Dr. Helen Cho

When Helen had boarded the plane in London after an exhausting two weeks in their underground facility with little to no sunlight nor contact to the world outside, she had felt a sigh of relief to finally be headed home. The signing of the Sokovia Accords, as much as Tony Stark wanted not to follow General Ross's orders, there were some things he couldn't avoid. This one thing of course was the Military leader's request for the equivalency of the Cradle be also added to the secret Military Base located underground in the outskirts of London, England. Helen had no doubt that Tony had given his typical f-you to the General on it, but just for show at the very least to get the man off his back, he had asked her to go there and "supervise" some medical equipment to be set up. It wasn't exactly the restorative Cradle, but it would do a good enough job in mending injuries to a certain degree.

Helen understood Tony's reluctance to share all his technology because he'd seen firsthand on how misuse of it can lead to. Nevermind that Tony and his father's legacy had been somewhat built of the blood spilled by the weapons sold to the military over the years.

After two weeks of dealing with the Military alone, and with a few lab minions to support her, Helen understood her boss's frustration. The minute they completed the launch of the medical facility in the new base, she had booked the first flight out. It was too bad it was already night time, so again, she was deprived of sunlight. Such a small thing to see sunshine, who would have thought she would miss it so much.

On the plane Helen turned off her phone - given that she was constantly on call, she felt she deserved a break - and literally passed out until the flight landed in LaGuardia Airport. Passing through customs, thankfully hadn't been too difficult. Crowded, but no mishaps of people trying to rush through or officers tackling anyone. As she made her way through the airport, her phone suddenly rang.

This of course was an oddity because Helen remembered turning it off when she got on the plane. Yet there had been weirder things, and given that this particular phone was STARK tech, it was likely Tony himself trying to get into contact with her. The man was not shy when it came to wanting something right away. There were times when she was awed at how Pepper Potts handled the billionaire genius. Thinking nothing more, she accepted the unknown caller.

"Hello?"

"Dr. Cho."

FRIDAY? Helen knew immediately that this could not be a good thing. The A.I. didn't just randomly call people, unless something bad had happened.

Immediately, Helen slipped on her bluetooth headset.

"FRIDAY, is something wrong?"

"I have been repeatedly trying to contact Tony, but I am unable to. His last location, along with Ms. Potts and Colonel Rhodes were at the RAFT. Under a instructions by NK21 protocol Tony Stark has initiated at said location, I am currently on lockdown and unable to deploy anything to help Peter Parker unless -"

"What's happened to Peter?" Interrupted Helen immediately, the weariness she had been feeling earlier disappearing.

"He is currently located a several meters under the Hudson river," replied the A.I. switching gears easily.

"No."

"I am afraid so," responded FRIDAY not realizing it was a verbal display of shock rather than disbelief. "According to geolocation settings of several people Tony has flagged in his database, there is rescue available. However Mr. Parker may need heavy medical attention."

There was a beat before the A.I. added, "I have taken the liberty of contacting a medic team and they are on standby outside, awaiting to take you to Peter's location. I will assist in the routing."

"Good. Thank you, FRIDAY."

There was a small part of Helen that was unsettled on how much the AI knew and what she was able to do, especially given that it was the NK21 protocol that was initiated. This one, Helen knew to be a high threat protocol, something Tony would have called for if there was a chance of infiltration to the Stark systems. It essentially was a lockdown protocol, and it could only be undone with a special key. What it was, Helen herself didn't know. It could very well be a passcode. Or a voice command. Whatever it was, only Tony Stark would know. Which meant one thing, some serious stuff went down at the RAFT, enough for Tony to initiate the protocol.

As Helen got inside the van, the lead medic greeted her and immediately updated her all equipment that was available in the vehicle. FRIDAY through her headset, continued to also give her more information about the situation. The van roared to life and unsurprisingly, all the traffic lights remained green, allowing them straight no traffic access to Peter's location. The kid, thankfully as updated by FRIDAY, was no longer under water, but at a park across the river from Pier 78. The moment the vehicle stopped, she and a number of medics raced to the coordinates the A.I. relayed to them.

So focused on getting to Peter, Helen nearly ran into Claire Temple. She knew of the woman from Tony's files, where she was flagged along with a few others in the Hell's Kitchen area to be associates to vigilantes. It took only four words for her to get Claire to believe her, "I'm with Tony Stark." It helped too that she had a entourage of medics with her.

After that, it was just a race to get to Peter in time. The first thing Helen noticed when she saw the unmoving figure on the ground was the strong copper smell that permeated in the air. When she came close enough to Peter, she knew how dire his condition was. Racing to the kid's side, kneeling beside him, she immediately called for the medics to assist her in starting CPR.

Damn it. Peter, who did this to you? Thought Helen angrily. The millions of questions she had, however, had to wait. What Peter needed now was immediate medical attention.

Snapping to action, Helen worked hard with her team to pull Peter back from the brink of death. Each time when Peter had no response, Helen had forced down her fear and upped the voltage to the CPR machine. She felt as if she'd called out clear! one too many times as they pressed the paddles against his chest and sent a rippling shock through the kid. After what seemed like forever, they finally found a heartbeat. A weak one, but it was there.

Good job, Peter. Now you just have to keep it up until we get you to the Medical Lab at the Compound. Do that for me, okay, kid?

The lead medic passed her a med kit that was customized specifically for Peter. This was something prepared by Tony since the incident at the Pharmax facility. Aside from including tools and medicine, it also included a section to carry a blood pouch. The medics had brought along blood drawn from Peter when he had been admitted to their medical facility a few months ago. Helen remembered Tony saying aloud to no one in particular, "God forbid if the kid ever needs this, at least we have it". She was seriously felt thankful for her boss's foresight on this matter.

When Helen gave her the team the go ahead to prepare Peter for transport and transfusion, she was surprised when one of the medics cried out while lifting him. A cut on the man's hand appeared. Startled, Helen instructed them to lay Peter on his side.

My God, breathed out Helen in shock. The kid's back, while there were bandages that wrapped around him, there were also pieces of glass that had literally embedded into his flesh.

The physician in her considered to keep it inside, at least until they returned to the Compound, but then again, there was Peter's healing factor. Helen did not want the glass to be healed over the wounds. Yet seeing how much blood loss was happening, she was not even sure if Peter's healing was working at all.

Peter's weakened powers were likely caused by the electrical weapon he was shot with, a detail that FRIDAY filled Helen in about while they were enroute. The weapon was not any ordinary electrical device that the city cops had gotten ahold of. It was in fact a prototype designed by Tony himself, made to weaken the Spider-Man in the case he were to go rogue.

This device, however, was never released. Tony had even placed the design and the weapon under the highest security within the Stark Compound.

Helen, however, had a feeling that Quinn Sharpe must have made a copy of the design and sent it to potential buyers. Who constructed it or how it had made its way to the NYC department, that was something she would have to figure out later with Tony's help.

As Helen removed the shards, FRIDAY updated her that the Cradle was prepped and ready for Peter. Thanking the A.I., she continued focus on removing the shards. Once the last of it was out, Helen took the gauzes passed to her and taped it over the opened wounds. Even though blood quickly stained through, Helen was not worried. This was just a temporary measure, once they reached the Compound, she would place Peter in the restorative Cradle and the kid would be all healed up.

Gently laying the kid onto his back, Helen finished setting up the IV and transfusion.

"Okay, let's get him to the Compound," she said to her team of medics. They nodded and quickly proceeded to carry Peter ahead of Helen, back to the van.

Hang in there, Peter. You can do this. Just a little longer.

She glanced at the Defenders team and nodded for them to follow. She would have to explain the situation to them... well, at least from what shecould tell them.

At the van, she faced them again, and finally introduced herself and promised the explanation that was likely gnawing at the back of their minds.

Inside the van, Helen felt the growing tension and fear from the three Defenders that sat across from her. Looking at Jessica, Helen knew she was the most angriest of the three. Understandably since she was the one who had performed CPR, seeing the blood stains on her clothes and hands.

"What's going on? How did you find us? Why now? Why so late? Where is Tony Stark?"

Helen could tell Jessica was trying to hold back her rage by the tone of her voice. No doubt she blamed Tony. The thing was, Helen really didn't know if telling all the information she knew at the moment would help her friend and boss at all.

Should I mention that Tony designed the weapon that almost killed Peter? Even if Tony never meant it to be used, it was his design. It was only a prototype to ensure the safety of others...in case if ever Spider-Man went rogue.

It sounded like a good plan, if you ignored the fact that you were talking about taking down a fifteen year-old , according to what FRIDAY told her about how powerful the Spider-Man doppelganger Peter faced off with, a part of Helen couldn't blame Tony for his fear. If this had been Peter being compromised somehow, possessed even, there would have been no limits to how much damage he could have caused.

But Peter wasn't possessed and had nothing to do with any of the casualties that happened. He instead put himself on the line so that he could put a stop to the madman and in the process nearly paid for it with his own life.

The more Helen thought about it, the more she dreaded in answering Jessica's and the remaining Defenders' questions. This conversation with the group seriously not going to go down well. Taking a deep breath, and looking straight at the three pairs of expectant eyes on her, she knew she had to tell them what she knew.

How they took the information, Helen could only hope that they understood - Tony Stark was a person who took contingency plans to make sure people were safe. He never would have built the prototype to hurt Peter. It would have been a last resort, an absolute last resort.

When they arrived at the Compound, Helen could still feel the weight of silence behind her as she shifted out of the white van. The 'talk' had gone as well as she expected. They we're all angry, Jessica Jones the most vocal of them. Either way, Helen would have to smooth things over later. At the moment, she needed to get Peter to the Cradle asap.

The medics lifted Peter's stretcher, now attached to gurney, down and they rushed through to the doors of the Stark Compound, Helen and the Defenders only steps behind. The kid's vitals had taken a sudden dive minutes ago, making Helen fear for the worse. As they raced to the elevator, she was grateful that FRIDAY had control of the facility, ensuring that the lift doors were open for them. Every second at this moment counted.

The doors shut quickly as they entered, seconds passed and elevator re-opened on the fifth floor. Not missing a beat, they raced down the corridor; the wheels on gurney Peter were practically sparking at the speed they were going at.

Helen could see that in just a few more doors down, the would reach the room where the Restorative Cradle was. With it having been reworked further post destruction after Vision's awakening, the kid's wounds no doubt would be healed.

Peter, you're going to be okay , thought Helen. We're almost there, you just have to hang in there.

Heart pounding, Helen was feeling hope again as they neared the lab.

Things were going to be okay for Peter.

And then suddenly everything went south.

In slow motion it seemed, one by one the medics pushing the gurney lost their footing, and collapsed forward into a crumpled heap. Helen barely registered what was happening, but by instinct she reached forward to grab Peter's gurney, but it was too late. Her motor skills were compromised as well, and she found herself falling forward hard at full momentum onto the hard marbled floors. Behind her, she heard three bodies fall as well.

What was happening? Was this an Alien attack? Was this why Tony initiated the protocol?

In horror, as she felt her body shut down, Helen could see from her angle the gurney Peter was on, fly down the corridor and slam at full velocity into a set of equipment at the corner turn of the hallway. With all the supplies and other equipment there, it caused Peter's gurney to flip over on its side and the kid, like a rag doll, was tossed to the ground, landing in a sickening thud. The IV and transfusion equipment he was attached to, also toppled over, ripping from Peter's wrist, splattering blood across the floor, and mixing into the new pool of blood that was forming below the kid's unconscious form.

No. No, this wasn't supposed to happen! What was going on? Panic was building in Helen, but even with the sheer will in wanting to save Peter Parker's life, she couldn't fight the tug of the darkness. It seemed to wrap around her, pull her, envelop her.

The sounds around Helen became more muffled, as if she were underwater. FRIDAY, she could hear the A.I. call out to her. Warn her. Peter was dying. He needed help. They needed help. What can she do to aid them? But no matter how hard Helen tried, she couldn't respond to the A.I. The edges of her vision darkened quickly, and soon Helen followed in suite with the others, seeing nothing but darkness.

Oh no... what's going on? Everyone wondering where Tony Stark has been all this time? You will find out in the next few chapters :P Thank you guys again for the reviews/kudos! The support and knowing how much you guys are enjoying this fic as much as I enjoy writing it really brightens my day! :)