You Didn't See Us Running

Chapter 4

Running wasn't the only thing I was looking forward to on this mission.  Odds are I would see Pietro, and then I could race him.  Just kidding, I had already proved I was better than him when I handcuffed his ankles together.  But it would be nice to see someone who was as up to speed as I was.

But there would be another fight coming, I could sense it.  I didn't like fighting too much, to be honest.  The only reason I joined the Avengers was that A: they found and recruited me because I was becoming out of control, and B: I needed to help people.

But I couldn't relive the past; it hurt too much.  Instead I ran.  And that's what I always did to avoid it.  Always running.

As I quietly ran down the stairs, I noticed that someone was talking below.  They had beat us here.  I got in my position and got ready for the rest of the Avengers to come down.  Once I did, I was bored.  I saw the bowl of candy on the desk and I quickly and soundlessly ran and rearranged them into a "K".  Just for fun.  Then I sat back down on the main storage floor.  Waiting.

After a few minutes, I heard more voice, but I still sat waiting.  I had to join at the best time.

Suddenly, something slammed past me, nearly hitting me in the back of the head.  Ultron.  I would take that as a sign to join.

I wasn't as fast at climbing as running, but I wasn't slow either.  I got up to the balcony and joined the fight.  I didn't know what we were fighting about, but I didn't really have time to ask.

Then I saw the vibranium.  Oh, now everything made sense.  I jumped down and ran towards Ultron, but someone collided with me.  I fell back into a stack of boxes and they promptly collapsed on me.

"Damn, Pietro.  That hurt," I said as I pushed the boxes off of me.

"You know my name?" he asked, clearly confused.

"Picked it up along the way."  There were no longer any boxes on me and the onlyinjuries I had were a few scratches, but they would heal.

"Was the K you?"

"In the candy?  Yeah.  You noticed?"

He nodded.  We were both talking really fast, so the conversation lasted less than 5 seconds.

"Well, I guess we have to go back to fighting now," I said.  He turned and ran.  "Or we could go our separate ways."

Suddenly a pair of metal arms grabbed me from behind.  I was thrown to the ground and my head hit one of the railings.  I moaned slightly as another stack of boxes were pushed on top of me.

"Stay still," I heard a thickly accented voice say quietly.  I listented, and after a few minutes, I crawled out of the pile.

Half of my ponytail was plastered to the side of my face.  Most of it was red, and the bloodstains were on my shirt too.

My head was killing me, but I had to keep going.  Concussions were one of the few injuries that really bother me, along with broken ankles.  I climbed to the top of the stairs where I found Steve and Thor knocked out.  This was bad.

"Natasha?  Clint?  Tony?" I yelled.  I sensed someone behind me and I spun around.  Wanda was pushing a wave of red energy around me.  I tired to run away from it, but it was too late.  I could feel the world dissolving around me.

____

I was home.  My real home.  With the blue carpets and grey walls.  With the green blankets and golden designs on the walls.  With the smell of cookies and lemon-scented cleaner coming from the kitchen.  It was perfect.

"Kim!  You're home!" Kenny walked out of the kitchen holding two cookies.  He threw me one and I caught it easily.

"My shift ran late," I said as I followed him into the kitchen.  "Why are you baking?" I asked.

He shrugged.  "Bake sale tomorrow."  Of course.  I had forgotten since Kenny was Senior class president he would have to bring something for the fundraiser.

"Do you need me to help?" I asked as I ate another cookie.

"I think I'm good.  And stop eating them!  You can buy some tomorrow!"

"You can't spare one for your twin sister?" I pleaded.

"I've spared you three so far, so I'm cutting you off."  He measured out the cookie dough and held it in his hands.  I saw his hands glow slightly and I could feel the heat coming from them as he pulled away and the cookie dough had been baked.  I quickly grabbed it before he could react and popped it in my mouth.

"Kim!  Seriously?"

"Last one, I promise.  I have to do homework now, so call me if you need me to eat more."  I laughed as I walked back down the hallway to the stairs.

I had my earbuds in as I did my homework, so I couldn't hear the cracking or the explosions.  Then I heard a scream.

"Kenny!" I yelled as I ran down the stairs.  He wasn't in the kitchen, but the front door was open.  I ran outside and saw a giant ravine forming in the street.  What was happening?  I saw people running away from it as it grew bigger and wider.  I searched the crowds for Kenny.  I couldn't lose him.

The edge of the ravine was growing closer to the side of the hoses across the street.  I saw smoke coming from one of the houses and screams from inside.

Kenny was trying to get people out.  A hole was burned in the second floor wall and I watched as Kenny lowered some of the kids to the ground.

I looked for a way to get across the street to help him, but the ravine was too wide.  All of the kids were out of the house and were away from the ditch, but then the house started to fall into the ravine.

Kenny was still in there.

I didn't think, I just started running.  Running towards the building that was collapsing and falling.  "Kenny!" I yelled as I saw him trying to get out, but he didn't have a chance.

I couldn't run on air.  I couldn't stop a building from falling.  I could only watch as Kenny's eyes found mine and I watched him fall into the ravine and disappear forever.

I don't know who or what was responsible for that, but I went back inside and grabbed as much money as I could find.  Then I took off running.

Kenny.  Kenny.  Kenny.  I couldn't save him.  I couldn't do anyting but focus on my footsteps as I ran away from everything.  Forever.