A/N: Another Author's Note in the beginning of the chapter? I'm just full of surprises. Last one, I promise. This one is just an announcement to notify you guys that after this chapter, I will be taking a week-long hiatus to write the Homecoming Arc. Ive written out the outline and will now be writing it. So, just a heads up. Enjoy! :)
—
"Do you have your phone?"
"Check."
"Charger?"
"Yup."
"Toothbrush?"
"Mhmm."
"How about shampoo?"
Danielle scrunched her nose as she glanced up at her brother. "She already has shampoo there, doesn't she?" She asked.
Jack shrugged. "We don't know. For all we know, she could live in some back woods cabin with no Wi-Fi."
Danielle smirked and shook her had as she turned back to the suitcase in front of her. They were currently packing for Danielle's extended stay with Rae for the school year that was starting back up in a few days. Needless to say, Danielle was nervous. She hadn't seen any of her friends, or heard from them, since the whole ordeal in Europe a few months ago. It felt so weird referencing to it as 'a few months ago', it felt like just last week. But, surprisingly, being locked away in the Compound for a month and a half went by pretty fast.
She found little things to do that kept her occupied. She played chess with Vision (more like lost in chess to Vision. There really was no point in trying to win). She kept Rhodey company on his many physical therapy trips. The teenager didn't really do much but let him talk it out with her, and she listened to his cool military stories, how him and Tony met in college, all the horror stories of being friends with Tony entailed, his War Machine stories. Danielle also got to help organize Pepper's office in the Compound. The strawberry blonde had been putting it off ever since her and Tony got back together, so Danielle just took it upon herself to get the job done (Pepper had appreciated it). She spent time with Jack and Tony in the Lab, even getting to learn a few things (all of which went in one ear and out the other). And she even got to get to know Darcy, Dr. Foster (though she insisted to be called Jane), and Dr. Selvig better too. Apparently, Darcy had tazed Thor when they first met, which Danielle found hilarious. And, of course, she spent time with her beloved chicken, Quintin.
It was all good fun. And throughout all of it, Danielle was able to work on restoring her powers. Just like Cho said, she used precautions and set boundaries for herself. She didn't go around trying to throw boulders around or toss human beings into walls. Instead, Danielle practiced with little things; taking apart pens, rearranging flowers, picking weeds, blowing leaves, unplugging chargers, and playing Connect Four (she had kicked Tony's butt and hadn't even lifted a finger).
But, all good and relaxing things had to come to an end it seemed. School was coming up and Tony had already took it upon himself to re-enroll her for her sophomore year of high school.
Danielle wondered what her friends would think. She had been gone for almost four months, even after the fact she had promised Liz, Cindy, Betty, and Sally that she would call or text and stop disappearing. And Peter, too. He probably still hated her after the fact that she had ditched him at the Soccer Banquet. He probably hated her even more after her not even giving anyone a warning about vanishing. And it wasn't like she could tell anyone what actually happened. No one could know, powers or not.
Another thing that was definitely going to be different from last year that was really making Danielle nervous was the she wasn't going to have the same support system she did last year. There was no Sharon to come home to and vent with while she drank red wine, watched The Real Housewives of Orange County, and read through case files for the government on the couch. There was no Wanda to call or text on the phone whenever she had a problem or just wanted to talk. And there was no Steve that Danielle could go hang out with in the gym, or get help on history homework with, or even just grab some lunch with in the Compound cafeteria.
But, there was Raelynn Sable. Which was what Danielle and her brother were worrying about right now.
"I'm pretty sure she lives in New York," the brunette responded to her brother's previous statement while she continued to shove clothes and essentials into her suitcase. "Otherwise, I probably wouldn't be going back to Midtown."
"You never know," Jack shrugged nonchalantly.
Danielle had begun to notice her brother's behavior a little earlier on, but here packing to leave, she noticed it a bit more: Jack was worried. Worried for her safety or worried she would leave him for good, she wasn't too sure. But she knew he was worried about something. She could tell in the way he talked, referencing to 'what if' scenarios as if he were trying to scare her from going or trying to convince himself that maybe it wasn't all too bad and he was overreacting.
Slowly, Danielle zipped up her suitcase and made her way to where Jack was sitting on the edge of her bed. It was then that she realized he had picked up a framed photo she kept on her nightstand. It was a copy of the picture she had also given Steve of the photo booth picture set from siblings' trip to the Coney Island Boardwalk all that time ago for her birthday. She gave Jack a sad smile as she walked over and took a seat beside her brother. He didn't look up from the picture when she asked him, "What's wrong?"
Jack let out a heavy sigh, his eyes still glued to the photo. "You know, there was a time when we were all together. Where it felt like it was us against the world. Me... You... Wanda... Pietro," Jack said with a somber tone. "And now... Pietro's gone, Wanda left... you're leaving."
Danielle frowned and placed a hand on his. "I'm not leaving forever, Jack," she told him. "I'll always come back. And I'm only a few hours away, it's not like you can't drive down to visit." He didn't look too convinced. She sighed. "I'll never leave you completely, Jack. You know that."
She watched as her brother's expression softened. His hand then flipped over in his lap to wrap itself around her smaller one. She squeezed back. "I know," he told her. "It's just... It makes me wonder what happened to all of us."
"A lot," she told her brother with a sad smile as she rested her head on his shoulder, glancing down at the photo set with him. "A lot..."
—
It didn't take long for the rest of the packing to be finished. Danielle had only needed to pack the essentials; she was told Rae had bought her a multitude of clothing items alread waiting for her at wherever Rae lived. So, all Danielle really carried with her was a small suitcase filled with shampoo, conditioners, a toothbrush, floss, brushes, hairsprays, perfumes, photos, her laptop, her phone charger, and lots and lots of books along with a backpack filled with school supplies Pepper had put together for her in her free time.
And after the packing came the hard part: leaving.
Danielle thought she would've been used to it by now– saying goodbye. But, just like all the other times she had had to bid farewell to her brother and teammates, Danielle still felt a small twinge of ani in her chest each time. When she hugged her brother goodbye, she couldn't help but bite back a small sniffle and sob. She hid her years the best she could behind her bangs and a forced smile as she turned to the rest of the remaining Avengers standing on the front lawn of the Compound.
"Stay safe, Danielle," Rhodey had told her with sincerity.
"We will keep in contact," Vision stated simply with the nod of his head as she passed him by.
"Call if you need anything at all," Pepper added, pulling Daielle for a quick hug and to press a chaste kiss to the crown of her head. Still holding into the teenager's face, Pepper lifted it up to meet her eyes. "I know Rae can be a bit rough around the edges sometimes, but just give it some time. You'll like her once you get to know her better." Somehow, Danielle didn't find her words very comforting.
"Speaking of the Devil that wears Prada," Tony interjected with a look of skepticism, his eyes scanning everywhere around the Compound parking lot. Just then, the loud sound of a growling engine and the squealing of drifting rubber caught the group's attention. Drifting in from the front entrance of the Compound was a black sports car, the matte color of the paint job reflecting off the sunlight and neary blinding Danielle as the car came to a hault just a few feet away from them. The driver's door of the car slowly opened, and much to Danielle's surprise, it went up instead of sideways like most cars she'd seen.
Once the door was open, a long leg covered in white denim and a black heel with red bottoms planted itself onto the concrete on the ground outside the vehicle. The leg seemed to sprout even more of the body, as the driver stepped white denim leg, became two, became a torso wrapped up in a royal blue, off-the-shoulder blouse with a black leather jacket thrown over it, became a neck with a black jewel necklace hanging off of it, became a face with plump lips and matte lipstick, skin as pale as the moon, eyebrows that cut through diamonds, and eyes that shone a piercing grey, hidden beneath a pair of Gucci sunglasses with a head full of white locks that dropped gracefully down from her skull and naturally draped itself along her shoulders and down her back. This was Raelynn Sable.
Danielle swallowed down the lump that formed in her throat as the woman walked towards them. The teenager froze, expecting her to come and talk to her, but instead watched as she turned to Pepper and gave she a quick kiss to the cheek. The pair exchanged a few words in French Danielle couldn't understand, before Rae finally turned to the rest of the group. "Sorry I'm late. The drive from New York wasn't too forgiving."
"Traffic bad?" Rhodey asked frm beside his best friend.
Rae shrugged. "Something like that." Danielle wasn't sure if anyone else caught onto her ominous smirk she let slip after her remark.
"Well," Pepper clapped her hands together as a broad smile graced her lips. "I hope you two have a safe trip back to New York. I expect to see the both of you back here by Saturday morning. And have a wonderful first week of school, Danielle." Danielle tried to smile, but it only came out as an awkward grimace. Pepper didn't pay any mind as she pulled the girl in for another quick embrace. "Be safe," the strawberry blonde said as she pulled away, then turning to give Rae a pointed look. "The both of you."
Rae shrugged. "No promises."
"What is it you do for a living?" Jack asked, curiously.
Rae fell silent as did Pepper. Nobody spoke until Tony intervened. "She handles foreign affairs for the company," he explained. "A dirty job, really." Danielle and Jack scrunched their noses. It was like they could smell the hidden meaning behind their words and the suspicion in the trio's actions. It made Danielle's already unsettled nerves grow even more erratic and antsy.
But, she didn't have much f a choice to back out now as she found herself climbing into the passenger's leather seat of the sports car Rae had pulled up. Jack had already thrown her luggage int the backseat before giving her a kiss on the cheek while Rae was talking with Pepper and Tiny to the side. "Call me if you need anything or if you want to come home, alright?" He said as he pulled away, still hovering by the open butterfly door.
Danielle nodded. "I will," she told him to ease his nerves and her own.
"I love you, okay?"
She smiled. "I know. I love you, too."
"Please don't do anything reckless," he told her with a serious expression. "Just... stay close to the ground. Don't get involved with anything you can't handle– or shouldn't handle, for that matter." Danielle chuckled a bit before nodding again.
"Okay. I won't."
Just then, Rae and Pepper had finished their goodbyes and the white-haired woman was walking her way back to her car. Jack quickly backed away from the door as Rae got to her side. "Be safe," Jack called me more time before shutting his sister's door for her. She watched him slowly back away from the car, a frown on his face as Rae got in and started the engine. It roared to life and before Danielle could even raise her hand to wave goodbye to her brother, the car jerked forward with a screech and the pair was off.
On the extremely fast drive out of the Compound perimeter, Danielle couldn't help but feel a small sense of deja vu, looking back in the rear view mirror, watching as her home and what was left of her family vanished from sight behind them.
The teenager sighed as she leaned her head back on the back of the (more than likely, expensive) leather seat. She missed being on the run.
—
If there was one thing Danielle was getting to know about her new caretaker, or was that she drove like a madman. Drifting on turns, cutting through cars on the freeway, speeding about forty miles over the speed limit, passing red lights. Rae had drove so fast the entire time, she had made a hour and a half drive in thirty minutes. So when Rae finally pulled into a parking garage in downtown Manhattan beneath a beautifully skyscraper and parked in a private lot, Danielle was more than happy to stumble out of the car and grab onto the nearest floor as if she were clinging onto it for dear life.
Of course, she contained herself, and instead just settled for grabbing her belongings from the backseat and following Rae wordlessly to a nearby elevator attached to the private lot she had pulled into.
While the pair walked, Danielle found herself looking around at her surroundings. Not only did Rae have her own parking lot, she had a lot of cars filling it. In the far corner was what looked like an expensive car Danielle couldn't even pronounce the name of covered in complete silver, including the rims with dollar signs welded into them. Another car was small, but looked like a mini-race car with stripes and hot red paint. There was even an old school top-less car with white rims shinier than it's owner's hair. It was all insane. How much did Tony and Pepper pay her?
"You, uh... You have a lot of cars," Danielle finally got to the course to mutter as Rae pressed the 'up' button on the side of the elevator doors.
The white-haired woman glanced around the parking lot and shrugged nonchalantly. "Just a few things I've collected over the years," she explained simply before the elevator opened with a 'ding' and she wordlessly entered, Danielle following after her. The elevator ride was painfully awkward, both girls standing on either side of the small enclosure while elevator music played from the speakers in the roof. Thankfully, it went quickly. And when the doors re-opened and the pair stepped out, Danielle was blown away.
Stepping out of the elevator, the teenage girl thought she was stepping into a mansion in the sky. There were marble tiles beneath her feet, a glass and silver chandelier above her head, a large wall of glass panes all along the end of the enormous room she just walked into with a view overlooking Manhattan, walls covered in paintings that looked like they were more expensive than Danielle's entire being, and furniture that looked so untouched and so prestige the girl thought she was in a museum for rich people. What did she just walk into?
"Woah," she breathed in awe as she looked all around her, her jaw nearly hitting the shiny floors that clicked underneath Rae's heels as she walked into the kitchen nearby (that was about the size of Danielle's old room in the Compound). "This is your house? You... You live here?" She asked, flabbergasted.
The white-haired woman who was casually digging in the three-door refrigerator shrugged. "Sometimes. I work a lot and am hardly ever here most of the time. So, really, this place is all yours." Danielle could barely contain the sound of surprise that escaped for, her mouth as she continued to look around at the Penthouse around her. It was all hers... She couldn't believe it.
"Oh," Rae spoke up again as she shut the fridge doors. "Your room is down that hall, third door to the right, the first door to the left is the restroom, and I'm sure you can find your way around everywhere else on your own." And with that, the white-haired woman strutted off down a long hallway to the right with her ringing phone in hand, her expression turning into a frown as she left Danielle standing there like a lost dog.
The teenage girl stood there for a moment in the middle of it all, her bags still in hand, before breathing in, breathing out, and taking a mental note that it would all get better. She could do this. This wasn't too much. She could handle this.
"Left hall, third door on the right..." the brunette recited to herself in a whisper before she began to lug her belongings with her in the direction of where her room was supposed to be. As she walked down the hallway, it felt as though she were walking through the so,e sort of cathedral. The hall was about ten feet wide, with a roof that looked like it touched the sky, and paintings lining the walls that were so captivating and colorful, Danielle nearly miscounted the doors on the left and went into the wrong room. But, she eventually found the right one, and when she walked in, it was like she was experiencing the same feeling of awe she felt when she was exiting the elevator all over again.
The living room was big, the kitchen was big, and the hallways were big... Yet, somehow Danielle was surprised to find the room to be enormous as well. It was like she was in a mansion, or a castle. Did Windsor Palace have rooms this huge with walls that tall and wide? And balconies with glass walls that overlooked the city skyline? Or double-door walk-in closets the same size as a normal room? Or a bathroom twice the size of that?!
This was absolutely insane. Danielle couldn't handle this at all.
In the midst of it all, the teenager decided to take a breath and a break, throwing herself onto the large King sized bed at the end of the room, settling her entire body into the memory foam mattress and soft comforter. Somehow, she felt too poor to even be on this bed let alone claim it as her own. And she thought Tony lived a lavish life. Did he know his partner's friend had all this money? Rae was starting to make Tony see humble, and he flies around in a red and good armored suit all day, privatizing world piece.
Danielle signed, she missed Sharon's old apartment with leaky roofs, cracked balcony doors, brick walls, tiny hallways, crappy AC, and drafty rooms. The only problem that there seemed to be with her new 'home' was that there were no problems!
But, the girl was yet again reminded that Sharon was no longer around. And neither was Steve, Wanda, Sam, Nat or Clint. She couldn't go back to her old life and she couldn't go back on the run. This was her option, and she could make this work. She was going to make this work.
With a new found determination, Danielle pulled herself off the overly expensive bed and trudged over to where she dropped her bags by the door. First things first, she had to unpack.
She put all her toiletries on the counter that stretched across the entirety of the enormous far wall and in the many drawers of the large restroom with two showers (one with a tub and one without) and a weird toilet with a fancy golden roll on the side. Next, she placed all her old photos and pictures on the nightstand and her personal belongings inside the drawer beside her bed. And lastly, Danielle decided to take a peek at the closet Rae had supposedly filled with clothes for her... However, she immediately regretted the decision as soon as she walked in.
Inside the walk-in closet was an entire rack filled with clothes that Danielle saw in this commercials with celebrities that wore the clothing lines or magazines and catalogs. Designer brands Danielle could've only heard in passing conversations or jokes at school about how overly priced they were. And then on the wide was an entire wall of shoes. Tennis shoes, jogging shoes, heels, flats, flip-flops, sandals, slippers. All shoes of all types of brands and colors; Converse, Vans, Crocs, Gucci, Adidas, Nike, Puma, Timbs... It was insane. But then, Danielle decided to turn her head to the third and final wall where a large wrack of hats, scarves, and gloves was set beside an entire four level dresser filled with expensive looking jewelry, sunglasses, rings, and other accessories sat inside. Danielle suddenly lost it. She threw down a Croc she had picked up in all the madness, turned off the light to the closet, walked out and shut the door behind her.
"What the Hell," she muttered to herself as she left.
—
It was coming up on ten at night and Danielle still hadn't gone back inside her new room. Instead, she decided to take a moment to process everything out on the balcony attached to her room. It wasn't as big as the terrace attached to the living room that had a pool, a hot tub, and a fireplace on it, but it was big enough that there was a set of couches and chairs on it. Danielle was sure she could even fit a TV or a few LED lights out there.
She decided to take advantage of the open air outside her room, and grabbed a seat in one of the white cushions outside, over-looking the night lights of downtown Manhattan while the fresh breeze blew through her hair. It gave her a sense of her old apartment, whenever she would sit down on the fire escape outside her window and just stare at the brick wall of the neighboring building while letting the wind blow and the sounds of the city enchant her. It was different from all the way up in the skyscraper Penthouse Rae called a home, but she tried her best not to think about it. It was all too much, too fast.
It was so peaceful outside on the balcony, that Danielle was startled by the buzz of her phone beside her on the table by her seat. When she glanced down t it, she expected it to be a follow-up message from Jack (she had already messaged him earlier about how she thought the new house was 'great' and she was 'happy', in an attempt to assure him that she was fine). But, she was surprised to find it to be a message from Rae.
To: Harper Kid 2
From: Silverfox
Dinner is on the table if you want any. Thai from Hell's Kitchen.
Danielle frowned before answering:
To: Silferfox
From: Harper Kid 2
No thanks. I'm not hungry.
After sending the message, she pulled her knees up to her chin, sat back and just let her emotions run their course. She let the sob she had been holding back ever since she was left on her own escape her chest and let the tears she had been holding in out of her eyes as she cried and weeped from frustration, exasperation, sadness, anger, and hurt. She found that she had never missed her old life more than in this moment.
And to make matters worse, she had school tomorrow.
—
A/N: Shortest chapter I've written in a while. I wanted to include her return to school here, but I knew then that it would be a long ass chapter if A did that. Next chapter is decent sized, but I just wanted to get this one out of the way first. Hope you enjoy!
Chapter song(s): Fake Happy by Paramore and listen before i go by Billie Eilish.
Reviews:
Hyraeth: Don't we all love us some Darcy? I don't know if she'll make any more huge appearances though. I've been planning a lot out and she may have a sprinkled scene or two. Haven't figured it out yet. Yeah, Sable is a bit... interesting, as we see in this chapter. But as the story progresses we find a bit more about her, not to mention she's getting her own story in a few weeks, so stay on the look out. Endgame arc actually isn't THAT far away... just kidding it is, it really is. But I'm excited nonetheless.
AyeraeW: Aw, thanks! I hope you enjoy this chapter and what comes after. Oh, same. I was crying all the way to my car then again at home in my bed. Then I watched it the other day again and cried some more. I think my roommates are tired of my shit at this point, lol.
KirikaAndo: Totally didn't include that on purpose... Or did I...? Lol, glad you liked it.
Wikked: Okay, I totally snorted and laughed my ass off for like five solid minutes after reading your review. I felt that on a spiritual level, honestly. I do that all the time during school or work to read my favorite stories, and it makes me happy that I have a story that people do that for. So thanks for the huge compliment! Glad you enjoy the story and hope you enjoy this chapter. :)
Incorrect Quote of the Chapter:
Tony: Hey, Rae, we're friends, right?
Rae: Fuck off.
Tony: The best.
...
Dani [pre-Civil War]: This morning I woke up at 5am and made a quick breakfast of eggs and bacon and then went for a quick walk to get coffee and finished all my homework early and played with Quintin–
Dani [post-Civil War]: *visibly exhausted* This morning I had half a cheese stick and called my therapist...
