Complicated Miracle

Talking Chapter 19

I'm taken to a large room. Windows are at the very top of the room, looking in. It's so people, like the Avengers and their kids, can watch what happens. There's a private room with a mirror that looks out at the table across from the door. Steve and Uncle Thor let me sit down, but they quickly leave. Slowly, the Avengers and their children pile into the room up above so they can watch what happens. 

I make little balls of fire and then shoot ice out of my palm so the fire dies out. I left my room covered in burnt marks, smelling a little like smoke, and with ice patches everywhere. 

The door opens and good old Nick Fury walks in. I don't bother to sit up from the slouched position I'm in. " Miss Aura. " He smiles gently. 

I nod at him in acknowledgment. 

" So. How are you doing? " He asks putting a manila folder in front of him. 

" Just peachy. How about you Nick? " I ask tossing a snowball into the air before melting it with my palm. 

" I'm alright. Now, we have to talk. " 

" Yeah. " I nod. " I'm pretty sure I got that hint when my uncle and his buddy forced me to come down here. " 

" Aura, what you did was not safe. " Fury says gently as if I were a little girl getting scolded for playing with knives. 

I chuckle humorlessly. " 'Cause my dad is totally going to hurt me. He's a child abuser. " I say sarcastically. " My dad would never hurt me. " 

" You don't know that. " 

" I'm pretty fricken sure I do! " I say loudly. " I lived with the man for four years. He took care of me from the day I was born to the day I was taken away. No matter what he did, he was always there to give me a kiss when I got hurt. He was there to chase the monsters away when I was frightened. That right there totally sounds like a child abuser. " I snap. " All men who help their kids get ready for the day, make sure they're warm in the cold months, even if they have to walk all the way across the castle to get a blanket, are children abusers. " 

" People change. " 

I shake my head and roll my eyes. " Yeah yeah. I know. I know people change. Someone I knew changed from being a nice girl to being a complete jerk overnight. Don't think I don't know that people can change. " I look up at Mia through the glass window. " They let you down. " I look at Tony. " They take things away from you. " I look at Uncle Thor. " Then they change again, by trying to make people apologize. " I look at Steve. Bruce hasn't really done anything to me. " So yeah. I know people change. " 

" They were only trying to make sure you were safe and okay. " Fury says glancing at everyone. 

I raise an eyebrow. " Oh really? I see everything is now pretty and pink with rainbows everywhere. Everything they did help me so much. " I roll my eyes. 

" Aura, you were not supposed to be in that room with your father. You weren't even supposed to know he was here. " Fury says gently. 

" Well, too bad. I found out. I saw him. YOU and my good old granddad took me away from him. This could have all been prevented. You only have yourself to blame. " I point at him. 

" Your dad hurt many people. He killed many. He destroyed New York. " 

" I know. It was a mistake. He made a mistake. You make mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes. " 

" His mistake ended many lives. " 

"You do too. " I point out. " You send a bomb to the wrong place, send a squad to clear out the wrong building, which I'm sure you have, you end lives. You kill too. " 

" That's different. -" 

" How? Life is life. You've probably killed more than my dad. " 

" Bad guys. " 

" And the innocents who get caught up in the mix. Innocents, you don't feel like filling out paperwork for, so you do the easiest thing. Kill. " 

" Aura. We aren't talking about me. " 

I laugh. " Ha! I could've sworn you were just defending yourself a minute ago. I guess we are talking about you. " 

" Aura! Listen! We locked your dad away because he is a murder, who hurt many people. He has destroyed lives. He is a danger to everyone. "  

" So is everyone else in that room. " I point up above me. " Yet they're still out walking, dancing around my dad's cage mocking him as if he were a piece of trash on the floor. " 

" They're trained. " 

" You haven't given my dad a chance. He's a good man. He just got in a rut. If you had bothered to listen to what he has to say in defense, you would know that. " I spit. 

" You are not allowed to see your dad anymore. " 

" Sorry. I can't follow that. You are not my boss. You're the Avengers boss. And their kids. Not mine. My dad isn't an Avenger. " 

" You were fine without your dad before. You'll be fine without him now. " 

" I want to see my dad. " 

" I will not allow that. " 

" Seven. " I say feeling like crying. I hide my emotions with a stone-cold face. 

" What? " Fury asks very confusedly. 

" I've missed Seven Daddy/Daughter dances in my life. " 

" I-" I cut him off. 

" Seven fathers days. I spent Seven fathers days alone, watching every kid in that darn tower, spend time with their dad. I missed six first days of school with my dad. I missed seven of my dad's birthdays. He missed six of mine. He missed seven Christmas's with me. I missed so much with my dad. While they, " I point up above me. " all had their dads. I had no one! Not a dad. I had Uncle Thor, yes, but he has his own son to take care of. I have no one else. They tried to include me in things, but that wasn't the same. " I laugh humorlessly. " And on top of that, someone bullied me. She wouldn't stop and for a time, I wished I didn't exist. I wished I had someone there for me. 'Cause it's not the same to have only an uncle. I know he loves me, but I need my dad. So, just think about that the nest time you see me or my dad. Think of all the pain I've been through. Just think. And you'll see why I do what I do. "