I continue to march down the streets towards the tower. While I have stopped myself from crying, my face is puffy and my cheeks are most likely the same color as a tomato. People continue to stare at me as they walk past me. Some turn their heads and stare after they pass, and others don't even bother to look up from their phones. 

That's New York.

I cross my arms and look towards the tower in the distance. This might be a longer walk than I anticipated it to be. I forgot about the crazy traffic in this city.

Straight ahead of me is this dingy looking bar with dark tinted windows. A group of three men suddenly stumble out of the doors of the bar. They are laughing and cursing loudly as if the entire world can't hear them. They look like they belong with the wrong crowd.

I hunch my shoulders and stride over to the far left of the sidewalk, hoping that they won't notice me. The last thing that I want is for them to notice me. I don't want any trouble.

The tallest man in the group slaps his buddy on the left with his hand as I quickly walk past them. They all stop laughing and focus on me.

"Damn, bro! Look at that pretty thing!" He slurs his words together. 

"Hey, baby! Where you goin'?" The friend calls out to me, but I try to pretend like I didn't hear anything. I just need to keep walking. Maybe they will leave me alone.

The third member of the group chimes in. "I'd buy you a drink, babe! Come on back here."

I pick up my pace and hope that the upcoming stoplight stays green so that I can sprint across. If they don't leave me alone, I might have to run.

"Why you leavin' girl? We don't bite." The second man adds.

"Unless you start runnin'." The first man continues.

The crosswalk light suddenly changes from green to red in what feels like an instant. I can feel my adrenaline begin to pick up. This isn't going to end well.

Shit.

I spin on my heels and look back at the group of guys as they continued to follow me. They were closer to me than I thought they were. When I make eye contact with them, they begin to charge at me. I quickly take off in a dead sprint to my right.

They call me out as they hustle towards me. Names are flying from their mouths, but I can hardly hear them over the sound of my pounding heartbeat in my ears.

I pull my phone out and swipe over to my contacts list and press the call button by Tony's name. I shove my phone back into my pocket and pray that Tony answers. If he doesn't, this could be the end.

This could be the end. In this one moment, I think about everything that's happened so far today. I think about my birthday challenge, storming out of the gym when Dad said they had to stop looking, playing my keyboard, Dad telling me about Midtown Tech, and this very moment right now. Everything feels like it's closing in.

It's like I will never get to mend the bonds I've broken with my Dad today. I'll never see him again if this is how I die. 

Am I really going to die today?

My thoughts instantly shut off as I trip over a curb. I fly forwards and land on my face. My bones and muscles are burning and aching, but I have to keep running.

I can't run.

One of the men hoists me up on my feet and squeezes my shoulders. His two companions surround me and each grab one of my arms. They hold me as still as they can, but I try to put up a fight. I attempt to throw punches left and right, trying to hit my attackers.

"Let me go!" I cry out with a shrill scream.

"Told you not to run, sweetheart." He pulls me away from the two men and locks my hands behind my back. "Look what you did. Gotcha self caught." He suddenly stops talking and looks over at the nearest alleyway to the left.

With a simple head nod, the man begins to march me over to the alleyway. His buddies follow behind us. I look at my surroundings and try to find a street sign or anything that would somehow tell Tony where I am at if he is listening. As I look around, the streets are empty and broken down. Trash is scattered all over the street. I can't see a single sign anywhere.

"Stop it! Let me go!" I cry out once again.

"Stomp on the bridge of the foot. There's a nerve there. Use all of your strength as you turn and aim for the head. Take down the body's main control system. Throw them off balance." Nat's voice suddenly echoes through my mind. I remember her telling me these as she helped me with my combat skills.

I bring my left foot backwards and send it crashing down onto the bridge the man's foot. He cries out in pain and instantly releases my hands. I immediately swing my flat hand back at his head and watch as it collides directly on top of his ear. He yelps and drops to the ground, clutching his now bleeding ear. I must've ruptured his eardrum.

I turn back to the other two men. One of his drunken buddies comes charging at me with his fists swinging like a madman. I duck from his fists and throw a punch straight for his throat. He lets out a disgustingly terrifying gagging sound and drops to his knees. I kick him square across the face with my right foot and turn myself back to the third man.

He stands with his pocket knife in his right hand. He holds the blade down in a position to make it easier to stab. I watch as he tries to balance himself, but he's too drunk to stand still.

"Turn the knife handle against the thumb. That's the weakest point in the grip." Nat's voice returns again. "Once you control the hand, go for the throat with full force. Use your elbow."

Without hesitating I grab the blade of his knife and twist it against his thumb and watch as it tumbles to the ground. His wrist is locked tightly in my grip. Blood begins to drip from my hand. I must've cut myself, but I can't feel the pain due to the adrenaline that is racing through my body. The man hisses at the pain. 

Then, I remember something important.

His reaction times are delayed because of how drunk he is. 

I knew that he would still fight back, but his mind is slower than normal. I have the upper hand now. This is my fight to win. I am not backing down now.

Time seems to slow down as I jerk his arm down and bring him to my level. My elbow flies through the air and lodges itself straight into the man's throat.  A sickening crunch echoes in my ears. His eyes glaze over and his knees give out beneath him.

I crushed his windpipe.

He's dead.

Time comes to a devastating halt as I stare down in fear at the man whom I just murdered. His eyes are lifeless as they are locked in a constant glare at the sky above. His pocket knife lies feet away from him. He's sprawled out on the concrete. He looks exactly like a staged dead body in a TV show. This isn't a show. This is real life, and I just killed a man.

Oh my God.

I killed a man.

My breathing evolves into heavy heaves. My hands fly to my mouth to prevent my own screams from soaring out of my mouth. Tears brim my eyes. Fear swallows me whole. Whimpers escape from my throat. I can't look away from the man I just killed.

Suddenly, I'm on the ground.

Dirt flies into my mouth. I'm coughing violently. The world is spinning. Everything is echoing and I can no longer see straight. My head aches as the dizziness continues to overwhelm me. I can taste thick, coppery blood in my mouth.

I'm flipped onto my back. I open my eyes only to find the other two men standing overtop of me. One of them, the apparent leader of the group, tosses a metal bar to the side of the street. He must've used it to strike my head. As he turns, I can see blood oozing down the side of his face from his ear.

"You killed my brother! You killed him!" The sound echoes in my mind. I'm so dizzy that I can't tell who is speaking, but I'm assuming it's the leader.

I begin to crawl away from them in an attempt to escape into the ally. The second man hoists me up to my feet again and sends a pounding blow to my stomach. The air is completely knocked out of my lungs. I can taste more blood now. Everything hurts. Everything burns.

"Get... get away f-from me!" I stumble with my words.

My body aches as I begin to succumb to the pain. I never thought that I would cave in this easily. I've been training for years and two drunks manage to take me down. Nat would be so disappointed. After all that she taught me, I'm still not ready to handle myself out there. Although I fought with every fiber in my being, I'm still not strong enough.

Dad is right. Maybe I'm not strong enough to be an Avenger.

A glimmering silver blade begins to descend to my body. The second man seizes my arms and pins them down above my head. I try to fight back, but my energy has faded away.

The leader is crouched on top of my body. His knife is shaking in his clenched hand. I can see tears in his bloodshot eyes. His stare is horrifying.

"A life... for a life." Spit flies from his mouth and splatters across my face.

He lowers the blade to my rapidly rising and falling stomach. The tip of the blade pokes through my shirt and pierces my skin. I cry out in pain. He pushes the tip deeper into my skin.

I feel like I'm being torn apart. This is excruciating.

A thin string from somewhere up above flies onto the man's back. The man is pulled away and his screams echo in the alley. The other man looks up the walls of the alley only to find himself blasted with the same string and flung off in the distance. 

A red and blue figure lands gracefully on the ground in front of me. 

In the midst of the attack, the leader kept his grip on the knife just long enough to pull it from my body. The blade is laying by my side. My blood only covers a small portion on the tip of the blade. It wasn't lodged in too deep. I shouldn't loose too much blood if the wound is this shallow. I cover the cut and apply pressure. Tears roll down my face as I curl into a ball on my side. 

Strings continue to fly until both men fall silent. 

A hand falls upon my shoulder. I scream and shove it away as I dare to look in my attacker's eyes.

"Hey-hey! Hey!" The voice is higher pitched. He sounds younger. "Relax! They can't hurt you anymore. I got them."

The masked figure hovers above me. He hold his hands out in order to protect himself in case I were to strike him. While it was intimidating to stare at this masked figure in front of me, I couldn't be completely frightened. He saved my life.

"Are you okay, miss? How badly did they hurt you?" He questions. "Oh, God. You're bleeding."

"Please. Help me." I choke out.

"I've got you. Let me just help you up-" He stumbles over his words. "Grab onto me. I'm gonna get you some help, okay?" He sounds very young. It's almost like he doesn't really know what he's doing. He pulls my hands around his neck.

His right hand holds onto my back firmly as he pulls me to my feet. I cry out in pain. The intense pain runs madly through my body. Everything feels like it's throbbing.

"Just hold on to me okay? Try not to let go and brace yourself." He speaks as his grip tightens around me. Whatever he's about to do, it's going to be quick.

He extends his wrist up towards the top of the alley way. The strange string-like material flies out of his wrist and lands by the top of the building. He grabs the material with his hand and then we both launch forward in the air. I yelp in pain when his tight grip around my back puts tension on my sore muscles. 

He apologizes repeatedly.

He holds me tightly against him. Being this close to him, I can see details that I hadn't picked up on before. His suit isn't exactly 'superhero' worthy. It looks like an adult onesie that you can buy at Walmart. He's wearing tacky goggles over his eyes. Under my fingertips, I can feel his muscles. His muscles are built up. Every muscle is tensed up and tightened. I can tell that he gets a solid workout from this string-slinging thing that he does. I wonder who he really is under the mask. I wonder what he looks like, what color his eyes are, how old he really is, and what color his hair is. Whoever he is, he sounds to young to be a man. He's practically a boy.

Off in the distance, I can hear wailing sirens. 

"Hang on. I'm gonna take you towards those sirens, okay?"

I remember that I told Tony to meet me at the tower. "No! You have to take me to the old Avenger's Tower!" I shout.

"What for? You need serious help!" He responds.

"No, trust me! I have to be there! Please, just take me there!" I cry.

With a sudden flick of his wrist, we're sent soaring down a different street and straight towards the tower. I tighten my grip around his neck. His grip around me tightens as well. I bury my throbbing head into his shoulder and bite my lower lip. I'm trying not to scream.

"Don't worry! I've got you. I promise." His calm words allow me to relax just a little. His young voice is soothing to me. He can't be much older than I am.

We fly through the streets until the tower is directly in front of us. My rescuer flings his string material onto a street lamp and safely lowers me down to the ground. The landing is so soft that I can hardly feel it. He places me delicately on the ground but never moves his hand away from my back. He supports me so that my head is in his lap.

"So, uh, you okay?" He stumbles with his words once again.

"I hope Tony finds me here." I mumble.

"Tony? As in, Tony Stark?"

I can hear sirens closing in around the building. Flashing lights begin to appear all around us. I turn and look as the street are beginning to fill with police cars. Then, Tony's black sports car rolls up front and center. The brakes squeal and Tony comes flying out of his car.

"You're safe now." He lifts me up from the ground and holds me bridal style. 

Tony rushes over and places his hands under me. My rescuer tries his best to pass my off gently. I whimper. Tears fall from my face. Tony looks straight into the masked boy's goggles. "Thank you." His voice is trembling slightly.

"If you ever need me, I guess I'll just be around." Then he backs away, slings his string, and soars off into the distance. I watch him through my blurry vision as he flies away. 

Tony's grip intensifies as he carries me over to the group of EMT's who were waiting for me. The Avenger's 'A' emblem was painted on the side of the truck. "God, Maggie. Stay awake, okay? Look into my eyes, look into my eyes-" Tony's voice cracks.

My eyes are drooping. They feel so heavy. I try to keep my eyes focused on Tony, but the darkness is sucking me in. My pain fades away and my body feels numb.

"He saved me." I mumbled. "I don't even know his name."

The darkness swallows me whole.

-

I hear the familiar beeping noise of the heart rate monitor to my right. I can feel oxygen rushing into my nose. Everything hurts, but not as bad as it was before.

I must be in the headquarters hospital unit.

As my senses slowly come back to me, I can hear Dad talking to someone. It sounds like one of the doctors or nurses. It's a male voice. I want to open my eyes and see who all is here in the room, but there's one thing that I learned from my years of living in this new building. If you want to spy, don't get caught. So, I will fake it. If they still think that I'm sleeping, then they won't stop talking about me. Maybe they know something I don't.

"The wound on her stomach was in need of a few stitches. The knife blade that caused it wasn't pushed in very deep, so it wasn't life threatening. She has a concussion. There's heavy bruising on her torso, most likely from one of the thugs who chased after her. Her knuckles are bruised, but that's most likely from fighting back. She'll be alright, Captain." The voice speaks.

"So... so they didn't..." Dad is stumbling over his words. I know why. It's one question that no parent ever wants to ask.

"No. They didn't." The voice replies. I can hear Dad mumbling and sniffling softly. "She's lucky, Steve. Most girls don't get to walk away as easily as her. You should be grateful for whoever it was that saved her. Her rescuer just happened to be in the right place at the right time."

I hear the door to the room open.

"Do you mind if I come in for a minute?" It's Tony.

"I'll give you two some time." The voice replies. I hear footsteps walking out of the room and then the door closing behind them. Then, there's a moment of silence.

"How's she doing? She's going to be fine, right?" Tony asks.

"In time. She's bruised up pretty badly and she has a mild concussion. There are stitches on her stomach from a knife wound. That's the worst of her injuries. She'll be fine. She just needs time to heal." Dad replies.

"I never did ask her what happened before she lost consciousness. I thought you both were fine when you left for dinner? Did you say something to piss her off?" Tony continues to ask question after question.

"Tony-"

"Steve, cut the shit. You've always been so close with Maggie. I've never seen you two argue this way before. You two have been butting heads all day long. First, it's because she wants to become an Avenger and you can't seem to handle the fact that she could do it and you couldn't stop her. Second, well, who knows what else you could've done to piss her off." Tony decides to push all of the wrong buttons.

"Tony! You don't need to know everything!" Dad snaps. "This is something that you need to stay out of because this is exactly what Alice and I were afraid of. Maggie would go chasing after this life and she wouldn't be ready. Then she gets herself into this mess."

"She wouldn't have run out of that restaurant in tears if you hadn't said something to her." Tony stands his ground firmly. "I'm the one she called, Steve. She was sobbing."

"She's seventeen. She thinks her way is the right way. She thinks that she knows everything when she still doesn't know who to trust." Dad suddenly turns the conversation around.

What does he mean? Is he talking about Tony? Why should I not trust Tony? I know that Tony hasn't always made the best decisions in the past, but I've trusted Tony ever since I was little. Why should I suddenly lose my faith in him?

"Playing this card now, huh? oh, that's right. Everything revolves back to me. I'm the source of all of the problems in your world." Tony's tone of voice darkens. "She trusts me, and you can't handle it because you still don't trust me."

"I haven't been able to trust you since-"

I take a deep breath and stir in my bed to act like I'm waking up. I don't want this to get ugly, whatever this is. The tension in the room dissolves quickly. I hear the shuffle of feet across the floor and a chair slide up by the bed.

"Give us a minute." Dad speaks. The door opens and I hear Tony walk out. "Rainy?"

I crack my eyes open for the first time. Blinding white light floods my vision. I stir in the bed once again to act like I am still waking up. I blink a few times to allow my vision to even out. When it does, I find Dad staring back at me.

"Dad?" I call out quietly.

"Hey, Cloud." He replies softly. "The doctor said that you're going to be okay. It's gonna take some time to heal, but you'll be okay. Try not to move too much. You've got a mild concussion and some stitches on your stomach." I nod my head in agreement, pretending like I don't know when Dad tells me all of this information.

"Dad," I begin. "I'm sorry. For everything. The way that I acted this morning and the way that I reacted at the restaurant, I'm so sorry."

Dad slides his chair closer to the bed. "No. Don't apologize, Rainy. I should be the one to apologize. I had this perfect fantasy in my head where you would be so happy to experience something that every other kid experiences in their lifetime. I didn't want you to feel left out of the 'normal' teenage life. I wanted you to enjoy high school like I did."

"That's not the truth." I state.

"Okay, fine. High school was a nightmare for me, but I was hoping that things would be better for you nowadays-"

"Dad. That's not why you're sending me to a school. You're doing it because you think it's the best for me. It's what you and Mom always wanted. You don't want me to become an Avenger."

"Maggie, listen-"

"You may be right, Dad." I cut him off. He stares at me in shock.

"Wait. What?"

I look him straight in the eyes. "I know that I'm not ready to become an Avenger. This whole incident was an example of that. So, maybe it's best if I try high school. You know, for you and Mom, since that's what you've always wanted."

"Are you sure, Maggie?" Dad's eyes begin to shine a little. I can tell that I just made his day. I finally caved to what he always wanted for me. A normal life. 

Who wants a normal life anyway? Normal is boring.

My life will never be completely normal, but I have to try. If not for Mom, then I'll do it for Dad. After all, I feel like I owe him for everything he's done for me. He raised me all on his own.

"I'll do it." I state with confidence.

Dad smiles and chuckles. I give a small smile and open my arms for a hug. He stands from the chair and gently pulls me into half of a hug. He doesn't want me to move. He doesn't want to see me in pain. However, it felt good to give him a hug, even if it's just half of one. 

I rest my chin on his shoulder. "But, I'm still training after school hours."

-

A/N: Sorry for the super long chapter, but there were many details that I wanted to include. I didn't feel like leaving it on a cliff-hanger. Also, special thanks to my father for helping me with the big fight scene. He's trained in defensive tactics for his job, so he was able to help me with specific actions that Maggie used to defend herself and such. Hope you all enjoyed this chapter!