Cardboard mattresses

[ chapter 12 ]

Grabbing onto the railings June sprinted down the stairs, lungs on fire, legs trembling with exhaustion as the water fell from the heavens.

As her feet finally met the cold concrete floor a black goo began to ooze from the indents that her feet made. She recoiled in shock, gasping loudly and stumbling over the next few steps she took.

As June slowed to analyse her surroundings, her body started to sink and the cold once solid concrete began to consume her body.

Once it was up to her chest the liquid hardened and began pushing all of the air out of her lungs.
"NO NO NO NO NO" June screamed, nails clawing at the ground, blood soaking the area around her then a deafening snap as the bones in her body began to shatter.

"JUNE"

June bolted up, gasping at the air that rushed happily into her concrete free lungs and she scrambled away from the figure standing over her.

"June you were shouting, you okay?" Pepper asked, brows knitted with concern, she slowly sat down on the bed next to where Junes delicate body was hunched up, shaking slightly and still gasping for air.

"I'm fine" June mumbled, glancing up quickly so her eyes met Peppers.

"You don't look fine, Tony knows a think or two about nightmares, I can get him if you'd like?" She asked sweetly

"No" June replied firmly. She felt a little guilty for using such a harsh tone with the woman who was lovely to her but she wanted nothing more than to be left alone in this moment. "I'm going to take a shower, I'll be fine, thank you Pepper" June said trying to make up for the ruder version of herself that had just woken from the same dream that had plagued her subconscious every night for the last few days.

Pepper nodded with a warm smile and patted the kid on the knee, then left her alone.

"Natasha, good I was about to come and find you, I think you need to talk to the kid about whatever she'd dreaming about, she looks like she hasn't had sleep in years" pepper said, catching Natasha just as she rounded the corner. Her concern for the girl was a motherly instinct that had ignited when she'd first seen her laying on the hospital bed, however she wasn't naïve enough to think that she'd trust her with whatever was plaguing her, Natasha however June seemed to trust a fraction more than anyone else.

"Oh" Natasha said, caught slightly off guard, "okay, sure" she said, Although for the first time she felt cornered like a wild animal, the idea of being responsible for that kid was a lot.

June sat under the warm water as it pooled over her body. The minimal things that Bruce had told her about her relatives and her genetic makeup had twisted her mind. A cloud of confusion and a lifetime's worth of unanswered questions made her feel angry and understandably desperate for answers.

Twisting the shower off she quickly dried off and pulled on some clothes so she could head to the lab.

The compound was unusually quiet and as June entered the lab she felt a twinge of anxiety spark through her body, what if something had happened.

The anxious thoughts were quickly stopped when Tony entered the lab, humming to himself but jumping when he noticed June sat at Bruce's desk. "Hey kiddo you're not aloud in here alone, especially since the last time you see you were a little trigger happy" he said putting his fingers to his head and mimicking blowing his brains out. A gesture which June didn't much appreciate and she stuck her middle finger up at him.

"You're Late" she remarked, twirling a pen round her fingers.

"You're ... rude, shush" Tony poked back at her, glancing away from the computer and giving her a smirk.