There's blood on the gun that's in your hand and a murder in front of you... Who: Harper Advent, Lt. Tucker Advent, with brief cameos by Nick Fury and the Avengers What: Phase II: Harper's deepest fear of losing her father and being betrayed by her country along with the Avengers themselves because of what she is. When: November 14th, 1963 Where: Manhattan, NY Rating/Warnings: PG-13; Violence Status: Closed; Complete
It started when she woke up one morning as a blonde. At first, the sight of it confused her, but then she grew horrified to discover that her mirrors had been shattered to pieces and she couldn't put them back together. No matter how hard she tried, the shards remained frozen in place on the floor.
Why was her room trashed? Why didn't it wake her? What happened to her powers? Where was everybody? Why was there... why was Nick Fury standing in the middle of Avengers Tower with a gun pointed at her head?
"Director Fury? Wh-what's the meaning of this?" Harper couldn't help the way her voice trembled just slightly as she stumbled out of her room in her oversized t-shirt and panties, eyes widening at the way he was looking at her.
"The President has issued orders for any mutant terrorists to be taken into custody. Put your hands where I can see them and stay where you are. You're under arrest."
This made no sense. It had to be a dream, right? The same man who had recruited her was turning on her... because of President Kennedy. The Avengers couldn't be on board with something like this, right? No, they would never do such a thing. They had helped the X-Men just a few months ago!
"Director, there has to be some sort of a mistake."
"There is no mistake. Stand down, Parallel, we have orders to kill you if you try to resist."
The one time she needed her mutation most, it was nowhere to be found. And she had no explanation. No allies, or friends. Harper was truly alone, and ready to surrender when she heard that entirely too familiar sound of gunfire and the smell of blood and gunpowder rushed her nose. Fury's lifeless body dropped to the floor and before she could blink, she was being shoved into a hidden passageway and told to run.
Her rescuer holstered his gun and yanked her hand as he led her around corner after corner, so fast that she couldn't keep track of where she was in the building as the sounds of the Tower's own security measures were being activated. Luckily this tunnel had been created to keep the Avengers safe from their own home should JARVIS fall into the wrong hands. Ducking into a crawl space for a moment, Harper finally got a good look at her savior and nearly shouted.
"Sir?"
"Harper, I don't know what's goin' on out there, kiddo, but you need to get the hell away from here. Run as fast as y'can, catch the first plane or train or bus to Texas and find your sister and get yourselves someplace safe. You take good care of her, y'hear?"
"Dad... what about you?"
"Your powers are gone, right? Something's going on and it's affecting all mutants and superhumans, so you don't have to worry about Spider Man, Captain America, or Black Widow. Iron Man, Thor, and Hawkeye are being assembled right now to find you and kill you. I'll hold them off as long as I can, but you need to move on out of here. No arguing, Harper. This is an order."
The world stopped for a moment as the severity of the situation set in and Harper was ready to argue that her beloved father needed to come too, but she had orders and she hated them. But orders were orders, and they were made to be followed. The biggest way to disrespect her father would be to go against his wishes. Hearing Thor's voice bellowing through the building, Harper cringed and fought back the tears in her eyes as she hugged her father goodbye. "I love you, daddy."
Tucker returned the hug with his good arm and then pulled open a hatch beneath him and helped his daughter into the hideaway, giving her a final salute and drawing his gun for one last time as he returned to the tunnels and tried to lead them as far away from his baby girl as he could.
There was no time for tears, Harper reminded herself as she proceeded to slide and climb down the plumbing pipes in the narrow space that only she or Widow were petite enough to squeeze through. Halfway down she heard Hawkeye and Iron Man's unmistakable voices ordering her father to give up her location. And as expected, he refused and fired off his gun in a futile attempt to stall them. Tripping over a piece of metal when she reached the sewer floor, she crashed to the ground just as her father cried out in agony.
As she hit the dirty, dingy, foul-stenched floor, the tears she'd been holding back finally pattered onto the concrete. She didn't want to go to Texas for Sophia and explain that their father died protecting her. Harper didn't want to get up.