Steve watched over Lithium's unconscious form. It was nearly impossible to believe that such a morally-driven young woman could make a puppet out of anyone she chose to. It was nearly a nightmare to think about.

What if Hydra had kept her under their control? What if she'd never found them?

If they'd never met earlier this year, they may have met under vastly different circumstances. And it would not have ended well.

~~~

"That's impossible!" Steve had shouted back at the woman in the cage. "No one could possibly have that kind of power!"

"Who the hell are you to claim no one can have remarkable powers?" Iris quickly shot back. It was even difficult for her to think of an argument. "How the hell can deny that she could have incredible powers when so many others around us do? What about Scarlet Witch? Quick Silver? BRUCE? You cannot HONESTLY tell me that it's impossible for her to have something just as remarkable, no matter how different!"

"The both of you can already shoot metal from you skin, how do you expect me to believe that the power goes even deeper?" Steve was trying to argue still. Trying to protect the image of the sweet woman who'd trained with him. Certainly, certainly she wasn't capable of something as sinister as controlling another living beings every movement.

"With power like that, how can you not?" Iris stared at him from behind her cell. Nothing in her eyes wavered. The truth was not pretty, but she believed it with every ounce of her being.

And if she was that certain, with how recently she'd escaped Hydra, perhaps it was true. Perhaps they had a far more powerful ally than they'd realized.

Perhaps they had much more to be wary of than any of them thought.

~~~

They were fleeing. Lithium was still asleep, but they were fleeing the city at Copper's insistence. After much arguing, she'd finally gotten them to listen, and to leave the city before Hydra could regroup from the morning's failed ambush. It was past midday now. And while Tony and Bruce assured the rest of the team that Lithium's injuries were minimal and non-threatening, it was still awful to watch her sleep so long.

It was awful to have the freshest memory of her one where she was storming down the halls, escaping his grasp just barely, as she rushed for her oldest friend, and their newest enemy.

They'd wanted to leave Copper behind. They'd wanted Hydra to take care of her so they wouldn't have to. Steve had argued it adamantly, insisting that she would be too dangerous if they took control of her again. To his surprise, Bucky had stood by his argument every second.

So now, chained and calm, Iris sat in the jet with them, just a few rows down, isolated from the rest of the team, except for Hawk and Widow, who kept their weapons trained on her. Every so often, Bucky threw a glance back towards her, and her eyes would flick up at the movement, but quickly returned to her chained hands. She deserved no trust, and she would not attempt to earn it through stolen glances.

Celeste was safe. She'd accomplished her goal. That was all that mattered.

~~~

Stirring slowly, the brunette woman's eyes fluttered open, shifting against her seat, and the soreness echoing inside her limbs. Her head was pounding, the lights were so bright and every sound was grating on her nerves, even though the jet was nearly silent.

But Iris.

Iris was alive. And she was nearby.

Copper could feel Lithium stir, and tensed, causing the weapons trained on her to shift in anticipation.

"Don't move," Iris whispered, so quietly she could barely hear herself. But Celeste could hear. Iris knew that much by now.

"What's wrong?" Celeste muttered softly, fighting against the aches and pains ebbing through her body. "Where are we?"

"We're leaving," Iris answered, a small part of her happy, even through the danger, that Celeste was safe again, and away from Hydra's grasp. "I don't know where we're going, but for now, we're in the sky."

Gathering her senses, Celeste glanced around, squinting against the light as she noticed the windows near her, and the clouds beyond them. She swore she saw something flying near them, but it was all a blur of white and blue, and it was quickly gone.

Despite the agony screaming through her limbs, Celeste stood, and Steve, only a few seats away, immediately turned his gaze back to her from the book he'd been reading to fill the time. " 'Leste, you should be resting. The damage to your body may be minimal but you shouldn't strain anything." He stood, and began reaching for her, but though she kept a hand to her skull, she swatted him away.

"I'm fine, Steve. Promise. I just . . . I need to see Iris."

"No," Iris whispered. "Stay seated, 'Leste. Keep resting. You need your strength, and-."

But every word uttered was another step closer that Lithium came to Copper, and soon, she was standing over her friend's seat, taking in the sight of the cuffs around her ankles and wrists, and the chains that connected them.

Celeste stood for a few moments, her silence echoing that of Copper's. Tears began brimming Copper's eyes, and she looked down so that Lithium couldn't see them. After all she'd done, all she'd allowed Celeste to suffer through, she could barely bring herself to believe that she even deserved to live.

She certainly didn't deserve Lithium's affection after all that had passed. She waited, hoping to hear some sort of hatred come from Celeste, some reprimand, screaming that she was an awful person to leave her, to let her walk into that world when she shouldn't have trusted it.

Nothing came. No harsh words. No screams. No bitterness. Not even her body language spoke of any level of hostility. All that existed between them right now was silence.

It felt like eternity had passed, and the silence was slowly eating its way through Copper's heart, boring deep into her soul until the ache bloomed across her chest, into her head, and slowly through her body. It was agonizing. Celeste was so close, and even through all their years of friendship, she had no words. Absolutely none.

Iris truly felt she didn't deserve them, anyway. She'd nearly KILLED Celeste because of what Hydra did. She'd been their puppet and nearly murdered her best friend. And now a silent forever passed between them as both of them searched for the words to mend the gap that had risen up.

It seemed nothing could bridge that dark abyss Hydra had created. And Iris wished, truly wished for the first time in her life that shooting stars were real, and that the one she'd seen so many years ago would grant her a favor now.

~~~

It had been a meteor shower. Both girls had known that it was coming and they laid in the field, shortly before their first procedure with Hydra. The summer air was warm and damp, kissing their skin and lazily ruffling their hair. The grass and soil were soft from frequent summer rains, but not damp. Not tonight. The sky was perfectly clear, and they'd cherished it dearly as the streaks of light lit up the sky, one every few minutes.

They laughed at the stories they shared, the dumb little moments that lit up their lives.

"So what do you wish for?" Iris asked as another streak of light crossed the midnight blue.

"You know those things don't come true," Celeste muttered with a roll of her eyes. "And even if they did, they won't if you tell anyone what your wish is."

"I know, I know, hypothetically speaking, though. If you could have any wish at all. What would it be?"

He'd been on her mind a lot lately. Celeste had always been fascinated by the man, but the intrigue was growing more and more every day. How she wished she knew more, she wished she knew what had happened to him.

She wished she could meet him.

"I wish I could meet Captain America. He seems like such a good man."

"He died ages ago, 'Leste," Iris informed her gently. "In that plane crash, remember?"

"I know, I know . . ." Celeste sighed. She knew better than anyone what his fate had been. "But he seems so sweet and loyal . . . Men like that just don't exist anymore. And if I were ever to have a son, I would like to ask him how to raise that boy, to ensure that my boy could turn out like him, and that breed of gentleman never quite dies out."

A silence followed, the small bit of sorrow echoing out of Celeste's wish, and the knowledge that she would never be able to fulfill it.

Soon, another crease of light passed overhead before fading into oblivion.

"What about you, 'Ris? What would you wish for?"

"I . . . I don't know," Iris answered quietly.

"Anything, anything at all," Celeste insisted. "You know mine, what about yours?"

"I wish . . ." Iris sighed softly, closing her eyes as she wove her fingers together over her stomach. "I wish we would never have to say goodbye. I would wish that we would never have to miss each other to know where we stand as friends. No matter what happens, I want to know that through it all, we'll have each other's back."

"Of course we will, 'Ris. How could we not?"

"I don't know," Iris whispered. "I don't know."

~~~

But now she knew. Now, Iris knew all too well how the thing she'd dreaded had become a reality.

A tear slid down her cheek, the memory biting down on her like a bear trap. "Well? Are you going to say anything or just stand there? You don't have any words for the traitor?" The words were cold, but filled with despair. An emotion Celeste recognized all too easily.

"I missed you, 'Ris."