"How…"

"It's hard to explain. But we have to go now. Like I said, it's not safe here."

"Then why did you—"

Before she could finish her question, Howard Stark grabbed her arm and started dragging Ana. They just walked perhaps for an hour, and there was no one else in sight. Her head was swimming so fast that it took her a long time to take notice of the unnatural cold and silence surrounding them. "Eerie" would be an understatement. It was as if every single cell in her body was screaming at her not to be here.

But it looked like her grandfather knew what he was doing, so there was that.

Eventually, they entered a cave. It was almost like a maze, with wide, serpentine tunnels full of forks and crossroads. She tried to memorize the path to the main entrance at first, but it was soon proven to be in vain.

"What's this place?"

"My hideout."

"Who are you hiding from?"

"A lot of people."

No longer able to go with the flow, she stopped in her tracks abruptly. Didn't he realize what she was going through here? "Look, I need a minute here, okay? Either give me some answers, or some space. Because this is too much! I can't keep going like this."

His face softened. This was a surprise, because if the stories had taught her anything, it was to not expect any kindness or sympathy from Howard Stark. "Do I frighten you?"

"Well, I'm sorry I wasn't expecting to meet my dead grandfather today!"

"I'm sorry, my dear. This can't be easy for you, I know."

"She's right, Howard," a woman's gentle voice came from somewhere, and she came out from one of the holes in the wall. She was bald, and wearing a yellow robe. "It was your choice to bring your granddaughter here. You owe her an explanation."

"Who's the Air Bender?" Ana asked.

"You can call me the Ancient One. I was the Sorcerer Supreme when I was alive."

"Another alien, huh?" she scoffed. "Why am I not surprised?"

"Not exactly," the Ancient One said. "I am a human, and a Master of the Mystic Arts."

"So, there are humans who practice magic?"

"Yes."

"Great! Now if you just tell me what this place is, and what you're all doing here, we'll be making real progress."

"Can I have a moment with her? Alone?" Howard Stark asked uncomfortably. The Ancient One nodded, and gestured them into the small chamber she had come out of. She didn't follow them back into it.

The two Starks, the grandfather and the granddaughter stood, face to face.

"Okay, first things first," he started. "That suit looks impressive, but you have to give it to me."

His entitlement left her appalled. "Huh… Tell you what, Dad made the first version of this in a cave so… go make your own. This one stays with me."

"You misunderstand me, Ana. I don't want the suit for myself. I'm going to destroy that miniaturized Arc Reactor. It's too dangerous for you to have such a thing here."

"How do you know my name? How do you even know I'm your granddaughter? It's not like we've met before."

"The Ancient One has died very recently. She's updated me on many things."

"What about the other one? That thing inside Robbie?"

"Robbie? The newest host?"

She nodded.

"'That thing' in him is known as the Spirit of Vengeance. His real name is Zarathos, if you must know, but never call him that."

"How did you become friends?"

"I helped him escape Hell, a long time ago. He owes me."

"So, there's a way out of here?"

"Under certain conditions, yes."

"Why didn't you escape with him?"

"How would I have explained my return? It would have ruined Tony's life. And yours, too."

This pathetic excuse angered her. Hadn't he just said he had been updated very recently? "Ruined his life? Do you have any idea how much Dad misses you, despite everything you did to him? How desperately he needs a closure because he doesn't want to remember you as the shitty father you are? He fought your precious Captain America because he lied to us about your death! Or did the Ancient One not tell you that?"

"I know about Siberia," was all he said, which made things even worse.

"Wow… So, we almost died trying to avenge you, and you were just… chilling here?"

Ana didn't care who he was, what he had become, or what he could do if she pissed him off. She grabbed him by the collar and shook him. He remained impassive. Frustrated, she shoved him away.

"You know, people always told me I reminded them of you. I hated it. I never quite understood why, I just did. But I understand now. I hated it because I don't want to be ANYTHING like you! You're not the legend you think you are. You're just a sad, little coward! Everybody you trusted betrayed you. You trusted Obadiah Stane with your company, he tried to kill us, twice! You trusted Anton Vanko with your life's work, his son came back to punish us for your mistakes! You built SHIELD, only to get yourself and your wife killed by it, because guess what? It was actually HYDRA! Even Steve Rogers defended your murderer instead of seeking justice for you! He might have been everything for you, but to him, you were nothing! And the one person who loved you unconditionally? You screwed him up with your man-crush on Captain America!"

"I'm sorry."

Was that all he had to say? "I'm sorry"? He hadn't even put any emotion into the words. He just stood there, face inscrutable.

"You hide in a cave while your son mourns you. And you drag me here! Why? Just to say hi? To have a partner in crime? Not going to happen! Unlike you, I'm not going to let him mourn me for nothing! I'm going to find a way to return home. And you're going to come with me. You're going to come with me, and be the father he deserves for once!"

"We can't change who we are, Ana."

"Sure we can. Do you know why? Because I did at least one thing you'd never do: I STABBED Steve Rogers!"

With these words, she stormed off. Stabbing Rogers wasn't her proudest moment, but she was just desperate to get back at her grandfather right now. All that pain she had seen in her dad's eyes, heard in his voice while he was talking about his father… How could she not be angry upon seeing the very man who had hurt him like that?

She tried to find the entrance for a while, but only to lose all sense of direction. She was too proud to call for help, so she found a small, empty chamber and sat down on the ground, cross-legged. That was how the Ancient One found her.

"It seems to me all Starks are destined to walk a dangerous path, but yours is the worst."

"What do you even know about my path?"

She sat down cross-legged, too, across from Ana, like she was preparing to say something important. No doubt she would.

"I know it will lead you to Thanos."

"Who is Thanos?"

"The enemy you're looking for."

"The one who gave Loki the Chitauri and the Scepter?"

"Yes."

"What else do you know about him?"

"He's a Titan. The last of his kind. He witnessed the destruction of his people, and thinks it could have been prevented by killing half of the population. He believes it's his destiny to 'save' the rest of the universe."

It wasn't just the world that was in danger, then, but the entire universe. This was a lot bigger than she had thought. If Ana had a pen and paper, she would be taking notes right now. But she didn't, so she was listening very carefully instead, her anger long forgotten. "How is he going to do it?"

"He is already doing it. Planet by planet. But what he truly wants is the Infinity Stones. The six of them. Space, Mind, Reality, Power, Time, and Soul. If he gets them, he can do anything with a snap of his fingers."

"Well, I've studied an Infinity Stone or two myself, so I know your story isn't utter bullshit."

A mischievous smile flickered across the woman's face.

"I believe you've done more than just studying," she said insinuatingly, her eyes on the Arc Reactor. "That's why you want the Darkhold, yes? To create what you call the Nexus, among a few other things?"

"If you have any better ideas, I'm all ears."

"This is your fight. Mine is now against someone else who wants the Nexus for himself."

"Who?"

"The Lord of Hell, Mephisto… Why do you think he took Howard?"

"What?" Ana asked, confounded. Had someone taken him? How did this afterlife work, exactly?

"This place is called Hell, but we're not here to be punished for our sins. No, 'hell' is a relevant word. We're here, because the Lord of Hell wants to use our skills for his own gain. He stole our souls. You see, I was the Sorcerer Supreme when I was alive. And Howard, he…"

"He replicated the essence of an Infinity Stone," Ana realized in horror. "So did I." She was beginning to realize the true consequences of her actions. She could deal with rules, laws, trials, hearings, old men with their sharp suits and small minds, but someone who could steal dead people's souls? She had no idea how to deal with that.

The Ancient One nodded. "He dragged you here before Mephisto or one of his minions could get their hands on you. Are you familiar with the name 'Whitney Frost'?"

"Yes?"

"She was chosen by the Lord of Hell for her work with the Darkforce. Unlike us, she gladly pledged her loyalty to him. She was Howard's torturer. Mephisto gave her some Darkforce as a gift, and she used it to torture the man she blamed for her years in the asylum. Howard never relented. He refused to serve Mephisto, no matter how much Frost hurt him. But he didn't fight back either. He didn't try to escape, thinking it was a punishment he deserved. Until he found out he had a granddaughter. When Frost threatened him with you and Tony, he found the strength to fight back. He started stealing Darkforce from her, one tiny drop during each torture session. It took a long time, but he did it."

"What about the Spirit of Vengeance?"

"He was in the dungeons with Howard. The Spirit helped him hide the Darkforce he stole. In return, Howard used some of it to open a portal back to the Earth Plane. The Spirit of Vengeance escaped, Howard remained to ensure that you and Tony wouldn't end up here when you died."

All her anger was now replaced with shame. She had judged her grandfather too quickly and too harshly. It also explained why the Ghost Rider wanted to keep her away from the book. A Stark who read the Darkhold to build the Nexus, that was what the Lord of Hell wanted. "Why didn't he tell me?"

"He's too proud to let you know how much he suffered. He doesn't even know I'm here to tell you the truth. He's not going to be happy when he finds out."

"Let me worry about that. Where's he? I have to see him."

"Follow me."

The Ancient One led her back to her grandfather's room. Ana wasn't sure if it was the same room; they all looked similar.

"I told her the truth," the Ancient One announced.

He frowned, but didn't seem exactly shocked. The Ancient One left them alone once again.

"Are you hungry?" he asked Ana.

"No."

"Well, remind me when you are. It's easy for me to forget you need sustenance. There's not much food to be found here, but I won't let you starve either."

"You… don't eat?"

"No. What you see is my astral form, materialized by Mephisto upon death. I don't eat, sleep, or excrete."

"And obviously, don't age…" He didn't look any older than he had been on the day of his death.

"No," he confirmed.

"I'm sorry," she blurted out. "I was too quick to judge you. I have this… temper. I get angry over something, then take it out on people I care about. I hurt them."

"Except you were right to be angry with me. Like you said, I left a mess too big in my wake for a kid to deal with. Tony didn't even have time to properly grieve, or prepare himself for fatherhood."

"Yeah, but I guess that's what brought us so close. We were so different from each other. He loved the fame, the attention… I was shy and private. But none of these mattered when we got together in the shop, traveled the world, or just had ice-cream on the beach. I was never worried, at least not for myself, when he got drunk. Drunk or sober, he wouldn't even raise his voice to me. His patience was just endless. I guess the Stark temper skipped a generation. For a long time, I didn't even know he was giving me the childhood he wished he had. I mean, I could always feel something was bothering him, and I wanted to make it go away, but I had no idea what I was dealing with until I found out about you."

"I don't know if you're going to believe me. I understand if you don't. But I love him, Ana. I love him as much as he loves you. And I love you, too. I shouldn't be happy that you're here. It's so wrong. But here you are, and you're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. So, how can I not be happy?" He smiled apologetically.

Ana was crying now. She had never been loved by a grandparent before. Something in his attitude reminded her of her dad, and even though she was stuck in some weird-ass dimension, she felt almost home. She hugged him. He was hesitant at first, but then, he hugged her back. His body was unnaturally cold, but the hug somehow warmed her still.

"I love you, too. And I'm sorry you suffered so much."

"It doesn't matter anymore. You make all the pain go away."

Yeah, that was exactly the kind of thing her dad would say. "Still, we gotta return home."

"I want to show you something. Come."

He took her to the deeper levels of the cave, where the air was a lot colder and everything was darker. But there was a main chamber here, larger than any of the others, and it looked like it was a makeshift workshop. He had been building a car.

"This is for the new Ghost Rider, in case he comes."

Circling the vehicle, Ana gasped at her grandfather's resourcefulness. "How did you…"

They went deeper into the workshop, where dark ore veins were sticking out on the ground. She was almost going to touch them to examine the material, but he stopped her.

"It's dark matter in its purest form," he explained. "Very dangerous, but also very versatile. I use it to power the car."

"I see…"

"The Darkhold is made of this as well," he said insinuatingly.

Ana shifted on her feet awkwardly, trying to decide how to explain. At last, she decided to be honest. If there was anyone who could truly understand her moral struggle, it was him. "I might have inherited something else from you. I'm good at manipulating people. Not necessarily in an evil way. I'm just good at telling them what they want to hear to get what I want. It's a skill I only use to protect our family. I lied to my friends to get the Darkhold, true. Then I ended up here…"

"How exactly is the Darkhold going to help you?"

"It can help me bring my boyfriend back. It can help me prepare for Thanos."

He frowned. "Thanos?"

"The Ancient One told me about him. Look, ever since New York, my dad's been obsessed with the alien mastermind behind the attack. And I've been helping him prepare for whoever that was. The Ancient One told me his name. And his plan."

He shook his head angrily. "She shouldn't have done that. You and Tony are no match for Thanos."

At that moment, Ana came up with an idea. "What about you?"

"What about me?"

"The reason I wanted the Darkhold in the first place was to finish what you started. To discover the other five elements. I've already discovered the second element without the book's help! But I don't have the time or the resources to do the same with the remaining stones. So, what if you read the book? Can it still corrupt you if you're not human anymore?"

"Don't let the Spirit of Vengeance hear this plan of yours. If he finds out, he kills you. Even I can't protect you."

"Fine! Just tell me if you're up for it or not."

"Let's worry about getting out of here first. Then we'll deal with Thanos."

"Oh, by the way…" She tapped on the Arc Reactor to disable the suit, and gave it to him. "You're right. It's not safe for me to parade two of the elements around in this place, if they're something Mephisto wants. Do whatever you have to do with it. I trust you, Grandpa."

He smiled. His eyes turned black, and dark wisps started dancing around the fingers of his right hand, the hand that held the Arc Reactor. The wisps wrapped themselves around the device, became denser, and swallowed it. Once the Arc Reactor was gone, the dark wisps disappeared, and his eyes returned to normal. He went to the car he had been building, and pulled out a toolbox from under it.

"Come on. Let's see if Tony's taught you well."

…

"Hey, Dad. This is day 5… I think. I don't know if time works differently here. Not much has changed since yesterday. Grandpa and I still have a lot of catching up to do. I told him about Charles Hinton's vision today. I know it's not really possible, but I think I finally managed to give him a headache… He's not too bad. I can see why you love him so much. I wish you were here… You know what, scratch that. No one deserves to be here. There's something about this place, I feel like it's draining me. It's hard to explain. I've taken some pictures. I can't wait to show you. I don't know if I'm wasting the battery power on these video diaries, but then, what else can you do with a phone in Hell?"

Frustrated, she ended the recording and tossed the phone on the makeshift bed. Maybe she was going crazy.

"Ana?"

She looked up, surprised to hear Robbie's voice. He was standing at the entrance. "Robbie? What are you doing here?"

He approached, and sat down beside her. "I made another deal. Now we're going to settle his scores. All of them. He has no shortage of enemies here."

"Coulson and Fitz?"

"They got out."

"Your uncle?"

"Dead."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. By the way, while inside Mack, the Devil told him that you're not dead. They're not going to call your father."

"Mack?" she asked, confused, even though she was glad to hear that her dad wasn't going to be informed.

"After you left for the Compound, the Devil decided to jump into his body. He really hates it here. I had to make this new deal to free Mack."

"Well, the Rider is not the only one who hates it here…"

"Howard will find a way to get us out. He's a smart guy."

"You two are on a first-name basis already?"

He shrugged.

"Sorry you got stuck in our family drama."

"You got stuck in mine first."

They both laughed at the absurdity of the situation. "You had no idea, did you?" Ana asked, shaking her head. "My grandfather, here?"

"No."

"We got something for you."

Ana had decided to show him his new car. Robbie might not be a genius engineer, but he knew how to appreciate a good machine. She had somewhat learned to navigate the cave by now, so she took him down to the workshop easily.

Her grandfather was here as well.

"You like it?" Grandpa Stark asked Robbie.

Robbie admired the car for a minute or two. "It's not the Charger, but it will do. Gracias, Howard…

"De nada."

"It's time for vengeance." With these words, his skull burst into flames. The Rider had taken over. He got into his brand new car, and sped away. Luckily, the tunnels were wide enough for a car to pass through. The problem was to navigate, for they all looked too similar, but Robbie—or the other thing—didn't seem to have a problem with that. After he left, Grandpa Stark started tidying the place up. Ana decided to help him.

"The versatility of dark matter reminds me of vibranium."

"I've been told Wakanda is no longer hiding in the shadows? Have you and Tony visited them yet?"

"Oh, no. We've exchanged some e-mails. We'd been working on nanotech, but it turned out Wakandans had already perfected it, so they helped Dad. I wasn't there when he finished designing Mark L. Too busy preparing for the future at SHIELD. Dad sent me the blueprints. I guess he wanted me to be able to protect myself."

She touched where the Arc Reactor was supposed to be, then remembered that it was gone. It was a cruel precaution, but necessary. "Tell you what, maybe you will be our tour guide if we go to Wakanda."

He smiled. "I would love that."

Once they were done cleaning around the shop, Ana slammed the large stone crate shut, and seated herself on the lid cross-legged. "How did you convince the King of Wakanda to give you vibranium back in the day?"

"I'm good at telling people what they want to hear, too."

She heaved a pensive sigh. "It's not like I'm a pathological liar. There's always truth to the things I say. But I make sure to use even honesty to get what I want… Does that make me a bad person?"

"It makes you a smart one."

"It makes me a manipulator. No one likes me. No one trusts me. They never will. Not really."

He came to sit down beside her and put an arm around her shoulders. "That's the cost. You were right about me, child. Everyone I trusted kept things from me. Even Peggy and Jarvis. Maria is the only exception, and it cost her her life. But the worst part? I still don't regret my choices. Most of them, at least. The greater good rarely outweighs my own self-interest."