Scared To Be Lonely

Chapter 7: Bank Jump

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Nick honestly didn't know how, but at some point she was suddenly in a bank that Chitauri had practically trapped a group of over a dozen cramped people. The brunette looked up at the three Chitauri on the balcony inside the bank, all of which were aiming their weapons down at the people who were gasping and whimpering in fear.

The brunette then tried to push past a couple people, luckily small enough to not really be spotted, as she tried to look for a way out. But in her search, she saw the familiar blonde, causing her to quickly make her way over to Peyton, before whispering. "Are you okay?"

Peyton looked relieved to find the girl wasn't dead, as she quickly pulled her into a hug, before pulling back. "Are you?"

Nick tried to shake off the weird feeling from getting a hug from somebody she spent so long hating, as she looked around. Apparently all it took was a near death experience for rivals to become friends.

Even though she was scared, Nick had to believe in what she already had seen, which was the group already fighting back. And after how long she spent with Tony going through the files and 'The Avengers Initiative', she could only assume that they were the Avengers. "We're going to be okay."

"How- how can you think that?" Peyton shook her head, terrified, but Nick didn't really have an answer for her. But it didn't really matter when they both looked up, since someone had suddenly dropped in, throwing his shield at one Chitauri that was holding a bomb that it was about to throw at the group of people.

Captain America then quickly ducked out of the way as the others began firing at him.

As the Chitauri were now focused on him, officers were quickly trying to get the people out of the bank and trying to steer them to safety. But as Nick was being shoved through the crowd, her attention then landed on the shield... which did look familiar, and when she glanced up, the girl realized that he probably needed it.

Peyton had just made it to the door when she realized Nick was gone, "Nick?"

The brunette had manage to climb on top a long desk and run over, grabbing where the shield had landed on it, before she then managed to jump onto a tall shelf that was right there, before climbing onto the balcony just as Steve threw a Chitauri over the edge.

When another Chitauri grabbed him from behind, putting Captain in a headlock, Nick hit it in the back with the shield before kicking the alien in the side to try to get it off the Captain America.

The bomb's beeping began to get faster as Nick then moved and the shield up, quick thinking, to block an alien's blast as Steve finished with the other one.

The Chitauri suddenly dropped it's weapon as Nick backed up, watching the alien try to turn off it's own bomb, but her eyes widened when she realized the only other choice it really had.

Nick turned around and ran over to where Steve was just getting back to his feet, and she tossed him his shield. "Bomb!"

Steve looked over her shoulder before quickly grabbing the little girl he didn't know and managed to hold his shield up just in time, using his body and shield to cover the girl as the Chitauri threw the bomb at them. 

It went off the moment it hit the shield, the blast sending them straight out the window as Nick's eyes squeezed shut and her heart felt as though it dropped to her stomach, a startled noise leaving her lips, before they crashed on top a vehicle.

Nick grunted in pain, but she didn't get the full impact of it like Captain America had.

The impact with the car had caused him to let go of her, which caused Nick to roll to the hood of the vehicle, seeming to black out for a couple seconds. The young girl tried to blink away the blurriness as her ears rang, she now had a bloody lip (with blood smeared slightly on her chin) and a couple small cuts on her face from the glass. Thankfully though, the leather jacket had protected her arms. 

Nick forced herself to sit up and slide off the car, stumbling a bit when her feet hit the ground, but she shook it off and quickly moved over to help him off the car. "Are you okay?"

Steve, who was now mask-less, leaned against the car slightly while raising an eyebrow at her. All he knew was that this kid already seemed selfless and brave, and even as she was literally fighting aliens and blasted through a window, this little girl was still asking if he was okay.

He gave her a nod as an answer, before saying breathless. "Good work, kid."

Before she could say anything else, Peyton shoved away a fireman that was trying to help her, before someone else spotted the familiar brunette and he quickly ducked from the people he was with. "Nick!"

Looking over at the voice, Nick's eyes widened as she seemed to completely forget about what just happened and she ran over, her and Jeremy immediately embracing each other in tight hugs, as their eyes squeezed shut. Jeremy shook his head as he pulled away, him looking like crap as well as everyone else. "I thought you left yesterday."

"Yeah, I kinda... missed my flight." Nick gave off an innocent smile, but she was a little breathless from the fall, and Jeremy gave a little humorless laugh. "Of course you did."

The freckled boy looked over his best friend, "I didn't even see you in the bank."

Nick went to say something, but was once again stopped when someone yelled her name, and suddenly Peyton was by them, exclaiming. "What were you thinking?! You could have been killed!"

The brunette rolled her eyes, but then saw Jeremy giving the two a confused look, as well as Peyton, as the two asked at the same time. "Who are you?"

Officers and firemen gathered the kids up again and began pushing them back in the line of people to get them to safety, as Nick tried. "Peyton, this is Jeremy, my best friend. Jere, this is Peyton, my..." Nick glanced at the blonde, "Frenemy?"

Peyton just shrugged in response, her too not knowing what the hell to call their kind of relationship. 

"What, what was the kid's name?" Tony Stark suddenly spoke up, everyone having kinda heard what happened through the comms. Steve's eyebrows furrowed, "Nick. Why?"

"Dark brown hair, short, looks like Bambi?"

Steve was confused, "Do you know her?"

Now Natasha spoke through, "I thought you said she shouldn't be in the city."

"Son of a bitch." Tony responded with, since he hadn't exactly had the chance to say that Nick had called saying that she missed her flight. He was relieved to hear she was alive, since all he had known was that calling ending with gunshots and her scream, then at the Tower when him and Loki were basically threatening each other, he saw her suitcase still by the elevators.

Words couldn't really describe what he felt, knowing she was alive, but now being even more worried. "Where is she?"

Still confused, Steve looked up, but the kid was now lost in the crowd. "She was in the bank of 42nd, passed Madison. I've lost her in the crowd."

"JARVIS, find her."