There's A Spark

Part 23: Stay away

"So, you still sure you want to keep going to that school?" Tony asked at breakfast like he had been doing these past few days ever since she had been going back. "Yes, and my mind won't change in the upcoming days either. Dad, I am fine. It was just an accident, I should have been more careful and I will be in the future I promise." She tried to calm him with a light hand on his hand. Though that didn't exactly calm his mind the way she hoped it would. His mind wandered back to her blood work that he and Bruce were looking into.

"I don't know what it is, but it's non-organic. It's very similar to cells in her own body, like it's blending in almost perfectly. The only difference is that they emit the slightest amount of radioactive rays. I just can't figure it out. Every time I get close, it seems like something is off, like it just changed." Bruce stated, his eyebrows scrunched behind the rim of his glasses.

"Could it be aftermath from her suit or something? Like with my arc-reactor." Tony sighed, on one end hoping it was as simple as that but also not wanting to have her go through something like that. He would by no means let her wear that suit again.

"No, definitely not." Bruce replied pretty quickly. "It's as if they are separate organisms. Like a virus, a non-organic virus."
Where would she get a non-organic virus. The materials they sent? The hospital? Or maybe at school.

"Earth to dad, hello" she waved her hand in front of his lifeless eyes and he snapped back to reality. "What did you get so lost in thought about?" she wondered.
"Nothing you have to worry about kiddo." he smiled, laying a hand gently on her head.
"Meaning something I should definitely worry about but you don't want me to so you are going to figure it out on your own." she said in a deadpan manner. He merely shrugged. "I've got Bruce."

Bruce, who had been sitting on the couch not too far, whipped his head around with a questioning hum. Tony dismissed him and Y/N, acknowledging him with a smile, stood from her seat. "Anyway I am off to school." she smiled, giving Tony's shoulder a light squeeze and picking up her bag.

"I can bring you if you want." Bruce smiled, walking up to them.
"Look at you getting out of the house." She teased, being used to him staying indoors all the time.
"Yeah well, I have to pick some stuff up anyway." he urged her to the door and she left with him to school with a wave to her dad.

"What kind of stuff?" she asked suspiciously as soon as they were in the car.
"You know, stuff, just some new clothes, you know." he shrugged but making her all the more suspicious. "Bruce, don't get me wrong, but you've been wearing the same 3 shirts over and over ever since I've known you." her voice sounded unamused but her face was eager to find out.
"Well, I guess a good time for a change then" but there was no reasoning with her.
"You have a date!" it finally dawned on her.
"It's not a date. Okay? We're just having a drink." he wanted to make that very clear. To her or to himself, he didn't know.
"Uhu, sure. You know someone once told me when the word 'just' comes before something, there is usually more going on." she teased the grown man sitting next to her as if he were just another teen.
They stayed quiet for a moment. "Does Nat know?" she wondered suddenly, but received no answer, telling her all she needed to know.
"Alriiight." She nodded in excitement looking at his embarrassed demeanor.
"I didn't even say anything" he defended, already parking the car a bit away from the school.
"You didn't have to. See you tonight!" she called, hopping out of the car with a swing of her bag, quickly making her way across the street to her school.

That day at lunch, the fire was once again the unavoidable topic.
"They found that it might have been foul play. They don't want to say it on the news but I heard the teachers talking this morning." MJ said. It hadn't been on the news much. Just on the day itself. But the teachers had been so outraged by the possibility that one of the students might have started it, that soon the entire school would know. Starting with MJ and some others. Y/N let out an obvious sigh. Thinking back to that day made her head throb. She laid down her cutlery on the half-empty food tray and stood from her seat.