Stay with me Kid
(Stephen POV)
Tony had put the livestream of Peter being tortured up on the comn links as we rushed to the location he had given us. My breathing was rapid as I heard his raspy voice address New York. Even in his last moments, he was thinking of others, rather than of himself.
I still had tears in my eyes from when he finally told that witch what a hero truly was. That was not something I had expected to come from the mouth of a 16-year-old to say the least. Tony had openly been crying as he assembled his armour and Steve's orders as to what to do had been riddled with sniffles. He claimed to have a cold. Supersoldiers didn't get colds.
Put something stupid on my gravestone: I want future generations to have a laugh.
I heard Peter say. I was shocked into realisation: we knew he could likely die. But he did as well. He was saying his final goodbye's. He wasn't expecting to live.
'Steve?' I heard Tony's raspy voice over the comn link.
'He'll live, Tones.' Steve reassured him, 'He has to. He just has to.'
I bit back tears as I entered the sewage system, casting spells to look for heat signatures. I found one. One heat signature. A heat signature that wasn't moving.
'I found him.' I said in a chocking voice through the intercom, blasting at the wall, behind which I could see the heat signature.
I entered.
I looked.
The camera was still rolling.
I paid it no head.
He was lying there.
He didn't even move at the sound of the explosion.
He was tied to a chair, which sat in a puddle of his own blood. With a cry I rushed forward, deftly cutting through his bonds. He sagged forward in the chair and I laid him on the ground. His eyes fluttered open slightly: 'Stay with me kid.' I ordered him soflty. He didn't hear me. Didn't see me. He just stared up. Then he closed is eyes. Mine overflowed with tears as I slapped him gently on the cheeks: 'Just stay with us kid, please.' I begged him, fully knowing he couldn't hear me. Fully knowing he wasn't waking up any time soon - If ever.
Tears cascaded down my face. I was hardly aware of Tony entering. Bruce stepping in. Pressure was applied to his wounds. Medical jargon I should understand was thrown about, but I was too much in shock to understand them. Tony looked just as awful as I felt. I hugged him wordlessly, putting aside our differences. I could at least do that: at least I could make Peter happy by being kind to Stark. He hugged me back. We both knew we needed that hug just as much as the other did.
(Tony POV)
They carried him out. His limp body in Steve's arms. Ant-man growing and shrinking in size as he punched down any walls in their way. Nat shouting orders to Shield Agents. Nick was shouting at some of his people. Hill was giving orders. Clint was applying pressure to Peter's wounds as all the while he and Steve walked out of there. T'Challa was congratulating his troops: they had done well, taking down those dozens of Hydra agents. Shuri was staring after the broken hero: this was probably not how she had expected to meet him. Okoye was standing stock still, a tear rolled down her cheeks. Thor was angrily punching a wall, it was shattering to dust.
I just sat there, Stephen next to me. I just sat there in the puddle of blood. Peter's blood. I should have done more. I could have done more. Let's just hope that the money I poured into searching for him, would also help with the medical procedures. I'd sell everything I had, just to see him open his eyes again.
Please ,I begged, Just give me my boy back.
(Peter POV, yay, I'm done torturing you guys!)
Pain. That's all I felt as I regained consciousness. Beeping noise. People talking. A little girl crying: why was she crying?
I furrowed my brows, the voice stopped. Someone asked something: I didn't know what. I groaned softly. I felt horrible. I just wanted to sleep. I relaxed my limbs. The surrounding voices grew more stressed as I did. Someone jostled me. I frowned slightly: could they, like stop?
Someone was shouting in my face now, but I had no idea what they were saying. My eyes I kept shut. I relaxed even more: I just had to slip back into sleep, then the jostling and yelling would probably stopped. I let fatigue wash over me. I was shaken more, but I ignored who was doing it. I slept.
----
I awoke again. There was no pain now. That was weird. Did I finally die? I knew I was going to soon: no one could survive those wounds. I heard my own shallow breathing. Why was it so shallow? Did people no longer breathe properly in heaven? Or maybe this was hell: a possibility with my - I had been told this on occasion - obnoxious personality. There was no reason why people in hell would be allowed to breathe nicely, now was there?
Beside me I heard something shift, a voice spoke up: 'Hey Clint, come to take watch?' I knew that voice. It was a comforting voice then. Heaven then I guessed.
'Yeah, he showed any more signs of waking up?'
'No, still in his deep coma.' A pause, 'He's been in if for two weeks, Clint. Will he ever wake up?'
'I sure hope so: we can't be the only two who will be able to pronounce our baby's name.'
'Mhhh.' The voice turned to me, 'Peter, I know I've asked this like a million times, but can you hear me?' she asked, she paused, then sighed: 'Never stop hoping do we? I mean: that he'll answer.'
'Wasn't he the one that once told a little hopeless orphan girl, that hope was her greatest weapon?' Clint mused. I remembered that day: she had been crying. I cheered her up. They had heard that.
Clint. That was his name. Wait, the other was Nat. This wasn't real: I wasn't with them. They were in the tower. I was in the white tiled room. Was I hallucinating? Clint moved closer to the bed, he grabbed my hand: 'If you can hear me buddy: answer please. We promise we will unground you when Tony decides to ground you.' he added.
My mouth felt like lead. I swallowed. Two gasps filled the room.
'Peter, can you hear me?' Nat's voice asked. I furrowed my eyebrows, eliciting two more gasps: 'Get Bruce.' I heard her order Clint, but he was already out of the room and getting Bruce.
I tried to turn my head to her, but couldn't. I breathed out a breath, my head lolled to the side. Sleepy. I was sleepy. I decided to go to sleep again. Someone was protesting. Someone was asking me things. I didn't care. I just wanted to sleep. They weren't real anyway, so why would I listen to them?!
Once again I let the darkness grip me.
---
'You think he'll wake up again?' I heard a voice ask someone else as I groggily woke up, keeping my eyes. The voices were sharper now, and I could hear them better than before. There was no pain left in my body. I felt numb, but that was all. It was nice not to feel pain.
I sighed mentally: I was going crazy. I couldn't feel stuff anymore and was hearing voices inside of my head. What was next? Would I start speaking in tongues?!
'I don't know: every time he woke up, he seemed detached. He's given up hope, Steve. He doesn't believe he'll make it. And for someone who has given up, stuff that they hear will be shoved off as hallucinations.' Another person answered.
Mentally I frowned: huh, was that my mind speaking or someone else? Wait: why did I even expect to be hallucinating? What if I was just sane and there were voices in the room that belonged to actual people?
Thing was: I had already imagined in my captivity that Tony came to save me three times. Only to be laughed at by my jailers as I was talking to no one. So it was my imagination: after all, I'd been imagining stuff in between the 8th and 12th hour. Heck, I even imagined at some point that I had enough food to eat on the daily: and that was even further from the truth than any other things I imagined.
Someone walked forward, and a small female voice piped up: 'If I may?' she asked softly, probably gesturing, 'I can try to find his mind to talk to him.' What does that mean? That sounds weird.
Affirmatives were heard around the room and someone touched my temples. Yep: I was not in for that. So I moved away. Only I couldn't. Why couldn't I move away? That was weird. I should be able to move.
Hey Peter, A voice said, making me want to jump up and away, but I couldn't. Ah, see, knew you were in there. The voice said happily.
Well yeah duh, of course I was in me.
Not what I meant, but okay. she replied with a giggle.
Great, she could read my thoughts. Hallucinations that could read thoughts
Yep, I can, how dope is that?! Also, not a hallucination.
Pretty dope, but wasn't about to admit it.
Dude, I can hear your thoughts admitting that its dope. Question: can you move?
Well if I could move I would already have done so wouldn't I? Also, yeah, you are a hallucination dude, I've had enough by now to know.
Mhhh, yeah, I guess: I'm no doctor and neither do I have a clue.
Well, doctors freak me out now anyway, never going to one again.
How come?
SetUpSam looks like one.
Okay, we have been seriously wondering about that nickname, why'd you name her that?
To make The Avengers laugh at the tape and to annoy Sam. Because I would have set those two up together had she not been a criminal. She was totally his type. Also to annoy her, also why am I talking to you? You don't exist!
Huh. I guess. Let me add someone to this so you can talk with him. He's a doctor, so he knows stuff. And I do exist.
Okay, but you don't.
Hey, it's Stephen. Remember me, you saved my life back there.
Oh yeah, I remember. How are the injuries?
Dude, you're the one in the coma. Don't ask about old sour puss over here.
What?
Okay, Wanda, rule number one when telepathically talking to a patient in a coma: don't tell them they're in a coma!
I was kinda already figuring it out. Wait, somebody can hallucinate in a coma?
Not true, and no they can't because you're not.
Yeah, it is, his mind was trying to figure out why he couldn't move.
Okay, hey Peter?
Yeah?
I can help you move, but you have to do exactly as I say.
Okay.
Tell me how many times you hallucinated while you were in there.
While I was? Wait, I'm still there right? I have been talking to a hallucination this whole time: like dude, you're one of them. Dunno why I talk to you but I guess I get lonely. I talked to Tony as well.
How many times Peter?
This is the fourth.
No, the last one was the third, this is real, we're real.
Sure. That's what Tony said as well.
What's it with you and Tony?
What do you mean?
You act like he's your dad.
Yeah, well he's not, I just like the guy.
Okay, Peter, let me run through what happened: we found you okay, after the 12 hour tape. I held you in my arms. I called your name. Do you remember that? Your eyes were open.
Well, someone was yelling right after that tape and talking and crying, but I think that was me. Was I crying?
No, you were just staring. And hey, later on, you woke up from unconsciousness remember. There was a little girl crying.
Yeah, yeah, she was: Is she okay, why was she crying?
She was crying about you.
She wants you back, she deems you like her big brother.
I made her cry?
Well... yeah
Dude!
I know what I'm doing, let me Wanda. Okay Peter, listen, you want her to stop crying right?
Yeah of course I do! Can you go comfort her.
No. I'm not you, she wants you. You need to wake up. Just believe me. Believe in me and Wanda okay? We're real. We're very real.
That's what Tony said.
Right, but let's look at it how you love looking at things: logically. If I'm just a hallucinations, what is there to loose by believing me? You have only something to gain because I am real.
He had a point. A very good point.
Yeah, he's like a master of philosphy.
Please be quiet. Let the poor guy think!
Wait,,.... they were argueing. Hallucinations never argued, they just agreed on stuff, or didn't speak. The Avengers argued, that's what they did,... but hallucinations never did.
Seriously, that's what convinces you.
He has a point.
Wanda, for crying out loud, I swear that I will...
This is real. They're argueing again, this is real.
Yeah, just focus on it being real, listen, can you hear people talking?
I focused my ears and picked up on something: '... They have been in his mind for 2 hours now, what the heck is going on?'
2 hours?
Yep, Starting to get bored here buddy, time goes diffently in the mind than outside the mind, it's weird, you get used to it
Huh.
Listen some more: listen, you won't hear anything that doesn't fit.
I listened: 'You need to shut up so they can concentrate.' voice 1 said, female.
'I was whispering!' voice 2, male.
'Don't care, you're still making noise.' voice 1, female again, she sounded like Nat.
That's because it is Nat, the real Nat.
'So are you.' voice 2, wait, was that Clint?
'Guys, let's be civil here okay, maybe you should both stop argueing or step into the hallway away from my patient. Don't upset him.' voice 3... Bruce?
'Can you technically upset someone in a coma?' voice 4, such a silly weird funny voice that made you want to huge them... wait, Scott?
'Oh my goodness Scott, seriously?' Several voices. The Avengers. Argueing. Real. That was real. Not fake.
Good, now focus on your eyes, try to open them.
I tried, really did. But it was so hard. I couldn't. They were like lead. Cement? Boulder would fit better.
You can do it Peter, the little girl needs you.
The little girl... Morgan. That was Morgan. Morgan had been crying. My eyes. I needed to open them. I needed to see Morgan and know she was okay.
(3rd Person POV)
Peter slowly blinked his eyes open as Strange and Wanda collapsed, exhausted to the floor. The room was silent, then one voice boomed out:
'Well about damn time Peter!' Tony cried out.
'Daddy's mean!' Morgan shouted and climbed onto Peter's bed, who was about to sit up.
'H-h-hey.' he rasped, stroking her hair out of her face. Morgan smiled and curled up against his chest. Peter smiled down at her, stroking her hair. Soon, Tony was hugging the boy as well, Pepper by his side. The other avengers joined as well, and soon everyone was on the bed, smiling, chatting, and argueing.
They were argueing. This was real. Real. Peter, was home.