Chapter Four:

When Kaysa woke up next to a red-headed kid, her first thought was that she was dreaming. She stared blankly at the boy, waiting for him to simply disappear. She wasn't sure how long she lay there looking at him, but it seemed to her at least a few minutes.

She sat up straight, wincing at the white flash of pain in her head. Somewhat blurry eyed, she looked around at her surroundings, becoming more and more confused. The ground underneath her was flat and concrete, and after a few moments she guessed that she was on top of a building.

A bubble of panic swelled inside of her, choking her. Where was her family? Where was James? Where was she? She looked back at the boy, who began to stir. Who was he? Maybe this really was just a dream. She shut her eyes tight, convinced that when she opened them again she would be back in her bed.

But when she opened her eyes, she was still on the building sitting next to the boy. She pressed a hand to her throbbing head, trying to remember what had happened. She remembered being in her backyard with her family and the Rogers, laughing with James and then…nothing.

"Come one," she said through gritted teeth, trying harder to dig up her memories. No matter how hard she tried, however, she couldn't remember a single thing past James's laughing face.

She stood shakily, ignoring the awful pain in her head. Kaysa walked to the edge of the building, and nearly shouted for joy. She was in New York City! The Avengers mansion was located here, and she knew it wouldn't be too difficult to find. Once she reached the mansion, it would be easy to contact her parents.

"Where am I?"

Kaysa jumped, whirling around. She had completely forgotten about the boy. He was sitting up, staring at her in confusion, his green eyes darting from her to their surroundings. He looked young, probably thirteen or fourteen.

"Who are you?" He asked, his eyes narrowing.

"My name is Kaysa," she told him. It was then that she noticed the spear right next to the boy. Her spear. What is going on? She asked inwardly. She briefly wondered if the boy had brought her here, but the panicked look in his eyes suggested otherwise.

"Where are we?"

"New York City," Kaysa replied.

"How did we get here?"

"I-I don't know. I just barely woke up." She was surprised at how calm she felt. "What's your name?"

"Rudy."

"Ok, Rudy, I know how you're feeling right now. I have no idea how we got here, or who brought us here. But if you'll come with me, I think I can get us home."

"Why should I trust you?"

She shrugged. "You don't have to. But I'm not here to hurt you, I promise."

Rudy stared at her a long time before he nodded his agreement. "Ok. What's your plan?"

"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm not carrying any cash with me. So, I was thinking we could head over to the Avengers mansion and use the phone there. Don't worry; my dad is one of them so they'll let us in."

He blinked. "Who are the Avengers?"

Kaysa's jaw dropped. "You know the team of superheroes? Earth's mightiest heroes?"

"Wow," he said with a snort. "I don't know who these guys are, but they sound pretty stuck up. Everyone knows the Justice League is the best team."

She drew back slightly. Was this kid insane? "Who are the Justice League? And how have you not heard of the Avengers?!"

"How have you not heard of the Justice League?! Are you living under a rock?"

"Look, I don't know how you haven't heard of the Avengers, but right now I suggest we get a move on."

Rudy shrugged. "Fine."

She quickly grabbed her spear before heading for the roof's exit. The building was old and completely abandoned. Graffiti covered every square inch, much to Kaysa's disgust. She never did understand why someone would want to write profanity for everyone to see. It was immature and stupid.

When they reached the sidewalk, she realized just how lost she was. She had never been in this part of New York.

"Excuse me!" She called out to an elderly man. The man smiled warmly at her. "Excuse me, sir, do you know which way the Avengers mansion is?"

"The Avengers mansion? I'm sorry, young lady, but I've never heard of it," he shrugged apologetically and continued on his way.

She stared at his retreating figure in shock. That was the second person she had encountered who didn't seem to know who the Avengers were. She looked back at Rudy, who gave her a shrug.

"Ask everyone you can find if they know the way," she told him. He nodded and walked towards a woman.

The more people Kaysa asked, the more confused she grew. How did nobody know who she was talking about? It made no sense! Everybody knew who the Avengers were! How could they not? The Avengers had saved the world countless of times.

"I don't understand," Kaysa said to Rudy, slumping against the side of building. For nearly an hour they had asked people for directions, but were always met with the same results.

"Maybe they just aren't as big as you think," Rudy said, patting her sympathetically on the back. He dug into his pocket, coming up with some change. "I think I have enough for a phone call. I'll call my parents; they'll be able to help us."

She nodded. "Ok, let's go."

They found a payphone pretty quickly. Rudy deposited the change and then began punching in his parent's phone number.

"Are you sure that's a real number? I've never heard of that area code," Kaysa said.

"It's the area code for Gotham city," he told her with a shrug.

"Gotham city? What's that?"

"Shh," he said, listening intently to the phone. His shoulders slumped as the automated female voice told him he had dialed an incorrect number. "What the heck?"

"You must have the wrong number."

"There's no way," Rudy shook his head. "And how do you not know where Gotham City is? It's one of the largest cities."

"I've never heard of it. It doesn't exist."

Rudy resisted the urge to roll his eyes. There was no way that she didn't know. He walked up to woman. "You know where Gotham City is, right?"

The woman looked down at him with distaste. "Never heard of it."

Kaysa stared at Rudy's shocked expression. He leaned up against a building for support, his eyes wide.

And then it came to her.

"Rudy, you promise me you've never heard of the Avengers? That Gotham City and the League of Justice or whatever it's called, really exist?"

"Yeah?"

She swallowed hard, praying that she was wrong. "None of this makes sense. How people can't seem to remember anything about the Avengers. There are only two explanations. Either, we're totally crazy or…"