The night was quiet, until a fire broke out somewhere in the woods. A distraction for Vision, by Clint, no doubt. He was here for Wanda. He didn't know Ana was entering the building, right behind him. She was keeping a safe distance, just in case. It was amazing how, with a few modifications, an Iron Man suit could turn you into a ninja.
Maximoff threw a knife at Clint when she sensed the presence of someone else in the room, but stopped just before it hit him in the face. He hadn't even flinched, though. Geez, why did everyone trust her so much?
"Guess I should've knocked…"
"Oh my God, what are you doing here?"
"Disappointing my kids," he said, shooting two arrows that would create an electric field once someone was anywhere between them. "We were supposed to go water-skiing. Cap needs our help, come on."
"Clint!" Vision said, phasing back into the room through the wall. "You should not be here."
"Really? I retire for what, like five minutes, and it all goes to shit."
"Please consider the consequences of your actions."
"Okay, they're considered."
Vision walked right into the trap Clint had set up. Ana sent a shockwave to break the arrows and free him. As the other two looked around in confusion, she revealed herself. "Hey, Clint. Long time no see."
He frowned, obviously not happy to see her. "Ana… Did Tony send you?"
"He doesn't know I'm here. Please go home to your family, Clint. I don't want to fight you. This is between me and her."
He was going to say something, but Maximoff stopped him. "No, she's right. I've caused enough problems…"
Before Clint could say anything, Vision came to apprehend him. Clint fired an arrow, but it flew right through Vision's temporarily ethereal body. Then it turned back to its default tangible form, and he pushed Clint away. Considering what he was capable of, he was going easy on the archer.
"I know I should've stretched," he said, whipping his baton out. Of course, it didn't take long for it to get shattered when he tried to hit Vision with it.
"Give up," Ana said. "You can't win against the two of us."
"Unless you're busy fighting each other…" Apparently, Maximoff had had a change of heart about the problems she caused. Red energy waves around her fingers were making their way towards Ana. They coiled around her head, but nothing happened. Maximoff narrowed her eyes in confusion, but Ana smiled.
"Did you think you were the only one with some tricks up her sleeve?"
"What did you do?"
So, Vision hadn't shared their little secret about the Mind Stone with her… "See, that's the difference between you and me. You don't even understand how your powers work. You don't deserve to have them."
"Ana, please," Vision broke in, still restraining Clint. "Remember what really matters here."
"The only thing that matters to me is revenge! I'm sick of being pushed around by a bunch of self-righteous assholes! I'm sick of being taken for granted all the time! Do you guys realize how much a private army of enhanced people costs, business-wise? I am working my ass off just to keep this place afloat, so that ungrateful shits like her can travel around the world, kick ass, get asked for autographs and then return here to enjoy the sweet life! But enough is enough."
"What do you want from me?" Maximoff asked.
"I want you dead."
The helmet closed around Ana's head, and she charged at the Sokovian. Vision had pulled Clint out of the way just in time. Ana slammed Wanda against a wall, knocking out some furniture in their wake. She was choking her, but with a red energy blast, she got free, sending Ana flying off. She managed to stop in mid-air, hovering.
"You volunteered for HYDRA experiments, just to be able to kill my father! And now, you have it all! You have everything! It's not fair!"
"Not fair? I lost my brother!"
"Your fault…"
Wailing, she shot another blast. Ana responded with her own. The ceiling above them cracked loudly, and began collapsing around them. Both girls had to shield themselves from the rain of concrete until it stopped.
"Wanda, Ana, stop!" Vision said, almost pleading. "You're going to kill each other!"
"Do you think I'd be here if I feared death?" Ana snarled.
Vision flew at her, and trapped her in a tight grasp. But she was ready for him, too, with a few vibranium electromagnets that would disrupt his circuits. Some anti-vibranium gadgets were long overdue after the things Rogers had done with his shield, but these toys were effective against Vision as well. They wouldn't stop him forever, but she would be done with Maximoff by the time he was fully functional again.
With a grunt, Vision collapsed on his knees. "Ana, you don't want to do this…"
She ignored him, and turned to Maximoff, whose eyes lit up with a red glow. She was pissed. Good. Ana didn't want her to hold back. Because she surely wasn't going to. "Looks like it's just us girls now."
Maximoff grabbed her, and pushed her against another wall. This time, they knocked a hole in it. They flew outside. The fight was going to continue in the woods, away from the building. She probably wanted to protect Clint from any potential harm, now that Vision would no longer be able to guard him. Ana punched her in the stomach to break free. They came face to face, hovering above the trees.
"Half of the world loves you, the other half fears you," Ana hissed. "That was all I ever wanted for myself. And now you have it. Not because you earned it, but because you stole it from me!"
"You're delusional! I didn't steal anything from you!"
Now that they were out in the open, the fight became much more violent. FRIDAY was helping Ana dodge the red waves, while shooting missiles, energy blasts, and laser beams at the same time. Wanda was parrying each attack with ease, hurling trees and hunks of earth at Ana's way, but she was obviously getting tired. Good thing machines never got tired.
At some point, Ana taunted her, "Vision will never let you and Clint leave, you know. You'll never be able to go to your precious Captain's help. Chances are he's going to spend the rest of his life in a Wakandan prison with his buddy!"
"Not if Vision is too busy saving you." The red threads were swirling around Ana again, but it looked like the Sokovian had something else in mind this time. She was trying to bury Ana underground, but by the look on her face, it was costing her a massive amount of effort. Still, Ana soon found herself violently being pushed deep into the earth. FRIDAY gave all the thrusters a boost, and Ana dashed upwards, against the current of the red waves, to grab Maximoff, who was standing on the edge of the grave she was making for Ana, by the neck.
But she didn't give up. The threads were now closing around Ana's neck. She could hear the metal crack, and feel the suit tighten around her throat. Maximoff was choking her. The HUD was blinking rapidly, giving error after error. But if she thought Ana was going to beg her for mercy, she was wrong.
Ana knew if she surrendered now, her life would be spared. But she refused to do it. Why? She didn't know. All she knew was that she was angry. She was angry with a universe that just wanted too much from her. Or maybe, it was her who wanted too much from it… It didn't matter. At least, if she died tonight, the vision she had seen would never come true.
Maybe, after her death, Charles Hinton would pay her father a visit, tell him the secret she had taken to the grave. He had promised not to tell anyone about it, but it wouldn't matter after she died, would it? Ana hoped so. If her dad found out how her other death was meant to be like, he might be thankful for the one she got.
But apparently, FRIDAY wouldn't give up on her easily. She managed to come back, only for a split second, and used this opportunity to fire a blast from the chest piece, repelling Maximoff.
Ana fell on the ground, and Maximoff never came back for her. Her priority was probably to take Clint and go to Rogers' help. Besides, she had left Ana choking by the metal tightened around her neck. Ana tried to remove the suit manually, but to no avail, until she saw Vision's silhouette against the night sky, soaring towards her, calmly, but swiftly, his cloak billowing behind him. He landed right before her, his expression inscrutable.
"Please be very still," he said flatly, after examining her situation, and shot a beam from the Mind Stone. Ana froze. If she moved even an inch, the beam would cut her throat. He then pried the helmet apart with his hands.
Ana gasped for fresh air first, then said, "I'm done. You have to go after them. Rogers is assembling his own team, you gotta help Dad!"
"I'll take you to the hospital first."
"I can't go to the hospital. If they find out I've been involved in a fight…"
He scooped her into his arms, and took her back to the Compound, and placed her on a couch that hadn't been broken. Maximoff and Barton were long gone, of course.
"Go!" Ana insisted. "I'll patch myself up."
Vision just gave her a hard look in response, and remained put.
"You're mad at me…"
"I'm not mad. Just… disappointed. There's a voice in my head, telling me you're better than this. I know he is honest, but I'm struggling to believe him."
"Vision?"
"Yes?"
"Don't ever try to use JARVIS against me."
Without a word, he flew out through the roof, leaving Ana alone in the partially trashed Compound.
…
As much as she hated to admit it, trying to kill the Maximoff bitch was a stupid idea. The humiliation of defeat had bruised Ana's pride, but other than that, things were going well. FRIDAY had said there had been a confrontation in Germany, Rogers and Barnes had been able to get away, but everyone else who had chosen the wrong side was now in the Raft. Ross had sent her a picture of Wanda in a straightjacket.
Ana was dancing to the music while repairing her armor to celebrate the victory when Vision entered. FRIDAY turned off the music. He didn't seem happy.
"Look, I know she was your girlfriend and all, but… Go be a buzzkill somewhere else, will you?"
"Colonel Rhodes has been severely injured. I thought you might want to know before you started celebrating," he said with an icy voice, and walked away.
Ana paused. No. He was lying, to make her feel guilty. FRIDAY hadn't said anything about any injuries. "You're lying," she cried, striding after him. "Vision! Tell me you're lying!"
He didn't say anything. Ana returned to the workshop and shut the door.
"FRIDAY?"
"It's true, Ana. Mr. Stark was going to tell you himself."
So, it was true, then. Rhodey was hurt, and Ana had had no idea until now.
"Call him."
She did.
"Ana?"
"Dad?"
"What the hell, Ana? What the actual hell? FRIDAY told me what happened with Wanda."
"Dad, I'm truly sorry about that."
"You were way out of your league, kid! If something happened to you… After Rhodey…" He was hyperventilating, like he was about to have a panic attack.
"I know. I'm so sorry. I should've thought of you."
"Ana, we can't keep living like this. I know you've been through a lot, and I know it's my fault, but you gotta sort this out."
"How is Rhodey? What happened?"
"He was chasing the Quinjet Cap had taken. Wilson was after him. So, he asked Vision to stop Wilson. Vision got distracted, hit Rhodey instead. His Arc Reactor got destroyed. I couldn't catch him in time, Ana. He broke his spine. I'm not going to lie to you. It's bad. It's shattered from F4 to S1. His spinal cord is severely damaged."
Vision had conveniently left out the part in which it was his fault. "How's he doing now?"
"He's scared… He'll be transferred to Colombia Medical tomorrow. Can you go there? I don't want him to be alone."
"What about you? Are you not coming?"
"I don't know. There's this guy, Zemo. Sokovian. He's behind all these. There're five more Winter Soldiers, and he wants to find them. That was why he lured Barnes out of his hiding place. That was why Cap was so desperate. He needs me, Ana."
"Come home, Dad. Tell Ross you're done. Please. If you let them go, I'll do the same."
"Honey, I can't."
"Are Nat and T'Challa still with you?"
"I'm not sure where T'Challa is now. He still thinks Barnes killed his father. And Nat… She turned against us. She's on the run now."
So, Natasha was actually on Rogers' side… Ana started to laugh hysterically.
"What?"
"I'm sorry. It's just… Whenever I trust someone, they betray us… I must be cursed or something."
"She was smarter than us. She realized trying to stop Cap was a mistake."
"What about that boy you found in Queens?"
"I sent him back to the hotel with Happy. The airport fight was one thing, but I can't pit a teenager against five psycho super soldiers."
"Where are you headed now?"
"I can't tell you."
"Come on, Dad, you need back up. You know you'll be walking into a trap. Do you honestly trust Rogers to watch your back? Would you trust him with your life, after everything he's done?"
"No. But I can't bring you into this either."
"Dad, I'm coming to you, one way or the other. Let's just not waste each other's time. Tell me where you are going."
For a moment, he was quiet, then said, "I'll send you the coordinates. But once we're there, you'll do exactly as I say."
"You got it," she said, and this time, she meant it.
…
He was already waiting for her by the time Ana reached that old HYDRA bunker in Siberia.
"Gosh, what happened to you?" she gasped when she saw his face. Of course she had seen worse, but… This was different. He looked like he had aged five years since she had last seen him. The bruises didn't help either.
"This is the part I'd say 'You should see the other guy,' but he's as good-looking as ever, so…"
Even now, she could make him chuckle, but she became serious again quickly. "I'm really sorry, Dad. My showdown with Maximoff was the last thing you needed, I know. I shouldn't have been in Vienna for PR either. I should've just signed the Accords at home and be done with it."
His face eased a bit after this. "Maximoff? Yes. Vienna? You couldn't have known that… Are you ready?"
"Yeah."
"If the Winter Soldiers are active, you won't touch the ground. You'll go invisible, keep your distance, and shoot them down from that distance. No squabbling with Cap, no snarky remarks about Maximoff. Don't mess with Barnes either, but never let your guard down. Zemo knows how to control him."
"Yes, sir," she teased.
He sighed deeply, then led the way. They entered the bunker through an elevator shaft, and landed on the top of the cabin. They removed the rusty ventilation panel to get inside. The elevator was broken; none of the buttons worked. They had to pry the doors open. When they did, they found Rogers and Barnes there, hiding behind the vibranium shield. Barnes was pointing a rifle at them. As agreed, she let her dad do the talking.
Her dad retracted his helmet. "You seem a little defensive."
"It's been a long day."
"At ease soldier, I'm not currently after you," he told Barnes.
"Then why are you here?" Rogers asked.
"Your story is not so crazy. Ross has no idea I'm here, I'd like to keep it that way. Otherwise, I gotta arrest myself."
"Well, that sounds like a lot of paperwork." He lowered the shield. "It's good to see you, Tony."
"You, too, Cap."
Damn, it was nauseating to see how forgiving he was sometimes.
"Manchurian candidate, you're killing me. There's a truce here, you can drop it."
Rogers was going to gesture Barnes to lower his gun, but then, his gaze lingered on Ana suspiciously.
"I'm only here because I don't trust you with my dad."
"And how do you expect me to trust you after what you did to Wanda?"
Her dad broke in, "Look, there was too much bad blood between the two girls from the start. They hashed it out. It was going to happen, one way or the other. Sure, it was… wrong. We adults can discuss it later. Right now, let's just focus on the mission."
Rogers nodded at his friend, who finally agreed to lower the rifle. They all set off to find the assassins. They located the main room, in which there were five cryo chambers, but there was only one heat signature. She wondered if her HUD was broken, or the Winter Soldiers had been moved to somewhere else.
"I got heat signatures," her dad said.
"How many?" asked Rogers.
"Uhm, one."
"Same," Ana confirmed.
Someone turned on the lights.
"If it's any comfort, they died in their sleep," he said. Indeed, the soldiers in the chambers had been shot in their heads. "Did you really think I wanted more of you? I'm grateful to them, though. They brought you here."
He lit another light, the one in his own chamber. Rogers tossed his shield at it, but it bounced right back."
"Please, Captain. The Soviets built this chamber to withstand a launch blast of UR-100 rockets."
"I'm betting I could beat that."
"Oh, I'm sure you could, Mr. Stark. Given time. But then you'd never know why you came."
"You killed innocent people in Vienna just to bring us here?"
"I thought about nothing else over a year. I studied you, I followed you. But now that you're standing here, I just realized… there's a bit of green in the blue of your eyes. How nice to find a flaw."
Ana scanned the area to find a trap, but there was nothing. It didn't make any sense.
"You're Sokovian. Is that what this is about?"
"Sokovia was a failed state long before you blew it to hell, no. I'm here because I made a promise."
"You lost someone."
"I lost everyone. And so will you."
This was wrong. This was a sinisterly elaborate mind game. What else could he possibly have here that would destroy them, if not five Winter Soldiers? Ana approached her dad, and whispered, "Dad, let's just burn this place to the ground with Zemo in it, and leave. I don't like this."
"We will," he assured her, but then, a monitor came alive. There was a date on it. 16-some Russian word-1991. FRIDAY translated the word, but she didn't have to. Ana didn't need to be a genius to know it meant "December."
Shit.
"An empire toppled by its enemies can rise again. But one which crumbles from within? That's dead. Forever." And then, a security cam footage showing a familiar place came into view.
"I know that road," her dad said frantically. "What's this?"
The answer was obvious. There was an assassin here, one who wasn't responsible for Vienna, but still responsible for countless other deaths in the past several decades. Sometimes assassinations looked like accidents.
Ana wanted to punch the monitor, and be done with it. She wanted to spare her dad the pain. But she also knew she had no right to do such a thing. Not without his approval. So, she retracted her own helmet, to look him in the eye. If anyone could convince him to walk out of here, it was her.
"Dad, you don't have to see it. Just smash the screen."
"I can't."
"Let me do it, then."
"I can't do that either. I have to know."
Well, she hadn't had much hope anyway. She understood why he had to know. They both had a penchant for finding out the truth no matter how ugly, uncomfortable, or disturbing it was. So, she put a hand on his shoulder, and they watched as the truth behind the death of Howard and Maria Stark unfolded before them. She couldn't look at her dad's face. She knew that if she did, what she saw would be the most heartbreaking thing she had ever seen.
Ana always judged her grandfather harshly, and wasn't ashamed of it. Until now. Seeing him helpless like that changed something within her. He hadn't deserved to die like that. Like Hammer had once said, he was no flower child. He was a lion. A legend. This wasn't a fitting ending for such a man.
But the worst part was her grandmother's gasps as she was choked to death.
When the footage ended, her dad turned to Ana, as if he was expecting her to tell him what to do next. But Ana didn't know what to say.
"It's okay"? It wasn't okay. He had just seen how his parents had been killed. Such a thing could never be okay. What was worse, Rogers didn't seem shocked at all. He knew, then. He had known it all along.
"I'm sorry"? She was sorry. Yeah, she wanted him to hate Rogers, but not like this. This was too much. Rogers was looking at her, too, his eyes almost begging her to do something that would stop what was about to happen. It was quite ironic, because she would, if Rogers hadn't murdered JARVIS. Not because he cared about Rogers or Barnes, but because she knew her dad would be grateful for it in the long run.
Rogers must have understood, because he intervened. "Tony…"
Her dad turned to him. "Did you know?"
"I didn't know it was him."
"Don't bullshit me, Rogers, did you know?"
"Yes."
He nodded, and turned to Ana again. "I'm sorry, baby girl," he said with a tormented grimace. "I'm sorry it took me so long to see it."
"Are you sure?" she asked softly. To be 100% honest, she didn't want him to come back to his senses and forgive Rogers yet again. But she didn't want to provoke him so selfishly into doing something he would regret later. She owed him this moment to stop and think about the consequences. Well, who was she kidding? They were both going to regret it. Maybe not today, or tomorrow, but one day. When Loki's warmonger showed up and they screwed up so bad that Ana would have to travel back in time and get herself killed just to warn her past self. The kind of sacrifice only someone who had nothing left to lose would make…
Still, they were just human, and there was only so much pain they could take. Sometimes, the only way to ease the pain was through bad choices.
"I am."
They didn't lose any time. Their helmets were back on again. He went for Barnes. Rogers was hers. The first thing Captain America did was, of course, throwing his shield at them. It was how he had killed JARVIS. By destroying the hardware he relied on. But things were different now. Ana activated the magnet on her left wrist, even more powerful than the one Rogers used, and the shield came to her instead of hitting her dad. Rogers' face was priceless when he realized she had been keeping busy. Did he honestly believe what he had done would be forgotten? The nerve some people had…
"Ana, please…"
In response, she charged at him and hit him in the face with his own shield. Not really his shield, though, right? It was another Stark design. Which made this even more delicious. Captain America was created by a Stark. It was only fitting he was ended by another Stark, especially after this betrayal. He was lying on the ground now, wiping away the blood on his mouth. She put a foot on his chest to pin him down.
"Ana," he said again. "He didn't do it. HYDRA had control of his mind."
"No one had control of your mind when you killed JARVIS."
"I'm sorry for that. But killing me won't bring him back."
"I know."
"Then why?"
"You think you're the only one who's willing to burn the world for one person?"
He threw his head back, and sighed, as if she was merely an annoyance. Then he wrapped both arms around Ana's calf, and wrestled to get free. FRIDAY latched the other boot to the floor to reinforce her stance. Ana slid the foot she was using to keep him in place to his neck, to prove that she wasn't messing around.
"My father just wants Barnes. He won't kill you. But I will."
First, she was going to make him watch his best friend die, though. She was going to hear him beg for mercy, just like she had begged them to spare JARVIS' life. Her dad was acting on impulse, but Ana had waited for too long for this day. This was way better than fighting Maximoff. Even though she hated how much her dad was hurt, she might as well savor this moment, for what was done was done. She could worry about healing her dad later. Maybe they could…
Rogers managed to break free, and started running to Barnes' help. Her dad had been chasing him around the bunker. Ana threw the shield at Rogers, and then retrieved it with the magnet. The hit didn't knock him down, but made him stumble, giving her enough time to fly at him and punch him in the face. It felt better than anything money could buy. As soon as he recovered from the blow, his hands closed around the rim of the shield, and he started pulling it with all the strength he had. Ana was pulling back. He was stronger than she had thought; at one point during this tug-of-war, she heard the gold-titanium alloy actually crack. She punched him again, twice, but he didn't let go. On the third time, he pivoted around to dodge her fist, and with that, managed to rip the vibranium shield off, along with the magnet embedded in the forearm. He hit her with it, in the chest, sending her flying off.
"Shit!" She looked down at her chest. Thankfully, the Arc Reactor was undamaged, other than a crack on the cover. Rogers was following Barnes into what looked like an air shaft. Ana charged at him again. In the meantime, her dad snatched Barnes and took him away from the air shaft, so that he couldn't escape through there.
As they wrestled, Ana pondered if she should just kill Rogers and be done with it. She still wanted his best friend's dead body to be the last thing he saw before he died, but to be realistic, there was a chance she might lose this fight. He was too fast and strong, and her suit kept getting more and more damaged with each blow.
That was when she heard a missile being fired. It had it one of the pillars that held the cryo chambers, and it started to collapse. Rogers pushed her under this and she got stuck beneath the debris of metal and concrete.
"FRIDAY, get me out of here."
FRIDAY scanned the pile of debris around her and showed her the best spot to cut a hole. Ana did, then crawled out of the debris, but it took her some time, for she had to move very carefully. She had heard FRIDAY tell her dad that the flight and targeting systems had been compromised.
"Take me to Dad!"
FRIDAY took her to the air shaft. She saw her dad, almost on the top, fighting Barnes, but he looked like he needed help, so she was flying up towards him, but Rogers came out of nowhere and tackled her. They both ended up on the bottom of the air shaft, where the vibranium shield was lying unclaimed. Rogers grabbed it before she could, and was going to slam it against her head, but she rolled over to the side and then rose to her feet from a safe distance from him just in time.
"It's not too late," he said. "You can still get Tony out of here. I know you're the only one who can."
"Yeah, maybe you shouldn't have antagonized me in the first place."
"Then go ahead and kill me. Why are you stalling?"
Before she could say anything, Barnes fell right between them, followed by her dad. The fight resumed. But now, Rogers knew she wasn't fighting to kill, and he was taking advantage of it. Ana had to take many hits until FRIDAY analyzed his fight pattern and deployed the counter-measures. After that, she easily sent the shield flying off, wrapped both arms around him and made him look at Barnes, who had grabbed the shield and was trying to use it against her dad. But he, too, quickly slapped it aside.
"This is why I've been stalling," she hissed. "Death is too good for you. Too simple. You're going to have a taste of your own poison first."
Indeed, she knew Rogers and Barnes were childhood friends. They had grown up together, just like JARVIS and Ana had. They were best friends before lovers. The revenge had come with a terrible cost, yes, but honestly, it couldn't get any better than this either.
But Barnes must have heard her, too, for with a loud roar, he pushed her dad against the wall and tried to rip the Arc Reactor off. She couldn't both restrain Rogers and go to his help at the same time.
"Dad?"
"I got this!"
A blast from the Reactor vaporized his metal arm, leaving him shocked. Rogers was struggling so hard that she could feel her arms loosen. Her dad kicked Barnes while he was still down.
"Hurry up, Dad, I can't hold him forever."
Rogers threw himself backwards so violently that she hadn't only had to let him go, but had also let out a loud cry of pain. She had hit her head against the wall behind them.
"Ana?"
In his panic, her dad had let his guard down for a split second, and Rogers took the opportunity. He tackled him, raised him above his head, then slammed him down. The shield was nearby; he snatched it and hit him in the head, again and again, until the helmet cracked open.
When he raised the shield one more time, the sight sent her body through a heat flash. She had never forgotten how JARVIS had been killed, it was forever burned into her brain, but seeing her father raise his arms as a last attempt to protect himself made everything all too vivid, even though Rogers had smashed his Arc Reactor instead.
Never again!
A wail escaped her mouth, she forgot her own pain, and she pulled that son of a bitch away from her dad. "Haven't you taken enough from me?"
She began punching him repeatedly, until he was trapped against the wall, not caring if Barnes, who was also lying on the floor, was dead or not. She was going to end this now. FRIDAY had already analyzed his fight pattern, so they weren't giving him even one second to catch a break and fight back. Once his back was against the wall and he had nowhere to escape, she pressed her left fist against his stomach. She mentally commanded the helmet to collapse back into the suit. She wanted to look him in the eye as she finally did it.
"This is for JARVIS," she said, impaling him with the hidden blade in her forearm.
His eyes widened. He looked at Ana, and the wound in his stomach, then Ana again, as if he was struggling to believe she could actually do this.
"Behind you!" Her dad's warning made her turn her head, and she saw Barnes, preparing to hit her with the vibranium shield. She blasted it out of his hand, grabbed him by the throat, without letting Rogers go. He started struggling to break free from her grasp, but she was literally holding him at arm's length, and with one arm, there wasn't much he could do.
"Stay away from my daughter, you son of a bitch!" her dad roared.
"It's okay, Dad. I'll finish this." All she had to do was to use the power of the suit to stay put until Barnes was dead. After that, Rogers could bleed to death while looking at his friend's corpse. He was as good as dead anyway. There was a reason she had chosen to stab him in the stomach.
Barnes was still struggling madly.
"Even if you kill me, there's no way you can get help for Rogers in time. I've already won," she said to taunt him. The more he struggled, the sooner his lungs would run out of air.
Barnes' face was turning purple. It wouldn't be long now.
"Ana, please," Rogers said. "You're right, I killed JARVIS. It was me. Not Bucky. Let him go."
She nodded angrily. "Yeah. Now you know how it feels."
Barnes grunted loudly, made one more attempt to twist Ana's arm, and this time, he was succeeding. Panicked, she aimed for his face and fired the repulsor.
It happened so fast that there was no way to take it back. It was like trying to catch a bullet you had just fired. Barnes had moved aside just before the blast was shot, and it hit her dad instead. He was trying to come to her help.
"NO!" Ana let both super soldiers go, and ran to his side. His eyes were closed. His nose was bleeding. "Dad? Dad, can you hear me?"
"Brain hemorrhage detected," FRIDAY said. "He needs urgent medical attention."
"How much power do I have left?"
"85 percent."
It didn't sound so bad, considering all that fighting she had done. She could still teleport. The greatest trick she had up her sleeve would be exposed, but it didn't matter anymore. Nothing would matter if her dad died.
His eyes remained closed, but he was stirring now. "Go," he mumbled feebly. "If Ross finds out you're here…"
"I'm not leaving you." Ana pulled him to her lap protectively, pressed her lips against his temple, pretending to be kissing him, and whispered, "Helen's lab."
"The coordinates are set," FRIDAY announced.
"The shield," he whimpered. "Take the shield."
This confused Ana. "What?"
"He doesn't deserve it. My dad made it."
"Oh."
Well, he had a point. Besides, Ana might as well show some respect to her grandfather's legacy. Today, she had fought for him, too. She went to pick the shield up, along with her dad's broken helmet. It was the only solid proof that they had been here.
She looked at the monster who had made her hurt her dad one last time before leaving. It was almost physically painful, having to leave them here alive, even though Rogers was doomed, but if she had to make a choice between her dad and everything else, she chose the former. Always.
"Looks like we both lose," he said flatly, kneeling beside Rogers, but ready to fight in case Ana attacked anew, and probably wondering why she wasn't.
"You wish." She wrapped an arm around her dad as they were swallowed by the wormhole that would take them to Helen Cho's lab in Seoul.
A/N: Just to clarify, Steve is fatally injured, but don't worry, he'll live. I figured T'Challa can save him with a Kimoyo bead, like he saved Everett Ross in BP, even though they weren't shown in CW. Ana stabbing him was kind of important, because while what happens from now on won't be directly her fault, she will pretty much lose all her credibility in the eyes of most people (especially Daisy and Coulson) with this attempted murder. If you have been reading this as a bashing fic (like I told some readers before, I never write, or even read bashing fics myself, but if you want to treat this story as such, I don't mind it either), I hope you liked how I interpreted the Civil War storyline. If you're more of an "I want to see consequences!" type of reader, don't worry! Consequences are coming :)