Shattered Hearts ◇ L. Laufeyson

14 ◇ crazy

Upstate New York

SCOTT AND I decided it best that we hit the road and get to the Compound as soon as possible.  We stopped periodically for bags of oranges and gas station coffee, but we made the cross-country road trip in his brown van/quantum realm gateway in good time, the two of us splitting driving shifts.

I had no way of contacting anyone— Cassie gave me a phone to use, but I couldn't remember anyone's phone number.  To be honest, Scott and I weren't even sure the Compound was still around. 

Over the day spent traveling, I was nervous to see everyone and my nerves only grew with each mile.  I was familiar with the feeling of waking up to a world moved on.  When I was comatose after the events with Ultron, it was horrible to rejoin a world I had basically 'taken a break' from, like I was alienated from everyone I cared for.

This time, it was much worse— everyone thought I was dead, and it had been a whole half decade.  Cassie also mentioned the Avengers were pretty low-key, and the Earth had given up all hope of going back to the way things were and the retrieval of those vanished.

Until Scott Lang came along.

I won't lie, this Ant guy has been incredibly underrated.  Along the trip, we discussed what we saw as a breakthrough for the world we had returned to; and most of it was Scott's idea.  Using the Quantum Realm, we could possibly alter our reality by using the Realm as a passageway.  It was risky, but doable - if we had our best brains on the case.  We would need Tony and Bruce, since Hank and Janet Pym were also dusted.

"You look nervous," Scott had said to me, while we drove.  We were on the last leg of the trip when he'd brought it up.

"Well, yeah," I said honestly, "We've got the fate of the world in the back of this van."

"Not that," Scott prodded, side-eyeing me from the driver's seat. "Don't test me.  You may be older, technically, but I still have dad instincts."

"Dad instincts, huh?" I cracked a smile, leaning my head back on the seat.

"Yup.  It's one of the superpowers dads have, we can tell what our daughters are feeling." He clicked his tongue. "Not— not that you're my daughter.  But I can tell, Y/N, something's up with you."

I sighed, debating if I should disclose the emotional turmoil knocking around in my head.  I gave in to Scott's curiosity. "It's just... weird, you know?  How it was with you and Cassie, I'm gonna have to do that with..."

"Everyone, yeah," Scott finished, chuckling a bit. "It's okay, I know they like you more. What I had with Cass, you've got with everybody."

I shook my head. "Don't diss yourself like that."

"It's not a diss!" Scott insisted, shrugging, "it's just fact— you're Y/N Stark.  An O.G., you know?  I mean, my daughter has your action figure at home."

This caught my attention.  I sent him a funny look, a bit of hot pride in my chest. "Really?"

He smiled. "Really."

I smiled proudly, until it slid off my face and replaced with something like a scowl. "Some action hero I am.  That's the problem, you know?  I was that, but it's been five years.  There's no more heroes."

Scott slammed on the breaks, and I went flying forwards, only caught by my seatbelt.  I let out a gasp and looked at Scott through a steely gaze. "Hey!"

"Listen, Y/N, that attitude is not gonna fly.  Uh-uh.  No!  We're five years late, but we're here, right?" He looked at me with his big brown eyes and somehow made me feel small, like a kid.  His brow quirked. "Right?"