MCU :: MARVEL UNIVERSE :: MCU
MCU :: MARVEL UNIVERSE :: MCU
New York city is the city that never sleeps. It was exhausting, exhilarating and humbling all at the same time. Fast paced and never stopping, always evolving. There were so many things Skye Johnson could say about it as she stood on the ledge of a ten story building at ten at night. The time the parties started when the suits went home and the skirts came out.
It was in the middle of the summer, but it was never too hot in New York. It was warm, always warm, comfortably so. Well now, seeing as the sun finally set a few hours ago. It was thankfully no longer dry and humid. Skye wore nothing but a pair of low crotch sweats, her well worn Nike running shoes and a tank top with the sides cut out all the way down to her waist.
She was high up enough that the breeze was a bit stronger, and cooler but it made her feel alive. Her city brought her to life, especially on nights like this when she was restless. Her mind plagued with memories as woman as young as her had no business carrying.
"Hey!"
Skye startled and jumped back off the ledge, the roofs gravel crunching loudly beneath her feet. She whirled around to face the speaker of the authoritative voice and winced. Two NYPD officers stood behind her, both of them shining a flashlight on her. They were getting wiser on her, and the other traceurs and freerunners—by not using their sirens when someone about people running on their roofs.
The female cop edged forward, "Hey, kid, you lost or somethin'? What are you doing up here, huh?"
Skye rolled her eyes internally, of course with her short stature they would think she was no older than eighteen (twenty, thank you very much!), it was a common ego boost for her. She thought about entertaining them for a while, to stall for a few seconds since they were blocking her only known exit. She hadn't planned on running into trouble tonight, she just wanted to get the memories out of her head by tiring herself out.
"You a jumper, kid?" the man asked, hand already on his radio. He was ready to call in the NYPD jumper squad, and Skye just looked at him and shook her head.
"No...not tonight, Officer."
"Kid—! Shit!"
Skye dashed to the right and began to run and as she had hoped, both of the officers followed after her. Skye, to put it quite simply, ran in a complete circle until she was back at the entrance of the staircase. She felt fingers brushing her upper arms as she dashed between the closing door and the wall, but her small figure proved to be too fast for them.
She heard their thundering footsteps and jingling keys behind her, but Skye has been doing this since she was fourteen years old. She did several lazy vaults over the guard rails to put more distance between them and herself. Going down the flight of stairs at a breakneck speed was trippy and she nearly skipped a few steps in her excitement and haste.
She was a full level below the pursuing NYPD Officers by the time Skye exited the building and nearly knocked over a couple taking a late night stroll. The guy yelled at her, but her heart was pumping so loudly she didn't hear shit he said. Skye was halfway around the corner when she heard the buildings metal door slam against the wall. She kept running until she was able to slow down into a slow walk and blend in with the night crowd.
Skye laughed to herself, that was close...she expertly avoided the people walking around her, using her size to her advantage. She thought about finding another rooftop to hang around but thought better of it, one night of excitement was enough for her and now she was a little hungry, figuring a trip to Taco Bell before going home to finish her uneventful night.
As Skye rounded another corner, spotting her refurbished midnight blue 1970 SS Chevy Chevelle gleaming beneath a dim streetlight. It was a gift from a friend from...from a long time ago. Skye started walking a little awkwardly as she fished for her keys in her deep pockets.
"Get the hell away from me!"
"Aw c'mon baby, don't be like that, we just wanna buy you a drink!"
"I said—" a yelp had Skye's head snapping up immediately, spinning around in place trying to place where those voices were coming from. She could hear scuffling and muffled screaming, and multiple men laughing but she just couldn't see them. The young traceur stopped suddenly when she saw movement across the street, she didn't really see any people but she knew how crime in New York worked. Stick to the shadows, and people will keep walking. And that was exactly what was happening.
Without thinking, Skye broke out into a dead sprint across the street. The group moved behind a dumpster and for a brief moment, the woman in distress managed to get free to swear at them and clock one of the dudes. Skye stepped up on a half broken crate and used her momentum to haul herself over the trashcan with as much noise as she could. She brought both of her legs between her arms with her feet pressed together.
She caught the first guy by surprised and followed him down with both feet planted on his chin. He was out like a light, but the same couldn't be said for the second guy. Skye did another roll to avoid him and while he was distracted with her, the red haired woman quickly got her purse and pulled out her phone to call the police. Giving the operator as much information as she could, and telling them to hurry the hell up.
She looked up just in time to see the small brunette pick a broken 2x4 and hit the second man in the knees, before knocking him unconscious like his friend.
She watched as the smaller woman got up from the ground and tossed the wood aside, dusting off her hands as if she didn't just save her skin. The woman opened her mouth to thank her, to ask if she was alright but with the sirens in the distance—closer than either of them would've expected, her rescuer was gone and around the corner just as a patrol car came into the other end of the entrance.
The woman looked at the opposite end when she heard an engine roar to life and tires screaming on the pavement. Steely light brown eyes burned into her memory. She got herself to her feet as a female cop approached her quickly, asking if she was alright while her male partner began cuffing her attackers none too gently.
MCU :: MARVEL UNIVERSE :: MCU
Elsewhere...
Skye threw away her take out trash and shut down her home, making sure all the doors and her garage doors were locked for the second time before she shut off the lights and trudged upstairs to the loft area. Her place wasn't anything to brag about really, it was a real fixer upper. A favor from another friend.
After she ran away from her last foster home when she was fourteen. The streets became her life. Skye didn't really know where to go, or who to go to. Well, until she started hacking—it landed her in a bit of trouble with homeland security. But instead of tossing her in a cell and throwing away the key, she met a woman. A very stubborn and tenacious woman; Dinah Madani. It was a 'I scratch your back, and you scratch my back' type of deal she found herself in.
Skye was one of the top hackers in the world—so Dinah Madani became her handler and to keep herself out of jail—she helped Homeland security when they needed her. She didn't have to follow the law, national or international, and in return? Aside from turning the other cheek?
Well, they hooked her up with a Realtor that hooked her up with this piece of shit place. The same piece of shit place that Skye ultimately fell in love with over time...after some good elbow grease and patience.
It was a place that was off the beaten path in the warehouse district, a good distance from anywhere else unless it was shady and it was hazardous to walk around it alone during the day and especially at night. It had a functional ground floor level with a fully equipped five spaced garage for her car and motorcycle because it used to belong to some old biker gang or sketchy chop shop. On the other side of her garage was her beloved van, the one she used to live in for a whole year. Her pride and joy.
Upstairs, really, is what took the cake when it came to being fixed. It took her three months to strip everything and to repaint the walls a grayish color, lay down some easy DIY wood. With the checks the Homeland was giving her on the low, Skye was able to afford some newer furniture for herself, and appliances to give the place a better look. Not that she ever had many visitors.
She was still adding to it, but it was her home and she loved it as such.
Skye set her alarm and checked in for the night, her last thoughts were on the woman she saved earlier—hoping that she wouldn't let tonight taint her view on New York. Because it truly was the most beautiful city in the world.
MCU :: MARVEL UNIVERSE :: MCU
MCU :: MARVEL UNIVERSE :: MCU
