章節 25: Chapter 23
"So, Cindy; its been a week after your clear and one week without our sessions, sorry about that." Doc Curtis said as he motioned for me to sit down, I'm now in his office. "So how has your week been?"
"Well... I just got the mail that I can begin my transfer to Columbia. Which for some reason it's now being accepted."
"That's weird, you applied a lot."
"Five times, each time an exam to apply came through. But now its going through, it feels weird. Next week I'm meant to go to deliver all documents, OH I also got my new ID. Here!" I said as I showed him my new ID that has my last name from my family.
"You look good... Cindy, I know you; you're avoiding something. Tell me so I can help you." Damnit, he noticed.
"It's just... everything is moving too fast. Also the World Security Council, wants to get with me in a call with both Tony and Bruce; we have theorized that they want my blood to make super soldiers."
"How do you know?"
"It's not that hard to predict, it happened to Bruce and now I'm at easy reach. Also... I'm lately getting headaches with images." His eyes narrowed.
"If you want to talk about the images, you can tell me..."
"It's just I see them when I talk to Tony I feel like I've seen him in impossible angles... also working by himself in his lab, like a movie."
"Do these images have a story?"
"Story? What do you mean?"
"Well... you're telling me they're like a movie, does the movie have a plot?" The moment he finished his sentence my head began to hurt.
"I see him... fighting against people glowing red that spit fire and for some reason he's investigating something." My headache stopped as the same images I've seen come up.
"Don't force yourself to remember, its just your mind trying to make connections to make sense of something fabricated. Its normal, we're trying to make them less and less common. So let's do what we practiced." He took a deep breath which I followed as I sat down crossing my legs.
"Now, tell me the contents of the reactor." Taking a deep breath I begin to talk.
"Copper, Gold, Lithium, Paladium, Silver, Steel, Titanium"
"Now in order of the atomic numbers in the periodic table."
"Lithium, Titanium, Palladium, Silver, Copper? Steel, Gold?" I struggled because I don't really remember.
"That's a little wrong, usually I put copper and behind palladium also steel is a compound element but Iron should work as its base after all I think high strength steel has like 90 percent steel or something."
"Oh, shit right. I'll remember, its also a 94.6 percent in high strength steel, but it's mostly nickel in that 5 percent. Stainless steel is another issue, it's just chromium so that is shines and they add price, its bendy, it doesn't handle heat and I hate how it's sold as the best type of steel. I remember I thought I hit gold when I got a piece of it, but after five minutes that was used as the base for the heat dispersal, that thing melted. It's a scam." He smiled lightly at my rant. Silence fell in the room, I want to say something and Doc knows that I want to say something but it's something that comes to my mind a lot. 'Am I doing a good job? Am I looking for my reason to live?'
After ten minutes I finally got the courage to speak. "... I had a panic attack, yesterday. I woke up in the middle of the night, I was so close to running away... again, but Ms. Baker seems to know. I was close to the door when she took my hand; she said it was like an instinct that she knew what I was going through but... I can't help but feel like I'm trying too hard to get better that I'm not getting better."
"Cindy, it's normal. Look at where you are right now. You're sitting here finding a way to get better and overcome your past."
"Maybe..."
"We have discussed this; getting better is not immediate. It's a long process and everyone has a pace that they follow. Just because you have superpowers doesn't mean you're different. Breathe and remember that people care for you and if you feel the need to run. Run to your family, run home, not away from them. They care for you and love you."
"Love?"
"Yes... love." I feel a little lost on that term.
"Love is..."
"Love may be new to you, but I'm sure you and your family will figure it out." He said as the alarm on my phone went off.
"Right... alarm, thanks doc; I'm glad you're back."
"Me too Cindy, I'll see you next Monday." I left the room Auntie is already waiting for me.
"How did it go?"
"Good, we talked a bit about everything... Ms. Ba- Auntie, about what happened a few nights ago... I'm sorry." She caressed my face lightly.
"It's alright, you said it enough that day. You don't have to be sorry."
"No, I mean... just... thank you."
"No problem Moonpie, now come on, it's Friday and you said you would help me cook." She smiled as we took the elevator down to the basement. We had dinner; we made Stroganoff pasta and a Salad. I need the protein from the meat, it was easy, I was in charge of the sauce and cutting vegetables and fruit for the salad while she was in charge of the meat and cooking. We had a small dinner, Uncle helped Auntie clean dishes and the table while Erica and I were told to go the TV room so that we could chose a movie.
During these 2 years of knowing Erica we never actually went to the movies and I actually watched movies on TV, but I never saw the Disney classics. Which ended up with all of us watching what I consider my favorite movie ever Tangled. Although I almost got a panic attack when I was reminded of Moth- the matron. But I think this movie is my favorite movie, I might watch it again tomorrow or the day after. There are way too many movies to watch, oh shit... I'm like Steve.
Walking into Stark Tower is weird, I sighed as I took the specific elevator that Tony told me to take. Ms. Baker drove into the basement we gave our names and were admitted inside. We got out of the car and into the elevator that Tony told me to use. "You sure this is the one?"
"I don't but the text says it is." I answered as the elevator dinged, looking closely its the private elevator that they used to go down when Hulk got kicked out. "Nope, it is. Hulk got kicked out of this one and I joined him to walk down the stairs."
"Going up. Mr. Stark is waiting for you." The robotic voice said aloud making both of us flinch from fright.
"Who said that?" Auntie said, as a headache rushed through me.
"Jarvis?" "I'm Jarvis." The answer came at the same time, I got confused at how I said that, its name rolled around my head, and the image of a red faced robot came to my head.
"That doesn't really answer my question."
"My apologies Ms. Baker, I'm the personal digital assistant of Mr. Stark."
"Like terminator?" She asked.
"No, I'm closer to Skynet rather than a T-800." Ms. Baker took a bit of a step back, as I tried to understand what Jarvis answered.
"That is really in line with what Stark does."
"It was an attempt at humor, my apologies Ms. I'm programed as an intricate part of a system that is connected to every device that Mr. Stark uses commonly."
"I did not understand what you talked about." She sighed as I said that, rubbing her eyes.
"Don't worry Moonpie, we can watch that movie later."
"Oh it's a movie." I said in realization, the elevator door opened, I walked inside to notice that it's not a lab; it's just a hallway with a door and a scanner that looks like an apartment. "Jarvis, what floor is this?"
"This is floor 87. Mr. Stark is coming down, he will explain." The elevator closed going up, Auntie began telling me about Terminator, waiting for Tony to come down when she explained to me who John Connor was the elevator door opened, with Tony and Bruce stepped out.
"Hey kid /Hi Cindy." Tony and Bruce greeted me as they stepped out. "Ms. Baker." Tony greeted Auntie as Bruce just awkwardly waved.
"Hi Tony, hi Bruce." I answered back.
"So since you're finally here, just put your finger here and let me scan you." He pulled out two devices one that looks like a really big fingerprint scanner the other like those things that check for prices. I listened as he scanned my entire body from head to toe.
"What is this for?" I asked as a card got printed out.
"Take that." He said as he took out his phone that looks like a piece of glass. "J?"
"It is complete."
"So I just took your Biometrics, you will have full access to the floors that we can enter. Like RnD and top floors, also we need to get to the lab, but first."
"Um... and the card?"
"That's the key to your floor, and your fingerprint is also your key, don't worry Ms. Baker can you please..." He said and Auntie followed doing the same thing except she didn't get herself scanned.
"Here's the second one and a copy for when you forget it." He said as he walked inside he placed the card on the scanner right on the door and it opened.
"Wait, you said floor?"
"Yes, its not complete, but this place will be for you it has the bare minimum." We walked inside and this 'Bare Minimum' already has more than what I had in my apartment, or even the orphanage. It had a living room a TV, a kitchen, a fridge, its walls are white, with grey and I could see that the floor that fancy wood, the counter of the kitchen is made of marble. The smell is not overpowering and my senses don't pick up the sound outside its weird not hearing everything outside.
"What did you do to the walls?"
"The walls?" Auntie asked.
"Oh, you noticed." Tony said with a smirk. "You said you had enhanced senses so I." "I believe that's a "we" Sir." Jarvis interjected as the upper edges around the walls of the apartment glowed blue. "Fine, WE. Found a way to block noise outside and placed special foam to absorb sound. The strategic placement of furniture and carpets were made so your senses are not triggered. Now onto the tour, we couldn't do anything for your nose, but we can try something."
"Tony, this is way too much. I can't accept this."
"You can and you will." He didn't even give me a chance to retort.
"Now, let's go see the rest." He motioned towards the hallway. "The entire floor is yours, so I was able to have a little fun designing this. First off, we have the main living room, TV and couch, moving on we have a bathroom for guests, then a guest bedroom, an office and last of the bedrooms the main suite." He motioned as the door opened and it has a really big bed also a walk in closet that is half the size of my new room and a bathroom that has what looks like a Jacuzzi, a shower stall.
"Moving on to the next room, when we talked you said you liked videogames so I made a room for you. But I don't know much so just ordered a PC to be built to be the best on the market. Now the one part that I'm sure you'll love." He said as he again entered using his fingerprint, and he is right this room is something else. "Your body is superhuman, even stronger than capsicle which is pretty funny to me.
So we had the freedom to build this gym for you. Special treadmill for speed up to 100 miles an hour its why its part of the floor." He motioned to the section that has a view to the outside but a really wide treadmill on the floor. "Also we have weights, made with Osmium and bars of tungsten." He said as he motioned to something he was working on. "For your Silk Sense, I decided to have this room, it has turrets made from low powered blasters, a laser grid and a few things that you will help Banner and I build." He said as I suddenly felt the urge to walk in. A light tap on my back made it so that I walked inside. I smiled as there is a window and a panel.
"Kid, can you hear us?" I nodded and gave thumbs up. "Level 1." The light turned on in the room and I walked to the middle of the room. I can hear the sound of something powering up behind me, above me and beside me. My senses warned me and I moved, moving my head to the right, followed by a step forward and a step to the wall I jumped over another shot midair I flipped to the side moving my body around a laser, landing on my hand, spinning and jumping using my arm to push me upward dodging a red laser. This kept going for a minute with me dodging almost everything as 4 shots of blasters and 1 contact with the laser that moves around the room got me.
"Mr. Stark, is this not dangerous? I mean that feels like a live ammo test which I'm sure you're familiar. I am-"
"Ms. Baker the blasters only give a light hit." Bruce interrupts a I am walking out breathing heavily felt worried as Auntie looks pissed.
"Auntie, those hits are really light and the lasers are just like a laser pointer."
"Are you okay?" She asked as I nodded with a light smile my heart pounding from the exercise. I walked to the nearest dumbbell that looks kinda heavy.
"Oh right can I?" Tony motioned with a smirk on his face as I looked at the middle of one. It has the number .5T on it.
"Wait, is this?" I asked as Tony nodded. "NO WAY HALF A TON!" I eagerly lifted it with ease.
"THAT'S HALF A TON?" Auntie said aloud, as I was curling it like it was nothing. Then proceeded to grab another one that has 5T on it. Actually looking at the gym it looks like Tony went all out making this I grabbed the 8T one and began doing curls. "Whoa this is awesome!" Stopping in my tracks I realized. "Tony how much does this cost? Or like this entire thing cost?"
"You don't want to know."
"Tony..."
"Like around 50, 70."
"Thousand right?"
"HA!" He laughed and covered his mouth.
"Millions?" I silently just placed the dumbbell back to its place that looks like its reinforced to hold a lot of weight.
"Let's move with the tour." He said as we walked to the place where I noticed is a small balcony. "Balcony and a small pool for those hot days, Jacuzzi and last but not least I wanted to make a lab here but got talked out of it. But I made a small workshop." He said as we walked inside, the room is big. There is a display with my suit on a mannequin along with my mask.
"Tony, you..."
"We actually designed this for you." Bruce said as he was quiet most of the time during the tour. "We thought back to when we were younger and wanted to give you what we would've wanted back then. Tony was happier than me when we stocked the room, even if he doesn't want to say it."
"Hey, no throwing me under the bus." I felt happy, as the times I was told to not do any experiments or build something came to my mind.
"This place is for you to build whatever you want, just if its going to blow up or risk of blowing up take it to RnD to wor-" Tony got tackled into a hug as my vision was clouded in happiness. I don't get why Tony went far and beyond for me. But I'm grateful. "Hey, no crying. This shirt is still expensive." I cried harder saying thank you. "You can let go now." He said as I just moved my head from side to side saying no.
"You're welcome... Cindy." I let go as I cleaned my eyes and proceeded to hug Bruce who chuckled lightly.
"You deserve this after all you went through."
"Okay, enough with the sentimentality, now we move to the fun part." Tony said as he motioned for us to walk to the elevator, where we moved to floor 81. "Floor 81 through 83 is RnD for us. Now time to talk shop. Jarvis pull it up." A drawer opened and I noticed that my notebook is there along my reactors and web shooters; rushing there I took them out and noticed that they are clean but the damage from the battle is there.
"You left those reactors on my table. The reasonable thing to do was keep them safe and clean. But now that you have them, you can put them in the display case. But the designs are a mess compared to the new ones."
"Umm... I think I'm not needed here, can I go back to the apartment?"
"Yes, if you need something you can just call Jarvis; if something comes up he can call us." Auntie stepped out of the room to the elevator.
"Oh, right. Cindy. I need a bit of your blood." Bruce said as he has a syringe on him, nodding and extending my arm he pulled two full syringes of my blood.
"Berries?" Tony came out of nowhere with a bag for himself and 2 for me.
"Thanks." I began to snack on them, Tony clapped making me startled.
"So first things first. Your suit sucks." He stated plainly as he held it up turning it around and see a hologram of my suit that shield gave me.
"Thank you it was a gift." I said plainly as his face grew in disdain.
"God this is worse than I thought. The suit is just really expensive leather, that's it. Also your web shooter thingies and arc reactors are made out of garbage, I made mine in a cave and they were made of better quality." I huffed in annoyance, He motioned to the ones on the table where a hologram expanded and showed a 3D model of them and began moving his hands. "Right, so this can go, this can get bigger. This pipe is useless, why is there a balloon here? The palladium needs to be replaced with badassium-"
"It's not palladium I actually melted different metals and focused on things that could power it up without use of radioactive material. I made it out of Copper wire a aluminum and spoons."
"You're resourceful, I'll give you that. But that only means its a lot more weaker than others, but why did you had that much power in them?" I actually don't know the answer to that.
"Can I work with... an arc reactor of yours with the what was it? Badassium?"
"No." He said as he walked to a different part of the lab.
"Why?" He walked back pushing a cart with a lot of things I recognized making me feel giddy as a smile plastered on my face.
"Because you will make one using your principles and we'll compare notes." I nodded as he clicked a few buttons on the hologram on the table and a box appeared from a compartment in the wall that had the small triangle that glowed with power.
"Impress me. I'll work on your suit and web things." I nodded and began to work. It took me a few seconds to realize that I could work on my theories.
"So how I know a bit about your strength, but why a spider? Also, what's your limit?"
"Spider is because of how I got my powers also it was kind of the motive to go to. Also my limit is 11 tons pushing twelve when I'm on my absolute limit."
"That's quite impressive. What else can you do?" He is trying to distract me as he analyses my webshooters. Bruce actually asked me if I could get an X-ray of my body, which I agreed to, he did the same scan thing.
"I can literally stick to anything, cook and resist high falls like a three or four story building and I can live."
"That's quite the amount of powers." Bruce said aloud as his screen beeped.
"Not really powers more like a package deal, its weird.." Turning to Bruce noticing what he is working on. "Bruce... What are you doing over there? Is that my DNA?" I can't help but ask.
"No problem.. Cindy." He took off his glasses as he turned around in his chair. "I wanted to ask, where do your powers come from?" That comment made Tony remove his eyes from the hologram.
"A spider bit my foot, and suddenly Bam! I have powers-" I blurted out as I returned to work on the reactor, the feeling of safety in while I work is really comforting making me feel like these two people are friends that I can fully trust.
"Sorry a what?" Tony doesn't believe this.
"A spider, the Nephilia Asimi, genetically engineered spider that could make strong web and an apex predator too bad it was infertile and a bastard cause her sting hurt like a bitch."
"Silver Orb Weaving spider?" Bruce turned to the screen and googled what I just said.
"Yeah that one, what if... I make this?" Moving one of the metallic plates to the other side and welded it together making a small infinite shape with the other steel ring plate.
"I can't believe it... did it really come from a spider?" Tony actually stopped working and walked to Bruce.
"Yes, is it so hard?" I repeated.
"YES! How did you get bitten? More precisely how did it bit your foot? Aren't live subjects really protected in display cases?"
"Well I slipped, the case containing the spider wasn't really nailed down or placed correctly, then the case broke as the pedestal it was on, fell on top of me and then pain in my foot. After that its hazy since getting bitten by a spider for the first time was trippy.
"What museum was it?"
"The museum where it had a biological engineering exhibition with animals in it. Around 2008."
"So did you get your powers..."
"The next day about a week before you announced you were Iron Man. We got powers near each other, tweensies." I joked as I focused on welding what needs to be welded.
"That's, amazing. So can I actually replicate your powers? Would I get those tubes that are in your fingers?" Tony is trying to wrap his head around that idea a ping called out attention.
"Here is your analysis." Bruce pulled a scan on the projector at the center of the room to present an X-ray of my body, it has my nervous system, skeletal system and HOLY SHIT.
"Holy shit, that's my fingers..." It has something that is connected to my nervous and my intestinal system.
"This is where you produce web... it makes sense, after all you need calories and nutrients to make this, so theoretically it leads to the creation of an entirely new organ connected to both systems."
"That looks gross." Tony couldn't help himself. "The Nephilia Asimi, Silver Orb Weaver. Cousin to the Gold Orb Weaving spider. Both have weaver in their name... does that mean that you can manipulate the silk?" Tony said aloud as he rubbed his chin staring closely at the screen
"Cindy, can you use webs from different fingers?"
"...Yes, you've seen them, it's there. Depending on the amount of fingers I extend the web gets thicker, but..."
"Exactly, you can excrete it in different amounts? Can you manipulate the shape? What about pigmentation?" Bruce said as he is taking notes on the tablet on his hand.
"Dude, don't say excrete like its poop which it's not, but I think so." I slowly take two fingers and I'm thinking on making it into a disk so if I shoot two and move my hand. I shoot both lines and flicking my wrist, first five attempts were hard to make until two small disks made of hard web are made and rest on my hands. "Holy shit! This is AWESOME!"
"Are they hardened?"
"YES! Look!" Throwing it at the wall and it gets embedded.
"COME ON! NOT THE LAB WALL!"
"Sorry."
"That's coming out of your pay."
"Fine... wait you don't pay me, Ms. Potts pays me and I'm currently suspended... which I have to fix that, but don't try to recreate my powers." I warned him.
"Why not? Imagine I could be super strong, super-fast and have my suit of armor and have the motive of a spider." He said with an excited gleam.
"I'm going to sue you..."
"Tony, I would advise against getting bitten by spiders. Her DNA sequence is similar to a person but ... really altered."
"Altered?" I can't help but ask.
"Yes, Cindy since when were you delivered to the orphanage?"
"Few days after I was born... or so I'm told." My brows furrow.
"Then, your mother, your biological mother..." He paused as my eyes are on him. "She was part of a certain type of illegal experimentation. The modification on your DNA is bioengineered to make you compatible to something, I'm assuming the spider but it wouldn't make sense... how would they know about a spider made specifically to alter your genetics?"
"Wait are you telling me that I got experimented on as a baby?"
"Not as a baby, it's illegal; actually, it's really illegal since you weren't born yet. Your Moo umm... Doesn't matter, she might've was involved in something, but according to what the changes and DNA was before, you were not meant to be like a super child. From the simulation Jarvis just ran and how you are right now. If that spider never bit you, your health would have a lot of complications."
"Meaning?" Bruce sighed.
"You would not have reached twenty your DNA was really damaged." He said as he took a deep breath. "The bite of the spider fixed your DNA and replaced essential parts that can't be replicated which makes you a one in a billion. For more information I would have to look into and would need more blood."
"I don't want to know... I would rather not know more... Sorry." I said as that topic feels like its a can of worms I'd rather not open at least not now or ever.
"I respect your decision, then I won't look into it. Also I'll be taking a bit of this web to make a sample for a way to see if we can improve your web fluid. Also you diet would have to be supervised to see if it can change in any way." He said as I nodded, a beep sounded as I looked to my work that got abandoned on my workspace.
"That's an impressive output." Tony said as I turned back looking at the notes on the output of the badassium that were made immediately by JARVIS running calculations. Comparing it to what mine currently did. So I quadrupled the cycles using the nigh infinite energy cycle of overcharge discharge, recharge that Bruce published but never used and placed the recently small tablet of ZCS in the bottom. To stabilize the energy but it sizzled out making me yelp as I got zapped.
"Damnit!" I said as I smelt the burning and removed the plaque.
"What are you doing?" Tony asked turning to me.
"See here this plaque is what I replaced the palladium with." I held the plaque of ZCS on small pincers; this small square is charred black and melted.
"The badassium replaced the palladium." He stated with a shrug. My mouth made a perfect O shape in response.
"I'm an idiot; it doesn't need it because it's stabilized." Connecting the Badassium to the core the arc reactor came to life. Giving a powerful glow that I never saw before slowly stabilizing and getting a neutral glow that is stronger than the one Tony has.
"JARVIS, run diagnostics." I said in a serious tone.
"Amount of power generated is of 7 billion Kilowatts per hour. This reactor should give around five hundred percent increase in power if used."
"I'm a genius!!!" I said as I extended both arms into the air.
"Not so sure about that but good work." He said in a shrug, we began to compare notes, he may know the ins and out of his tech but I've studied the arc reactor since I was four and I know more than him on what this small beauty does, I explained the issues that his model arc reactor has, such as the energy that is being wasted, the leakage of energy.
"Mister Stark, Miss Moon, I would like to inform you that it's been four hours."
"Oh, oh. I think it's time I leave." I said focusing on the arc reactor pushing the topic of what or who my biological parent were to the back of my mind
"Good, then see you tomorrow." Tony said
"Great, goodbye Cindy." Bruce said as he turned towards me with a nod he closed every screen with data on me. Walking out the elevator Auntie was waiting for me with her bag on hand. "Ready to go home?"
"Yeah, what are we making for dinner?" I said as I wracked my brain on what to make. "Oh wait, let me just take this to the display case." Walking to the workshop on the floor I placed both web shooters on the table for them to be placed on the mannequin later. "I'm ready!" I answered back.
"Hmm, I was thinking of lasagna if we have time. Erica says she'll meet us at home after the shoot."
"Right, I may have to actually look into getting back to work. Almost forgot about that." I smiled back as we made our way out of Avengers Tower and towards home.
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