Where my demons hide

Chapter 1. The fallen son

Summary: After her parents' death, Riley Rogers joined to the resistance against Tony –blaming him for what happened. She found out a way to win the war and revenge on him: killing Tony in the past will change the apocalyptic future –bringing back her parents from the death. Not just she'll meet a younger version of the genius millionaire playboy but a reason to believe in family again. [OC centric, Pepperony. Thor/OC and a little bit of Steve/OC. *First chapters sets on Iron man and then go on at marvel's timeline* / AU from Civil Wars]

Notes: This is basically a future!AU from my another Avengers fic 'Dance on our graves' BUT you don't have to read it to understand the story, really. The only thing you have to know is that Summer was the main character of DOOG and I paired her with Steve, so she's Riley's mother (I know it would be easy putting Sharon as the mother, but Summer is my baby and I love her too much, okay?)

I promise you Riley is not going to be a Mary Sue (I hope) –she's not going to inherit Steve's shield or wearing his suit or whatever are you thinking right now. I know there's a lot of haters of daughter!fics or son!fics… But don't judge it before read it, please :3 (In fact, Riley could be the villain of the story but everyone deserves a chance to redemption, right? ;P)

Please enjoy the story and don't forget to feedback! :)

"the world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places." Hemingway

The little girl was in her knees, watching the TV the closest she could without distorting the image –she felt near to her dad for a second before they changed the point of view of the camera. "Hey, little bear, come here." But she couldn't even turn around to see her mother. All she could see was her father fighting against her uncle Tony –and it was a real fight, the Captain had blood at his face and the armor of Iron man had some damages caused by the repeated impact of Cap's shield.

"Daddy is hurt." She said, horrified while touching the screen of the TV. "He needs help, mommy." Her eyes filled with tears as she turned back. "Mommy." Her arms raised open, begging for a hug.

"Oh, don't worry, honey." Her mother stepped the distance and puller her into a crashing hug her daughter instantly returned. "Everything is going to be fine, okay?" But the little girl didn't believe her. She'd already seen too much to think everything was going to be okay.

A year had passed since the tragedy stroked Stamford, but they stilled suffering the consequences of it. The registration was the law and those that were against registration needed to pay, SHIELD had called them traitors of the nation and all of them had been treated as criminals. The government, with the collaboration of SHIELD, was doing its best to keep the rebels under. The leader of the resistance, Captain America –and the actual father of her little child, was the most dangerous of them all… And Summer feared Tony wouldn't convince Director Hill to make a good deal with the Captain. There wasn't any chance that this thing would end fine.

Riley, her child, was eight years old when his father walked out on them to follow his moral instincts –he swore it wouldn't take too long to convince the people they weren't the wrong side… But a year had passed since them and Summer wondered if he stilled believing in his words or maybe regretted his choice of abandoned his family.

"Is dad a bad guy?" Riley asked, confused.

"Of course not, little bear." She smiled to her, tenderly, and caressed her right cheek to comfort her daughter. "Let's turn the TV off, honey."

"But I want to see daddy!" Riley screamed, worried. "It's the only way to see him…" She sobbed, sadly. "Mommy… He's not going to come home, is he?" Summer cupped her face with both hands, trying to stay calm and neutral for her child –even she was breaking inside.

"He promised, right?" She said, but her voice broke at the end. Summer shook her head trying to hold back her tears. "You remember he promised it, right?" Riley nodded, lowering her eyes. "What if you pick a book and we read it together?"

"Okay…"

But before Riley could pick a book from the bookcase, someone beat the door in, barging into the house without a previous invitation. Summer stood up, pulling out a gun ready to use it if it was needed. The little girl screamed, afraid, and rushed to hide behind her mother. "Put down the gun, Summer." The no-welcome guest said, glancing out at her with a big smile in his red face. She didn't obey –stilled drawing the gun on him without hesitating. "If you appreciate your daughter's life, put down the gun." The smile was replaced by an authoritarian expression. "I didn't come alone… As you see." He pointed at the windows; Summer could see there was at least three shooters in the roof of the nearest building.

"Please… She's just a kid." She begged, trying to protect Riley with her own body. "Please."

"This is new." He murmured, joining the moment. "You didn't beg me before." Red Skull took a step forward and instantly Summer held her breath back, waiting for a quickly dead. But nothing happened. "Hello, little girl." He said faking a caring voice. "Oh, I bet she took a lot from her father, doesn't she? I can see the same fierce eyes from the Captain… Oh my dear friend, it's a shame how people is treating him, don't you think? The nation he defended with his whole good heart is turning against him. What an irony."

"You're truly sorry about it." Summer interrupted, lancing her words with sarcasm. "Leave my daughter alone."

"Of course, I didn't come here for her." He looked at her and it wasn't needed more words. She knew, instantly, the reason of his unexpected visit. "I'll give you five minutes to say goodbye." Summer closed her eyes, trying to find all the courage to stand up. "I appreciate you more than you think, dearie, believe when I say I never wanted to come to this." Of course he was lying, nothing pleased him more than killing people with his own hands. "Five minutes." Summer nodded, opening her eyes bravely. She bended down to face her daughter for the last time, realizing now how much she was like her father. She had Steve's eyes for sure, and her hair was blonde as his –she couldn't see anything from her right now.

"Hey, little bear, it's time to play hide and seek." Riley looked at her, confused, scared, begging for her to stay by her side forever –but it was a promise Summer couldn't make. "You played hide and seek before, right sweetheart?"

"Sometimes." She whispered, holding her tears back. "With Peter."

"Okay…" Summer caressed her daughter's cheek –it was soft, warm and wet because of the tears that rolled from her blue eyes. "I want to give you something before we start the game, it's an amulet." She searched something from her pocket –a golden wedding ring. "Now it's yours. Keep it with you, it'll protect you from the nightmares."

"I don't want to play hide and seek now, mommy." Summer nodded and pulled her into another hug –this time it felt different… But Riley couldn't say why. Not yet.

"Hide, Riley, hide and cover your ears. Okay?" Her daughter eyes flew open, aghast. "Do it, please." Summer begged, raising her voice. The little girl nodded and rushed off the room quickly. There were a couple of minutes left, but it didn't matter for any of them. Summer got up and faced him, fearless. "Did you plan it this way, right?" She grumped, trying to stay brave. "Waiting for the right time, that's why you didn't kill me before even you had a lot of opportunities."

"Everyone has the proper time to die, dearie."

When the new came to him by the intercom, Steve couldn't believe his ears for even a second. It took ages to him to process what Sam had just told him –the Falcon voice had sounded distance, threatening to crack in every letter he had said. He momentary forgot the war, the reason that guided him at that moment, the months of missing his family, wandering if Riley had grown up a lot or maybe had stayed in the same height, confused about his own duty –it was worth it leaving Summer and their daughter behind for a mission destined to end badly?

He barely had the strength to stand.

"Steve?" Someone asked but he couldn't even recognize the owner. Sam's message was re-sounding in his head over and over again, painfully. "Cap." Then someone shook him by the shoulders. It was Tony, who had unmasked himself to look at him, worried. Every member of both teams had stopped their fight, glancing out at them. Both leaders were standing in the middle of the street, bruised and battered. "It had to be a mistake." For the first time, Steve looked up to see his expression. The CEO of Stark Industries looked aghast, shattered, his eyes were begging for an explanation –it's a joke, right? They seemed to say. He had had the message too. "There were a lot of guards looking after them; I made sure they were protected." He said weakly.

"You planned this?" He asked in a low voice, looking at his adversary in apprehension. "It's a joke? This belongs to your strategy?" His voice rose with rage, Steve's jaw tensed –Tony could sense a lot of pain in that sentence. He clenched his fist and hit him in the face –Tony saw it coming but didn't move a little, facing the hit without caring at all. Nothing could ever hurt that much. "Say it! Say it's a joke!"

"Steve, it's enough." The Falcon lowered from the sky, putting himself between Iron man and the Captain. "I'll never joke about something like that, man." Sam was staring at him, looking and feeling entirely powerless. "I'm sorry… I'm really sorry, Steven… But…"

"I shouldn't—" But his voice cracked at that point, Steve clenched his fist harder –hurting himself in the process. "Sam… Please… Tell me it's a joke."

"I'm sorry, Steve." Sam responded, lowering his eyes.

The shield fell to the ground in a loudly, weary, sound. Some agents of SHIELD were waiting in the distance. Tony, his expression reflected his suffering like an open book, moved his head to authorize the next step.

The man with the plan handed himself to them without any resistance.

They had them handcuffed like a criminal –the cuffs were made of a special material to make sure he wasn't going to break them easily. But he didn't care. No matter how they hated him at that moment, his thoughts were beyond that situation. They were with his little girl, his little Riley giggling because Peter had made laugh with some kind of magic trick –using his webs without the knowing of the girl. His little sunshine running after a butterfly –trying to catch it with her hands. His reason to fight against the registration –he made it for her, for Riley. How could he forget it so easily?

"You were the face of the rebellion, Captain. Director Hill is not up to make a good deal with you." Tony paused, knowing that Steve wasn't listening him at all. "Steve…"

"Summer…" Tony looked down, avoiding staring at him. "Who killed her?" He paused and added after thoughts with a low voice. "And how…?"

"Are you sure you want to know?" He asked, wishing Steve would reconsider his question. The Captain nodded slowly. "Five shots, the forensic surgeon said the last one was the lethal… The other were—were just—Torture..." He paused, not sure if it was okay to explain it to him… but he found himself in a need to talk about it. "Riley was there, she heard everything… She heard how—she…" His voice cracked, devastated.

"I want to see her, Tony." He finally broke his silent, glancing at him with supplicant eyes. "She's my daughter… Please."

"Ok." Tony stood up, rushing off the interrogation room the fastest he could. The next time Tony went in, Riley was next to him –holding his hand, needing the touch of someone. Oh, she was more lovely and adorable than Steve remembered. The little girl was wearing her hair in two braids –her mother always loved brushing that wavy golden hair. His stomach jumped, painfully, when the memory hit him so hard. "I can't leave you some privacy, I'm sorry. Hill's orders."

"Now you're her pawn?" Steve complained but instantly knew it was wrong using that tone of voice in front of his daughter –who was looking at him like he was a stranger. "Riley." She took a step back, shaking her head. "Hey, sunshine, you don't want to hug your daddy?" He asked, tenderly, getting up from his sit and bending down to be closer to her. "What's going on, Ril'?"

"He said it was your fault." The girl murmured, hiding behind Tony's body. "I want to go home…"

"My fault?" Steve wanted to know, glancing out at Tony. The Stark gave him a confused look –he didn't know why Riley was saying that. "Why it's my fault, sweetheart? Who said it to you?"

"The man with the red face." She said in whispers, sobbing –covering her face with Tony's legs, afraid of what they'll think about her. Her mother wanted her to be strong, brave; but she felt miserable weak, alone, dependent. "He said it was your fault mommy's dead." And then she busted in tears, broken. "I want to go home! I want to go home!"

"Hey, hey, hey." Tony bent down to hold her by the shoulders. "Do you remember what I told you before we went in?" Riley nodded, slowly. Tony dried the tears from her cheeks with the sleeve of his own shirt. "Go and hug your daddy, okay? Then we'll go home."

"Okay…" She turned around to see him, her father. Steve was staring at her, looking, without a doubt, devastated. The love of his life had been murdered and he hadn't the permission to attend to her funeral –However, The Captain felt he was in a terrible nightmare. Summer couldn't be dead, she wasn't easily to kill. If Riley was saying the truth, Red Skull was the responsible of that. The villain had taken advantage of the situation, of the war –Steve couldn't blame himself more for not being with his family. "Mommy said you'll come home with us."

"I will, my little sunshine." He wrapped his arms around her –she was so little compared with his own body. "I promise." When they draw apart, he cupped her face with both hands. "I—I—" He wanted to say sorry for everything –sorry because of him, Summer was dead. Sorry because of him, her childhood was ruined.

"I love you too, daddy." Riley said, imagining what he was going to say. She was wrong, but Steve nodded anyway. It was better. "Come home soon."

Tony went in one more time after Riley walked out of the room. "Captain…" He said when Steve sat down again. "What happened with Summer…"

"It's my fault, Stark." Steve replied, lowering his eyes. "I shouldn't have gotten her involved in this mess to being with... I should have been there, with her… With Riley. Instead of fighting for a useless cause…" He rested his head in his both hands, tired. "Maybe you were right…" His voice broke at that point, and Tony could see how he was holding his tears back. "I thought the registration would put Riley in dangerous." He admitted after a pause. "Look at her, she's like me."

"Half-super-soldier." Tony added when Steve couldn't say one more thing, The Captain nodded.

"There are a lot of people that still want the formula, Tony, the serum of the super-soldier. I had to protect Riley from them, registering her as my daughter would suppose putting a big bull's-eye in her face."

"Everyone would know where she is…" Tony whispered, and the guilt crossed his face. "That's how he found them…"

"What?" Steve glanced out at him, confused. "No. You didn't, did you?"

"I didn't know—I never thought this would happen, Steve." Tony responded before Steve could add something more. "I was protecting Riley too! She had to be registered or SHIELD would—"

"You signed her?" Steve insisted as slow anger built in his voice and face. "What's wrong with you? That's how Red Skull found them! He hacked the system, searching for their address! YOU GAVE HIM THE INFORMATION!" Tony took a step back when Steve broke the cuffs, getting angrier. "SUMMER IS DEAD BECAUSE OF YOU!"

"Calm down, Captain!" Hill and five agents rushed in, pointing their guns at him. "Stay back, Rogers!"

He wasn't bulletproof –like Hulk, for example, and Maria Hill had been pretty clear in the past that she would not hesitate to shoot him in case it was necessary. "Daddy!" The door was open, and Riley was there. Glancing at them, scared, worried for him –she already had lost her mother, losing her father at that moment would be the worst thing that could happen. "Daddy! Daddy!" One agent, a few seconds later Steve saw it was Natasha, was holding her trying to keep her away from the situation. "Daddy, please!"

The Captain raised his arms, giving in.

It was the day. Captain America was going to be tried by a special court of law –after all, he wasn't an ordinary criminal, Steve had done too much for America to be judge like a villain. Tony didn't plan to be there that day, but Riley had insisted and he couldn't deny her petition to see his father one more time. The little Rogers was holding his hand, squeezing it with strength –she was nervous, hoping her father would come home with her after the trial. Tony knew it wasn't impossible, but he didn't want to smash her hope so soon.

A lot of journalists were there with the mission of capture the fall of Steve Rogers, better known as Captain America. When the car stopped and the down swung open, they stepped the distance to be closer. Steve jumped out of the car, in silent.

Riley tensed her body and squeezed his hand harder.

Two agents of SHIELD were guarding him to protect him from the crowd. "Why did you give in? Are you supporting the registration now?" One of the journalists asked him, but Steve didn't say a word. "Tony Stark was right?" Another insisted.

"No question!" One of the agents said, he had to push by a lot of people to keep moving. "Get back!"

"Since when Captain America gives in so easily? You're a loser!" This time it wasn't a journalist, there was a lot of people coming with banners –all of them faulting him as a criminal… or something worse. Before the agents could do something, someone threw him a tomatoes –it hit him in the cheek.

"Hey! You!" The agent turned back to find the responsible. Steve didn't care too much but looked out of the corner of his eye, it was a man –his face expression was the definition of the disgust and the anger. Steve sighed, tired, exhausted, wishing for the ending of all of this –all he wanted was holding his daughter, reading her a book before sleeping, telling her amazing stories about her mother and he.

Suddenly, he saw it. A little red point at the back of one of the agents, there was a shooter somewhere. "No…" He whispered, trying to find the exactly position of the sniper. He saw the light of the weapon in one of the windows of an old building. "Careful!" Steve shouted and tackled the agent the only way he could –using his entire body to slam into his side. The agent fell to the ground, confused. And Steve took the bullet instead of him –his shoulder welcomes it with pain.

The crowd screamed when they saw the blood. "Get out! Get out!" The agents shouted to the crowd to move along as the two of them tried to help the Captain to go upstairs –the court was a safe place, they needed to go there. "There's a sniper! How's this possible? Director Hill! We need more men!"

"Daddy!" Steve was hurt but not enough to stop him from moving. Riley was there, he could hear her voice perfectly.

"Riley!" He took a step forward to her and then he felt it –A gun, pointing at his stomach.

He counted three shots before the fake journalist went away. His knees failed as his body bent down to the ground.

"The Captain has been shot down! We need medical assistance!" The agent to his right shouted, hysterically. The situation was out of control. The people were screaming, running to all directions. There was too much confusion, too much fear for being shot by the mysterious sniper. He could see Tony, the Stark was holding Riley –even she was trying to get close to her dad, Tony will protect her perfectly his thoughts said, calmly. The chaos ruled the situation but, for the first time, he didn't care at all.

At that moment, there was only peace for him.