Rumble in The Big City

The Big Guy wasn’t sure how to handle the hyperactive young woman; he hadn’t exactly been an expert in dealing with teenagers. She was a teen right? I mean, she kinda’ looked it. Kinda... Pain just rose his brow at her, taking his eyes away and looking up to the lights that displayed their floor. Move faster, stupid thing. When he heard the young woman stop her ramble, he gave her back his attention and answered her original question with a simple “Dunno.” Pain’s free hand moved to scratch his head, he just planned to pick something at random, guess he’d leave that up to her. “Guess it’s your pick kid.” He let his hand slide down his neck, then back to resting at his side as he waited to descend one more floor.

Pain had a bad feeling about this, and when those doors opened up, that all too familiar feeling came to reality. The second those doors opened up, they were immediately bombarded by the media, paparazzi swarming to take pictures, and prying at the heroic pair for answers. The glass is the only thing that kept them from stampeding towards the two, and thankfully the doors had been locked. Pain briefly looked over his shoulder down at his frightened new sidekick, he didn’t like seeing that; not for anyone. He would try to comfort her and protect her as best he could. The Big Guy led her out of the elevator, allowing her to hold onto him as he walked closer to the crowd.

“Always.” He simply stated in response to her, his icy blue eyes looking back to her before instructing. “Drop those punks.” At the same time, he dropped the two thugs he carried in one arm. When she followed his instructions, with no warning he scooped her off her feet, cradling her in his arms. He held her close to his chest, and with one of his massive arms he was able to support her. The other simply comforted the back of her head, and allowed him some freedom when necessary. “It’s alright to be scared.” Pain didn’t look at her the entire time he spoke, his icy eyes fixed on the path ahead; the massive crowd before him. He arrived before the glass door, and used one hand to unlock it. “It’s just a matter of finding the courage to face it.” He said calmly before opening the door and gently forcing back some of the crowd with his great strength.

The Big Guy forced his way through the crowd, ignoring the hundreds of questions thrown at him, and shielding the young woman with his arms. He couldn’t protect her from everything, but he would damn sure try. Pain made his way through to the police line, where he was given support in holding off the frenzied crowd. He heard a familiar voice call to him, ”Yo Big Guy.” Pain’s head snapped to the left, to where he heard the voice, and saw the officer he had handed his jacket to earlier. “Think this is yours.” The police officer said as he tossed it towards the great hero.

Pain lifted up one hand, his other easily cradling Valkryie as he caught the jacket. “Thanks.” He pretty much just dropped the jacket onto her, not even asking, but instructing her to “Hold this.” He wasn’t trying to be a jerk, just trying to get out of there as quickly as possible, and he didn’t want to lose his jacket either.

“The thugs are out cold, all tied up on the first floor. The rest is yours.” The Big Guy’s eyes darted up to the building he had leaped to earlier; he still needed to tell that man it was safe to come down. “Take it easy, and hold on tight kid.” Was the last of his words before bending his knees and leaping high into the sky. Pain made sure to hold her tight, didn’t want to lose his new sidekick, or his favorite jacket!

The Big Guy had little difficulty landing on the tall skyscraper, he’d done it countless times, and by now it had become second nature. At first, he hesitated to release her from his arms. He was unsure if she wanted to be put down or carried, and if she was put down, could she even begin to keep up with him? Pain had no idea what to say, but manage to force something out anyway. “You want me to let you go? Or should I carry the lady to dinner too?” The Big Guy’s rough voice said with a soft chuckle, trying to break the ice a little. A bit of a lame attempt at humor, but at least he tried…

The young heroine made no noise as she was lifted and held, instead she gripped his shirt tightly and buried her face in his muscle. She was not small, not by most standards, but compared to Pain's size, she was indeed dwarfed. This difference made her remember what it was like to be held by her father, and for a moment, she was calm.

Though she heard the shutter of cameras, the dull roar of press coverage, and could feel the jostling air that was thick with curiosity and a probing need to expose her, Nina simply closed her eyes and curled up as much as she could in his arm, still sticking to him like a child. It took her a moment to realize just how Freudian this all was in a way, but before she could get too far mentally, a large something dropped on top of her and blocked all light and most of the sound. Judging from the feel and distinct smell of tobacco, she was now under his leather jacket. While one hand still held a fistful of his shirt, the other gently traveled over the lining and leather of the massive coat, pausing on the small imperfections that came with its considerable wear and age. To further enjoy it, she pulled it up over her head more, only to suddenly feel herself liberated from the ground.

Her breath caught in her throat in the form of a tight gasp, followed by a peep of discomfort. Suddenly, her heart was pounding out a staccato rhythm of fear. Sure, she understood that doing these large jumps was necessary, and she had done them often herself, but her lack of control coupled with her hatred of heights married itself into one big situation of jumbled nerves. Nina felt the landing, and as he spoke to her, she couldn't bring herself to reply right away; she was far too busy clamoring out of his arms to get to the safety of solid ground and self control. The jacket followed her, having hung onto her head and shoulders like a large cape that covered her eyes, causing her to fall onto the roof and struggle for a minute before righting herself into a sitting position. Once she had gained some form of equilibrium, she looked up at the Big Guy and squinted in the light when he retrieved his jacket.

''I can just, walk...'' she said, running her hands through her hair to try and make it slightly less of a wispy, bushy tangle. Another moment and she was standing, brushing herself off and posing proud before her tutor. Her arms folded behind her back, legs slightly apart as she gazed up into his scarred face.

''So, what now?''

Pain nearly immediately released her when he felt her struggle in the slightest, but because of her squirming she clumsily fell flat on the roof. The Big Guy softly chuckled at her foolishness, slowly shaking his head and smirking at her. She’s just a kid, but she was a kid with a lot of potential; potential he wanted to assure went in the right direction. Pain walked over to retrieve his jacket and slipped it on as he chuckled at her once again. “Ain’t gonna’ be doin’ much walking.” He said smoothly as he looked down at her, his shades hiding the famous icy blue optics. The Big Guy then helped her back to her feet, offering his massive hand which was swiftly taken. The gal fixed her hair as best she could and immediately fell into some military stance; he was expecting a salute or something to follow.

He didn’t like that, the whole serious military thing, didn’t like it one bit. Pain was serious when it came to the mission, but even then he never acted like that. The Big Guy just wanted her to loosen up and treat him like a normal person. He responded to her question a bit harshly, but he meant well; a problem Pain had with communicating. “Well first off, stop actin’ so damn proper. Loosen up a bit, I ain’t your drill sergeant, I’m your friend.” The Big Guy walked past her towards the man still hiding behind the stairwell entrance. “It’s all good buddy, took care of them punks for ya’.” Pain didn’t listen or wait for a response from the guy, he turned to look over his shoulder back at Valkyrie and simply stated. “You comin’?”

Without another word, the Big Guy left the rooftop with one mighty leap. Though he lead the way, he still had every intention of letting the gal pick the place to eat; he was a man of his word. Pain now had his own ‘sidekick’, someone who looked up to him and relied on him. It was a nice feeling, but at the same time he worried he would screw this up. He was convinced that’s all he ever did, screw things up…

She listen to her mentors words with an emotionless face, letting them sink into her for a moment before she made an effort to react verbally or physically in any way. Nina had always assumed that her militaristic upbringing would be a pleasant sight to people like Pain, people who protected the innocent. It had been instilled into her to serve one purpose: Make her follow orders of those much stronger, and wiser than her. Even though she knew there were people who didn't enjoy formality as much as she had been trained to, she hadn't pegged him to be one of those men.

With a relaxed nod, she released the posture and stood still for a bit. ''Alright...'' He had called her a friend, and as her mouth pulled up into a soft smile, she let the endorphins sink into her and soothe the aches that still plagued her from her earlier fights. For the time being, her life seemed to be taking a very sharp turn for the positive, and she didn't have any sort of plan to waste the good fortune that was being bestowed upon her. Maybe karma was finally rewarding her for stopping the handful of crimes she had run across on her trek to New York City, or some sort of higher being had planned all of this to happen and lead her onto her lifes path, or maybe she shouldn't over think this, snuff out her thoughts, and just go with the flow. She wasn't accustomed to it, but it seemed like the kind of thing she should be doing when she was around Pain.

When she heard him leave, her head snapped around to see him rocketing into the distance, and as she drove her feet into the roof with powerful strides, soon her much smaller form was right behind the behemoth that was the worlds strongest man; the Big Guy; her hero; Pain.