Author's Note: I do not own anything from Marvel. Only the OC characters.
CHAPTER 2
Anthea stared at the TV screen in her apartment in shock. Before today, seeing a billionaire fly around in a metal suit would be at the top of her most unexpected list. Now, the confirmation that aliens are real took that place. Aliens are real, and invaded the city. The Norse god Thor is real, as is his brother Loki. A team of superhero composed of one said god, two assassins, the hulk, a super soldier from the 40's, and said previous mentioned billionaire. It was hard for her to wrap her mind around everything that was happening. Not only about the new superheroes and aliens, but also the destruction that occurred in the city. The destruction that occurred in Manhattan was hard to truly grasp.
Anthea felt an immense amount of relief that Erica insisted they move into Brooklyn. Erica's family live in Manhattan, and she refused to live too close to them. The relief subsided some when she thought about Erica's family, she desperately hoped they were okay.
While she was thinking about Erica's family, Erica came running through the door. "Thea! Thea, are you here? Are you okay?" Her eyes roved over Anthea's form, checking for injuries.
Anthea was sitting on the couch with an icepack against her ribs, and her forehead bandaged up with their shared cat Dexter curled up at her side. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm pretty sure my ribs are fractured on my left side, and I've got a gash on my forehead but I've taken care of it. Perks of being pre-med, we can skip unnecessary trips to the hospital. I also figured I could use you as my personal nurse." Anthea joked.
"Funny, you are so funny. I'm so amused, and not in the least concerned now that you've self-diagnosed and treated yourself. I also do not believe that I should be dragging your ass to the nearest hospital!" She finished with a slightly hysterical shout. The shouting caused Dex to wake up and stare at the two of them, before getting up and moving away.
The thought of going to the hospital made Anthea feel uneasy. She still couldn't forget the man's words from the street. The Captains words if the news was correct. She saw the way the man stared at her soul mark, and it unnerved her. She didn't want to risk him being able to find her at a hospital. "No, no I'm fine. Yes, I took a bad hit to the head, and I fully know that you will be able to take care of me in the case that I'm concussed. My ribs hurt like hell, but they're just fractured and I know how to take care of them. Please, Erica, I give you full permission to smother me and order me around so long as we stay here. There are people in those hospitals that need more attention than I do, I don't want to take up space."
"Fine, but I expect you to listen to every order I give you. Now, list off any symptoms you have." Erica said this all with an exasperated, but tired look on her face.
"Headache, nausea, slightly dizzy, and feel more tired that I have in a while." She listed off.
"Yup, definitely concussed. You'll be staying awake with me for the rest of the night." Erica's voice started to get more strained as she reached the end, until she finally broke down. "I thought I lost you Thea. The school evacuated us, helped get us to safety, but you weren't there. You were wandering around in the middle of that entire mess, and I thought I lost you." She was sobbing by the time she got to the end.
Anthea felt all the pent up emotions of the day crashing down on her, and went over and hugged Erica. "I know, honestly, I don't know how I made it out. I've never been so terrified in my entire life. But I'm here, and I'm safe, and I'm not going anywhere. I wouldn't dare leave you alone with the rent for this apartment." She hiccupped at the end, trying to put a smile on Erica's face.
"You're an idiot," Erica laughed, "now let's open up the Ben and Jerry's and start a Disney movie marathon, where you are forced to stick by my side and I can pretend today didn't happen."
Thea laughed, "Course, whatever you want. Also you might want to consider tonight as a practice to work on the horrible bed side manner you have."
The next few weeks seemed like a blur. The destruction to the city was enormous, and repairs were approaching $200 billion. The news channels were constantly covering the aftermath, and their new favorite topic, the Avengers. Reporters were constantly found outside the new Avengers tower, trying to get interviews with the members. The news praised Tony Stark's donations to the repair of the city were praised on every channel. You could see coverage of the team around the tower helping clean up wreckage in the street. One of their favorite topics to cover was Captain America visiting hospitals, checking in on those injured during the Chitauri invasion.
It was the last news topic, that caused Anthea to feel apprehensive. It was easy to put two and two together and realize it was Captain America that saved her and the little boy Eric in the street. His words still haunted her at night. "I'll find you" she whispered to herself. She desperately tried to forget about him and his words, and changed the channel away from new concerning him. It was as she changed stations, that she stopped in shock. On the screen was Eric, and the little boy's mother. Interviewers had been stopping people on the streets and asking for experiences they had during the invasion. Anthea placed the remote down, and watched the interview with rapt attention.
The interview has just began, "So ma'am, you and your son were right here in the middle of the battle that occurred is that right?"
"Yes, my son and I were walking down the street when we saw the opening in the sky. People all around us began to panic and shove their way past us. During all the commotion my son and I were separated. People were rushing around us so fast, pushing and shoving, that I lost my hold on him." Eric's mother was crying at this point. "I was so scared that I lost my little boy, and one of those terrible creatures would get to him. I tried searching for him, but it was no use. Until I saw this woman with my son. She was holding his hand and trying to get away from everything. The relief that I felt was immeasurable. I didn't think I would every see my baby boy again. I called out for him and watched as my baby started running towards me, when the woman realized what was going on she started running my way. That was when one of those creatures attacked them. The creature swatted the woman in the side, sending both her and my son to the ground. The creature began to raise its gun towards them, and the woman then did something that I forever will be grateful for. She used her body and a shield for my little boy. Luckily it was this moment when Captain America came in and saved them both. As he was fighting the creature, the woman pushed my son towards me and told him to run. She is the reason, along with Captain America, that I have my boy back. I will forever be grateful to them both." Eric's mother was full on sobbing by the time she reached the end of her story.
The interview nodded her head sympathetically, and then turned towards Eric. "Is there anything you want to say to the Captain, or the woman that saved you?"
Eric looked into the camera then and said, "Thank you so much Captain, you are my hero!" he cheered. He then continued, "and thank you Anthea, I promised you I would be brave! And you kept you promise and helped me find my mommy!"
The interview smiled and continued talking to both Eric and his mother, but Anthea couldn't hear what was being said anymore. She kept repeated the words over and over again in her head. "Thank you Anthea" she repeated to herself. She stared down at her right arm. The inside of her forearm was covered in a mixture of marks. It was composed of three constellation, Pisces, Taurus and Cancer. Surrounding each constellation and connecting them together were small flowers. As she stared down at her mark, she felt herself begin to panic, "He'll know, he'll know my name now." She felt herself getting more and more worked up, and prayed that he would never see this interview.
