chapter forty

"So, how's New York?" Mason's voice was loud and cheerful in J.D's ears, and she smiled a little as she sat on the side of her apartment building, swinging her legs over the edge carelessly. In true Bladerunner fashion, a chocolate bar was in her free hand and a half-empty cola bottle sat beside her, her body invisible. The only thing giving her away was the phone held up to her face. "Still full of angry taxi drivers and pigeons?"

"It hasn't changed that much since we were last here, Mase," J.D responded with a soft chuckle, taking another bite from her snack. The night breeze combed through her locks, and she felt just like she used to, which wasn't a feeling she wasn't sure she liked just yet. "We took Gus sightseeing today in Manhattan, and he nearly lost his phone when he was trying to take a photo from the observation deck of the Empire State Building. He also spent at least three hours in Times Square, trying all the food from the trucks."

"Did you get a picture of him with the Avengers impersonators?" Mason inquired, amusement lacing his tone. "It's so weird cause now I know two of them! Wait, are you an Avenger? What about Pete?"

"Oh, I don't know," J.D rolled her eyes, though a smile was present on her face. Despite the fact that it had only been a couple of days, she missed having her brother so close. He was her best friend; it felt weird not having him nagging her all the time. "Besides, I'm not Bladerunner anymore, remember? After all the shit that happened last time, it's not my thing."

"Yeah, yeah," Mason grumbled, not picking up on the fact that his sister was lying to him. J.D pulled a face as she fibbed, though she refrained from making any regretful sighs. "You excited to start school tomorrow...well, technically today?"

"What do you think?" J.D joked, and Mason snickered on the other line. J.D's smile returned and she looked around the city absentmindedly, taking in the night lights and moving cars that were still up and at it at three in the morning. "I dunno, I think it'll be okay, I'm just nervous about seeing everyone again. Gus is dropping me off and he's more excited than I am. It's like he's never been to public school before."

"Well, that's what twelve years of homeschooling does to a guy," Mason chuckled, before yawning. "I've got to work on the exhibition tomorrow, so I'm gonna go to bed. You'd better get some sleep too. At least three hours, okay?"

"What time is it there anyway? You're turning into an old man, like Gus," J.D retorted, and Mason gasped defensively.

"Excuse me? That is extremely offensive," he wise-cracked, scoffing. J.D could imagine him rolling his eyes playfully. "Now, before I get my precious feelings bruised by your harsh words any more, I'm going to bed. Yes, it's early, but I'm a respectable young student who needs his beauty rest. Goodnight, loser."

"Night, Mase," J.D suppressed a chuckle, placing her phone in her holster as her brother hung up. Silence dawned over her, and a sigh escaped her lips. She scrunched up her chocolate wrapper and shoved it in one of the pockets she had asked Tony to put in (though it took a lot of trying due to his 'fashion designer experience'). Without turning around, she grabbed the neck of her cola bottle and threw her head back, chugging the last few drops before swallowing and releasing a quiet belch. Then, she looked down at the street below in search of a rubbish bin.

Her eyes spotted one not too far from her, and she debated whether or not to wing it as she went down or take the stairs. She pursed her lips as she thought, before her eyebrows furrowed together and she reached out her hand, a shaky force field building before her. The misty pale blue colour brought back a few memories for her, and she gulped, before jumped off the building and landing on the trembling pad.

Looking down at the street below, she held her breath as she stuck her left hand out, forcing as much energy as she could into keeping the thin line between her and inevitable death in place. After a moment of hesitation, she composed herself and extended her arm, lengthening the almost stair-like illusion she was creating.

She figured, if she could create bubbles and flat surfaces to protect things, than she could use it for her own personal gain too, including a mode of transportation if she needed to reduce, reuse and recycle like a good samaritan.

It took almost five minutes of her mentally arguing with herself to reach the bin, but after the time had passed, she was about six feet off the ground. She smiled a little to herself, and dropped her hand a bit, before taking a step forward. Her eyes widened as she lost balance, and she gasped as she fell to the ground. She squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for the impact, but it never came.

Opening one eye, she noticed that she wasn't in pain, and her body was still intact. She then opened the other eye and looked around, a breathless grin appearing on her face when she saw that she was protected by her force field. She was damn glad she had that, otherwise she'd be long dead by now.

"Are you that Yoda girl?" A small voice caught J.D's attention, and she dropped to the ground, looking around for the source of the sound. She was surprised when she looked down to see a kid staring up at her in awe. She reached over and put her glass bottle in the bin, before taking a step towards the little girl.

"Yeah, call me Bladerunner," she offered the kid a smile, before kneeling before her. She looked over the girl's shoulder, not seeing an adult in sight. "Is there anyone with you? Or are you all alone?"

"I lost my mommy," the little girl sniffed, rubbing her nose. J.D noticed that her eyes were slightly wet and her nose was running. A sigh left her lips and she stood up, before reaching down and taking the girl's hand in hers.

"Well, I'll tell you what. I'm going to help you find her, and everything's gonna be just fine, okay?" J.D asked softly, and the girl nodded, shivering a little from the cold. J.D frowned, before she leaned over and picked her up, placing her on her hip. The kid instantly wrapped her arms around J.D's neck, and the teen smiled gently. "What's your name, kid?"

"Marley," she whispered and J.D nodded, before looking both ways and crossing the street. She was headed in the direction of the police station, though she was thinking about stopping on the way to get a hot chocolate for the kid.

"Marley, how did you lose your mom?" J.D queried as she walked down the empty Queens street, the scared girl still clutching her tight.

"Mommy and Daddy were fighting again and they waked me up," the child began with adorably incorrect wording. Even after the first sentence, J.D pitied the kid, even if she had only just met her. She didn't want to bring up how the girl was trusting a stranger, but even if it was the case, J.D needed to get her to safety. "So I went into the kitchen and Mommy ran out the door. I went after her and chased her, but she runs more faster than me."

"And then you got lost and found me?" J.D finished, and Maria nodded, burying her head into the teenager's shoulder. She couldn't have been older than five, and she was tiny for even that age. Marley was trembling in her arms, and J.D frowned, holding her tighter. "Marley, how do you know who I am?"

"Because you saved my daddy," she whispered quietly, and J.D's blood nearly ran cold. What? When? She didn't know how she felt as she continued to advance towards the station. This little girl, this innocent, pure child, knew who she was and trusted her long before they had met. When had she saved the father? Who was he?

With all the thoughts running through her head, J.D didn't ask Marley any more questions. Over the next twenty minutes, the child had drifted off to sleep, despite the fact that she was in summer pyjamas and had no shoes on her feet. J.D sighed in relief when she saw the police station appear in sight, speeding up her pace so she could reach it quicker.

The station wasn't too full when she stepped in, and a fatigued officer looked up when she walked in. It must've looked odd, a teenage girl in a tight blue suit and mask with a little girl in her arms. "Jesus, that's new."

J.D walked up to the front desk, and smiled awkwardly. "Yeah, hi. I, uh, need to find this girl's mother and father, she got lost tonight."

"Does she have a name?" The officer muttered, and J.D nodded.

"Yeah, Marley. I don't know the last name," she responded, before shaking Marley lightly. The little girl sighed softly in her sleep, but she wasn't going to wake up any time soon.

The officer huffed, as if the fact that the troubled little girl was a burden upon his shoulders. "I'll check if we have any calls, but if we haven't, either you or another officer are gonna have to look after her until we get ahold of the parents."

"Yeah, sure. I got nothing better to do anyway," J.D muttered, shifting Marley in her arms and stepping to the side so she could sit on one of the cheap, dingy metal seats. She wasn't expecting a Hilton hotel when she stepped into the Queens station, so she wasn't complaining.

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It was quarter to five in the morning when Marley's parents showed up. The two distraught adults rushed into the station, faces panicked and pyjamas adorning their bodies. They were wide-eyed and appeared terrified until the officer pointed in J.D's direction.

J.D was near exhausted, and it didn't help that she had to be at school in a few hours. She was holding Marley protectively in her lap, her eyes threatening to close if she wasn't still trying to be alert and aware of any possible threat. So when she saw the two parents in front of her, she jumped slightly, staring at them cautiously and pulling Marley closer.

"These are the kid's parents," the officer called out, and J.D hesitated for a moment, before Marley stirred, her little eyelids slowly fluttering open. It took her a moment, but when she looked up, a tired grin spread across her face.

"Mommy! Daddy!" she cried, leaping from J.D's arms and into her father's. J.D sighed in relief, and scratched the back of her neck, standing up and brushing herself off. She smiled as Marley was reunited with her family, though she found herself staring at the father, trying to see if she recognised him. There was a small tattoo of a cobra on his neck that traced to his sharp jawline, but she didn't recognise it at all. She had no idea who this man was, unless she had saved him along with a group of people. Still then, she probably would have recalled him.

"Thank you for helping Marley," the mother wiped her wet eyes, not wasting a second in pulling J.D into a tight embrace. J.D froze a little in surprise, before awkwardly hugging her back. "You don't know how much it means to us."

"It's no problem at all, ma'am," J.D responded respectfully, feeling a little uncomfortable in the bear hug she was trapped in. The mother was sobbing as she pulled away. "I'm just glad she's safe now."

"You're my hero, Bladerunner!" Marley beamed up at J.D, and the teenager felt her heart swell a little bit. As Marley was picked up by her mom, the girl was laughing, now wide awake. "I wanna be just like you when I grow up!"

J.D couldn't resist the grin that appeared on her face at the comment. She reached forward and poked Marley in the stomach, resulting in the girl squealing in glee. "Just make sure you eat your vegetables, and maybe you can be."

"Thank you again, Bladerunner," the father spoke gratefully, though it appeared that he wanted to say something else. J.D smiled and nodded once at him, before looking up at the clock above the main desk. It was close to five in the morning now.

"Don't worry about it," she replied, before moving closer to the door. "I have to go now, I've got school soon. Nice to meet you all!"

Sparing the waving family one last glance, J.D disappeared into thin air and ran into the rising borough of Queens. Birds were starting to whistle and there were a couple more cars on the street, but J.D just wanted to go home.

It took another fifteen minutes, but when she reached her apartment complex, it was like a million bricks had been lifted off her shoulders. She tiredly climbed up the fire escape and quietly entered her bedroom, tugging her costume and mask off and clambering into bed, disney pyjama pants and an old Star Wars t-shirt now adorning her body.

Her entire figure collapsed once she hit the mattress, and she closed her eyes, her mind drifting off to thoughts about Marley and the father who she had once saved.

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