Hope Found

Remember

Steve POV

How could we have been so stupid? We played right into Loki's hands. After he disappears, I look back to only spot him behind Hope. She is hiding behind the twins. I run towards him. With a flick of his hand, Wanda and Pietro were thrown away. I see Hope break their fall but now she is defenseless.

"Hope!" I yell running with all my might. I feel Nat and Bucky close on my tail but we won't get there in time. I watch Loki raise the scepter and touch it to Hope's chest. Once I see her eyes I stop. They are vibrant blue. Bucky and Nat stand beside me. Loki sneers in victory. We will get her back no matter what I promise myself. Clint is checking on the twins but they seem to be out cold. We watch Hope but she doesn't move. Loki's face falters. Her eyes are now fading the vibrant blue being drained away.

"She's fighting it!" I exclaim.

"Impossible," Nat says shocked as well.

"Maybe it has to do with her power?" suggests Bucky. I shrug the science stuff is always lost on me. I am just overjoyed that she is coming back to us. That is until I notice something else. Her eyes slowly begin to darken until they are black. Her entire body seems to relax but not in a good way. I see black energy begin to form at her hands. She looks up at Loki, her face completely blank.

"Sh-," Nat begins.

"Language," I say out of habit. Suddenly Loki has to jump back to avoid a shot from Stark who finally decided to show up.

"Where have you been Stark?" I ask.

"Ran into point break and had to explain what was happening. Now someone want to explain to me what is happening to my daughter?" As he speaks Thor lands beside Tony staring at his brother. Loki looks almost scared now. The black energy is starting to grow around Hope but her face just remains blank. Her eyes, although black, look dead. It's exactly the same as the video.

"Loki tried his scepter trick on Hope but it seems to have set off the black emotion," sums up Bucky.

"Sh-," Tony begins.

"Language. We have to get her to switch to another emotion like Banner suggested."

"How do we do that, Captain?" asks Wanda walking over with Clint and Pietro. The twins look a little dazed but determined to help.

"I honestly have no idea." The black energy begins to flow towards Loki. He disappears suddenly. I guess he decided to run since his plan failed. Now, we just need to get through to Hope. She starts to move. She turns and looks at us her face never changing. Walking toward us slowly the black energy flowing around her begins to grow.

"Hope, fight it! Change the emotion!" I exclaim as she grows closer. Clint tries a tranq arrow but it just bounces off the energy like it was nothing.

"Hope," Wanda calls. "Remember our sleepover with Pietro? We built that fort and it took Pietro five times to finally pin the sheets right. We stayed up too late and fell asleep telling ghost stories. When we had to wake Pietro up, you had the idea to pour water on his head and he jumped up and looked crazy." I realize what emotion Wanda was going for: happiness.

"Remember when you beat Clint at his favorite video game for the first time?" I begin. "You were so excited that you jumped up and down and skipped around the living room."

"Then we ate ice cream in the kitchen and I ate it to fast so I got a brain freeze," adds Clint. "You got worried that my brain was actually freezing but once I explained it to you, you didn't believe me until you ate too much too fast and got one." It was very slight, but Hope seems to falter for a second. I wonder if I had just imagined it.

"Remember when I read the note lady Natasha left on the back of Sir Clint and kicked him as it commanded?" asks Thor. "You seemed to find that very enjoyable."

"Remember when we went shopping?" begins Natasha. "You were amazed at all the colors and different types of clothes. You didn't really know what you liked until you saw that dress. It had short sleeves and flared at the bottom. You said it made you feel like a princess. Tony's having that party next week and you were going to wear it. You were so excited to show it off." Hope stops walking toward us but the black energy continues to swirl around her.

Tony POV

I can't believe what I'm seeing. I feel so helpless. Everyone is trying to get Hope to change the emotion but that is way easier said than done. It seems to be working but it isn't enough. It's like these memories aren't strong enough. The emotion isn't strong enough.

"It's the wrong emotion," Wanda mutters under her breath. She seems deep in thought. Clint turns to look at her. He seems to think of something.

"Remember when we got attacked and I got shot?" Clint says. "You couldn't understand why I did it. I did it because I care about you. I wanted to protect you and keep you safe just like everyone else." He motions to the rest of us and she follows his gaze. I swore I could see something flicker in her eyes. .

"Remember when you felt the sun for the first time in years?" I ask. She looks at me her face still blank. "Steve laid you on the balcony and you laid there for an hour just enjoying the warmth of the sun. And now every time you go outside, you always take a moment to appreciate the sun because you know what it's like to be without it," I add. At least it seems she can hear our words.

"Remember when you first got here and you didn't understand kindness or love?" asks Banner walking up to the group. He is supposed to stay at the jet but he must have seen what was happening. "We gave you medical attention, a comfortable bed, your very own room, and your freedom. You didn't understand why we did it. But it's the same reason Clint took those bullets for you and the same reason you risked your life to heal him. We are a family and that means we would do anything for each other, we would give anything for each other, even our lives." The black energy lashes out, though, I push Bruce out of the way as it wraps around me. I can feel my energy slowly being drained away. The black energy is literally like death itself.

"Stark!" shouts Nat starting to move towards me but I stop her. I look back at Hope who was staring at me.

"This black emotion is not you, Hope. You are caring and funny and full of life. You are free and will never have to go back to living in a cage. You will never have to use your powers against your will. You are still a kid and should get to be one. You should go shopping, have sleepovers, and play video games. You have a family now. You will never be alone ever again. It's time to go home." I finish looking at the girl. She stares at me. I start to lose well hope as nothing happened. I can feel the black energy draining me more and more. I glance around the group and see that they too were feeling the same way. If we can't get through to her than we are going to have to fight her. No one wants to hurt her but she will feel too guilty if she hurts someone. Suddenly I see a flicker in her eyes. It was only a second but then it comes back.

"Dad?" a small voiceasks. My heart skips a beat, or I'm dying. She called me dad. Slowly the black energy pulls away from me asI slump to the ground. I'm pretty if it weren't for my suit I would have beendead. I look back up and am shocked by what I see. Her eyes seem to be at war.A sea of black fighting with the only color powerful enough to beat it: gold.