Family Business

26.

It was cold. That was the first thing he noticed as the fog in his mind began to clear. He couldn't look around, couldn't speak, couldn't entire smell, but he could feel. He felt a weight on his hand as if someone was squeezing it. 

He felt the air hit his exposed skin as if someone was pacing back and forth in front of him. He felt a huge weight on his eyes, preventing him from looking around and seeing who or what was around him. 

It didn't help that his mind was screaming. It was pounding with thoughts. Ones that felt like memories, only he couldn't remember any of them. Like a vivid dream that seems so real at the time until you open your eyes. 

"Trust me, the only ones who are going to feel the pain are you two." She smirked. She had multiplied herself as a way of keeping an eye on each of the Avengers, she didn't want them having any tricks up their sleeves. "Death is many things. The ones who die are the lucky ones, it's the ones who are left behind who have to deal with the pain."

James raised a knife out of his pants and aimed it at his sister's chest, right above her heart. Steve cried out and Natasha ran towards the two, Willa used her powers, trying her hardest to remove Amora's protection spell. Tony, Sam, Bucky, Maria, Nicole, and Morgan fought off some of her duplicates around them as Sif and Thor took down Amora, she was no match for them all. Amora screamed in pain as she was hit by a blast of lightning from Thor's hammer.

As his mind sorted through these memories, the first welcoming sounds began to come in, pushing these foreign memories backward. He heard the soft beat, almost like an electric heartbeat. He heard a loud set of feet walking, it got loud and then faded as if the person walking was pacing. Then he heard a voice. 

"I thought you said he woke up!" A statement rather than a question. The voice was muffled in his ears. But it clear enough for him to know it was a man, a familiar one. His brain couldn't concentrate long enough for him to make out who it was. 

"He was sir. He was awake for only a second. As I told you over the phone he will be in and out of-" this voice rambled on. He sounded timid. Almost afraid of whoever it was that he was speaking to. He wondered partly if he was in any sort of danger. 

That was until he felt the pull on his right hand again. He could feel lips that rested gently on his hand, moving as if reciting a string of words. The feel of their hands became present. They were soft and small. He's held these hands. He's held them his entire life. 

His senses all came flooding back in an instant. Like every single one was being shoved into his brain, he couldn't' take it any longer. That was when his eyes fluttered. That was when he released a breath. That was when he could hear the voice of his mother calmly reeling him back into reality. 

"Hey, buddy." He made out his father taking place by his mother where his gaze was focused. She was whispering soothing Russian words. "How are you feeling?" He looked around slowly, taking in everything and everyone. There were a few doctors to his left, checking computers, his monitors, and anything that could be important. 

"James?" Once again his mother's voice caught his attention. 

"Ow." Was the only thing he could manage. His mother let out a soft laugh as a tear slid down her cheek. His father practically mirrored the expression. He slowly was falling back into slumber, but this time, he had every intention of waking up. 

*

James was awake. He was being checked out by a doctor as they stood outside the room. Words couldn't contain how excited Natasha was. She wanted to hug her baby. She wanted to be able to smile again, but smiling would have to wait. The road before them was going to be tough. It was going to be difficult.