Daybreak | Steve Rogers

Chapter Thirty-Nine: Assemble

Even months later, people were left shaken after what had happened.

Stark had decided to move us to a base that was a little further away from civilians, having it built a couple hundred miles from New York City.

Barton was taking time to rethink his commitment to SHIELD after the birth of his son, still struggling with Pietro's sacrifice.

Banner had disappeared, leaving Nat in a state of confusion and shock.

Thor was still coming to terms with the fact that Vision, who could wield his hammer, was in possession of something called the Mind Stone.

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"The rules have changed" Steve huffed as he, Thor, Stark and I made our way down the sunlit hallway.

"We're dealing with something new" I added.

He shrugged after a moment, "Well, the Vision is artificial intelligence"

Stark nodded in agreement, "A machine"

"So, it doesn't count?"

"No, it's not like a person lifting the hammer"

I scoffed, "So there are different rules for us? But he's got his own mind, his own thought process. What classes as a person, then? Because Thor's technically not human, so there are different rules there, too"

Stark rolled his eyes and brushed aside my theory, "Nice guy. Still artificial"

Thor sighed heavily, "He can wield the hammer, he can keep the Mind Stone. It's safe with the Vision. And these days, safe is in short supply"

There was a pause and Steve frowned, "But if you put the hammer in an elevator..."

"It would still go up" Stark continued.

"Elevator's not worthy"

"Oh my God, I'm surrounded by children" I groaned, ignoring Steve's playful grin.

Thor chuckled as he patted Stark on the back, "I'm going to miss these little talks of ours"

The man nodded, "Not if you don't leave"

"I have no choice," he huffed as we resumed walking, "The Mind Stone is the fourth of the Infinity Stones to show up in the last few years, it's not a coincidence. Someone has been playing an intricate game and has made pawns of us. And once all these pieces are in position..."

"Triple Yahtzee?" Stark offered hopefully.

I rolled my eyes as we emerged onto the grass outside the compound, "Can you find out what's coming?"

We came to a stop and he gave me a solemn nod. "I do. Besides this one," he tapped Stark's chest, "There's nothing that can't be explained"

He gave us one last smile before raising his hammer to the clouds. A beam of multicoloured light surrounded him, leaving a burnt pattern on the grass once he had disappeared. Stark huffed in irritation as he put his sunglasses on, "That man has no regard for lawn maintenance"

"I'm gonna miss him, though. And you're gonna miss me. There's gonna be a lot of manful tears" Stark continued.

I scoffed quietly, "You really don't need to put the word 'manful' or 'manly' in front of normal things, it doesn't make you sound cool"

"We will miss you, Tony" Steve sighed as a bright orange sports car slowly drove itself over to us.

"Well, it's time for me to tap out. Maybe I should take a page out of Barton's book. Build Pepper a farm, hope nobody blows it up"

The blond nodded slowly, "The simple life"

Stark's smile faded slightly, "You'll get there one day"

I could sense his gaze flicker over to me from the other side of his sunglasses. Steve shrugged, "I don't know. Family, stability... The guy who wanted all that went into the ice seventy-five years ago, I think someone else came out"

"You all right?"

I awkwardly watched as Steve gazed at the agents training nearby with a sad smile, "I'm home"

"Are you sure this is your home?" I asked as Steve and I wandered through the empty halls of the compound.

"I guess"

I stopped walking, crossing my arms as he turned to face me in confusion. "Steve, this place isn't a home, it's a military compound. I know different things may cut it for different people, but this place is gonna drive you crazy one day"

He chuckled quietly as he glanced around, "Come on, Rory. It's not so bad"

"Look, I've got an old apartment that I still technically own. If you want, you can use that"

"Thanks, but I'll be okay. Besides, don't you live here, too?"

I shrugged and absentmindedly kicked at the gravel path, "Yeah, but that's not my point. You've been alive for over ninety year and you've barely lived. Just consider it, please?"

We entered the training room to find Nat stood in the corner. I cleared my throat, "You wanna keep staring at the wall, or do you wanna go to work?"

Steve shrugged quietly, "I mean, it's a pretty interesting wall"

"I thought you two were still gazing into each other's eyes. How do we look?"

He handed her the tablet as we made our way down the hallway, "Well, we're not the '27 Yankees"

"We've got some hitters" she mused quietly.

"They're good," I agreed, "But they're not a team"

She sent me a mischievous smirk as we approached a set of double door, "Let's beat them into shape"

The doors swung open and we stared down at our new recruits. I eyes each of them with interest. I didn't know Vision enough to make any assumptions. Rhodes was Starks best friend, so I was hoping that he wouldn't be as annoying. Wilson was a little cocky, but he was a good fighter and a loyal friend.

Wanda was different from the rest. I saw something very different in her. I saw the grief in her eyes after the loss of her twin brother, I saw her fear, and I saw her potential.

"Avengers..."