"Say, Doc, you wouldn't happen to be moving your hair, would you?"

"Not at the moment, no."

There was now also a distant humming of a machine, in addition to muffled screams. The people outside were running… from something.

Her dad was the first to get out. They all went after him. It was chaotic out here. People were in panic, the wind was blowing everything around like leaves. Pamphlets, newspapers, banners… It was hard to walk against it, but it wasn't impossible either. Ana squinted her eyes and shielded her face with her right arm. At least, combined with the aloe vera, the air felt soothing on her left palm, though dust was getting stuck on it. So, she put it in her pocket. The last thing she wanted in this mess was to get infected. Her head was swimming with panic.

Her dad had put on his glasses. With a few long strides, she caught up with him. "What's going on?"

"No idea."

When they turned the corner, they found themselves looking at a giant spaceship.

"FRIDAY, evac anyone south of 43rd Street, notify first responders."

"Will do."

Strange did something with his hands, and the wind just… stopped. Well, at least now there was one less thing to deal with.

A beam of blue light descended from the ship above, brought two aliens. One was huge, and looked like he was made of stones. The other looked like the long-lost kid of Voldemort and Squidward. Ana didn't know how else she could describe him.

"Hear me, and rejoice," he said. "You're about the die at the hands of the children of Thanos…"

Children of Thanos. Ana turned to Bruce and whispered, "You said Sigyn was adopted by Thanos. Is she like… those two now?"

Bruce swallowed thickly. "It's more complicated than that, Ana. Thanos made her choose between Loki and her sister. If she had refused, he would've killed them both. She had a chance to save Sif, so she took it."

Damn, that must have been rough. Ana tried to imagine what she would do if she had a sister and she had to make a choice between her and JARVIS, and decided she would rather kill herself than choose.

"I'm sorry, Earth is closed today!" her dad was saying. "You better pack up, and get out of here."

"Stonekeeper… Does this chattering animal speak for you?"

"Certainly not, I speak for myself." Strange conjured two shields, which, again, evoked a sense of familiarity in Ana. Wong did the same. "You're trespassing in this city, and on this planet."

"It means get lost, Squidward!"

The big one was now coming for them.

"Banner, you want a piece?"

"Uhm, no not really, but when do I get what I want?"

"Can't you two just… Avada Kedavra those things?" Ana asked Strange.

"Make another Harry Potter reference, and I'm going to seal your mouth shut", he threatened.

"For the record, your wizarding school sucks." Ana almost wished Daisy and Jemma were here, so that they could annoy the shit out of Strange together with endless references. Then she remembered that they weren't her friends anymore. It hurt. For a time, they had made her understand why her dad loved being a part of a team.

Bruce was trying to unleash the Hulk, but for some reason, it was taking longer than usual.

"Where's your guy?" her dad asked.

"I don't know, we're certainly having a thing!"

"There's no time for a thing. That's the thing right there, let's go."

He groaned, and his skin partially turned to green, but that was all. The other two men seemed disappointed.

"Dude, you're embarrassing me in front of the wizards."

"I'm sorry… I—I can't… He won't."

"It's okay, it's fine. Just stand down… Ana, keep an eye on him, will you?"

"Sure."

He stepped forward, and activated the suit. Here we go, Ana thought, as the nanites spread across his body. Mark L was designed for otherworldly threats. For this. Ana didn't know if she had used her own suit—hers was modified for better stealth, as usual—in Hell. Even if she had, she didn't remember any of it. But it was the most advanced weapon they had against Thanos now. If only she could believe it was enough. If only she could believe they stood a chance.

One problem at a time. She activated her own suit.

"Wow," Bruce gasped, as they watched her dad fight the alien monster. "How long have you guys been working on that?"

"Since Wakanda decided to share their tech," Ana replied.

"What?"

"Long story."

In the meantime, her dad had used the cluster cannons to hurl the big alien back at his brother. The other one was almost going to go down with him, but he changed his brother's direction at the last moment.

Her dad turned to them. "It's nanotech, you like it? A little something—"

The noseless one had ripped the floor beneath his feet up, and sent him flying into the sky. And now he was hurtling trees at the rest of them. She couldn't believe she had to do such a thing, but she pushed Bruce to stand behind her. Wong's shield had widened to protect them from the attack, but Ana had a feeling that Squidward was just getting warmed up.

"Dr. Banner," Strange said. "If the rest of your green friend won't be joining us…" He opened a portal and Bruce fell through it.

And now, a car was coming at them. Strange conjured his shields again, but her dad was returning. Ana decided to help when she realized he had a better idea. Using their repulsors, they sent the car right back at the freak. But he cut it in half.

"Ana, remember our emergency protocol?"

"Got it, Dad," she said, and took to the sky.

Of course, these alien attacks required improvisation, but they had a general strategy planned out. Ana's role was clear: Go high. Go invisible. Be the element of surprise.

Once she was sure she was out of sight, she activated the cloaking mode. "Okay, Dad, I'm all set. Where do you need me?"

"Why don't you start by— Ugh!"

She saw him get hit by the big one's chain hammer. "DAD?"

He groaned. "Change of plans. I could really use your help with this guy."

FRIDAY was already taking her to him. Ana could hear Bruce's voice in the background. Still no Hulk. She found them in the park. Her dad was fighting the creature, but he must have a really thick skin, because every blast, beam, and missile was just bouncing off of it. Bruce was there, under a fallen tree, and… slapping himself? Whatever. Ana looked for a weak spot, and decided to go for the back of his neck. It seemed like the most exposed area. She hovered above that part, got as close as she could, closed her fists, formed two long, sharp blades with the nanites, dug them into the skin, and electrocuted the bastard. He stopped to howl in pain.

FRIDAY was X-raying him, to see if there is something that resembled a vital organ she could reach and kill him in an instant. No luck so far. The damn beast indeed might be made of stone except for his eyes. Maybe she could try blinding him, but not from here…

Her dad had ceased attacking. "Ana, is this you?"

"Yep."

"Good job, now deactivate the stealth mode."

"Why?"

"Because even I can't see you when you're cloaked!"

That was in case someone stole his suit and tried to use it against her. Being prepared for any scenario was another part of their strategy.

"Yeah, I'm that good," she boasted. Seeing that she was capable of harming these freaks gave her an almost sadistic joy.

"Ana, this is not the time to be a smartass. What if I hit you by accident?"

"Alright, alright… FRIDAY?"

FRIDAY deactivated the stealth mode, and her dad continued shooting at him. The brute was now shaking his head wildly. Ana was still trying to fry him, but with one giant hand, he grabbed her, pulled her out, and sent her flying off, like she was nothing but an annoying mosquito. After a somersault, she managed to come to a halt before she hit anyone or anything. On her way back, she heard Peter's voice through the comm. "Hey, man… What's up, Mr. Stark?"

Damn… Should they be bringing a 15-year-old into this? But then, they couldn't exactly afford to be picky today.

By the time she was back at the park, Peter was being tossed around like Ana had just been. She managed to grab him before he plummeted into the ground. "I got you, kid!"

"Oh, thanks, Ana! Hi, by the way… So, what's this guy's problem?"

"Uhm, he's from space, he came here to steal a necklace from the wizard," her dad said. That was one way to explain the situation.

"Oh, and he has a brother who can probably cut you in half with a flick of his hand, so if you see a creepy noseless guy, stay away!" Ana added.

"How do you know they're brothers?" her dad asked.

"Well, if they're both Thanos' kids… Seriously, Dad, how are we going to kill this thing?" Peter had just hit him with a car. It had done nothing. Every bullet or missile they shot at him was just a waste of nanites.

A red blur flew past them. "Kid, that's the wizard, get on it!"

"On it!"

Again, Ana didn't think they should send Peter to take on the other one on his own, but maybe he could just grab Strange and take him to safety. Which reminded her… "Peter, whatever you do, don't touch the necklace yourself! It's like… cursed or something. It burns you."

"Oh, okay, good to know."

"Ana," FRIDAY said, "You've just received an e-mail."

"Seriously, FRIDAY? Now?" The brute wasn't giving them a break, and FRIDAY was worried about unread e-mails?

"It's from Daisy Johnson."

Shit. This wasn't the best time to think about her back-stabbing ex-BFF, but… Curiosity killed the cat. "Show me."

The e-mail appeared on the HUD. There were coordinates, and a note: "We need to talk.—Daisy"

"What does Daisy want?" her dad asked.

"To talk, probably about Thanos."

"Is Quake joining us?" Peter squealed excitedly.

"Gosh, I hope not," Ana muttered. The kid didn't know about TAHITI.

"Yeah, her timing is just… perfect," her dad sneered.

"Dad, we must be all over the news by now… She wants to meet, somewhere in the Appala—" The creature had caught her off-guard, slapped her with the back of his hand, and she was thrown into the pool nearby. She had hit her head pretty hard, though. It took a moment for her to recover. By the time she looked up, her dad was trapped by the hammer, and the brute was charging at him with a big-ass sword.

"Shit!"

But Wong got to them first, and sent the alien through a portal. By the time Ana made it there, all that was left of him was a severed hand. Bruce kicked it away with disgust.

"Wong, you're invited to my wedding!" her dad said, and took off. He was going after the spaceship. Without even thinking about it, Ana followed him.

"Dad, what's going on?"

"The kid's in trouble."

Yeah, she vaguely remembered Peter asking for help while she was catching her breath.

"Ana, honey, listen… Maybe you should—"

"Save your breath, Dad." She knew what he was going to say.

She heard him sigh. "In that case… Give us a little juice, FRIDAY!"

FRIDAY activated the foot thrusters.

"Unlock 17: A."

That was Peter's newest suit. Yes, this was really the day they would use every trick up their sleeves. Down there, fighting an alien monster, the adrenaline rush had kept the thought at bay for a while, but now, while chasing a spaceship, it was all flooding back into her.

"Pete, you gotta let go, I'm going to catch you."

"But you said save the wizard… I can't breathe."

"You're too high up, you're running out of air."

"That makes sense…"

"Kid, seriously!" Ana broke in. "We'll take it from here."

There was no reply. She saw him fall, but the Iron Spider armor reached him just in time, much to her relief. "Mr. Stark, it smells like a new car here!"

"Happy trails, kid! FRIDAY, send him home."

"Yep."

"Oh, come on!"

At least a dead teenager wouldn't be on their long list of regrets. They attached themselves onto the side of the ship, and cut a hole to enter.

"Boss, incoming call from Ms. Potts," FRIDAY said as they stepped inside. Ana started sealing the hole. She was getting the same call.

"Tony? Ana? Oh my God, are you alright? What's going on?"

"Yeah, we're fine. I just think I'm going to have to push our 8.30 res…"

"Why?"

"Just because… I'll probably not make it back for a while."

"Tell me you're not on that ship."

"Yeah."

"God, tell me, please, you're not on the ship…"

"Honey, I'm sorry." This was torture for him, she could see it on his face. "I'm sorry, I don't know what to say—"

"Come back! Come back here, or—"

"Pepper, it's okay," Ana broke in. "I'll bring him back to you safely, I promise."

"You're taking Ana with you?" Pepper shrieked. "Hasn't she been through enough? What kind of father are you, Tony? Come back here, right now, I swear—"

"Boss, we're losing her. I'm going to—"

There was static at first, and then, not even that. Nothing. The two geniuses looked at each other. Ana wished Pepper hadn't asked that last question.

"She didn't mean it," she said quickly, taking his hand. "Pepper is smart, and she… No doubt she wants what's best for us, but this is not something she can fully understand."

"She's right, though. You shouldn't be here."

"Then why aren't you sending me back, too?" He could if he wanted to.

"I don't want something like that to be your last memory of me."

"I'm right where I want to be," she said. This was his worst nightmare, too. She had to be strong for him.

"Really? Because I'm not," he half-quipped. "I'd rather be back in Malibu right now."

Thinking of Malibu made her smile. "Dad, everything bad that's been happening since New York has been happening because of Thanos! I have to look this guy in the eye! I know what you're doing. You want to take the fight to him. After everything we've been through, do I deserve to be left out now?"

"No! No, of course not. It's just… If I can't protect you…" His face looked las if Thanos was already here and torturing him.

"We've been preparing for this. I know we should've done more, but maybe, just maybe, it's enough. And if it's not… Just know that in the end, I'll still be grateful for everything."

"Come here." He pulled her into a hug. They had their armors on, but it still felt nice. He pressed a kiss on her temple then rested his forehead on it. They both knew which scenario was more likely. It wasn't going to be enough. In a very near future, they were going to die. There was going to be no family dinner, no wedding, no Morgan.

…

The ship was huge, but there wasn't much to be seen. There wasn't a crew or anything, which was good for the father and the daughter, who had been exploring it for the past five minutes. And the alien Squidward hadn't even hesitated to leave his "brother" behind, so maybe they weren't much of a family, after all. He was now nowhere to be seen, though. Strange was on the lower deck, floating mid-air, still unconscious. They didn't dare go down there, lest the alien returned. But they managed to find another control panel up here.

"This ship seems to be on auto-pilot," he said under his breath. "Do you think these can be coordinates?"

She didn't know why, but she took a few pictures of those symbols. She had taken a few pictures of the ship, too. Maybe someday, someone would find them. She felt like their story deserved to be told. "I should've designed a universal translator of my own…"

"Why didn't you?"

"Because linguistics is not my strong suit, and it's not fun to re-invent something. Universal translators are pretty common among aliens."

"You know what I'm thinking?"

"What?"

"If you took these symbols to someone who could read them…"

"Dad, I thought we were past that! There's no reason for me to leave you now!"

"Yes, there is! There's… a million reasons, you just don't want to see them! What if Thanos decides to play it dirty? What if he threatens me with you? He doesn't even have to do a thing. The moment he gets his hands on you, I'm his bitch!"

"You're saying I'm a weakness…"

"Honey, you got to go back. This is a one-way ticket. You know it is."

"I do. That's exactly why I'm coming with you."

"No, Ana, look…" He pointed at the screen. "These must be the coordinates of the ship's destination. Once this is over, once Thanos is dealt with, you can come find me."

"I've never done anything like that before!" In theory, she could open a portal to anywhere, but this wasn't a good time to put that theory to test.

"If there's anyone who can tear a hole in the universe for me, it's you. Plus, my suit has a tracker. All you have to is to pin down the right planet, then you can track my signal."

"No, Dad. I'm coming with you. Once we take care of Thanos, we can find a way to return home."

"And what if we can't? What if there is no way?"

"Then I'll be very glad that we're together."

"Ana, you're not thinking logically. If you don't leave now, we're both going to die stranded in another galaxy, light years away from Earth. The truth is, I don't want to die. But more importantly, I don't want you to die. I can't watch you die, Ana. Don't do this to me. Go back to Earth now."

She started crying. "Dad, I can't!"

"Come on, kid. Do the math yourself… Where's that Ice Princess when I need her?"

She was still crying, but she chuckled through the tears. "I just don't want you to be alone…"

"Uhm, he won't exactly be alone…" They both jumped when they heard Peter's voice.

Her dad was horrified. "Oh, God, this is a nightmare…"

"Peter?" Ana exclaimed. This was a nightmare, indeed. This was why she didn't like kids. They just couldn't be reasoned with.

"You should not be here!" he hissed at the teenager.

"I know what you're going to say, and I was going home, but I just stuck to the side of the ship. This suit is ridiculously intuitive, by the way. So, if anything, it's kind of your fault that I'm here." He paused, then added quickly, "I shouldn't have said that. I…"

Her dad turned to Ana again. "See? Now the kid's counting on you, too."

"Then send him back. He's younger."

"Honey, I'm not asking you to return only because you need to bring us home. It's also because we both know the key to stopping Thanos is in your head. I wish I could give you your memories back, Ana, but I can't. There's only one person who can."

The suggestion angered her. "I don't need help from the Maximoff bitch…"

"Look, I don't like her either, but you have to. Vision has the Mind Stone. You have to warn the team, and find out what it was that Reyes wanted you to forget so badly. Then you have to warn SHIELD as well. We're going to need all the help we can get."

"Really, Dad? Do you really want me to go to the people who cut my skull open and messed with my brain? Not to mention that one of those people was supposed to be my best friend?"

"Does SHIELD do that?" Peter gasped.

"Yeah, it's called the TAHITI Protocol," Ana explained.

"Ana, come on," her father urged her. "This ship is moving too fast; this is your last chance. If you don't leave now, don't bother."

He was right. If she lingered, she was going to have to resort to teleportation, which would consume 85% of the Arc Reactor's power.

Should she go back? What if they had a chance to win, but they lost it just because Ana was a coward?

"Fine!" she gave in, and hugged him one last time. "I'll come back for you." With something that can kill Thanos, hopefully.

He kissed the top of her head. For a second there, she thought he wouldn't release her, but he did. "I know you will. Now, go."

This was harder than fighting aliens, for both of them. She looked at Peter. "Take good care of him."

The boy nodded firmly, obviously flattered by Ana's faith in him. She waited until they held onto something, then opened another hole and was sucked out into space immediately. She didn't look back.

…

It was a smooth ride back to Earth. The suit had found a Jump Point—Sigyn might have been enslaved by Thanos, but her teachings still came in handy—and she was back home. She directly headed for the Compound. And as soon as FRIDAY was online, she uploaded the pictures, and told her to start deciphering the symbols. Ana might not have a fully-functional universal translator, but she had uploaded several alien numeric systems into FRIDAY's database. Numbers were easier to convert. She also took a look at the news. The whole world thought the Starks were missing.

She went to the meeting room, because FRIDAY had said the entire gang was there, except for Barton. The moment he saw Ana, Rhodey ran up to her. "Sweetie, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

After this reassurance, everyone turned to Rogers expectantly. Her fate depended on his reaction, it appeared.

"Hello, Ana," he started calmly. "It's good to see you're safe. I'm sorry about Tony."

"And I'm sorry about stabbing you, but my dad is okay. He's going to take the fight to Thanos. The kid and the wizard are with him. And I have the coordinates of their destination."

He raised his eyebrows questioningly. "I know you can teleport, but... Can you go to him, just like that?"

She nodded. More relieved sighs were heard than she had expected to hear.

"He sent me back because I might know how to stop Thanos," she went on.

Rhodey nodded. "Yeah, that's what Banner just told us."

"Now, SHIELD wants to talk as well. But I don't know how much of the truth they'll tell me. They've betrayed me once, I can't trust them again. I can't go to them without having the whole picture." She paused. Sure, Maximoff could do this, but then, so could someone with more decency. "Vision…"

Something with Vision was wrong, though. When she looked closer, she realized he had a stab wound. "What happened to you?"

"We were attacked. I cannot help you, Ana. I'm sorry. But she can." He looked at Maximoff. Maximoff looked at Rogers.

"I choice is yours," he said. "But I've known Ana for longer than you have. She deserves a second chance."

"You know I wouldn't even consider it if I weren't desperate, right?" Ana asked her. Forgiveness didn't come easy, even when the universe was at stake. "But Thanos wants the Mind Stone, and he won't hesitate to rip it out of Vision's forehead."

An expression of fear crossed Maximoff's face, and Ana knew they were on the same page for once.

"Yeah, we're working on that," Bruce interrupted. "Steve thinks we can remove it, using Wakandan tech, without harming Vision. We were about to leave, then you showed up."

"That's good. I wouldn't want to stall you." She turned to Wanda again. "Look, I know we're not friends, but if you give me my memories back, I'll gladly help you tear Thanos to pieces."

Natasha gave them an encouraging smile. "That's not such a bad way to start a friendship, you know… Never say never."

The Sokovian sighed, indecisive.

"Wanda," Vision said softly. "I know Ana made too many mistakes in the past, but she deserves a chance to redeem herself. Please do it. For me."

Wanda still seemed unsure. "If this is another one of your games…"

"I'm asking you to look into my mind. What can I possibly gain from that?"

"We'll see." She started moving her hands, and red threads emerged from her fingers. Ana removed her Arc Reactor, put it aside, closed her eyes, and tried to relax. At this point she had nothing to hide. Well, she still had a few things, but they were inconsequential. Her desire to help was genuine. Depending on what Wanda would uncover, she…

In less than a second, everything came back to her, like the missing pieces of a puzzle. The night she had changed the future, the deal she had made with Charles Hinton, the vision he had shown her, being dragged into Hell by her grandfather, meeting the Ancient One, the days she had spent there, the things she had learned… And her grandfather's betrayal. Yeah, that one hurt the most. How she had begged Robbie and the others, and how deaf they had been to her pleas… That was the second.

Along with Wanda, she saw it all. They looked at each other. Wanda hadn't only seen the whole thing. She had seen it from Ana's perspective. They were both equally shocked by the brutality of it.

"What are you going to do?" she whispered after respectfully withdrawing from her mind.

"I'm going to find Coulson." Trembling with rage, Ana could barely speak. Yeah, she knew she had been betrayed, but the extent of that betrayal was beyond her imagination. Rogers made an attempt to stop her, but Wanda pulled him back and nodded reassuringly.

She was striding out of the Compound when Vision caught up with her. Moving seemed painful for him, so Ana stopped.

"Ana, please!" he said. "I don't know what Wanda showed you, but please don't go. This is not a good time to start another fight among ourselves. Come to Wakanda with us."

"I have to go."

"I… I'm scared. I want you to be there with me."

"You have Maximoff. And I've heard Princess Shuri is much smarter than I am. You'll be in good hands."

"JARVIS doesn't care how good they are. You're the only one he wants. He's scared, too."

Ana's heart almost stopped every time Vision mentioned JARVIS, but she reminded herself to be logical today. "I'm not going to SHIELD to cause drama. I'm going to find a way to kill Thanos. JARVIS has nothing to fear. Neither do you."

"If you say so… Good luck, Ana."

"You, too, JARVIS."

It took Ana a moment to realize the wrong name had escaped her mouth, but Vision didn't bother to correct her. He returned to the others. Ana went outside, donned the suit, and took off.