Untamed

Chapter Twenty-Eight

I'm now back at the compound, back home. Everyone was so worried about me, but so happy that I was okay. After I told them what happened, they told me they were proud of me. It felt good to hear them say that.

Bruce concluded that even without using the purifying serum, my powers are becoming more pure, hence the white magic I used to heal myself. He fixed up all of my injuries and now all I have to do is let my body heal itself naturally. I've been trying so hard to use my powers again, but so far it hasn't worked.

I haven't seen Peter in a few days, but I have been talking to him over FaceTime every night. We're both pretty traumatized after what happened and it's nice to know that he understands. He told me that Liz and her mom are moving to Oregon because her dad didn't want them here for his trial. He also told me that MJ is the new leader of the academic decathlon team.

I've been doing everything I normally do to try to make things feel normal. This includes school, training, working out, running, cleaning, and reading. I feel better, but there are still nights when wake up screaming. It's nothing I'm not used to, though. Hydra made sure of that.

A week later, I'm drawing while watching TV, when F.R.I.D.A.Y tells me to meet my dad in his office. I walk in to see him on the phone with someone, and I can faintly hear Happy's voice. He smiles when he sees me and walks towards me, hanging up the phone.

"Was that the forehead of security?" I ask.

"Yes, it was," he says, hugging me.

"You're in a good mood." I smile.

"We have some important business to discuss."

"What kind of important business?"

"You'll see."

I follow him out of his office and down the hall, to the top of a stairwell. We walk down the stairs and I see Peter and Happy in the open area outside of the press room, watching a jet fly away from the compound.

"Oh, there they are. How was the ride up?"

They both turn around when they hear my dad's voice. Peter and I look at each other, confused looks on both of our faces.

"Good," Dad answers his own question, before looking at Happy. "Give me a minute with the kid."

"Seriously?" Happy asks.

"Yeah. I gotta talk to the kid."

"I'll be close behind."

"How about a loose follow? Alright? Boundaries are good."

Tony pulls Peter and I into a side hug. Both of us are on each side of him as he leads us away.

"Sorry I took your suits. You guys had it coming. Actually, it turns out it was the perfect tough love moment that you needed. To urge you on, right?" With no response, he asks again. "Wouldn't you think? Don't you think?"

"I guess," we both say.

"Let's just say it was," Tony says.

"Mr. Stark, I really-" Peter starts, but he's interrupted.

"You screwed the pooch hard, big time. But then you did the right thing. Took the dog to the free clinic. Raised the Hybrid puppies... All right, not my best analogy. I was wrong about you two. I think with a little more mentoring... both of you could be real assets to the team."