SOAR: An Avengers Story

Ch.19: Fearless

February 23rd, 2017

(Dani)

"Danielle Marie Gordon, what are you doing?"

Her father's voice made her jump a little. She turned around to see her dad, standing in the doorway of her room. Mama was behind him, standing by the wall. Her thick curls were wrapped up in a silk scarf the color of honey. Her bangs peeked through the front, though, a curtain of curls that made her look like the black version of Lucille Ball, from that one show her mom would watch with her sometimes. The memory stabbed her eyes briefly, flashing across her parents' figures for a moment like costumes before snapping right back to the sight she was faced with.

Dani wiped her eyes and said, "Nothin', Daddy."

"It looks to me," he said as he stepped closer to her, "like you're crying. Now, why would you be doing that?" The familiar scent of her father wafted through her nose: cinnamon and smoke, with a metallic stain. He always smelled like the kitchen. Ironically, it was her mother who always smelled like oil and barbecue coal. Wait, why was she talking about them in the past tense? They were right in front of her.

"Dani," her father dragged her name out, "why are you crying?" He took notice of her silence amidst her thoughts.

Dani was hesitant to tell him. Any other time, she wouldn't shut up. In fact, the reasons for her tears made no sense, as she was not one to let anyone or anything get to her like this. But somehow, she felt smaller. Weaker. It was not a pleasant feeling.

Dani began to speak, also sounding smaller than she would've liked, "It's just some boys at school. They were picking on me, and pulling my hair. Calling me names and stuff."

"Well, what did they say, pumpkin?" Daddy asked her, kneeling next to her. His chocolate-brown eyes gazed at her with the inquiring mind Dani knew he had, along with the gentle understanding she wished she inherited.

"They...they told me I should stop drinking so much coffee...that way my skin wouldn't be so dark."

Something in his gaze hardened, and Dani recognized that look all too well. It's what she saw in the mirror every day. Especially after he—

A gentle beeping in her ear broke through her thoughts, and she began to swim through the blurry mess that was her mind. Where was she? Why was there a numb pulse of pain making rounds through her body?

She was brought back to her thoughts by her father, who sighed and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. A gesture so gentle it ripped her to pieces. He said, "Well, I guess this conversation has been a long time coming."

Dani sniffled and looked up at her father, afraid of what he would say, and knowing exactly what was about to come out of his mouth.

"There are gonna be people all throughout your life that are gonna tell you that you're nothing. It may be because you're black, or because you're a girl, or for any other reasons that aren't true. It may be for no reason at all, other than to tear you down. I can tell you to ignore it all I want, but that won't help. Don't ignore it. Take it, hear it, but don't listen to it. They're all lies meant to feed their superiority. It's your job to turn around and show them exactly who is better than them. It's you, Danielle. In every way. And it has nothing to do with the color of your skin."

He pointed to her chest, exactly where her heart was.

"It's because of what's in here."

A distant whisper jolted her out of the conversation. It sounded nothing like her father, or her mother. Was it...Pietro? But, what was he doing here?