"I'm sorry, did you say Thunderbird? Like the mythical creature?" Tony laughed.
"Did I stutter? It will calm down in a day or two once the wreckage is cleared. It protects the forest, which sometimes is more of a hassle than a help." Fern sighed, holding out her finger for Buzz to rest on. Nat watched the small bird flutter its wings to shake the rain off. "Hold out your finger." Nat did as Fern told her, and Buzz zipped over, sitting on Natasha's finger. He chirped happily.
Tony opened his mouth to begin arguing with Fern; Steve quickly stopped him, "We have other problems than a giant bird that can make storms and take out planes, our team." Steve pointed to the hallway the rest of the team was in.
"I'm alone out here, so I don't have help for them. You have full reign of the infirmity and the rest of the house. Tony, follow me." Fern told them, beginning to walk down the opposite hall, "It's not a Stark Industry lab, but it should help you." She opened the door to a dusty but unkempt lab.
"Looks like it's never been used," Tony commented, booting up a computer. "Looks familiar."
"It's yours, well, your company. I keep it up to date in case of something like this happening. I don't use it often." Fern shrugged.
"So, I can enter my system from here," Tony grinned.
"If you can get past the Thunderbird interference."
"Oh, I sure can. Let me know when Banner is awake; he'll be needed." Tony waved Fern off, to which she happily left the lab.
"You didn't mention how you got your powers," Natasha said from the kitchen island.
"The Thunderbird. I always had a way with animals, never knew what they were saying, but I had a feeling. So I went out into the Thunderbirds storm, trying to save Elder, as a matter of fact, got hit and well, ta-da." Fern shook her hands out beside her with a fake smile.
"So what all exactly can you do?" Natasha asked, leaning back against the island as Fern sat next to her.
"You know, sometimes I don't know what all I can do. I didn't spend long enough in a lab to find out," Fern chuckled. She glanced out of the window catching a break in the clouds, only to see a dark figure push them back into place. Unfortunately, the Thunderbird was not going to let this storm pass any time soon.
"You spent time in a lab? What happened? If you don't mind me asking," Nat bit her lip, not wanting to push Fern too far.
Before Fern could answer, Steve rushed into the kitchen, fear plaster across his face, "Sam's not looking good, and I don't think Banner is going to be waking up any time soon." He rushed out.
Fern rushed out of the kitchen and into Sam's room; she understood why Steve looked so scared. "Go to the infirmary, get me towels and a bowl of warm water," Fern instructed before going back to the kitchen herself. She went over to the small herb garden that rested on the counter and used her powers to grow the plant she needed. "Mint, sage, shit."
"Shit, no shit. What's wrong?" Steve asked with his hands full of towels.
"I don't have everything I need, and there's no way we're going out in that storm. One shock and you're a goner," Fern sighed, looking at the downpour that started. "Give me a minute and let me see what I can do; I'm going to see if any of the animals are brave enough to come out of hiding." Steve nodded, going to Sam's room.
Fern held her breath, stepping out of the door whistling, praying that her call would be answered. A chuckle sounded from a tree catching her attention; raccoons, they were never scared of the Thunderbird. "I only need a flower; even the root will do." Fern felt almost foolish, begging for help from an animal that laughed at every little thing. "I'll be sure to bring you the best food when the storm clears." The vermin laughed again before climbing down the tree and raced into the forest. It wasn't far, she knew exactly where the flower patch was, but she couldn't risk her life for it. Of course, she didn't want to risk any life for a flower, but this was an exception.
Moments later, the raccoon came back, the flower resting in its tiny paw. Fern looked to the sky with a smile, "Not today." She held her hand out to the animal, who happily placed the flower in her hand. "Let me get you something small for now; wait here." Fern stepped back into the house, finding an apple in the fruit bowl; it would be happy with this. Walking back to the door, the raccoon happily accepted the apple and scurried off into the forest.
"Tell me you have what you need. I think he's getting worse." Steve ran into the kitchen where Fern stood, crushing together the ingredients she had.
"Mint, sage, lavender, and a little whiskey," She whispered to herself. Then, giving a pleased nod, Fern walked past Steve with the bowl in hand. "Hold him down; he isn't going to like this." Fern scooped the paste from the bowl and forced open Sam's jaw.
"Are you sure this is going to work?" Steve asked, resting his hands on Sam's shoulder; Natasha held down his legs.
"A little on the gums, and the rest down the throat," Fern grunted, feeling Sam's teeth dig into her hand as she forced the paste into his throat before pulling her hand away and pushing him to keep his jaw closed. "I mean, it works on Elk; you'd think it would work on humans."
"What!?" Steven and Natasha shouted together. Sam thrashed under them before steadily beginning to calm down.
"Let him go; he should wake up in a minute," Fern smirked, watching Sam's breathing return to normal and his eyes start to open. "Welcome back to the world, Soldier."
"What the actual fuck was that?" Sam gasped out, holding his throat. Fern chuckled, standing, walking into the kitchen, grabbing the whiskey bottle and a glass before returning and holding them out to Sam. He was confused but happily took the bottle and poured himself a shot, hoping to remove the burn from his throat to replace it with another.
"It's an old remedy for fevers; you were cooking yourself. The mint helps the body remind itself to cool down; the sage helps break the fever the most; lavender smells pretty and helps with the anxiety of having the shit shoved down your throat. Whiskey is whiskey." Fern smiled at him. "I'm Fern, by the way." She walked out of the room and sat back at the island in the kitchen. She smiled to herself; though these people were strange and needed her help, she didn't mind them being there. She loved the animals, but sometimes it was lonely; it didn't feel as lonely anymore.