completely and reconstruct it."
Mara Jean nodded in agreement.
"Are you saying you want to cut more off!" I shouted.
"Well, that's one way of saying it," Mara Jean said.
My breathing began to pick up. Cutting more off? Wasn't this visit about getting back what I had already lost?! I started to sit up, I needed to get out of here. But Arrow quickly got up and stopped me.
"Bucky, listen," She spoke in calm, reassuring voice, "I know this is a tough pill to swallow, but I need you to trust Cari. She only wants the best thing for your body in the long run."
I took a shaky breath and nodded. I didn't like it, but I knew I could trust Arrow.
"I need your decision," Cari asked, quietly.
I paused, "I'll go with you recommend," I swallowed, my throat feeling tight.
Cari nodded, "I'll get your surgery scheduled," she left the room, probably to see other patients.
"Alright now the fun part," Mara Jean exclaimed sitting down next to me, "tell me what you want in you new Arm. Don't worry about what ever it is, I can build anything."
Her enthusiasm was a quality I could usually admire, but I felt so overwhelmed that it was hard to keep up with her.
"Uhm…hand like if that's possible," I finally said.
"Okay, realistic," Mara Jean wrote in a small note book, that I didn't know she had until this moment, "Metal, light yet strong?"
I nodded.
"Detachable?"
"Why would I want it to come off?"
"To make it easier for maintenance and cleaning. Or if something happens and you need a new one. Or if you want an upgrade."
"Yeah, I think detachable.
"Okay you just made this a whole lot easier. Anything else?"
"No, I just want a hand."
"Plan on going to the outside with it?"
"Uhm…yes?" I didn't really know what that meant.
"Alright, so I'll just add in a few basic touch sensors, and a small holoprojector, but keep it simple. I'll just need a few measurements from your remaining arm and you are free to go."
I nodded. What did I just agree to?
A/N:
Well, this is finally done! Yay!
I hope everyone enjoyed the many references I put in this chapter! And I would pay attention to some of them.
Yes, I put in Eddie Brock because, 2018 Venom movie was awesome. But don't pay too much attention to that as it was just and easter egg.
Arrow, does link to ridiculous sounding music, her favorites being, Smash mouth, Ylvis, and Weird Al.
Read review! See you next time!
