EMERALD

Leaving the Helicarrier without running into anyone was easier than I anticipated. Pandora had left me instructions to the nearest Quinjet, enabling me to exit the place safely without any further chaos. There was already too much of that.

I silently thanked Tony for teaching me how to fly one of these things. I wasn't sure what else I would have done.

I landed the plane safely outside New York City, praying that I managed to hit all of the buttons to enact the proper stealth mode. There was a slight pause in which all of the doubts from earlier in the day came flooding back. I couldn't focus on that now.

After exiting the plane, I heaved another sigh, taking in the sights of the city in the distance. "Great plan, Em, what next?" I mumbled to myself.

From the non-existent smoke I was seeing from the skyline, I figured the invasion of the Chitari had yet to begin. It was in that moment that I found myself heading towards the outskirts of Midtown.

I had some time to kill before the Avengers showed up.

As I began my trek, keeping one hand on the gun Pandora had given me on my belt, I tried my hardest not to think about where they all were at this very moment. If Pandora had done her job, they should come to the conclusion that Loki was heading towards Stark Tower and show up any moment.

At least, that was the plan.

I headed deeper into Manhattan itself, leaving Queens and my plane far behind. I was going to be here for the final battle, granted there still was one to be fought.

I came across what looked like an old bridge near the edge of Grand Central Station. As I ducked underneath, however, I came across what looked like someone's living space, complete with a couch, a table and even a few storage bins. Pushing the curtain aside, I found something else entirely.

Rather, someone else.

"Oh my god," I exclaimed as I laid eyes on a woman around my age furiously typing away on a laptop. "I'm so sorry."

She lifted her head up, assessing my reaction and assuming I wasn't a threat. I already saw her eyes dart to the gun obviously hidden in my pocket, however. I wasn't sure how well that was going to go over.

To my relief, though, she shifted her gaze back to the screen of her computer as she resumed her typing. She didn't even seem fazed that I had clearly found her hiding spot.

"Hey, don't sweat it," she responded, blowing a piece of dark hair away from her face. "I'm just trying to finish up some work here."

I nodded slowly, glancing around the place. "I didn't know anyone else knew about this," I said, trying to make it seem like I wasn't as big of an intruder as I was.

The woman still didn't remove her eyes from her screen. "I guess we must have kept missing each other," she responded nonchalantly.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm sure," I stammered. She clearly didn't recognize who I was, let alone take more than a glance towards me. "Do you mind if I crash here for a little bit?" I asked, already moving towards one of the tables in the place.

"Trying to hide from someone?"

I felt her eyes burning curious holes in my back as I turned away from her, shrugging my jacket off my shoulders.

"I guess you could say that," I answered, sitting on the wooden surface and raising an eyebrow towards her.

She tilted her head to one side, trying her hardest to seem interested in the conversation without interrupting whatever she was typing. "Mind if I ask?" she questioned, unexpectedly extending the conversation.

"So, you can tweet about it?" I shot back with a smirk, gesturing to her laptop.

She let a similar smirk cross her face before she slammed down the lid of her computer, tucking it into her messenger bag beside her. "Touché, touché," she laughed, folding her arms across her chest as she looked at me again for what seemed like the first time. "Well, if I had to guess, I would say that you're not on the run from someone, but you'd rather stay hidden from the world. Which I don't understand because judging by your weapons tactfully hidden and that hardened expression on your face, you can take care of yourself."

I leaned back, shaking my head in shock. "Who even are you?" I asked, surprise ringing clear on my face.

"I'm a good judge of character," she said before leaning forward, holding out her hand to shake. "I'm Skye."

I shook her hand, nodding in agreement with her statement. "Unusual name," I stated in response.

"This is usually where you tell me your name," Skye said, releasing my hand and leaning back against the couch once more. From the way she was lounging, she definitely seemed comfortable here.

I shrugged my shoulders. "If I'm trying to hide, as you presume, why would I even consider telling you my name?" I pointed out.

"Trust."

I sighed, running a hand through my hair. "That's something I don't have a lot of right now," I said, "especially for hackers like you."

This time, it was Skye's turn to be taken aback.

"I'm a good judge of character too," was all I said. "And I happen to know computers rather well." I nodded with my hand, gesturing to her hands. "You've got a good rhythm there. My friend Val-" I broke off at the sound of her name before I quickly adjusted my statement. "My friend worked with computers for a living and taught me a thing or too."

"Maybe the Rising Tide could use someone like you," Skye offered, raising an eyebrow.

I laughed, thinking about what it would be like to just run away and start over as a hacker on the streets. "Sorry Skye, but I don't think that'll be happening anytime soon," I said. "My boss keeps me busy." I paused, my stomach twisting in knots at the thought of Tony and my friends again. "But I do appreciate the offer."

Skye shrugged her shoulders, chalking it up to my own loss. She got to her feet, swinging her bag around her shoulder as she glanced over in my direction.

"Alright Blondie, it's been real," she replied. "I better run. I've been sitting in one place for too long." She turned to make her way out of the hide out but stopped at the last minute, looking over her shoulder. "And don't worry, I didn't see anyone back here."

"Maybe I'll see you again," I suggested, finding it refreshing to find someone in this universe that I didn't know by name already.

Skye smirked. "Unlikely."

She waved one more time in my direction before she pushed the curtain aside and headed out into the city around us. I only hoped that she would be safe from what was coming next. I already had enough innocent blood on my hands.

I sat there longer than I could remember, refusing to turn on my phone in case someone tracked my location. While there wasn't much to do other than sit and reflect, I tried my hardest to keep my thoughts away from my friends' current whereabouts. They were mourning me, and the longer I let my mind wander to that, I would surely lose my mind.

Instead, I chose to practice what I was going to say to everyone when I eventually returned. They were definitely not going to be happy to hear that I faked the whole event, but I hoped they would understand. They were superheroes. Sacrificing themselves was something that they did best.

At least, that was the best-case scenario.

It was a shorter amount of time than I anticipated before I heard a group of high-pitched screams erupting from outside. The proximity to Grand Central had my hide-out in the center of the action that was heading right for us.

"Well, that didn't take long," I muttered to myself before I got to my feet, pushing back the make-shift curtain to my hiding spot.

My mouth practically fell open as I came face to face with two Chitari aliens standing directly in front of me. "Right, army," was all I said before I unloaded the entire clip of my pistol into the aliens' chests.

Shaking my head, I lowered my gun, noticing the group of civilians that I had attracted around me. I ran further into the open, ushering them all into a nearby alleyway. There was no time to get them to safety at the rate that the Chitari were flying into the city.

I tried not to get caught up in the imminent destruction that was just beginning to rain down on this planet. There was work to be done.

As if on cue, another group of aliens appeared behind me. One girl let out a blood-curdling scream, pointing behind me. I didn't waste any time before firing in their direction once more. I managed to take out another few of them before my ammunition ran out. Resorting to the old-fashioned way, I managed to get them to fire at each other, easily dodging their slow movements and turns.

When I hid the group of civilians behind a nearby dumpster, I pressed a finger to my lips. "When the police arrive, they'll get you to a safer location," I promised.

The girl from before grabbed my arm before I could get very far away from them. "Who are you?" she asked, her eyes wide with gratitude.

I didn't even hesitate.

"I'm an Avenger," I said with an honest smile. "And as long as I'm around, nothing is going to touch my city."

That was a promise I wasn't sure I was going to be able to keep, but I was going to try my damn hardest. If I was going to survive any further in this battle, however, I needed more weapons at my disposal. I stood no chance against the Chitari with only my two fists.

I recalled a nearby weapons shop a few blocks over from one of my favorite cafes, praying that it still existed in this universe as well. I didn't have time to waste.

Luck was on my side, it seemed.

There was a moment when I entered the shop that the owner stared at me, half-debating whether to assume I was a terrorist or not. I hoped since I wasn't currently sporting an alien mask, I could at least find the guns I was looking for.

"Can I help you?" he decided to ask after a few seconds of simply staring in my direction.

"I need some more arsenal," I cut straight to the chase. "I had one pistol to my name, and that's out of bullets. Obviously, this is not going to cut it." I held up the gun on me, waving it around in the air.

The store owner simply raised an eyebrow, not a care in the world that there was a war erupting right outside his front door. "Do you have a license for all of this?" he questioned.

"Oh, for god's sake," I swore, shaking my head. "Aliens are invading our planet."

"I still have integrities."

It seemed he was one of the last people who did. I respected that.

Nodding, I fumbled through my jacket pocket until I found what I was looking for. "Respect," I said to him before holding up the SHIELD ID card Fury had sent me all of those months ago when I was still reporting to him. "I work for the government."

The store owner squinted briefly at my card before grabbing a variety of small guns from the wall behind him. "You're one of them Avengers?" he asked, setting the weapons on the table separating us.

"Yeah actually, I am," I responded, the title suiting me.

He only had to nod once before he gestured to the guns in front of me and then the entire store around us. "Take what you want on the house," he responded before heading into the back room to hopefully take cover. "Just take those bastards down."

Now, that was a promise I could keep.