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MJ's eyes shot open. She was sideways, her hair pooling on the window below her. Her heart was racing, and she could feel the heat radiating from other parts of the car.
She turned her head; the world felt like it was moving in slow motion. Peter was suspended above her, still unconscious and buckled into the driver's seat. She turned back to look at the window. "Oh." The word fell from her mouth without permission.
Gravel crunched behind the car, so faint she almost didn't hear it. "You guys okay?" It was a stranger; if she had to guess, MJ would say a 40 year old man.
Awareness fell onto her like a wave, and she blinked. "Um..." Her voice cracked. She cleared her throat. "No! Can you- help!" She tried to keep the desperation from her voice. It didn't work.
"Yeah! I'll be right there, I'm coming!"
MJ let out a shaky sigh. Peter groaned above her. "Peter? Hey, Peter. Wake up, loser." The familiar nickname didn't sound as lighthearted as she wanted it to. Her voice trembled.
His eyes fluttered as the door opened, then proceeded to fall right off the car. A middle-aged man stood there, staring at the broken door for a moment before turning to the kids. "Gosh, y'all are children. You both awake?"
Peter groaned, his eyes squinting as he mumbled "Emmy..." before passing out again.
MJ looked back up at the stranger. "I am. He's not."
The stranger nodded and wrapped an arm around Peter. "I called 911, they're not too far out. Maybe ten minutes. You got anyone you can call?"
MJ nodded as he unbuckled Peter, hoisting him out of the car before he could collapse on her.
"His parents." She found herself unable to shove anything else through her throat. Speaking was hard.
"Can you unbuckle and stand up for me?" The stranger urged, pulling Peter away from her view.
"Yeah," she mumbled, but it took her another couple seconds to push herself into action. She felt her shoulder hit the window as she pressed the release on her seatbelt. After some more shuffling, she was able to stand on the passenger window, her head just barely poking out of the hole that used to be the driver's door.
She could see the stranger lay Peter down on the grass, then run back over to her. "C'mon, we don't want you in there for too long. It might catch fire."
She nodded and stepped on the center console, the stranger's grip under her arms uncomfortable but helpful. He lifted her onto the weed-filled gravel, then nudged her over to Peter, his hand between her shoulder blades. She followed easily, her brain too foggy to do much else.
Someone mumbled something, and she turned to the man. "Hm?"
"Is anyone else in there?" He repeated. Why did he sound so far away?
"No." She pulled her phone out of her pocket (this is why her hoodie pockets all have zippers) and unlocked it. "I have to call... hm."
"Ambulances are on their way. You said you can call his parents?" The man gestured to where Peter was laying on the grass a few feet away. His breathing was steady, and she didn't see any blood. Good.
"Yeah. Karen." MJ mumbled, her phone lighting up. "Call... Pepper." Her words slurred, coming out at a snail's pace. She shivered.
The phone chimed before a ringing contact for Pepper Potts-Stark showed up.
"Hey, MJ, what's up?"
"Car crash. We... crashed, um..." She glanced at the street sign across the street, but her vision was too blurry for her to read it. "Not dead. Can, um... can you help?"
"I'm already on my way, honey. Did you call 911?" Her voice changed; it was clearer now. MJ vaguely recognized the tinny sound of being inside an iron suit.
"Yeah. The man did."
"Okay. Okay, yeah. FRIDAY, call Tony and tell him to get his sleep-deprived-"
FRIDAY must have cut the call off.
MJ was suddenly aware of the flashing lights surrounding her. "What..." An ambulance pulled up, and three paramedics piled out. Two ran to Peter with a stretcher, and one to her with a blanket. The medic wrapped it around her, guiding her to stand.
"Hey, sweetheart. You okay?" She smiled at MJ, her eyes searching her for wounds.
"Mhm," MJ mustered, shivering as the blanket did its work of warming her.
Repulsers sounded, and she looked up. Pepper stepped out of the suit, glanced toward where they were loading Peter into the ambulance, then ran straight to MJ. "Oh, honey." She hugged her, the paramedic moving out of the way slightly.
Another ambulance pulled up as Peter's left, and the medic cleared her throat. "Let's get her to the hospital, okay?"
Pepper nodded and immediately stepped back.
MJ blinked open her eyes, the beeping of a heart monitor filling the room. She took a deep breath to push down any panic that rose with the memories of what happened.
"Hey, MJ. How're you feeling?" Pepper's voice brought her to turn her head.
"Good." Her voice gave out, so she cleared her throat and tried again. "Good. How's Peter?"
"Awake and healing. Tony's with him."
MJ nodded. "And... my parents?" She was almost scared to ask, just in case she got the answer she was dreading.
Pepper's lips thinned, and MJ sighed, ignoring the tears that sprung to her eyes. "Your mom is still in Cuba. Your dad said he... couldn't make it."
"Let me guess: 'I have better things to do than watch that crybaby sleep'." MJ deepened her voice, wiping away the one tear that escaped.
Pepper grabbed MJ's hand. "I'm here for you, honey. If they don't care enough, I'll care extra."
MJ nodded with a shaky breath, her lip trembling. "Thanks."