I never ran into Seth after our run-in in the streets of New York.

It was now June, and it was better to stay indoors than to go outside because of the ridiculously hot temperatures.

Todd and I kept in touch following his parting from me. He worried over me like the best friend that he was. He pretty much did the worrying for everyone, Steve included. Between him and Todd, I felt like they did the worrying for me.

I was in the kitchen this morning, munching lightly on some toast with jelly spread on it. I kept stealing glances at my phone. I had Seth's number. All I had to do was send a text message, and he'd send me the proof that I needed. Proof that would earn him my trust.

"Good morning," Pepper sang.

"Morning," I said.

"How're you feeling?" She met me at the counter I was eating over.

"Better." I swallowed. I noticed her outfit for the day. "Big busy day at the company?"

"Actually, I'm going in a business trip. I won't be around for a few days." She looked at me, concerned.

"Pepper, I'll be fine." I waved her look away. "You go do what you do best. Go run Stark's company. They've got me covered here."

She still looked troubled. "If anything major goes on and you need someone to talk to, don't hesitate to call. I still want to know if anything major happens to you, okay?"

"Okay. Have fun on the trip."

Her face fell into a slight frown. "Business trips are never for pleasure."

I shrugged. "I tried, didn't I?"

With a careful, parting hug on Pepper's part, she left for her trip. I resumed eating my breakfast. When my phone buzzed, I nearly knocked it off the counter just reaching for it. I didn't know why I was expecting it to be Seth with some news, I hadn't given him my number. Instead, it was Steve.

Feel like taking a walk with me today?

Are you crazy?

The weather's supposed to be pretty mild today, actually.

You sure that's a safe idea?

We'll know what to do should anything bad happen.

I pursed my lips. Instead of keeping me in the tower where it was much safer, Steve wanted to take a walk. I guess it couldn't hurt. I had Stark's heat detection bracelet still on me, and Steve would know what to do if Stark couldn't reach me in time to cool me off.

How soon can you get here?

When I didn't get an answer, I assumed Steve was already on his way. So while I waited for his inevitable arrival, I went to one of the many bathrooms in the tower to clean up a bit.

I'm okay right now, I told Todd through thoughts. Keep focusing on what you have to do, and I'll focus on what I need to do. When I didn't hear anything back, I assumed my connection to him was on the fritz again. If my fire wasn't trying to slowly burn me alive from inside, my thought talk wasn't working right. I guess it could be far worse than this.

I made sure to dress for outside: some capri pants and a sleeveless top would work just fine. I blew out my hair and then twisted it up. By the time I found the main floor of the tower, Steve was letting himself in. He offered me a timid smile.

"This place has crap security," Steve said. "I could just walk right in."

"Well, when J.A.R.V.I.S. knows you, there wouldn't be security measures," I said conversationally. Steve was dressed for the outdoor weather. I saw his motorcycle parked outside. "Are we taking a ride somewhere?"

Steve nodded. "A park. Some place a little less crowded."

"Miss Rivers," came J.A.R.V.I.S.'s voice. "Mr. Stark told me to tell you and Captain Rogers to be back by curfew."

I rolled my eyes. "Don't listen to him, J. He's not in his right mind right now." I rubbed my own eyes out of frustration that the cause of Stark's lack of sleep was me. "Let me guess: he told you to check the cameras, or he's spying on us."

"He told me not to say."

"Well, make sure he and Bruce are still alive when I come back, okay? They might overwork themselves if they haven't already."

I followed Steve outside to come into contact with low humidity in the air. I noticed that there wasn't a helmet hanging around the motorcycle like the past few times.

"Did you lose the helmet?" I asked.

Steve shrugged. "There's no point in needing it anymore."

I didn't question further, I just got on the bike behind Steve like normal before he led us through the traffic.

The ride was slow, and it was the only time I wished I had the ability to run at the speed of light. But Steve didn't seem affected by the slow pace. He had more patience than I did at the moment.

The New York clutter thinned out when we reached the park. To be around grass and trees instead of sidewalk, car pollution, and skyscrapers was a refreshing change. We abandoned the bike and walked side by side. Some others were taking advantage of the rather tame weather to be outside. A jogger ran with her dog trotting happily beside her. A group of teenagers were tossing a Frisbee back and forth. A pair of friends sat at a bench, conversing, sounding like they were reconnecting after being apart for a long time.

For a while, Steve and I enjoyed each other's company in silence, observing how others were going about their daily lives. I envied them so much.

"Have you heard from Natasha or Clint lately?" I blurted out to Steve.

"Hm?" It took him a second. "I've touched base with them, asking how things have been going."

"Anything new?"

"Well, when I talked to Natasha last, she said they were still looking into the break-in on one of the Helicarriers."

"Still?"

"You know about that?"

I nodded. "Stark got a hold of Maria Hill, asking for my records from S.H.I.E.L.D. to help with my problem. She'd mentioned it. She didn't give a lot of details."

"They're trying to identify the thief, whoever it was. It was a solo act."

I shook my head. "That's insane. They must be a spy or something, because there's no way that they could've just gotten into the Helicarrier and got away with whatever it was that they stole. Do they think this thief is a threat?"

"Not a major world threat, but a minor one that needs to be addressed."

"Do they need more people to look into it?"

Steve looked at me. "Are you volunteering?"

I swallowed. "It would give me something to do besides remain at the tower most of the time." I swatted at my face as a fly smacked into it. "Damn insects."

"Hey now," Steve said, "language."

I snorted a laugh. "Really? I've said words like that in front of you before and you never said a word about it."

"I guess I never noticed when you did." He shrugged. "It's bad manners."

"All right, then, Mr. Too Good For His Own Good. Whatever you say." I smiled thinly. "You know the world isn't what you remember it as, right?"

Steve frowned slightly. "I know. Yeah, we won the war. But...it feels like we're either about to get into another one, or we're in the very beginning of another one."

"I think that's just because you haven't fully adjusted," I said carefully, rubbing my arm.

"Something hurting?"

"Oh, no. If I was burning, you would know, believe me." I cleared my throat. From the corner of my eye, I saw Steve stuff his hands into his pockets. "Well, I hope S.H.I.E.L.D. takes care of that thief."

"Speaking of minor threats, those people who ambushed us all that time ago..."

"They haven't been seen since. It's like they dropped off the map for good and went into hiding."

"For them, that's a good thing."

I chuckled. "Yes, it is."

Come to think about it, it had been quite a while since I'd seen my attackers. Did they have a connection somehow to losing my powers? Granted, it was a long shot of a theory, but who knew with how today's world worked? If I were them, wouldn't the best time to strike be when your prey was at its most vulnerable? If they're somehow watching, though, and have seen what's happened, maybe they see me as a bigger threat than before. My powers are more in control of me now than I am of them. I'm unpredictable. I couldn't even predict when an episode was going to happen, they just happened whenever they felt like it.

"Well, S.H.I.E.L.D. never needed to look into that issue," I noted to Steve. "That problem went away on its own."

Steve made a noncommittal noise, telling me that he was lost in thought. So lost in thought that I had to pull him closer to me so that he avoided knocking shoulders with a jogger coming the way we were leaving.

"Thanks," he told me.

"No problem."

Our park walk went on for a few hours. In that time, we would fall into silence, but we would never stop to rest. We made a full circle, arriving back at Steve's motorcycle. While he got the bike ready, I looked at my phone. No messages from Todd. He had to be busy with field training. If he got a minute or two, he'd take the chance to send a quick message.

Our ride back to Stark tower was even slower, because apparently so much time had passed that we were hitting the worst rush hour. I was almost half-tempted to tell Steve to pull out of traffic and cut the bike's engine off so we could walk back to the tower, that we'd make it back faster that way. Of course, when I tried through thoughts, he hadn't listened. And when I tried to voice it out loud, people screaming at each other or loud car horns always spoke over me.

"I think one of these days I'll leave this city, it's getting old for me," I told Steve once we slowed to park the bike in front of the tower. The sun was still high in the sky, it wasn't going to set for a few more hours.

"Really? Can't take the noise anymore?" he teased as we walked to the entrance.

"The change of scenery might be good for me. What, you wouldn't want to leave?"

"I grew up in Brooklyn."

"Ah, a Brooklyn boy." I nudged him in the ribs playfully. "You've got roots here. I don't, so it wouldn't be as hard for me to say goodbye."

"Would Todd go with you?"

"If he wasn't training as an agent, I'm actually not sure," I said honestly.

"Miss Rivers, Captain Rogers," J.A.R.V.I.S. greeted us. "Mr. Stark and Mr. Banner want to meet with you."

Steve and I exchanged a look. This meant one thing: the "science bros" had found something. "Okay," I said slowly. "Where?"

"One of the labs. I will get you on the right floor."

"Thanks, J."

I led Steve to the elevator, and like before, J.A.R.V.I.S. put us on the path to the right floor.

Once the doors opened, I took lead again, hearing Steve pad behind me. Once I found Bruce and Stark through the glass windows, I put my code in that Stark had given me, and I was let into the lab.

"Did you both find something?" I asked.

Stark and Bruce looked at me, and I got an uncomfortable feeling in my stomach. The room was silent. Stark wasn't even cracking a joke, which was unusual, because usually whenever he and I were in the same room, he'd greet me with a nickname or make a pun on my fire power.

The Tony Stark I was looking at now looked nothing like the man I knew.

"Kiara," Bruce started off softly. Even though I knew better, my eyes widened in pleading. He rubbed his face tiredly.

"No, Bruce," I whimpered. "No..."

"Kiara," said Stark, and now I was scared more. Stark rarely addressed me by my proper name. "There's no cure."