12 | have a will, have a way



π’π“π€π‘πŠ πŒπ„πƒπˆπ‚π€π‹ π”ππˆπ“

Β π“π€πˆπ–π€π ππ‘πŽπ•πˆππ‚π„

ELEANOR

β–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒ



'Please don't nod off on me, Rhodey.'

I couldn't get any sleep after Tony had left my ward, my eyes stubbornly holding them open until he returned. He never did but I did spot Rhodey walking by a few hours after, soon begging him to stay in the room and keep me company. However vulnerable I was, my stomach still rumbled at the sight of Rhodey chomping on instant noodles. I couldn't ingest any solids because of the procedure that was supposed to occur later at night, the only nutrition my body was getting was intravenous fluids.Β 

Through the weighing down pain that wracked my body sporadically and with prickling agony near my clavicle every time I breathed too deeply, I made time to talk to Rhodey and gain insight on the events that had transpired after my departure. New felt grief started to rise from my chest and through when the news of nearly null survivors was able to survive the crash. Rhodey saw the evident worry on my face, dropping the topic then and there, shutting off into silence.

I felt the pain invade the same place once again as I raised my arm to wake my only company and deliberately snatched back with a groan to soothe it away.

A dark hand grabbed mine before I could do anything, Rhodey's stern pair of eyes coming into sight. I sheepishly smiled, letting my bandaged arm go limp against the crisp yet thinning sheets. The ward I was held in smelled on ancient herbs and IΒ had memorized the number of polystyrene tiles that lined the ceiling. That's when I hear his tired command.

'If you move, it'll only hurt more,' he said, his eyes anything but pleased. 'Just hang in there for a while.'

I nodded in understanding, trying to not to shrug and let my head fall heavily onto the pillow. I swallowed tightly when I saw the array of instruments on the other side of the wall, all of which were connected to my body in some sort of way. There were all sorts of beeping, long and sporadic, which had only started to get me more panicky. What if it cut my heart in half? Maybe this procedure wasn't as easy as I thought it would be.Β 

'Will it hurt?' I asked under my breath, my gut twisting sharply. It was hard to talk with theΒ nasal cannula around my nose and neck that restricted my jaw movement. Rhodey looked up from the manila print file with a concerned stare.Β 

'The fixing of the arc reactor. Does it hurt?'

The side of his lips pulled up in mild amusement. 'Seriously?'

I sighed. 'I know I'll be fast asleep. After, will itβ€”?'

He shook his head, jutting his lips in disfavor. 'I never asked Tony and he never complained, too. So my guess is no. You'll be fine.'

'Okay,' I said, nodding again trying to hold onto his words. 'Where is he?'

'He'sβ€”' he paused midway, pursing his lips. 'Something came up.'

I thanked the lord mentally. A topic that I could use to keep my mind off the impending trauma. I had to find an outlet to exit the panicky condition that kept running at the back of my mind and the Colonel just pointed me a way out.

'Is it Zeke?'Β 

He widened his eyes and raised his arms over his head in surrender. 'No can do. My lips are sealed.'

'I keep secrets,' I whispered with the last bits of energy left in me. 'Please, Rhodey.'

When the side of his lips twitched, I knew he was cracking. He looked at me for what seemed for the longest of seconds, my stare matching his with level. The almost black colour of iris lightened a bit before he looked down at his entwined hands in front of him, the skin around his arms tightening with tension.

'He left to find Zeke,' he revealed and if I weren't so dead already, I would've mustered the driest eye-roll ever. Even if he'd promised me he would let me help, Tony had gone against it. And what was shocking was the fact that wasn't shocked. 'Maria was against his arrest because Tony had no evidence so well, he left to find one.'

'He went to the Starkexpo,' I figured out in a small voice.

'The reactor that you found in Tabora,' he leaned closer, 'it's gone.'

'Gone?'

'All Zeke. He had this whole team of superpeople triggered by the Chinese, Raiders, and Tony tangled up with them. Told me something about slipping in a tracker virus but he caught it. To send Zeke his location feedβ€”small and efficient.'

I waited, unmoving and silent because the way Rhodey looked up like he was about to say something ominous. He let out a hassled breath, the air seeming warm around me suddenly.Β 

'He's in the SHIELD helicarrier. Said he wanted to remodel the tracker virus, hook it back on the old Stark tech, put it up for sale on the black market,' he massaged his temple, 'and wait for Stane to buy it.'

'He what?' I blew out, wincing as the sudden jolt pained every nerve ending in my body. I hissed as the monitor beeped rapidly, renewing every bad feeling I had about this procedure going wrong. Rhodey almost flew out his seat, reaching to the assistance button near the frame of the bed. I used the last of my strength through the searing pain to raise a palm and place it over his arm. He shot me an angered stare when I tried to restrain him from alerting the god awful nurses, but inevitably making me lower my arm slowly.

'I'm fine. Absolutely,' I murmured complacently, hoping to calm his infuriated self. 'Sit down.'

'You're not okay, Elle,' he stressed on, strapping his rough palm around my upper arm. There was brimming emotion is his eyes, which put me off a little. I wasn't some weakling, I could handle this. 'Look at yourself; you're skin, bones and it scares me.'

'If Stane gets his hands on the tech,' I efficiently converted topics again, shaking my head at his bothersome antiques. 'Rhodey, he could destroy an entire city. Tony's out of hisβ€”'

'Shut your goddamned mouth and stay put, Eleanor, or I swear I'm gonna put you to sleep myself,' Rhodey snapped to cut me off. And he efficiently arrested my rambling by his empty threat, making my tuck my chin and look down at my deadened mass of charred bones.Β 

'Rhodey, I want to see Tony. At least talk,' I pleaded softly, my eyes turning thin. 'Pleaseβ€”please just a phone call.'

'He ain't gonna pick up even if I called, Elle,' he said, running his hand over the top of my head in a soft caress. I almost fell for it, letting my gaze lower back to the sheets. 'I'm sorry.'

'You can. Just ring him, I just want to hear his voice.'

'Eleanor Preece?' A voice from the door called out, announcing her entrance before the door was completely wide open. The pale-skinned nurse with a polite smile made way for an older man, the doctor, who entered in with a pad in his hands and mask around his face. Behind him were two more nurses in the same uniform, holding steel trays that chinked against each other with every movement.

'We're ready for your procedure.'

I snapped my eyes to Rhodey who had his eyes downcast with guilt. Snitch. I ground my teeth together, the skin on my neck rising with the irritation since I wasn't fast enough to cease him from alerting the assistance.

'Elle, understand the situation. You need to healβ€”'

'β€”and I will. You underestimate me, colonel,' I spoke without shooting him another glance. I strayed my gaze on the eyes of the chubby doctor, trying to force a kind smile on my face. Whatever was in store me, was for the betterment of myself. I fixated my thoughts of the positive outcomes, fisting my hands and nodding once at them.

'I'm ready, too.'



∞



π“π€πˆπ–π€π ππ‘πŽπ•πˆππ‚π„

EZEKIEL

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Zeke's father had taught him how to never be afraid of the rage that is fire, his fire that blazed in his soul. How hot it burnt and however fast it died, it was an insane remedy. And never had he felt so much rage when he saw the man inside his unit watching his woman rest peacefully. It stirred against the passivity of his determination.

Dark, tall and intrepid; where had seen this man before? Was he a nurse? The hook-up? Maybe a fling. He looked too involved to be the latterβ€”that's when it struck him. This was the colonel. Colonel Rhodes, Stark's best friend. Elle's friend.Β 

Thankfully, the man rose from his seat near her bed with a slow stretch of his arms. Cracking the tension between his muscles with a yawn, he walked to the bolted door. Zeke took this as a cue to turn away, fiddling with the mask that he fit over his nose and mouth. The cap slung lowly over his eyes, busying himself with a tray of medical utensils that had been stashed near her ward.

The colonel sauntered away, not without catching ahold of a nurse to inform them about keeping an eye on Elle while he was away. With one last glance to check his leeway, Zeke walked into the containment unit in soft footfalls.Β 

He saw the gradual rise and fall of her chest, the rhythmic noise slowing down his own breathing. He shuffled closer, catching a glimpse of her lovely face behind the oxygen mask and finding it hard not to touch her.

He bent down and pressed his lips at her eyes. 'You're alive, my love. You're okay. We're going home. I'm taking you back home.'

Back home, where she belonged. In his home, in his arms, completely his.Β 

Until he saw it.Β 

'What the fuck?' He whispered, allowing his hand to fly forward and catch ahold of the gown. It concealed the light that had propagated from the centre of her chest. Tugging it down in a harsh motion, he sucked in a tough breath.

The arc reactor, blue and bright, was fitted between the dip of her breasts. A radical redesign, he realized when he saw the uncanny differences between the original core and the one inside her.Β 

'I'll kill him, Eleanor,' he hissed. 'I'll kill Stark myself.'



∞



[ update (17.01.2020): these chapters don't need that much editing so whew, not too much work! ]

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