'Susie!'

The walls of the hospital changed from tiles to plaster as Sue made her way through the hall. As if in a trance, she took every step slowly and let her fingers glide along the gurney that sat to the left. Her red suit was stark against the bleak halls and its material changed to waves of blue when it reflected off the bright, fluorescent lights.

'Stay with your brother!'

'Is Mum going to be okay?! I want to see her!'

'Johnny, you're in charge. J-Just stay out here!'

She heard the voices before she turned the last corner. The scene she saw was strange to her, as when she saw it last, it was from a different point of view. The nurses and paramedics that bustled by Sue were unaware of the woman's presence. She was used to the phenomenon of going by unseen, but this was different. She stood out in her red suit and when she passed a mirror that hung at eye level on the wall, her reflection was absent, as she was out of her time.

'Susan, Dad's working.'

'I want to see Mum! I want to see her!'

Young Susan Storm yanked at the door handle that was above her head. Her blonde hair was nearly platinum and the colour would soon fade to the dirty blonde it was in the current day. Johnny, who took her arms and pulled her away from the locked door, had the same silvery hair and was yet to learn how to style it. His curls were messy on his head and being the young age of twelve, he was in the stage of wearing baggy trousers and t-shirts with Van Halen and The Who prints on them.

'Johnny, Mum's hurt! I saw her! She was...' young Susan could be seen thinking about what she saw.

Sue remembered the event all too well. Their father brought them to the hospital at the news of their mum's accident. It was his one of few days off, but the call he received was urgent. His wife, Melody, had been t-boned at an intersection by a car that failed to stop. Paramedics rushed her to the nearest hospital, which happened to be the one Lewis, Sue and Johnny's father, worked at.

'W-We'll go get a galaxy bar from the vending machine,' young Johnny suggested when he saw his younger sister stare into space. He hadn't seen his mother being wheeled in on the gurney, but Sue walked through the door just as she was taken into the emergency surgery.

'I don't want a galaxy bar...'

Sue watched as her younger self stared into space. This would have been the moment where their mother flat-lined and their father descended into his spiral at her loss. Their Aunt Marygay would turn up only minutes later, and take the children to the cafeteria on the main floor. Melody was Marygay's sister, so she too was in despair from her death.

'Sue? Sue, hey.'

Steve Rogers appeared in her line of vision, his shield on his arm and his eyes narrowed at Sue. The hospital dissolved into swirls of white and the setting darkened, taking her back to the HYDRA base in Sokovia. She blinked as Steve stepped forward, putting a red leather-clad hand on her shoulder.

He searched the halls for the woman who was absent from the intercom and he found her staring out to the forest around the base. The window was glassless and Steve called her name once, to which she ignored and stood rigid in her place. He walked forward and she came to at another call of her name, turning to him and revealing the glazed eyes she was yet to be rid of.

'Did the enhanced get to you?' he questioned, seeing the way her mouth opened and closed in disorientation. 'HYDRA's up to their old tricks. She's capable of casting some sort of witchy spells.'

'Y-Yeah,' Sue breathed, her breath shaky and her palms clammy. 'I saw... my past. When my mother died.'

'I'm sorry...' he bowed his head with his lips pursed. 'Johnny and Stark have the scepter. We're heading back to base.'

'Right... sounds good.'

Steve took his hand off her shoulder and informed Tony that he had found Sue. Tony's voice was equally as spaced out as hers, and Steve was sure he also had encountered the female enhanced. Johnny was the only one he spoke to that didn't sound troubled. Steve needed to get the remainder of the team out of the base and back to the aircraft, as the mission proved to have messed with some of the strongest people he knew.

---

Tony flew the aircraft from Sokovia back to New York. The Stark tower's lab was being set up by Helen Cho, a doctor from South Korea who was a friend of Bruce, for when they arrived. Clint, who was injured on his side, would need to be looked at by the woman. She was said to have technology beyond the modern world of science, so he would be in good hands.

Bruce had been serenaded by Natasha with a lullaby to bring him down from his code green. Natasha's ability to calm The Hulk down was yet to be challenged, and the team was thankful that the green tank had a weak side. It made missions easier, and they didn't have to waste time trying to bring Bruce back to reality.

In the back of the aircraft, Thor spoke to Bruce and Natasha about the damages The Hulk made to HYDRA, and Bruce let out a loud groan. Johnny stood with Steve and the two looked over the scepter they took from HYDRA's basement. Thor had clapped Johnny on the shoulder when they regrouped at the aircraft when the demi-god saw the object.

'I am once again, in the Storm family's debt,' Thor had said in sincerity, and Johnny faked a shy look with his fingers to his lips.

'Oh, stop it, you.'

Johnny turned around and looked down at Sue, who sat crouched against the wall. Her gloved forefinger traced back and forth along her lower lip as she stared at nothing. When she and Steve regrouped with the team, Steve said about how the enhanced had sent a scarlet mist into his and her head while they looked for Strucker. Steve made sure that she was in the hands of her brother before getting on the aircraft.

'Hey, what's up with you?' Johnny asked. He walked over and crouched down next to her, the two at the same level. Her eyes drifted about, and he knew that she was troubled by whatever the enhanced did to her.

'You remember when Mum died?' she said without looking to him. He raised his eyebrows in surprise, the topic coming out of nowhere.

'Yeah?'

'I remember it, too. The enhanced made me see it, again.'

Johnny bit his lip at her words. Back in HYDRA's basement, Johnny had turned around to Tony with the scepter. He had to call his name a few times, as the Stark was staring up at the leviathan with wide eyes and an open mouth. Once he came to, Tony looked at Johnny with a panicked expression. The Storm had heard about his anxiety issues from a few years ago, but he had been better with Sue being a shoulder he could lean on. But he thought that he may have had a relapse, as his forehead was covered in beads of sweat, and he tried to appear as if he was his usual, snarky self. Johnny was observant when Tony tried to act like things didn't affect him, and this was a case of it to the very tea.

'I think Tony might have had a similar experience,' Johnny said and pointed up to the man who sat in the driver's seat. Sue looked away from the wall for the first time since boarding the aircraft, and looked at the man who pressed controls and checked engine levels.

'He hasn't looked at me once since we regrouped,' Sue mentioned.

'You haven't looked at him, either.'

As Johnny spoke, the driver's chair turned and Tony instructed JARVIS to take the wheel. The AI did what he was told, and Tony stood up, his gaze set on the scepter where Thor and Steve stood. Sue followed him with her eyes and waited for him to turn and give her the smile only she was allowed to have. But he joined the two men and turned kept his back to her, making her shoulders deflate.

'It feels good, yeah?' Tony said to Thor, well aware of the stare Sue burned into his back. 'I mean, you've been after this thing since SHIELD collapsed. Not that I haven't enjoyed our little raiding parties, but...'

'No, but this... this brings it to a close,' the demi-god nodded with a relax of his shoulders.

'As soon as we find out what else this has been used for. I don't just mean weapons,' Steve said. 'Since when is Strucker capable of human enhancement?'

'Banner and I'll give it the once before it goes back to Asgard. Is that cool with you?' Thor nodded his head at Tony. 'I mean, just a few days until the farewell party. You're staying, right?'

'Yes, yes, of course. A victory should be honoured with revels.'

'Yeah, who doesn't love revels. Captain?'

'Hopefully this puts an end to the Chitauri and HYDRA,' Steve gave a small smile. 'So, yes, revels.'

As the three men smiled at each other, Sue looked down at her knees that were tucked into her chest. She knew when she was being avoided and Tony was the last person she wanted the treatment from.

After reliving her childhood memories, she wanted to talk with Tony about it. He was a good listener, despite what many people thought, and even if he didn't know how to comfort her with words, he would open his arms and let her lay against him instead. His comfort was enough for Sue, and she hoped she could spend the night with him. But seeing as the enhanced humans had grabbed the team's attention, he would be working in the lab with Bruce for the most part, anyway. For now, she would have to work at getting him alone and finding out what was making him avoid her.

'Whatever it is, I'm sure the Iron prick will come around,' Johnny smiled and clapped his hand onto his sister's shoulder. She gave him a small smile despite the nickname.

'Thanks, Johnny.'