The Valiant (The Seventh Avenger)

Chapter 8

Police officers run down the staircases leading to the subway. I look up and see a large hole on the front wall of the building before running in to look for any stragglers. A large round room, surrounded by a balcony meets me when I enter. A breeze enters causing groups of dust to blow into a mini tornado. I continue to walk in then stop when I step on something. I stop and lift my foot, laying there is a broken watch, the glass on the front is cracked. I look around the room and see necklaces, bracelets and other watches lying around. Piles of dust surround me and it hits me like a truck.

"These were people," I whisper and I begin to turn around and see more and more piles of dust. "I wonder," I say as I look down at my hands getting a little hope that I could save these people's lives. The comforting warmth surrounds my arms and I kneel, placing my palms onto the floor. I close my eyes and concentrate. I reopen my eyes and see the green flames from my arms spread out throughout the room, taking in every piece of dust and bringing it closer and closer to me. I begin to spin counterclockwise, the flames taking the form of people, a flash of hope ignites in my chest.

The flames guide the pieces of dust into the shape, I feel a tear roll down my cheek, not out of sadness but out of gratitude that I had done something right. The bodies begin to get color back quickly and I lift up my hands, making the flames disappear throughout the room. I slowly stand up as the bodies fall. I quickly kneel back down to a group of people; an old man, a woman holding a little boy. I reach out to the old man. 

"Sir, are you..." I stop and look down at my hand, his skin was cold to the touch. I crawl over to another body, it's also cold. "No, no, no." I continuously mumble under my breath.

I crawled to every body in the room, but they all had the same feeling. I crawl back into a corner and curl up into a ball. My gaze flows to bodies and I scream. A bright light fills my vision as voices begin to whisper. 

"Why didn't I do more?" "You are the reason they are dead." My hands cover my ears to try to make myself stop. My body rocks back and forth as worse thoughts come into my mind. I continue to scream trying to block out the voices in my head but they keep coming as flashes of Chicago come into my mind. My vision continues to blur and I feel myself begin to shake.

"Grace!" I look up but my vision is still blurred, "Grace!" A figure appears out of the light running towards me. The figure crouches down in front of me. "Hey, are you OK?"

Whoever it is wipes the tears from my cheek. I wipe my eyes and my right ear rings as I look at the figure.

"Steve?" I say and he begins to nod.

"Are you OK?" He asks and I nod, a pain begins to form in my right ear and I reach up to it. "Oh my god, Grace!"

I pull my hand back and see blood covering it, my ear burns and I reach back up but Steve stops me.

"You don't want to infect that." He says.

Steve reaches into his belt and pulls out some gauze pads, he places the pad against my ear and cleans it up a little bit. Pieces clatter to the floor and I look down seeing parts of my comm. Steve then tapes a gauze to my ear and helps me up, he then grabs onto his shield and makes sure I have my balance, I nod giving him reassurance that I am OK. I try not to look down at the bodies, but my gaze betrays me, I shake when I meet one of the empty eyes and Steve grabs onto me.

"It's my fault, it's all my fault," I say and Steve turns me to him.

"It's not your fault Grace." He says. "There was nothing you could have done."

"If I had just come here earlier, they could have been alive," I say.

"Grace, it wasn't your fault, you were handling another part of the city." He looks down at me. "There was nothing you could've done, it..." He stops and looks up. "We need to go to Stark's tower they got Loki." He says, suddenly my blood runs cold and I nod. I follow him out of the room and he and I run towards the tower.

We reach the tower. Steve and I look at each when we noticed that the power was out.

"Hey, kid where you been?" Tony lands in front of us without a helmet on. "What happened to your ear?"

Steve and I look at each other. "Long story, tell you later, where's Loki?" I say.

"Up there, do you need a ride?" He asks.

"No, but Steve does," I say and jump onto the side of the building. I continue to jump between the buildings gaining height. I land on the ridge and Tony lands with Steve right next to me. I look over and see Hulk with Ms. Romanoff, Thor, and Barton. Ms. Romanoff holds the scepter and nods at me. Tony looks at me then down his building and backs up at me.

"Really?" He says. "I could have given you a ride."

"I thought you were a billionaire," I say and he nods.

"You're not wrong." He says and out of the corner of my eye, I see Ms. Romanoff roll her eyes.

"Let's get this over with," Steve says adjusting his shield on his arm.

We all walk in. Loki crawls onto the steps and we stop a few feet away from him. He stops and twists around. His eyes had changed somehow, they seem to be missing blue. Barton pulls back an arrow in his bow.

"If it's all the same to you," His gaze flows over me and onto Tony, "I'll have that drink now."

Hulk growls. Thor steps up and grabs onto Loki. He takes handcuffs out of his belt and wraps them around Loki's wrists.

"Jarvis, start up the generators," Tony says.

"You forgot to say 'please.'" I say mockingly. He sticks out his tongue and I give him a look.

"Please." He rolls his eyes.

"Yes, sir." Says a computerized voice. The unbroken lights flicker on and the elevator dings. I turn to see who's there, but it's empty.

"Grace, what happened to your ear?" Ms. Romanoff asks. I place my hand against my right ear, which continues to ring and pull my hand back seeing it covered in blood.

"I don't know," I say looking at my hand. I can't remember much after seeing the bodies fall. "I can't remember."

"We need to get you to a hospital, right now," Steve says.

"No, no, the hospitals are packed with people who need more help than I do," I say.

"Grace, you don't want that to get infected," Barton says stepping up to me. I feel myself begin to get light headed and I try to focus on him. "You need to go to the hospital."

"No, I'll be fine," I say and start to walk over to the couch. I sit down and press harder onto my ear when it begins to scream with pain. I must've given away that I was in pain because everyone crouched around me.

"You don't look fine," Tony says looking into my eyes. "Watch my finger."

He holds up a finger and moves it around, I try to follow it but I can't when it becomes double and a wave of dizziness hits me. My eyes close and I cover my face with my hands to stop the room from spinning.

"Alright, Grace, we're taking you to a hospital." Someone's voice echoes, my right ear continues to ring as I feel myself get lifted off the ground.