Retribution ★ Avengers

Lead the Way, Soldier

"Marlena," James started, but he was unsure of what else to say to her. He didn't think he could say anything to make her feel better.

"I have to get out of here, dad," Marlena spoke, her tone filled with urgency as she glanced behind him. She knew Kellan was still unconscious and was sure he would remain so for awhile, but she didn't want to waste anymore time waiting for that moment to come. "I have to stop Alena so I can get my family back. And you could come too! You don't have to stay trapped here any longer. I can't even begin to imagine what Kellan would do to you if you stayed here, and I don't want to."

"Well, the thought of finally getting out of here does sound appealing," James replied.

"Then help me, please," Marlena practically begged him. "We don't have much time left, so please, let's get out of this hell and go back home."

James nodded his head, his hopeful eyes on his daughter. "Then lead the way, soldier."

Marlena grabbed his hand and started pulling him back down the corridor she'd been running through, and in seconds the two were running together to locate an exit. Marlena glanced over to her father. "Do you know if there's an aircraft hangar on the base? Finding a jet is gonna be our best bet. I know enough of this place to know the closest airport is twenty miles away. We'd never make it on foot."

Without answering, James stopped and took a left, leaving Marlena to follow after him. After several more minutes of running, the two came to a massive platinum door at the end of the hall. It was sealed shut, and the only means of entry was through an access code in which James had no knowledge of.

"This is as far as we can go," James told Marlena. "I don't know the code. Only Alena does."

Marlena didn't answer. Instead, she raised her now-glowing hand to the control box beside the door, shocking James in the slightest. The circuits inside the box began to burst, much as they'd done so back in her compartment. The platinum doors began to open, and Marlena turned to look at her father with a slight smirk on her face.

"Lucky for you, we don't need a code," she said, gesturing him forward once more. "Now, c'mon."

"You and Alena are a lot more alike than I thought," James muttered as he and Marlena continued into the aircraft hangar.

While she knew his words hadn't been said to aggravate her, she couldn't help the feeling of being compared to Alena. As far as Marlena knew, the two were only alike in regards to their abilities and appearances. "The two of us share nothing more than our looks and abilities," she remarked, quickly making her way over to one of the many Quinjets inside the hangar.

"You'd be surprised how wrong you are." James followed her over to the aircraft. "I know Alena has many flaws, but you and I both know they aren't her fault."

Marlena used her abilities to open the rear hatch of the jet, making her way on board with James following behind her. "I understand that, but her actions are inexcusable. I spent five years believing my own children were dead like the rest of my family was, but the entire time they were with her. And now she's using my life to fix what Hydra did to hers, when that in itself is not my fault."

"I know." James let out a quiet sigh. "And you have every right to be upset over everything happening, but everyone deserves a second chance to make things right, and I trust you to be the one that gives it to her."

Marlena spent several moments pondering over her father's words. Of course, she had every intention of making sure Alena knew she was simply misunderstood, but after everything that'd been done thus far, she found it difficult to bring herself to that point. She couldn't deny her father's words had an effect on her, however, just as they always had.

Rather than responding to her father's words, Marlena made her way to the cockpit of the jet. She scanned her eyes over the control panel, trying to remember everything Steve and Sam had tried to teach her about flying so many years ago, but she was drawing a blank.

"Can you fly this thing?" Marlena asked her father, and he stepped forward to meet her at the front of the aircraft.

"That depends," James said, taking his spot in the pilot's seat and switching on the power. "Can you tell me where I'm flying it to?"

Marlena did not miss the smirk on her dad's face, and she laughed quietly before taking a seat beside him. No matter how many years had passed, and no matter what he'd been through, he was still the same man she remembered him being. It was almost as if no time had passed between them, and in that she found great comfort.

"Buckle up, kiddo."

"Copy that, soldier."

Marlena buckled herself in as her dad took off through the sky. She glanced back, watching as the abandoned Hydra base grew smaller and smaller the farther away they ventured. She'd finally found her way out of the shackles that'd been placed upon her, and while she was relieved because of it, the work was not yet done. There was no doubt in Marlena's mind Alena was wreaking havoc amongst her family and relationships, but she was done letting it happen. It was time for her to take charge and finally start living the happy, peaceful life she'd spent years longing for, rather than allow her deluded reflection to steal it right from under her.

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Introducing this beautiful man Christopher Meloni as Marlena's father, James Claire.