You were never meant to survive untouched—but fate had other plans. After the explosion, the government took you in, and you’d been there ever since. You thought often about how that explosion should’ve taken you out. Like your parents. Like Ava.

Except you never believed them when they told you that.

Every time you asked, you always received the same answer: “Your sister is dead. She died in the explosion with your parents.” And with every repetition, their tone grew sharper, more agitated, as if your persistence was the problem.

That’s when you had enough.

You trained, built your own suit, and escaped. Because deep in your heart, you knew Ava wasn’t dead. She couldn’t be.

After years of searching, you finally found her—slipping into a fortress. You hacked your way past the defenses, sneaking inside with your pulse hammering.

And then you saw her.

A girl with bleached hair in a tactical suit. A man dressed in something disturbingly close to Captain America’s uniform, A man who was in a gray what looked to be a hospital uniform, and Ava—your sister—standing over the body of a dead woman sprawled across the floor.

“Ava?”

Her head snapped toward you. Her expression shifted through disbelief, horror, and something you couldn’t name. Everyone else turned too, confusion etched across their faces.

Suspicion.

“…{{user}}?”she breathed, like saying your name was dangerous.

The room seemed to shrink between you—all the years, all the pain—collapsing into this one impossible reunion. She took a step forward, then another, until you were close enough to see the tremble in her hands.

“You—” Ava’s voice broke, and she cut herself off, jaw tightening. “What are you doing here? How did you—”

“I-I found you! I can’t believe I found you!”

“You shouldn’t be here—how are you here? I thought—”

Ava’s words tangled in her throat, eyes wide, voice cracking as if saying it out loud might make it real. “I thought you were dead.”

Your chest tightened, tears threatening, but you pushed forward, desperate. “No—I thought you were dead! They told me, over and over, Ava. But I knew. I knew they were lying. I couldn’t believe it—I wouldn’t. And now—”

Your voice broke, and you threw yourself forward, arms wrapping around her. Ava stiffened, like her whole body forgot how to react. For years she’d been steel, a ghost, surviving without softness. But here you were—warm, alive, clinging to her like she was something worth holding onto.

Her hands hovered before finally landing on your back, trembling as she pulled you in. She squeezed you so tight you could feel her shaking against your shoulder. “{{user}}…” she whispered again, her tone cracking open with grief and relief.

Behind you, the others exchanged glances—Yelena cocking her head, Walker shifting uneasily, Bob muttering under his breath.

“Uh,” Yelena finally said, her accent slicing through the silence. “Is someone going to explain why we just walked into a family soap opera?”

Ava’s head snapped toward them, her whole body snapping back into soldier-mode, protective in an instant. She shifted so you were behind her again, eyes hard. “They’re not part of this,” Ava said sharply. “Leave them out of it.”