The Final Initiative

16.

The hand grabbed her by the arm and pulled her down swiftly from the ledge, hardly allowing for her to catch her footing. Her body landed on the stone floor of the roof, a shocked grunt escaping her lips and bringing her back to reality. Beside her stood two large boots, and the wooden handle of an axe rested in between them. She closed her eyes, rolling over to her side and pulling herself to a sitting position. She rubbed her now scraped elbow.

"What the hell was that?"

His question sparked rage inside of her. She whipped her head around to the Demi-God standing behind her with the crescent moon hanging just above his head. Her eyes narrowed in anger as her upper lip twitched "What do you mean, what the hell was that?" she repeated his question, her words felt like fire rolling off her tongue "What the hell was that!" she returned, motioning to the building ledge.

"You were going to jump off" Thor stated, bending down to her level.

"I was not"

"You don't get to get out of things that easily, Stark, I won't let you"

"I wasn't!" she stood up, kicking a few parts to the broken telescope. She looked back up to the stars which were now dotted with grey clouds. Rain would be approaching soon "You thought that I was going to jump off, to end it all just like that?" she looked down to the ghost city below "now, wouldn't that be easy" she whispered "It'd spare me the pain"

"I suppose it would, but it would bring new agony to the rest of us. We've already lost too much" Thor walked towards her, not wanting to waste any more time "Not to be over-stepping any boundaries, but you're coming with me" he took her by the arm.

      She flinched, a yelp escaping her lips as his fingers clutched her forearm. He immediately let go as she took a step away. The skin where he had touched her burned. She held her arm to her chest. From the shoulder, and all the way to her fingers, a sleek black, protective cast was woven to help heal, and help hide her tattered limb. The stone had practically ripped the skin off "I'm sorry" he said swiftly with immense guilt, stepping away from her "I forgot, I- I didn't mean-"

"It's okay" she let go of her arm and resaved, the burning had faded. It's an injury from the battle that she is still trying to get use to "I know you didn't mean to, don't worry about it" he was still apologetic. She went over to him and placed her hand onto his forearm out of assurance "and I... really wasn't going to jump off" she told him again whole-heatedly. The fact that he accidentally touched her injured arm didn't bother her in the least "I knew that you'd come for me tonight, so why would I even bother in the first place?"

"You knew I'd come to you? How?"

"I saw it, when I was looking up there" she leaned her head back to look at thickening clouds "I see things, Thor, dead people. No, I- I'm just kidding" she added quickly, hardly any humor was present in her tone, her mouth was just speaking for her at this point "It's... from a movie- actually, never mind it doesn't matter. But I did see you coming to get me though, I saw you pulling me down from the ledge before you arrived"

"Are you saying that you see the future?"

She looked lost in the lights "It doesn't make sense, I know, but I... can't really explain it. I think that it had something do to with that Goddamn infinity stone-" she remembered the day "I had it, it was mine"

"The time stone?" He questioned.

      "Thanos" she cut her eyes back to him, suddenly growing in anger as her failure resurfaced in her mind like a plague "That- that monster, that-"