Connected

Harley had been having a tough year. First the extremist virus s had ruined his Christmas and after his meeting with "The Mechanic" he learned it had killed his 6-year-old sister and gravely injured his mother. Now in early march, his mother's condition was getting worse, Harley spent every day after school working on his inventions in the garage tricked out by Tony Stark. He had no more friends they all pitied him and Harley just wanted comfort not pity, no one understood him. Maybe if his dad was still with them his mother wouldn't have gotten hurt and his sister wouldn't have died.

So his life sucked, Harley was stuck with a sitter while his mom was in the hospitable but the sitter was an old man who didn't know how to take care of a ten year olds needs. Luckily Harley knew how to take care of himself as he usually did because his mother didn't have much time for him and his sister before the "incident" as Harley thought of it. While Harley was self immersed in his thoughts and work when he was tapped on the shoulder by his "sitter" who handed him the phone.

"Hello is this Harley,"

"Yes?"

" Kid, I am so sorry to tell you this but your mother isn't doing do well, you should get over here as soon as you can."

'Uh, this isn't good,' Harley thought, as he quickly gathered some money and headed towards the bus stop. He boarded the bus quickly told the driver to get him to the hospital. He sat down and took out the latest gadget he had been working on, he was trying to make a way to protect people from extreme heat like the extremis maybe retro reflectors of some kind, he wasn't sure yet but when the designs are done he would find a way to send them to mechanic so he could use them on his suit.

This led Harley to think about the extreme heats of the extremist attacks and how the extremist soldiers slowly turned up the heat and burnt others. He thought about how his six-year-old sister had been forced to watch this happen from her and her mothers hiding place in the diner. Thinking about this lead Harley to have a flashback, which was a newer experience for him, Harley had been running from the soldiers when he spotted his mother and sister. They saw Harley outside with the strange Man who he heard his mother identify as Tony Stark. When the extremist soldiers shot a ray near Harley and her Dora watch Lizzie couldn't stand it anymore. She yelled stop, and seeing an easy target the extremist soldier took a shot killing Lizzie and exposing her and Harley's mother to extreme heat, Harley watching all the while.

"Hey kid were here," the bus driver said looking over his shoulder.

Harley entered the looming building with a feeling of loathing, he hates how the adults here always pretend as if nothing is wrong and everything will be fine.

Just then someone interrupts his thoughts, a nurse named Janet, who greets him same as always "What are you building now, Harley," greets him instead somberly.

" You better get in their she's holding on just for you now go." Harley rushes up the familiar staircase with tears in his eyes. He walks into the hospital room where his mother, barely recognizable from her burns, is on the bed waiting for him.

"Harley," she manages to croak out, "Remember that I love you and I will always be with you," she states tearfully.

"I am not going to be with you much longer and I have found someone to love you almost as much as I have," she slowly drifts off to sleep holding her sons hand.

Harley sits there for the night, as it is a Friday. At around 2 AM, Harley wakes up to feel his mothers ice cold hand and seeing her wide open eyes left lifeless. Harley would never admit it but he ran out of the room crying for the doctor. Immediately hearing his pleas the doctors and nurses that have been caring for his mother rush over, Janet is the first to get there, she realizes there is no hope for Harley's mother and rushes to the young boy and wraps her arms around him shushing him,

"Harley, everything will be fine, your mother is with your sister now, she's happier and no longer in pain."

Harley shocked manages to choke out,

" I have no one nothings alright,"

and let's out some more sobs as the doctors around him take his mothers cold body away. He doesn't even notice because he's so grief stricken, finally Harley manages to cry himself to sleep in Janet's arms.