For a guy who can usually fly, I sure spend a lot of time falling.

Fortunately for me, I fell pretty close to the Tricarrier, and was able to grab the side before I plunged into the city. One of my hands slipped and I winced as the sharp metal bit into my palm, but I dared not cry out. That thief was still up there- and if he knew I hadn't fallen into the city...

I hung there for what felt like ages, silent in the darkness, until at last a faint whirring noise made me look up. A chopper was coming in low, just over the Tricarrier, and it seemed to have some sort of silencer equipped because it wasn't nearly as loud as it should have been. Whoever was flying it had begun to unroll a ladder, and I could only watch as the thief used it to get up into the chopper-- taking my helmet with him. In a few moments, the intruders had withdrawn the ladder again, and the chopper sped off into the night.

I'm not sure how I managed to get back onto the deck of the Tricarrier, but somehow I was able to drag myself up. I can't remember ever having been so scared in my life as I was hanging there over open space with absolutely nothing to catch me should I fall.

Well, okay. Maybe there was one time...

I guess I was just scared enough to pull it off. I got up because I had to-- the only alternative was... well, not something I wanted to mess around with. And there I stood on the Tricarrier deck, staring out into the darkness where the chopper had vanished.

What was I to do? The thief had my helmet-- I was powerless. I could call my teammates for help, but... then I'd have to admit that I'd failed. And then what? Would they ever be able to count on me again, now that they'd seen how incapable I was?

No... this was something I had to do alone...

There were parachutes in the corridor leading to the outer deck, and I grabbed one. Ordinarily I wouldn't have taken anything off the Tricarrier without Fury's permission.. but if I asked him now, I'd have to explain everything.

Jumping off the Tricarrier with a parachute was a little more nervewracking than I thought it would be. I was used to flying, but parachuting was nothing like it whatsoever. It is, at best, a controlled fall, but a fall nonetheless.

I threw the parachute behind a dumpster in the alley where I landed. Knowing Fury, he had some sort of tracking device inside it, and right now I didn't want him on my tail. When the Tricarrier's security systems booted back up, I would be far, far away from where I'd left that parachute...

"Sorry, Sir," I murmured, feeling a twinge of guilt, but I didn't have time to linger. I didn't like trying to deceive Fury, but... I didn't see any other way. I had to handle this on my own. I couldn't let my team down again...

New York can be a bit creepy late at night. There are lots of shady characters around, depending on where you are in town, and you've gotta stay on high alert. Even as I ran, however, I realized that I didn't have a clue where I was going-- or even what I was looking for. All I knew was that the helicopter had been heading almost due west. So, west I ran.

Everything went kind of blurry after I'd been running for a while. Street after street yielded nothing, and I was getting tired. My head hurt from when the thief had kicked me, and my left hand ached because I'd cut it climbing back onto the Tricarrier.

This was stupid, I realized. I'd got caught up in my pride, and now I needed to man up and go back. There was no way I could manage this on my own. I needed to get help.

With a sigh, I turned back the way I'd come. I'd just return to the Tricarrier and get my communicator. I'd tell the others what had happened and ask them to help. Maybe if I was lucky, Fury would just give me a lecture and not throw me off the team. Maybe.

I grudgingly readied myself for the task at hand-- and then I realized.

I had no way to even get off the ground, let alone return to the Tricarrier...

I felt panic clutching at me, but I did my best to stay calm. I had to keep a clear head... had to think...

The parachute! If it did have a tracking device embedded in it, maybe I could just wait by it until Fury got the systems online again! I had to find it...

I whirled around, intending to go back- and stared up at the looming skyline. Where had I left the parachute? I hadn't paid attention to the street signs, and everything looked different from the ground. I was so used to seeing the city from above, that I wasn't even sure where I was anymore!

Ava was right, I thought bitterly. I wasn't prepared for this at all...

I took a deep breath. I'd been heading west. Maybe if I went east, I'd be able to find the alley again. And then I could find the parachute and wait for Fury to find me.

Slowly, I started heading east, trying to look like I knew where I was going. People who looked lost got mugged. That much I knew. Not like I had anything on me worth taking... but I definitely didn't want to have to explain to Fury why Coulson had to come pick me up from the police station-- or, worse, the hospital.

I hate hospitals.

A flicker of movement in a nearby alley caught my eye, and I winced. Great... just great. I'm being watched. Trying to act inconspicuous, I chanced a glance toward the alley, expecting to see a hooded thug or a burly robber crouching in the shadows.

Instead, my eyes fell on the slight silhouette of a teenage girl, not much older than myself, if even that. The sight so surprised me that I stopped, blinking. What was someone her age doing out so late at night?

...Wait.

Never mind.

I blinked again, watching her curiously. She stared back at me, eyes narrowed with suspicion, but didn't move- as if she hoped standing still would somehow conceal her presence. I couldn't shake the feeling that I knew her from somewhere, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it.

All of a sudden it hit me.

The girl from the streetcorner. The storyteller.

My jaw dropped. "You-- you're the storyteller!" I squinted suddenly. "You stole my wallet!"

Her eyes flashed, and in an instant she whirled, bolting off down the alley. I started, and then took off after her. "Hey! Wait!"

Honestly, I don't know what possessed me to make me chase her. It wasn't like I expected to get my money back-- with my luck, she'd probably already spent it-- but I followed her nonetheless. Maybe I was delirious from exhaustion and panic. Maybe I was just overwhelmed at the sight of a familiar face-- even one I'd only seen for a short while once before. I really don't know. In any case, I still ran after her.

She knew the streets better than anyone I'd ever known, dodging expertly into narrow alleys that I would have hardly even seen. Somehow I managed to keep up with her for several minutes, but at last she ducked around a corner and vanished completely.

I slowed in the alley, breathing hard. Thanks to the frantic chase, I now had absolutely no idea where I was, or how to get back to where I'd left the parachute. I didn't even know how to get out of the maze of alleys and back onto a main street.

"Well this was stupid," I muttered, wincing and shaking my head. Ever since I'd woken up, my life had been one bad decision after another...

I glanced around at the dirty streets, trying to discern the opening I'd come through at the other end. There were at least three narrow alleys that emptied into this one, and in my rush I hadn't paid any attention to which one I'd come from.

I eyed them for a long moment, frowning. They all seemed identical to me, or nearly identical at any rate. I had no idea which one to head back out.

I turned back to the dead end in front of me- and noticed a slight aperture at the end that I hadn't noticed before. Frowning, I took a step toward it, curious.

There was a little light coming from the opening, like someone had a candle on inside, or a small lamp. The hole seemed to lead into the interior of a run-down, abandoned apartment, but from my angle I couldn't see inside. I bent down for a better look-- and sensed the shadow rising up behind me.

I started to whirl, but before I could get a glimpse of my attacker something slammed into the side of my head. A flash of bright light tore through my mind, and the alleyway spun. I felt myself falling, falling into an empty, soundless void. Then, blackness closed around me.

***

Slowly, I became aware of light around me. My head was throbbing, and my whole body felt stiff and uncomfortable. I winced, painfully conscious of the brightness, and slowly opened my eyes.

At first I could barely make out the room around me, but slowly my vision cleared as I grew used to the light. I was lying on a tattered blanket in the corner of what seemed to be the bottom floor of an apartment stairwell. The room around me was cold and musty, and dirt and damp clung to the walls, the floor, the very air of the place.

I shifted my gaze, and found myself staring up at the girl whom I'd seen in the alley, and a dirty-faced boy who was peering over her shoulder. Startled, I jerked back-- and realized that my hands were bound together. At this, I jerked upright, yanking at my bonds. The girl gave me an annoyed look and made a face.

"Oh please. You're not going to get out of that, but if you cooperate we'll let you go..."

"Cooperate?" I snapped, "With what? And why should I trust you-- you kidnapped me!"

"You were snooping around by our house!" the girl shot back, "And you wouldn't go away-- we just defended ourselves!"

"I was trying to get out!" I protested.

"No you weren't-- you were trying to look in! Now if you'd just stop thrashing around and listen, we can work something out, I'm sure..."

I clenched my fists, glaring at her, but went still. "Alright, how about this? You let me go right now, and I'll neglect to mention the fact that you kidnapped me and stole my wallet to the police."

The girl stared at me for a long moment, and then started laughing. "You actually think you could go to the police over this? That's cute."

I squinted, sensing somehow that I'd missed the joke. "I'll do it!" I threatened, "You might not believe me, but I'll do it! And I'll tell them exactly where to find you..."

She stopped laughing and gave me an annoyed glance. "You will do no such thing-- because when you get out of here, you'll have no memory of anything that happened here tonight."

I bolted upright. "Now wait one second--"

"You're the one who chose to come here-- and this is how I have to protect our safety. You shouldn't have come here..."

"Wait," I protested, eyeing them again, and took a deep breath. "Look, I... I saw what you did yesterday. With your story. And--" I squinted, realizing that I didn't know her name. She made no effort to give it to me. "--And it was... amazing. I've never seen anything like that before. You have a real gift. And..." I cast a glance around the cramped, dirty room. "And maybe there's a better way for you to use it. A way where you wouldn't have to steal to survive..."

The girl's eyes narrowed sharply, but the boy perked up. "Kora, maybe we should listen--"

"Shh! I'm thinking!" she snapped, eyes darting. Finally her gaze came to rest on me again. "You've got some nerve, making an offer like that. First off, what makes you think we even need help?"

"You're living in a place like this," I said. "If you were thieves because you wanted to steal, you wouldn't be living in an abandoned building. You'd have used what you took to find someplace to live. But from the looks of this place, you two are barely scraping by..."

She gave me a withering glare. "Maybe we are-- but why should we trust you to help? We don't even know you!"

I inhaled slowly. "You're right. You don't know me. And because you don't know me, you've got no reason to trust me. But you saw how easily your abilities affected me. Even if I did try something funny, you've got a big advantage. You're clearly quite capable of handling yourselves..."

She eyed me dubiously, scrunching her nose. "We don't need your charity," she growled finally, turning away. I felt darkness beginning to swirl into my thoughts. I did my best to fight it, but the black tide was overwhelming. I couldn't think... I couldn't resist...

Slowly, the blackness took hold, and the world around me faded into empty darkness.