The police, fire department, and every other emergency service in existence has now shown up to where the wreckage is. I help around a little and get a child to his mother before walking back to Ned who is still freaking out a little bit.

"You know, I used to think my life was weird but now I think I might just be prone to odd disasters that are either supernatural or horrifically paranormal," he says with his wide eyes stuck to the ground and his hands nervous.

I almost chuckle. "You haven't seen anything yet, cupcake."

He looks up at me—well down at me because of how tall he is—with a worried look. "'Yet'?"

I don't reply but just look over my shoulder at the men cleaning up the mess left from the ship and examining it. Luckily the fire department didn't get here until late so the flames burned away any remains of the monsters in that vessel... "Come on. We should move away from the wreckage..." I tell him before pulling his arm and walking down the sidewalk.

"And where are we going?" he asks.

I don't respond, my eyes scanning around in front of my dizzily. I have a head ache and my body is stiff from being thrown from the shuttle. I just keep walking, back to where the Pie Hole is.

That's where we stop and I think about what to do now, panic in my head just a little. I look down at my palm that's shaking and then over at Ned's blaster he still has. "You should hide that or S.H.I.E.L.D. will be on us. They used to have agents everywhere..."

"How would I—?"

"Give it here," I take it from him and zap it with my circular device, pulling it back into nothing but data inside a piece of equipment. I slip the little thing on my belt before covering my arms with my hands. "I should go for now. Find somewhere to sleep..." I start walking again but the dizziness returns and my hand clutches the post of the building beside me and I lean over, breathing.

"Uh, you should probably go to a hospital," he stutters and walks to my side, looking down at me with concern.

"No, I'm fine," I lie, my eyes scanning the rock as they blur a little. I blink to make it clearer but my head is heavy on my shoulders.

"Max..." he says with disbelief.

"I can't go to the hospital. I can't have any records. Not while in the past. Eleven's orders."

"Then at least come in—oh sh—crap, Max, you're bleeding."

"What?" I ask suddenly. An open wound means it's in danger of being infected and that means death for me. I look around and see where he eyes my upper back but I can't see it. "No, no that's not good it has to be cleaned now," I say shakily, my hands mimicking my voice.

"Come on, come with me," he says, his hand taking my arm to help me walk. He takes me down the road and to the Pie Hole. Once inside, the woman named Olive looks up from writing something down and her eyes widen. "You look like you've been through the chimney. Where were you?" she asks with confusion.

"Uh nowhere. Nothing to see here—"

"Who's that—?"

"No one—"

"A friend—" I answer at the same time.

"Yes a friend—nothing unusual—I'll be upstairs. Can you lock up?" he says quickly and pulls me up the steps with him and out of sight.

She doesn't reply but stays a bit puzzled as we head up the stairs.

It seems like it takes too long to get to Ned's apartment but he is kind enough to help me walk and I gladly let him.

He lets me in his home and helps me to the couch as I am careful. "You—can you get me some soap or something to disinfect this?" I breathe, the pain starting to settle in now.

"Uh yeah, yeah I—uh. I've never really done this before but you should probably come here," he gently takes my arm to slowly stand again and walk with him to the loo. I sit down on the edge of the tub and cringe. He grabs a rag from the cabinet and I pull up the back of my shirt, my collar looped in front of my neck so only my back shows as I try to look at it. "How bad is it?"

He sits beside me and his eyes widen. "It's... well it's not great but..."

I shake my head. "I've had worse."

"Well what boggles me is that I walked away without a scratch and you didn't..." he says with a frown as he draws water.

I chuckle. "It boggles me too."

I clench my teeth when he hesitates but touches my wound with the wet cloth. "Thanks," I let a small smile show.

His brows slouch at me with a somewhat sympathetic look that makes me feel like a puppy as he nods and continues to wash away the blood, getting my bra strap wet but I'm not about to take that off so I live with it.

"Can these things really... spread with an infection?" he asks with a swallow.

"...I don't know. I thought they couldn't but there were rumors... you can't be too careful."

"What are they?"

"Humanity's extinction."

He stops for a second as I look at him... "...The Flood," I finish.

He hesitates at the manner in which I say this.

"The most dangerous enemy the universe has ever faced... more dangerous than Thanos himself..." I mutter and look down. "They consume everything..."

He gulps. "Please don't tell me it's our job to stop them..."

I look at him again. "I came from the year two thousand twenty-one. The Doctor is a Time Lord who took me to the year twenty-five hundred. Where the world was at war with the Covenant. But slowly we were all overrun by something else. The Flood is a mass enemy controlled by a single brain. It became our common enemy that swept across the universe and took everything. The brain, called a gravemind, is what we must destroy in order to save us... to save the universe from the consuming zombies, from the Great Journey, everything. Ned you are not alone in this universe and you've seen nothing yet."

He stares at me, fear in his eyes but also confusion. This is obviously a lot to take in and if it weren't for the events prior to this conversation he'd just think me mad. But he's no stranger to the supernatural and I know he believes me even if he doesn't want to.

"We do need your help," I finally say.

After he puts a bandage over my wound I drop my shirt again to cover my back once more and he sighs heavily, looking around. "What do you want me to do? I only briefly wake the dead. You're asking me to destroy some ultimate villain of the universe?" he asks with disbelief.

"I tried to ask Eleven what it is we need from you. He told me there's something in you. Either a power or something in your blood. That gift has something to do with it. It has the power to kill with a single touch. Do you think that power was random?"

"I didn't think too much into it. I guess I assumed I was just... a mutation?"

"Nothing happens by chance."

"The Big Bang?"

I lift a brow. "That too was design my naive pie maker."

"Hey that's rude. Didn't anyone tell you to respect your elders?"

"I'm the same age as you, dork." I smirk.

"Oh... sorry."

I chuckle. "It's alright. Most mistake me for someone younger..."

"How old are you?"

"Twenty-two. You?"

"Twenty-six."

I nod a little and look down at my hands.

"Oh don't put that back on. Here," he says quickly and gets up to exit and walk into his room.

I stand up, my legs and back still stiff as I walk to the doorway. The pain in my shoulder is bad but I've had worse.

Ned returns with a shirt that's clearly his because it's pretty large, with a pair of sweat pants. I smile at him when he does so with me and take the things from him. He walks into the kitchen and I duck back into the loo to change. I peel off the dirty clothes and pull on the fresh sweats. They are clearly way too large for me but they are soft and the draw string I can tighten so they don't slip off. And I slip the t-shirt on over that. I open the door and lean against the frame, watching as he just rummages for something in his cupboard.

I stand there for a long moment until I speak. "Ned?"

He turns his head to look over his shoulder at me.

"You don't... I know that this is a lot to take in and it's okay if you're scared. I am too... But I need you. We all... we all need you."

He pulls a pill bottle from the cabinet and walks to me. "I... I don't know what help I can be but... I'll try..." he gives in finally.

I smile with gratitude.

He looks down and hands me the bottle. "Oh here. This is for the pain I thought... well I thought there would be a lot of pain but you seem pretty tough to me," he shrugs with his brows raised.

I smirk and take it gladly. "Thank you."

He presses his lips in and nods.

There is a moment of silence before he realizes. "Oh water. Right." He whirls around and runs to the kitchen where he grabs a water bottle.

I chuckle soundlessly and sit down on the sofa.

He brings me the beverage and I use it to take the meds. He sits beside me. "So you promised me answers and I got half of them, but I still know nothing about you," he says.

"I don't know much about you either you know."

"Well then we'll fix that. What's your story?"

I smile and think. "...It's not a cheerful one."

"Those are the best kind. Because then the listener can relate and sympathize as opposed to wishing their life was as easy as yours."

I grin spreads on my lips but I still look at the floor. I look up at him then. "You're weird."

"Sorry," he makes a pained look.

I giggle. "No that was a compliment."

He then returns with a wide smile and chuckles when he looks down.

I laugh a little more, something I haven't done in a while. But this guy is so charming and strangely adorable even if he's older than I am. Perhaps like a big tough teddy bear. Does that make since?

"Well I'm waiting," he says.

I sigh... then I bring my legs up to the couch to sit Indian style. I think, staring at the ground. "I had a normal life... well at first. I lived like others would. I hid my gifts from the world... my brother and I both did. We had parents. Our mother and father. We were having dinner one night... and that's when the bombs started dropping. Our town was destroyed. Pietro and I were the only survivors of our family... We were ten years old."

"You and your brother?" he asks quietly.

"Twins... I remember holding a grudge against Tony Stark for so long... But then he told me the truth. A partner of his had betrayed him by selling Stark's weapons to terrorists across the seas. He died shortly after Stark found out."

"Tony Stark? You mean Stark Industries? I think I've heard of it."

"Yes and I'm sure you've heard of Iron Man as well. Though the rest of our misfits haven't shown their faces yet."

He breathes. "Everyone knows about Iron Man. Seems pretty cool you know... the kids love him."

I nod. "They do. And I know my parents' death was not his fault. And then after that... well we were taken by Hydra. An organization supporting someone who died many years ago. It was the wrong place for us. We thought it was right but... it became too extreme. The killing and suffering was too much. We were recruited by S.H.I.E.L.D in time for another war. This one was with robotics instead of aliens like the first. Pietro and I fought with them. He..." I look down for a moment, though I haven't looked into Ned's eyes while speaking. "He didn't survive the fight," my voice starts to crack a little from remembering the sight of his body... lifeless. I shut my eyes and my hand covers my mouth. "He's all I had left of a family... and now I have no one."

"Hey, hey, shhh. Don't cry it's alright. I know how you feel..." he speaks gently. "I'm alone too."

I try to keep the tears from escaping but they burn in my eyes from the memory of my Pietro.

"Come here," he whispers and puts his arm around my shoulders for comfort. I know that I just met him but I already owe him my life from our little adventure before. And I like him. I think I can trust him. Besides the pain takes over and I accept his embrace as I try not to cry, the lump in my throat making my breathing harsh.

"I miss him," I whimper.

"I know. It's hard. But you're alright. Hey let's change the subject okay?"

https://youtu.be/n106Qo0D948

I nod like a child.

"Where did you get your powers? Did anyone else in your family have them?"

"I don't know. Our parents were average... Pietro and I were special. His gift was different. He had super speed."

"Like Flash?"

"Like what?"

"Nevermind. So you have mind control?"

"I can read thoughts and memories of others... I can manipulate actions... but only sometimes. And I can make things move..."

He smiles cutely and puts his legs up like mine, sitting with both of us facing each other. "Show me," he says.

I smile a little and look down at the water bottle in my hands. I look into his eyes before I form red mist around it, letting the object float up in front of us, my hand about two inches beneath it.

He stares in awe of my little trick and searches my palm for the catch. But there isn't one. It's magic. At least some would call it.

I just smile warmly, our eyes still connected as he looks clearly impressed.

"Okay I think it's fair to say you're weirder than I am," he finally says with a nod, his eyes stuck to the bottle.

I laugh and fling it to him, letting him catch it abruptly and widen his eyes humorously.

I grin and shake my head. "So will you tell me your story?"

He huffs and thinks with his eyes on the ceiling. "I guess... I mean I started out a normal kid, playing with a... neighbor all the time and then one day I was out with Digby and he was hit by a truck. He was dead... until I touched him. And that's when I discovered my gift."

Unlike me he tells his story very plainly and abruptly. But I listen.

"I found out more about my gift as my life went on but I lost my mother when I was a kid..."

"I'm sorry," I say quietly.

"That was just before my dad left me. He dropped me off at a boarding school and I never saw him again. Once I graduated I opened the pie shop and I have kept to myself ever since. I have a simple life. I bake pies and wake the dead."

"Seems a curious occupation for a grown man," I tease a little. "Why pies?"

"Well..." he looks to the left with thought, something painful in his eyes that he tries not to show... but he wants someone to confess to, I can tell. He's been alone for far too long. "Pies always comforted me... because my mother baked them... making them now is almost like she's still here... And I wasn't ready to let that go." He looks down and sniffs to swallow away the memory.

I reach out then, taking his hand in mine with my thumb stroking his hand. "It's alright. I think that's sweet."

He nods a little but doesn't look up.

"We've both had loved ones lost but that doesn't mean we can't make them proud right? They'll always be with us."

He doesn't look up so I remove my hand from his and touch his cheek to let him look at me. His eyes seem to hold tears just a little. Clearly he had not thought of his mother for quite some time. And it's not him comforting me now. "It's alright. You're alright," I say, quoting what he told me moments ago.

His brows slouch with sadness to compliment his big hazel-green eyes that stare into mine. "Your hand is shaking."

"Maybe I'm just hungry or something," I shrug, my hand not moving from him.

He places his hand over mine and holds it in both his. "You're cold too. Take a blanket." He pulls one off the back of the couch and wraps it around my shoulders kindly.

He smiles warmly before standing to walk to the kitchen. I see him pull out a can of soup and start to make it.

I grin and look down. Well he's certainly sweet and considerate. I don't know what war would do to him... it would destroy him... like it has destroyed me. But we don't have a choice. All of mankind and even others in our universe counts on him. I don't want to tell him that too often though. Making him panic won't help anyone. I just hope we can end this... I don't want to lose anyone else.

I curl up against the armrest and look up at him, his back still to me as I just stare and think, the blanket and cushion feeling so comforting after such a day I've had. "Ned?" I ask quietly.

He looks over at me curiously.

I hesitate but say softly, almost too quiet for him to hear, "Thank you for letting me stay here..."

He smiles sweetly at me, the "you're welcome" reply clear in his face.

I purse my lips inside and look away, my head resting on the armrest now as the blood rushes to my cheeks from feeling so doted on as I shut my eyes to rest them.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

________________________________________________________________

Alright the more comments and votes and reads I get the more i will post so let me know if you are enjoying this story. PLEASE TELL ME ANYTHING THAT'S ON YOUR MIND. I LOVE reactions more than life!! so PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE COMMENT!!!!

Thank you all for joining me in this adventure

PS: for those that haven't seen "Pushing Daisies": GO WATCH IT. Ned (Lee Pace) is adorable in it!! you'll love it!