Gangster Child

New/Old Family

"Hey Sadie, could I just-"

"If you touch my Cheetos, I'll break your fingers." Scott reluctantly withdrew his hand before looking back out the window as we drove through upstate New York. Not that I would ever admit it to him, or the team if they bothered to ask me, but I was starting to feel a little nostalgic. It had been five, coming up on six years since I'd been at the tower and to be back after all this time driving to my old home, it was... heartbreaking to say the least.

"Oh joy, we're here," I muttered as I saw the giant A on the side of the building. Scott was shaking in his seat as he watched me slow down by the entrance where the security camera was.

"So I should probably get out so they can see me and so I can expl-" I cut Scott off by grabbing my gun from under my seat and firing two shots in quick succession at the lens of the camera before coolly stepping out of the car and picking the lock on the gate before pushing it back so I could drive through. When I got back in the car and slammed the door shut, I looked over and saw Scott watching me in shock.

"What?" I snapped as I pressed the gas pedal harshly to shoot the car forward.

"Nothing Kiddo!" he said quickly "It's just, you're tougher than I remember you from five years ago." My grip tightened on the steering wheel as my eyes welled up with tears that I willed not to fall.

"I'm fine," I said harshly "I have a loving family back in San Francisco who's waiting for me. My life's perfect. You know, besides the fact that I'm about to see my old family who hasn't bothered to talk to me in five years."

"You don't have to go ins-"

"I drove all the way to New York, Scott. I might as well say hi."

As I swerved onto the front lawn, having no shred of decency to even park in the driveway, I saw Steve and Natasha waiting in front of the entrance. With a calm composure, I stepped out and Scott followed me up to the tower.

"Natasha, Steve." The two opened their mouths to try and talk to me, but I brushed right past them and walked inside with Scott right on my heels.

"You were rude to Black Widow and Captain America!" Scott hissed "That can get you killed in some places."

"Fascinating." I strolled into the conference room and flopped onto a chair, waiting for everyone else to take a seat. Once they did, there was an awkward silence which I gladly broke with venom in my voice.

"So, how have you been for the last five years? I assumed dead, but you know, that might of just been the lack of calls." Steve and Natasha exchanged glances before the former finally spoke.

"Sadie, we were planning on telling you," Steve said quietly as I crossed my arms and glared at him. "But, we all agreed as a team that you were better off in the safety with your family in San Francisco. We didn't want to take you away from a positive upbringing."

"And that's all well and good Steve, but a phone call isn't going to damage my soul! It's called checking in on the kid you adopted and raised! Does that mean jack shit to both of you?!" I looked at the two of them and paled when I saw that Natasha's face was streaked with tears and Steve's eyes were glassy.

"I'm sorry," Natasha whispered as she slowly reached out for my hand. I wanted to hold her hand, God, I wanted to go back to old times when I would curl up under a blanket with the team for movie night while Natasha played with my hair and Tony would carry me to bed when I fell asleep. But that was six years ago, which is why I moved backwards in my seat and let Natasha's hand fall limply in the air.