PICKING UP THE PIECES.
❝You thought you could break me? honey, you aren't the first.❞
Isabel Stark has lost the memories of her past. They haunt her during her sleep. The Avengers, the only family she's ever known, has disbanded. Her childhood fri...
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My heart felt as if it was going to burst from my chest.
My view had been completely covered by the smoke Hawkes had created. I stumbled wildly, searching in desperation for a way to get out. Whether this was another way to try and kill me or just some poor attempt of an escape, it was still buying the ex-HYDRA agent time. As I continued on, my worry increased. The darkness was endless, and I had no knowledge of if it covered the entire field. I could barely hear my footsteps; a slaughter could be happening right by me and I wouldn't have a clue.
Tears were beginning to brim in my eyes, and I fell to my knees. Just when the tide was turning in our favor, I had hesitated, and now failure was on its way. As I stared at my power-stained hands, panic clawed its way up my throat and released itself in the form of a scream. I just let it out, my vision flashing back and forth between the deadly Elemental blue and what I considered normal. Still, the darkness billowed, unwavering amid my chaos. "No," I rasped, shaking my head more at myself. "No, it can't end like this. You're fine. Just stand up." My legs didn't move, and my voice shook. "Stand up! What is wrong with you? You're fine!"
But I wasn't fine. I wasn't even close to fine. The great Elemental, the Avenger, the mighty Atlantis... fallen and cracked just like her namesake. A shaking mess with meltdowns ready at any moment the second something went awry. It was that thought that made me take my first breath of clarity. Atlantis had to fall, but it needed to stand just a little longer. I needed to stand just a little longer.
And as I lifted my head, I felt myself freeze all over again.
My father was kneeling beside me, concern on his face. He looked just the way he was before I had left the compound, but more at ease. Warily, I stood back up, not prepared for this sudden turn of events.
"You're not real, are you?" I asked him, watching his every move carefully, how he gave his usual grimace as his left knee took the weight for his weaker right to stand... how his mouth twitched in the thought of a witty remark but decided against it. It was too confusing. "Are you... real?"
"If you decide I am," my father said simply, and I clenched my fist. His brown eyes flicked down at it before returning to my glance with a raised brow. "You never hide your emotions well, kiddo."
"You're not real, and you're in my way," I said stubbornly. I looked over my shoulder, a stupid thing to do as if an exit would just appear for me on thought command. "I have to get out of here."
"What, you're in that big of a rush to die?" he asked bluntly, and I flinched. "No, you didn't tell me, but it was obvious what your plan was. Who do you think will carry your body back home to us, if you even have a body to recover? You didn't even discuss your funeral arrangements."
"I'm not talking about this!" I snapped. My bottom lip was trembling.
"Right, no... you were just going to let the other Elementals find you and figure out what to do next," the older Stark stated. I waved him down angrily and tried to walk away, but my father followed. "Did you say goodbye to Stacy before you came out here? It's your blood that saved her life if I remember correctly. Does she know that her last moments are going to be spent fighting to save a world she'll never get to enjoy again?"
