Maya Stark

Chapter 15: Goodbyes

When I woke up, I was in a hospital room. I shot up, confused.

'Hey, Maya, it's cool,' Nat said next to me.

I looked at her and then looked down. I wasn't in my suit anymore. I was in a sweatshirt and leggings.

'What happened?'

'You passed out,' Nat said. 'Look, I don't have a lot of time before your dad comes in. T'challa is going to tell them about me, but Tony had managed to get him to say you switched sides at the last minute. Me punching your jaw backs all of this up. Look, Maya, everything is going to be okay, alright? There's one more thing.'

Her eyes were sad. I felt panic creeping up my throat. 'What?' I realized how much it hurt to talk and winced slightly.

'It's Rhodey,' she said. I felt panic consuming my chest. 'The doctor says he shattered L4 through S1. Extreme laceration in the spinal cord. Probably looking at some form of paralysis. He'll live but he won't be able to walk on his own.'

I nod mutely, not wanting to talk. My jaw stung and my nose throbbed. I laid back down.

'I have to go, Maya.'

'I know,' I say quietly. She grabs my arm and pulls me up, giving me a hug.

'It's all going to be okay,' she whispered.

I nodded, as a single tear left my eye. She pulled away and gave me a smile. 'I'll miss you, kid.' And she walked out the door. I sat back on the table, playing with the sleeves of my sweater. I sat there for about a minute before my dad walked in. One look at his face made me feel even shittier than I felt before. His arm was in a sling.

'Turns out Rodgers was right,' dad said. 'Come on. We're going to say goodbye to some old friends.'

I look at him and hesitate. But I nod nonetheless, knowing that he was not in the mood for me. I stand up. I walk past a mirror and look in. My hair didn't look too bad, but there was a big bruise on my face where Nat punched me in the jaw, and there was a tiny bruise also on my nose. We fly over a very stormy sea and I fall asleep on the chopper. It was the way I handled the awkwardness.

'Wake up, war criminal,' my dad said, and I jolt awake. 'We're here.'

'Where is here?' I ask, looking out the at the swelling sea.

'Raft prison,' he said as a circular structure rises up.

Raft prison was huge. Two semi-circular doors open up in the flat top. The chopper lands on a helipad and the doors open above us. My dad follows me out of the chopper, and we walk up towards Secretary Ross. I try my best to keep eye contact. Show him he should be the one scared of me. Though I'm pretty sure he already is. Whether it's because I'm a Stark or that I can throw him into a wall with a flick of my wrist, I wasn't sure. Maybe both.

'So? You got the files? Let's reroute the satellites, start facial scanning for this Zemo guy,' dad said. I repressed a smile at knowing my dad knew we were right. I knew Ross wasn't going to agree.

'You seriously think I'm gonna listen to you after that fiasco in Leipzig? You're lucky you and your little war criminal daughter, who you had no right to bring, aren't in one of those cells,' Ross said, waving a hand at me. I could feel my dad tense behind me, and I scowl at Ross.

Ross gives my dad a warning look. He then leads us through a thick, steel security door. Soldiers stand guard in an operations room as we continue walking. I look towards a surveillance screen and freeze. My dad stops right before he hits me, and I move closer to the screen. Wanda was in a cramped cell, hunched, and in something similar to a straight coat.