Iron Lightning [ I ] P. PARKER

XXIII. YOU ALMOST DIED!

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
"you almost died!"

The sound of a heart monitor filled Jade's ears as she woke up. Her head was pounding and the bright lights weren't helping it either.

She opened her eyes slowly, still having trouble looking at the lights. She looked over to see her dad sitting across the room, legs crossed and his hand resting under his chin.

"Hey, dad," Jade whispered and smiled softly.

"Jade," Tony let out a sigh in relief. "You're okay." He said and walked over to her, squatted at her eye level.

"Sure am," She tried to laugh. "Though, I feel like shit."

"You do look like shit," He tried to laugh, he was more worried about her than her potty mouth at the moment.

"I would be toast if it wasn't for Peter saving me," Jade smiled and blushed a little from thinking about it— or at least what she could remember anyway.

"Yes, it was great what the kid did, and I owe him one," Tony said and went to grab Jade's hand, letting out a heavy sigh. "I thought I told you to stay lay?"

She looked in her dad's eyes, they were full of sadness and she went speechless for a moment.

"I— I was, but they were in trouble, they could have all died," she said scrunching her eyebrows together. "You would have done the same thing if you were in the situation."

"I don't mean that," He sighed. "I know you and Spider-Man sneak out to go look for that guy. But I'm serious when I say, stop. It's under control."

Tony feared his daughter would start using good excuses to do more and it would all end up with her hurt.

Jade couldn't say anything, she wanted to not get involved, she never liked where crime led to, but she also couldn't sit back and watch it happen.

"What all happened?" Tony asked.

Jade explained how everything happened, how the Chitauri explosive core from the sellers caused the elevator to collapse and how she helped everyone off the elevator until she fell through the elevator and Spider-Man did the rest.

"I'm proud of you," Tony smiled, moving the hair from her face. "... Hold on— did you just say Chitauri explosive core?"

"....Yes. That's why we're so worried about this guy," she said calmly. "But it's gone now— destroyed— blew up— boom..."

Tony looked at her funny, "Where did a high school kid get a Chitauri core?" he asked sternly as he stood up.

She didn't say anything, she puckered her lips out and shrugged her shoulders, hoping he'd change the subject. She honestly didn't know how it happened, she thought she was the only one who had a core.