I don't own anything except any original character and/or any original plot.

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Chapter Sixteen: X-Venger

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Everything hurt.

I was acutely aware of the sharp throb that stabbed through every nerve in my body in a unique way each time for each one. But I couldn't scream, or even fight against the force that was pulling me out of the water. Did I even want to fight if they were saving my life? The answer was unclear, and I wasn't able to form concrete thoughts as I was shifted and wanted nothing more than to scream and cry.

"What happened to her?" I was moved to what felt like a table. Cold and straight beneath me. It felt nice.

"I don't know. What I do know is that we need the medical center to be ready as soon as we arrive or we're going to have some problems. I'm doing what I can now, but I'm not as experienced as the other doctors. Inform my brother what's going on."

"Understood, Princess."

Princess? I didn't know a lot of Princesses besides one- Shuri! If it was actually her, and the whole scenario wasn't how I was supposed to enter the afterlife, then there was no one better suited to heal me.

"Brain waves spiking showing an increase in activity. (Y/n), if you can hear me, know that you're going to be alright. I'll be putting you under soon to prep for surgery, just allow it to happen and trust that you're in good hands."

A mask over my face, Shuri counting backwards in Wakandan, and I was out again.

~*~

When I woke up again I felt marginally better. Sure, there was still that residual ache from sore muscles and the numerous bruises coating my body, but I could move. Groaning, I forced my eyes open. I was in the Wakandan med-bay. Or... it looked like I was.

"(Y/n)! Holy shit you're awake-" Shuri ran towards me excitedly, but an ice dagger to the throat cut her off. I surprised myself with my own self-preservation instincts, but I couldn't take any chances.

"I thought you were bae," she yelled out in shock, "Turns out you're just fam."

Sighing in relief I returned the water to the air. Mysterio couldn't mimic Meme Princess Shuri™, that was a privilege only her friends and family could enjoy. "You have no idea how relieved I am to see a friendly face."

"I love you, and I'm concerned, but what the hell?" Shuri checked my vitals on her holo-pad.

"Sorry. The guy Peter and I are up against creates these massive illusions. It's how he made me fall out of a building. Then one of his goons threw me in a river- how did you find me, by the way?"

"Your AI. I'm an emergency contact since I'm the one who made it, and I got a notification that you're vitals were at extremely dangerous levels. And before you worry too much, I used as much pull as I could to track down Peter. Facial recognition put him on a train, then in the Netherlands. He's alive. Doesn't look good, but alive."

My heart leapt up to my throat. I hadn't even considered the fact that Beck would have tried to kill Peter as well, but he did, and Peter survived, "Oh... how long have I been here?"

"Overnight. You had a comminuted ankle, tibia, and wrist. A severe concussion, cracked skull, and trauma to your spine. Thanks to my tech and vibranium implants it should heal relatively quickly and feel okay since the bones have been substituted, but I wouldn't recommend pushing it. You were dying, (Y/n)."

"I thought I'd drown."

"You were submerged for five minutes. The modifications Thanos gave you saved your life-"

I chuckled humorlessly, "That's not what I need to hear right now."

"And what is? You look awful (Y/n), not just because of the injuries. Your brain scan wasn't great either, showed signs of PTSD and depression." That wasn't a surprise.

"I don't know Shuri, maybe it's because I've been useless?" I snapped, finally having reached my breaking point, "I knew something was off but didn't do anything because I've been off. And I've been wallowing in guilt over killing Tony even though I logically know it wasn't my fault! In the end, all of this shit is just one big identity crisis because I want to be normal, but I'm a daughter of Thanos and he literally changed me forever. And everyone says I'm an Avenger but I can't let go of the X-Men, but neither of them are me!"

Breathing heavily, I lifted a shaky hand to wipe away my tears. That was it. Everything I'd been too scared to say in therapy screamed out in two minutes. I'd been beaten, bruised, and shot, and therapy had put a bandaid over it because I refused to be truly honest.

All because admitting everything would make it too real. It was stupid, and cliche, but I was terrified and traumatized and only saying the bare minumum for therapy as if it'd fix everything.

"Right..." Shuri blinked slowly, "Give me a minute." Shuri left in a hurry.

An irrational part of me said I scared her off, but Shuri bounded back into the room quickly enough to dissuade those thoughts. She handed me a holo-pad, already cued up with a call.

"I thought about calling Xavier or Nebula, but in the end, no one can cut the bullshit and tell you the truth better than them."

Shuri tapped the pad to pull up the picture and I gasped.

"Mom, Dad."

My parents smiled, and for the first time I could see the strain on them. The age beyond their years the hero world had caused them. That I had caused them. But they were still smiling as if it didn't matter. They'd supported me through everything, accepted my mutation, and were always the brights points of my life. Yet my world had shifted from revolving around my family to revolving around the hero world, and that was my mistake.

"Hey honey," Mom greeted.

"Before we say anything, we want you to know how proud we are. We always have been, and always will be."

"Thanks," I whispered, sniffling. It was an emotional day.

"(Y/n), if you want to come home, enjoy the rest of your summer, and retire while allowing Mysterio to rise and be recognized as a hero, then we'll help you look at colleges," my mom soothed, "And if you want to fight, and go against what feels like the world, then we're going to be cheering you on and celebrate when you get home."

"But I don't know what I want to do!" I groaned in frustration.

"You do," my dad smiled, a hint of sadness there, "Let me tell you something. You are our daughter, a mutant, an X-Venger, but more than anything, you're a fighter. You kick ass anywhere, not just criminals!"

Grinning, a laugh bubbled in my chest. Shuri was right. More than any long-winded inspirational speech about doing the right thing and proving myself to be more than Thanos' daughter, I needed no bullshit. I needed reassurance that even though I was Riptide, Riptide wasn't me.

I was me. I chose who I wanted to be and I had no obligations to stay that way. And no fake hero was going to make me weak.

"I'm an X-Venger. I'm a hero. And I'm going to kick Mysterio's ass!"

"You go queen!"

"Mom, Dad, I love you, thank you!"

I ended the call there and looked to a bouncing Shuri, obviously ready to get moving. Not even giving me the chance to ask, she started turning off the machines and carefully removed my IVs.

"I have something cool to show you" she squealed, "Oh, first, it'll take some time to get used to the vibranium implants. Because it's highly adaptable and because we've adjusted Helen Cho's skin recreating tech, there's no need for months of physical therapy. However, there may be some surgical site pain so you'll want this."

Frowning when Shuri pulled an old fashioned walker, I reluctantly stepped out of bed and took hold of the handles. Cautiously, I stepped down. Slight twinges from my leg and wrist but that was it.

"I love this place," I hurried after the princess. If it was any normal surgery, I would be out of commision for months and would be stuck in physical therapy. Thanks to the advanced tech of Wakanda, combined with Helen Cho's, I only needed a walker.

Into an elevator and then a cruiser, we finally stopped at her lab at the outskirts of the capitol city. It was another race to the back, where she pulled out a mannequin modeling a new costume. The design was already appealing. The colors were my classic, it was sleek, and yet I could see the armor beneath.

"You can't wear that horrendous costume that we rescued you in. Not only was it destroyed but it was hideous. Water Girl," Shuri scoffed in disgust, "Actually, I can't take any credit for this suit. Tony Stark made it for you."

"He did?" I ran a hand across the chestplate. Matte metal.

"Yes. Happy delivered it two weeks ago so I could finish it. It had all the tech and outlining complete, but it lacked vibranium."

"Wow," I whispered. Tony left me something. Just like how he left Peter EDITH. He left both of us more money than we could spend in a lifetime, but there was something so much more personal about something he made for you.

"Misty, transfer to (Y/n)."

The suit climbed up the hand that was on it and completely covered my body. It was lightweight, comfortable, and overall amazing. The nano-tech Tony ingrained was flawless. The screens hovering around my vision were new, but I'd get used to them.

"The belt is custom," Shuri rolled out a mirror so I could see myself.

The X-Men 'X' through the Avengers 'A'. It was Tony who coined X-Venger after all. My heart filled with warmth as I stared at my logo. Tony understood. He knew that I wouldn't want to choose between the X-Men and Avengers, and rather than choose for me, he chose to understand.

"Congratulations (Y/n), you unlocked the Tsunami Protocol. You have been granted the same liberties as Peter has with EDITH. Additionally, I have the ability to use the nanotech within the suit to condense it into an inconspicuous object. Tony prefered a watch, but I have several other options in my inventory."

"That's amazing Misty, thank you. Oh, speaking of which, I need you to track EDITH's location. Shuri, you can create a secure line to talk to Happy, right?"

"Bitch, who do you think I am?" Shuri ran over and plopped down in her desk chair. Two seconds later she had Happy on FaceTime.

"Happy! The line is secure, don't worry. Is Peter there?"

"Yeah," Happy showed Peter working in the back, "Want me to get him? He's been freaking out about you. He cried a little too."

"No, I'd rather see him in person. Tell him I'm alive though, and with Shuri."

"Edith located in London."

"Are you headed to London?"

"Yeah, Mysterio is apparently after some of your classmates so I'm gonna pick them up and take them to a safe location. We'll see you there, right?"

"You know it. Be there soon."

Shuri stopped the call and pushed off, rolling to another monitor in her chair, "I'm sorry but we don't have soldiers to spare. It's been a very busy week as the summer is starting."

"I understand Shuri, all I need is a ship to get there."

"You'll be there in an hour. Kick some ass. Oh, and text me!"

"Could I ever escape you?"

"Nope. You can't ghost me like Nick Fury."