Welcome! I've been sitting on this story for years. Please be kind! I hope that weekly updates suffice. Also, I'm on the search for a Beta, so let me know if you're interested.

Disclaimer: I only own Eleanor and her plot lines!

Prologue

"Eleanor. Now you need to run." She flinched as she took her first few steps, but the gun shots that followed her as she dodged around the corner with a limp seemed to be enough to carry her forward. "on Taggard road. Headed s-" She could hear the Sudan's revving and yelling on the front side of her apartment. "North."

"Don't get off the phone. Tony's flying ahead. I'll be another three minutes." She could hear his breath as he ran, and she could feel the dull ache shooting through her shoulder and up her leg. But she ignored it. The yellow light of the Ironman suit flew over her head, pausing when she stopped and looked behind her at the man seemingly floating in the air.

Out of breath, Eleanor spoke "I see him. But he needs to check on the children. In the apartment next door he-" She looked around where she was to get her bearings before an enormous explosion behind her went off, sending her stumbling forward toward the next street. Her ears rang from the unexpected sound and she looked behind her to find the suit out of sight. "Holy shit."

Sprinting around the corner, two men appeared same suits and weapons as the ones she had seen at her apartment. They spotted her without a word and moved toward almost faster than she ran from them. Around the corner she flew as fast as she could, stumbling occasionally and feeling the shots of pain in her shoulder and ankle once more. After barely a block they open fired once more, causing the brunette to have to dive out of the way and zigzag her way through the street in her best attempt to avoid them.

Turning around a dumpster for a short breath, she couldn't help the whimper that shook her body. While she tried to cover her mouth, she knew she was hyperventilating. Her phone gripped tightly in her sweating and cut up hand she pulled it to her ear to hear the other line. "Steve? Steve, I'm scared." When the gunshots paused for a moment, she pushed her self-back up and continued to run, her heart beating faster every second, and fear constricting around her stomach.

"120 seconds" His voice was hard to hear, and she had to strain her senses while she ran to catch what he said. There was still a ringing in her ear. The gunshots started going off again behind her, but she never felt any hit her aside from the occasional graze past her hair or leg. She was putting up the best chase she could possibly give, spinning left at the closest inner section to avoid more bullets. Taking the chance, she glanced behind her for a second, hearing the yelling once more.

But then she was on her behind on the ground, being pulled up by an arm. Her head spun to the man grabbing her with a force she couldn't really fight against, his dark black hair and size nearly twice her own. Pulling back, Eleanor tried to move away, only to be hit in the face and thrown into the brick wall beside her.

His hand grabbed her head and rammed it into the wall, jolting her brains and emphasizing the pain throughout her body. As she continued to flail and yelp to try and get away, hands wrapped around her throat and lifted her off the ground. She wasn't sure if it was the crack of her head or her throat, but she couldn't breathe. Blackness surrounded the outskirts of her vision as she scratched at the hand choking her but at the same time she had an oversensitivity to the streetlight just around the corner. A high-pitched tone screamed through both ears before all the pressure dropped and she landed on the ground.

One of her own hands moved up to her head, feeling the wetness of the blood running down and sticking to her hair. She knew her nose was bleeding too. Everything seemed jumbled and she could hardly comprehend anything but the fact that everything hurt. A shadow slowly came into focus, but the light behind them made it hard for her mind to adjust. The gentle skin of another's hand was set to her cheek. Her eyes met the bright blue that she had become familiar with.

Despite the ringing, she could hear his voice as well. "Eleanor? Hey, look at me doll, come on. Don't fall asleep." Focusing was hard, so many things ran through her head at once, the pain receptors were firing off, adrenaline was still pumping, and the light. It was a concussion. The young woman could only make out that conclusion in the back of her head as she thought. Steve. Steve wanted her attention.

She wanted to speak, but her throat was closed too tight, just getting oxygen was causing her too much strife.

But Steve was there. Again, she forced her eyes to meet him and her hand, shaking to reach out toward him. "I've got you." His voice was taking a long time to process in her brain. "Eleanor, hey. Hi." He put his forehead to hers to keep her eyes on him.

Keeping her head up with one hand, he put the other to his ear. "She needs medical." He said to no one she could see. "Doesn't matter. But she's going to-" things got blurry all over again, and Eleanor's body swayed and shook as she gasped for breath. Her throat was closing in on her. Were the walls too? Everything hurt. Everything hurt.

"Eleanor. Eleanor!"

All closed in.