Ablaze {Marvel} ||2||

19. The Unacceptable Truth

There's no cure. There's no cure.

There's no cure.

No matter how many times I replayed it in my mind, it didn't sound true. This sounded like some prank that Stark and Bruce were pulling on me. That had to be it. S.H.I.E.L.D. came back with nothing, but these two couldn't have the same results. I invested my hope into them.

"What do you mean there's no cure, Stark?" I asked heatedly. I was surprised I had much of a voice.

Steve was a silent spectator behind me. He didn't dare to say a word.

"Am I going to have to light you on fire to get the answer out of you?" I asked Stark, threatening a bit.

"Let's not try and burn down my tower, thank you," he snapped. He sighed. "It's plain and simple, Kia. We've looked through every possible way to try and counteract what's going on in you." He rubbed his neck. "I don't want it to be incurable, none of us do. Unfortunately, we can't find anything that can help."

"Not even something to delay it?" My voice cracked.

"Not even that."

"You mean to tell me that there's no piece of technology that can help delay this?" I asked through gritted teeth.

Bruce and Stark's silence answered my question.

I felt like I had just gotten punched in the gut by a Frost Giant or the Hulk. I almost wanted to vomit. I met each of their eyes, first Stark's, then Bruce's, and then I met Steve's.

I couldn't control my powers, something that I never had issues with, and now I was going to pay with my life because there was no way to cure this problem. I was the very definition of a time bomb. Anytime now, I could explode. I could light myself on fire or combust and take anything out around me. I was in danger of doing that right now. That'd be the perfect way to end this conversation, with a bang and a fiery explosion in which none of us would survive.

I shivered at the gruesome thoughts in my head. They were gruesome but also true.

I wanted to burst into tears, but I didn't want to have the guys see that. I needed to do it somewhere else, where no one would see.

"Kiara," Steve said quietly.

"I-I think I need to vomit," I said thickly. I ran out of the laboratory, hyperventilating. I hopped into the elevator, taking it to the highest floor it would allow me to go. I exited. "Hey, J? You know how to get to the rooftop?" I asked the AI.

"May I ask why you want to know this?"

"Just tell me!" I snapped.

"There will be a door that opens to a stairwell. That is the way to the rooftop."

I sighed. "Thanks, J."

I hunted for the door until I opened one and was successful. I sprinted up the stairs, and I felt the sun's faint heat smother me. I went to the edge of the tower, reminiscing. Loki had opened a portal from the roof of this tower, unleashing aliens on New York. And now, this was the place I was going to scream my head off.

But I didn't scream; I sat down, legs dangling over the ledge, crying. My fingers kept tight purchase in the rooftop. I wasn't thinking about ending my life, even though there was a high chance I could even if I was Asgardian. This long of a drop would probably kill me.