All I Ask of You

Chapter Twenty-One

 Annie awoke with a start, her eyes darting around the unfamiliar room. All she could remember was being just an arm's length away from Peter and then hearing Carnival laughing as she saw Iron Man land feet away from her. Looking around, it was obvious she wasn't in the alley anymore.

What worried her the most was that she had no idea where Peter was. What if he was dead? If he died, she knew that it was her fault, and she wasn't sure if she could take the blame of someone else dying. She felt her throat close off and her heart started beating faster.

The machine next to her started beeping. When had she gotten to a hospital? How long had she been out for?

"I see you're finally up. Don't worry, it's only eight."

Annie turned to see Tony Stark and her eyes widened a bit, "Wait, eight in the morning or the evening?"

"Evening. You've been out for about... four hours? Better than I was expecting, you took a lot of hits," Tony commented, sitting in the chair next to her hospital bed.

She shook her head, "Yeah, not the first time. I don't care about that. How's Peter? Is he... actually, I don't wanna know."

"Hey, take it easy, Pikachu, the kid's still passed out, but he's gonna be fine. You don't have anything to worry about," he told her.

Annie slowly sat up, "Okay... if he's okay, what about Carnival?"

"That's what that second rate clown calls himself? He's still running around, but I got him to run off long enough to get both of you here," Tony explained, glancing at the machines.

"Okay... but if Carnival's out there... shit! Wait, sorry, I probably shouldn't-"

"It's no big deal. You've been through enough to be allowed to cuss. About everything you've been through... we've been checking on your vitals and your powers are kind of interesting. You know about basic bodily systems, right?" Tony asked.

Annie nodded, "Yep, I've been to health class."

"I'm gonna pretend you're not trying to sass me. Anyways, I was expecting your powers to be neurological or blood-related, but it's actually hormone related. Did you always have your powers?"

She shook her head, "No, I got them, like... when I started puberty I guess. It's been awhile. What're you getting at?"

"I think that with the right research, I could come up with something that would stop your powers altogether. At least, something that would help to control them. That is, assuming you didn't do anything you were accused of on purpose."

Annie opened her mouth, about to say something, but the lump in her throat stopped her. All she could do was shake her head, "I-I didn't... I-I just... s-sorry."

"Hey, it's alright, you didn't do it on purpose, right?" Tony questioned.

She shook her head, sobbing, "N-no, of course I didn't. I-I was trying to protect Tina. Sh-she got shot and she lost too much blood by the time I got her out. A-and the hospital was an accident. I-I went there, a-and I shouldn't have. B-but I'm not sure I want to get rid of my powers."

"That's understandable. I'm not forcing anything on you. If you want to keep your powers, we can work on ways to help you when stuff like this happens. But if you wanted to do something else, I completely understand," Tony replied.

Annie wiped her eyes, looking back at Tony, "I-I heard Peter... um... when he was talking about how I was nice and wouldn't hurt anyone. Did you believe him?"

"Look, the kid's got great intentions, but I didn't know you. I still don't, so I didn't believe him. But now that I've seen you fight a little bit, I can tell you're not someone who needs to go to jail."