I gasped for air, watching as my body reformed from nothing.
Tears streamed down my face. Mira! I have to find her. Was this her powers or something? What just happened?
I went to stand, and there she was. Like magic, her eyes met mine. She stood quietly beside me. I pulled her into my arms, clutching her tightly, desperate and trembling. I held her against me, listening to her soft breath on my neck, her small heartbeat steadying mine.
Her tiny arms wrapped around me, her face nuzzled against my shoulder like she was trying to find warmth. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed something strange, a neon sign glowing in red and yellow on the wall, it was a Japanese word.
What the hell? That wasn't there before.
I slowly released Mira and scanned the area. The mansion looked… off. Strange decorations filled the space. The bedroom door behind us was shut, I didn't shut it.
What is happening?
"Ma'am?" I turned to the voice.
A guard stood there, the same one I saw turn to dust seconds ago. His eyes matched mine in confusion.
BANG!
He collapsed. Blood pooled beneath him.
He'd been shot.
Four men rounded the corner. Strangers. From their appearance, I pegged them as Yakuza. I acted fast, activating Mira's vibranium bands. Hers were designed to form a protective barrier around her.
"Close your eyes, baby," I whispered.
Two bullets hit my back. I blocked three more with my bands. I lunged forward, swiping two of them off their feet. As one hit the ground, I grabbed his weapon and rolled to the side. Coming up on one knee, I fired, taking out the two others still standing.
The third man on the ground managed to shoot again, grazing my shoulder before I put him down.
I stood over the last one, gun aimed at his head.
"Who are you? How did you get into my home?"
"What the fuck are you talking about?! This is Boss Jinshi's house!"
I stomped on his knee, snapping the bone clean in two.
"AAAAAHHHHH—!"
"Don't curse in front of my daughter."
He fell back, sobbing, crying about his leg and insisting I was in the wrong house. After a few agonizing minutes of listening to his whining, I shot him too.
"Ma'am?"
A voice behind me. A young Russian woman in a cleaning uniform. Her face was pale.
"You're back?" she asked, astonished.
"What do you mean, 'back'?"
Footsteps thundered through the halls, more men. I couldn't fight with Mira here. She was already too close to the last kill. Her barrier would also only hold for five, maybe ten minutes. Not enough time for me to handle all of them.
"Follow me, down here!" the woman said, opening a hidden door.
I knew that tunnel well.
I grabbed Mira and followed her through to the basement, the laundry room and storage area to be precise. She locked the entrance and turned to me.
"How are you back, ma'am? And the young miss too? We never thought we'd see you again."
"I didn't go anywhere!"
Something shifted in her expression. She looked between Mira and me.
"You've been gone for five years," she said.
My fists clenched. I held Mira tighter. No. No, I couldn't have lost more time.
Did Hydra take me again? Wipe my memory?
No. Mira hasn't aged.
The last thing I remembered, us turning to dust.
I grabbed the woman's arm. "Tell me everything."
And she did.
We hid in the laundry room while she explained it all: Thanos, the Snap, the Avengers, the blip, the world that had changed in five long years.
She told me Sierra hadn't disappeared in the Snap, but weeks later the mansion was raided by this Jinshi. A low-level smuggler who saw the blip as an opportunity to rise to power. He took over, killed the guards, took the remaining staff as his. And with half the world gone, there was little to stop him.
As she spoke, my eyes kept drifting to Mira, perched atop a washing machine. She swung her legs slowly, quiet and calm.
"Mira," I asked softly. "Did you know this was going to happen?"
"Yes," she said, eyes forward.
"How?"
"I don't know. I just… knew."
I wanted to press her for more, but she is only a child.
Her legs stilled. She looked at me.
"We have to go find Dad."
It wasn't a question. It was a fact.
I took a deep breath. My mind reeled with everything I'd built, and lost, in what was just moments.
"People are still loyal to the Crimson Queen," the woman said, her eyes burning with conviction.
An explosion rocked the building. Dust sifted from the ceiling. The unmistakable sound of battle filled the air. My people must've returned… and now they were fighting to take it back.
But I couldn't join them, not with Mira. Not now.
A soft tug on my shirt drew my attention.
"Go, Mom. I'll wait here."
"No. It's not safe."
"Ma'am, I'll stay with her," the woman offered. "I know you don't remember me, but I worked for you back when you took this place. I'm still loyal. I swear."
I could hear her heart pounding. Is it fear? Or deceit?
I can't tell.
"No. She stays with me," I said, lifting Mira into my arms. "I built this place to protect her. If it's gone… fine. I'll build a new empire."
I stepped into the halls of chaos, ignoring the woman calling after me about taking the place back. I didn't care.
I paused before a wall of windows overlooking Madripoor. Outside, chaos reigned. Smoke. Gunfire. People screaming.
I placed Mira down.
"Mira," I asked, "how do you know about your dad?"
"I just know," she said, looking away like she was ashamed.
I crouched to her level, staring into the blue eyes she inherited from him.
"What else do you know?"
"That… we need to go to him. He needs us."
How did she know these things? Could she read minds? See the future?
Are those powers even possible?
Nothing in our DNA should have led to that, unless Bucky has abilities I never knew about.
There's so much I don't know.
How can I protect her when I don't even understand her?
"Mom?" Her small voice snapped me out of my spiral.
I realized I was clutching her too tightly. Her face was filled with fear.
Gunfire rang through the city.
I breathed in.
"Alright… let's go. Find your dad, I guess."
I didn't have a plan. But at four years old, it seemed like she did.
And maybe, just maybe, if Bucky was still close with Steve, the Avengers could help.
If he's not a wanted criminal.
I stood, took her hand, and together we stepped into the madness of Madripoor. The world had changed again, but that was nothing new to me.
People were back, but so was the violence. The fight to reclaim what was lost had already begun.