Her hand was pressed closely to her side, trying to keep anymore blood from spilling out onto the sidewalk. Len stumbled, her vision blacking around the edges. She wanted to cry out, but it was New York. No one was going to help her. She was doomed to die.
Alright, maybe she was being a bit dramatic. But how else were you supposed to act when you get stabbed in the side from some asshole mugger?
It was more interesting to her why the guy chose her. Len couldn't remember the last time she slept somewhere that wasn't filled with trash and decorated with graffiti. That was a lie. The last time she had bed of her own was two years ago.
But she refused to let her life flash before her eyes. It wouldn't be much to watch anyway.
Len stopped moving, her legs too weak to carry her any further. She sat on the steps of some building, leaning back. She ignored the feeling of the stone steps digging into her side as she attempted to lie down, and instead focused on her breathing.
The sound of heels clicking on the sidewalk didn't register until they stopped right next to her head. Her first thought was how cute the shoes were before she blacked out completely.
She was dreaming. She had to be. The last time she saw her mother was when she was only fourteen years old. Yet here she was, standing in front of her wearing the same sundress as the day she died. Len reached out to her, calling to her louder and louder. Her mother stayed perfectly still, with nothing but a small smile on her face.
"Why aren't you answering me?" she cried.
"It will make sense. All you have to do is find your father." Her voice echoed, as if she was standing in the middle of a long tunnel. Len wanted to ask her more. What will make sense? How can she find her father if she didn't even know his name? The questions were just about to leave her lips but then her mother was gone.
The dream repeated itself in various forms while Len was unconscious. But they all said the same thing. She had to find her father.
Len was never told anything about the mysterious man. All her mother said was that he left her when she found out she was pregnant again. Her older sister told her nothing, and neither did her uncle. After her mother's car accident they seemed even more closed off to Len. A few years had passed and she figured that she will never know who her father is. Strangely, she was alright with that.
If the man didn't want to know about her, why should she want to know about him?
It took three days for the strange girl to wake up. Each day, Pepper Potts would peek inside of the infirmary to see how the young girl was doing, and each day Dr. Cho would wave her away.
Finding a girl dying on the steps of the Avengers Tower wasn't something she had expected when she returned that night, but she couldn't find a piece of her that would leave her there.
That morning, just as she normally did, she poked her head into the room, her eyes setting right on the girl's face. Pepper gave one sympathetic glance to the only other inhabitant of the room. The boy Tony so lovingly referred to as Speedy. Pietro almost didn't make the wounds from the battle on the floating land, but he was returned to Dr. Cho in time for her to use her cradle to fix his wounds. Now, they were just waiting for him to wake up.
Pepper looked back at the girl who was still unconscious, but seemed to be twitching in her sleep. Pepper's eyes moved to Dr. Cho who gave her a knowing look before approaching her.
"She should be waking up soon. Her wounds are healed, but she seems to be pulled too deep into whatever she is experiencing. Once she wakes, I would like to keep her on bed rest so I can make sure she is fully recovered."
"And how long until she wakes up?"
As if on cue, a small gasp stole the attention of the two women. A pair of red rimmed eyes watched them, fear emitting from her entire body. Pepper approached the girl slowly, standing just at her bedside.
"Who are you? Where am I? What happened?" Her voice was rough from not being used, and the small girl tried to clear her throat.
"My name is Pepper. You are in the Avengers Tower after I found you on the steps just outside. Do you remember anything that happened?"
The girl thought a moment, her hand coming to rest on her forehead. "N-no. Nothing."
"What is your name?"
"Eleanor. Um, but you can call me Len."
"Well Len, this is Dr. Cho. She will be looking after you until we are certain you are all healed. Is that alright? Is there anyone you need to call?"
"I – no. No one at all." Pepper tried to ignore the sour tone.
"Well, then make yourself comfortable. Welcome to the Avenger's Tower."
Short, but just the introduction. The rest of the chapters will be longer. Promise :)