𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐒𝐔𝐍 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐁𝐑𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐄 terminal, when everything went to shit.

To be fair, the last several months had been pretty shit. It had been a gradual decline into the pit they were in now, fighting and contention and stiff awkwardness until Charlie had almost forgotten what it was like before.

Things had just seemed darker, lately. When everything is collapsing around you, it's almost impossible to find the light trying to slip through the cracks.

She'd always been afraid of the dark. Or rather, being alone.

But the sun shining high over them was almost cruel- bright and cheerful, illuminating the way her family was falling apart.

"You're not leaving my side," Tony said into her earpiece as they approached the runway. The airport was evacuated, uncomfortably quiet. "We're not taking any risks."

"I know," Charlie said quietly. "But Dad... Pops wouldn't hurt me."

Tony was quiet for a moment. "I know," he said finally. "It's not really him I'm worried about. But I'm finding it difficult to forget about what Barnes did to you when your entire neck is bruised."

Charlie didn't have much to say to that. She knew Bucky would never intentionally hurt her, and neither would Becca- but as long as the psychiatrist with the book of words was out there, they couldn't trust it.

Steve thought he could, though. He was willing to give up his family for it.

Charlie felt nothing but residual anger as she watched her Pop's Captain America uniform slowly get closer, one of six tiny figures across the runway.

"Rhodey, you got a visual?" Tony said.

In response, A small electro-disabler flew through the air, whistling past the plane Charlie stood behind and latching itself onto a chopper some distance away.

Steve and his crew quickly came to a halt. Charlie watched as Steve looked up, clearly bracing himself for the confrontation he knew was coming.

Tony and Rhodey created a shadow above them before landing with a thud, one after the other.

"Wow," Tony said. His voice was lilted; mocking. He half-turned towards Rhodey, standing behind him with his metal faceplate up. "t's so weird how you run into people at the airport. Don't you think that's weird?"

"Definitely weird," Rhodey agreed.

Steve sighed heavily, as if this was taking up his time, as if Tony was being unreasonable. Charlie's heart thudded with fury.

"Hear me out, Tony. That doctor, the psychiatrist, he's behind all of this."

Charlie watched as T'Challa made his appearance, leaping over a loading truck and standing tall in front of her father. Behind the mask, she knew, his face was furious.

"Anyway," Tony continued, "Ross gave me thirty-six hours to bring you in. That was... twenty-four hours ago. Can you help your hubby out?"

Charlie could see the way Steve flinched, ever so slightly, at the obvious sarcasm behind the nickname.

"You're after the wrong guy," he said instead.

Tony stepped forward, jaw clenched. "Your judgment is askew. Your old war buddy killed innocent people yesterday. Not to mention, tried to murder our daughter."

The bruises around Charlie's neck throbbed. She knew it wasn't Bucky's fault- not really. But it didn't change the fact that it was done.

"And there are five more super soldiers just like him," Steve insisted, completely unfazed. Charlie wanted to scream. "I can't let the doctor find them first, Tony. I can't."

Nat's voice was soft. She stared at Steve as if searching for something. "Steve... you know what's about to happen. Do you really wanna punch your way out of this one?"

Steve just stared at her.

"Alright," Tony said, annoyed. "I've run out of patience." He cupped his hands around his mouth and called, "Underoos!"

Charlie would have rolled her eyes at the name is she wasn't so wound up. Instead, she watched as Peter leapt out of his hiding spot across the terminal, donned in his brand new Spider-Man suit.

He launched a web and yanked Steve's shield from his hands, replacing it with binding web fluid. He landed on top of a cart, holding the shield, and slowly looked up.

"You're smiling like an idiot right now, aren't you?" Charlie muttered into the earpiece, but she would be lying if the way he'd executed that so effortlessly didn't make her feel things.

"Nice job, kid," Tony said loudly, over Charlie's teasing.

Peter's voice was comically gleeful as he rambled, "Thanks! Well, I could've stuck the landing a little better. It's just the new suit..." he cut himself off and quickly waved his hand. "Well, it's nothing, Mr. Stark. It's- it's perfect. Thank you-"

God, this was hard to watch.

Tony clearly agreed, because he made a face and held out a placating hand. "Yeah, we don't really need to start a conversation."

"Okay. Cap- Captain. Big fan, I'm Spider-Man-"

"Yeah, we'll talk about it later. Just-"

"Hey, uh, everyone-"

"Yeah, okay, good job."

Steve jutted his chin at Peter, before looking back at his husband with a condescending sort of head tilt. "You've been busy."

Tony whipped around to face him, his eyes blazing. "And you've been a complete idiot. Barnes almost killed Charlie, and you just left."

Charlie couldn't stand the look on her Dad's face. Before she could stop herself, she stepped out from behind the terminal. "It's okay. He didn't know."

The metal of her suit whirred around her. She clenched her fist, feeling her thrusters warm.

Steve's head snapped to her, opening his mouth furiously, but Charlie interrupted him.

"You didn't know," She repeated, staring at him. "Because you didn't care enough to check on me. To make sure I was okay, while Bucky was breaking out or after you had run off."

Steve groaned, before biting out, "You're really getting her involved in this, Tony?"

"Yeah, we're way past that," Charlie snorted. "I've been 'involved' since you became obsessed with the idea of Buck coming back. You put me here, Pops. Did you really think I was just gonna sit around and watch you guys fight?"

"You're a kid," Steve said sharply. "Charlie- this is no place for a child."

This is no place for a child.

Pietro had said right before he died.

The memory left a bitter taste on her tongue. It fueled her anger stoking it into a fiery rage. "I'm sorry, what were you saying a few hours ago about Wanda?" She tilted her head , feigning forgetfulness. "What was it, Dad?"

"Something along the lines of, she's a kid, Tony," Tony said drily.

Charlie snapped her fingers. "Ah, that was it. And look at that, you brought her along no problem. Why am I any different?"

Wanda was glaring at her. Charlie glared right back.

"Maybe it's because she's not actually a kid?" Charlie was so angry she could barely get the words out. "Maybe it's because she's twenty- seven years old, fully capable of taking responsibility for her actions, but she doesn't want to do that, huh? No, Dad has to take all of the blame."

Wanda's voice was dark. "Lagos was an accident. It wasn't my fault."

"But it's Dad's?" Charlie shot back. "He has to take the fallback for it? Or- what about me, Wanda?"

This time she looked stumped. "What?"

"The first time you ever saw me, you made me relive the most traumatic moment of my life." Charlie's hands were trembling, she could feel it, and she hated how weak it made her look. "You saw it, you knew what happened, and you fucking did it anyway. Was that my fault, Wanda? You sure as hell never had to take any blame for that, did you?"

"Charlie-" Steve said warningly.

"NO!" Charlie shouted, spinning to face him. "No, you can shut up! You've spent all your time, standing there, letting Dad take the fall, while you run off with your past."

Steve lowered his head. "Sweetheart, you don't know what you're talking about."

"The way adults think teenagers are just gonna become blind to what's right in front of our faces is baffling." Charlie angrily gestured at the group standing behind him. "Does anyone on your team even know what's happening right now? You really forced the Barnes out of hiding, where they were comfortable- where they were safe- and now they'll have to be on the run again."

She met Becca's eyes.

Becca's eyes were dark. Her hair was pulled away from her face, red against her skin. She looked a combination of sad and desperate that Charlie hadn't seen before.

Charlie softened her gaze. I don't blame you.

Becca gave a tiny nod. I know.

"You've got Clint," Charlie gestured at her uncle, who stood awkwardly with his bow drawn. "Who's supposed to be retired- Clint, no offense, but you're too old for this."

Clint gave her an unimpressed look, but Charlie could see in his body language that he wasn't mad at her.

She turned her gaze to Steve.

She couldn't see his face too well, from this distance. Especially behind the mask. She wasn't sure she wanted to. If she saw the look of disappointment on his face she'd break.

"Pops," she said quietly. "I really don't wanna fight."

Steve squared his shoulders, shaking his head as if "You did that when you signed."

Charlie's eyes burned. Her lips quivered and she quickly glanced up at the sky, willing the tears to go away, clenching her hands into fists.

"Alright," Tony said, his tone biting. Out of the corner of her eye, Charlie saw him step forward. She couldn't look at his face; she didn't think she could take the hurt, stoic expression of heartbreak she knew was there. "We're done. You're gonna turn Barnes over, let us get him the help he needs, and you're gonna come with us, now, because it's US!"

His voice cracked on the last word.

Us.

Their team.

Their family.

Steve's husband, and his daughter, and everything they'd built since he got out of the ice.

It meant something. To Charlie, and to Tony, it did. If Steve said it didn't matter to him, he'd be lying. Charlie knew him, down to her bones. She knew her father.

It had to mean something.

"I have to get them somewhere safe," Steve said quietly. The desperation in Tony's voice seemed to have hit a nerve. Steve Rogers wasn't cold, or emotionless, or cruel, in anything he did. He wasn't capable of it.  Charlie saw it in his eyes as he finally looked at her- really looked at her. "I would do the same for you."

Then he held his hands up, still bound by webs, and an arrow pierced through it, releasing him. Clint, from a parking garage several yards away, lowered his bow.

"Alright, Lang," he said, and Charlie made a wounded noise.

Peter, from his little perch next to Charlie, made a weird swatting motion. "Hey, guys, something-"

Suddenly he was flipped backwards, yelping. If she didn't know better, she'd say he'd been trying to do a ridiculous backflip- but even he wasn't that embarrassing. Charlie jolted forward, as if to catch him, but suddenly an entire, grown-ass man was standing in front of her.

"What the fuck," Charlie said flatly, staring at the masked face in front of her.

The masked man was holding Steve's shield. He handed it to him, sounding like he was trying to keep himself from exploding from excitement. "I believe this is yours, Captain America."

Looks like they brought their own over-eager new recruit.

"Oh, great," Tony said, not sounding like he thought it was great at all. "Alright, there's two on the parking deck. One of them's Maximoff, I'm gonna grab her. Rhodey, you want to take Cap?"

"I'm coming with you," Charlie said immediately. She lifted off into the air, following close behind her Dad. If Wanda was gonna try anything, best believe she was going to protect her father.

And, maybe, because she knew she couldn't look at Steve without bursting into angry tears.

Rhodey's voice crackled over he line. "Got three in the terminal, Wilson and the Barnes."

"Barnes is mine."

T'Challa sounded angrier than Charlie had thought possible. The kind of anger that could only come from pain, and grief.

He thought Becca and Bucky had killed his father, in Vienna. Charlie knew they hadn't, that they weren't the Asset and the Winter Soldier anymore, but he didn't, and she couldn't even blame him for wanting to hurt them.

If it had been one of her fathers who had been killed, she'd probably do that same.

Still, she couldn't stop herself from saying, "Please don't hurt her."

T'Challa was silent for a moment. He could have easily ignored her, or maybe just not heard her over the commotion around them, but as always, he was much more composed and gracious. "I would never hurt a child."

Not an offended, defensive comment that he would have been completely justified making. It was calm, understanding- acknowledging her fears and probably the fact that she was a child herself with a complicated history with trust.

"Hey, Mr. Stark, what should I do?" Peter asked eagerly.

Tony sounded incredulous. "What we discussed? Keep your distance. Web 'em up."

"Stay away from the fight," Charlie added.

Like T'Challa, most people here wouldn't hurt a kid. If they didn't know Peter was a kid, though...

"Okay, copy that!"

It only took a few more seconds to find Wanda. She was standing next to Clint as Tony and Charlie slowed to a stop, hovering above her.

"Wanda," Tony said. "I think you hurt Vision's feelings."

Wanda looked murderous. "You locked me in my room."

"At least he gave you a room," Charlie snarled, sounding tinny behind her metal suit. Suddenly, the anger was swallowing her whole again.

"And, that's an exaggeration," Tony added. "But, second, I did it to protect you."

Wanda tilted her head. Charlie kind of wanted to smack her.

"Don't make that face," she bit out instead. "Accident or not, you blew up that lab in Lagos, and the UN has every right to arrest you. Dad gave you a safe place and plenty of opportunity to learn how to use your powers. He owes you nothing, and you threw it back in his face-"

"He destroyed my home," Wanda said angrily.

"He created an AI to protect the world from the visions you tortured him with!"

"With his robots, with Ultron-"

"You were Ultron's number one sidekick!" Charlie shouted. "What, did Dad make you do that?"

"That's enough."

Tony's voice was quiet. Stern. Charlie closed her mouth, realizing he had momentarily closed the line so it was just the two of them.  "Don't use people's pain to provoke them. I know you're angry, but that's not how we do things, bubs."

Charlie wanted to scream that Wanda had don just that, to all of them, but Tony already knew that. She knew he was telling her to be the bigger person. So she reluctantly nodded, just once. 

Tony's voice brightened. He'd opened the line back up. "Hey, Clint."

"Hey, man," Clint said, looking up at him. It would have been funny, if circumstances were different.

"Clearly, retirement doesn't suit you. You got tired of shooting golf?"

Clint shrugged. "Well, I played 18, I shot 18. Just... can't seem to miss." 

If Charlie hadn't been closely watching his every move, she would have missed it. An arrow wizzed past Tony's head and he dodged it, easily.

"First time for everything," Tony said cheerfully.

Clint smirked. Charlie's eyes widened, and she whirled around just in time to see a car slam out of the parking garage beside the, heading straight for Tony.

She shouted her Dad's name at the same time Clint said smugly, "Made you look."

Suddenly dozens of cars were crashing towards him, too fast for him to dodge, even in the suit. Charlie watched in horror, frozen, as her Dad was slammed in every direction, hit over and over again, trying to get away, before ultimately being crushed by hundreds of pounds of metal-

She darted forward, but Tony's strained voice shouted, "Don't you dare!"

Charlie cried out in anger.

She was so tired of feeling helpless.

But, more than anything, she was so fucking tired of the woman who made a small grunt of satisfaction from behind her.

Charlie turned, slowly, to see Wanda lower her hands, laced in red magic.

Anger, Charlie had learned, is an interesting thing.

She'd seen it over and over again in her life. She'd seen what it had done to her kidnappers in Afghanistan, who were so angry they'd wanted to hurt her and her Dad beyond repair. She'd watched it eat away at her Pops, especially over the last few years. She'd seen how it could consume people completely- fester and build inside of them until it boiled over in an explosive, destructive rage that tore apart everything around them.

She'd been angry a lot in her life. Not quite the way she'd seen other people, but enough to understand where they were coming from, and enough to understand how scary it could be.

But... she'd never felt like this.

Before she really knew what she was doing, Charlie landed heavily in front of Wanda. The noises of fighting around her seemed to dim, replaced with the steady thumping of her heart.

She stood, lifting the face plate of her suit.

Wanda lifted her head as well, red hair billowing around her. She tilted her head, flashing her eyes- but for all her bravado, Charlie knew what someone scared- someone trapped- looked like.

She'd been that person too many times.

Wanda had made her that person, too many times.

"You did this to yourself," Charlie said, almost inaudibly. For once, her voice was steady, and so were her hands.

Wanda's brows flitted together.

Charlie stepped forward. She was taller than Wanda, in the suit. "You think you're a victim. You think you're in the same boat as the Barnes, that my Pops is going to save you- but you weren't kidnapped. You weren't brainwashed. The things you did weren't because someone was forcing you to do them. You signed up to join Hydra, to become a fucking Nazi."

"I did what I had to do to survive." Wanda's voice was biting, eyes fierce beneath red hair. She was trying to stare her down.

"Maybe," Charlie said lowly. The fury building up in her chest was almost blinding, and yet somehow, she felt terrifyingly calm. "But not everybody trying to survive would manipulate a man's mind by preying on his PTSD, or make a child relive her fucking rape."

Her voice finally cracked on the last word. She felt so violently aware of her body, encased in her own invention, and she knew the damage she could do with it.

"You decided to play god, and gave yourself these powers, and instead of using them for good, you tortured people. You killed those people in Lagos, and tried to run away from the consequences when the Accords came."

She was inches away from Wanda's face now. She could see the defiant anger in her eyes, but the fear in the rest of her features.

"Karma's a bitch," Charlie whispered.

She teared her head back and drove it into Wanda's face.

... hey y'all.

So it's been a while. Honestly Ive just had a lot going on and hit a massive writers block. This chapter was going to be way longer, but i split it up. I figured it was better to give you guys something than nothing.

i've also been working on my own novel, and my wattpad writing is just so cringey and repetitive and immature sometimes it's hard for me to go back and read it.

but in the end, who cares. that's the beauty of wattpad. i can have shitty writing here.

ANWAYS, this chapter ended in the heat of the airport battle. Charlie is extremely angry, obviously. super torn between her parents. pissed as hell at wanda. it's only gonna spiral from here.

hope you guys enjoyed it. Let me know your thoughts. i'm glad to be back.

drink some water!