Valen | Peter Parker

Experiments

"No one has seen her. We all thought she was with you. How long have you been in here?"

"Not that long."

"I'll go find her. Try and figure out how to get this down while I do." Steve gestured to the new wall added to the room.

-

Valen was still in the corner rocking herself trying to calm down. Her head was resting against her arms that were on top of her knees.

Valen could hear running footsteps approaching her door. Whoever it was wiggled the door handle aggressively trying to open it. She heard them sigh and then take off. Not even a minute later two running footsteps came back. The dark bathroom glowed in red as Wanda unlocked the door from Valen's side.

The door swung open and Wanda and Bucky ran to her side. Both of them tried to coax her out of her state. After minutes of multiple attempts, Valen still had not calmed down.

Wanda didn't know what to do until a familiar voice called out from the bedroom door. "Valen? Are you in here? Didn't know if you wanted to go on a walk today or if you were too tired after whatever Mr. Banner had you do."

"PETER! PETER COME IN HERE!" Wanda shouted.

Peter came running into the bathroom as fast as he could. He was completely confused about what the emergency was until he saw Wanda and Bucky sitting on the floor next to Valen.

He didn't waste a second before getting on the ground in front of Valen. "Valen, what's wrong?"

She shook her head no, still rocking with her head down. Wanda and Bucky got up to give the two space but still stood in the bathroom to make sure everyone was okay.

"Hey, hey. Look at me V."

Peter gently grabbed both sides of Valen's face and raised it. He pushed her hair back behind her ears and wiped her tears.

"I need to get out of here. I need, I need to go."

"Where are you going to go?" He asked softly.

"Anywhere. I don't know what's wrong with me. Look at me I'm shaking." She raised her arms to show Peter her trembling hands.

"Val, you're having a panic attack. You need to breathe. I get them too, there's nothing wrong with it. Breathe with me."

He breathed in, held, and then blew out. He made sure to keep eye contact with Valen. He never let go of her face as he made sure she did what he did.

"You're okay." He whispered.

Valen leaned forward and held onto Peter. She closed her eyes as her head rested against his shoulder. Peter hugged her back, not letting go until she was ready.

Bucky gave a small smile that didn't meet his eyes and looked to the floor. He was happy she was no longer freaking out, but he was upset with how it happened. He had learned today that Valen had someone else to confide in and trusted more than him. She was even talking to Peter. She hasn't said a word to Bucky, and it hurt.

Bucky tapped Wanda's arm and nodded his head toward the door. They both walked out leaving the two on the floor.

Valen wasn't sure how long she stayed on the floor like that with Peter. After a good bit of time, she let go and sat back against the wall.

"What happened?" Peter asked.

"Bruce wanted to test my powers but instead took me to an examination room. I saw the table with straps and he pulled out a needle, I just freaked out. I felt like I was back there again. Getting ready to be poked and prodded to see if they had done their experiments correctly. They forced me down on the table and strapped my legs, arms, and head. I couldn't get out no matter how hard I pulled. I couldn't freeze them, the consequences would've been worse than the needles. I couldn't turn invisible, they would still poke hoping to not hit anything too important."