Loki, Unraveled|| NovaVerse 2

24|| Death's Shadow

Word Count: 3,017

Nova awoke in the Med Bay, an oxygen mask slipped over her face. She blinked in confusion and groaned as she sat, her muscles stiff and aching. The curtains were drawn, and the lights had been dimmed. The only noise to be heard was the steady beeping of the machines which surrounded her.

Her fingers glided over the wires and tubes attached to her and her breath quickened. She remembered all the experiments HYDRA had conducted on her; the IV's which poured burning liquids into her veins, the gas that would put her to sleep, only to be awakened in the killing room, or the punishment room, or-

"Good morning, Nova. How're you feeling?" Bruce asked. He was wearing his doctors coat, his glasses tucked into its front pocket, and a stethoscope around his neck. He swiped at a tablet; holograms of her vitals projected from it. He then set it down and placed a glass of water in front of her.

She took a sip, the coolness of it bringing her back to the present. "I would be better if I remembered what I did to get back to this marvelous room," she joked, glancing at the clock beside her bed. It was ten-thirty already. Which meant she had to be ready to meet up with Loki in about half an hour to give him a "tour" of Earth. Well, just a bit of the city. She hadn't explored much of it herself, since she had only had eight months living with the team before Loki came into her life, and she hadn't exactly been very open to new experiences in those eight months.

Adjusting his glasses, he looked at her with a serious expression. "Last night you had a seizure, Nova."

"Oh." She let the thought sink in. She had a seizure. She picked at her sleeve. "So... what're we going to do about it? What caused it?" Another thought popped into her head. "Does Loki know?" He was the last person she wanted to know about the medical episode. They were supposed to go on that outing with him. They were supposed to have fun. If he knew, he probably wouldn't let her leave the bed.

The penlight shone in her right eye as Bruce spoke. "We were all in the living room. You were acting a bit strange... lashing out over small stuff like the angle at which someone would place down the TV remote. You said you were nauseous a few minutes before that, so I suppose we all blamed it on your discomfort. I- I should have made sure nothing medical was going on. None of us got worried until you were staring at the wall, and it was like- like you shut down. A moment later you started seizing." He then proceeded to take her blood pressure. "I believe your radiation poisoning is worsening, and this seizure only the beginning." Although the words were harsh, his tone was soft, and she could see the sadness that had buried itself in him when he had spoken.

He cleared his throat and wrapped the stethoscope around his neck. "Does your family have a history of seizures?" She tried remembering anything from before she was #58.

Nova scoffed and muttered, "Bruce, you know I don't even remember my real name."

He patted her shoulder lightly. "Sorry, kid, I just had to make sure." He scribbled something down on the clipboard. "Have you ever had a seizure before?"

Sucking in a sharp breath, she thought back to her time at the facility. She nodded.

There was a time she had been beaten with metal rods and they had hit her head more than once. She was about thirteen then. Then another they locked her in a room with frost covering the floors, leaving her with nothing to eat or drink, and not even a window for light. The medic had told her the fear and malnutrition had driven her to the seizure. And then there was the time they had pumped chemicals into her nonstop.

"Do you mind telling me more about what happened around the time I had the seizure?" She shifted slightly, keeping her expression as neutral as possible.