Superhero Moments

Eleanor was doing her thing Wednesday afternoon at the humane society.

Picture, change lighting, and then write up about the dog, size, and type and friendliness. It was all very simple, monotone. At the same time, she couldn't help but love her position working with the animals. She enjoyed flipping through the pictures and watching as people came in and left with their new best friends. People of all ages and types and appearances. Kids, no Kids. Men and Women alike. That afternoon was a rather quiet one. Wednesdays were usually the slowest of the week.

What sounded close to an explosion went off outside, sending the dogs into a frenzy as if it were the fourth of July all over again. The jingle on the door rang multiple times in quick succession, accompanied by a rather large group of people sprinting into the lobby.

The small crowd of people pressed up against one another, and there was a large commotion outside. The Loud voices and yelling eventually convinced the brunette to move away from her spot and toward the noise. It was rather unruly group tourists and businessmen alike stuffed together in the small space the glass allowed them.

"What's going on?" Their noses were practically pressed against the windows, Eleanor couldn't see anything on the other side of it, unconsciously cursing her small size and dependence on the rest of the crowd to tell her what caused the sudden dodging out of the streets. Crossing her fingers it wasn't a second alien invasion—they just got over the first—she patted one man on the shoulder. He looked at her and brushed her off, disregarding her question.

"Some Mutant Dude is trying to take the city by storm. Literally, he's starting a storm! I saw Ironman." A Kid in the back motioned toward the door. "It's wicked!"

She moved over to the main desk where the hostess was almost panicking, grabbing the remote for the waiting room television and flipping it onto the news. The man, unidentified as anything but 'Mutant'- a degrading term by all accounts- was shown making a full-on mess of everything around him. Ironman though flew circles around him in their battle, trying to avoid letting any moronic civilians get hurt.

"WOAH! IT'S CAPTAIN AMERICA!" Someone in the front called outputting their finger to the glass as a blur of red white and blue ran by, vaulting over a stopped car in the road. "Just like that attack on Stark Tower man!" the people around her seemed to be all for the Avengers taking steps to stop the man. Eleanor, on the other hand, could only bite her lip as her friend entered the battle scene on the television. They were only blocks away.

It wasn't fully clear to her as the camera had issues staying steadily on one person during their fight, the newscaster was practically an announcer, like at a basketball game, without the degree for making it sound like a tough fight. Why did they even have a helicopter in the air? If this man was creating storms, they need to respect a no-flight zone policy. Her mind was an assimilation of questions and built up apprehension.

From the front of the room, the group made their way further into the waiting area just to see what the newscasters were reporting. The darkness of the setting sun on the other side of the buildings in the west made the room more dramatic, and the attention of the men and women was centered as though they were watching a movie on the television rather than real, living people fighting for the freedom and rights of New Yorkers. Collectively they cheered and words of 'not fair' rung out occasionally. It made Eleanor sick.

Captain America is down on the ground. The Mutant seems to be walking toward him and he doesn't look like he's getting up! Ironman is still fighting off-

Her eyes reached the screen as she stared at the man she had created a tie with, biting her lip and putting her hands together next to her mouth she prayed to whatever higher power there was for the best outcome. She could feel her hands shake with worry.

Back up with a solid kick! What a trick. I think the Mutant's down. Look. The storm is going…

The moment it ended they cheered, and people began to walk right back out onto the streets, some of the children running to see if they could get a glance at the heroes before they left. The moment the last person was out of the room, Ella put her head into her hands and sat back down at her desk, a shaking sigh released before she sat back and stared at the growing crowd on the streets.

A majority of them were headed in the direction of the fight, uncaring grins gracing their faces. On so many degrees she found it wrong. Wrong, Wrong, Wrong. Eleanor looked down to her work and realized that nothing else was going to get done for the day, and stood up again to walk through the kennels and help calm some of the dogs down, and to pet a few cats while she was at it.

Steve

Steve walked onto his floor and felt his shoulders slump, it had been a long day and dropping the psychologically unstable man off at jail despite his constant threats made the Captain want to either bang his head against a wall or take a nap. Just before he could sit down, the theme song of Wizard of OZ echoed through the room, the vibrations making it move across the table that he had left it on. Considering that he had a total of maybe 10 contacts, Steve wasn't surprised when looked down and stared at the Caller ID. Eleanor. A green sign to answer and a red to decline. As much as he wanted to push it away and cross his fingers she'd give up so he could take a nap, he was fairly sure that she'd call again.

"Hello?" he answered.

"Steve?"

"Yeah. It's me."

"I… I just saw you on TV."

Dread rushed through his body, causing him to run a hand through his hair and close his eyes. "Yeah." He waited. Instead of sitting he walked closer to the wall made of glass, looking down at the city everyone seemed to be moving on like nothing had happened earlier that day. He could spot the exact place the fight had occurred with his superior eyesight. They had already begun to fix the minimum amount of damage that had been caused. The news behind him from the TV he had left on could be heard talking about their fighting strategy as well. Yet, his focus was all powered into hearing what came through the receiver of his telephone.

She didn't say anything at first, but she didn't hang up either. The gears spinning in her head were almost audible. Then, she let out a deep breath. "Are you okay? Like, you had…um… I was wondering if you were okay."

He wasn't sure how to take her question. The expectation had been more curiosity, or questions about highly classified information- her blatant words of worry struck him as different. Her lovely soft voice seemed to be steady, even over the receiver. Despite that, Steve could even see her biting her lip in concern.

He moved through his kitchen to find bread to toast, holding his phone to his ear with his shoulder. "It's not too bad, I'm just a bit tired. I heal rather quickly actually."

"Okay. D-Did you want to move our lunch meet up to Friday instead of tomorrow? Then you can just take a break? Sleep in tomorrow?"

While he doubted he would be sleeping in, but his body told him he would be sore when he woke. When was the last time he took a day off and rested for the whole day? Maybe it was time. For a break from training. "I- Yeah. Actually. Is that alright with you? I mean I don't want to put you off a day."

"Of course it's alright!" she laughed, and whatever had been riding on the captain's shoulders slowly sagged away at the sound of her vocal bells. The music to his ears. "You've had a rather busy day though, so you should get some rest."

"I will."

"Good. I'll see you on Friday? 1:00 in front of Pegg's?"

"See you then."

"Bye Steve."

"Wait. Ella? Are you Okay?"

There was a pause at the other end of the line before she answered. "Yeah. Just a little shaken up I guess." One of the most unique things about his friend was that she was one of the easiest people to read, even over the telephone. Her emotions, stress, cheerfulness, could be sensed just by her tone. He could almost name her nervous mannerisms. Even though, recently, she'd begun to act more confident in their interactions. To his delight, her sarcasm and wittiness were beginning to make appearances.

Yet, on the phone and after his long day, he could tell she wasn't saying everything she wanted to say. "Where were you?"

"At the Humane society. You ran by it in pursuit. I guess I just got worried when the media started talking about you guys losing a battle. It's ridiculous. They just… take it like it's a game and you're out there fighting for your life- I… I just got home." She cut herself off from rambling, knowing she was starting to get worked up and angry. Still, Steve knew unconditionally what she was talking about. The Team-they were made out to be heroes; indestructible, invulnerable heroes, and that painted not only targets on their backs, but also an image of being able to do absolutely everything. In reality, they got their butts whooped as often as they fought, the team dynamic was still something every single one of them was getting used to. Ella brought his attention back to his phone, "I just… Thank You, Steve."

"Any time. We do this because we want to, not because we're forced." He could see her nodding her head in his mind, her eyes falling downcast as they always tended to do when she got shy and quiet.

"Okay." She enduringly spoke, "Friday?"

"Friday."

"Goodnight Steve. Sleep well."

"You too. If you need anything just call. Is your door locked?"

"Of course."

"Goodnight then El."

"Night."