Picking Up The Pieces

42. You Aren't Dead

  "You are okay though, right?" Stacy said as I listened to her through my phone on my way up my apartment building's elevator. "You just left without a trace."

"Something came up. I'm really sorry I left without saying goodbye," I apologized, fishing out my keys once the metal doors opened. "I'll come over tomorrow to pick up my stuff."

"Don't bother, I'll pick you up from your place. I'll just put it in my car," Stacy stopped me. "So... did you get to hang out with Peter?"

"For a minute or two," I replied honestly, unlocking my apartment door. I felt my keys fall out of my hands when I saw an Iron Man suit sitting on my couch, holding Harley in its arms like she was a baby. "I gotta go."

"Bye!" I shut my phone off and crossed my arms angrily. The machine's eyes began to emit light as it woke up, sensing my presence.

"Calling Mr Stark." I waited for the dialing noise to stop. "Connected."

"You really could have told me you were out of town," I sighed. The Iron Man turned it's head to the side so it could see me properly as I grabbed a soda out of my fridge and plopped down in a kitchen chair. "I could have asked someone else."

"Gave me something to do," my father's automatic voice said through the call. "You wouldn't believe how boring my trip has been. I had to rescue Parker from a lake though, so I kind of brought your dog with me."

"Wait- you brought- Peter did- hang on!" I sputtered, almost choking on my soda. "God I'm gonna kill him. And you brought Harley with you? She can't swim!"

"I didn't bring her into the lake, genius," my dad commented. "I left her sitting right outside it. Didn't misbehave at all. Why's your heart rate increasing?" I forgot that his suit could scan for those. "Isabel?"

"It hasn't exactly been the best day, and your update hasn't improved it," I admitted, taking another drink of my soda as I stared at the table. There was a brief silence in the room.

"You wanna talk about it?" I looked up in the suit's direction. It quietly sat Harley down on the couch before walking over and sitting in the kitchen chair beside me. I sighed, drumming my nails against the table.

"So apparently I have Superhero Syndrome," I started, biting lightly on my bottom lip. "Which is great because I've kind of used my powers within the last few days... and no, I wasn't spotted. Just got sick of taking the train and walking everywhere. Oh, and Harley broke my glasses, so that's why I don't have them right now."

"What else?"
"I went to a party at my friend's place," I continued. "Which I thought would make my day better, but..." I let out a bitter chuckle. "I was wrong. At least I have Decathlon in a a few more days. You got any advice for that?"

"Well, your old man used to do stuff like that back in the day," my father joked, making me crack a smile. "I'm serious! You're basically gonna go against another nerdy team and answer nerdy questions. I'll bet you ten dollars that you're gonna be the smart ass who wins the competition."

"I'm the only one on my team who understands computer science, so fat chance there," I shrugged. "They don't even know the simplest of coding."

"I doubt your version of simple coding is actually simple," my dad reminded me. "You forget that I raised you on coding and tech."

"But that's my point," I blurted, running my fingers through my hair in frustration. "Nobody was raised like I was. I can't remember my parents. I watched my own brother die in front of me. I spent years in a system where I was tossed around from place to place until HDYRA kidnapped me and experimented on me like a guinea pig. I-I'm different then everyone else." I felt tears run down my face as I let my emotions out, and I quickly wiped them away. "I live alone in a city, trying to prove something I'm not... a normal human being."