➢𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗬 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗘 𝗛𝗢𝗠𝗘➢

『 But baby, the truth is
I make your excuses
You let me down
And I'm used to it 』
―𝘔𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘦 𝘗𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘖𝘧 𝘠𝘰𝘶

⟶𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 6: 𝑭𝒓𝒂𝒈𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝑹𝒆𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒐𝒏⟵

❝...𝐇𝐞𝐲, 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐢.❞

-𝙼𝙰𝚈 𝟹𝟷𝚂𝚃, 𝟸𝟶𝟷𝟾-

𝙰𝚅𝙴𝙽𝙶𝙴𝚁𝚂 𝙲𝙾𝙼𝙿𝙾𝚄𝙽𝙳

𝚄𝙿𝚂𝚃𝙰𝚃𝙴 𝙽𝙴𝚆 𝚈𝙾𝚁𝙺

Back on Earth, a previously absconded Quinjet arrives at the Upstate New York, Avengers HQ. Inside the Compound, Colonel James Rhodes deals with a holographic taping projecting the Secretary of State, General Thaddeus Ross.

"Still no word from Vision?"

War Machine answers him honestly, "Satellites lost him . . . somewhere over Edinburgh."

"On a stolen Quinjet," Ross has seen the reports, and he doesn't hold back, "with four of the most wanted criminals."

Rhodey contests, reminding him, "You know, they're only criminals because you've chosen to call them that. Right, sir?"

Getting up from the transparent table, the General is unmovable in his stance, "My God, Rhodes. Your talent for horse-shit rivals my own."

"If it weren't for those Accords," Rhodes clarifies, "Vision would've been right here."

Secretary Ross remarks back, "I remember your signature on those papers, Colonel."

Rhodey looks down for a moment, bitter as he confirms with a nod of the head, "That's right."

And then his gaze rotates down toward the leg braces that enable his paralyzed body to walk. His spinal cord had been injured. That was one of many different results of a catastrophic civil war . . . taking part in one. 

But they were not in that stage anymore, not pinned against one another. 

The Avengers need each other. Because much bigger things are on the way, bigger than them. 

Things they cannot handle alone.

"I'm pretty sure I paid the price for that." Rhodey thinks he is done reflecting on the past, though Ross brings it up again.

"Do you have second thoughts?"

Did he have second thoughts? About his decision to fight on the team he did?

No, War Machine shakes his head, knowing what was coming. Who was coming.

"Not anymore."

A beeping noise confirms the sliding open of the doors to the Avengers Headquarters, and entering the room housing less enhanced individuals than ever before, are the ones who previously occupied the space.

The fugitive Avengers walk toward and into the conference room . . . Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanoff lead in front as they trek further into their former home. Sam Wilson has an arm around Vision himself as leverage, the being who still reels from an attack by Corvus Glaive and Proxima Midnight. By his side is a red-haired Wanda Maximoff, bringing up the rear.

An acknowledging look envelopes Rhodey's face, in somewhat of a neutral demeanor upon seeing the rougher-looking but familiar faces of all of his friends—co-workers. 

Family. 

A family that was separated when branching off onto two teams, two years ago.

Ross is irritated. He from the transparent broadcast grits his teeth together, especially when laying eyes on Steve.

Captain America sports a full-fledged beard, uniform having been stripped of the white star that was sewn into it, and he greets with a formal address, "Mr. Secretary."

The white-haired man's holographic figure steps forward, eyeing the group before muttering lowly, "You got some nerve." 

He adds, "I'll give you that."

Black Widow's blonde short hair rests just above her shoulders, and she keeps a hard front while still managing to present an amount of irony to the current matter, "You could use some of that right now."

Ross doesn't appreciate it. 

"The world is on fire." The Secretary circles round, brows narrowing as he stares down the long-haired Captain in particular, genuinely asking, "And you think all is forgiven?"

Steve Rogers insists in a low, deep tone, unwavering, "I'm not looking for forgiveness."

His brow goes up in anger, "And I'm way past asking permission."

"Earth just lost her best defender. So we're here to fight." He takes a step down closer to Ross, solidifying, "And if you wanna stand in our way," 

Captain America although with no shield, expresses no sign of compromise or restraint, "We'll fight you too."

The words of the assertive and head-strong SuperSoldier are definitively challenging, forceful—enough for Thaddeus Ross to back down.

He turns to Rhodes, instructing, "Arrest them."

War Machine nods, "All over it."

The hologram goes away.

After the computer beeps the man clasps his hands together, saying truthfully, "That's a court-martial."

There is a bit of silence and uncertainty, but Rhodey breaks into a smile, "It's great to see you, Cap."

Steve steps down again to shake the prosthetic-legged man's hand, "You too, Rhodey."

"Hey." War Machine greets Natasha with a hug, the woman smiling as she embraces her longtime friend and Steve's expression is the same as he watches.

Rhodey backs away slightly to take a look at the condition of his friends and is consistently honest, "Wow. You guys . . . really look like crap."

"Must have been a rough couple of years."

Sam chimes in, "Yeah, well," there's a small smirk on his face, "the hotels weren't exactly five-star."

"I think you look great." A voice says from the other side of the room, and it belongs to Bruce Banner.

He reacts to the gasp-like silence by his entrance, realizing, "Uh, yeah. I'm back."

Natasha softly acknowledges him, "Hi, Bruce."

To which the short man dressed in tattered clothes from an attack on New York, gives a gentle nod to her addressing of him, aware of the last time they were with one another, "Nat."

She grins softly.

Sam states the obvious, "This is awkward."

The others look at him. 

Though then, all faces fall short temporarily, when another individual joins the party. A child. A teenager.

One who is important. To them.

"Well, it must be the end of the world, now . . . "

Coming down the steps on the other side of the room, into the area whilst still dressed in street clothes, with honey-blond dyed hair that has a piece of it braided back, and still with so uniquely bright sea-foam green eyes—is Dani Rockland. 

An older version of her. 

One that leaves Natasha and Steve briefly speechless for a moment, at a loss for words.

It had only been two years, yet, feels like so much longer since they have last seen her . . . Because she was different.

Significantly different, just from laying eyes on her, they both can pick out the physical altercations in her appearance—a few inches taller, around the same height as Nat now. Her skin is a porcelain pale and her figure noticeably looks thinner, a sign of adolescence kicking in, and her hair . . . It is artificially colored. 

Steve feels a certain way about that.

He is too distracted however by Dani making her way over to the group very slowly, sticking close-by Rhodey, and her hands instead of wringing together nervously go to rest in the back pockets of her light-washed jean shorts.

She is nervous, a little, though not nearly as much as he is. 

Because of other intense emotions clouding her judgment.

Another hefty breath that sounds like a sigh is what escapes her mouth when checking out and acknowledging the rough exterior most of the ex-Avengers possessed, considering where they had been all this time—though she doesn't get to ponder for long. 

The SuperSoldier has recovered from the initial stunt her entrance had placed onto him, how much she had grown up, and the reunion he knew was coming, he just didn't know how it was going to play out.

He is about to learn now.

His eyes, those blue irises colored that way by the serum, soften under her features, always. It is uncontrollable with the amount of love carried for her. Care and adoration. Especially after not seeing her for so long.

The surrogate father's heart clenches itself inside his chest as he sucks in an expansive breath, and finally, when composed, Steve says quietly.

 " . . . Hey, Dani."

Her eyes are the first part of her to snap up to meet him.

 Meet his, the use of her name sounding so foreign on his tongue, as he is the man whom she had not spoken to or seen since Siberia. When he dropped his shield. 

When he beat the living light out of Iron Man right in front of her. Scared her. Scarred her.

 She seems to have matured since then, not just physically, though Dani gives her former adoptive father her undivided attention merely for a few seconds before deciding to respond. To greet him.

Showcasing where she stands in their relationship. Their bond.

"Hi, Steve." Dani nods back, apathetically. 

Coldly.

Then promptly turns on her heel and walks right by him toward the other members of the group.

Steve Rogers closes his eyes in defeat. In disappointment. 

She did not call him, 'Dad.' 

He should have expected that type of reaction, he guesses, knowing how much she was hurt, though . . . The SuperSoldier thought, well, had hope that with all this time passing, with the current situation at hand—the infinite war ahead, that there would be some reconciling done right now and here. When they are seeing each other for the first time in two years. 

Couldn't have been long enough. 

It is clear that Dani is not ready for any sort of conversation, she's still toggling with something.

Steve would like to know what it is, because he cares, though it seems that trust is gone. Unfortunately. 

He is absolutely aware of that, painfully, but is determined not to let it interfere with their relationship. Not knowing . . . it already had. 

Other reunions continue to happen, and the thirteen-year-old crosses over to where The Falcon stands.

"Damn, someone's getting tall."

"Or maybe you're just shrinking . . . "

A chuckle seeps through the teeth of Sam Wilson followed by a smile that is genuine when laying eyes on the familiar features of his surrogate niece.

He draws her in close for a hug, one that she accepts and leans into—no reason not to, and the man holds her tight before insisting, "Missed you, Babydoll."

Dani's throat is dry though she swallows, "Missed you too, Uncle Sam."

They pull away and he touches her shoulder fondly before moving on, and the synthetic being he was previously supporting now is in the limelight of the girl who possesses energy similar, to that of the yellow gem in the center of his forehead. 

Vision wants to give her a smile for reassurance, though a sharp twinge from the sliced wound on his lower side causes him to wince in pain—and suddenly the child's demeanor shifts.

She does not gasp, but her other features provide the actions of worry for her.

Petite hands instinctively reach toward the wound to possibly regenerate it, and the being gently tells her, "It's all right, Dani. I'm all right."

He finds himself repeating, "It's all right,"  when she folds into his chest abruptly. 

Her sleeved arms wrap around the taller being's figure as an indescribable amount of emotion overcomes her suddenly. 

Vision while he hugs the thirteen-year-old back, has dread built inside him, as he is the only one here who truly knows of Dani's heightened emotions. Why they are heightened.

She is suffering from the dreadful messages the pieces of the Space Stone related to her.

The feeling, was a crushing one . . . like it was warning them of a battle they cannot win.

From one of the Infinity Stones. That he has embedded into him.

Dani and Wanda do not interact when crossing one another, leaving the only person the girl has yet to speak with being her former surrogate mother. FORMER.

Natasha compliments, "I like your hair."

"Thanks," Dani says back.

The woman continues to grin softly, slowly walking closer to her former 'daughter' while her arms remain crossed—and her stoic demeanor breaks when her brows raise in astonishment, astonished.

"Are you the same height as me now?"

Dani turns to face her, squinting as she quickly realizes she does not have to look up to the ex-assassin anymore—that they truly are, the same height.

Dani's probably a little taller . . .

She tilts her head, claiming, "I guess."

Natasha breathes a chuckle dry with wit, "When did that happen?"

Dani's is dryer, "When you left for two years."

Bitter. Silence again. 

The Widow is unsettled by Dani's hostility, internally racked by it because it was unusual. It was out of character for her to be this forwardly hasty, but once again, they are here to fight. 

To save the world. That's why Natasha and Steve came back. 

They just might not be able to salvage the relationship with their little girl, in the given time of an attack.

❀❀❀

"So we gotta assume they're coming back, right?" Rhodey questions, all in another room together as they discuss.

"And they can clearly find us." Wanda has a hand on her chin.

Bruce knows the most about this upcoming threat, and insists, "We need all hands on deck. Where's Clint?"

"After the whole Accords situation, he and Scott took a deal. It was too tough on their families." Natasha enlightens, her arms crossed as she explains an additional outcome of what happened in Germany two years ago, for some Avengers, "They're on house arrest."

Bruce is confused, "Who's Scott?"

"Ant-Man," Steve answers from across the room, hand resting on the back of a chair, and the non-hulked-out man is still bewildered.

"There's an Ant-Man and a Spider-Man?"

Rhodey bobs his head while Dani snorts. The girl is relatively quiet during this exchange however, something stirs within her when it comes to what they have to prepare for—what they need to do in order to win. 

Nothing. Because it isn't going to happen.

"Okay, look . . . " Doctor Banner pulls everyone in, "Thanos has the biggest army in the universe."

"He's already got two stones, maybe more . . . There's no telling how much time we have left before he finds us."

"Well . . . " He stammers, "Finds Vision."

Like an irrepressible memory, Dani speaks up, feeling the information is necessary to share,  "He got the Space Stone last night, I know he did . . . because I felt it."

What she doesn't expect is for all pairs of eyes to directly turn on her, sharply, and the thirteen-year-old crosses her arms in timidness.

"What? Are you serious?" Rhodey, rightfully, scolds her, "And you didn't even think to say anything?"

Dani is standing up, skinny arms folding under themselves so tightly that if it weren't for her sleeves the skin would be red, and with a tone much lower and darker than ever projected before she gives voice to her state of mind here, "What difference does it make?"

"What they did to New York was insane, and we couldn't stop them there. What's going to happen when they come back?"

"You all have no idea," The thirteen-year-old stops herself, eyes growing glassy, voice turning strained, all as she battles these internal demons—feelings of what she experienced when the Tesseract was broken by the bare hands of the Mad Titan, "What they are capable of."

Vision wears an empathetic look, as he understands her pain very simply. He experienced the exact same warning signs from the Stone. 

The others, however, stare at the enhanced child with contorted expressions, startled by her demeanor, but Dani insists she is telling it like it is. Because she believes . . .That they are all going to die. She just knows it.

She makes it clear where she's at, what she believes, "We don't stand . . . a chance."

And while the other forces carry some form of optimism for this impending enemy, due to naivety, or logic, Danielle Mairead Rockland is driven and controlled by one thing and one thing only—FEAR. 

She is scared. Terrified, and that makes her hostile. Not only because of that.

Bruce is the only one with a reply, and it's not good timing, "You see, this is what I meant by pessimistic and negative."

She closes her gaped mouth, blinking as a watery tear disappears into her striped sleeve and Dani vanishes into the background. Rhodey watches her with concern before they get back on track.

"Listen, Thanos isn't going to stop until he . . . he gets . . . Vision's stone."

Black Widow proposes, "Well then, we have to protect it."

"No," The synthetic being announces suddenly, "we have to destroy it."

Gazes shift onto a new target, being The Vision, whose words have greatly impacted everyone. 

Even Dani's honey-blonde hair whips back around at what he is implying. 

He explains, "I've been giving a good deal of thought to this entity in my head. About its nature."

"But also, it's composition."

"I think if it were exposed to a sufficiently powerful energy source . . ." Vision approaches Wanda, "Something, more controlled and contained." 

 Dani knows by that qualification it cannot be her, "Very similar to its own signature, perhaps . . . its molecular integrity could fail."

The redhead responds to his proposition, immediately disagreeing, "Yeah, and you with it."

"We're not having this conversation." The young woman affirms.

Steve watches the couple interact, Vision telling her, "Eliminating the stone is the only way to be certain that Thanos can't get it."

"That's too high a price." 

Vision gently takes hold of Wanda's face, whispering just to her, "Only you have the power to pay it."

She walks away from him, distressed. Captain America tips his head down.

"Thanos threatens half the Universe." Vision begins, stating firmly, "One life cannot stand in the way of defeating him."

Dani wants this to be true.

Her former adoptive father maintains it, "But it should."

"We don't trade lives, Vision."

"Captain, 70 years ago, you laid down your life to save how many millions of people. Tell me, why is this any different?"

Steve inhales while trying to prepare a response, though Bruce with more insight beats him to it, "Because you might have a choice."

He walks over to the being he and Tony Stark created almost four years ago, "Your mind is made up of a complex construct of overlays. Jarvis, Ultron, Tony, me, the stone. All of them mixed together. All of them learning from one another."

"You're saying Vision isn't just the stone?" Wanda trickles back into the conversation.

"I'm saying that if we take out the stone," Bruce articulates, "there's still a whole lot of Vision left. Perhaps the best parts."

Natasha inquires with a light tone, with the hope that instills into the rest, "Can we do that?"

To which Banner shakes his head, "Not me. Not here."

Dani inhales a sigh, meanwhile, her Uncle Rhodey gets across an important factor, "Well, you better find someone, and somewhere fast. Ross isn't just gonna let you guys have your old rooms back."

Steve blinks as his gaze is downcast, and it is only after a few moments that a thought comes to him—a destination, and Dani thinks she already knows where it is.

"I know somewhere."

That somewhere is Wakanda.

The thirteen-year-old had been there before, one winter ago, and it was beautiful. She met up with the friend she'd been pen palling with as well as some of her friends, one of them a flirter. 

With their technological advancements far greater than any other country in the world, Danielle digs up some faith that Princess Shuri could possibly do something regarding removing Vision's stone—the only question was how long it would take.

If it would be too late.

The ex and current Avengers then disperse to either get dressed in gear or head straight for the Quinjet that they had arrived on. A young and out-of-practice Avenger slides on a pair of mesh black leggings, black boots, and a royal blue leather jacket instead of a signature green. 

Sometimes it was good to change things up. 

Or just would prove even more that the girl is in fact not acting like herself.

Pulling the elastic out of the piece of hair braided into her head, Dani does a half-up-half-down with her honey-dyed locks—pulling through a loop when her phone vibrates.

She recognizes the ID based on the goofy photo that takes up her screen, and breathing in the cool air of relief, the girl calls out, "Matthew?"

"Dani!" Her best friend's voice echoes from the other line, instantly asking, "Are you okay?!"

The other thirteen-year-old presses her lips together, wincing, "Yeah, I got lucky. How about you?"

Green eyes suddenly flare open in concern at the boy's current state, if he was affected by another attack on New York, though thankfully Matthew Framingham assures, "Other than you deserting your ice cream and me: a little butt-hurt, but it's fine."

Dani uncharacteristically does not laugh at the pun.

"Okay, well," She keeps it short and sweet, "I'm going now."

"Where?"

"Wakanda. It's going to be dangerous."

"Duh." Matthew remarks into the phone, before saying with logic, "It's not called 'saving the world' for nothing."

Dani does not think they will.

She speaks in a voice that slightly shakes, "Matt . . . "

It knocks some seriousness into her best friend, "Yeah."

"Please," The enhanced teenager swallows down more lumps in her throat, avoiding blinking due to the possibility of tears falling out, and her voice does not turn groggy, "Please take care of yourself. Don't do anything stupid."

"I'll be safe." The boy ensures, though falters again, "Can't promise I won't do anything stupid, though."

Dani bites her lip, "Just try, okay?"

It's then that he can hear some desperation in her voice, a crack in it, and Matthew tells his best friend, "I promise, Dan."

"You know I don't believe in promises, Matthew Framingham." Dani Rockland bites out harsher than intended.

To which the boy if he was in person would throw his hands in the air, "Okay, okay! I'll try. Mind returning the favor?"

The girl doesn't respond, feeling she cannot, so she just says, "I love you."

"I love you, too." Her best friend replies over the phone before the call is dropped, and that is the last time Dani Rockland will ever hear from Matthew Framingham before everything goes down.

She will not know his fate. 

The quivering in Agent Rockland's tone has now contributed to the quivering in the rest of her body. Dani's face is pale, her hands shake, and putting both hands on a table still in the conference room to compose herself—a presence from behind nearly makes her skin crawl.

Startles her, immensely.

"Who was that?" A bearded Steve Rogers is a few feet away from his adoptive daughter. 

Former adopted daughter. His face looks slightly tired and aged with experience from being a fugitive and on the run, much like he, she, and Natasha were briefly when the girl was just nine years old. 

Dani is thirteen now, terribly caught up in a tornado of spiraling emotions, and at this point no longer is susceptible to the comforting and safe actions or expressions offered to her by the man she used to call her father.

Surrogate, though he loved her all the same.

Agent Rockland curls inward, gathering the rest of her things before striding past Captain America without any gentleness, "None of your business."

She gives him the cold shoulder, again, causing Steve to, again, let his long eyelashes tickle the skin beneath his eyes as he closes them in extreme depletion, dejection. 

None of those emotions however represent the ones the SuperSoldier feels when walking over to the table the girl was previously on, and the single and only object that catches his brief scanning is the most important.

A piece of paper, a few, sealed away in an unopened envelope, stuffed under a pile of several other unimportant stuff.

𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞. The letter still reads, in his handwriting, addressed to his child. 

It hadn't been opened. 

Or touched in the last two years, once. 

Steve does not understand why there is such avoidance in making amends, the notice of their impending arrival he assumes the reasoning for Dani to take the letter out—to consider reading it, but obviously, something led her to not do so.

He will later find out the disconnect, the refusal, and it would be in a shouting match.

"I'm uh, sorry . . ." Rhodey shortly comes to the Captain's side, who has since stopped paying attention to the letter and lets it be perceived that he never even noticed it.

War Machine apologizes while crossing his arms, "You'll just have to excuse her right now. You know, Dani isn't showing it, but she's scared."

"Way more than she is letting on, and that's not only due to what she's seen today—it's what she hasn't."

Rhodey confirms, "In this case, getting close to anyone else who might hurt her."

Steve's broad shoulders raise as he takes in a breath, he was always aware of her trust issues. But they had just gotten too bad, how? 

He wasn't there. He couldn't answer that. 

He was . . . the reason for that.

-𝐌𝐀𝐘 𝟑𝟏𝐒𝐓, 𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟖-

𝐖𝐀𝐊𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐀, 𝐀𝐅𝐑𝐈𝐂𝐀

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐆𝐎𝐋𝐃𝐄𝐍 𝐂𝐈𝐓𝐘

https://youtu.be/ZgZCtHtmYw0

Inside the Quinjet piloted by Sam Wilson, Steve Rogers travels up to the center console of the aircraft to give the Falcon Wakanda's coordinates, "Drop to 2600, heading 0-3-0."

Sam's reply is unsure, "I hope you're right about this. Or we're gonna land a lot faster than you want to."

"Oh, Bast, could you move any faster?!"

"Aye, Nia! Quit poking me, would you?"

A handsome sixteen-year-old Tarik Umoya of the River Tribe, whines pitifully as his childhood best friend, Ania Udaku, is extremely ambitious on this day. He can only guess why. 

Actually, he can't.

So the Princess enlightens him, "We have guests coming! From America!"

The words drip off her tongue and fireworks are set off in the cute boy's head. He takes off. Proving that he can indeed move faster. Faster in the name of his flirtatious ways!

 Ania scurries after him.

"When you said we were going to open Wakanda to the rest of the world," General Okoye, head of the all-female elite warriors that protect Wakanda, says to the King himself, "this is not what I imagined."

Ania's father, T'Challa, questions, "What did you imagine?"

The woman shrugs, "The Olympics. Maybe even a Starbucks."

The Quinjet, after passing through a camouflage forcefield with the coordinates given by Steve Rogers, a Wakandan valley is what they fly through before landing in the palace just outside the Golden City. 

Where they are promptly greeted.

"Should we bow?"

Bruce slides on a nice blazer, walking next to Rhodey who answers him seriously, "Yeah, he's a king."

Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanoff lead as they approach King T'Challa.

"Seems like I'm always thanking you for something." Captain America shakes hands with the Black Panther, who grins with much compassion and friendliness.

His attention then turns to Dani Rockland who is behind Black Widow, and T'Challa knows what she is going to say.

"Where is she?"

Dani is absentmindedly glancing around the Golden City, almost as if she is looking for someone.

"Ms. Rockland."

Not who she is looking for. 

The thirteen-year-old is surprised by the sudden appearance of a sixteen-year-old, handsome Wakandan boy.

His voice is smooth, just like last time, and she nods politely, "Tarik. Nice to see you again."

"Please, any pleasure is but all mine. Welcome back."

He takes hold of one of her bracelet-covered wrists, and swiftly presses his lips atop her hand. 

He kisses her palm. 

The girl threatens to flush red. 

Dani keeps her nearly gaping mouth shut, pretending she is unbothered, "Where is she?"

She asks Tarik, who is still behaving amorously in a dazed distraction of the thirteen-year-old he had great chemistry with when she had first come here. Dani is not interested.

"Danielle!" A slightly accented but pure voice calls out, and immediately the enhanced teenager is very giddy—and for the first time this entire time, somewhat happy.

"Ania!"

The two girls make squealing noises as they embrace, their relationship previously established beforehand when they kept in touch for the last few years. They are good friends. They get along well.

The sixteen-year-old female pulls back from the thirteen-year-old, lips turned up into a teeth-revealing smile as grabs both of her blue-jacketed shoulders, "Oh my, I haven't seen you in so long! How are you?"

Dani stifles down any struggles and just forces on an even bigger smile, replying, "Not too bad. Except for the fact that the world is kind of ending . . ."

Ania laughs and proceeds to link hands with the girl while turning to meet the gaze of her father, and a man awkwardly clearing his throat is heard over their reunion when Bruce starts to bow.

Rhodey acts shocked, teasing, "What are you doing?"

The White Cat tilts her head to the side in confusion.

The Black Panther stops him with ushered hands, "Uh, we don't do that here."

Bruce gives Rhodes a look, meanwhile Dani and Ania glance at each other, the dark-skinned girl with a raised brow—and then the two break into fits of giggles.

"So, how big of an assault should we expect?" the Kingsguard of Wakanda leads the Avengers to the administrative building.

"Uh, sir," Bruce pipes up from the back, getting close to T'Challa, "I think you can expect quite a big assault."

Dani mutters under her breath, "That's for sure."

Ania hears it.

"How we looking?" Natasha inquiries.

 Black Panther informs, "You will have my Kings guard, the Border Tribe, the Dora Milaje—the fearless White Tiger, and . . . "

He motions, "A semi-stable 100-year-old man." 

Bucky Barnes with a new vibranium arm walks into frame, past Wanda who supports Vision as they are led elsewhere.

Steve wears a matching smile that his best friend has on and the two heartily embrace. Ania's features are soft as her father has a hand on his chin.

"How you been, Buck?"

"Not bad," The White Wolf answers, grin genuine as he looks at the situation, "for the end of the world."

"There is so much I must tell you." Ania Udaku grabs onto the girl as they walk with the group.

To which Dani Rockland simply responds with, "I'm sure there is."

They prepare for a Battle of Wakanda.

Wonder how things are going on the other neck of the woods?

Or . . . Planet.

❀☽ ❀☽ ❀☽

https://youtu.be/p_JXC884wAo

Happy spring my friends!!! Also here is a chapter with content I think all of us couldn't wait for...  Dani and Steve's reunion! (Was all kinds of awkward).

I mean, it wasn't that bad considering Dani was and IS firm in not trusting him OR Natasha, and that's just a call back to her very prominent issues with trusting people because of the trauma experienced as a child. Yikes. Rest assured, more things are gonna happen that I hope you are ready for (maybe some tissues and stress-relieve tactics because it's only gonna get more stressful from here.)

Thoughhhhhhh Dani and Ania, are two FORCES characters who are ACTUALLY FRIENDS!! Their personalities unlike Caitlyn and Dani mesh well together in the sense that they are pure innocent smol beans..... though one is definitely LESS traumatized and experienced. (Ania) You'll see how that will play out.

Anyways, I've got lots of energy rn and can't wait to keep writing this story and the next chapter, especially all the new Marvel content we've been getting UM HELLO I WON'T SPOIL it FOR ANYONE WHO HASN'T SEEN IT BUT EPISODE ONE OF THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER WAS AMAZING!!!!

I've always loved Sam and Bucky but what they did with the time they had and budget was SO GOOD! Writing is great and character development I think is on par!!!!! Makes me so excited to write *winks* ;)

Hope this chapter despite being a little dark, with the reunions, was enjoyable and leaves you hungry for more because now we need to check in with our girl Caitlyn and uh... These guys who are called The Guardians of the Galaxy?? Peter Quill?? CHRIS PRATT?? You'll have to tune in next time!

That's all for now, stay awesome possums!

Vote, comment, and follow me please to check out what else I write!!

Still editing chapters btw I made some new gifs for FORCEFIELD & TROUBLED YOUTH + I am hardcore editing TY rn so if you have not read it PLEASEEEEE give it a chance I think you will enjoy it also I republished my OC book and I wanna add more parts to it but rn I am swamped with schoolwork but very close to graduating!! Ahhh my senior year :(

Hugs and kisses my friends! Thanks for reading!!

~Alessandra ❤️ (dreamkept)