ON HOLD (sorry loves)- - - Evelyn Xavier is a winged mutant who just wants to lead a normal, teenage life. But after being asked to join the Avengers, Eve meets a boy from her school who just so happens to also be a part of the Stark Internship Prog...
Warren and I were allowed to view Evelyn's surgery through a one-way mirror. Warren had pulled me up into a stand, holding me up as I braced myself against the window ledge, my wheelchair behind me.
"Dr. Stephen Strange really is one of our best," Mr. Stark had assured me. "He has a one hundred percent success rate."
"You're doing everything you can," I responded. "I understand if—"
"We're not going to let it happen," Stark said firmly.
A metallic clatter came from the operating room as Doctor Strange had removed the piece of metal from Evelyn's body and set it into a tray. It was about the size of a baseball, but with much sharper edges.
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"See, the hard part's over," Stark said, looking down at the debris that had been removed. He grimaced at the sight. "But, uh, Peter said he's on his way over. He's a nice kid, really."
"Charles—" Warren began.
A long beep reached my ears.
I followed his line of sight into the operating room to see Doctor Strange pulling out defibrillators.
Stark cursed. "C'mon, kid."
"Clear!" Evelyn's body jolted unnaturally.
The heart monitor began beeping again.
I put my hand to my forehead and sighed in relief.
Stark got a phone call.
Peter's POV
As we arrived at the Avenger's facility, there were all kinds of people swarming the front door.
"Reporters . . ." I mumbled. I picked up my phone and called Mr. Stark back. "Hey, Mr. Stark, it's Peter, uh Peter Parker. Yeah, so there's a lot of reporters outside and I was wondering if you could let us in?"
"Yeah, alright, on my way."
The line went dead.
Aunt May and I walked up to the doors, wading through reporters as we went. As soon as Mr. Stark appeared in the window, the reporters shuffled excitedly, getting microphones ready.
"Mr. Stark! Mr. Stark!" their voices overlapped as Stark opened the door to let me and May inside. The door shut and locked behind him.
Stark looked stressed.
"Everything alright, Mr. Stark?" I asked.
"Kid, I'm gonna be honest: we just had a code blue," he explained as we moved through the halls.
"Code blue?"
"Her heart stopped." Mr. Stark's voice cracked. "They had to resuscitate." Stark's hand hovered on a door handle. "Before we go in, I have to warn you, Peter she doesn't look like herself, you know, with all the wires . . ." his voice trailed off.
Aunt May gripped my shoulder comfortingly.
I nodded.
"She just got out of surgery," Mr. Stark said as he opened the door for us.
Charles and Eve's brother Warren, whom I had seen from the photograph, sat at her bedside. Charles held her hand, gently rubbing his thumb over the back of her palm.
Eve laid still, her legs covered by the thin hospital blanket. Her torso was wrapped in bandages. A heart monitor beeped at her side. Lines of various fluids ran into and away from her. Her dark hair framed her pale face beautifully and her black wings were tucked behind her.
"Hi," I began, quietly announcing myself as if not to wake her. "I'm Peter, Eve's friend from school, and this is my Aunt May."
"Warren, Eve's brother," the blond angel took my hand and shook.
"Charles Xavier, Eve's guardian," said the man in the wheelchair.
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May and I took a seat on the opposite side of the bed.
"H-how's she doing?" I asked. I wished I had brought flowers or something but we had left on such short notice.
"She's on a lot of morphine," Charles explained. "So even if she was awake, she'd be pretty out of it."
I nodded quietly. "Do the doctors know when she'll wake up?"
Charles took a deep breath in. "It's more of an if, not when, right now."
"Fifty-fifty," Warren added softly.
I swallowed the pain forming in my throat as I prevented myself from crying.
I sat there for hours, waiting. I wanted to be there when she woke up. May eventually had to leave the room to get back to her work online.
A knock came from the door. Mr. Stark popped his head in, "Hey, Doctor Banner said you could try playing music to help her wake up. They do it with coma patients all the time."
I looked to Charles who pulled out Eve's phone and turned up a little music.
"Carry On Wayward Son" was the first song that came on. Charles set the phone on her bedside table, keeping the volume reasonable.
I was grateful to not have to sit in silence, but the lyrics in the song made me cry. Something about There'll be peace when you are done, Lay your weary head to rest, Don't you cry no more, hit me right in the chest. I blinked, letting a couple tears rolled down my face as I tried to quell my worry.
"Hey," Warren began softly. "She's going to be okay."
I nodded and wiped my face.
"What's going on inside her head, Charles?" Warren asked quietly.
Charles sighed. "I know she'd never want me to look but—" He put two fingers to her forehead and shut his eyes. After a moment, he opened them again.
