BAM! Early update! Thank you guys sooooooooo much for the reviews! I'll update again on Saturday, and that will be the very last chapter because this story is coming to a close.

The title of this story is from Regina Spektor 'The Call'

Chapter Twenty-One

I'll come back when you call me

Pain slams into me like a wave. It sprouts from my right arm, slipping through my body like lightning. A moment later, my hip throbs in agony, and then my whole side. Then I feel myself slipping, and I fall again.

My eyes are closed, so I can't see what's coming. I feel scraping rocks on my arm, and then something knocks into my head hard and I black out.

….

"Oh my God, Zoey!"

"Get her on the jet, quick!"

"What's wrong with her, wha-"

"It's alright, Madison, just stay calm."

"Somebody get Banner!"

The voices sound faint and muffled, as if I'm underwater. I notice the burn of pain more now, covering my entire right side and making my head pound. Wearily, I try to open my eyes. Blurred colors flash by me and I feel myself moving. Then, I notice the blood lapping at my clothes, and I realize that it's my blood.

My heart hammers and I try to move, but agony rips through me like electricity. What's happening?! How did I get hurt?! Why is Madison crying like that?!

"She's going into shock." I hear somebody say, "Get the sedative!"

There's a lot of shuffling, and I hear someone shout, "Hurry!" Suddenly, I feel a prick in my arm, and then the world turns dark again.

Later...

Once again, I hear voices. However, they're clearer this time, and sound too loud.

"How long has she been out?"

"Almost 24 hours."

"She got banged up pretty bad."

"Yeah. Um...but her face...is it-?"

"At least she's alive, alright? It could've been a lot worse."

"Good thing Faolan caught her before she hit the ground."

"Mmm hmm. If only it could have been trees that broke her fall, and not-"

"Shh! She's awake."

"But she's not opening her eyes!"

"Her conscience might not realize that she's awake."

"...how can your conscience not realize that your body's awake?"

"Just…. give her time. She'll be a little dazed from the head wound she suffered."

Their voices echo loudly in my ears, making my head throb. I try to wince, but my face feels numb. Confused, I slowly blink my eyes open, squinting in the light that seems far too bright.

Steve, Madison, Bruce, Uncle Tony, and, to my surprise, Mom stare back at me. Immediately, Madison bursts into tears and flings her arms around me. Pain shoots through my body and I groan. She jerks away, but still squeezes my hand tightly.

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry this happened to you!" she cries, tears streaming down her face, "I was so worried! You- you fell off a freaking cliff! What were you thinking?! You shouldn't have gone after Cathal alone, you stupid, little-" She cuts herself off, turning into a sobbing, boogery mess.

Mom pulls her away, laughing, but I can see tears of relief rolling down her cheeks. Uncle Tony puts a hand on my foot and says, "You had us really worried there, Zoey."

I stare back at him blankly. Steve frowns a little and asks, "Zoey? Are you alright?"

Am I? I'm not sure. My mind feels like an empty gap, and kinda fuzzy like after I got shocked by my collar. I notice that my right arm is in a sling and my torso is wrapped up in a bandage. There's an IV in my left forearm and two breathing tubes up my nose. Looking around, I see that I'm in a hospital, with one large window next to a door.

Sighing, I attempt to sit up in my bed, but my muscles scream in protest and I flop back down. Grimacing, I ask with a hollow voice, "What happened?"

Steve glances at the others, and then replies, "We won. The mutants helped us fight off the Cat Traps, and then…."

He hesitates, so Madison finishes for him, "You fell. Thankfully you were close to the cliffside so a couple of crags broke your fall. But, you know, they're crags so…. you got a little beat up."

"No kidding." I huff, wincing as my ribs twinge in pain, "What happened then?"

"Faolan was already sliding down the mountain," Steve says, "He ran through the fighting and caught you. Unfortunately you still hit the ground, only not as hard."

"And then?" I ask, turning to Uncle Tony. The billionaire says, "Our mission was slightly less successful. We dealt with the Chinese and the Lab guys, but the transport kinda got blown up in the process. We managed to get out some mutants, though. A few could even fly!"

I nod and then ask, "And where are they now?"

"Fury's keeping them in a spare room," Bruce replies, "Faolan is making sure they don't freak out while the doctors check over them. They were more willing to work with us once we'd given them food."

I smile and then try to sit up again. Bruce puts a hand on my shoulder and pushes me back down, "Don't move. Your body needs to heal."

"I'm fine." I reply, wincing as my ribs twinge again.

"Kid, you lost a good amount of blood." Uncle Tony says, "And none of us could donate any because of the wolf DNA mixed inside of yours. You've got back most of it now, but you're still going to be dizzy as hell."

"I'm fine." I repeat.

Mom gives me a look and says, "Zoey, you fell off of a cliff. You're not fine."

I'm about to quip, but then I notice something odd about her gaze. Glancing over at Madison, I see that she's looking at me a bit strangely too. I don't even have to glimpse at the others to know that they're doing the same.

They're not looking at me. Well, not at my eyes at least.

Frowning, I glance around and ask, "Where's a mirror?"

Bruce presses his lips into a thin line and then turns away. A moment later, he hands me a mirror and I take a look at myself. Immediately, I gasp in shock.

The left side of my face is covered in bruises, my eye black and swollen. There's a long, stitched scratch starting from my upper forehead down to my eyebrow. Another scratch begins at the corner of my eye and runs across the bridge of my nose. A smaller scratch next to it starts underneath the same eye and simply makes a line on my cheek. Those are probably from stupid Cathal. My lower temple, right next to my eye, is completely scraped up and covered in some weird slimy cream. And to top it all off, my ear looks like it just got shredded by a hundred mini ninjas.

I stare at my reflection, completely dumbfound. In front of me, Steve clears his throat awkwardly, "It could've been worse. The doctors were surprised your eye wasn't more injured."

I glance up at him. In a quiet voice, I ask, "Are...are these going to scar?"

Bruce sighs and nods, "Yes, yes they will. You can try putting on some of this," he holds up a bottle of some cream, "Every week, but they won't fade completely. Well, except for that older one you had. It was shallow so if you apply this every week to it, it should disappear in a month or two."

I smile a little at that, but it feels weird with my numb face. Rubbing my cheek, I ask, "Man, how many painkillers did you give me?"

Uncle Tony laughs, "A lot. You fractured two ribs, broke your arm, bruised your hip, and a bunch of rocks attacked your face. I think you're gonna be on painkillers for a while."

I raise an eyebrow, "Wow. Note to self: Avoid falling off cliffs."

They all laugh and Mom says, "Well, at least you can add that to your Bucket List."

"Yeah." I snort, "I think I just broke a record." Digging my palm into the bed, I proceed to start pushing myself up into a sitting position.

Bruce starts forward, "Zoey, you really should-"

"I need to say thanks to Faolan for saving my life." I interrupt, swatting his hand away. The scientist frowns and says, "We could bring him here."

"Are you kidding?" I giggle, gesturing Madison to help me stand, "Trust me, the moment he leaves those mutants alone with the doctors they'll freak out."

"I'd really prefer you to be resting." He says, but then helps me stand up. He removes the ivy from my arm as well as the breathing tubes, "Alright, but no running. And I want you back in here in twenty minutes."

"Relax, Doc." Uncle Tony says, clapping his hand on the scientist's shoulder, "She's tough. She'll be fine."

Bruce looks unconvinced and turns to Steve, "You're mature- go with them."

"Hey, what about me?" Mom exclaims, "I'm mature! I've had kids for crying out loud!"

"Of course," Bruce says, "He'll be backup."

Meanwhile, Madison turns to me and mutters, "Come on, let's blow this joint."

I nod and am about to walk out when I notice a slight…. breeze in a usually contained area. My eyes widen and I turn to the others, "Who changed me into a hospital gown?"

Uncle Tony snickers while Steve gives him a disapproving look. Bruce smiles and says, "Don't worry- it was probably just the doctors."

"Were they girls?" I ask, arching an eyebrow. Bruce shifts awkwardly and replies, "Some were."

Squeezing my eyes shut, I pinch the bridge of my nose. With a loud sigh, I ask exasperatedly, "Well, can I have pants please?"

By now, Uncle Tony is bending over, laughing so hard that he's tearing up. Steve elbows him in the ribs while Bruce turns around and tosses me some jeans. Mom steps forward and says, "Alright, boys, why don't you wait for us outside?"

"Of course." Steve replies, dragging Uncle Tony out the door with Bruce following. Madison turns to me and rolls her eyes. I snort and hand her the jeans. She looks at me in confusion and I say, "I'm one-handed, so you're gonna be my personal assistant for the next few weeks."

"Good luck with that, Madison." Mom laughs and Madison huffs, unzipping the jeans. Then, with some difficulty, they manage to help me into the pants without breaking a bone.

"Good thing they left your underwear on." Madison says as she opens the door, "Or that'd be even weirder."

I nod and we meet up with the guys outside. Bruce stays in the hospital (something about studying mutant blood) so we bid goodbye and follow Uncle Tony as he leads us down the hallways. My ribs ache with every step, but I push onward.

As we walk, Steve says, "By the way, Zoey, we found those knives you were hiding in your quiver."

I shrug and glance over my shoulder at him, "They were helpful in the battle."

Mom knits her eyebrows and asks, "They? How many did you have? Wait- were they actual real knives?!"

Madison snorts and replies, "Of course they were, Mom! What, did you think we'd really bring fake knives to a real battle?"

"Where'd you get them?!" Mom exclaims and I answer innocently, "The training room."

She stares at me, and then turns on Steve, "Did you let them do this?!"

His eyes widen and he raises his hands, "No! I took them away from them when I found out. Apparently I missed a few…" He glares at me and I grin cheekily.

Uncle Tony ruffles my hair and says, "Nice going, kiddo. Here we are."

He stops in front of a door and opens it. Inside, I find the strangest sight I've ever seen.

About a hundred or so mutants, some wolf and others not, are sitting in multiple small circles on the ground, eating food. Doctors move from group to group, checking on the mutants, and to my surprise, they let the doctors check them, too focused on the fantastic food before them.

I blink in surprise and open my mouth to comment, but no words come out. Suddenly, I hear Faolan bark, "Guitain!"

Turning around, I see said wolf mutant dashing towards me. He skids to a halt in front of me, and I notice his eyes lingering on the scratches on my face.

Looking behind him, I see Natasha, Clint, Thor, and Fury glance up at me and walk over. I smile and then turn back to Faolan, looking at him expectantly. After a moment, he jerks, as if pricked, and yelps, "Oh, sorry! You're just, uh, a little hurt…"

"A little?" I laugh, wincing as my ribs throb. Faolan licks his muzzle and drops his head, "Sorry. I tried to catch you, but the force still made you hit the ground."

"Hey Zoey!" Clint says as he walks over, "Good to see you're alive." Natasha elbows him in the side and says to me, "You're young, so you'll heal in no time."

I nod and say, "Yeah, but Bruce says that these'll scar." I gesture to my face and sigh. Thor shakes his head and says, "Tis does not matter. There are many scarred women on Asgard and they are still beautiful." he smiles and pats my shoulder, "You shall be fine."

"Thanks." I grin. Turning to the mutants, I ask, "So, what now?"

"Well, we take them to my island, of course," Uncle Tony responds, swinging an arm over my shoulder, "I'm thinking of calling it 'Stark's Mutated Island'."

I raise an eyebrow, "That's the best you could come up with?" Uncle Tony shrugs, but before he can say anything, Fury steps forward, "We're all glad that you're alright, but now we have some things to discuss."

"Of course we do." I say sarcastically, my tongue moving faster than my brain. Thankfully, the director just rolls his eye and gestures us to follow him. He leads us across the room towards a door and opens it. We find ourselves in a hallway, still following Fury. A few minutes later, he stops in front of a large window. I peek inside and see about thirty or so mutants, either on a hospital bed or in….

…. cages.

I narrow my eyes and turn to Fury, "What's this all about?! I thought we'd brought them here to be free, not just put in another cage!"

He raises a hand and I bite my tongue, forcing myself to stay calm. "We have a good reason, alright? Just hear me out." he says and I nod, letting him continue, "Unlike those other mutants you just saw in the spare room, these mutants aren't…. sane. They don't have organized thoughts and don't respond to stimuli like normal people- or mutants- would."

"They're basically brain-dead." Natasha adds helpfully, "Do you know what that means?"

I nod and reply, "Yeah. There was once this story on the news that…" I trail off at the look Fury gives me and fall silent again.

"Anyway," he says, "We need to decide whether or not to just humanely euthanize them."

My eyes widen and I exclaim, "Why would you euthanize them?! Can't you just make them better?"

He shakes his head and replies, "It's impossible. I had the doctors look into it, but they can't. It would be better to just end their suffering."

I open my mouth to object, but Mom puts a hand on my shoulder and says, "They'll never be able to live a good life. They'd be confused and scared. Do you really think that's what they want?"

I blink and look down at my feet. She's right. As much as I hate to admit it, she's right. My heart clenches, and I look up at Fury. "Alright," my voice cracks, "Just…. make sure it's not painful, okay?"

"It won't be." Fury turns to one of the doctors looking at us through the window and nods. The doctor jerks his head and motions to the other doctors, telling them something that I can't hear through the wall.

Sighing, I turn around and begin to walk away. The others walk after me and Uncle Tony pats my back, "Hey, we can still bring the remaining mutants to the island. Some SHIELD guys are already preparing a plane. You wanna come?"

"Bruce wanted her back in the hospital in twenty minutes." Steve says before I can reply. Uncle Tony scoffs and waves a hand, "He's just being overprotective. Besides, you're tough, right?" he says to me and I shrug, "Well, I survived falling off a cliff, so yeah, I guess you could say I'm tough."

"Exactly," Clint says, "You fell off a cliff, so you should be resting."

"I was unconscious for almost a day," I reply bluntly, "I'm pretty sure I got enough rest."

Madison sniggers and Steve turns to Mom, "Are you alright with this?"

Mom shrugs and responds, "As long as you're not too tired, Zoey. And as long as you promise me you won't do anything stupid again."

"I won't," I snort, "And since when do I do stupid things?"

At that, everybody bursts out laughing. I feel heat rush up to my face and snap, "What?"

Uncle Tony gasps and wipes an imaginary tear from his eye, "Oh, if only you could hear yourself say that!"

I frown, making my scratches throb, and say, "My ideas aren't that dumb."

Thor's loud laugh booms across the hallway and he says, "My dear Lady Zoey, I am sorry, but your actions typically contain a sense of…" I give him a look and he pauses, "... mischief."

"Uh huh," Natasha chuckles, "Like getting hopped up on Monster Energy Drink."

"Oh, don't even remind me of that." Fury huffs, "We're still finding spray paint in random places."

I wave my hand and walk back towards the mutant room, "Whatever. Let's just… let's just get going already."

They finish laughing and follow me, but I can still hear stifled giggles. Ugh. I'm definitely going to hear about this again.

Getting all the mutants on the plane was… interesting. Turns out SHIELD had already had problems getting them on the Helicarrier while I was unconscious, and when we told them they had to get on another plane they got really suspicious. Well, I wouldn't be very trusting of humans if I had stayed any longer at that wretched place.

Anywho, it took a LOT of convincing from Faolan and I to finally get the wolf mutants onto the plane. And then, after a long hour of promises, assuring, and persuading, we managed to get the rest of the mutants to come along.

And then it took a while for everybody to figure out who they wanted to sit next to.

And then calming down the mutants when the plane started flying.

And eventually we had to put a stop to all the suspicious glances because they were getting unnerving.

And now, here I am, sitting (once again) between Steve and Madison. Next to the super soldier, Uncle Tony is telling us about the island.

"You're gonna love it!" he boasts, "Nice, clear waters, an awesome forest, a fairly constant temperature that's not too hot or cold, safe and protected by me, and it is completely alone so nothing will bother them there."

"Great," I say, "Um, by the way, where did you get it?"

"A website." he answers simply. Steve raises an eyebrow, "Where you can buy islands?"

Uncle Tony crosses his legs and says, "Well…. I may or may not have kicked a few people off of it, but-"

He's interrupted by Steve's groan, "Ugh, seriously Stark?"

"Hey, I paid them well for it!" he defends, raising his hands. I shrug and say, "It's alright with me. See it as a sacrifice for the greater good."

Madison glances at me and asks, "Is that, like, a quote from a book or something?"

I smirk, "Oh, from so many, my sister, so many."

She blinks, puzzled, and then looks away, "Alright then."

I snicker, and then turn back to Uncle Tony, "So, can we visit often?" He nods and replies, "Of course! I'm gonna be hanging out in Malibu for a little while, so just give me a call and we'll head out."

"Do you have a boat?" Madison asks, leaning a bit to see him. We both turn towards her, giving her a 'seriously?' look. She raises her hands, "Alright, alright."

I roll my eyes as a silence falls between us. It's not an awkward one, it's comfortable. Letting myself relax a bit more, I take a deep breath and sigh. Immediately, pain shoots through my ribs and I grunt, clutching my side.

Steve glances at me and asks, "Are you okay?"

Nodding, I massage my ribcage and say, "Yeah, just getting used to this…." I gesture to my torso as I try to come up with the right word, "... less freedomness."

"Nice." Madison snorts and I stick my tongue out at her. Steve gets an I-told-you-so look on his face and says, "That's why you should've stayed in the hospital like Bruce told you to. If you were there, he could give you more pain medicine." Then, his expression softens, "Take it easy, alright? I don't want you getting more hurt than you already are."

"Okay." I say, slouching a little. Then, I look up and ask, "How long 'till we get to the island?"

Uncle Tony checks his watch and responds, "Hmm… around an hour or so. Why?"

Without replying, I take my phone out of my pocket with my good hand and search through the games. I tap on one, and the CandyCrush theme song plays aloud.

Yeah, I know it's kinda late for me to just have gotten obsessed with it, but hey, what can I say? I'm a busy girl.

An hour or so later….

My jaw drops.

So does Madison's.

As well as all of the other mutants'.

Uncle Tony just laughs at our expressions, "See? I told you it's awesome!"

'Awesome' is the understatement of the year. 'Awesome' doesn't even begin to describe the view before us.

An island.

Now, I know what you're thinking. Oh, an island. Pretty cool, but nothing to lose your jits about.

Yeah, well this island is, like, the god of all other islands.

It's island Asgard.

For starters, it is big. Big enough to be a good home for a bunch of mutants. Definately.

Second, it's beautiful. The shore is covered with pure white sand, with a long slab of it extending out into the ocean so it acts as a natural jet-landing place. I can see a cluster of smooth rocks a bit away from here. Shimmering turquoise water gently laps at them so clear that I can see various shells on the ocean floor. But that's not the best part. The best part is the amazing forest lies in the center of it all, lush, green, and full of life. It raises upwards a little, showing a bit of a mountainside, and has a few patches where it is either thicker or thinner. That's alright, though. It's fine. Everything's perfect.

The third thing is the sounds. Even without my supermutant powers, I can hear birdsong ringing in the air. Straining my ears, I can also faintly detect the forest rustling with activity. I don't have to take a sniff to tell that there's a lot of prey on this island.

Slowly, I turn my head towards Uncle Tony, who's grinning like an idiot. I open my mouth, then close it, then open it again. Finally, I manage to choke out, "O-ok-kay, you were right. You were really, really right. This- this is, uh," I look back at the island, "It's, uh…."

Suddenly, Madison squeals, "IT'S FLIPPIN' AWESOME!" She dashes off of the plane and jumps onto the white sand. I blink, and then glance at Uncle Tony, "Yeah, that's… that's what I meant."

Grinning, I follow Madison off the plane, moving more slowly due to my injuries. Uncle Tony and the other Avengers run ahead, but Steve and Mom stay behind with me, keeping with my stumbling pace.

"Don't overwork yourself." Mom says with a hand on my shoulder. I ignore her and try to move as fast as I can, finally reaching the sand, "I wanna check out the island! Hey- hey can you help me take off my shoes? I'm not good at running with sneakers in sand."

Steve keeps me balanced while Mom unties my shoes. Once they're tossed aside, I start towards the Avengers, who are helping the mutants out of the plane a bit away from me.

Natasha glances at me as I approach at a weird amble. "Be careful!" she calls out and I roll my eyes. Mom and Steve walk behind me, muttering something about reckless children.

My feet sink into the soft sand easily, but my entire right side is still sore and covered in bruises. Suddenly, a jolt of pain strikes my right hip and I stumble. Unfortunately, since I'm in the sand, I can't catch myself and fall to the ground.

I cry out in pain as I land on my side, agony ripping through me like lightning. Mom curses and she and Steve help me up.

"See?" she scolds softly, "I told you to take it easy! You're not invincible Zoey."

"Yeah, I think I know that now." I groan, struggling back to my feet. My ribs hurt like hell, my arm is throbbing, and the scratches on my head are getting itchy. I hold back a whimper and lean against Mom for support, blinking away tears.

She brushes the hair out of my face and suggests, "Why don't you wait in the pla-"

"No!" I protest before she can finish her sentence, "Look around you! This place is awesome! How could I not explore?" At her uncertain look, I add, "Please, Mom! I'll be careful, I swear!"

After a moment, Mom opens her mouth to reply, but is interrupted by a buzzing in her pocket. The song 'Rich Girl' blares out and she reaches into her pocket, fishing out her phone. She looks at it and her eyes widen.

"It's your father!" she exclaims and I blink in surprise. Mom knits her eyebrows, and then says, "I have to take this." Looking at Steve, she orders, "Stay with her and don't let her do anything life-threatening. Again." Then, she turns around, puts the phone to her ear, and walks away.

Steve and I look at each other at the same time.

Awkward silence.

Then, "Are you two going to keep staring at each other or come over and help?"

I jump in surprise and turn to see Natasha watching us with her arms crossed. Smiling a little, I walk towards her with Steve at my side like a loyal dog. A loyal dog that's really old, super protective, mostly furless, has super-soldier serum in his blood, and walks on two legs. Yep.

For the next fifteen minutes, we help the mutants out of the plane. Some come out eagerly, others are still suspicious. But eventually they're all sniffing around the white sand, looking around and shuffling impatiently.

Esarosa approaches me and asks in Wolf, "Is this our new home?" When I nod, she glances around and says softly, "It's beautiful… How can we ever repay you?"

I smile and shake my head, "Uncle Tony's the one who got this place for you."

Kaiser limps up beside his frosty deputy and rasps, "And yet you were the one who came back for us. Many of the mutants would've stayed gone, but you didn't. You and your friends saved us all." He looks over at the forest and says, "We can grow stronger here. If you are to ever need our help, know that we are always at your aid."

"Thanks." I give him a look of gratitude, "But it sounds like we're leaving you guys already. Come on, let's explore your new home!"

As we follow them back to the Pack, Steve glances at me and asks, "What was all that?"

I sigh and then translate. When I'm done, he nods and comments, "You sound really strange when you speak wolf."

"And I bet human sounds really weird to them." I retaliate and he shrugs, "I guess you're right."

Suddenly, Madison calls out, "Come on, Zoey, we're going into the forest!" My heart flutters in excitement and I start towards her. Steve keeps up with me and makes sure that I don't go too fast, much to my annoyance.

However, I'm soon glad for his vigilance once we're two feet into the forest. Turns out there's a lot of undergrowth. Honestly, if it wasn't for Steve, I'd be tripping and falling every two seconds.

On the bright side, the plants are really cool. The trees provide a fair amount of shade and protect us from the worst of the sun. Meanwhile, I can hear, smell, and even see prey roaming around in the jungle. Many of the mutants chase them, including Faolan, but I stay back, too tired to do more than trudge through the undergrowth.

Thankfully, we come across an area where the trees thin out into a clearing and the thicket disappears. I seize my advantage and sit on a boulder, catching my breath even though I didn't go very fast.

Steve looks down at me as I pant, wincing as my broken ribs ache. I glance up at him and smile wearily.

"Fun, huh?" I wheeze and he raises both eyebrows. "Maybe we should just head back to the beach." he suggests.

My eyes widen and I begin to protest, but he holds up a hand and says, "Do you really want to keep slogging through this undergrowth? It's obviously tiring you out. And besides, while they explore the forest, we can explore the beach."

I blink, trying to come up with a comeback, but then let my shoulders droop and sigh, "Alright. Damn, Steve, you know my weak spots."

He gives me a slightly smug smile and helps me up. Before we can get very far away, though, I hear Faolan call out, "Guitain!"

I stop and turn to face him. The male wolf mutant stops in front of me with Madison right behind him.

"Where are you going?" My sister asks, looking a little concerned. Steve answers for me, "She just got a little tired. The terrain is tough, so we're heading back to the beach."

"Oh," Madison breathes, "Okay. Well, have fun!"

"Feel better, Guitain!" Faolan yelps over his shoulder as they follow the Pack. I roll my eyes and mutter, "I'm just hurt and tired, not sick and dying!"

Steve helps me into the undergrowth and says, "There's not much of a difference."

Huffing, I follow him as we make our way back to the beach.

Balancing on one foot, I use the other to test the water. I gently dip my big toe in, and then my whole foot. The water feels amazing.

Pulling my foot back, I look up at Steve, who's holding my good arm steady me. Putting on my cute face, I ask innocently, "Can I go in the water?"

Steve smiles a little and says, "Alright, but not too far. Only up to your knees."

I roll my eyes and scoff sarcastically, "Yes mother."

Ignoring my retort, Steve leans down and takes off his shoes. Then, he slips his hand into mine and leads me out into the sea.

I can clearly see the shells and rocks beneath the water, so I mindfully avoid stepping on them as we wade into the ocean. The surf is fairly shallow, so we can go out pretty far. The water feels great on my sore, bruised legs, and I let out a content sigh.

"I like this place," I say, looking at Steve, "This is gonna be a really good home for them. And a great vacation place for me."

"Yeah," he laughs a little, "Never thought Stark would do something like this."

We stay out in the water for a while, chatting idly. At one point, we get into a small water fight. I can tell that Steve goes easy on me, but I don't mind.

As we play, I faintly notice the sun beginning to set. It's only when I hear the Pack emerging from the forest that I realize how late it is. Steve and I wade back to shore as Faolan and Madison come charging towards us.

"Man, time flies so fast!" Madison exclaims. Then, something behind me catches her eye and she gapes, "...Whoa…"

Glancing over my shoulder, I see what amazed her. The sinking sun is disappearing behind the horizon, its rays lighting up the sky in a fiery orange. It sets a beam of golden light on the ocean, making it shimmer and look like a starry night sky. My eyes widen and my jaw drops, "Holy…."

"Wow." Faolan breathes, sounding astounded, "I've never seen anything like this before…."

All of the sudden, fagitude crashes down on me and I feel exhausted. Letting out a big sigh, I sit down on a boulder and continue staring at the sunset, mesmerized. Steve settles down next to me, and for some reason I find myself leaning against him.

None of us say anything, simply watching the sun as it begins to recede. The silence is interrupted by Director Fury calling out, "Faolan!"

The male wolf mutant perks up and looks over at him questioningly. I glance back and see Fury standing with Kaiser and Esarosa, holding something in his hand.

"Come over here for a moment, please."

Faolan hesitates, and then trots over to the man. Madison glances at us, then shrugs and follows him. I turn back to the sun and sigh again. Steve rubs my back and asks softly, "You alright?"

"Yeah," I reply, looking at him tiredly, "It's just…. it's been a really long day for me. I mean, I haven't slept in a while- not counting being knocked out. Think about it; first we flew from New York to California, then I attacked Fury and got electrocuted, then we flew to the Lab, then we fought the Cat Traps and I fell off a cliff, and then I was unconscious for a while, and then I woke up and found about all the shitty stuff that happened to me, and then we flew again to an island, and then we explored, and now we're here."

Steve stares at me for a moment, processing what I said, and then asks slowly, "So… you're tired?"

I raise an eyebrow, and then nod, "Yeah. Totally." Then, I look away and lean against him again. He puts his arm around me and rubs my right shoulder, mindful of my injuries. I smile a little, my uninjured cheek pressed up against his chest, and close my eyes.

We stay like that for a few minutes, a peaceful silence between us. His heartbeat seems like a lullabye, pulling me into sleep. He continues to gently caress my shoulder, and I have to force myself to stay awake.

As we sit there, I faintly wonder why I'm so close (emotionally and physically) to Steve. Maybe it's because he's sort of like a father figure to me. I mean, Madison always has Mason, even though she can't see him all the time, but he's still there for her. I don't- I can't- really feel that way about Mason. He's just, like, my boss. I don't feel a father-daughter relationship between us. And thus I've never really had a dad.

So, I guess it would make sense that I would see someone like Steve as a father figure, right? It's alright, I just…. needed someone to fill that role for me. And he's perfect for it, ya know, 'cause he's all sweet and protective of me and stuff.

Yeah.

It's alright.

It makes sense, ya know?

….

"Hey," Steve's voice pulls me back to reality. I snap out of my daze and lift my head a little. Aww, man, I hope I didn't drool.

"Fury's calling us." The super soldier says and I glance over to see Fury watching us expectantly. I heave myself away from Steve, feeling a blush creep up to my cheeks, and mutter, "Oh, right. Uh… sorry."

"It's fine." he smiles and brushes my now messy hair out of my face, "You've been through a lot, and not just physically. If you ever need anyone, I'm here for you."

Oh, damn, I'm definitely blushing now.

I smile back and he helps me to my feet. Together we walk over to Fury, who's waiting with the other Avengers plus Madison and Faolan. I notice Madison's look and send her a warning glance. She simply smirks and says nothing.

"What's up?" I ask once we reach them.

"It's time to go." Fury replies. It takes me a moment to process what he means, but when I do, my smile drops, "Oh…" I pause, looking at the Pack, who are in a bunch a bit away from here. Turning back to him, I ask, "How are we going to keep in touch?"

"I'll have a few SHIELD agents drop by every two weeks. In case something happens while we're gone, though, we're leaving a communicator."

I arch an eyebrow and ask, "Do you really think they'd know how to work it?"

Fury glances at the mutants for a moment, and then says, "They might not, but he does." He gestures to Faolan, "His collar has a built-in com link, like yours."

Faolan gives me a sorrowful look and I slowly realize what's happening.

"Oh…" I breathe, "You… you're… staying?"

He looks down and lets out a sigh, "It is for the best, Guitian. I would never be accepted amongst your people. And besides, the Pack needs me."

"And we'll visit a lot!" Madison adds, "It's not like we're never going to see each other again."

I smile, feeling hope spark in my chest, "Yeah. And we have a connected com link if there's a problem. I'll come back when you call me." Faolan's tail wags and he suddenly lunges at me, wrapping his forearms around me in a hug. My ribs ache, but I ignore the pain and hug him back.

"I'll still miss you, little shadow." he whispers, a whine rising in his throat. I close my eyes and squeeze him, "Me too. No need to say goodbye, though. I'll see you again."

He doesn't reply and pushes his cold black nose against my neck. After a few moments, we separate and I look to Fury, "Can I say goodbye to the Pack?"

He nods and I walk over to the wolf mutants. My heart aches as they all surround me, yipping about how they'll miss me and other various farewells. Before I leave, they all turn to the sky and howl.

I glance over my shoulder and see Faolan staring at me. His tail wags a little and he starts howling too. Behind him, Madison snickers and leads the other Avengers in a howl that sounds bizarre.

I can imagine the Wolf rolling its eyes.

Grinning, I turn to the orange sky and join the howl.

One more chapter to go! BUT DON'T WORRY! There will be a sequel, in which Zoey is put in the events of Thor 2 and meets Loki... yup. Anyway, leave a review or just whatever and yeah, bye.

Until Saturday!

-Periwinkle Skittles