Disclaimer : I don't own any character, they are Marvel's.

Beating Heart

"Cassie!" "Dad?" "Cassie! Don't do this! You don't have to! Please come back!" "Oh my god!" "She's..." "CASSIEEEE!"

She awoke with a start. She clutched her sweating forehead, panting heavily. "What the heck was all that about?" she asked to no one. She threw the blankets to a side as she stood up. Still, she looked quite upset. The nightmare had seemed so... real. The echoes of her father's voice still sent chills over her spine.

"What does that mean? What shouldn't I do?" she asked again, and another time, she received no answer.

"Cassie, are you all right?" Vision's voice was full of concern. Stature quickly put up a fake smile. "I'm fine. It's just... this is going to be big. We are going to Asgard to bring down Osborn and H.A.M.M.E.R. . And... well, there's always the chance... some of use don't make it!" A blur of green and silver quickly came close to her and said seriously : "Then I hope that amongst those there will be you, you filthy traitor!" "Tommy!" Kate yelled, irritated. The speedster came to a halt, shrugging. "What? It was merely a joke!" "Don't mind him, Cassie. He cares more than he looks!" Patriot said to her. She nodded, but her mind was still clouded with doubt...

Doubt... and fear.

"This is getting crazier and crazier!" Tommy's comment was as usual pointless, as everyone could notice how the Void-possessed Sentry, after making Asgard crumble down, was now trying to kill them all.

Cassie's fear was far from gone. It was worse than ever. As she had laid eyes on the tentacled monster, a nameless terror had gripped her heart. The nightmare's words echoed in her ears.

"Don't do this!"

She stepped forwards as she grew a good two-hundred feet tall.

"Cassie!"

As her fist sank in the Void's darkness, she wondered briefly if that was an echo or her friend's voices.

"Please come back!"

The darkness for a moment was repulsed.

"Oh my God!"

A deep, raspy voice came from the Void, so evil that the hair on her head's back.

You are brave... this is not bad... for a last gesture!

"CASSIEEEE!"

She almost didn't hear the words ringing in her head from the nightmare and from the other heroes, as the tentacle pierced her chest, literally destroying her heart.

"She's..."

The heart that caused her father to become a hero.

And so, the heart that caused her to become one as well.

She smiled to the irony of destiny, as she fell backwards, crushing some debris under her.

As her vision faded into darkness, she saw Vision's face, a mask of horror and grief. She hoped he would find relief, someday.

The last thing she felt before sinking in nothingness was gratitude.

For having had a loving father.

And for having had some true friends after his death.

Did it matter?

Did it matter, as Steve Rogers spoke about Cassie's determination and courage, what had prompted her to be a hero?

Did it matter, as Tony Stark lost himself in remembering far-off days at the Mansion, where she alone broke the silence of the base?

Did it matter, as Henry Pym merely stuttered that it shouldn't have happened, before breaking into tears again?

Did it matter, as Patriot stood before her coffin and all he could say was that she was his friend?

Did it matter, as Tommy couldn't stop sobbing loudly, cursing himself for all his cruelty after she'd come back after the Civil War?

Did it matter, as Billy and Teddy held each other's hand during the whole funeral?

Did it matter, as Peggy and Blake Burdick stared blankly at the wooden casket that contained a girl they had never understood?

Did it matter, as Vision couldn't explain what subroutines his processor was now running, wishing he had one that enabled him to cry?

Kate Bishop didn't know.

All she did know, was that her best friend, the one with whom she had joined the Young Avengers, the one with whom she'd remained in contact even after she had left the team, the one with whom she'd emptied her soul, the one about which sometimes she had felt some more than friendly impulses... was gone.

The marble statue of her was but an image. It said nothing about all her fears, all her misgivings, all her clumsiness, all her father's nostalgia, all her youthfulness, that made her an unique person. What made her a member of the family that was formed the night six teenagers met. A family that would be broken forever now.

She closed her eyes, full of tears. But even so, she could always see the piece of stone that she would have never wanted to see. Or at least, what was written on it.

CASSANDRA ELEANOR LANG

STATURE

YOUNG AVENGER

AVENGER

HER HEART HAS ALWAYS BEATEN FOR JUSTICE

Ok, I wrote this after noticing how Cassie is loathed amongst fanfics writers (be easy on her, guys, she's barely fourteen, for goodness's sake!). Since she's one of my favorite characters, I decided to write a 'what-if' oneshot. What would have happened if she'd died the same manner as Goliath by Ragnarok, the Thor Clone (hey, he had her same set of powers; and look, she bailed out just after that? Could it be a connection? Was she allergic to lightning?)

That 'traitor' line by Speed is my pun on all the 'traitor' I see around here. Which can (presumably) work for the Civil War stuff, but not for the Mighty Avengers one. Sorry.

Please R&R!