Felicia·Hardy She didn't know which one was more unbearable for her: seeing the man she loved deeply being carried in covered in blood, or realizing that if he died like this, the last conversation between them would have been a quarrel.
She regretted the quarrel as soon as she got home. He was right, he was always right.
But she didn't wait for him to climb through the window and come in with roses and chocolates in his hand. What she waited for was the call from Tony·Stark.
"Peter is injured."
The moment those words entered my ears, all the sleepiness disappeared, leaving only a buzzing in my ears.
She didn't remember how she got to Avengers Tower, nor how she passed the security guard. She only remembered that when the door closed behind her, she saw the body on the bed. The body was beaten to pieces, and she didn't even recognize that it was the man she loved - until she saw his hair, which was soaked in blood.
She took a breath, staggered back, hit the wall, slid along the wall and sat on the ground. Complete helplessness overwhelmed her.
Twenty doctors, ten hours of surgery. Felicia just sat outside the door, motionless. She only drank coffee and occasionally took a bite of a protein bar. People came and went, leaving cards and flowers. She didn't understand why she wanted to send flowers - he preferred comic books.
"Sir! We need help! His spinal cord is damaged and must be repaired first, otherwise he will no longer be able to walk!" A doctor shouted, these words kept screaming in Felicia's head.
"Got it! JARVIS, who is the best neurosurgeon in the city?" Tony shouted.
"Sir, it's Stephen·Doctor Strange." The artificial intelligence voice answered.
"Then get him right away!"
"Sorry, sir, I can't do it."
"Why the fuck not?!"
"He was in an accident two weeks ago and suffered irreversible damage to his fingers."
"Then give me the second best neurosurgeon! Get him right away!" Tony roared, waving the doctor away. They quickly ran back to the operating room, eager to save her Peter's life.
Stark walked up to Felicia. She didn't know what she looked like, but judging from the pitiful look Stark cast, she must be in bad shape. Felicia's thoughts were... engulfed by doubt and fear. There was nothing else but the most terrifying question: what if her Peter couldn't survive.
"He will be fine." Stark told her, but she didn't believe it. "The best doctors in the city are treating him and he will get better soon." He forced out a half-hearted smile, "Hey, maybe you two can take a long vacation after that. I happen to have a nice house in the Hamptons that I can lend to you, as long as you don't have too crazy a party."
Felicia ignored his half-joking comfort. She raised her eyes and looked at him. "Why didn't you send him to the hospital?"
Tony sighed, "In terms of his unique... in all aspects, I think it is more appropriate for him to receive treatment here. Don't worry, I have the best doctors and equipment on standby around the clock. Peter·Parker will not die tonight, I promise you."
And he did keep his promise. Peter came through, even if it was just barely.
Sitting there looking at his broken body, she couldn't help but ask herself how much he meant to her. In such a short period of time, the mask she had worked so hard to maintain shattered so easily. He not only crossed her defenses, but completely destroyed them.
He... He is everything to her, she understands now. What kind of relationship are they, lovers, partners, friends... No. She knows now, they are much more than that. They are soul mates.
She snorted softly when she thought of this. This thought originally seemed... so impossible. But now? Now she has a living example. That is herself.
Looking at his appearance, sadness weighed on her head like a thick cloud and stayed there all day long. Thoughts of suicide surfaced. She pushed them back, but she didn't think she could really get rid of them. Unless Peter opened her eyes again and looked at her with his usual naughty look.
Avengers came and went, but Felicia never left. Tony would come over when he had time, stay for a while, make sure she didn't need anything, and then leave again. Bruce was so shocked when she learned that Spider-Man was actually a child that his visits became almost every hour. She remembered what he looked like when he first learned the truth.
"He's still a child!" Bruce yelled, furious at Tony.
"He is indeed... yes." Tony nodded.
"You let a kid fight?! He could have died, Tony!"
"Bruce, listen to me--"
"--No, listen to me!" Bruce yelled back, "A child should not appear in our world, Tony! This time he is destined to die! There should never be another time! We must stop him and make sure he never wears that mask again!"
"You can't do that," Felicia hissed. The man turned to her, and the girl was face to face with two of the smartest men on the planet, one of whom was more powerful than a god, and her gaze didn't give in.
"You think you can stop him? Do you? Don't make me laugh. He doesn't need your damn permission, and he doesn't care about your blessing. He is a hero, not because he is thrill-seeking or crazy, but because he is a hero. I don't give a damn about you. Who do you think you are, but he is Spider-Man. And this?" She pointed to his injuries, "Won't let him fall. He won't give up, he will never give up. He may stop for a while, just to recuperate, but you can never stop him."
The two men said nothing. Felicia dismissed them with a wave of his hand, turned around and continued to guard Peter vigilantly. They would understand that he might get up and take action again at any time. And she would be by his side at that time.
On the afternoon of the second day after Peter was in bed, she was finally forced to take a shower. She was forced to eat something by a woman named Potts. She didn't remember the name, but she remembered that she was a redhead, an annoying redhead.
Speaking of the redhead... Qin, she had to tell Qin. She didn't know how to say it. Felicia felt that she couldn't do it. "Peter almost died" were the words she never wanted to say.
When she came back that evening, she found that she was no longer alone. Standing next to his unconscious body was a bald man wearing a black windbreaker and an eye patch. Fury always looked energetic and never showed his age. But now... Now Felicia couldn't see the director of S.H.I.E.L.D.. No, she only saw a tired man.
"That boy is very strong," he raised his head and looked at her, "It will be time to wake up soon."
Felicia nodded. "I know. You don't need to tell me."
Fury smiled, "I knew...Stark told me that you said some misleading words to Banner about Peter's situation."
The girl shrugged. "Maybe. Why are you asking?"
Fury was silent for a long time, saying nothing, as if he was thinking about something important. Finally he sighed and took out a Scanning Adapter, which was the invention of Peter.
He pulled out a map and handed it to Felicia. It was the map of Rome, with the suburbs highlighted. "What is this?"
"Doom's robot was disassembled and kept in Peter's laboratory for analysis. It suddenly started up, broke into Richard's laboratory, and brought its owner back." Fury swiped the screen and played a video. A man in black climbed into Peter's laboratory through the window, reassembled the robot, and inserted a glowing blue battery into the system.
"We haven't found out who this person is yet. But we have traced the source of the signal -" he clicked on the Rome map, "The robot was activated from here and was ordered to release Doom."
"Who is it?" Felicia's voice was as cold as ice.
"... I suspect it is Hydra."
Felicia turned to him. "How could that be?"
"I have been chasing this thread these past few days since I disappeared," Fury said, lightly touching Peter's arm with his fingers, apologetic in his movements, "We found some documents... They want revenge. Peter took down their base and exposed their resistance to the world. They want to get rid of him completely. They know Doom will take action - at least they hope so."
"They knew Doom would try to kill him?" Felicia asked.
"Yes, they know." Fury growled.
"These bastards." Felicia's voice was full of pure and undisguised hatred.
She took Scanning Adapter and handed it back to Fury. "Thank you for telling me this... at least I know who to hate."
Fury looked at her. "Are you really willing to do something about this?"
"Yes." Without hesitation.
"What are you willing to give up?"
"Everything."
"Including him?" Fury looked at Peter on the bed.
Felicia turned his head and looked at Fury's one eye. "What exactly do you want to say, Fury?"
"I have a mission for you. A mission to ensure that Hydra can never hurt Peter again."
"How?"
"Your father will help you."
Felicia's heart sank. Those eyes... She was afraid she would never see them open again. "How long will it take?"
"Until Hydra falls... completely."
She was silent for a long time and said nothing. She was thinking and weighing how much she was willing to give up. She meant it when she said "everything", but what about him? Peter·Parker? She didn't know if she could do it.
But... to protect him? To ensure that those bastards can never try to kill him again? As long as it can ensure that the events of the past few days will not happen again, she is willing to die.
When she spoke, her voice was very soft, but without any wavering. She looked at Fury: "What do I need to do?"