𝐀𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 | 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐑𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬

To Stand Back Up

'𝙄 𝙙𝙤𝙣'𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙤𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚.'

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────  

The one thing that solidified Seren's trust in Tony was that he had managed to wake Chloe up in a less frantic state than the hospital had in the past. This was three days after he'd managed to take her to the Tower. Out of prudence, and a lot of guilt, Seren was not there when Chloe woke up for the first time. Neither was Steve.

Naturally, Chloe woke up very dazed and confused. And tired. My God she was so exhausted. After a few minutes of blinking, she understood that wherever she was wasn't the hospital. For one, she wasn't surrounded by a fleet of nurses anymore.

"Welcome to the land of the living, Megamind." Tony's voice made Chloe shut her eyes. She knew exactly where she was now. "You have truly earned that nickname, you know." Tony came into Chloe's peripheral view seconds later. "After the scans I've run on you, I can certify there is no one else on this damn planet with your brain."

Chloe let out a groan, though it was unclear if it was from exhaustion or annoyance. It could easily be from both. "Stark, what are you doing...?"

"Isn't it obvious? I'm gonna go Frankenstein on you..." Tony's lips were stretched into a wide smirk when Chloe finally looked his way. "You do know that was the name of the monster, right? In this case, you are—"

"Be quiet," she turned her head away from him. "This is the Tower."

"Are you asking or is that a fact?"

"Did the Hive Mind tell you that? Are they speaking to you right now?" Tony went around the bed until he was once again in Chloe's view.

"Leave me alone, Stark—"

"Tell me," Tony ordered her. "I need to know if they're speaking to you right now."

"No!"

"'No' they're not speaking to you or 'no' you don't want to tell me?"

"No, they're not speaking to me!"

"Excellent," Tony went back to smiling like nothing. "That means it's worked."

"What worked?" Chloe shot him a suspicious look.

"I've been tinkering with some things, you know me," shrugged Tony, "And now that I know the full extent of your powers, I've managed to perfect the inhibitor we've been working on."

"You...you did?" Chloe tried pushing herself into a better sitting position.

"You tell me, do you hear anything?"

"N-no, I don't..." Chloe rubbed the side of her head, wincing every now and then. "But shit still hurts."

"Yeah, those would be your injuries you sustained courtesy of your time with HYDRA and your battle with Twinkle Star."

At the mention of Seren, Chloe stopped altogether. Her memories were a bit foggy but she did remember that she'd been ordered to take on Stardust as a distraction for the Winter Soldier's benefit.

She gulped. Her eyes fell down to her hand currently wrapped up in gauze.

Seren's eyes flashed colorfully. "I love you, Chloe, but I know a lot more than you. And if I have to burn that tech out of your hand, I will."

Chloe felt the sizzle of her skin and started screaming.

"Oh my God..." She swallowed again. Her fingers stuck out from the gauze and she could flex them as she pleased but she still felt the echoes of pain on her palm.