The explosion went off almost immediately. I was thrown back and my body hit the floor next to the man i had just been pinning down. It could have been a couple minutes before i came round, it could have been instantly. I opened my eyes but i could hardly see through the dust and the rubble. By the elevator, i could see a small pack of flames. My ears rang and my body ached. I stumbled to my feet and wiped blood from my face and mouth. I coughed and spluttered, my lungs full of dust. I looked beside me, the shooter was no longer breathing. I looked at my surroundings. Glass and stone covered the floor, bodies too, some stirring and some would never move again. A voice spluttered and cut in and out in my ear. "Is...Ok?.....Happened?" Steve asked urgently over the earpiece. "-ara! -clar..! Clara!" Tony's voice crackled with desperation. "I'm fine." I confirmed. I looked around for Nat and Wanda desperately. "I'm fine too." Nat's voice came over the radio. I saw her getting to her feet across the floor. "Me too." Wanda said, crouching by a small child's still body.
"Is everyone else ok?" I asked. "Yes, we are all ok here." Sam replied. "And here." Rhodes replied. "What the hell happened?" Steve asked. I coughed again and helped up a girl next to me. "Are you ok?" I asked her. She nodded but there were tears in her eyes and bloody wounds on her face. "A man tried to use the elevator, he couldn't hear my warning." I explained in reply to Steve. Children cried and screamed all around me. "Are the shooters down with you still active?" Tony asked. I met with Wanda and Nat in the middle of the room. "One is dead." I told them. "Two." Nat corrected. I looked over to where the body of the second shooter lay. "What about the third?" Steve asked. Wanda looked up at us, a look of guilt crossing face. "The explosion went off, i couldn't hold him any longer. I can't find his body." She said gravely. We dusted ourselves off and picked up any of our weapons that had clattered to the ground in the explosion. "He would have headed for the hostages. We have restrained the rest of the shooters. Tony, Rhodes, Vision, get to the security room now. Girls, we will need your back up." Steve instructed. Nat nodded. "Let's go."
"Everybody get yourself out of here!" She shouted to the still recovering crowd. People cried and screamed back. "My husband! He isn't breathing!" One desperate women shouted as she held a body. My chest felt as if it had deflated as I took in the sight in front of me. We started to run towards the half destroyed stairs when a small girl pulled at my leg. Her face was covered in blood and dust and her face was wet with tears. "I can't find my mommy!" She cried. "Please help me!" I crouched down to her level. "I'm sorry, i can't help you find your mum right now. But you need to be safe so go down those stairs and out of that door. There will be police outside and you tell them what has happened." I said to her. "Can you do that?" I asked. She nodded and sniffled. I stood straight again and turned away but before i could leave, she hugged my leg. I smiled bitter-sweetly. Once she let go, the three of us ran up the stairs to the forth floor. Me and Nat held our guns ready as we rounded the corner. Steve and Sam were running towards us at the same time, looking slightly beaten up but they had obviously been un effected by the explosion. "Are you three alright?" Steve asked. We nodded. "Come on we need to get to that security room." He urged.
We ran down the corridor to where we had been told the room was. Tony, Rhodes and Vision flew towards us in the opposite direction. "It's over here." Tony said, landing at a door. As we ran towards the door, screams became apparent. The door was locked of course. Tony held up his hand to blast the door open but before he could, our earpiece crackled again. Our brows furrowed as a voice came over it. "Now come on, i'm sure we can sort this out with out anymore deaths." The voice snarled. The shooter's. He had intercepted our channel. "We are on the other side of the door, we have you surrounded, there is no escape." Steve replied. The voice just laughed. "Give me the money, and no one gets hurt." He demanded. "We're coming in." Tony retaliated. He laughed again. "Oh i don't think you want to do that. If you open this door, i shoot." With those words a thrill of screams went up again. Tony clenched his fist and turned away from the door. "How are we meant to get in? As soon as we knock that door open he will shoot the hostages." Tony ranted. A plan started to form in my head but i wasn't sure if i would be powerful enough to make it work. "I might have something that could work, but i'm not sure how it will play out." I told them.
"What is your plan?" Nat asked. I glanced over to my side. "I'm going to need Wanda." I explained my plan to the others and when i finished, they mulled over the idea. "But i'll need you all to stay here, to distract him, make him think he still has the upper hand." Tony and Nat nodded. "There is no reason it shouldn't work." She replied. Even with that encouraging note, Steve still shook his head. "I don't know, it's risky, what if you can't handle it?" I cocked my head to the side. "You underestimate us, do you not remember Sokovia?" I for sure did. "That's just the tip of the iceberg of what we can do." Steve still looked unsure. "Do it." Tony said and that seemed to decide it. Me and Wanda headed up to the next floor. "Are you feeling strong enough for this?" I asked her. She nodded. "Just go over the plan one more time." So i explained the plan to her. We would reach the ground above the security room and she would break the ground beneath us. As soon as we fell through, i would project my shield around us and the hostages and Wanda would take control of the shooters body. Then we would unlock the door and we could arrest the shooter. It was risky and i wasn't sure if it would work but it was the only way we could get in the room quick enough and protect the hostages before he could react. I would have to muster my shield as we fell through. It would all have to happen so fast so that the shooter had no time to shoot. But like Nat has said, there was no reason it couldn't work.
"Friday, locate the security room." I instructed after i clicked a few buttons on my screen. I hadn't had a chance to use Friday before so i was still working out the ropes. "Ms Stark, the security room of Carlsons mall is directly below you." she showed me the blueprint, the body's of everyone bright orange. Directly below where we stood, was the security room with 13 people inside. "This is it." I said to Wanda. We stood closely together and Wanda closed her eyes to concentrate. When she opened them again, they glowed red. The vapors spread across the ground and suddenly, it crumbled beneath me and i was falling. Energy surged through my body, through my hands so when i landed on my feet, and the shooter shot at me, it merely bounced off and rolled to the ground. Dust crumbled around us as Wanda stepped forward and her fingers danced, the red vapors tightening around the shooter like ropes again. The gun fell from his hand and his body went limp as he lost control of his movement. "You have full control?" I asked Wanda. "Yes, hurry open the door." I dropped my hands, and rushed to the door I unlocked it and the rest of the avengers rushed in.
As the shooter was seized, i turned to the hostages. I untied each one, and elderly man, even a mother and her small son. And then i untied the last person, a person i recognized. I crouched down beside Dina Asher, crying and shaking in her designer clothes. "are you ok?" I asked her as i pulled her to her feet, trying to change my voice ever so slightly at risk of her recognizing the girl who tried to stab her.
She jumped to her feet and hugged me tightly. "Yes i'm fine! I can't believe you've saved my life! The Shadow Hunter has saved me. Thank you, thank you!" I held my self stiffly until she finally let go. The final shooter was arrested, his weapons seized and the hostages were brought to safety. As we exited the building, the bystanders cheered. Ambulances and police cars surrounded the building. I coughed as i breathed in the fresh air, my lungs still full of dust. Many of the people involved in the explosion were being checked by medics. Now the building was safe, the bodies could be brought out. So many, women, men, children, their lifeless bodies brought out on stretchers. The red room hadn't prepared me for this. Being the bad people, the villains, you never lost anyone, but i was on the good side this time and it was so much more painful. "Are you injured?" A medic rushed to my side and i looked at her dazed. She examined me with a glance and started to drag me towards an ambulance. "Oh no, i'm fine." I told her, pulling away. "Miss, you have inhaled a lot of smoke and dust, you may have concussion and possible damage to the eardrum, i need to check you now." I allowed her to check me for more her benefit than mine. I sat at the open doors of an ambulance as she shone a torch in my eyes. "Yes, definitely a concussion." I shrugged. "I've had them before."
"Ok, i need to clean your wounds so your going to have to remove the mask." I jumped away from her. "No, it's fine, i'll do them myself." I insisted, walking away. I bumped into someone behind me and as i went to apologize, i was bombarded with questions, and a microphone shoved in my face. I dodged away quickly as the news reporter shouted questions after me. I turned around and looked up at the mall, it was half destroyed, i looked around at the injured people, the people crying over dead bodies. I wrestled my way away from the reporters, finding Tony. "Clara." Tony muttered quietly beside me, making me jump. "We should get home." He said, cocking his head towards a black, sleek car. I followed him over the road, to the parked car. Tony opened the door for me and i climbed in. Happy sat in the front but didn't say a word. Tony sat next to me and we drove off. We sat in silence until we reached Stark Tower. Happy dropped us around the back because the front doors were bound to be flanked by reporters.
"Are you ok?" Tony asked as we stood in the elevator. "Yeah, i'm fine." I replied. "You did great today, you fought like a hero." He told me with a slight smile. Hero? A good person? Heroes are never fully good, but being a hero means everyone ignores your sins. Mine were too big to ignore. "Thanks." I said after a while. The doors slid open, revealing Pepper sitting on the sofa with the news coverage of the incident on the tv. Footage of the explosion, pictures of the injured, pictures of the avengers and a few ones of me, flashed up on the screen as the news reporter read the stats. 6 shooters arrested, 2 shooters dead. 150 injured. 32 dead. Pepper jumped up and faced us as we stepped out. Mascara smudged her lower lashes and her face was tear stained. She had clearly being crying and maybe she still was. "You!" She shouted, pointing a finger at Tony, striding towards him. "Pepper." Tony said calmly, trying to ease her anger. "No note! No text! No call! No voicemail! And the next thing i see is this on the news!" She shouts. pointing to the tv which still showed wreckage of the mall.
Tony took a step backwards, probably wishing he could step back in the elevator. "Pepper, it's my job as an avenger to help when things like this happen and i-" He tried to explain. "I don't care about that, but i can't believe you took Clara!" Pepper yelled, interrupting him. They both looked at me now. "Well, actually, i wanted to go." I muttered. Pepper snapped her head back to Tony. "And you let her!?" I had never seen him look this scared before. "People were dying and she," he gestured towards me, "she is skilled, an amazing fighter and she has freaking super powers for god's sake!" Pepper crossed her arms across her chest and her face grew red with anger. "She's a child!" I hated how they were speaking like i wasn't there. "i'm not a child." I told her. "Yes you are, your 17." She replied sternly before turning back to Tony. "She is not an avenger Tony! She's a teenager who should be doing her homework and hanging out with her friends not risking her life!" She turned back to me, her face creased with worry. "Look at you." She lightly grabbed my shoulders, examining my cuts and bruises. "It's fine, just a few cuts and bruises and a slight concussion." I told her. "You could have been killed." She uttered, her eyes watering again. She pulled me closely to her chest and hugged me. "Thank god you weren't." She whispered. I waited for her to let go but she didn't. I held my body stiff at first but eventually hugged her back. I felt oddly comforted by her care.
She released me, still holding me by my shoulders. "You'll need to clean those cuts, there should be a first aid kit in your bathroom." I hurried up the stairs, leaving her and Tony in silence. As soon as they thought i couldn't hear, Pepper started to shout again. I couldn't hear the full conversation, but i could hear an odd phrase. 'She's your daughter not one of your friends you fight crime with', 'I seriously believed you were smarter than this.' , 'Be a better father!' Tony hardly got a word in but the few he did gained him more shouting. 'She's been in more dangerous situations.' He argued. 'Clara is a trained fighter for god's sake.' He told her. 'It's insanely difficult to hurt her, or did you forget the fact she can project a shield?' One final shout from Pepper- 'Don't you realize how traumatizing it must be for that poor girl to be put in these situations after everything she has gone through.' I stopped listening after that. I found the first aid kit in my bathroom and set it on the counter. I examined my face in the mirror. It was marked with dust and blood. There was a gash on my cheek, a cut across the bridge of my nose and my lip was split. A small bruise had formed on my left temple. There was a gash over the curve of my brow and a small cut on my jaw. I washed my face first, which stung, and scrubbed the dirt away. I cleaned out the bigger wounds and then swiped a cotton bud of ointment over the cuts.
The smaller cuts would be fine and would probably heal in a few days but the bigger gashes would need to be taped up. To the cuts on my nose, cheek and brow, i taped up with small strips of hospital tape. Once all my injuries were sorted, i tapped the disc and my suit disappeared back to Tony's lab. I collapsed on my bed and grabbed my phone. Social media was already covered in the news and after a few minutes of scrolling through the pictures, i put my phone away. Pepper and Tony were still rowing downstairs and so they didn't hear me creep into their room. I rummaged carefully through the cupboards and came across the pills. I took a couple from the container and swallowed them. I replaced the container in the cupboard and left back to my room. The funny feeling washed over me like it usually did. A feeling of numbness in my mind.
I woke up for school the next day, my mind still fuzzy. I had a shower, got dressed and covered my bruises and cuts with make up. when i went down stairs to grab breakfast, i wasn't shocked to find Tony lying on the sofa. "Did you sleep here?" I asked him as i searched the fridge for food. "Pepper's still angry. She worries, that's all." He replied. I grabbed the carton of orange juice and poured my self a glass. "How are you, you know after yesterday?" He asked, jumping up from the sofa and stretching. "Fine." I told him, buttering toast. "I mean it was a pretty big thing that happened, Pepper's right, you could have died." I shrugged and took a bite from my toast. "But i didn't." I reminded him. He walked over to the table and leant on a chair. "I was wondering," I looked up at him expectantly. "I was wondering if it brought back memories of Sokovia." I stiffened slightly and it took me an effort to start chewing again and when i did it stuck in my throat. "Cause you know you can always talk to me about that, or Pepper, or Nat and Wanda or any of us really." I took a sip of the juice and grabbed my bag.
"Yeah, i'm fine, i hardly think about it anymore," Lie. "it has been 8 months." Had it really? I cleared my throat awkwardly and headed for the elevator. "I need to get to school, Happy will be waiting." I told Tony. I stepped in the lift quickly. "Oh ok, well have a good day." He called after me. I rushed through the reception and met Happy outside. I sat in the car and greeted him. "Good morning Alena, are you ok?" He asked. I rolled my eyes which was perhaps uncalled for. "Why does everyone keep asking me that?" I asked with out answering his question. We sat in silence for the rest of the journey, only speaking to say goodbye as i exited the car. I glanced to the curb. I don't know what i expected, Peter hadn't stood there waiting for me in weeks. The school was buzzing with gossip about the attack. At lunch, Dina Asher caused a stir as she walked, like a hero rising from the dust, into the cafeteria. People rushed to her feet, asking if she was ok and asking what happened. I was surprised to see her in today, i doubted anyone would blame her for having a couple days off school after being held hostage by gun point yesterday. But obviously she wanted to make a big deal out of it. "It was so scary." She whimpered to her friends and anyone who would listen. "The man wore a black mask and he had a huge gun." People were actually starting to cry as she told the story.
"But the Shadowhunter and Wanda Maximoff burst through the ceiling and saved us all." People's heads turned to me and whispers erupted. "Did you see her face?" One girl asked. "Is it Alena Rose?" Another asked. And my breath fluttered with panic. Dina shook her head gravely. "I didn't see her face but it isn't Rose." She glared at me from across the cafeteria to where i sat alone. "The women who saved me is not the same psychopath that tried to stab me." She spat the last few words. I turned back around and stared at the wall. People seemed to believe anything Dina said so most people were pretty convinced that i wasn't the Shadowhunter so at least that was something. Everyone was still staring at Dina, clinging on to every word she said, but i could feel a pair of eyes on me. I glanced over my shoulders, to the table where Peter, Ned and MJ sat. Peter's eyes locked with mine for a second before hastily looking away. A minute later, MJ sidled next to me. "Hey, how are you?" She asked. "I'm alright." I replied.
"I feel like i haven't spoken with you in ages." She spoke. "And you and Peter still haven't made up." I shook my head. I picked at the food in front of me. "You know, we should hang out soon." She suggested. I smiled and looked to her. "Yeah, you should come over." I had missed hanging out with MJ- it was easy to be with her but I had pushed her and Ned away with Peter. She furrowed her brows. "What happened? You have cuts on your face." I touched my cheek where the biggest gash was. "Where you at the attack yesterday?" She asked with suspicion. I thought on my feet quickly. "Er well, i was at home with Tony when he saw the news. I ran down to the mall to see if all was ok." i said, making it up as i went along. "And when i got there, the explosion went off and a lot of us got thrown to the ground." She narrowed her eyes but then relaxed and nodded.
Me and MJ did hang out the next day and it was nice. We listening to music on my record player, she marveled at all the tech and we laughed a lot. It felt nice to be a normal teenager for a little bit.