Disclaimer: I own only Mandy, none of the other Avengers. They belong to Stan Lee and the other brilliant writers that are so brilliant. I wish I were them.

A/N: You guys are going to hate me. Also, warning, Mandy's mother is here. Feel free to leave your hate for her in reviews.

Chapter 21

Mandy colored carefully, trying to keep her hand from shaking. Her mother was right there. Her other hand that she didn't need for coloring was clenched in Daddy's suit jacket, making sure that her mother didn't somehow take Daddy away from her when she wasn't looking.

"Here Mandy," Mother said, handing Mandy a crayon. Mandy took the crayon, suddenly angry. Mother was such a liar. She never gave Mandy crayons before now. She never gave Mandy anything before now besides kicks and hits.

The crayon in Mandy's fingers snapped and Daddy gently took it from her fingers, putting it on the table. Mandy glanced up fearfully at her mother, who was looking at her. She wasn't glaring, but Mandy could definitely see the anger hidden in her eyes. It was the kind of anger that resulted in Mandy being hurt. Mandy looked away quickly, back at the page. She wanted to look at Daddy, but at the same time she didn't, because what if Daddy suddenly realized that Mother was right and that Mandy was a bad, bad girl? Daddy had always said that Mandy was a very good girl, but what if he had been wrong all this time and Mother had been right?

Daddy kissed Mandy on the head, and Mandy relaxed. Phil was her Daddy. He had said that she could call him that. That meant that he would never think Mandy was bad and should get beaten, right?

Because Daddy's were way better than Mother's, right?

"Do that guy green," Daddy suggested, pointing at the big muscly guy on Mandy's page. Mandy grinned.

"Like Hulk?" Mandy asked, grinning. At the sound of her voice Mother looked up and Mandy flinched into Daddy. Daddy ran a hand over her braid and handed her the green crayon. Mandy colored, not looking at Mother or Carol. She didn't mind Carol as much as Mother, but she still didn't like her that much.

"I think it's time for you to leave, Phil." Carol said.

Never mind. Mandy hated her.

"He can't leave!" Mandy cried, dropping the crayon and grabbing Daddy. The thought of being alone in a room with her Mother, without Daddy to protect her, made her shaky and scared and Daddy just couldn't leave, he just couldn't. Mandy needed him. "You can't leave, Daddy!"

"He has to go, Mandy," Carol said. Mandy resisted the urge to throw a crayon at her, only because then she would have to let go of Daddy.

"He can't," Mandy wailed. "He can't go."

Daddy stood up and Mandy started crying, loud tears that she couldn't control. She was so scared and Daddy had to stay to protect her, or Mother would get her, and she was so scared and he couldn't go, he just couldn't. She held on tightly to him, even when Carol tried to pull her away.

"Mandy, baby," Daddy said, pulling her away from Carol. "Listen to me Mandy, okay?"

Mandy nodded, trying to stop her tears. Daddy wiped a hand over her cheek and pulled her closer.

"It will be like ten minutes, okay?" Daddy said. "And then I'll be right back, and you'll be mine forever,"

"Forever?" Mandy asked, sniffling. Daddy smiled and kissed her on the forehead.

"Forever, I promise." He said. "And while I'm gone, I'll go and get you a sandwich from that store we saw, okay?"

"Okay," Mandy whimpered. "But you'll come back?"

"Always," Daddy said. "So you just be brave, and I'll be back before you know it, okay?"

"Okay," Mandy said. She held him even tighter, and then she let him go.

Phil walked down the road, trying to keep the tears from coming out. When Mandy had cried like that he felt his heart breaking and he just wanted to wail beside her. It had been the hardest thing he had ever had to do, letting her go and allowing her to stay in that room with her mother without him.

And she had called him Daddy.

Phil had never though that he would have ever had someone to call him Daddy. Being an assassin, family wasn't always the easiest thing. Some had them, but not a lot. And Phil didn't really go out enough to find someone that he had ever even considered having a family with.

So having Mandy call him Daddy had been the best unexpected gift he had ever gotten.

And then, when his heart had swollen so much with love, and he had had to let go of her and leave her while she cried, it had been the worst thing he had ever had to live through. And that was considering when he had been stabbed by an insane Norse God.

Phil opened the door to the sandwich shop, glancing down at his watch. He only had to be away for ten minutes. He had spent two minutes getting here, and hopefully getting the sandwich would take six minutes, because if he didn't have anything to do when he was being forced to stay away from Mandy, it would be impossible for him to stay away and he didn't want to do anything to jeopardize his chance of getting Mandy.

Because good God, if he didn't get Mandy, the little girl who called him Daddy, there was nothing left for him to live for.

Mandy stared up at Mother, trying not to seem afraid, even though she was. Mother was so mean and she didn't like Mandy, no matter how much she tried to be good.

"Hello Mandy," Mother said. Mandy looked away, biting her lip to keep from answering. She had forgotten about how Mother didn't even let her talk, even to answer a question. "I've missed you."

"Mandy, please talk to your mother," Carol said. Mandy licked her lips.

"Hello Mother," She said politely. "How have you been?"

"Well," Mother said, going to sit next to Mandy. Her bony hand went underneath the table and Mandy flinched when her sharp nails pinched Mandy's thigh. Mandy knew it was punishment for speaking and kept quiet. There was three more minutes until Daddy was supposed to be back. She could do this and then she would never have to be with her mother again.

Daddy promised.

Phil switched the sandwich bag to the other hand and opened the door, jogging up the stairs. He had exactly thirty seconds before he broke his promise to Mandy, and he didn't intend to do so. He checked the room number, just to make sure, then pushed open the door to the room Carol had placed them in and his breath was stolen.

No.

No.

The room was empty.