It all happens so fast. One moment he is there, alive and well, and the next he's being blown into tiny bits. She doesn't even get to tell him that she loves him one last time, tell him that he's the best dad that a girl could ever ask for. Times slows for a few moments and she silently wonders if this is how Tommy feels every day.
Tired. Angry. Unable to do anything. Weak.
Her friends crowd around her. Kate puts her hand on Cassie's shoulder and Teddy grabs Cassie's hand, squeezing it gently. She can hear Wanda scream, "no!" and the Avengers pause for a moment, looking at the ground where Scott Lang's ashes would most likely have fallen. Then times starts up again and so does the battle.
And then it stops. Just like that, before she has the chance to blink or even to grow into a fifty-feet tall angry girl who's about to destroy Doom for killing her dad, it just stops. The wind around her swishes, the same way it does when Tommy passes by her, and for a moment, she's angry because Tommy finished the job for her. When she turns around, though, Tommy's still there, with a face full of shock that mirrors the face of most of the people in the general vicinity.
Her mind reels from the shock of it not being Tommy and immediately points the finger at Iron Lad. Except he's there, floating in the ear, gaping at the sight of the giant Doom on the ground shrinking to the size he once was. It can't be him either and it really can't be any other person here because they all look as confused as she does.
"Friend of yours?" Cassie manages to ask Cyclops.
"No," he says, shortly, "No, I felt the wind change. It could've been Quicksilver or your friend, Speed, but right now, I don't think they could hurt fly." He informs her, confirming her suspicion that the world hates her.
"Who couldn't hurt a fly?" A male voice says from behind her.
Surprised by the sudden voice, she rears her head behind her shoulder. To her utmost surprise, nobody is there. It's almost as if someone teleported away as quickly as they came. She feels a sudden weight on her shoulder, both from the fact that it's probably her fault her dad died again and that something is actually sitting on her shoulder. Something really heavy.
"Oof!" Cassie grunts as she falls on her knees and the weight on her shoulder—the second kind—suddenly disappears. The sun that was once brightly shining on her face disappears and a tall shadow takes its place.
"Woah." It's Billy, she thinks, who says this. Nobody else can sound as remotely awed as him, even if they've done some pretty cool things that the Avengers haven't—ahem, like find the Scarlet Witch. "Cass, you might want to see this. Now."
The urgency in Billy's voice startles her as does the sudden change in her position, which is most likely the work of Tommy. What startles her most, though, is the man standing in front of her. "Dad?" she whispers.
"Hey, sweetie." He smiles at her and that's all it takes for Cassie to turn into a blubbering mess. She feels like that time she saw her dad after so many years. Her dad's arms encircle her, his embrace strong but gentle, and she buries her head in the nape of his neck. "It's okay, Cass. I'm here."
The sudden reappearance of her dad surprises her. He tells that he shrunk before the ray could reach him. She's not sure if that's true or not, but she's so happy that she takes her friends to her favorite cafe and buys them food, something Tommy and Billy both appreciate.
"You seriously don't have to do this, Cass," Teddy tells her, his eyes never once leaving Billy. "We're your friends. If you're happy, we know you're happy. And that's enough for us."
Cassie shakes her head, a small smile playing on her lips as she watches Tommy and Kate argue about something that most likely so minuscule that it's really ridiculous. "I want to," she responds, "Like you said, you're my friends."
Teddy nods, placing a hand on her shoulder. He leans closer and closer until Cassie can feel his breath fan her ear. "I think Loverboy wants to talk to you," he whispers, a knowing smirk on his face. He moves back, straightening his back, and says loudly, "Well, I better get going. Don't want Billy eating all the French Toast, now do we?"
Cassie doesn't even blink. Nor does she blush like a tomato, or as Tommy likes to call it, "like Billy after he's met and been congratulated by all the Avengers, ever." Nate's her friend and even if his future isn't as bright as he would want it to be, she is still his friend. Just like the rest of the team are Nate's friends. He and Cassie are just friends.
Keep thinking like that and maybe you'll finally believe it, says the snarky voice that is hidden deep in the recesses of her mind and sounds strangely like her step-mother who has no idea that her husband is still alive. Or maybe Jen does. Cassie isn't sure when her dad plans to break it to Jennika. Or maybe Scott never died. Time travel is so confusing. Cassie's not even sure if she should break it to him that Cassie has another little tiny sibling, in addition to the other two, living all the way in California or if he already knows, thanks to the Avenger's database.
"Hey, Nate," Cassie greets, smiling at him.
Nate returns her smile. "I found the answer," he announces to her, thrusting his pointer finger in the air. Then, after lowering his arm, he whispers to her, "I know who stopped Doom."
Cassie straightens her back and nods. Right, business as usual. "Who is it?" she questions, shooting a quizzical look at him. "Whoever did it was too fast for the surveillance camera to pick up. Unless"—She glares at the boy she most certainly does not have a crush on—"you went back in time."
(At the same time, in one of the multiple possibilities of the future and the most likely one, in the second youngest Richards' (Nate's) living room...
"At the time, though, your mom didn't 'believe' me," Tommy says, using air quotes on the word "believe". Teddy, who is sitting next to Tommy, shakes his head, pretending to be disappointed in the young Cassie. "Kids, let me tell you something. Your mom is the worst liar in the world."
"But mommy says not to lie?" Eliza glances quizzically at her father.
"Tommy, stop telling my daughter lies," interjects Nate. "Don't listen to Uncle Tommy, baby. He's lying."
"Am not!"
"Yeah right, little bro," Billy dismisses Tommy's defense. "Don't listen to your Uncles."
"Okay, Grandpa Billy!" chirps Eliza. "But wait...does Uncle Frankie count?")
"No!" Nate says, his eyes widening in horror. "How in the world did you get to that conclusion?"
Because that's what you do, is what Cassie wants to say. Instead, Cassie lets out a relieved sigh, because Nate does not equal to Kang. They are two completely different people with two completely different personalities. "So you didn't go back in time." She concludes, furrowing her eyebrows as Nate nods eagerly. "Then how do you know?"
"Long story." Nate waves his hand dismissively, indicating that he doesn't want to answer. "I just wanted to tell you before I told the team."
"So who is it?" Cassie asks.
"Emma. Her name is Emma Altman. Green skin, gray hair, and a love of the color Scarlet," he tells her, "That and she's from the future."
Of course, of course, it has to be someone from the future. "Thirtieth century?"
He hesitates for a bit. "Twenty-first," he says, "We're both kinda related. To Billy"
Cassie sighs. At least it would be interesting to see what Billy's reaction to this would be. She just hopes he wouldn't blow something up.