Rift (Spider-Man fanfic)

Chapter 19: Home

Diana's POV

    The room completely dark again, I can't see anything. It's so black I consider that my eyes could be closed. I turn around and see Pepper sitting on the ground, sobbing. The room materializes, and I can tell we're in Stark Tower again. Tony is on the phone, and he looks stressed. He looks at Pepper and drops the phone, running over to her. 

    "Pepper!" He holds her in his arms, and she cries. He sees that she's not pregnant anymore. "What happened?"

    I speak up. "She gave birth in the hospital, then she just disappeared." 

    He doesn't even glance in my direction. Looks like he can't hear me again. "Pep?"

    She takes a breath. "I held her in my arms. I don't know what happened. Why is this happening?"

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    I open my eyes but close them again almost immediately because of the blinding light above me. The dream I had continued the story of the one I had a while ago, that's never happened before. 

    My head pounds, and my shoulder aches. My whole body hurts, and I try to figure out where I am. I force my eyes open despite the light and take a second to adjust. It looks like a hospital room, with the white walls and sheets. The only color on the room is the vase of flowers. I have this quiet voice in the back of my head hoping that they're from Peter.

    A doctor sees that I'm awake, and he quickly becomes frantic. He starts shouting things and talking on the intercom, but I tune it out. It hurts to much to think. I close my eyes, but he grabs my uninjured shoulder and tells me to stay awake. Groaning, I keep my eyes open. Within a minute, Tony and Pepper come running into the room. Both of them are talking to me and each other, but I can't focus on what they're saying. The doctor and Pepper both leave, but Tony stays. He sits in the chair next to me and starts talking. I didn't pay much attention to what he was saying, I was just glad he was here. After a few minutes, I started getting tired. I yawn, and Tony stops talking. He leans over me so I can get a good look at his face. He seems tired, like he hasn't slept in ages. He gives me a small, weak smile. He pets my hair, and his lips move saying "Sleep."

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    I wake up again, but this time the lights are off. I can still see clearly though, as the sun pours in through the windows despite the curtains being closed. I feel much more refreshed than I did the first time I woke up, and I can focus on sounds again. However, I still hurt just as much as before. I sit up and see that no one is in the room, but there is a tray of food next to my bed. I'm not sure the last time I ate, but I can't even think of eating right now. There's too much going on in my head. I lay back down and cuddle up with the blanket the best I can with the tubes in the way and my arm in a sling. I think about everything that happened yesterday- at least I think it was yesterday. Seeing what it's like to be a hero was the best feeling I've ever gotten. But I never want to experience it again. I got such an adrenaline rush, and I felt really awesome breaking the glass and shooting the engine. But I don't remember much after that. I remember getting out of the plane first, but that also meant it was still moving pretty fast when I dropped to the ground. 

    The door to my room cracks open, and I see Tony peaking his head inside. "Hey, sleepyhead. Glad to see you're up." He enters the room and opens the curtains so more light comes in. "How do you feel? What do you remember?"

    I can already tell I'm going to be asked how I'm feeling a lot within the next week. "I remember the plane crash and jumping out, but nothing after that. And I feel like crap, my whole body aches." 

    He laughs a little, and points to a button. "Here. When it's green and you're in pain, press this button." It's green right now, so I press it. The relief I feel is almost instant. "And I'm glad you remember that much. You have a concussion, so we thought it might be a bit fuzzy. You also have a fraction in your shoulder. Other than that, it's just a couple minor things that should be gone within the next few days."

    "Thanks." I look up to the counter at the flowers. "Who are flowers from?" 

    "Pepper. With my credit card." I laugh, and it feels good to be carefree again. I hoped it would be from Peter, but it's nice to know Pepper is thinking of me. 

    Speak of the devil. Pepper knocks quietly on the door and comes in without waiting for a response. She smiles at me. "Hey Diana." She walks up to my bed and sits on the edge and starts stroking my hair the same way Tony did earlier. "How are you feeling, honey?" Honey? I know Pepper is a friend of mine, but I didn't think she'd call me 'honey.' I see Tony shaking his hand in front of his neck, signaling something I don't understand. Pepper gives him an annoyed look and goes over to him. She whispers something to him, and Tony apologizes. What for, I have no idea.

    Pepper leaves, and I look at Tony expecting him to tell me what's going on. "I wanted to wait for the right moment, but I might as well just come out with it." He pauses, thinking of how to phrase whatever is he is going to tell me, making me nervous. "Over 17 years ago, Pepper and I were... expecting. But on the day our daughter was born, Pepper just... disappeared. It took a while for her to explain what happened to me, but she told me that for her, she was in our bedroom one moment and on the streets the next. She gave birth in a hospital, and everyone was calling her Gwyneth Paltrow. When she came back, she was crying, without our daughter." I think about how that sounds a lot like the dreams I had. "Fast forward to yesterday. We had to work fast, you were critical condition and declining. Some of the doctors ran a test to make sure they could give you the best treatment possible, and they found something." He looks right at me, and I gulp. "You're DNA matches our daughter's." 

    I blink multiple times in a row. Tony and I don't break eye contact. "Are you saying... that... I'm your daughter?" Tony nods, and I have no idea how to react. "But, how?"

    "You're adopted, right? And Gwyneth Paltrow is your old world's Pepper?" I nod, and I can't help but notice that he called it my 'old world.' 

    I stay silent, trying to figure out of this is real or just another wacky dream. I loved the MCU so much, and I wished for nothing more than to be here. "So you're my dad?" He smiles, and I return it. 

    "I should probably call Pepper in, but she's pretty emotional over the whole thing. Sorry in advance."

    "It's alright, I'd imagine she would be." Tony calls to Pepper to come in, and she cries tears of joy and asks a million questions. Tony watches from a corner of the room, smiling to himself the whole time.

    Once things calmed down, Strange came to the room to talk with us about how all of this is possible. 

    "My theory is that you guys travel through timelines when you experience a great about of either pain or emotional stress. It's probably the latter, since Diana was just in a plane crash and didn't shift." Strange explains.

    "That's not true." I say without really thinking about it.

    All three of them look at me. "What?" Tony and Pepper said simultaneously. "You shifted timelines?" Tony asks.

    "well... sort of. Remember when I told you about that dream I had a while ago about Pepper being pregnant?" Tony nods. "I had another dream that picked up where I left off. It was much shorter, but still."

    Pepper stares at me with even more shock on her face, if that is even possible. "It was you?" I look at her questioningly. "When I was shifting, both times, there was a girl in the dark place between the timelines. I remember that she had brown hair and looked to be in her early 20s. But looking at you now, it might have been late teens." 

    "Are you saying she can shift in her dreams?" Strange asks. No one confirmed, no one opposed. "Can you do it on command?"

    "No. I think it requires what you said, and even then I can't be sure it would happen." Everyone stays quiet, and I try to change the subject. "Now that I'm here for good, can I stop going to school?"

    "It's not like we can know for sure that you graduated, but you're my daughter, so it can be assumed." Tony says, working in a brag to my simple question. That's Tony Stark for ya.