LEGACY (T.Stark's Daughter)

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Legacy.

[ Present day; 2038 ]

The first thing that Stevie Stark could see was her home. The house in which she grew up, the walls that shielded her memories from everybody else in the world. It looked the same as it had done when her parents first moved in almost twenty years ago, aside from some water damage on the wooden planks or a few missing ceiling tiles that were the result of failed science experiments.

Her eyes drifted sorrowfully to the lake beside it. Somewhere, perhaps hidden under the canopy of trees at the far end of the body of water or resting at the bottom of it, was a decaying bouquet of flowers laid out in a ring around her father's first personal Arc Reactor.

A few feet away was the garage, which stored countless trinkets, gadgets and gismos, unfinished projects and worn out tools. The garage had been Stevie's safe haven before Pepper had allowed her to convert the basement into a combined bedroom and science lab.

Her playhouse stood, lonely, on the front lawn, practically falling to pieces. She could vividly remember Bucky getting his metal arm stuck in one of the windows and Sam pretending to help pry it out with a magnet.

She'd lived.

Stevie Stark had grown up with nothing but love and family – people who understood her. And now that she'd met the one person that she feared letting go of, she was ready to do just that. She'd finally earned the long awaited closure that she'd always been yearning for.

She–

Her thoughts were interrupted when she was tackled into a hug by unfamiliar arms. Instinctively, she threw them around herself and pried off their hold on her, pinning them to the ground. Ace stared up at her with a look of both bewilderment and wonder.

"Stevie, I thought you'd died. I had to stand there, stand there and wait for you to come back for a whole minute. And when you didn't I thought you'd died. I thought you'd died!"

She rolled her eyes, a smile subconsciously etching its way onto her face. It contorted into more of a smirk, however, when she remembered her father's response to Scott's rambling. "You're repeating yourself, you know that?"

"You're repeating yourself. You're repeating yourself!" It was almost as if he knew. But he didn't. Nobody ever would. "I was about to piss myself. You're lucky I respect you, otherwise I'd have no option but to contact my newest friend, Mr. Strange, and tell him to snitch on you."

She scoffed, "you wouldn't dare."

Ace raised his brows playfully. Then, he grabbed her shoulders and flipped her over so that he was the one pinning her down. "Oh, I think I would." He teased. They sat quietly for a moment, catching their breaths and letting the realisation of what had just happened wash over them.

"You know," Stevie started, "we're the youngest people to have Time Travelled ever." 

"That's crazy."

"I know. Now get off of me." She shoved him off and stood up, dusting herself off and meeting Cassie's gaze. 

She was stood at the machine watching them closely with a grin. "I see it was successful, then."

"You don't understand how thankful I am." She reached out an arm to shake Cassie's hand, but the older girl pulled her into a tight hug, taking Stevie by surprise.

She laughed, pulling away. "You're welcome. I have one condition, though. Don't tell my dad. I don't want to end up with an ankle monitor. Time Travel is frowned upon in the Lang-van Dyne household."

"Yes, Ma'am."

A few minutes later, Stevie watched proudly as Cassie and Ace drove away. As much as she hated to admit it, the annoyingly stupid boy was beginning to grow on her. She sighed, turning away from the road and making her way back inside the house. It had been a busy month, and she was ready to rest.

Perhaps she could start some early reading before she began at MIT next semester. She'd already guaranteed herself a spot to graduate high school. And she didn't have to worry about quarrelling with her sister. Perhaps they could watch a cheesy movie together. She didn't have to worry about living up to her father's non-existent expectations. Perhaps she could sort through all of his old work and see what she could continue.

For the first time in her life, she felt at peace.

"Stevie Stark?" A voice called. "I'm Nick Fury, head of S.H.I.E.L.D... I'd like you to join my team."

Or, perhaps, she could continue her father's legacy...

[ The End ]