The Dark Antihero | Avengers: Endgame [6]

Chapter 38

No one's come to see me since Steve left. Unfortunately, that also meant no one came to save me from drowning in my thoughts.

I learned a lot about myself while I was drowning. I learned even more about life.

So many thoughts swirled around in my head I couldn't catch a single one. I was out of the hospital pretty quickly, but as it turned out, I was in Brooklyn. I had no money, no way of getting back home.

Wherever that was.

"Hey, kid, you need a ride?" I turned, seeing an older brunette woman heading toward me.

"Who are you?"

"Call me Hill. Don't worry, you can trust me," she claimed.

"They always say that," I pointed out, and she smirked.

"Yeah, they do. But I promise I'm on the good side. I worked for S.H.I.E.L.D. before it collapsed," she said.

"I...I'm good. My house is just down the street, I'll be fine," I lied. In fact, I had no idea where I was going to stay.

"Alright. Well, stay safe. Oh, and--stay out of your head. It's a dangerous place," oh, honey, that's just the tip of the iceberg.

I dug around in my pockets, finding nothing but a thumb drive that I didn't recognize. As I walked down the street, people steered clear of me. I don't blame them. I was still in my gear.

I probably looked like death stalking its next victim.

I fiddled with the drive, my knee bouncing as I looked around, thinking about what to do. I hovered at the surface of my mind, too scared to go any deeper.

Got it! Nope, there it goes...

Why is th--what am I doing again? Was I supposed to be going somewhere?

Ugh, damn TBI! Wait. What's a TBI?

Who am I? Where am I? Why am I here? What am I doing? When did I get here?

What's my name?

I dove deep into my mind, finding a locked chest that I couldn't open no matter how hard I pulled.

My name was in there. All my memories were in there.

I looked around, and suddenly sounds attacked me. All different thoughts, swirling around me and trying to make me drown. Pictures followed some around. But one stood out among the rest.

The loneliest moment in someone's life...A face--my face, I think--going from concerned to shattered.

...is when they are watching their whole world fall apart...I was crouched over a man who had a stab wound right by his heart. He was in so much pain. I wanted to take it, to save him from it. To make it my own.

...and all they can do is stare blankly.