She was near hyperventilating, searching every inch of this familiar yet unfamiliar city of New York. For nearly two hours since she had unexpectedly arrived in the heart of the town, she has been looking in every nook and cranny for a familiar face, but no such luck as of yet. Even though she was beginning to feel afraid, lost and alone, she was determined to find them.

May be they weren't here; may be they were in a completely different area. A different dimension perhaps with no way of reaching her? No, they have to be here, he has to be here. They were always, always together, one wasn't too far away from the other, almost connected at the hip. He just has to be here.

Everyone she passed stared at her weirdly but she ignored their stares. She was frightened; such a brilliant mind yet a child at heart, being alone, isolated was her biggest fear and if she didn't find him, it would seem that fear, a nightmare she dreamed of as a child, will soon become a reality. She gave a small, inaudible sob as she raced through the rushing crowds, all on their way to work. She passed a building under construction once again, a tiny feeling of curiosity as she overheard the workers babbling on about an 'alien invasion' that had happened a few months back; all riding 'flying chariots of metal' through the buildings of the city, destroying their structures and injuring people and workers. She had never heard of any alien invasion, at least, not any of that description, the fear of isolation increasing tenfold.

She was near desperate, panicking and tears prickling in her eyes, making her surroundings blurry and warped. The noise around her had considerably lessened and only then she had noticed that the streets had become more deserted. Isolation was all around her and she just about snapped, letting out a frustrated cry and leaned against a building, sobs beginning to rack her body. Turning slightly, her back against the wall instead of her side, she slowly slid down, ignoring the scraping of the rough bricks on her jacket. Her head leaned back, she cast her gaze to the skies, silent tears rolling down her face as she searched for him, in case he was flying about, looking for her like she was looking for him. Nothing but birds and planes passing by, a flying tin can in the shape of a man, a cloud in the shape of a bunny—a flying tin can man?

Focusing on the suit as it landed a few metres from her, it was red and gold in colour, and was made of metal; that was obvious. She watched as the person made their way towards her, each step a loud thump sounded and a miniscule whirring could be heard with each little movement. As they reached her, the mask – the face looked to have a permanent scowl etched on the front – flipped up and she was suddenly staring into the face of a man, may be mid-thirties, early forties, with a neatly trimmed beard and moustache, tan face and brown eyes. His mouth was formed in a smirk; one similar to Bruce's when acting his spoiled playboy alter ego.

"What's a beautiful girl like you doing out here, hm?" he questioned. She ignored the blush that lightly tinted her cheeks at the compliment and said nothing. He raised an eyebrow.

"Okay…" He averted his eyes from her as another man walked over. He was wearing a rather ridiculous outfit in her opinion; he looked like he was wearing the American flag, blue, red and white all over and a mask on his head with little wings at his temples and a capital 'A' in the middle of his forehead. In his hand was a shield; red and white rings leading inwards where a white star sat idly in the center.

"Stark, just… just let me do the talking, alright?" the man sounded exasperated, giving 'Stark' a look. Stark held his hands up in mock defeat.

"Alright, alright, sheesh; what a wet blanket, Cap." The man in blue shook his head at the red man's antics before turning to her with a small smile on his face, trying to look non-threatening.

"Hello, Miss, are you alright?" he asked politely. She stared at him, wondering whether or not to trust him. She hesitantly nodded her head. Stark immediately scoffed.

"Well, from where I'm standing, you don't look alright." The American Flag man glared at him, seemingly ready to knock his block off with the way he fisted his hand.

"Tony, will you just shut up!" he hissed at him. Stark just huffed, folding his arms over his chest. The man sighed as he turned back to her.

"I'm afraid you will have to come with us, Miss." After seeing her wide-eyed look, he tried to explain and soothe her worries. "It's just… we picked up energy signals near Manhattan and you suddenly show up on our radar… nothing bad, I can assure you but, you will have to come in for questioning." She frowned and he rubbed at the back of his neck. "I'm sorry, orders are orders, Miss." She had stood up by this point and was debating whether to go with them quietly or run. It seemed as though Stark knew exactly what she was thinking and stepped in.

"Now, don't you think about running away, you hear?" she glanced his way as she tensed up. She didn't know if she would be able to fight them; it was possible she could outrun them but she didn't want anyone hurt in the crossfire. Glancing back and forth between the two men, she gave a sigh after a moment and nodded, looking at the ground.

May be she could have them help her find them? Help her find him?

"Great! Well, my name is Steve Rogers, though I usually go by Captain America in the field. This is-"

"Tony Stark; genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist, Iron Man." Tony cut in arrogantly. Steve rolled his eyes.

"And you, Miss?" The manners her parents raised her with overshadowed her trust issues.

"…Charlotte. Charlotte Kent."