The Tear of Celeste

Chapter 8: The Artifact

At this point you were just rolling with the punches, way too much going and you were just looking forward to being able to take a hot bath and go to sleep on your own terms.

You were back in America, well back might be the wrong word since you were from another dimension, but you were still in America now.

You had been taken straight to a big tower in the middle of New York that you had never seen! You have been to New York before, but this was never here.

Mr. Stark told you that you would be staying here until they found a way to bring you back home. They didn't have a machine that could just teleport you back home, but he seemed overly confident that they would figure that out soon. If Hydra had done it so could he.

You had also gotten an explanation about why you got teleported here again in the first place, one that was told to you in a way that would not make you panic.

And so you found yourself in the middle of a lab. Standing in some big machine that reminds you of those very advanced metal detectors they have in some airports, though you have not been asked to take your shoes off.

In fact, you are still wearing everything you had when you first got here, even being given back your original t-shirt.

Someone says your name over the intercom, you recognize the voice as Mr. Stark, it sounds a lot like when he was talking in the Iron Man suit. "We are going to start scanning for the artifact now okay?"

You sigh and rub your forehead. "And what if I don't have it?" They have been insisting that you must have the artifact on you since they could not find it in the bunker. But there was a chance Hydra might have gotten it already when they knocked you out. But they had chased you down when you ran, and you had not noticed you were missing anything.

"No matter if you have it or not you get to rest after this okay?" Mr. Stark tells you, making you nod and sigh. "Fair enough."

"Ready to begin?" Another male voice asks, and if you were honest, you were not.

"Yes," you say anyway, let's get this over with!

You see some kind of laser field above your head suddenly, making you jump slightly. "It's not gonna hurt, it's just gonna scan you, please try to stand as still as possible," Mr. Stark tells you, making you straighten your back and look forward.

As the field touches the top of your head you relax every so slightly, trying not to move too much. He was right, it does not hurt, you can't even feel it! You have just been surprised you had been able to see it at all.

You close your eyes so you don't get blinded by the laser, but feel a chill run down your spine as you suddenly get a bad feeling.

What if you did have the artifact, but it's like... Inside you.

You shudder at the thought, really hoping that is not the case! You have never been operated on before, and you are really hoping you would not need one.

But before the thoughts can run too wild in your head, you hear the machine beeping. You open your eyes to find the laser field has stopped at your collarbone, right as it hits the pendant of your necklace.

You hear your name on the intercom, Mr. Stark speaking again. "Are you wearing a necklace?" He asks you.

Your eyes grow big as you nod. You know there is a camera in the machine watching you, so you pull your necklace up so the others can see it.

It's a simple chained necklace with a twelve-pointed star pendant at the end, each of the points was made of a crystal with different colors. You honestly had not thought about it having even a chance to be the artifact because it was something you had always had.

"Can you take it off and come out with it?" Mr. Stark asks while the doors to the machine open for you again, the lasers disappearing as the machine shuts down.

You are nodding solemnly, stepping out of the machine while you work on the clasp of the necklace on the back of your neck. It's a bit tricky taking it off, hence why you rarely bother taking it off at all, you only had to a very few times as it does not trigger any metal detectors.

"Can someone help me?" You ask. It's been a while since you last did this, and your fingers are shaking. You know that it's silly, but you are REALLY hoping the machine is somehow wrong about your necklace being the artifact they are looking for.

Mr. Stark, Nat, and someone you don't recognize walks closer to you, the two men stopping by another machine while Nat comes over to help you get the necklace off.

She noticed the tears in your eyes as she unclasped the necklace. "You okay?" She asks with a slight frown on her face.

You nod and sigh, looking at the necklace she is holding, your neck already feels weird without it on. "Yeah, I just... I had that for as long as I can remember," you tell her with a sad smile.

She nods, clearly understanding your dilemma, but still takes the necklace to where Tony and the other guy are standing. You walk over to get a better look yourself.

The man looked at you and smiled "Oh! Bruce Banner!" He introduces himself and shakes your hand.

You smile, shaking his hand back and giving him your name.

Tony has placed your necklace on what you can only describe as a smaller version of the machine you were just in, clearly scanning it multiple times. "... Yes, this is it, without a doubt," he says, showing the readings on the screen.

Mr. Banner walks over to look at the readings. "Certainly looks like it!" He says, pointing at some lines and graphs you don't really understand. "Same energy wavelength," he says, mumbling other stuff like that.

"Where did you get the necklace from, kid?" Mr. Stark asks. Even after telling him your age and name, he does not seem to get rid of that nickname he picked out for you.

You want to roll your eyes again, but there is only so much eye-rolling you can do for one person per day.

"I don't know," you tell him honestly, making all three turn to look at you with a questioning looks, "I always had it, I can't remember ever not having it."

Mr. Stark considers that and makes a guess. "Family heirloom?" He tries, making you, again, want to roll your eyes!

"I would not know, I never met my parents," you tell him, making him give you a surprised look. "I was found abandoned on the steps of an orphanage," you tell him with a shrug, it's not really a big deal to you anymore. "I guess my parents might have given me the necklace, I honestly don't know or remember, I never really asked, I just always had it."

Mr. Banner looks worried at that, looking back at the necklace and then at you. "So this necklace... Is the only thing..." He does not want to finish the sentence.

"The only thing I might have from my parents? Maybe, not that it ever really meant that to me." You look at the necklace with a sad smile. "I have not been wearing it all this time because of something like using it to find my parents." You shrug. "I honestly never really cared about that, it's more..." Your smile fades. "It's the only thing I always had." And now that too was gone.

You were suddenly feeling the weight of being taken to a new world all over again and looking at them tired. "So... What now?"

Nat takes your arm gently. "Now, I'll take you to your new room and let you get a nice warm bath while finding some new clothing for you so we can wash the ones you are wearing."

You give her a thankful smile. "That sounds lovely Nat," you say, letting her lead you out of the lab and over to the elevator. She uses a key card on it and tells you that she will make sure you get one yourself soon.

You are looking forward to some alone time.

༺☆༻

Bruce looks after you as you leave, his face frowning with clear worry. "... She has been wearing it her entire life?" He asks slowly, looking back at the readings on the screen.

Tony gives a slow nod, understanding what he means "... We give her a medical check later." If you had been wearing something this powerful for so long, it might have side effects.