Huge thank you to LadyBelle91 and hannahkaho for reviewing. You guys seriously keep me motivated! Also sorry for the misleading title of the last chapter—I do have plans for Infinity War but not just yet ;) -Scarlet

Chapter 7: A Series of Unfortunate Events

I woke up late. Lifting my head, I looked down at the smears of foundation and mascara on my pillow. What the—

The argument.

Wiping my crusty eyes, I pushed myself up to the edge of the bed with my head pounding. I was alone. I looked around for my cell phone in a daze, and then I stumbled out into the living room. The apartment was filled with natural light and completely silent.

I dug around in my purse until I found my phone. I quickly swiped through my notifications, looking for anything from him. There was nothing at all.

I slid down to the couch with my hand clutching my chest, my fingers feeling tingly and numb. "You fucking idiot," I murmured to myself. I squeezed my eyes shut as I imagined the worst possible scenario. If he breaks up with me, I'll…I'll…

I opened my text messages. A few unread texts caught my attention before I could tap on Steve's name. I opened the first one.

Alice
Are you ok friend?

I narrowed my eyes. I hadn't talked to Alice in months, and not even Lacy knew about the argument. I texted something neutral back and then went on to the next.

Val (Boss)
Hi Katlyn, I just saw the news. Just making sure you're alright?

Mrs. Wu
Seen the news, are you at work 2day?

Shooting to my feet, I lunged for the TV remote and hit the power button. The news flashed on, and I immediately recognized the street where the reporter stood. Avengers Tower. As she spoke, the camera cut to the feed from a helicopter circling above, filming shattered windows at the top level.

"...struggling to get information from officials here, David. The threat seems to have passed, but there is certainly evidence of an attack. The Avengers themselves? Nowhere to be found."

I held my phone to my ear with trembling fingers; I tried to control my breathing as I listened to the ringing. "Pick up," I whispered, squeezing my eyes shut. "Pick up, pick up, pick up—"

"You have reached the voicemail box of…Steve R—"

Hanging up, I quickly tapped on Tony's number. Instead of ringing, it went straight to his voicemail. I muttered a curse as I ended the call and reopened my texts. I sent one to Steve and one to Tony, and I was halfway through texting Happy too when I got a reply from Tony.

Mr. Stark
Kate, everything is okay. Calm down.
(Automated text courtesy of Friday.)

My thumbs flew over the keyboard as I typed out my response.

Me
Are you with Steve?

Mr. Stark
Kate, everything is okay. Calm down.
(Automated text courtesy of Friday.)

Me
Friday are you sending these through?

Mr. Stark
Kate, everything is okay. Calm down.
(Automated text courtesy of Friday.)

"Jesus!" I hissed, hurling my phone across the couch. Sprinting into the bedroom, I changed out of my dress into something else and splashed some water on my face. I grabbed my phone and keys before throwing the door open and running to my car.

I drove past a row of news cameras on my way to the parking garage. They were set up right in front of the lobby, which was dark and empty. I realized I wasn't wearing a coat as I trudged down the snowy sidewalk beside the building, but then again, I could barely feel the cold.

A small crowd of reporters hovered by the entrance. I clutched my employee access card as I made a beeline for the door. Inevitably, a few people started following me with their microphones raised.

"Excuse me, ma'am?"

"Ma'am, do you work here?"

"May I have a moment of your time?"

I breathed out in relief as the glass door shut behind me, locking with a click. My eyes scanned the untouched room as I made my way towards the elevator. I waited as it descended from the top floor, anxiously chewing on my fingernails.

The top floor was a wreck. The bar was covered in shattered glass and reeked of spilled alcohol. Sofas in the lounge area were turned over, tables were broken, and one of the pool tables was cracked in two. And everywhere, in bits and pieces strewn across the floor, were decapitated Iron Legionnaires.

Happy was there, pacing around on a video call on his phone. I hesitantly crossed the room, half expecting some evildoer to appear at any moment.

"...Hap, I can't see anything. Can you flip the camera?" said a woman's voice.

"Yeah," he said, turning his entire phone around. He waved when he saw me, and I tried to duck out of the view of his phone as Pepper Pott's worried face came into view.

"No, no, like…flip—flip the camera," she said, gesturing with her hand. "On the screen."

"Oh, right." Happy squinted at his phone as he searched for the right button. I could only imagine the view of his forehead that Pepper was getting. "There," he said, panning his camera around the room.

"Oh-my-God," Pepper breathed, taking in the damage. "Who is that—is that Kate?"

"Yes, ma'am!" I called, awkwardly waving when Happy put the camera on me.

"Oh, hi, Kate. How are you?" she asked with a tired sigh. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," I said, looking down at my wrinkled hoodie. "I wasn't here last night. And I—I just got here. You probably know more than me."

She sighed. "Well, Tony's not answering my calls so I have no idea what's going on. I found out from the news just an hour ago."

"Me, too," Happy said, shooting me a glance. "Jarvis sent me zero security alerts last night."

I nodded as I scanned the ruined room. It was very easy to trigger security alarms at the Tower—false alarms were fairly frequent due to the Avengers' training routines. "Steve isn't answering my calls, either," I added absently.

"God," Pepper breathed, "I can't believe this."

As she and Happy discussed what he should say to the media, I crouched down to inspect one of the Legionnaires. It was completely smashed to bits and melted in some areas, as though Tony had blasted it with his repulsors. Another one that was more intact had large dents in its metal shell, indicating it wasn't destroyed by accident. Why would they attack the Legion? Or did the Legion attack them? I stood up with a queasy feeling in my stomach.

"...that only Tony can repair the main generator. And we can't really start on anything with the power out in the entire building."

"Right, right…wow. Tony really did it this time."

I turned my head as shock poured through me. "Did you say the power's out?" I called across the room.

Happy looked back at me and nodded. "The whole building. The elevators are only working because of the emergency generator."

I didn't listen to another word as I marched towards the elevator. The doors couldn't open fast enough as I tapped the call button repeatedly. I dove inside and pressed the floor for Helen's lab. The elevator slowly descended. Goddamnit!

As the doors opened, I slipped out into the unsettlingly dim room. I sprinted towards my experiment and rested my hands against the glass. It was cold to the touch.

"Jarvis, how long has the power been out?"

When I didn't receive a reply, I looked up at the ceiling angrily. Jarvis was on his own power system, so why wasn't he answering?

"Jarvis? Jarvis!"

Digging my fingernails between the glass and the metal frame, I desperately tried to pry the doors open. I only succeeded in hurting myself. Using my fist, I pounded on the glass as hard as I could. When nothing happened, I clutched my aching hand and growled in frustration.

"Um…Kate?"

I gasped and turned towards Happy's voice. He had an extremely concerned look on his face. "Sorry, Mr. Hogan," I sighed in a trembling voice, pushing my hair out of my face. I gestured woodenly to my experiment. "This is six months of work—ruined."

I stared at the ground as I tried to calm down, suddenly feeling a swell of emotions as the morning's events caught up with me. Steve's in trouble and I don't know where he is. I heard footsteps crossing the room as I aimlessly ran my fingers over the necklace at my collarbones. I don't even know if we're still—

Happy's hand suddenly appeared on my shoulder. "I'm sorry about that," he said gently.

The compassionate touch nearly sent me over the edge. I glanced up at him, blinking away tears. "Do you think they're okay?" I asked in a weak voice.

He nodded confidently. "You know as well as I do, if they were really in danger, Pepper would be the first to know about it."

I bit the inside of my lip. "Right…"

"I'm gonna go tell the media they took the quintet to confront the attacker," he continued. His hand fell to his side, and he shoved it into his pocket. "Which is probably what happened."

I took a deep, stabilizing breath and then nodded. It's just like any other mission.

A few beats of silence passed, and Happy sighed. "Go home, Kate," he told me. "Relax. Don't come into work until all of this settles down, okay?"

I felt my stomach clench. I'd rather be working right now than relaxing. "...Okay."

Deciding to sneak out the back to avoid the reporters, I walked through the ominously dark gym and out the rear exit. It took me a few minutes to speed-walk around the block to get back to my car. Once I did, I took off in the direction of the hospital, running on 0% caffeine and 100% adrenaline.

Thankfully, Val was in her office on the fifth floor, sitting at her desk. She looked shocked to see me, either due to seeing me on the news or seeing me in yoga pants. After I asked to pick up some extra shifts, she told me that the schedule for 5-North was completely full. She referred me to the House Supervisor to see if there were needs on other floors in the hospital.

I mentally counted the doors as I walked down a nondescript hallway on the first floor. I had never been to House's office, and it was surprisingly difficult to find. Though the door was slightly ajar, I knocked a few times.

"Come in," I heard from the other side.

"Hi," I said, poking my head in. I immediately recognized the tall woman standing by the window; she had a half-eaten sandwich in her hand. "Cindy?"

She looked thoroughly unimpressed. "Sandy."

I cringed. "Sorry." Clasping my hands in front of me, I opened my mouth to say—

"Need more shifts?" she asked perceptively.

I nodded as she took a seat in front of her computer. "Yes, ma'am. I'm PRN on 5-North and they're covered for the rest of the month."

"I see." Her monotone voice and expressionless face made me understand why she was House Supervisor and not Manager of Hospitality. "Just hold on a minute."

After several minutes of holding on, Sandy told me that only the operating room needed nurses that week, which was one of the only RN jobs I wasn't qualified to do. She scribbled down my name and number and promised to call me if anything came up. I left the hospital feeling even more desperate than I had when I got there.

To keep my mind busy on the short drive home, I called Lacy.

"Hey, now's not a great time."

I furrowed my eyebrows as I merged into a busy lane of traffic. "Why, what's up?" I asked.

Lacy sighed into her phone, which sounded insanely loud through my car's speaker system. "I'm moving to Yonkers today."

My jaw dropped. "What?" I exclaimed. "You're moving in with Justin?"

"No," she said emphatically. "I'm moving near him. It's also closer to work because I won't have to change trains."

"Jeez, okay…" I waved a hand around aimlessly before slapping it onto the steering wheel. "Thanks for the warning, I guess?"

"Jesus, Kate, I thought you'd be happy for me," she said, sounding pretty annoyed.

"I am! It's just—never mind," I sighed, shaking my head. "Let me come help you. My car is, like, empty." I glanced back at my mostly clean backseat.

"Well…Justin's entire Korean family is already here helping. Even his little niece and nephew," she said with a smile in her voice. "I think it would be weird if you came."

I felt the sting of rejection immediately. "Oh," I breathed out.

"You understand, right?" Lacy paused, uncertain. "Imagine if it was Steve's family."

I frowned as I pictured the fictional scenario. Even though I wanted to reassure her, the words just didn't make it all the way to my lips. "I can't believe you're moving," I murmured instead, turning onto my street.

"Kate…"

I glanced at her old apartment building as I passed it. "I miss when you lived in Brooklyn and worked here."

"I haven't lived in Brooklyn for a year," she said defensively. "And I'm just moving a little farther away—it's not a big deal!"

My car rolled to a stop in front of my building, and I moved the gear shift into park. I leaned forward and rested my head against the steering wheel. "Steve's gone," I blurted out.

She laughed. "So the truth comes out."

I didn't have the guts to tell her about the potentially relationship-ending argument, but just the memory of it brought me to tears. I felt my eyes start to sting as I stared down at the stained carpet at my feet. "Lace, you don't—" I breathed in sharply in an attempt to steady my voice. "You don't even know how hard it is when he's gone…"

"You're right. I don't know how hard it is to date an insanely attractive superhero." I scoffed at her nonchalant tone. "But I know he'll be back soon," she said softly. "Like he always is."

I nodded and sat back in my seat, wiping some stray tears away. "Yeah…"

My ears strained to hear the sudden voices in the background. "Listen, I've gotta go," Lacy said.

"'Kay. Bye."

"Bye, Kate."

The call ended with a beep. Turning my head, I stared out the window at the sidewalk. The narrow steps leading up to the apartment leered at me. I was terrified of what might happen once I walked through those doors. Even the thought of thinking about Steve put me on the brink of tears. Grabbing my purse, I decided to walk to the corner store to buy groceries instead.

I threw junk food and frozen dinners into my basket haphazardly. The liquor aisle caught my attention as I made my way to the register. I grabbed a bottle of my favorite brand of wine. There was extra space in my basket, so I reached for another. And another. I also grabbed a bottle of Hennesy, which I had never tried in my life, just because I felt like it.

My eyes skimmed the headlines of the tabloids as the cashier scanned my stuff. He chuckled as he placed the bottles into a paper bag. "Party tonight?" he asked with a thick accent.

"Yeah," I lied, faking a smile.

The only plans I had were pounding wine from the bottle for the rest of the day until I got tired enough to pass out.