𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐈𝐗𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍 || 𝘈 𝘋𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘈 𝘋𝘰𝘻𝘦𝘯

"TONY, CAN YOU JUST PLEASE CONSIDER HAVING 5 OF THOSE BOTS SET ASIDE FOR FINDING MY DAUGHTER? For all we may know, she may be captured by HYDRA!" Martin exclaimed, head in his hands. Eyes hazy with exhaustion and hours of sleep deprivation.

Tony, on the other side of the call, sighed. "Martin, I've told you countless times, there is nothing we can do. I have no real way of finding out and having those prototypes flying around the city would cause panic," he explained. "Nova is a girl with many capabilities. She survived space for crying out loud and is a highly trained soldier. I'm sure they put her through S.E.A.R. training, so, Natasha and Steve will handle it. Just take some time away from work, okay?"

Although he wished to protest, Martin exhaled heavily and ended the call without another word. He slumped his chair and stared at the screens in his lab. Watching the tracker of Nova's cuff get closer and closer each minute.

For days, he'd been fuming with anxiety over where she could've been. She hadn't called him after her latest mission or even came by the lab. And when he decided to try and initiate calling, he found an empty line. He decided to just follow the tracker and felt perplexed by what she could've been doing. But he pressed on and took note of every location she visited.

Until he got that call from Sam Wilson who knew the code. Martin decided to poke around the man's files and found he served in the military. Although there wasn't much he could go further into as the files were drenched in black ink, he knew well enough that the man seemed like Nova's crowd.

Still, it hadn't shaken the fear from his bones. Knowledgable that if he tried to berate her, it might only push her further away. So, he was willing to try to keep his silver tongue and truly understand the gravity of the situation that Nova decided she needed his suit.

His thoughts were provoked when the front door to the lab/warehouse opened. The hingers squealed faintly before the light that projected from outside was closed off. Nova was now insight and sporting a noticeable limp in her step. Martin had wondered what he would do if he saw her again, but he thought she would be in a better condition.

"Here I am, worried shitless, but I should've known you would find trouble." He stood from his place opened a drawer and grabbed an injector. Approaching his daughter with a raised brow, he asked, "What's the severity?"

"Glad to see you too," she huffed a small laugh. "Burns along my back, third degree. A few cuts along my arms. Probably an 8 out of 10."

He hummed, pressing the button on the top of the injector and the needle pierced her shoulder. She flinched, but the pain subsided quickly when the liquid entered her bloodstream. Almost entirely numbing the points of injury entirely. "What is this stuff?" She inquired.

"Gen-D. Produced for hospitals and paramedics with individuals in extreme pain from life-threatening accidents. It's supposed to make procedures go by smoothly," he explained. "How'd you get here?" Martin muttered, gently pulling the needle from her shoulder, wiping the entry point of any blood.

"Took a friend's vehicle. Listen, Dad, I don't have much time-"

"Do you know how fucking worried I was?" Martin's steel tone shocked Nova. Staring up at the man who swallowed the lump in his throat. "I know I don't have any right to get angry with you, but you didn't call. So, I jumped to worst-case scenarios."

Although he was partially corrected, Nova couldn't help but feel at least a little guilty. After a year, she built a healthy relationship with Martin. Staying connected by phone calls and occasional visits to the lab. Her assistance with some of the Iron Legion allowed them to bond in the only thing they found comfort in. And Nova would dare say that her heart had finally started to heal after he abandoned her. She knew that their relationship meant just as much to her as it did to him. So, she understood entirely where he was coming from.

"You have every right to be angry, all right? My only excuse is that things have been rather complicated with S.H.I.E.L.D. and I haven't got much time to think," she explained with a sigh. "So, please, just save the yelling for when I've dealt with the problem Nick created."

Martin nodded in understanding, placing the injector on his desk. "Before you can man the suit, we need to calibrate the implant already in your head to the suit." He pulled out a seat for her beside him at his desk as he began to type across his keyboard. Pulling up the software that immediately connected to hers. But the sound of something powering up caused her to flinch, looking behind to see a circular seem in the floor begin to lift. A large compartment appeared revealing the "gift" Tony had mentioned to her countless times.

The suit was a sleek gloss black that had similarities with her first and second suits. Wings along the back to help with aerodynamics, thrusters on the back, and an orange and black colour scheme. Each limb was heavily decked out with armour plates, resembling a tank of sorts. It was bulky, by the standards of it being human-sized. Any exposure of open flesh was limited to the pelvis and elbows for easy movement.

"Tony and I researched our tests on your powers and we managed to find a way for you to gain some sort of control over your powers until you felt the child lock wasn't needed anymore." Walking around the suit, Martin pointed to the arc core, similar to Tony's. "The arc core will maintain and almost mitigate your powers. Allowing certain limits of outputs at once and even suppress them if you wish."

Motioning with his hand across the suit, he explained. "Nanominium makes each piece of armour. So, it might take time to get used to the weight. But we thinned them out enough that they can still be enough to protect you from gunfire and be easy to adjust." He then lifted one of the arms and pointed to the glow in the center of the palm. "Repulsors. These only fire your electricity and are powered by the arc."

Sighing, the main waved dismissively to the rest of the part. "Rockets emerge from the shoulders, wings, thrusters in the boots, night/infrared vision in the helmet–standards with the additions to help you get comfortable," he explained, offering a warm smile. "So, what do you think? Did mine and Tony's combined thinking meet your expectations?"

Nova could hardly contain the inner child from spilling to the surface. The ingenuity of the suit was a spectacle. Maybe nothing like Tony's suits, but in Nova's eyes, she could see her work come to life. And with the spin of two people she deeply admired, it made it all that more heartwarming.

"I love it-" Before she was able to finish, a newscast appeared on one of the monitors, its jingle grabbing the pair's attention.

"Breaking news: A shootout had occurred Downtown with multiple individuals seemingly in pursuit of three fugitives. It's too early to say who these fugitives are and who the chasers are- we wait for further details related to the incident."

"That's Natasha," Nova muttered, lips slightly parting. But the shock soon subsided with her attention shifting to her suit. "I need to get this one, now."

Martin also acted in haste, running to his computer. "I will calibrate the implant as fast as I can. You might feel a tiny burning sensation but it's nothing too..." his words drifted as he loomed closer to one of his monitors, "serious. Wait, what the fuck?"

"Dad, what is it?" Nova questioned, slipping inside the suit and beginning to buckle down the armour.

"Two escalades down the road and a bogey coming in. 2 minutes tops."

Cooper.

Acting quickly, Nova attached the armour and zipped up the central piece before grabbing her helmet. "Wipe the computer onto a hard drive. I need to get you out of here," she stated, moving to her father's side.

"What about my equipment?" He questioned hysterically. "This is the only lab housing Gen-D. I lose that, I lose all my work for the past year."

She almost wanted to slap the man for being so attached to something that he could replicate or even improve. But she could see the genuine fear in his eyes about the substance. And it wasn't something related to the APEX suits, which only made it harder for her to disregard his worries.

Biting her bottom lip, Nova sighed. "Fine. I can buy you some time."

"What're you going to do?"

"I'm going to cut the vehicles off and get Cooper's attention," she explained. "That'll give you enough time to get everything you need, get in your car, and get to the nearest safehouse or lab you know of. Something off the books from S.H.I.E.L.D."

When she turned to leave, the man called out. "Wait!" She stopped, turning to the man who undid the cuff and quickly deactivated it. "Now you can go."

A smirk tugged at her lips and with that, Nova slipped the helmet on and ran to the door. Already feeling the slight buckle in her legs from the suit's weight. It wasn't anything overbearing like her last suit, but it was noticeable.

Stepping outside, Nova activated her thrusters and shot into the air. She gained an altitude that allowed her to see far enough down the road and spot the 2 black escalades.

"Alright, Dad. Let's see what new additions you made." Lifting her arms, a single missile glowing with electricity around them emerged from each wrist. Firing them made her shoulders kick back, only reminding her of the injuries.

But she watched those two missiles hit each truck and they exploded with a blue emp. From what she could understand, the steering wheels locked up and caused each vehicle to turn into vehicles parked along the edge of the road, crashing.

"Well, that's dealt with- OOF!" Nova was shoulder-tackled by whom she could already guess to be Cooper. Hitting his back as his fingers dug into her back, the Gen-D's effects were not even able to help her from that.

Eliciting a yell, she grabbed one of Cooper's thrusters and twisted it. "You should've just quit when you had the chance!" He yelled, punching her in the stomach and grabbing her wrist. "I wouldn't have to do this!"

Nova ground her teeth, fighting against his strength and angling her hand just enough to fire off a blast from her repulsor that charred the side of his helmet. It stunned him for a few moments, kicking her away. She could barely gain her bearings before she collided with the roof of a house. The wood broke upon her impact as she rolled across the shingles and soon hit the ground. A painful screech of metal meeting concrete pierced her ears.

Clearly, the calibration wasn't complete considering she would banked on a dime if she was in her original suit. Shaking her head, she saw Cooper coming toward her. She rolled out of the way just in time for him to fly past her.

Standing to her feet, she rolled her shoulders and sighed. "Alright, Coop. Let's see what you got." He pulled a gradual 180 and began his approach toward her. "C'mon, Cooper. C'mon!"

When he got close enough Nova timed her pivot on her front foot and moved to the side and swung her fist down. It was perfect how she punched the man in the back of the head and caused him to collide with the ground, tearing up the concrete with his speed dissipating quickly.

She walked up the trail of destroyed rubble and soon stood over Cooper's limp body. His visor blinked, the power flickering on and off. Grabbing the back of it, she ripped it off and stared at Cooper's dishevelled features. Blood leaking from his nose and sweat dripping from his hairline. He stared up at her in a daze, swallowing the lump in his throat.

Tossing the helmet to the side, she grabbed the cuff of his suit and yanked him up. Her eyes pierced his own as she whispered, "You clearly haven't learned anything from our time together. And I should kill you for betraying me." She pressed her palm to the side of the head, the repulsor whirling to life as the man hissed from the stinging pain in his temple. But when it reached the point of singing his skin, she stopped herself. "But I won't. I want you to realize the failure you've become."

Dropping him slack in the rubble, she turned. "Stop coming after me, Coop. Figure out who the real enemy me before you come after the person who has done nothing but pulled you from the shitter." And without another word, her thrusters activated and she shot into the air.

Unable to shake the guilt and pain in her chest. It suffocated her like a copper wire around a joint. Cutting off the circulation of blood, slowly immobilizing the limb. She never wanted things to go the way they were. If she could, she would've put Cooper right by her side fighting against their true enemies. But he was stubborn in certain areas of his mind and she had no way of knowing what nugget Pierce put in his head to make him act a certain way.

"Nova, this is Martin. Come in." The radio frequency was slightly mangled. Her father's voice garbled with static, fading in and out of coherency.

"Dad, I'm here." Her implant adjusted the frequency to come out clearer.

"I made it out of the lab with everything. I had Tony prepare a location for me and I'm heading there right now." Relief washed over Nova with a gentle smile forming on her lips.

"Okay, stay put. I'll contact you when I get everything solved on our end," she told him. "Don't contact anyone besides Tony. He's the one person outside of all this that you can trust."

"I got it, but I need to tell you something." There was a pause. It may not have been purposeful, but it had Nova's body tensing as she soared through the sky. Anticipation is building in the center of her gut. And when she was about to prod at what he meant, he spoke, "I got a location sent to me. It belongs to Nick."

And that's when her body ran cold.

"THIS MAN DECLINED THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE," Fury said aloud, staring at a photo of a young Alexander Pierce. "He said peace wasn't an achievement, it was a responsibility."

Dropping the photo, Fury leaned forward and looked at the group. "See, it's stuff like this that gives me trust issues."

"We have to stop the launch," Natasha spoke up, grunting from the needle gliding through her skin. Nova still stuck at the back of her mind.

"I don't think the Council or are accepting my calls anymore." Pulling open a small briefcase, three large chips could be seen. All identical to one another.

Sam was the first one to question it. "What's that?"

"Once the Helicarriers reach 3,000 feet, they'll triangulate with Insight satellites, becoming fully weaponized," Agent Hill announced, showing her laptop that gave a brief visual description. X-ray blueprints and directions to a waypoint that glowed.

"We need to breach those carriers and replace their targeting blades with our own," Fury added.

"One or two won't cut it," Hill said. "We need to link all three carriers for this to work, because even if one of those ships remains operational a whole lotta people are gonna die."

"We have to assume everyone aboard those carriers is HYDRA," he stated. "We have to get past them, insert these server blades. And maybe, just maybe we can salvage what's left-"

Before he could finish, Steve finally spoke up. "We aren't salvaging anything," he exclaimed. "We aren't just taking down the carriers, Nick. We're taking down, S.H.I.E.L.D."

"S.H.I.E.L.D. had nothing to do with this."

"You gave me this mission. This is how it ends," Steve stood his ground. "S.H.I.E.L.D.'s been compromised. You said so yourself. HYDRA grew right under your nose and nobody noticed."

"Why do you think we're meeting in this cave?" Fury questioned. "I noticed."

"How many paid the price before you did?"

That was enough to silence Fury as he glanced at Hill before looking back at the Captain. "Look, I didn't know about Barnes."

"Even if you had, would you have told me? Or would you have compartmentalized that, too?" Steve asked. "S.H.I.E.L.D., HYDRA, it all goes"

"He's right." Maria Hill agreed, earning a surprised look from Fury who looked to Natasha who shared the same sentiment.

Then he looked at Sam, who shrugged dismissively. "Don't look at me. I just do what he does, just slower."

Fury looked defeated at that point, leaning back in his chair and sighing. "It looks like you're giving the orders now, Captain."

Before the conversation could go any further, their attention shifted to a loud blast that came from the entrance. Turned to a figure flying through the air toward them and only stopping once they elevated at the door.

"Nova!" Natasha stood up from her spot, ignoring the doctor who encouraged her to stay seated so he could finish. But her eyes stayed fixated on the girl who peeled off her helmet and smiled at her. Able to spot the scratches and smudges of dirt scattered across her armour. "What happened? Are you hurt?" Her hands held Nova's shoulders, eyes carefully scanning her.

The girl couldn't contain the small laugh that slipped from her lips. "Nat, I'm fine. Just ran into some trouble at the lab. Got a good fight in with Cooper," she explained, brushing her gloved hands across her chest. Although her smile might've been genuine, she couldn't stop it from faltering at the sight of her father.

He wasn't dead. He was very much alive and looked worse for ware. But he was breathing. That was what mattered. Still, she could only find a semblance of fiery hate bubbling in her belly as she turned her gaze back to Nat, forcing a smile.

"What's the plan?"

They filled her in on every step they had to take with the targeting blades and three Hellicarriers that were the primary targets. She gave multiple points of possible insertion on each carrier. It brought her back to a stable foundation of military planning that she hadn't had in years. Back when she was another ground troop with Natasha and Clint. It was reinvigorating, to say the least.

"I can provide air support. Cooper is going to gunning to stop all of you, so I can keep him occupied long enough for you all to sabotage the ships," Nova explained with a huff. "I would contact my father and ask for assistance with the APEX Legance, but they're caught up in Iraq at the moment."

"I think I can solve that." She turned to Nick, who glanced at her and the others. "I still have contact and control on Meridian. There might be some assistance they can provide for the assault."

Although his words were acknowledged, she didn't give him the privilege of her attention. If anything, he had a small amount of it. Not enough that would make her say thanks to his contribution. Just enough for her to glance in his direction once more and continue her conversation with the others.

Eventually, the group sectioned off for their preparation in the next 2 hours. Steve and Sam left to obtain his old suit from WW2. The reason why was still unaware to Nova, but she didn't mind spending the preparation as time to ready the weapons. Cleaning the barrels and loading up magazines. The process was a tedious task to most, but therapeutic to Nova, and that was only because Natasha conditioned her to enjoy it.

Her eyes flickered to the reflection of her helmet. Able to make out the worse for ware Nick Fury approaches apprehensively. And the sight alone made her body straighten in its posture. Staring at the blank concrete wall opposite her she injected another bullet into the magazine.

"I'm glad you aren't injured from all of this," was the first words that fell from his lips and Nova stifled a humourless laugh. Natasha glanced over from her own table, looking between the pair cautiously. "I didn't know if Martin would've been able to relay our location-"

The sudden thud of the magazine clattering against the table silenced the man. Bullets shaking from their idle positions and rolling across the surface. Nova grasped the edge of the table and shook her head. Lips faintly trembling with an exasperated exhale filling the air. "God, I fucking hate you."

Nick pursed his lips. "I never wanted to try and scare you-"

"I thought about what I would say to you if I had another chance. But if I knew you would've pulled this fucking move, I would've decided to kill you myself," Nova explained, sniffling. "I bet you don't even know the type of shit storm you caused for Booker and me. I bet you didn't even THINK about how we felt about this."

"I did it to keep you safe." Nova scoffed and Nick pressed further. "I had to protect you."

"That is bullshit, Dad," she spat harshly. "You just didn't have the nerve to face me."

"I knew you would react like this."

The sheer amount of speed she performed to spin around made Nick flinched. She inhaled sharply, staring at him incredulously. "How would you react?" She exclaimed. "You lied to us! I've been so busy trying to process my feelings and cleaning up your mess that I don't even know how Booker is handling the situation. He doesn't even know you're alive!"

Recognizing that only made Nova's emotions flare in all different directions. Was he back in the depression he managed to weasel himself out of a year ago? Or was he dead from alcohol poisoning? She didn't even want to think about it. She couldn't handle feeling responsible for any more loss.

But the man in front of her made it very hard for her to think about anybody else besides her own heartache. She's suffered so much over someone who didn't even think to save her this little bit of pain. He didn't think of her. He didn't think of Booker. All he thought about was his task force. Everything else came second or last.

"For years, you never treated Booker and me like your kids. Priscilla was the only one that encouraged us to act like kids. You've been a terrible father and it's about time you heard it," Nova confessed between cracks in her voice. "I let it go because I wanted to be acknowledged, and unlike Booker, I was willing to put up with your shit for years."

"Lie to me." Nick frowned, unsure what Nova was referring to. "Lie to me and make me feel like a piece of shit. Did you love me or not?"

His gradual silence, like he was conflicted with what he wanted to say only made the pain in her chest worse. "Answer me!"

"Why are you angry-"

"I am not angry, I am in pain, Dad!" She wept, uncaring of the focus she held on the others in the room. "I've been in pain for as long as I've known you and you put me here. The man who is supposed to love me unconditionally and be there for me when I need him most."

Lifting up the sleeve of her left arm, she displayed the myriad of scars that clung to that single limb. A small amount in comparison to the ones across her body. "You see those? The ones faintly lost beneath the bullet wounds and the burns? That's the type of pain you left me with every single day since I was a child!" She spat. "Mom made me choose to take pills or to be sad and risk killing myself. I thought about it long and hard. Wondering if the numbness would be better for me in the long run. But I chose the pain because I wanted to be loved and accepted by you. Just the faintest amount of validation could make my day a little better."

"I'm a dime a dozen! So are you! I am not a normal person and neither are you!" Nova stated, body movement showing the hysterics she was lost in. "You have never been more than a boss to your two children. And us? We're an afterthought! I tried everything to make you proud, but it cost my happiness over your approval!" A tear slid down her cheek, a look of realization crossing her features as she laughed to herself.

As much as she hated it, the bridge of the lie connected to exactly who he was. That is an undeniable fact that everyone didn't want to admit. At times he showed potential of being something more than just his work. But it felt like every single one of those times, he decided he needed to be "the leader of S.H.I.E.L.D." and ruin every bit of evolution of his character. Because although he wanted her to separate his decisions from who he was in her life, she couldn't find the strength to. If she did, she would have to act like he his disappearance as a father didn't affect either her or Booker.

Nova nibbled on her bottom lip, shaking her head. "An afterthought- that's what we are to you."