Rift (Spider-Man fanfic)

Chapter 18: Helpless

Peter's POV

    She lays motionless on the ground, and I let out a sob. I hold the back of her head with one hand and her cheek with the other. "Diana." I say, and wait as if hoping for a response. I'm not even going to think about what this might mean. " Diana." I pause again, but this time to gather my thoughts. I can't think at all, though. I lean my forehead against her's, something I've never thought I'd do. This is the closest I've even been to her, and she might not even be...

    "Kid." Stark says from the other side of Diana, and I look up at him with tear stained eyes. He gets down on one knee to pick her up.

    "No!" I shout, and he leans back. "Please, don't take her away from me. Not yet. Please." A few more tears fall, and the ache in my heart hurts even worse.

    "She's alive, Peter," I look at him hopefully. "But barely. If you don't let me take her, she has no chance." I nod slowly, backing up from her. I watch him pick up her limp body and fly back to Stark Tower. I remember the Vulture and turn around to see Happy and the authorities are bringing him in.

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    I go to the infirmary in Stark Tower late at night, my hair still wet from my shower. A nurse patches up my injuries, and I watch doctors walking back and forth, in and out of the same room. "What's back there?"

    The nurse finishes up. "Uh, it's nothing." She answers hesitantly. She looks me in the eyes, and I immediately know. I stand up and start heading for that room, my pace getting faster with each step. "You can't go back there!" She says behind me, trying to keep up. I just ignore her. 

    I push open the doors and see Diana laying peacefully in a bed, her arm in a sling and tubes going through her. Stark is talking to a doctor who is pointing at a screen, which seems to be Diana's brain. I didn't do great in health class, but my guess is that she has a concussion. Stark notices me, and holds up a finger to the doctor as he makes his way over.

    "Hey Peter, can I talk to you for a sec?" He leads me back out the room before I can even protest. "She's going to be fine. She has a fracture in her shoulder and a mild concussion. Other than that, it's just a few cuts and bruises. Most won't scar." She's going to be okay. "Do you know why she was on the plane?"

    I think for a second, but she didn't tell me anything. "No. She's been acting really weird these last few days, and she seemed so calm when we were in the plane. Well, calmer than I expected."

    "She knew it was going to happen." What? "Because of her knowledge of our world, she knew that you were going to be fighting tonight. So she tried to stay away from homecoming. That's what she told me when she left for the movies with MJ. But what she didn't account for was how her presence here changes the timeline. It wouldn't go as she expected it too, so she was unprepared for what happened tonight."

    I take it all in. She knew it was going to happen. "Why didn't she tell me?"

    "She knew you won in the movie, so she wanted to interfere as little as possible. She thought that if she told you, it might change the outcome. It would change no matter what, not that she knew that." I nod. She just wanted to protect me. That must be why she lied to Liz yesterday. "Anyway, you should get home. It's been a long day for you, you deserve some rest."

    "I want to see Diana." 

    He sighs but opens the double doors after a moment, and I enter the room. Stark nods his head toward the door at the doctor, signaling for him to leave. "You can stay for a few minutes. But not any longer, we need to let the doctors work."