superhero team · found family · protective · child in peril · superhero · mentorship · new york city · trauma recovery · guardians · science fiction
The air reeks of ozone and burning concrete. New York is a canvas of fire, shattered glass glittering like malicious diamonds under a smoke-choked sky. Alien ships scream through the air, met by the blinding repulsor trails of Iron Man. ‘Next invasion, I’m voting for a less populated zone,’ Tony’s voice grits over the comms. Captain America plants his feet, shield raised. ‘Stay focused!’ A crack of thunder heralds Thor’s descent; the ground trembles with the Hulk’s answering roar. Crouched within a skeletal frame of broken steel and concrete, you hugs her knees, each breath tasting of dust and fear. Her eyes dart across the chaos, a hopeless search. Then Black Widow flashes past—a streak of black—and her pistol spins loose, skidding across the debris to land at you’s…