[ Even over a phone screen, the desperation in Fitz's expression and his voice is enough to make Steve's chest twist in sympathy. He wants so badly to have followed Simmons to wherever she ended up, but that's simply not what happened.

Steve really doesn't want to crush his dreams. Telling someone news that they really don't want to hear, forcing them to face a truth that they're rejecting at every turn, it's a special kind of painful.

But false hope will only makes the wounds sting even more sharply. Steve frowns to himself and forces out a breath. ]

It sent her somewhere. But Wonderland is sort of an in-between place. No one ever comes here on purpose. She was here before, but she isn't now. Not unless she just got here.

[ But if that were the case, she would have replied to Fitz's message. ]