Trust | 2 |

Chapter Thirty-Four

It had been about two weeks since I saw Doctor Strange. He hadn't contacted me yet, which I took as good news; it meant he hadn't lost hope or come up on any dead ends yet. It also did mean he hadn't found anything helpful yet either. But, for once, I was trying to live with a "the glass is half-full" kind of attitude.

So far it was only driving me insane.

"Rey, you need to take a minute to just relax." Tony stood in front of me as I paced around the gym. "He's going to have news, what kind, you can't control. You can't do anything about it so just forget about it for a moment, okay?"

I had told him everything that had happened because I was losing it and needed an outlet that wouldn't cause my hand to cramp. At first, he didn't like that Strange took me from the compound through a glowing orange circle, but he eventually moved past it.

I sighed and stopped in front of him. "Knowing I don't have control over the situation isn't what's bothering me. I haven't had much control over most of my life if we're being honest here," I said and avoided the glare Tony threw at me. "What's causing me to be anxious is the fact that he might actually have a spell to help me get what I want- normalcy. If I don't have my abilities or the soldier half of me, maybe the world governments will leave me alone?"

Tony smiled lightly. "Well, you still need to remember he might not have a good answer for you, either. Distract yourself! Go swimming in the pool- you got the bathing suits now." He stepped past me while giving me a pat on the shoulder. "Relax! Take a break!" he called out as he walked further away.

My arms were crossed over my chest and I sighed like a child. Because he was right, I needed to focus on something other than what my future could be for just a couple hours, at least.

I went back to my room and changed into one of the swimsuits I got a while back- it still had the tag on it, so I took it off and put it one. There was an extra towel in my bathroom I decided to bring with me to use after I swim. I also put on a large t-shirt so I wouldn't be walking around in just a swimsuit.

Tony had already told me my arm was waterproof back when I was concerned about taking showers, so I knew I'd be fine swimming in a pool.

FRIDAY helped me find my way back and once I got there, she started to play some relaxing music so I wouldn't be left in silence. "Okay, Rey, just... relax. Do a few slow laps and forget about... well, everything," I mumbled. There was a chair for me to set my t-shirt and towel, so once I did that I dove into the pool.

At first, it was cool, but my body acclimated quickly (plus Tony made it a heated pool, it just wasn't on all the time so FRIDAY turned it on a second after I came in). There was an end where I could touch the bottom but it wasn't a large portion of the pool. I didn't mind, I was a strong swimmer. Hydra made sure I could survive any condition.

"No," I said, loudly talking to myself. I was not going to think about Hydra, my parents, SHIELD, being on the run, Doctor Strange- nothing. What I was going to do was laps around the pool while focusing on the music playing above me.

For two hours, all I did was do different swimming styles around the pool. There were a couple moments where I got out and dove back in because diving was really fun. When I got out, the flesh parts of me were wrinkled from the water and I had to get quite a bit out from my arm.

But somehow, Tony was right. I still remembered everything, it's not like everything magically disappeared into an abyss, but I felt a lot better about a lot of things.

I needed to make peace about what happened to my parents- to my family. That was something I couldn't change. I had to forgive myself and move past it. The forgiving will take some time.

In fact, there wasn't much I could do about many of the things I had been stressing about. All I could do now was wait, and I didn't want to spend that time panicking. Instead, I was going to do other things. Tony could help me figure out what else I could do.

My towel proved useful and after I dried off, I put my shirt back on and went back to my room where I was going to take a nice shower and put some lounge clothes on and start my relaxing period by watching a movie that either Tony or FRIDAY recommend.

Back at my room, I threw the towel over one of the towel bars in my bathroom to let it dry. Then I took the rest off and threw it in the hamper before getting in and relaxing more, this time in cooler water but it was still better than pacing the gym floors.

I finished and got a clean towel to dry myself and my hair as I walked over to my closet to find something nice to wear. On my way to the door, I stopped and focused on something sitting on my desk.

Forgetting all the progress I just made towards relaxation, I hurried over and and picked up the foreign piece of paper. It was old and slightly yellow. "Strange," I whispered, the realization hitting hard and happy.

I unrolled it and carefully held my towel with my arms and held the paper with both hands.

Come to the Sanctum, quick.

177A Bleecker Street

The paper fell from my hands as I stood in shock for a moment. Had he found something? The message wouldn't be as urgent if he came up with nothing, so obviously it has to be good. I felt like jumping in excitement until I remembered I was wearing a towel.

"I should probably get something on," I mumbled and hurried in my closet to find something to wear. It needed to be normal so that way I could feel normal after the spell. Jeans and a t-shirt were two of the most normal things I could think of, so I grabbed those and a leather jacket, too.

I got dressed in record speed then ran out of my room. "Where's Tony?" I asked the ceiling.

"Lab."

"Thank you!" I hurried to the lab and found Tony hunched over a table working on something.

The door slammed open from my excitement, causing Tony to jump and drop whatever tool he was holding. "Jesus Christ, Rey, something could have blown up," Tony said, not quite yelling but he definitely wanted to. "Some sort of miracle better have happened."

"Strange needs me down at the Sanctum now," I said, barely letting him finish. "I just wanted to let you know I'm taking the motorcycle and I can contact you if anything happens."

He nodded, and a small smile came up on his face. "Good luck, Rey. Seriously though, let me know how it goes," he said.

I nodded quickly and sprinted back out of the room down to the garage. The motorcycle was there and waiting for me, making it easy for me to hop on and speed out of there. Speed limits became suggestions as I hurried towards the city. Cars honked at me left and right, but I didn't give a shit. I couldn't because I was filled with too much excitement.

There were a couple places to park in front of the Sanctum, so I took one and basically tore my helmet off and not so carefully put it on my bike before literally running through the front doors.

I sprinted in and was about to yell his name, when my surroundings suddenly changed from the old entryway of the Sanctum to peaceful blue sky and grass. This wasn't good.