Muffled beeping and shouting met Kiara's ears as she faded in and out of consciousness. Her head pounded painfully and there was a sharp, throbbing pain in her back. As she finally woke, she was utterly confused. Her ears were picking up so much, but she couldn't decipher exactly what was going on. She had no idea what had happened, or where she was, but all she could tell for certain was that something was on fire. The smoke filled her lungs and surrounded her like a dark cloud, leaving her spluttering and gasping for clear air, which did nothing for the pain in her spine which was becoming more and more of a concern.

And her concern was called for as she became acutely aware of something heavy weighing down on her. She winced as she shifted, realising that whatever was on top of her was stabbing into her back. Gritting her teeth, Kiara knew that there was no other way to get out of the situation she was in without causing herself some pain. So, with a yell, she pushed hard against the weight, wincing loudly as she felt the wound begin to heal once it was removed from her back. With a grunt, she shoved what seemed to be a shard of destroyed metal away from her and used the wall to push herself to her feet.

It was then that Kiara got a look at what she was dealing with; Huge flames enveloped the destroyed room which was once the lab, billowing smoke pouring through the destroyed doorway and down the hallways which held nothing but rubble and agents who were running to their stations. She tried to track what had happened, briefly remembering her confrontation with Loki, the lab, the argument. She closed her eyes then, her heart feeling like it was being squeezed painfully. She remembered the hatred in their eyes. The disgust in their voices.

"She's a murderer."

Letting out a shaky breath, Kiara fell back against the wall and stared at the burning laboratory fearfully. Had she done this? Her emotions had skyrocketed the moment she realised everyone knew about her, had she lost control? For a moment, she thought so, she was so convinced of it, but then she saw the large hole in the floor, and realised that it had been something else entirely. It was an explosion. It was an attack.

She should've jumped into action, she knew that. She should go and help save the day. Prevent pointless deaths. That's what she was supposed to do. But she couldn't find the heart to do it. She'd been knocked down a peg or two, she'd been reminded of her place. She cared about Clint, she really did, and she would do anything to help him, but it had been stupid of her to come. To stand among heroes and think that she could maintain a lie. To think herself above Loki when she herself had been in his exact position mere years before.

She was a killer. She was a monster. It was what she was built for. She was programmed to leave no man standing, to be brutal and merciless. She was no hero. And she couldn't pretend that she could be. After all, what hero walks away from the fight?

Sighing, Kiara turned away and stumbled along the corridor. Ignoring the screaming and the gunfire and the chilling roar that came from the lower levels. The noise was deafening and it broke her resolve with every passing moment, so she quickened her pace. She sprinted through corridors and down stairs, wanting desperately to get away. She ignored everyone she passed, fearing that if she gave any of them a single look, she would have no choice but to stay.

Kiara took another flight of stairs before freezing to a halt when she saw several armed mercenaries heading towards her. They caught sight of her, and then they fired on her. She waved her hand, throwing up a protective shield around herself, the bullets dissolving into nothing as they hit the shield. Her eyes darted around her, knowing that she either retreated, or she fought them. And falling back wasn't an option.

Growling, she dropped the shield and ducked to avoid a punch. She jammed her elbow into his ribs before kicking him back into the others. She was tackled down and the man started wailing on her, his fists connecting with her cheek and jaw over and over before her fist burned with fire. Her eyes burned red making him pause and look at her with horror before her fist connected with his sternum. She jumped up and leapt onto the railing before waving her hand, watching the fallen men gasp out as their airflow cut off. She slid down the railing and dropped down to the next floor and took off running. She could get out from there, she knew it, she just had to be quick.

"GRENADE!"

Kiara's head snapped towards the Bridge as a grenade went off and saw several mercenaries filing through the doors. She'd recognised the voice; It was Maria Hill. And she didn't doubt that Fury was with her, maybe even Phil. She should've just walked on. She should've ignored it. But she promised herself that she couldn't lie to herself any longer, and she might've been a monster, but she was a monster with a heart.

Glaring, Kiara's eyes immediately turned red and her hair billowed like flames around her head as she ran towards the Bridge. She flung balls of fire at the backs of the mercenaries and dropped when they turned to fire on her. She slid towards them and gripped their legs with her fiery hands and yanked them to the ground, their heads smacking hard against the floor. She bared her teeth as another man shot her in the shoulder making her snarl as her entire body ignited with flames. The remaining mercenaries kept firing on her, but the bullets exploded the moment they hit the flames, but they kept firing as she approached them before she threw ball after ball of fire at every hostile she saw, leaving them flailing to put out the flames before they were put down by Fury.

With a sigh, the flames died down and she looked to Fury who gave her a thankful nod. "Another engine is down. Stark is out there trying to make repairs but we're falling fast. I need you to keep this thing up."

Kiara gave him a sharp nod before running through the halls. Nearly everywhere was smoking or damaged somehow and it only got worse the further she went, but she couldn't focus on the decor of the place. She had to get to the engines otherwise they'd be making a crash landing, and she wasn't too optimistic about how that would go.

Eventually, she made it to the engines, but heard gunfire. With narrowed eyes, she crept towards the opening, her hair beginning to blow as the powerful winds threatened to topple her over. Her steps were silent as she approached behind a merc. She grabbed one by his throat and slammed his face against the metal wall making him slump to the floor before she let out a yelp as as several bullets pierced her arm and side. She jumped out of the way and glared in the direction they'd come from, only to see Steve pointing the gun at her.

"Ow." she deadpanned as she held up her hands in surrender. "Relax, it's just me."

"And is that supposed to make it any better?" he ground out, the gun still trained on her.

"I suppose not, but I can't help if you shoot me." she said softly, her eyes flicking between him and the gun. His expression didn't soften making her sigh. "I know I'm the last person you trust but people are going to die and neither of us want that."

He glared at her but seemed to let up as he lowered his gun. She let out a breath of relief before ducking behind the wall as several mercenaries appeared, shooting at both herself and Steve. Her eyes bugged when she saw Steve slip from the edge, only just managing to catch a loose cable. It stopped him from falling, but she could tell it wasn't going to last long and she wasn't about to let him die. She ignited her hands and peeked at the mercenaries, just managing to pull her head back before they started shooting again. She turned the corner and launched fire at both of them as she ran towards the first and ripped his gun from his hands as he screamed as the fire enveloped him.

She avoided bullets from the merc above her as she took a running jump and latched onto the grates. She jumped onto the walkway and kicked the gun out of his hands and dodged a hit before gripping the back of his collar and throwing him against the railing. He groaned loudly as he collected himself before he started to laugh. She frowned before her eyes widened when he pulled out a knife and cut the cable.

"NO!"

She lunged for the cable and just managed to grab a hold of it and the railings to prevent both of them falling. She winced as the weight of them both had the metal grate cutting into her fingers, before glancing down at Steve who stared up at her with relief.

"I got you." she called, tightening the grasp on the cable as she felt it slipping. "I've got you! Just-just hold on!"

She looked around wildly, trying to figure out a way to get them both back to safety; She couldn't hover him back to the walkway as her hands were a little full, and he would be sucked out by the wind if she tried to swing him back. She looked around while desperately trying to cling to the cable before she spotted falling bits of shrapnel and the plan began to form in her head.

"Ok, I'm gonna need you to trust me!" She looked to Steve who looked hesitant at first before giving her a strong nod.

With a hiss, Kiara yanked hard on the cable which pulled him closer before she let go of the grating and the cable, falling back. She waved her hands and used the winds to launch Steve back to safety before she blew the slab of shrapnel towards her. The moment the metal met her feet, she levelled out and took a moment to steady herself before soaring towards the failing engine. She blew strong winds at it to give it a kickstart, but it barely budged, and she knew she'd get shredded if she tried to push it herself.

She knew it would be difficult, and God was she dreading it, but the Helicarrier was getting closer to the ground, and it didn't look like the engines were coming back online anytime soon. Gritting her teeth, Kiara pushed up against the metal, the weight immediately weighing down on her as she put everything into keep it up. She let out a yell as she used all of her power to control the powerful gusts, pushing them up against the Helicarrier to keep it level and airborne. Despite the other two engines working, the weight was painful and had her muscles screaming for relief. She used everything she had. A protective shield formed its way underneath to keep it upright while gusts of wind pushed against it and a mountain of water climbed its way from the ocean and held it like a crutch.

Kiara screamed out as every part of her body was screaming and begging for her to let go, but she couldn't. No matter how much she wanted to, no matter the relief it would bring, she had to think about everyone on the ship, and those below them. The impact would be devastating, and she couldn't have that on her conscience. She couldn't be the reason that more innocent people died.

"No. No. No. Come on!" she whimpered, her knees buckling from the weight. "Come on!" Tears pricked at her eyes as she felt her strength weakening but the weight just kept piling on. Panic started to fill her as she tried to stand herself up and push harder despite the burning pain throughout her body and the snap of her bones. She screamed and buckled again before the weight seemed to lift from her hands as the engines came back online. She laughed with relief, but all her strength had gone. The winds had faded and the water splashed back down into the ocean as she only just managed to get herself back onto the ship before she collapsed against the wall.

She whimpered in pain as she fought the tears that threatened to spill. It felt like she was strapped back to that chair, her whole body felt like it was going to explode as her muscles burned and her bones ached as her body tried to repair what she'd harmed. She pressed her head against the cool metal and stared at the clouds that passed below. Despite the engine failures, they were still so high up. It was almost like she could see the whole world from that one spot and it was beautiful.

There was so much beauty in the world, and she hadn't been able to see much of it in her short life. She'd been running for so long, but everywhere she went seemed to pass by like a blur of colour. She hadn't been able to just stop for a moment, like she was now, and just look. She hadn't had that luxury, but God, her sight was perfect enough. Her eyes travelled to the brilliant blue waters below and she couldn't help the strangled laugh that left her lips at the thought of falling.

Maybe this was how it was supposed to end for her...Not in a cell or surrounded by people who would cause her harm, but surrounded by the beauty that she'd been blind to. After all, now that the truth about her had come out, she doubted that there would be much willingness cooperation with her. Besides, she was tired and she didn't have much fight left in her. She was done with the running and the hiding and the lying. With a single choice, she could be free, after so many years, she could be free of the pain of the past and the fear of her future. All she had to do was fall.

Smiling, Kiara took in the sight once more, almost as if to imprint it into her mind as she shifted closer to the edge and closed her eyes. With a sigh, she leant forward and awaited the fall, but she was swiftly caught by the waist and snatched backwards before her body could even leave the edge. Her eyes snapped open and she whipped around to see that it was Steve holding her, his eyes wide with horror as they met her sullen ones. She shoved out of his arms and pressed herself against the wall and held her head in her hands as she tried not to lash out.

"What were you-?"

She ignored him and rubbed her eyes hard. Her promise really wasn't worth all this hassle. It wasn't worth the pain or the stress or the look of pity that Captain America was giving her. In fact, it made her sick to her stomach, and once again, falling off the edge was looking like the most appealing option.

"Why would you? Why would you even want-" Steve was looking between Kiara and an equally horrified Tony who had seen the very same thing that he had. They both knew what she was, Steve had seen the file and he'd heard Tony talking about it, but when he looked at her, he still saw an innocent, but clearly pained girl.

"It doesn't matter." She finally met his eyes and he swore he'd never seen anyone look so broken in all his life. Her dark eyes were shining with unshed tears and he saw all of the exhaustion and pain and anger. He watched her lips pull into a weak smile as she laughed bitterly. "You could never understand."

"It matters to me!" he pressed. "Help me understand."

"Why?" she snapped. "Why? What do you mean to me? What do I mean to you? You were ready to shoot me dead a few minutes ago! I don't owe you or anyone else an explanation! Besides, the answer was right in front of you! You saw what I am. You saw what I've done. So why do you care?"

He tone was bitter and cold, but her expression remained the same. She couldn't even spare him a glare. "You saved me." he said quietly making her look away from him. "I don't understand why you would save my life but not care about yours?"

She laughed to herself as she pushed herself up. "If you can't already see why, then you'll never understand."

She walked silently past him and lowered her head as she passed Tony, not daring to look at him as she wandered off. She was still going to get off that ship if it was the last thing she did, but she at least owed Fury that, no matter the repercussions. He would be disappointed in her, there was no doubt about that. If there was one thing she could do perfectly, it was disappoint Nick Fury.

"Agent Coulson is down." Kiara froze on the spot. Her heart started pounding as she replayed Fury's words in her head. Coulson? No, it couldn't be Phil. He shouldn't have been anywhere near the fight.

"A medical team is on the way."

"They're already here." Fury said solemnly. "They called it."

A/N: Ok! So, we're nearly at the end of Avengers! Next is Iron Man 3, and seeing as I love my readers and take note of your opinions, I wondered how you wanted the setup of this to go on. Do you want me to carry on the story in this book, or publish it separately? It's entirely up to you though I will have to either come up with a new summary or change the current one! Anyways, I hope you enjoyed it! Let me know what you think, and thank you as always for the reads and comments.

Edited: 03/02/2019