The Seventh Avenger

Chapter 73: Assemble

The look that seeps onto Steve's face at my small cry is one of confusion. His face is half-hidden from his mask, but I can make out his furrowed brows beneath it. As a frown tugs his lips, he replies lowly, "You just said that those people were from the same facility that you were stuck in. How could you know that, but not know who they are?"

My skull begins to throb from how hard I am clutching it with my fingers. "I don't know," I reply almost silently. "I- I saw them heading into the alley with a group of chitauri right on their tails. I went to help them but- Steve, they, they can do things. They have abilities. Adam- the boy that was in there, and the girl she- straight through a brick wall- and he did it with his bare hands just like me- they said- but Faith didn't- but I can't remember- I c-"

I know at this point that I am rambling, my speech reflecting the swirling ball of chaos that is currently inside my head at the moment. I am overwhelmed with everything that has just happened, my memories, and the fact that we are still standing amidst an alien invasion. My head begins to throb from the number of thoughts that I am currently thinking, and words soon slur together as I attempt to get them all out at once. Eventually, Steve reaches and grasps my arms firmly in his hands before he then pries them away from my head. "Lydia. You need to calm down."

"I-I-"

"Take a deep breath," he suggests.

For a moment, I find this incredibly hard to do. I realise with a start that I am hyperventilating, making it almost impossible for me to stop and catch my breath. My hands tremble underneath Steve's hold, and my heart is pounding so loudly that I wouldn't be surprised if he can hear it from where he stands in front of me. But when my frantic eyes flick up and land on his face, and I see the look of encouragement that he is sending down to me, I find it within myself to momentarily cast my staggering memories and thoughts to the side, so I can instead focus on catching my breath. Closing my eyes and trying to relax as much as possible, I inhale through my nose, before exhaling as slow as I possibly can through my mouth.

I repeat this method over and over again until I lose count of how many breaths I have taken. I don't stop though until my mind is clear, and my heartbeat has returned to its normal, and steady rate. Steve doesn't loosen his grip on me until I reopen my eyes and let out one last breath, nodding for him to understand that I am OK now. I say nothing, however, and instead, allow him to have the opportunity to speak first. "OK. Tell me what happened, but do so slowly."

I nod, reaching up to run a hand through my waves as I begin to explain. "After we split up and I dealt with the chitauri, I spotted the three of them running towards the alley. There was a group of chitauri following after them, so I went to go and help them. Except when I turned around the corner-"

"They were already dealing with the chitauri themselves," Steve finishes. "You mentioned that they had abilities?"

"Two of them did, yes. The smaller girl, Faith, she hid most of the time. If- if she has abilities, then she didn't use them in the fight. She hid for most of it."

"But the others?"

"Adam- the boy- he's like me. He can control electricity like me. He grabbed two of the chitauri and sent volts of electricity through them. The aliens were well and truly dead before they even hit the ground. And the other girl, Riley, she- she kicked one straight through a wall. A brick wall, Steve. It looks as if she was almost, if not as strong as you."

His blue eyes widen at this, but he says nothing as I continue, "And then they turned around saw me standing there, and started saying how they didn't know if I made it out of the facility or not. And they kept mentioning things that they shouldn't know about and-"