AN: Thanks for all the reviews and follows. It seems like I'm doing something right with this story so far. This chapter was pretty difficult to write. I don't usually write female characters well, so if you feel like it, do send an honest review of what you think of Killiana. I have no Beta, so the mistakes are my own. Finally, I don't own anything or anyone recognizable, just my OC.

Chapter 4: 2012

Being a New Yorker, Killiana had thought she had seen it all. But trust the world to prove her wrong at every turn in her life.

Of course, aliens pouring out of a spacial and temporal rip in the sunny sky over Manhattan would happen while she was on her way to interview at Stark Industries.

This job was supposed to finally allow her to quit working at the coffee house. That is, if she had made it to her interview. But a giant monster dragon/worm thingy just had to fall from the sky after getting blasted by Iron Man, cutting off her only way to Stark Tower. Biting the inside of her cheek to keep from screaming in panic like everyone else around her, Killiana exited the cab she had splurged on and started running in the opposite direction of the giant dead alien in the middle of the street.

Before she could make it more than several yards, a blast hit her from the right, sending her flying through the air. She felt her back slam into the store front of some building, the window easily shattering from the force of her body. Hitting the floor hard, Killiana tried to gasp in as much air as possible, her breath having been knocked out of her from the abrupt impact. Coughing, she tasted a thick, tangy liquid in her mouth. She turned her head to spit it out and froze.

Red.

Blood.

She tried to roll over. Nothing.

She tried to bend her legs. Nothing.

She tried to move her arms. Nothing.

She was in big trouble.

Killiana attempted to scream for help but found her mouth filled with blood again, forcing her to spit once more. Tears filled her eyes. This was supposed to be a good day, a happy day. Her life was supposed to change for the better. And now it was over.

An inhuman roar echoed in her ears above the explosions of the on-going battle and screams of the terrified people in the street still trying to find safety. Killiana knew it was too close to her, but there was nothing she could do. She couldn't move. She couldn't even feel some parts of her body.

If she could have chuckled in that moment, watching the alien creature climb over the fallen debris toward her, she would have. A life barely lived ending before knowing the joy of finding her soulmates. She had always known she had two. She didn't know how she knew, but she knew there were two men out there for her. That feeling grew even stronger last year. Killiana just assumed that she was getting closer to finding one or both of them.

And now she would never know.

The alien's grotesque face appeared over the rubble that remained of the store front she had just crashed through. It's tongue slithered out from between its pointed teeth, its breath more rancid than an overheated trash heap.

She closed her eyes and imagined what her soulmates looked like. She had always pictured them as tall and muscular, but not in an overly built body builder way. Just large enough for her to cuddle into and hide away from the world, to feel protected but not smothered. She imagined them with opposite coloring – one dark, the other light. But for some reason, she always saw blue eyes. Sure, one pair was still darker than the other, but the blue was consistent. How she longed to have seen them just once, even if it was from a distance. Just to know that she had finally found them, to see them safe.

Gritting her teeth, she waited for the final blow that would end her existence.

A deafening vibration sounded all around her, followed by the distinct sounds of the creature crying out in pain before being silenced by something.

Killiana kept her eyes closed. She was afraid to look.

"Ma'am? Are you all right?"

The voice was deep but sounded out of breath.

"Ma'am?"

Killiana opened her eyes, but she had difficulty focusing on the face in front of her. She felt warm hands on her cheeks. His voice calmed her racing heart.

"I'll send help, I promise."

He was going to help her. That was nice, she thought.

"But I can't stay here right now. I marked the rubble so the EMTs will be able to find you."

He sounded so handsome. She wished her eyes would cooperate so that she could see her savior.

"I swear you'll be okay. I'll find you again. But I need you to stay alive. Deal?"

Killiana managed enough energy to nod her head, but even that slight movement sent her vision out of focus even more. Her eyelids started to close. His hands tapped against her cheeks.

"Ma'am, can you stay alive until I come back?"

She moaned and assumed he took that to be her agreement to his deal. She felt his hands gently guide her head to rest on the ground. He mumbled something to her, but she was already letting the closing darkness take over.

When Killiana opened her eyes again, she was greeted with a painfully bright light and a wash of white. An incessant beeping thudded in time with the pounding in her head. Every muscle and tendon in her body felt as if it had been run through a wood chipper then beaten with a spiked mallet. She swallowed and winced at the raw fire that burned in her throat. She tried to call for help, but only managed to send herself into a coughing fit that wracked her entire body. The commotion she made brought a bunch of people to her, their voices all mingling together in a strange cacophony.

"Miss, can you hear me? Do you know where you are?"

All Killiana could think about in that moment was the pain she was in. How was she not dead yet, she wondered.

"It's okay," said the male voice again. "Try to take deep breaths. That's it."

She tried to do as the man said, she really did. But it just hurt so much.

"Miss, I need you to calm down. You're safe now. You're in a hospital. Everything is going to be fine."

She had managed to calm herself some, but it apparently wasn't enough for the doctors and nurses around her. She heard them call for some complicated medicine with too many syllables to pronounce. A few seconds passed by before she felt her muscles start to turn to jelly. I hate jelly, she thought.

"Miss, I need to you to close your eyes and count to ten for me. Do you think you can do that?"

Killiana nodded slowly and then closed her eyes. She only made it to the count of two before she felt something being pulled – painfully – from her throat. A severe coughing fit overcame her, her throat burning as if it was sand in the desert. As the coughing subsided, Killiana opened her eyes again and tried to take in her surroundings. She had figured out she was in a hospital room, but she didn't know how she got there. The last thing she remembered was the man from the street telling her to stay alive until he came back. Did he bring her here? What happened to him?

The doctor came into her line of vision again and pulled up a seat next to her bed. He spoke slowly and with a low tone as he started to explain everything to her. Killiana tried to focus on him, but the bright, harsh lights were too painful. Thankfully, though, the doctor noticed this and signaled for a nurse to dim the lights for her. Once she was able to see somewhat clearly, he continued.

"You've been hurt pretty bad, Ms. McGowan. You have several broken ribs – some of which punctured your lung, your leg has been broken in several places, and your shoulder was dislocated. That's not counting the lacerations, bruising, and sprained muscles. You're quite frankly lucky to be alive."

Killiana groaned.

"You don't have to say anything right now. And I'd highly suggest you don't even think about moving any part of your body without assistance. You've been in a medically-induced coma for the past few days, but now that you're breathing on your own, we can start to move forward with your recovery. It's going to be a while before you get out of here, but we'll see to it that you make a full recovery."

She blinked lazily.

"Is there anyone I can call for you?"

She turned her head away from the doctor, ashamed that she could not answer that simple question.

He cleared his throat to dislodge the awkward silence that had settled in the room. "Well, if you think of anyone, just let one of the nurses or myself know, and we will contact them for you."

With that, he gently patted her hand and exited the room, turning off the lights as he went.

Killiana laid there in the silence. She wanted to cry but could not find the energy to do so. Whatever they had injected her with through the IV had started to work almost immediately, and at this point, she had to concentrate just to keep her eyes open. She sighed. That question should have been an easy answer. But Killiana McGowan didn't have anyone to call that would rushing to her bedside to take care of her. Her parents had retired down in Florida, and they were all about themselves. She didn't blame them at all, though. She loved her parents. But they were older when she was born, in their 40s. They had worked hard all their lives and earned everything they had and continued to earn with smart invests and honest business practice. She couldn't call them up here to take her full-time. She knew she'd need around the clock care when she was released. Killiana refused to put them through that.

Friends... well, that was another story. Killiana had always been a unique child. Her parents had homeschooled her, preferring to teach their daughter actual knowledge that would be useful instead of sending her to a school where the only thing she would learn would be how to take a test. But her high intelligence had come with a price – she only had one friend her age. And seeing as how Maggie was currently out of the country on a business trip, she was not an option.

So, that left her all alone. For now.

Unable to resist the pull of the medication any longer, Killiana finally surrendered to the blank oblivion.

After another surprisingly delicious meal at the shawarma place Tony had raved about, the newly formed Avengers retreated to what was left of Stark Tower. Some levels of the private living quarters had not been destroyed by Loki's attack, so for the time being, their little ragtag group would be setting up camp in the livable areas. They, minus Tony, had been staying in S.H.I.E.L.D. stations as they helped with the clean-up of the city.

"All right," Tony said. "Me and Pepper get first pick since this is my tower, and I own it, and she told me to tell you all that, but I would have said it anyway."

The others were looking around at the damaged common room, completely ignoring his rant.

"Just no soliciting prostitutes unless they pass a background check. Cap, this means you. I know it's been a while, but seriously, don't even think about it."

Steve blushed a bright red and shook his head. He may not have known the man very long, but he could already tell he was going to have to deal with him the same way he dealt with Howard – kid gloves.

"Super spies, you can have your own room or rooms. Whatever's left, I really don't know. But remember, mine will be the biggest and the most comfy because Pepper said so."

Natasha and Clint rolled their eyes but slinked away from the group, mumbling to each other as they left.

"Big Guy, there's a nice room near the R&D rooms. Don't touch my suits. But you can play with the other stuff. We're going to be best friends. I told you that you'd love it."

Bruce nodded his head and pushed his glasses up on the bridge of his nose. He wished those left a goodnight before retiring to his designated area.

"Point break..." Tony paused, wondering if he actually had a bed left that was big enough for the god of thunder.

"Do not worry, Man of Iron," Thor said. "I must return to the holding facility. I do not wish to leave my brother for too long."

Tony nodded, saying that it was a good idea. "I was going to suggest that anyway."

Thor chuckled and slapped Tony on the back – hard. "You are truly a genius among mortals, my friend. It is like you were reading my mind." He then walked over to the shattered window wall, swung his hammer, and flew away to S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters.

"All right, Capsicle –"

"Don't call me that, Tony."

"You can pick whatever room you want, as long as it's not mine."

"I wasn't going to –"

"Seriously," Tony said, "Pepper will be mad. Bruce turns green, but Pepper turns red. Trust me. Not going there. No."

Steve sighed and crossed his arms over his chest, waiting for his old friend's son to finish his speech. Another minute or two passed before Steve cleared his throat. There was only so much the Captain could take, even with his legendary patience.

"Tony?"

"Yes, my spangled friend?"

Steve took a deep breath then asked the question that had been weighing on his mind the past few days. "Do you know a way I can find someone? Someone who was injured in the attack?"

Tony's eyebrows jumped to his hairline. "Do you know who I am?" When Steve's face remained blank, Tony rolled his eyes. "Yes, of course I can."

"Even if I don't know the person's name?"

"Okay," Tony said. "Let's try this again." He reached out his hand. "Hello, my name is Tony Stark. Genius, millionaire, playboy, philanthropist. That means I'm really smart and can figure anything out."

Steve chose to ignore the jab at his intelligence. He was beginning to question how this was Howard's son. Maybe Howard experimented on himself before Tony was conceived. He wouldn't put it past the man who voluntarily flew him into enemy territory on several occasions during the war.

"I don't know her name, but I can give you a general description. The only thing I know for certain was where I left her."

Tony grinned. "Her."

"Yes," Steve said. "She was tiny, only about 5'4'', no more. She was covered in debris, but her hair looked to be a dark color. Her eyes were brown, like really dark. Almost like the sky after twilight."

Tony bit his lip as Steve continued to describe the woman he wanted to find. He knew J.A.R.V.I.S. was recording all of the information and designing a search protocol based off of the Captain's details. But this was just too good to ignore. The Man-with-the-Plan, Mr. frozen in ice for nearly 70 years, Mr. only woke up yesterday – not really, but still – was interested in a girl. A woman. A female. He'd have to read over the files again, but from what he remembered, this guy couldn't string two coherent words together in front of a woman who wasn't his mother.

Finally tuning back into the one-sided conversation, Tony nodded and assured the Captain that he'd be able to find this girl.

Steve's brow furrowed. "But you didn't take any notes."

Tony rolled his eyes. Seriously, this is what he had to put up with for his charitable good deed? "J.A.R.V.I.S. took care of it. He's running a scan now based off your description. If you remember anything else, though, tell him. Brown hair and eyes last seen in a coffee house with a destroyed storefront is vague. This is New York, after all."

Steve nodded, wanting to just fall into a bed face first after a long day of rescue and recovery missions. Tony would continue to talk, whether or not someone was there. As long as he could help him keep his promise, Steve would deal with it.

After that, though, he thought, I'm moving back to Brooklyn.