A/N: Welcome to my second adventure in the Marvel Universe, this time starring the Avengers and Co., All I Can Do for You. Each chapter of this story is from a different Avenger's (or other associated character's) point of view, although the main character is an OC.
Also, to all those *cough Sporks cough cough* who have been waiting for this and I broke my promise to, please, please, please forgive my late update! I'm really super sorry but I had a family reunion and didn't have time before I left. I'll try to keep up for the rest of the summer!
Enjoy, review and share with your friends and family if you like it. Thanks and love you all!
Prologue- Jane's POV
"I have to admit, laser tag without powers is a much more fun and much less dangerous game than the normal Avengers version." I laughed as we exited the arcade. Thor, my amazing and thoughtful husband, picked me up bridal style and kissed the top of my head. Wrapping my arms around his neck, I kissed him back, earning a wolf-whistle from Tony. Pepper slapped him and apologized on his behalf, but Thor and I were too in love to care.
As we crossed the street and turned right towards the subway tunnel entrance, I heard a noise off to my left, a weak, almost human cry coming from an alleyway. I turned to the others, wondering if they'd heard it. Thor, seeing the expression on my face, set me down gently.
"What is it?" he asked, concern flitting across his open, honest features.
"Nothing," I said, shaking my head to clear it. "I just thought I heard…"
At that instant, a scream pierced the night air followed by the snap of a door being flung open. A thump sounded as something heavy hit the ground, an unintelligible plea echoed down the alley, and then the door slammed. Before the reverberations of the slam faded, the Avengers were (mostly) ready for action.
Bruce and Pepper were dispatched to call for Happy and the car while I stayed with Tony at the mouth of the alley and waited for the latest Iron Man suit to arrive. Thor pulled Cap, Natasha, Clint and his own weapons and suits out of the duffel bag he'd brought from the Tower. Everyone suited up, with the exception of Natasha, who only pulled on a Kevlar vest and her gloves that carried her specialty weapons. The four of them headed into the dark portal, where barely muffled sobs were now exiting into the night air, weapons raised and eyes darting around for any sign of trouble.
As the lights of Tony's suit finally showed up in the night sky, diving down to meet us, I worried about the lack of any sound, save the crying, in the alley. Surely, if a battle was ensuing there would be a lot of noise right? Clanging, gunshots, shouts, buildings falling over, something. But only the soft sobs cut through the blackness to meet my ears. I held my breath as the armor landed beside us and clipped itself around Tony's body.
Finally, with Tony just entering the dark side-street, familiar voices traveled through the night, and I released my breath in a sigh of relief.
"It's just a kid." Clint deep tones held traces of relief and incredulity that only someone familiar with him would have caught. But Steve's frank honesty showed all his worry when he spoke.
"She's hurt." My heart caught in my throat. A little girl, hurt in a dark alley on the rough side of New York City. It sounded like the opening scene of one of Clint's crime-solving shows. I forced myself to relax.
It's going to be all right. I thought to myself. We just need to get her to a hospital, then we give our statement to the police and they'll find her parents. She'll be fine and it will all end well. I almost had myself convinced, but when Thor called out to the girl, everything went wrong.
"Excuse me, young lady. Do…"
"No!" A tortured cry of pain and terror sliced through the quiet like an ice-cold knife. "Leave me alone!"
"Calm down. We're the good guys." Tony's voice sounded mechanical as it exited his suit.
"Please, just go away! No more, don't hurt me, please!" The girl's voice was desperate, helpless, pleading. I decided I had to go in there. Yanking the emergency first-aid kit out of the duffel bag Thor had dropped to the sidewalk, I headed in. My little group of heroes meant well, but they didn't know how scary they looked in their full battle gear. My first aid training and lack of armor and weapons would make it possible for me to help without scaring the poor thing.
"Don't shoot!" I whisper-yelled as all the Avengers whirled around to face me, weapons raised.
"Jane! What are you doing?" Thor lowered his hammer to the ground, stepping forward to take my shoulders in his large, warm hands. I saw a flash of movement against the back wall of the alley, just within the ring of light from Tony's suit and heard a barely suppressed sob.
"She's just a little girl and all your gear is scaring her. Let me help her." Tony and Cap looked at each other, then at the duo of assassins on the other side of me and my husband. They shrugged and Thor nodded. Steve looked me in the eye and nodded.
"Fine, but be careful." Nodding, I gently removed Thor's hands from my shoulders, standing on tiptoe to kiss his cheek.
"I'll be fine. Don't worry." I whispered. Stepping into the darkness where I had seen motion before, I held up my hands and spoke softly to the shadowy shape trying to press itself into the crumbling bricks behind it.
"Hi, I'm Jane. Listen, I'm a friend. Will you let me help you?" The shape shifted and took a shuddery breath before answering.
"Are they gone?" The words were barely audible over the whirring of Tony's suit.
"No, but they are friends too. I won't let them come closer if you don't want." I replied. As my eyes adjusted to the half-light, I saw the girl in more detail. Fourteen of fifteen, perhaps, wearing a dirty white t-shirt and cutoff jeans. Her feet were bare and two cuts, one on her right cheek and another on her forehead above her eye, dripped blood down her face. She didn't seem to notice that there was blood in her eye. Her hair was dirty, cropped short and uneven. She was staring blankly at a spot just above my right shoulder, as if at something behind me.
"OK." She finally whispered and I kneeled beside her. Taking out an antiseptic wipe, I gently cleansed the wounds on her face and bandaged them. All the time, I spoke softly to her, but not once did she answer or even meet my eyes. I asked her if she had any other wounds and she showed me a bruise blooming in all shades of purple and blue on her side. Probing around, I didn't find any broken or cracked ribs so I just left it until we could get a more expert opinion.
As I finished up with her side, I realized that the thump we had heard earlier had probably been her falling to the ground. I should probably check for a concussion. I thought. Pulling a tiny flashlight out of the kit, I tapped the girl's shoulder to get her attention. She jumped at the contact, but calmed when I spoke.
"Hey, can you look at me for a minute? I need to make sure you didn't hurt your head when you fell…" I trailed off when what little color she had gained drained from her face. She looked away, shaking her head almost ashamedly.
"What? Why not?" I queried. I tried to touch her shoulder again but she shrunk away as soon as I even brushed her.
"I can't." She said softly as her voice broke, fear and shame trickling into the words. She hugged her knees and shrank back against the wall again.
"Why not?" I asked more gently, trying to understand.
"Because," She breathed. "I can't see. I'm blind and-." A sob cut off the rest of her sentence, but she refused to speak anymore.
When the car arrived, Pepper, Bruce and I went in it to the Tower. The others decided to un-suit and call a taxi instead. We arrived at Avengers Tower quickly. The girl fell asleep in my lap, and soon afterward, we decided not to take her to the hospital. We would let her sleep tonight and see what the morning brought.
Bruce carried her inside, laying her in her own room next door to me and Thor's. She didn't stir once and although her sleep was fitful, she seemed comfortable. When the others arrived, I was still standing in her doorway, watching her slowly relax. Thor came up behind me, hugging me from behind and leaning down to kiss the back of my neck briefly. Sighing, I leaned back against his chest.
"Are you all right?" He asked softly, squeezing me as gently as he could. Nodding I turned, letting his strong arms envelop me.
"I just can't help but wonder what happened to her. She was really scared, Thor, and hurt pretty badly." I whispered, letting the hot tears I'd been holding back run down my face and into the soft, worn t-shirt he'd changed in to. "Who would do such a thing to such an innocent, helpless, young child?" He just held me while I cried, letting the tears fall and comforting me.
"At least here, she can find a safe place to heal." Natasha's voice sounded unusually kind as she passed me on the way to her and Clint's room.
"We all did." Clint replied, taking his red-haired wife in his arms and closing the door with a quiet click.
A/N: Thanks for reading; I hope you don't mind the early update. I will be updating on Fridays every week for the foreseeable future except for the week of the 28th when I will be updating either super early (like Monday) or a little late (Like Saturday). Depends on how many review I get… Love you guys. Next week, we hear her story as she talks to Thor. Thanks again!