Heroine ϟ Marvel [3]

9.5

CHAPTER FIVE

World On Fire

- - - - -

SOMEWHERE IN NEW YORK

Ana woke up in a haze. She didn't even remember where she was. Or what had happened. Slowly, it came back to her. Maw and Obsidian. Tony, Stephen and Peter. Where were Wong and Bruce? She felt the brick wall on her left side, and used it as a crutch to stand from the cushion of damp boxes underneath her. She had mindlessly applied too much pressure on her struggle to find her balance, and caused a dent into the side of a small office building that was now deserted due to the warning of possible aliens entities in the area. She listened to the way the mortar from the bricks fell into the puddle of sewer water and blood at the base of her feet.

"Wha-where..." Ana swallowed thickly, cradling the back of her sore head with her right hand. She stepped forward once. Then again with her other foot. Before she knew it, she was walking out of the alley she didn't recall wandering into. Judging by the muting daylight, it couldn't have been more than a few hours since she watched Tony disappear into the sky. She then patted herself down for her phone. It had been placed into her front pocket. She plucked it out and turn it on. Ten missed calls. Most likely from Bruce. And a horde of messages she didn't have time to go through. She clicked it off and stuffed it back into her jacket pocket.

It was quiet. Nobody was around. It was like the whole of New York City stayed inside with their doors locked and windows shut. She didn't blame them. They probably even had it all planned just in case another alien invasion devastated their city. Stocked up on supplies and canned food. Preparing for the worst. Ana hoped the citizens were safe. She couldn't stand to see what happened all those years ago when the Chitauri arrived to happen again. There was too much loss. Too much death. One of the good things that came of it were heroes. Vigilantes. People who took it upon themselves to help others in times of crisis — by doing the right thing.

It's what Ana loved about New York — it was the birth place of heroes.

And that's what the universe needed right now.

As Ana wandered down Ninth Avenue, heading south for the Sanctum Sanctorum, she felt eyes on her. She didn't stop walking and instead looked over her shoulder at the rooftops behind her. She squinted, believing to see a figure crouching down on the edge of a tall building. She blinked once and he was gone, making her question if she even saw the man with the black mask correctly in the first place.

"...Matt?"

SANCTUM SANCTORUM
NEW YORK

"Ana, where have you been?"

Wong stepped away from the pile of debris in the middle of the room and looked to Ana when she entered through the front doors. Seeing as Stephen was off-world and Ana would be preoccupied trying to save the universe, Wong had to do his duty as a Master of the Mystic Arts and guard the Sanctum. Before meeting Stephen or Ana, the thought of abandoning the search of a missing sorcerer would have very little effect on him. Now, he wouldn't admit it, but he was struck with a sense of sadness. Wong and Stephen had become close friends, and having to accept the responsibility of protecting the Sanctum instead of finding Strange was conflicting for him.

"I woke up in an alley. Where's Bruce?" She asked, clearing her throat as she adjusted her sleeves anxiously.

"Here." Ana heard his small voice behind her and turned to see him walk into the space with Tony's flip phone in his hand. "Vision's in Edinburgh with Wanda. Cap's on his way there." He informed her.