Mirage - Avengers (Steve Rogers) Fanfiction

Prologue

England, 1996.

Jared Collins smiled at the scene in front of him; the picture of happiness. His wife, Adelaide, was sat with their daughter, watching her play the piano. Daphne had unusual intelligence and understanding for an eight year old, so learning the piano was almost as easy as walking. He marvelled at the way in which she played; the ease at how her small fingers danced across the keys, playing soft, tinkling music that could bring tears to the eyes.

She was special.

From her early years, Jared and Adelaide knew something was different about their child. Unexplainable things would happen around her, things that could not be of natural cause, and unfortunately people had noticed this. They had shunned her, labelled her as a 'pathetic mutant', a 'waste of space'. And so, they'd had to move. Of course, her parents hadn't minded; they loved her no matter what, and would protect her with every fibre of their being. Moving was no problem at all.

As he watched them, smiling tenderly, he could see the similarities they both held. The same soft, mahogany locks that shone auburn in the sunlight; the same deep, ice blue eyes, alight with life. She had her mother's caring nature and spirit, yet had his sarcastic tendencies, his wit, and his ability to say whatever ran through his head - with no regard for the consequences.

He was torn out of his reverie by the sound of tires screeching. His eyebrows furrowed as he walked over to the kitchen, looking out of the windows. Through the heavy rain, he saw 2 black SUV's, armed MI5 agents, spilling out of them - heading towards the house. Adrenaline ran through him as he ran back to his wife and child, only thoughts, of getting them safe, in his head.

"Adelaide," he called out, firmly, to her.

She turned immediately at his urgent tone, eyes showing concern. "What's wrong?"

"We need to go now. Right now." His voice left no room for argument, and she quickly grabbed Daphne, now hearing the men outside. There was no time to run, and they didn't have a hope of fighting them all off.

"We need to hide her, Jared," Adelaide whispered, so her daughter wouldn't hear - eyes wide with terror. She would not let them get her child.

Her husband swiftly led them to a closet, just outside the kitchen, and gently pushed Daphne inside. "Stay in here, darling. Whatever you do, do not leave this room."

"What's going on?" She whimpered, obviously understanding there was danger around.

Her parents just exchanged glances, not knowing what to say about this situation. How could they burden their sweet, little child, with the cold truths of the world?

Adelaide knelt down next to her daughter, wincing at the sound of men entering their house. "Just think of this as a game, sweetheart," she murmured, tears burning her eyes. "A game of hide and seek. You have to stay in here until we call out for you, okay?"

Daphne stared at her mother for a moment. "Okay..." She answered, in a weak voice.

The footsteps were slowly edging closer. Adelaide pulled her daughter in for a tight hug. "I love you," she choked out, kissing her forehead.

Jared bent to give his child a kiss, pouring all of his emotions into it. "Stay strong, baby girl. I love you," he whispered, tears falling down his face.

They hurriedly closed the door - knowing if they lingered any more, the men would find her - and walked towards where the armed group were, inside the kitchen.

They caught sight of the parents and automatically raised their weapons at them. There were at least a dozen, all dressed in black MI5 uniform, armed to the teeth.

"Where's the kid?" The one in front demanded; his voice cold and callous.

"Safe. Far away from here," the father answered, never wavering in his response. "You'll never have her."

"You can either tell me willingly, or unwillingly. Either way, we're gonna find out."

"I doubt that," Adelaide remarked, hatred, for the men, burning through her eyes.

The first man eyed them carefully. They had been on the run for God knows how long; had hidden the child so meticulously, up until now, that it had them constantly running in circles.

"Look around. Leave no place unchecked," he ordered, and the men slowly fanned out around the house.

Daphne's parents sharply looked at each other, knowing that if the men searched the house, they would surely find her. They both had to create a diversion; a distraction, and they would happily lay down their lives to protect the child they loved. They gripped the others hand tightly, staring into each other's eyes - communicating emotions that could never be said through simple words. They knew what they had to do.

Jared lunged at the nearest mercenary with a swift right hook to the man's jaw, relishing when he heard it break, moving on to the next man, while Adelaide stumbled towards a drawer and seized a carving knife. She waved it around frantically, making a deep gash on the cheek of the nearby agent. He span back to face her, anger marring his features, as he snatched the knife from her, restraining her wrists. She used the opportunity to knee him in the nether regions, watching as he keeled over in pain, before taking his weapon to arm herself, unbeknownst to them that Daphne was secretly watching, through a small gap in the door.

The other MI5 agents heard the commotion in the kitchen, and moved to intervene, weapons drawn. Both parents clutched the weapons from the indisposed agents, and open fired on the remaining mercenaries, killing several instantly, causing a retaliation of gunfire.

Jared felt an incredible pain to the left of his chest, placing one hand over the wound whilst continuing fire upon the agents. He glanced over, for a split second, at his wife, to see blood pouring from her right shoulder. He killed a few more gunmen before collapsing in agony, bleeding to death on the kitchen floor. Adelaide, distracted by her dying husband, sustained two more gunshot wounds to her abdomen, and immediately crumpled to the ground in exhaustion - pale and sweating.

The mother and father locked eyes instantly. It soon became hard for them to breathe normally, their vision soon turned blurred as they got closer to the inevitable oblivion. They both prayed for their daughter, in their last fading moments, and whispered their final "I love you's" before being slowly carried off into the darkness forever, dying as husband and wife.

The MI5 agents checked their pulses, concluding that they were dead, before carrying on the search for the girl.

Daphne had been staring at the scene in horror, watching, through the small gap in the closet, as her parents gradually died, sobbing silently - so as not to draw attention to herself. She stealthily opened the closet door fully, staggering towards the bodies of her dead parents, falling to her knees next to them. She leaned over and kissed their foreheads tenderly - clutching the necklace, which her parents had given her for her birthday. It was a simple silver chain with an infinity symbol on it; the word 'love' on the edge. She felt tears pour down her face as she made her way to the back door, taking one last glance at her parents, before taking off into the rain. She ran through the thick forests that surrounded the house, thunder rumbling ominously as she tried to forget the horrors she saw.

What do you think? I hope you all liked it. I haven't written many fanfictions so any advice or criticism is very much appreciated.

Love you guys,
-Jess xo