Everybody's got a past.
But Anna Lewis doesn't remember a thing about hers.
One moment she was at home with her husband and baby, the next one she found herself in a dark motel room with a metal-limbed man who tells her she's a lethal assassin. Tha...
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October 5th, 2016
I still don't know how I've managed to make it out of Wakanda. T'Challa has lent me one of his special jets, which is able to conceal itself from its surroundings with retroreflective panels. Okoye, the leader of the Dora Milaje, is accompanying me to make sure nothing happens to me. It's extremely dangerous for me to get out of Wakanda and specially to go to the city where Stark is residing. Nevertheless, she stays on the jet when I exit to get to the cemetery across the street. I look back as I walk away just to witness how well the camouflaging technology works. You wouldn't even say there's anything there.
I adjust my gloves and black coat before I go inside. After asking the person responsible, they show me to Greg's tombstone and a knot forms in the back of my throat.
I can't believe he's gone.
I wish I'd had more time with him, I really do. I know we would've made a great family, the three of us.
"Excuse me." I hear a delicate voice addressing me and I immediately turn around. Staring back at me, two big clear blue eyes examine me in puzzlement. "Who are you?"
"Oh, I'm just..." I try to articulate but I can only hear my heart beating in my eardrums. I wasn't expecting to find Jessica here, although I should have. This is the first time I'm talking to my daughter, so it's only natural I got this nervous. "A college friend." I point to Greg's tombstone.
"I'm sorry, it's just- that's my father's..." Her facial features soften as she nods.
"I'm very sorry for your loss." I say, trying to calm down. "He was the kindest person I knew."
"Yeah, I'm gonna miss him so much."
A silence falls between the two of us. I don't know what to say to her. I'm obviously not gonna tell her who I am. That is the last thing she needs right now.
"Hey, aren't you the new Avenger that's all over the news lately?" Is what I come up with.
Somehow, that makes her chuckle. "I guess that's me now."
"I know your dad would be extremely proud of you." I have to restrain myself from using the words 'parents'.
"Thanks." She smiles and then looks down at her hands, having an internal fight on what to say next. "I know we just met, but would you mind having a coffee with me to talk more about my father?"
Oh, she's actually gonna make me cry.
"There's nothing I would like more," I reply and maybe I sound a bit too excited. "and you seem like a nice girl..." I clear my throat in order to change my tone. She's so sweet, saying no to her is one of the hardest things I've ever done. "but I can't, I have a plane to catch."
"Sure, well..." She sounds disappointed but hides it well. My heart breaks, even more, when I see that. I hate not being able to talk to her as her mother, but I can't just tell her. "I don't know why I said that. I also have to go, my boyfriend is waiting for me there and I promised him I'd show him around the Avengers compound." She points to a boy waiting at the entrance of the cemetery. It takes me no time to recognize the teenager. The last time I saw him at the Berlin airport, he couldn't stand up. "It was nice meeting you."
"You too." I want to tell her to stay when she starts to say goodbye. However, I let her go as I watch her wave at me.
We walk in opposite paths, in both literal and figurative ways. She's in the public eye, whereas I have to hide in the secluded country of Wakanda. I have no problem with that, though. Now that I've finally seen she's doing alright, I think I have the closure I needed to start a brand new life with Bucky in Wakanda. Maybe we'll set up a farm, who knows.
Right when I cross the street to go back to the camouflaged jet, I'm startled by a metallic precipitation that lands in front of me. I'm quickly pressed against the brick wall of the street and I can't seem to recognize my attacker until he takes off the golden iron lid masking his face. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"Tony-" I try to explain myself but he gives me no time. He pins me harder to the solid wall by pressing against my vibranium wrists.
"No, you listen to me." He snaps, not raising his voice too much. "I don't want you near her, you hear me? You left her and I care too much for the girl to let you hurt her again."
"I didn't leave her." I try to match his threatening tone to show I'm not scared of him.
"Where is he?" He asks and I don't answer, part of it because I'm confused. "Where's Barnes? You two are basically joint at the hip."
"Do you actually think I'll say a word?" Tony narrows his eyes and opens his mouth to reply to me, but suddenly stops when he hears the sound of laughter. We both turn our heads towards the origin of the sound. Jessica and Peter are standing across the street, too busy giggling to notice us. Jessica is wiping tears from her face while the boy tries to make her laugh to make her feel better. Looks like the spiderling will take good care of her, what really alleviates me. I glance back at Stark, who seems to be touched by the scene as well. "I just came here to say goodbye to him. I didn't mean to talk to her."
He faces me and his sight falls to the floor. "I should arrest you right here and now. Make that hell soldier come out of his den." He mumbles almost to himself, then, raises his look once more. "Okay, here's what we're gonna do." He clears his throat, downsizing the amount of threat in his tone. "You're gonna walk away now and you're not gonna come near her again. You do that and I won't call a strike wherever you clockwork oranges are hiding."
I don't say anything. I think that's the wisest decision I've ever made. Stark glares at me one last time and takes off, leaving me there, still stuck to the wall and breathing heavily.
I turn my head to look for my daughter but she's not there anymore. My sight blurres with tears as I realize that might be the only interaction I'll ever have with her.
