The Avengers Weakness

Chapter Forty-Four

Peter was sitting next to Penny, who was lying in a hospital bed in the medbay. He had a wet rag in his hands as he helped Stephen Strange clean the dirt and blood off of his sister's face, arms, and legs. She started coughing once again, thick droplets of blood escaping from her mouth. Peter frowned and cleaned the sticky, red liquid from off of her lips with a clean rag. He gently gripped onto her hand, brushing the hair out of her face with his free hand. She continued to grip onto his hand, it was like she was scared to let go.

He looked at the older man, "What's wrong with her Doctor Strange?" he asked, he was concerned with the blood that was slowly appearing on the rag he was using.

The man frowned, "We'll figure it out kid, don't worry," he replied.

Peter nodded, but continued to cast worried glances at his baby sister, who was barely conscious at the moment.

He and Doctor Strange stepped out of the curtained off area as doctor Cho started to help the younger girl to change into a hospital gown. He heard his sister's shaky breaths and coughs, and found himself in a different state of worry than he'd been when she was missing. The female doctor slid open the curtains to the section of the medbay where they were treating Penny. Stephen walked back into the room, leaving Peter standing in the doorway, watching the situation unfold in front of him. Stephen Strange was connecting a heart monitor to his sister, he knew it was needed, but to him it was pointless. He could hear the rapid beating of her heart, her shaky, wet, shallow breaths that were shaking in her chest, the rattling sound her lungs made every time she sucked in a breath. He watched the monitor read her oxygen levels and her heart rate. Her heart rate read one hundred twenty six- a little too high for the average teenager and her oxygen was in the low eighties: a sign that she wasn't getting enough on her own. The two doctors were asking questions, looking for answers from his little sister; the younger girl was barely responding. Peter could tell she was fading in and out of consciousness and that she was scared. He could feel and smell the emotion radiating off of her; her eyes were darting around the room constantly, while they fluttered open and shut, her pupils dilated.

"Kid, I need you in here!" the salt-and-pepper haired man called, motioning for Peter to come into the area.

Peter quickly walked over to the trio, "Yes sir?" 

"What do you hear?" the man asked.

Peter blinked slowly, "What?" he asked.

"With your powers, your hearing is better than any stethoscope we will ever have. Listen closely, what do you hear Peter?" he asked.

Peter nodded, he tapped the spider emblem on his chest, letting his suit safe away. He found the suit restricting at the moment, he grasped onto her small, warm hand, tuning in his hearing to hear her better. "Her heart...its beating so fast that it's skipping beats." he closed his eyes so he could focus.

Stephen nodded, "Good, what else?" he asked.

Peter listened a little harder, "Her breathing is shallow," he opened his eyes, watching her chest rise and fall, "She's breathing quickly, too quickly it's causing her pain. I can feel it. Her lungs they're making this noise...it's like..." he paused listing a little harder, "It's like a crackling noise, like a candy wrapper being played with. And it's wet like there is some type of fluid in them. Something is making a crunching o-or cracking noise every time she breathes...I-I think it's her ribs....they might be broken...that's it." he replied, looking at the two doctors.

Stephen nodded, "Good job kid....Anything else?" he asked.

Peter nodded, "Should she feel this warm?" he asked, concerned for his sister's steadily rising temperature.