Flawed Minds

Chapter Twenty

Nova's P.O.V.

Memories swirled and distorted in my mind as I slowly regained consciousness, my head still pounding while the rest of my body was feeling sore and burnt, which was interesting since I was fireproof; I'd been through enough pain in the past with Hydra to know that for sure. I didn't open my eyes straight away even though I wanted to see what damage I had sustained; I felt dizzy, the voices and sounds that I thought I could hear were muffled and echoed, and the overwhelming nausea I felt on top of everything made me wish I hadn't woken up yet. My mind became quiet suddenly, allowing me to hear the low hum of a nearby machine in the otherwise quiet room. I opened one eye, then the other, realizing quickly that I was back in a medical room again, and groaned as I tried to sit up. I reached up to my neck absentmindedly only to notice that my necklace was gone and I panicked for a moment before being distracted completely.

"Sparks!" Tony almost flattened me as he wrapped his arms around me; even though I could tell he was trying to be gentle it hurt quite a bit and I winced slightly. "I'm glad you're awake. It was getting pretty boring without you- although you just missed Clint falling out of a vent. Again. Are you alright?"

"I think so," I chuckled, shifting myself to a more comfortable position. "I'm sure that's not the last time you'll loosen the bolts in the vents, Stark, I'll have another chance to laugh at him." He grinned at my response and winked.

"You know me too well. Oh- I took this for safe keeping," He remembered, pulling my necklace out of his pocket and I gave a sigh of relief as he clipped it round my neck, feeling the familiar weight of it once again give me comfort. "It's a good thing that's Asgardian, that could have been destroyed after what happened- you're lucky the bracelet survived at all, it was a little damaged but I had it repaired so it's good as new. Anyway, how do you feel?"

"Thank you Tony," I responded gratefully as he clipped the good-as-new bracelet around my wrist. "Actually, I have the worst headache- I swear, I am never drinking again," My response caused him to laugh loudly as he rocked back in his chair, which caught Bruce's attention and he entered the room quickly, smiling when he saw me awake.

"Nice to have you back with us," I returned his smile as he examined whatever was on his monitors and checked my vitals. "How are you feeling? Any symptoms?"

"Well my head is killing me, and my skin feels burnt even though I can see it's not," I responded, raising one of my arms and examining it- My skin was unbroken, not even scarred, and yet it felt as though it was burning and my muscles ached; I didn't bother lifting the other one to check.

"That's understandable- you did withstand the force of a large explosive after all." Bruce walked around the bed to a clipboard where he jotted down a few notes. "Barnes barely left this room the whole three days you were out." I thought back to the explosion, wincing as I remembered the pain of my body absorbing it. Then I fully comprehended Bruce's words, looking up at him in shock.

"Wait- THREE days? Bucky?" I exclaimed, confused. "Is he ok? He didn't get hurt did he? I tried to make sure he was far enough away but-" Tony smirked and stood up, reaching for the door handle.

"You can ask him yourself actually, he's right outside." He then opened it, revealing Bucky standing there awkwardly, looking a little surprised. "Okay Sparks, I've got a few things to do in the lab but I'll come see you later. I'm really glad you're ok." Tony reached over to give my hand a squeeze, shooting me a smile before leaving, shuffling past Bucky as he slowly entered the room.

"Well, in that case, I'm going to let the others know you're okay," Bruce explained, adjusting equipment and gathering his paperwork. "Even though Tony said he would himself." I laughed as he waved and left, shutting the door behind him and leaving Bucky standing in the room with me. I quickly looked him over, relieved when I saw that there were no new injuries, before breaking the silence.