Nia watches from the hall as Jun slips into the vault. She and the other Wolves were posted along the hall, waiting in case the police arrived. Jun comes out with his bag full of cash. Matt looks almost disappointed as they leave the building. Leaving the people in the bank with their hands still held high. Nia and Jun come out last. Suddenly there are several gunshots and Nia cries out, falling to her knees holding her arm to her chest.

Jun quickly goes invisible, realizing the police had waited outside for them. The Wolves open fire and Jun quickly helps Nia to the waiting car. Soon the others join them. Logan quickly drives them back, the long way. In the van, Callida looks Nia over.

"You'll be okay," she assures the shaken girl. "It only grazed your arm." She wraps Nia's arm in a cloth gently.

Nia nods, still a bit shaky. Once they arrive back at headquarters, Jun leaves Matt and the others to sort out the money while he carries Leanne upstairs. Callida follows on the lift.

"I can walk you know," Nia says with a teasing smile.

"You're still shaking like a leaf," Jun replies, very serious and quite obviously worried. He lays her on her bed gently. Callida comes in with a proper bandage and some alcohol to clean the wound. Nia hisses as the alcohol touches her arm but lets Callida continue. Jun watches with worried eyes as Callida bandages Nia's arm.

Callida chuckles. "She's gotten hurt many times, Jun. She has always recovered quickly. Yet here you are fretting once again."

Jun smiles sheepishly. "Sorry."

"It's okay. It's nice being worried over sometimes," Nia says, smiling at Jun.

Callida chuckles. "Okay, you two. Nia needs to rest."

Jun nods, quickly kissing Nia's forehead then following Callida out.

A while later, he comes back with her dinner. He knocks gently then opens the door, smiling to see her asleep. He gently sets the plate on the floor by her bed and watches her for a moment. She is peaceful when she sleeps. Her tics don't bother her and she is finally able to be still. He knows it takes a lot out of her, to be moving all the time, and he hates watching her hurt herself when a tic comes on too hard. He gently touches her shoulder, not wanting to have to wake her up. Nia stirs, looking up at him and smiling softly.

"How long have you been there?" she asks sleepily.

"Only a couple minutes," he replies, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Did you bring food? I'm hungry."

"Well, that's good," he hands her the plate.

Nia eats, groaning a bit as she tosses the fork across the room.

Jun chuckles a bit. "It's okay, I came prepared," he says as he pulls a clean fork from behind his ear.

Nia's eyes go wide and she chuckles teasingly. "Wow, you hide all sorts of stuff back there, don't you," she says, referencing his trick. She takes the fork and quickly finishes her food before she ends up throwing anything else.

Jun goes and picks up the other fork, then comes back and takes the now empty plate from Nia.

"Thank you, sorry," she says with a sigh.

"Why are you sorry?" he asks.

"I used to get in trouble all the time, especially at school, when I was young for throwing things."

"But it's not your fault," he says, looking confused.

Nia shrugs. "To my teachers, I was just a kid who made funny noises and threw things."

"That's terrible," Jun says, frowning.

"It was my life."

Jun sighs, shaking his head. He picks up the dishes and starts towards the door.

"Will you come back later?" Nia asks softly.

Jun smiles and nods. "Okay, but until then, rest. Your body may be fine but you went into shock. That takes a toll on you."

Nia nods, chuckling. "Whatever you say Mr. Overprotective."

Jun rolls his eyes and goes out, shutting the door softly.

Nia sits carefully, pulling out her phone and searching up her favorite topic, the Avengers. They and other enhanced, real or not, fascinated her. She told the others, and herself that she was learning about them to know how to fight them, but really, she just enjoyed learning about them. What they could, and couldn't do, how they did things, why they chose to use their powers for what they used them for. Her biggest fascination was the famed Black Widow. The Avenger she let herself lose to. Nia vowed that if she ever fought the woman again, that she wouldn't lose, and thus, she needed to know everything about her. Nia spent hours pouring through the old S.H.I.E.L.D. files that were leaked after S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra fell. She learned much about more than just Black Widow and her shadowy past though. Her photographic memory remembered everything she read and watched, thus causing her to become almost a walking "Enhanced Persons Index" file, as they were called among the S.H.I.E.L.D. files.

"What are you doing?" Jun asks, appearing next to Nia a few hours later.

Nia yelps dropping her phone in her lap, her hand flying up into a fighting position.

Jun laughs a bit. "Sorry."

Nia starts to laugh also. "How long were you standing there?"

"Only about ten minutes," he teases.

Nia smacks his arm and picks up her phone, turning it off and putting it away.

Jun sits on the bed. "So... what do you wanna do?"

Nia shrugs. "I dunno, we could go for a walk, or go up to the roof for a bit."

"Isn't it a bit cold out for that?" Jun asks with a concerned look.

"I've been stuck inside all day. I want to get some fresh air before we sleep," Nia says, sitting and pulling on her shoes, wincing as the stitches on her shoulder pull a bit.

Jun sighs. "Fine, but as soon as you feel tired, we are coming back."

Nia nods and stands. "Okay, but I'm really fine." She takes Jun's hand and he turns them both invisible before they sneak outside. Once they are a safe distance from the building they appear again. Nia leans against Jun as they walk, her eyes lingering on the lengthening shadows. Jun holds her close.

"We can go back if you are afraid," he says softly.

Nia shakes her head. "I must face my fear."

Jun nods a bit. "Okay."

They walk in silence for a while as the sun goes down, leaving a beautiful sunset. Jun leads Nia to a grassy hill and they sit on a bench and watch the sun finish its descent.

"I wish things could always be like this," Nia says softly, snuggling into Jun more.

"Me too," he replies, wrapping his arms around her.

"What if... we ran away? Changed our identities. Move to somewhere outside of the U.S." Nia says quietly.

Jun looks at her quickly. "We can't do that, A: Because Loki would find us in a hot minute and B: It's not that easy to just change who you are."

Nia looks down. "I don't feel like this is who I am though. I'm not Kestrel on the inside."

Jun nods, hugging her gently. "Well, my mother always told me, we didn't have to be who the government wanted us to be. We had to find our own, true identity. For me, that's doing this. I was born a fighter. I'm good at what I do. For you... that might not be the case. Just because you are good at something doesn't mean it is who you are. You need to find your own true identity."

Nia nods, smiling a bit. "You know, when I first met you, I thought you were weird, and way too quiet. But, I've realized that if I listen, you have a lot to say."

Jun raises an eyebrow. "Thanks? I think?"

Nia chuckles. "You're welcome. I think I'm ready to go back now."

Jun helps her up and leads her back to the base.

Later in the night, they are awoken by a flash of green and gold. Nia looks up sleepily then draws back in horror. Jun sits quickly moving in front of Nia. Loki glowers down at them.

"I told you two to break up and now you are... sleeping together!?" the god nearly screams, furious. He picks Jun up by his neck and throws him against the wall. Loki begins to kick and punch Jun mercilessly. Nia cries out for Loki to stop but she is forced to stay back. She cowers under the blankets sobbing, trying to block out Jun's cries. After what seems like an eternity the sound of the blows stops.

Loki yanks back the sheets and glares at the trembling girl."You are mine," he says in an angrily calm voice. "Not his, not your own. You are mine. I gave you everything you have. Show me this kind of disrespect again, and you will truly know what pain and suffering are." He pulls a dagger from his belt and forces Nia down onto the bed, carving his signature symbol onto her shoulder. Nia cries out in pain but is quickly silenced by a punch to her jaw. She slips in and out of consciousness as Loki finishes with his symbol then disappears. She finally wakes herself enough to pull herself over to Jun. She wraps her arms around him, sobbing.

"Please wake up," she pleads, then loses consciousness.

Hey y'all. Sorry to leave you like this, but I'll put two more chapters up next week!

- Bucky