(Natasha)
By the time I got to my feet, I wasn't me anymore. I don't think. I was seeing everything in razor sharp vision, a sensation that I was surprised to notice. I always thought my eyesight was good, but it was nothing compared to this. The first words out of my mouth, which felt strangely large, weren't words at all, but a low hiss – almost a growl. Wanda's hands were still clutched in horror against her mouth. Sam's wing shield had been lowered, and the man was running towards me and Parker as quickly as possible. Shit. Parker.
I glanced down immediately, crouching beside the woman beside me. She had pushed me out of the way, and she had no protection against a blast like that. AV was...my eyes widened in horror as I realized the full implication of what Parker had done for me. To save me. No amount of martial arts training in the world can be a useful defense against what Wanda had hit her with, even unintentionally.
Parker's eyes were closed, her mouth hanging open, blood pooling slightly in the corner. "Get help. Now." My voice, already rough to begin with, sounded deeper. Raspier. Dangerous. Sam glanced at me, his eyes betraying the cool, calm exterior that he presented.
"Natasha..." he stuttered. I had to hand it him – few things made that man speechless.
"Not anymore." I frowned. That wasn't my voice at all.
It is now. I blinked at the strange sound in my head – it felt similar to when Wanda planted thoughts or memories, but closer. More intimate. Coming from somewhere inside of me, rather than externally. I got to my feet slowly, attempting to get accustomed to being much, much taller. I glanced down at my hands, coated in translucent white goop. I had nails – talons, more accurately. I slid my tongue over my teeth, feeling their sharpness – and the sudden disturbing length of my tongue. That was new. I glanced over at Wanda, who was now watching me carefully. She still looked horrified, but now the reasons for the horror had compounded.
"If you thought a symbiote was dangerous in Parker, Wanda, I wouldn't test me." Our voice was little more than a growl, and Wanda's eyes went wide at the barely veiled threat. I genuinely liked the kid, but she had gone too far this time. If Parker...I shook my head.
She'll be fine. AV reassured me. I blinked rapidly, refusing to fully consider the alternative. I need to go back. I nodded to myself, crouching beside Parker again, trying to remember how the transfer process had worked not too long ago. Even though I hated the thought of further injuring the woman beneath me, I had to try to get her up. I lifted her easily into my arms, cradling her lightly. White tendrils began to move away from me, triggering a not-too-pleasant sucking sensation from inside my skin. I shuddered. This part I wasn't fond of. I watched as the white, semi-liquid goop faded back into Parker's body, expecting to see her blue eyes opening immediately. They didn't.
I glanced up at Sam, who was also watching Parker's face expectantly. I barely noticed when Steve came barreling around the corner, taking in the sight in front of him quickly. "What happened?" He asked, sounding clearly shocked. Sam and I exchanged glances.
"We need to get her back to the compound," I muttered. Steve made a move towards me like he was going to try to take Parker from me. I growled at him, and he retreated. Turns out, I didn't need the symbiote to growl effectively. I picked Parker up easily, balancing her weight. Despite the muscle, and the symbiote surprise, she was surprisingly easy to carry. I walked us towards the quinjet carefully. Steve and Sam followed behind me, and I could hear the two of them exchanging whispers. I guessed that Sam was catching the Captain up, and didn't want to disturb me any further by forcing me to relive the last several minutes. By the time we got to the jet, a firm look was set in on Steve's face as he cleared a path for me to bring up my cargo. Wanda was huddled in a corner of the jet, staring blankly at the wall. Her cheeks looked wet, like she had been crying.
I set Parker down gently on one of the pullouts equipped in the jet, and gave Sam a look. He nodded. If anything happened to you while I was flying this jet, Sam was going to land before we did. Without his wings. I heard him exhaling slowly as I moved away from him, probably in relief. I glanced at Wanda as I moved past her position. Steve sat beside her, and her eyes caught mine. I smiled slightly, trying to convey that I wasn't currently in a murderous mood. Currently. Her breathing was ragged. Shaky. I sighed. I felt bad for her, sort of. Accidents had happened on all of our watches. I glanced back at Parker, and my gaze sharpened. But she hurt Parker. And I wasn't going to get over that easily.
I slid quickly into the pilot seat, flipping switches and preparing for takeoff. I could hear Steve talking quietly to Wanda behind my seat, and I could hear her crying. The ride back to the compound was smooth, given the circumstances. We already alerted Dr. Cho to the situation, and Tony was meeting us in medical in case there was something his tech could help fix. I lifted the still-unconscious woman carefully under Sam's watchful gaze, and speed walked her towards the medbay, everyone else struggling to keep up.
We ran into Bucky in the hallway, who quickly moved aside as he processed what was happening. I saw his eyes looking for Steve, and the two communicating silently between them, smirking to myself. Cute, boys. Tony's eyes flickered between mine and Parker's body in my arms before quickly taking charge. I tried to listen to his instructions and Dr. Cho's simultaneously, but all it did was make me lose my patience.
"Can you help her?" I hissed through my teeth, my eyes boring holes into his. He blinked rapidly, and I think I saw him gulp. He and Dr. Cho exchanged glances before nodding.
"Let us get to work, Natasha. We'll come find you if anything changes." I crossed my arms over my chest, staring at Tony, not having to say a word. He sighed. "You can stay in the corner, if you don't get in the way or interrupt." I opened my mouth to give him a piece of my mind, but I didn't have it in me. I saw Parker's face behind him on the table, and it was like my sarcasm gene had failed. I nodded instead, backing towards the corner he pointed me to, crouching down and staring at the floor as Tony and the doctor worked on Parker, hoping in the name of every Asgardian god that she would be okay.
...
Three hours later, and the duo had finally reached a stopping point. Tony stopped in front of me to deliver the news. "She's healing from the inside out," he started. I got to my feet and watched, waiting for him to continue. "But she took one hell of a blow, and it's going to take time." I inhaled sharply.
"Is AV helping her? Or was I too late?" The last word caught a little bit in my throat, and I coughed, shoving the feeling down. Tony smiled at me.
"AV saved her ass. Again. She'd be dead right now if it wasn't for the symbiote healing her." I glanced over my shoulder to see Sam, Wanda, Steve and Bucky standing at the doorway of the room. Wanda looked exhausted and on the verge of a nervous breakdown, and she inhaled sharply, catching the last bit of Tony's news.
"It saved her?" Her voice trembled as she spoke, and tears spilled freshly down her cheeks. Steve glanced at me, and I sighed, approaching the younger woman.
"Wanda, it was an accident." I said softly. For a minute, Wanda looked relieved, but then her eyes went red, and anger returned to her face. I frowned. This was not the reaction that I was expecting. She stalked away without saying another word. Steve spun in place and watched her go, his mouth hanging open slightly. Bucky closed it with his index finger.
"She'll be okay bubs," he whispered, and I swear I saw Steve blush.
"Looks like AV saved you too," Sam looked at me with something resembling almost respect. It was damn hard to impress that man. I nodded.
"They did. We'd be down two Avengers if not for them." Steve nodded, a tight smile returning to his face.
"I guess that settles that question once and for all," he declared. I smirked.
"About time you caught up, Rogers." Steve chuckled, shuffling his feet.
"There's no chance I can coax you out of medbay to get some rest and some food, can I?"
I shook my head. "Come on, Rogers. You know better than that."
Seve smiled, sinking into one of the couches outside Parker's room. "I do." He gestured to the empty place beside him.
"I'll grab you guys some food," Bucky smiled, kissing the top of Steve's head.
"Thanks Buck," I smiled back at him, and he nodded before moving away.
"So what now?" Steve asked. I sighed.
"Now we wait."