I was sitting there moping while the Avengers were out saving New York City from an attack. Again.

Hell, even Loki was out there and here I was stuck in the tower.

I was watching the news coverage. It was showing Steve and Thor as they battled back a swarm of soldiers and saved a group of citizens. The on ground news anchor prattled on frantically as she tried to get a quote from Steve.

"This sucks, Trix!" I fed her a piece of lettuce that I chopped earlier.

She made a small noise, I didn't know if she was agreeing with me or wanted something else other than lettuce. Trix rested on my shoulder, pecking at my hair. I gently petted her head with my finger.

No matter how much I wanted to forget Stark's words played in my head over and over again. He wasn't wrong about the fact that I signed a paper to become part of this team and he wasn't wrong about my former alias.

Rose Red was a facade that was created and she spilt too much blood. Behind her was me, her conscious, who moped up all that blood. My hands were covered in the blood of her victims while she continued to wrack up a body count.

Picking up Trix, I place her back onto my pillow.

An explosion rocked the tower, making it shake. I ran over to my window, looking down as a fucking tank rolled past the street. The people screamed as more explosions went off. I could hear them all the way from up here.

I say fuck it.

I'm sick of being on the sidelines.

"Wish me luck, Trix!"

I grabbed my guns and knifes as I threw my coat over my shoulder. As I buttoned down, I summoned the elevator.

Who gave a shit if I was disobeying orders?!

Fury could court martial me later when the threat was over.

Right now the Avengers need me even if they didn't want me there.

---------

The street was absolute chaos as civilian laid either dead on the floor or ran for their lives.

The tank that was here earlier left a heap of a mess that needed to be cleaned up. Cars were still on fire as I followed it's tracks.

Not too far from my location were a group of civilians that were being held hostage. I peeked from a corner to see a number of soldiers holding guns. They were gonna execute these people all right.

I couldn't just go guns blazing in there. I could hit a civilian and I didn't need anymore innocent blood on my hands.

That left me with an option that I really didn't want to use but what choice did I get. These people were gonna die if I didn't get out there.

You were probably thinking this is where Maya would rip off her cuffs and go in their using her powers as heroic music (preferably Han Zimmer) would play in the background as I took these guy out, right?

Wrong. Dead wrong.

Let me tell you why.

One, using my powers to take down this many people would exhaust all my energy and I might just go into a coma.

Two, I am not ripping the cuffs off again. I would probably bleed out if these were yanked out. I had the scars to prove it from my mission in Canada.

Three, I don't want to die an early death. Despite what most people think, I actually want to live.

Four, the situation wasn't that dire. Not yet anyway.

So knowing that my powers weren't an option, I decided to take my best option.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you!" I said as I stepped out of my hiding spot walking towards them. They looked at me, not expecting a lone girl walking toward them with no weapons. "Um.......I'm a SHIELD agent...."

I think that just made the situation worse.

They pointed their guns at me instead of the situation.

It was then that I noticed something about these particular soldiers. They looked at me with dead eyes. These were the same type of hostiles I saw when I was in that bunker in Canada. The same ones that attacked Bucky and I.

They didn't speak at all which made them a little bit more intimidating. All they did was stare at me with soulless eyes.

I got down on my knees, placing my hands behind my head as one of them approached me cautiously.

A little closer you son of a bitch!

He didn't realize that he had a knife in between his eyes until his bod hit the floor with a thud. I grabbed my knife going after the hostile on my left. He tried to shoot at me but i kicked my leg up, forcing the barrel of the gun upward. I would have gutted him like a fish if he wasn't wearing body armor so I went for the next best thing, I sliced his throat.

You must be thinking: 'But Maya, you jut slit his throat like a chicken. Aren't you against killing?'

I've never been against killing. I've killed a lot of people, some who deserved it and some who didn't deserve it at all. I'm okay spilling not-so-innocent blood.

I must have shot or killed at leave twelve, maybe thirteen, of them. There was blood all over my coat and some blood splattered on my face. What type of hero did I look like to these people? I just killed mercilessly and I was covered with blood. I must have looked like a monster than a hero.

"Are you safe?" I asked the civilians, helping one old man up. "There's a safe zone set up by the piers hat should evacuate you from the city. Head there immediately an follow instructions given by official personal. Is that understood?"

"You're a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent?" He asked in awe, looking at me as if I was something other worldly.

"Are you a Avenger?" Another person asked me.

"Who are you?"

"Where are you from?"

I gritted my teeth as another explosion not too far from us rocked the ground. I silenced them with a look. Right now the city was being attacked and these people wanted to ask me questions?

"Look, there's a bit of a problem in case you haven't noticed and I'd appreciate it if you could get to safety. We don't know how many more of those things are there," I said. They still didn't move. What is it with people? When's there's danger, they chose that specific moment to ask questions and don't move.

"Now, people!" I barked. "Move!"

--------

"Do you think it was a good idea to leave Maya behind?" Clint asked as he fired an explosive arrow. "Just saying. We could use the extra help."

"I'm not saying that she can't take care of herself," Nat dropped kicked one of the zombie guys. "It's just that she's not grounded and she's sitting through some stuff. Until she can get through it, I'll let her back."

"That's not going to help her," Bucky said as he shot into the oncoming horde. "Where do these things keep coming from?"

"What would you have me do?" She back flipped and kicked a zombie in his face, causing him to fall back and over the ledge. "I don't want her to get hurt. What if she freezes during a mission? What if that gets her killed? Fury would have my skin if she died because I didn't train her properly."

"By keeping her locked up, have you considered the fact that she thinks you don't trust her?" Bucky said. "Duck!"

Natasha ducked just in time as a zombie sailed over her, crashing into a dumpster.

"Thanks."

"She has a lot of potential, Nat!" Clint pointed out. "Watch your six!"

"---I'm not saying that she's weak!" Nat growled, turning around and emptying bullets into another 'zombie.'

"But," Bucky interrupted. "I'm not saying she isn't steady either. Sure, she's great with a sniper but she has a lot if baggage and maybe letting her back on missions might reduce that baggage!"

"Let talk. More fight, please!" Steve yelled.

These things, whatever they were, were once human. They looked human but they didn't act human, there was a wild and dangerous look in their eyes as they coordinated attacks. These weren't any normal soldiers, they were a horde.

Nevertheless, Tony had already named them zombies even though they weren't technically dead.

"We cant contain them! They've broken the perimeter." Steve said. "We'll have to fall back!"

"Too late, Steve!" Sam said from the sky. "These guys are already in the city. We're gonna have to split if we're gonna take them down."

"We'll stay here and deal with these guys!" Clint said. "Nat! You with me?!"

"Obviously!"

"I'll go help Steve," Bucky said as he ran after his friend.

"Multiple hostages near Battery park! Somebody get over there!" Tony said. "These guys are like rabid fangirls! Only they aren't as cute!"

"I thought you hated fangirls, Stark."

Tony nearly crashed into a building, the last thing he expected was for Maya to join the fight.

"Maya?!"

"Who else, Ironass?"

"I'll deal with your insubordination later, Maya." Natasha said through gritted teeth. Inside she was furious knowing that she disobeyed her orders when she specifically told her to stay behind but she was grateful for the extra help. "Just don't get hurt, okay?"

"I'll take care of the hostages. You guys just find out who's controlling them and shut this damn thing down!"

-------

I saw red as I stumbled through the streets of Manhattan. It felt as if someone had hit me with Thor's hammer a thousand times.

Once was enough. We can talk about that mission another day.

"Shit!" I cried. I doubled over and tried to breath. Damn. I did a number on myself. I took too many hits from a nasty skirmish on forty fourth street. Maybe I should have stayed back after all. I could just hear Nat saying 'I told you so' in that disappointed voice of hers.

I lifted my hand away from head to see blood.

Double shit.

I grab a street pole, trying to steady myself. Instead I sank down to the ground, leaning against it trying to catch my breath. I was wiped out and I had a deep cut on my head. I hope my healing factor still existed.

The sky was starting to go dark and I knew that there were still too many of these things out there. Good thing that we got most of the civilians evacuated.

"Steve," I called out. "I don't think I can make it to you guys."

"Maya, where are you?!"

"Downtown Manhattan. I've neutralized the targets. Hostages are safe."

"Shit. We're too far away from you. We're swamped with these flying douchebags by the tower," Clint yelled over the background noise. "Sorry, Maya. You're gonna have to wait."

"That's okay."

"I'm in Central Park," Tony said. "We'll get you once we get rid of these guys. Deal?"

"Deal. I'll be fine. I'm still in Battery Park," I said as I wiped off the blood on my lip with the sleeve of my jacket. "I think there's more around here. I'll take a look. Over and out."

I leaned my head back as I heard the distant sound of fire and explosions in the distance. Why was it always New York that got attacked? Why couldn't it be San Fran or Philly?

My vision was starting to cloud black. I had done it now. I wrapped an arm around my stomach and got up painfully. I had to keep moving.

"Maya?" Someone said behind me. "Come on, Maya. You didn't forget about me so quickly, did you?"

"You can't be real!" I cried turning around to see the man I had been hunting down for months.

"Oh really?" I felt a sharp pain in my head as I felt my legs give out once more. I collapsed to the ground, clutching my head as I groaned in pain. My forehead contacted with the cool pavement. "Is this pain in your head or is it real, Maya?"

"You're not....." I managed to say. "Stop......"

"Oh, Sweet little Maya," I saw polished boots come into my field of vision. The person tilted my head up and looked into my eyes. His eyes were equally unusual as mine, bright and glowing. "That pain is definitely not in your mind. I'm causing it, Maya."

He smiled and my pain stopped. I laid on the ground trying to ignore the pain that lingered on.

"Amid," I spat out.

"I'm here to bring you home, sweet little Maya. He wants to see you and it's been such a long time."

"I don't.....want....to, I'd rather.......," I choked that last word out. Soon after, I coughed up more blood on us boots. "I can't go...."

He grabbed me by the back of my hair, lifting my head up from the ground.

I felt a sudden pain as he pried them off my wrists. Clearly he wanted to me to suffer. I moaned in agony as not only my mind suffered but my entire body as well.

"You son of a bitch!"

"Careful, Maya. That's our mother your'e talking about!"

It was hard to focus on him through the pain as he spoke. My hands inched for the gun in my thigh sheath. All I had to do was shoot this monster and one third of my problems would go away.

"Maya. Your time isolating yourself and your time with the Avengers have not helped you a single bit. You joined the Avengers so that they could protect you. Where are your guardians now, little sister?" He grabbed my guns, throwing them far away from me. "Right now, you look like a small squirming worm that I could easily crush but I won't."

I spat in his face. Blood and all.

"You can go and f--!" I felt the pain return in full force causing me to yell out.

"Maya?!" I heard Natasha called out. Her voice was frantic as it blended in with the pain. "State your position! Maya?"

I felt his gloved hand let go of my head. I could feel the pain fade away until I could feel nothing anymore and my eyes grew heavy.

"You're coming back home with me, Maya. Let our new recruits take care of your friends," he grabbed the comm in my ear.

"Maya? C'mon, kid. This isn't----!" Clint's voice cut out as Amid crushed it with his hand and let the pieces drop to the asphalt. I managed to raise my hand but couldn't stop him.

"Clint. Nat....."

I felt him pick me up, cradling me close to his body.

"Smile,dearest. You're going to a family reunion," he sneered.

The last thing I saw was the Manhattan Sky as it turned reddish-blue. I went limp and soon my mind shut down as a helicopter descended from the sky.

A/N: Sorry, not sorry! ;D