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5:17 PM. MAY 25th, 2023.
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ELEANOR Camacho walked through her father's apartment, late at night, as she looked behind every couch, curtain, and under the tables to find a certain little girl. "Dani," she cooed. "Where are you?" Ellie rummaged around her room until she heard something fall in the bedroom next to hers. Her head snapped in the direction of the sound. As she entered the bedroom, her eyes widened, taking in the sight of little feet sticking out from under the bed. She walked towards them and crouched down to peer at the girl. "Hey, chica. What're you doing under there?" After a few seconds of silence, she stood up and walked out of the room. "Alright then. I guess someone's gonna have to eat all of the cookies..."
Taking a seat at the kitchen island, she made a loud "nom nom" sound, and not even a few seconds later, the little girl climbed up onto a red stool with a huge grin on her face. "Cookies!" was all she said.
"Sorry." Ellie raised her hands in surrender. "They're all gone. I ate 'em."
Danielle crossed her arms and frowned. "Well that's not fair."
Ellie laughed, but sighed in discontent. "Yeah... a lot of things aren't, kid."
The ring of a doorbell pulled her from her reverie. Gesturing for Dani to stay, Ellie walked over and looked through the peephole. Smiling, she glanced over at the frowning child. "Cheer up, chica. Your mama and papa are here."
"Yay!" the little girl exclaimed as she rushed towards the door. Ellie opened it, revealing Jessica Jones and Luke Cage. "Mama!" Dani said happily as her arms stretched towards Jessica.
"Hey, baby." Jessica smiled as she lifted her five-year-old into her arms. "Everything go alright, kid?"
Ellie smirked. "Jess, you gotta stop calling me that. Goes for you too, Luke," she said, looking over at the man.
"Well," Luke began, "you are still a teenager, so..."
"Technically, I would be 20 if I didn't get shot, so thanks for that Jess." Ellie's powers allowed her to come back to life, but only at the age that her powers first activated. She first died at the age of 12, so when she died again at the age of 14 (well, almost), she woke up an awkward tween. But at least she wasn't dead.
Jessica shot the 18-year-old a deadly glare. "Not funny, Eleanor."
"Wow, Eleanor. That's new." Ellie chuckled.
"Hey, Jess," Luke said, looking over at his sleepy daughter, "I'm gonna take Dani. She's about to pass out. You two can catch up." Nodding vaguely, the woman handed Danielle to her husband.
As he walked away, Ellie finally started to speak. "Jess, I uh," she stammered, "I had a dream last night. Everyone was back and it felt real. Like, really real. Maybe it's a sign or something. Or maybe I'm just... dreaming."
Leaning on the door frame, Jessica glanced behind her. "You know, I guess I just have to thank God that I didn't lose Luke in whatever the hell happened that day. But you... I really wish that you didn't lose your dad, but don't waste your life hoping that he'll pop back around. Take care... kid."
-
Ellie turned off the TV, tired of the same old news. Setting down the remote, she removed herself from the tattered couch. In her room, she pulled on some sweatpants and random t-shirt that she found laying on the ground. As she sat on her bed, she began to twist her jet black hair into a braid. She hadn't even tied the end before she rose to her feet and ambled restlessly to the kitchen, filling a glass with water from the tap. She took a sip, her dry throat quenched from the cool liquid.
"Hey, Ellie. Where'd ya go?"
She choked on her drink as the glass fell from her hand and smashed on the ground. Ellie shook her head as she stepped back from the shattered glass. Panicked, she hurried back to her bedroom but stopped in her tracks as the man spoke again. "Kid, what are you doing?"
Ellie really thought she was going insane. It couldn't be him. Tears threatened to spill from her eyes. But it couldn't hurt to turn around and see if what she heard was real. "Papá?" she asked with the widest smile she'd ever worn in her entire life.
"Don't call me that again. It's... weird." Wade Wilson chuckled. "But yeah, it's me. Why?"
Ellie didn't even try to hide the saline streaming down her cheeks. "You're back."
