↻ ◁ II ▷ ↺

It was eerily silent as the father and daughter made eye contact. Diana cringed at how far her father had fallen in the month of her disappearance. Steve looked weak. His face was slightly sunken as if he hadn't eaten much, but that was nothing compared to his pasty skin that looked like he hadn't seen the sunlight in weeks.

Which was most likely true.

Diana's father looked weak as hell, yet he put on an act as his hands hit the glass holding him inside, "Diana? You're alive?!" He started to smile, "Oh thank god! I've been begging for weeks- months- I don't know how long I've been down here but they refused to even prove you were alive!"

She blankly stared at him as he continued to ramble on over how relieved he was to see her. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he just kept on talking. Random and meaningless words spoken as Diana barely listened. Taking her time to properly assess their respective prison. It was small, only seemed to have two cells inside. She was assuming Sawyer placed her here to try and get a rise out of seeing her father.

And it was working.

Every time he spoke Diana's name she felt another piece of herself die. She was struggling to stare at him. She'd never seen him so beat up before, bruises painted his skin as bandages stuck to random splotches of his body. Making her wonder just how much they put him through. How much he took probably thinking Diana was in danger.

Diana's stomach dropped more, as if he was this bad, what were they doing to the others? Tony? Natasha? Pepper?

"Songbird... what happened to you?" Diana wasn't sure why those were the words that stuck out to her the most, but for some reason they did.

She felt her face contort as she could no longer find the strength to face him, "I got caught," was all she could whisper. "I'm sorry."

"No. No Diana, don't you dare apologize for this. This wasn't your fault. You tried your best, but they got all of us. You can't go down that road," he tried his best to make his girl feel better... But it only made Diana feel worse, "No. I didn't... I... I didn't try at all. I had a chance to escape dad, and I didn't take it. I gave it up."

Steve let out a painful sigh as he pressed his hand on the glass, as if he was trying to reach for her, "Diana. Songbird, it's okay. I don't blame you for it. They're strong and... we were drugged and very unprepared."

Her eyeline went off into space as more water leaked from her goggles, stringing down her face, "I could've run. I should've. Hell, they all told me to, but-" Diana's lip quivered at the thought of what could've happened to those three people she came across. Her mind flashing back to Colette's bleeding arm moments before she pushed her through the portal.

"Songbird, please stop blaming yourself for this," Steve pleaded. "We fought a lot that night. Our emotions were running high... we were so unprepared and overwhelmed. I don't blame you for giving up."

"You should," Diana clenched her eyes together. "You should all blame me. I was so close to getting to Washington. So close to saving the day... but I gave it up and I don't regret it," she then admitted.

His face slightly tilted as the old questions of her safety seemed to be replaced with utter confusion of the situation, "Washington...?"

Diana sighed as her head rested against the cold wall. She had forgotten that he had been under the assumption Diana been here as long as he has, "Dad... I was never taken that night. They didn't get me for weeks."

His hand slowly fell from the glass, "...what?"

"I ran away," she simply shrugged. "I ran away after our fight. Looking back I think the only reason I was able to actually get away was because you were distracted. I didn't even know you were in danger until a couple days later."

Glancing back at her father she could see him flipping emotions like changing radio stations. Still Diana Rogers-Stark went on, "When I came back I was met by so many people with guns. I didn't know what was going on. So I did what I do best, I ran away... and I kept on running. Just like I always do."

"Songbird-"

"Don't," she stopped him from speaking. "Don't, just... just don't call me that right now. You have no idea what I went through these last few weeks."

Diana shifted to get more comfortable on the soft but coarse carpeting, "I was shot at, beat, chased... there were cops, bounty hunters, wannabe heroes, the list goes on. I went from the most beloved girl in the world to the most dangerous person on the planet. And," the captive sighed and contemplated telling him how she truly felt. "And it was awesome," but she did.

She started to smile at the thought of all she had went through. From the adrenaline rush of the car chases and close calls with police officers. To the warm feels she received as she ate McDonald's and watched mindless television in the filthy motel rooms. It was a feeling she couldn't quite place.

But it made her smile. A smile her father was able to see, "It was?" He asked.

"I met some people. Some really cool people," Diana breathed out a chuckle. "They helped me. Not that they had any real reason to either. There was nothing to gain. Hell, they actually lost a lot more. But... there they were. By my side the entire time."

The girl's sad smile became much more apparent as the thought of the four of them singing in the car played in her mind again. Watching Nathan hit the high notes as Harley drummed on her seat. Competing with Colette over the solos... it all made her get that feeling once more, "When I was with them... I've never felt that way before. I don't think I've ever been that happy before," her smile started to fade. "Then one night we got cornered. Colette was profusely bleeding and I didn't have enough energy to get us all out. They told me to leave them behind and get out but..." Diana shook her head, "I'm sorry dad."

"Diana... don't be sorry," Steve calmly told his love. "You did what you had to."

"I'm not sorry because I let myself get caught," she sniffled. "I'm sorry that I'm not. I'm not. I'm not sorry. I don't regret what I did and no matter what happens I won't, because I'm not sorry for what giving myself up. They would've died. It was my fault they were there and if I left them, I would've never been able to forgive myself."

It was silent for a few moments. Steve just looked at his child in sorrow as she continued to sniffle. The guilt of not regretting her actions was eating Diana alive, "Well? Aren't you going to say anything?" She asked with a hint of malice, "I just admitted how I doomed the entire team because of my selfish reasoning, and you are just staring at me. Yell at me. Scream. Say something!"

Then he said something she was not ready for, "I'm not mad at you."

That made her scoff, "You should be. You've been mad at me for way less."

"I'm not mad," he told Diana again.

Diana turned up her nose as he tried to comfort her. She didn't want comfort. She wanted to get yelled at. She needed to be. This was all her fault and Steve just talking was starting to piss the girl off.

"Diana, I don't know what you went through out there but I'm not going to scream at you for trying. It sounds like you protected your squad on the front lines, and that's not something I will scold," Steve explained. His hand pressed against the glass once more. "We are going to think of something, okay? We are gonna get out of this prison and make this place home again."

That made her sarcastically laugh, "Out of this prison? Dad, this," Diana used her boxed hands to gesture to the glass cage she was in. "Has been my life for as long as I can remember. You may think this is new to me but I've never left my glass prison. I've just been passed around from warden to warden and for the longest time you've had the keys."

His eyes widened as she felt herself become heated, "I was so lost out there. I didn't know anything. I didn't even know what money properly was or how hard it was to get and keep. I didn't know how the world works and to be honest I still don't. I would've been dead or taken ten times over if it wasn't for my friends and that's on you. Because you kept inside this stupid compound."

She glared at him and kept going, "You say you did it to protect me, and it could be true considering that bounty on my head, but that doesn't excuse how you did it to me. You left me in the dark. A prisoner."

Giving another glance at her father, Diana could see him looking just as guilty as herself, "Yeah... I did."

"Do you wanna know why I always tried to run away to begin with?" Diana struggled out a breath as she finally told him the truth after over a year of holding it in, "Because I hated my life. I always have... there's nothing good in it."

"Diana, no. Please don't say that-"

"It's true though. Everything about it is true, at least for a while now," she shifted in her position. "All these rules, regulations, stupid parties and conferences... It's all bullshit. I didn't want this life. You knew that," she told him. "I didn't want to be an avenger. You know what I wanted. What I've always wanted. For fuck sakes you were the one who helped me get back into singing after Loki terrified me. I wanted to sing my entire life and you knew that."

Steve sighed, "I know that."

"Do you? 'Cause it seems like you don't," she sniffled. "I get that I have a duty to help people because of who I am and what I can do, but that doesn't take away my choice to say no. It's sad that a group of kids I barely know are the ones who had to actually spell it out for me. It's my life. Mine. I get to choose how I look, how my hair is styled and coloured and what I wear. This is actually the very first outfit I've ever chosen for myself, and I look amazing."

Steve, with more tears visible from his eyes nodded, "Yeah. You do."

Diana felt her eyes start to burn as she let out everything out, "I'm not- I'm not a kid anymore and it sucks. It's not even just you. It's as if everyone in this entire facility forgets that I've never had a life like most of you had. I've never gone to school. I've never made real friends. I can't even go outside without five people watching me. I'm now fifteen-years-old and I've never had a childhood. That's why I kept running away. Because I wanted one. I wanted to be someone who else and the more you took away from me the more I wanted to leave."

Steve allowed her to rant as she just kept on going, "And then I met them. My friends. Real friends. They showed me these things they considered normal and it was amazing. But I couldn't even enjoy it because the entire time I was with them at the back of my mind I was thinking my family might be dead. Even in my happiest moments, I'm still miserable."

"Diana, I..."

"You what?" She asked, "You're sorry? Is that what you're gonna tell me? I've had enough apologies for a life time. Maybe instead of telling me you're sorry you could tell me why the hell you did this to me. Why the hell was I forced to do this shit? Why couldn't I go to school? Why did you take my opportunity of being normal away?"

Her foggy glare made him let out another sigh. Diana watched his hand run down his face as he sat back. The gears turned in his mind as he tried to find the words. Then he shrugged, "You're right. You have the right to know," he didn't look at her as his sunken hands ran over the bruised skin. "I wasn't ready to take you in at first. I was scared and I didn't feel like I could give you the life you deserved."

She just listened to him as he went on, "But could you blame me? For everyone else I've been gone for decades, but... for me, it was seconds. I went from fighting in the war to being thrusted into a new world. Wondering why I survived, why I was still here. Then not long after I was told the one person I loved more than anything was just gone. Dead for years and she didn't even get to live the life I sacrificed my own for her to have."

He let out a staggered breath, "Morgan was just... gone. Then after months they finally said you survived and what you went through... I couldn't face you. Not that I even could if I was ready as Tony was fighting me on custody," he huffed. "I didn't feel like I was worthy of you and because of that I kept pushing back meeting you. Then that fear led to you being taken. If I had just pushed to meet you earlier, than maybe you wouldn't have been taken by Loki that day."

His fingers ran over a wedding ring he had made after he came out of the ice. As even in death Morgan was still the only one who held his heart.

Diana just slowly blinked as she watched him struggling to relive the past. It was rather strange. She had never seen him act like that before. Never vulnerable. Guilty. Seeing Steve Rogers in that light was not normal, and Diana didn't like it.

"When you got taken by Loki I made a promise to myself. I would protect you no matter the cost and I..." he gritted his teeth, "I failed it over and over again."

She watched him become more upset with himself, "When I saw you for the first time I lost any fear I carried. I fell in love with you immediately, and I realized the reason I was still alive was for you. To protect you," he pointed at his daughter. "I listened to instructions, followed Shield's protocols and did everything in my power to make sure you weren't taken from me again..."

"...but I was," Diana replayed the day 'Shield' had taken them both hostage and separated the pair.

He nodded, "Yeah. Yeah, you were. You were taken right in front of me and I couldn't stop it," he choked on a sniffle. "I can still hear you screaming for me before I was knocked out."

Diana started to think back to that entire situation. How scared she was of what would happen to herself, that she had forgot just how scared Steve probably was. Come to think of it... Diana never did ask how he was after she was rescued.

"Then I let you have a break when we lived in the tower... and that's where I think I messed up," he exclaimed. "When Ultron came you were so unprepared. Not working out for over a year led to you being a little out of shape... not to mention what I saw from Wanda's spell."

"Your nightmare?" Diana questioned him, "What do you mean? When I asked, you said you saw yourself back on the plane before you went into the ice."

He shook his head, "That's what I told you, but... what I actually saw was you on the plane."

She blinked a few times, "What?"

"Diana... I've never gone into what properly happened the night I went in the ice, and they never released the tape of my last transmission," he explained. "Morgan was on the other line, begging me to find another way but we both knew there wasn't one. She eventually started singing me through it, keeping my mind off of things so I would die peacefully. But in my nightmare..."

"You were in mom's place and I was in yours?"

He nodded, "Yeah," Steve wiped his nose. "That's when I snapped. I let my old ways try to keep you looking how I dreamed professional. I didn't want anything to happen to you, so I thought that if I kept you under lock and key, if I made sure you stayed on a proper training regiment, if I kept you with me at all times you'd be safe. You were but... I lost you in the process."

Fresh tears started to trickle down as Diana had to use her sleeve to wipe her own nose, "Do you think we can save this? Us?"

"I don't know," he sighed. "I'd like us to."

She sniffled out a ghost of a smile, "So would I."

"But one thing is for certain... I've never been happier with you," his words made her freeze.

"What?"

He was now fully smiling as more of his tears fell to the carpet, "You did something that you felt was necessary. You went out and you tried. That's all that matters, that you tried."

"But I-"

"Don't," he cut the girl off. "You did more than enough. You knew we were in danger and you knew backup was necessary. You made a plan, created a squad and did everything you were supposed to. Then when you were cornered you stayed behind to make sure your team made it out safely. You did everything a good leader should and I am so proud of you for that. I am so proud."

The girl's mismatched eyes widened as those words came out of his mouth, "What...?"

"You found your drive. You found your fight," he pointed at his daughter. "Fighting doesn't always mean physical. You surrendered for them, you saved them. I am so, so proud of you for that."

Diana's lip started to curl up, even if she was confused, "Really?"

He nodded, "I've never been prouder of you, my Diana."

She wasn't too sure why those words hit her so hard, but they did. Diana couldn't help but properly chuckle as her lips turned into a smile. The teen's body started to feel that warmness again. Eyes glistening at her father's prideful smile, seeing him looking at her with determination, "We're gonna get out of this and we're gonna fix this. I promise you."

"I believe you," she said, and she actually meant it.

Then as if Diana had done something wrong his face shifted again, this time going casusious. She gave him a strange look before noticing the glow around her. Seeing the many small pockets surrounding her person, "What the..." Steve froze. "Another... upgrade?"

She gave a slight cringe. Remembering Steve didn't know about her newest ability yet. So him seeing the millions of ping pong sized portals surrounding her must've been a little worrying, "Yeah... they uh... happen whenever I'm really happy I think. I can't control them though," Diana meekly admitted.

"Can you make 'em bigger?" He asked.

She shook her head, "No. I can't... but I can move them," Diana realized.

Her mismatched eyes started to look between her cell and the glass. Trying to think of some sort of plan. On cue, Diana tried to reach up for her necklace, forgetting about the box her hands were trapped in for a moment. That's when it hit her.

Diana Rogers-Stark used her leg to help roll her sleeve up so her skin could latch onto the portal and move it into position, "What are you doing?" Steve asked as she placed the portals into position.

"Have you ever heard of the game Portal?" She asked. "'Cause a good friend of mine taught me this cool move in the game and I think I can do it if I just..."

Diana brought the box up towards her necklace and was able to hook it underneath and pull, breaking the chain. Once the music note pendant was on the ground Diana used her shoe to move it into one of the pockets, making it fall from above. After moving a few more pockets, she was able to make it continuously fall through the same two portals.

Diana watched as the pendant continuously fell through a never ending cycle, lifting her boxed hands and as if she were swinging a bat, hit the pendant at the glass wall. Cracking it. The crack then started to spiderwebbed until it quickly shattered onto the floor. She looked at her father as a loud siren started to blast throughout the room. Lights now flashing red as they simply stared at one another.

Realizing time is of the essence, Diana ran over to him and started to bang on his cell with her box. Hitting it over and over and over again, but to no avail. It started to hurt a little more with each time she struck the glass. Eventually Diana noticed the overarching crack coming from the centre of her prison.

The doors started to slowly open as they could hear yelling over the horns. Her father looked at her as she went even faster, trying to help him escape, "Diana, you have to get out of here-"

"Not without you! No! Not this time-"

"DIANA!" His scream made her stop. His eyes stared directly into Diana's soul as he smirked, "Do what you do best."

She started to breathe a little heavier as the doors fully opened. Many of the men entered with all pointing guns at the girl. Yelling at her to surrender. Diana then looked back at Steve Rogers; and with a determined nod she promised, "I won't let you down."

"You never could."

Seeing the group, she steadied herself before running directly towards them, using her crutch to her advantage as she was able to push past them. Doing what Diana always did and ran as fast as she could, avoiding as many guards as she could. All chased her through the halls while she kept hitting the box on items she passed. Eventually she noticed the crack growing with every hit on the box.

Diana waited until she knew it was large enough and did something her friend Natasha had taught her years ago. Lifting her bound hands above her head, Diana brought them down with force. She pulled her wrists apart, breaking the box in half.

Not even two seconds later she created a pocket underneath herself. Transporting to the floor above. Diana knew if someone was in the control room, where they had every single security camera, they'd probably find her, but a few seconds was good than none.

Ripping off her goggles, she realized she was on the main floor. Still, she ran. Not stopping till she saw the conference room she was brought to originally, with the door open. Diana would've kept going if it wasn't for the security screen still playing.

Her tired feet halted as Diana watched the live footage of the Avenger. Some looked absolutely terrible. Wanda especially as she sat on the floor with a straight jacket. Her lips parted as her eyes moved from camera to camera, watching how everyone was in the same situation as she and her father were.

They had no way out. They probably didn't even know what was going on.

Diana's vision slightly shifted toward the window overlooking the ocean. If she made the right pocket, Diana could easily get outside. She didn't need to be sneaky unlike her many attempts in the past. It was only a hop skip and a jump away. Diana could finally escape like she always dreamed of. But was she really going to leave them again?

No. No, Diana wouldn't.

She huffed as she thought about the main control room. If Diana got there, she could potentially open all the cells. Distracting Sawyer's men and help get her friends out.

Diana threw out her hand and made a large enough pocket to run through, running straight towards the main control room.

Diana Rogers-Stark was done running away.

As she did her best to get to her destination, people kept chasing her. Diana found it hard to know her energy levels without her watch telling the girl her exact percentage, but this time she had no choice but to just guesstimate.

Diana made multiple pockets sending her into the rooms above, below, five feet in front of where she was, sideways, you name it. Doing her best to throw off the guards. Legs pumped when she went past a certain room that made her do a double take.

Within moments, the runaway grunted, and skidded, creating a large pocket appear behind the guards and ran inside that specific room. Locking herself inside quickly before looking around the very special room she had made it inside. The hardest question being... what weapons should Diana take from the Avengers' official dressing room?

She didn't question it long. Throwing on whatever she could reach and prepared herself for the door to open. As she watched the door bend, her blue eye caught a special piece of equipment. She hesitated only for a moment before grabbing her father's iconic weapon and attaching it to her back. Right as the door open.

Not that the man would have much time to grab the child as the arrow she sent into his chest sent the closest to the ground.

Diana used Clint's bow to hit a few more of them before throwing it in the distance so I could run. She didn't stop. Kept going as she used Natasha's spider-bite brackets to taze a few more. She took Tony's watch off and hit the right combination inside before she threw it in front of herself. Causing it to self-destruct. Heading to the next floor she then rolled Sam's smoke bombs to distract the others, finally making it inside the control room and locked the door, seeing it surprisingly empty.

Diana threw herself towards the computer and quickly started typing. Using some of Tony's codes to bypass the system. Diana was able to see the thousands of cameras surrounding the building, with not much activity outside as she continued to work.

She was so close to being able to open it before Diana felt something, or rather someone, behind her. A loud ping went off as the bullet bounced off her father's shield she used it for cover from Sawyer Barnes' gun.

"Aw, little slaves trying to be like her daddy," Sawyer cooed before gagging. "You really are brainwashed."

"And you're so jealous I was saved and you weren't," she shot back as they ran at each other.

The pair started to tussle, throwing insults at each other, "Just stop fighting me, Di! You were like a sister to me!"

Diana didn't respond properly. Grunting as the two super soldiered girls fought. The younger one getting a good right hook in.

"We could've run this place together! The world could've been ours!" Sawyer hit Diana in the face.

"I don't want it," Diana screamed as Sawyer grabbed her scalp and pulled her closer.

"You are such a child, you know that?! There is no good or bad. There are just people who give and people who take," her grip tightened. "It was ours to take! Take it from the people who hated you!"

Diana looked up at her. Staring her in the eye before chuckling, "Too bad I don't want it."

Sawyer, now enraged, was about to hit the teen again before the sound of something strange could be heard from the monitors outside. The two stopped fighting to see what the commotion was. Their eyes then widen for very different reasons as they focused on the screens.

Outside the compound was a swarm of helicopters circling Diana's home, "What the...?" Sawyer trailed off as they could see the literal army of soldiers and marines storming the place.

Diana felt her heart start to beat a little faster as she realized what had happened, "They actually made it," she joyfully chuckled as blood dripped down her face.

Sawyer snapped her head back to the girl, gripping her hair tightener, "Did what? What the fuck did you do?!"

Diana simply smiled at her as she could feel the blood gushing down her nose, "It's just like you said... The world is a give and take system, and so are friends," she flashed her teeth as Diana knew her friends were alive. "I had to give myself up so they could take the footage of my family to the authorities. You're done Barnes."

She gritted her teeth before letting out a gigantic scream, slamming Diana's face into the desk. The girl gasped as she stared to tussle with the older girl on the ground. Diana trying desperately to get to the laptop so she could free her family. Though Sawyer kept pulling her back every chance she got.

Sawyer forced Diana to the ground as the girl clawed at the Barnes' face. The women straddle the Rogers-Stark as she grabbed Diana's father's shield and even as the girl did her best to stop Sawyer or avoid it, it was no use. The shield still came down.

And it came down against her left arm, hard.

Suddenly an overwhelming sensation took over as Diana Rogers-Stark let out the loudest noise she had ever mustered. She could feel the bubble in her throat coming closer to her uvula as Diana convulsed, shrieking in pure agony.

Sawyer threw her hands over her ears as the room literally shook. Still, with painful tears stringing down her face the Rogers grabbed the closest thing to her and hit the Barnes over the head. Making Sawyer slam into the floor, knocking her out cold.

Diana continued to aggressively sob as she glanced at the injury. Able to see how the shield stuck in her skin, resting vertically right after the elbow on her left arm.

To stop herself from screaming anymore, Diana grabbed a wad of her own shirt and stuffed it into her mouth. Muffling her agonizing whimpers as she went to remove the weapon. In such a state of shock she didn't even realize that when she removed the shield, she had in fact removed it from the tile ground and not her person. As when sawyer brought it down, it had severed the parts from each other.

Still, it didn't stop her from focusing on the screens. Diana dragging herself towards the keyboard and pressed a single button. Enter. Allowing all the cell doors open.

Diana wasn't too sure if it was happiness or just a shock and loss of blood, but she started to laugh again. She could no longer stay sitting up and slipped back to the floor. Laughing her ass off as she stared up at the ceiling. Her blood pooled around her entire person as she forgot about her worries. A sense of déjà vu happened in history that night.

When Morgan Stark-Rogers had died she was alone. Crushed by burning debris as she rested on the ground. Blood resting around her person like a halo above. Found by her brother resting so peacefully on the ground. A smile on her face as she rested for eternity.

So when it was her daughter's turn, she was in a similar state. Diana didn't fight the feeling of letting go as she smiled. Proud and grateful for what she did as she closed her eyes.

"How's that for a Rupunzel, eh?" Diana giggled as she prepared to die. Welcoming the feeling.

Passing out right as her father burst through the door, "Diana!?"

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