Tidal Wave [Peter Parker]

Part 7- The News

Tony collapsed where he stood. Bruce ran to catch him but that was pointless. He smacked his elbow on the metal floor and screamed in pain. Several people came running into the lab including Pepper, Natashsa, Thor and Clint. They helped him up and sat him down in an office chair. Thor was the one who finally asked, "Stark, what happened?"

Tony shook his head and cradled his elbow, "Sage, it's worse than we thought." He tried to stand up, "I need to go find her."

"No," Pepper said. "You need to get your arm looked at. Nat, will you go find Sage?"

She nodded and turned around to leave. Pepper helped Tony down to the infirmary, leaving Thor, Bruce and Clint standing in a circle. Clint quickly left to find anywhere else he could be. Bruce sighed, "How are things with, you know,"

Thor knew what he was talking about. His brother Loki was living in the tower with them and had yet to gain everyone's trust. Beyond that they were facing an Asgardian threat that only Bruce knew about so far. "Loki will be fine, for now he's not sure the Avengers want him around so he'll keep to himself until shown otherwise."

"If we didn't want him around we wouldn't have invited him to live here." Bruce said.

"He doesn't see it that way. He views it as a way to keep track of him." Thor said. "As for the other matter, he has been quiet. There have been no messages or signals from Njǫror. If he does attack, Loki and I are no match for him. He is the ancient god of wind and sea, what chance do thunder and lightning stand against that?"

Bruce turned around and reopened Sage's holographic biometric scan. "Maybe you just need a bit of help."

***

Natasha knocked on Sage's door and was greeted by Peter. "I was looking for Sage, do you know- wait, Parker why are you in her room?"

Peter blushed.

Sage appeared behind him, she had gone to her closet to change. She replaced him in the doorway. "You must be Black Widow." Sage tried not to stare but Black Widow was really pretty, even in sweatpants and a tank top.

"That's what some people call me, you can call me Nat." She smiled. "Your parents asked me to find you."

"Where are they?"

"Well Tony fell so they went to the infirmary to make sure he's okay. I can take you there if you want."

She agreed and told Peter that she would be back soon. She said that he could wait in her room if he wanted.

The elevator ride felt like it took forever. Eventually, Nat broke the silence and said, "So your dad said you had powers. What can you do?"

She shrugged, "I think I can manipulate water."

Nat laughed, "Oh, is that all?"

Her relaxed demeanor made Sage calm down. "I'm not really sure to be honest."

The elevator doors opened into a large room reminiscent of a hospital. Nat leaved over to Sage and whispered, "I'm going to the training room if you need me."

Sage nodded and stepped out of the elevator to find her dad. She liked Natasha, she was nice and it seemed like Nat wasn't afraid of her. It felt like the other Avengers were. She found her dad sitting in a bed near the window by himself. A guilty look filled his eyes when he saw her. He waved her over and she sat beside him on the bed. "What happened?"

His arm was in a sling, "I hit my elbow." That was all he said on the subject. "Sage, we need to talk. Bruce found something, the tests results," he got quiet.

"What?" She pressed.

"How much of the accident do you remember?"

She shrugged, "I remember swimming when a really loud alarm went off. I didn't have time to get out of the pool when I heard this huge, I don't even know, it was an explosion but it also sounded like electricity and like crashing metal and this awful screeching sound." She was amazed at how steady she was keeping herself, which was good because King was with Peter. "Then the room collapsed and everything turned blue and white. The water felt like it was boiling-" her breath hitched, Tony's IV started to boil.

"Sage?" he said as he put an arm around her.

She regained control after a few seconds and the IV stopped moving. "Why? After that Jarvis saved me."

He hugged her but she quickly pushed her way out of his arms and stood up. "I asked you a question." She said, "Why do you need to know what I remember?"

Tony shook his head, "The lab was what fell into the pool that day. It filled the water with Palladium among other things. When it was combined with the radiation from the bomb-"
Sage was already putting the pieces together, "Human Arc Reactor." Her eyes were wide and her knees felt weak. "But that means that the more I use my powers, the faster I'll die."

Tony stood up, "We don't know that-"

"Yes!" Sage screamed, "We do!"

A stream of water rose from behind her and knocked Tony backwards, he tumbled off the bed. The floor was covered with a thin layer of water and Tony was soaking wet. He stood up and wasn't mad but Sage was terrified. She turned around and ran to the elevator. Tony tried to chase her but it was pointless. The elevator doors shut in his face.