Super Flower

Chapter Five

"Shit. Okay. See if you can reach down and find a red pully at the bottom of your seat. You're gonna pull that and its going to launch you in the air. But don't worry because I'm gonna catch you, okay?"

She nodded. She found the red thing and pulled it as hard as she could. She was catapulted up and out of the cockpit. She didn't start to freak out until she started to fall and Tony still hadn't caught her.

He had been hit by a bullet and knocked off course. By the time he located her in the dark sky, she was way below him.

"Shit." He zoomed down. She was getting very close to the plane, which would explode the moment of impact to the ground of the shallow beach. He had to hurry.
Lily screamed for her father. Tony caught up to her and grabbed the chair.

"I gotcha." He said in a soft tone. "Ssh. Its okay. I gotcha."

She cried and cried. She was still shaking.
Tony said comforting words all the way up to the helicarrier. He set her down on the runway and Bucky raced over. He broke the seatbelt like it was made of plastic.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and cried into him. He held her close to him.
"H-He died r-right in f-front of me..." She sobbed.

"I know. Ssh. It's okay. You're okay." He said softly.

"Bucky, look!" Steve said, suddenly standing by them. "She's bleeding."

He pulled back and sure enough, there was a stream of blood coming down the side of her face.

"Oh shit!" He exclaimed. He picked her up and raced her to the hospital wing. While he ran, Lily dozed off.

He handed them her tiny, unconscious body. They set her on a table and began to hook up machines to her. They made Bucky leave. He stood in the waiting room, pacing. Natasha and Bruce appeared quickly. Then Steve and Thor. And then Tony out of his gear.

"How is she?" Tony asked. He rubbed his hands together nervously.

"She passed out on the way over here."

There were a few minutes of excruciatingly painful silence.

"I should have been faster..." Tony muttered, collapsing into a nearby chair.

"Don't." Bucky said. "The moment you start talking like that she's gone."

"She wouldn't be in this serious of a predicament if I had caught her right away!"

"You were hit! Don't blame this on you." Natasha said sternly.

He put his head in his hands.

It was almost an hour later before they got any news.

When the doctor walked in, everyone stood. He approached them all. "She's alive and in a stable condition."

"Does that mean she was unstable at one point?" Natasha asked.

"We almost lost her twice."

That took a toll on the group.

"But she's okay now?" Bucky asked, trying to keep his voice level.

"Yes. She should be coming out of the anesthesia any time now. But we're gonna keep her here for a few days, just to be safe." He disappeared.

The group walked to the room they put Lily in. She had paled a lot. Apparently, there had been other places she had been cut because there were bandages along her arms and chest.

Those little hazel eyes flickered open slowly. She looked around, very confused as to why it looked like everyone was going to cry.

"What's wrong? Did someone die?"

Bucky smirked. "No, darlin'."

"Well..." Tony said.

Lily looked down at her hands. "I'm sorry."

"Oh, no, kid. It isn't your fault." The once arrogant man said, placing a hand on her arm. "Don't think for a moment that it is."
She looked up at him and nodded.

Suddenly, the door slammed open and the black man with the eye patch and a woman walked in.

"Now. Is someone going to explain to me how the hell a 5 year old got into the cockpit of a military fighter jet?"

Bucky, Natasha and Bruce all stepped in between him and the little girl. Steve's grip on his shield tightened, as well as Thor's grip on the hammer. Tony stepped forward.

"I think the better question is why was the cockpit of a military fighter jet unlocked and opened where anyone could have gotten into it?"

"Stark, I am not in the mood for games. We lost some of my best soldiers today. Including the man that was in charge of that bird. You better get rid of that girl by tomorrow evening or-"

"Or what?" Tony dared.

"You touch her, I'm gone." Bucky stated bluntly.

"Same here." Natasha and Steve said together. Bruce nodded.

"I will protect this young one at all costs." Thor said.

"She stays. Or you lose your mighty heroes." Tony was right in Fury's face. He huffed and walked out. But it wasn't until the door closed before everyone relaxed.

"Does he scare you all as much as me?" Lily asked.

The group chuckled.

"A little, yeah." Bruce smiled.

"Hey, get some rest. You need it." Bucky said, ruffling her hair.

She giggled and closed her eyes. She was out almost instantly.

"Happy birthday, kid."