The Divide {Part 4}

4. Turn To Stone

The sun was just now setting. Peter and Sadee were at the top of a large building eating pizza. A one-of-a kind date. They seemed to click. It was like they were never apart from each other.

"So what did you do while you were in Asgard?" Peter asked his daughter. "Jane homeschooled me. She's amazingly smart. I attended Thor's combat training for youngsters. I did a lot of swimming. I would occasionally visit mom's mountain. And time traveled a lot" Sadee replied and took another bit of pizza.

"Visit mom's mountain?" Peter questioned, the sentence catching his attention. "Yeah" Sadee said, "Mom lives within a range of mountains in Asgard. I mean, she's not alive but her soul is. The stone that Aunt Meredith has as a necklace is what keeps her existence in the sky alive". Peter was astonished.

"What do you do when you go visit her?" he asked. "I sit by the water late at night, and when it's dark enough. You can see her figure made out of stars. You can even touch her" Peter stared as his daughter explained, "I talk to her. But she doesn't talk back. Just simple nods of yes or no".

Peter tossed the crust of the last piece and wiped the crumbs off his suit. "What did you talk to her about?" he asked. "You" she said and looked over at him. Her blue eyes showed up bright in the dark night. "I asked about you all the time. Of course she sees everything. Knows everything. She sees us right now. She's happy" she said.

Peter looked up at the sky, and Sadee did the same. "I would ask how you were doing, when I could see you" she said, "While you were writing essays as a junior, I was learning how to ride a bike" Sadee explained, "I just wanted to know if you were holding up well".

Peter's heart was full. What did he do to deserve this girl. "I know I'm only 12, but I understand a lot" she said. "You got that from both parents" Peter replied. The building lights glowed below. The sound of honking horns and the sent of gasoline was all you could hear and smell in this city.

Peter and his daughter took in the fresh air above the busy borough. "I've always wanted to see the Statue of Liberty" Sadee said, breaking the small amount of silence. "Your wish is my command" Peter said with a smile. He stood up and so did she. "This will be a bit of a travel. But we can do it" Peter said. He grabbed his daughter and jumped off the building.

He shot straight at a building once in perfect range. He looked over at Sadee who had her eyes closed. "Are you scared?" he yelled, the wind screeching in their ears as they swung sharply through the air. "No" she shouted back, "I like to feel like I'm flying. But without knowing what's around me".

It took them about 20 minutes but they made us to Ellis Island. They landed on top of Lady Liberty's crown. "Wow" said said standing on the edge, "this is incredible". She looked down at all the ferry boats that were lighting up the sea. "It is a nice view" added her dad.

The two were so lost in the moment, they didn't even notice the sky starting to flicker with lightning. The busy city sounds started to fade in Sadee's ears. She looked around, the sound of everything now gone. Glancing up at the sky, she saw the purple and green flicks.

She moved away from the balcony of the crown. Scared she crouched down on her knees. Peter ran over to her, she tried to read his lips but she was more concerned about what was happened to her. She began to shake, her breathing became heavy and a terrible scream of a woman boomed and echoed in her ears.

Sadee covered her ears and belted out a scream just as loud. Peter was still trying to talk to her, shaking her uncontrollably. He dialed Tony on his phone. Peter picked her up and began to swing as fast as he could back to the tower.

When they arrived, Peter rushed her into the tower, he body passed out and limp from exhaustion. Tony, Thor, Steve, Bucky and Wanda all came running up. Tony looked at Peter like what the hell and said "Dude. You can't even take your own daughter on a date without causing trouble" Tony said.

"I didn't do shit!" Peter yelled back. "Enough!" Thor boomed, "Get Banner over here now" Thor walked over to Peter. He tried to transfer Sadee to his arms but Peter resisted. "No" Peter demanded, "I will carry her". Thor back off and he followed the 5 to the lab.

Peter placed her body on a metal table. With Banner now here, he began to stick needles in her veins and put wires with stickers on her head. "She is breathing on her own just fine" Banner started, "but she's lost conscious do to the sudden loss of hearing".

"What happened" Tony asked Peter. "We were at the top of the Statue and out of no where she got on her knees and let out a horrific scream. I thought I was going to go deaf. I'm sure the whole country heard it" Thor scratched his chin, thinking. "I tried to ask her what was wrong but she had her ears covered, her eyes were closed and she couldn't hear anything" Peter finished.

"Dammit" Thor muttered under his breath, "DAMMIT" he yelled. "What?" Steve asked. "Get Meredith" he said barging through the doors to get to Banner, "Now!". Bucky ran and brought Meredith to the lab. She saw Sadee lying on the medical table and looked over at Peter.

"It wasn't me" he said and put his hands up. She made contact with Thor and he told her to come in. "Your necklace" he asked, "where is it?" Meredith moved her hands around her neck area, she felt the string and lifted up and notice the stone Thor gave her after the funeral was gone.

"Bloody hell" he said and pounded his first on a counter. "Hey!" Bruce shouted, "not in here". Meredith was confused and frustrated. "What is it?" she asked. "The stone. That stone I gave you is gone. That is the only thing that was keeping Audrey's soul alive. Somebody has taken it and till then, she's turned into a deadly storm" he said looking out a window.

The rain outside was coming down at a decent pace. Thor got everyone together. "It starts off as rain like this, but this will be a constant thing. Dangerously high winds. Then will be highly voltage lightning. Next a hurricane will arrive. And the worst of all, a tsunami that will wipe out the entire city. Each day gets worse" he explained.

"So we pretty much have 4 1/2 days to find the bastard who stole her gem and return it to Asgard?" Steve asked. "Yes" Thor replied. "You heard the man, when morning comes. We're bounty hunting the hell out of this person" Tony said.

They all moved out of the lab. Banner was carefully taking the wires and tubs out of Sadee. Peter walked over next to him. "Is she going to be okay?" he asked Bruce with slight tears in his eyes. "Yes she will. This is nothing like Meredith's case several years ago" he said and put the rest of the tools away.

"You can stay in here if you'd like. I could bring in another stretch table. I put a heated blanket over her because he body was freezing. I can get you one too" Bruce offered and Peter nodded his head. When Bruce brought in the table, he wheeled it right next to Sadee. Her body was still but she was breathing.

Peter climbed on and rested his head. "I'll be up in my old room if you need anything" Bruce mentioned and turned down the lights. "Thank you" Peter replied. Peter looked over at Sadee. He grabbed one of her hands and placed it in his. She was cold.

Very, very cold.