Saving the Heroes | Steve Rogers

Epilogue

I enter the black room and I pick up my bag. I debate turning back, but I can't, not if I want to live a life without HYDRA always stalking me. Quickly, I leave the black room and I find myself in the den's lab where the machine still stands.

I look around the room, curious to see if there have been any changes. Strangely enough, everything is exactly the same as when I left it. The room feels quiet without them being here, it makes me sad, but I swiftly get over the feeling and check the cupboard where Bruce left something for me.

Inside the cupboard is a pair of crutches and a prescription for a drug called fludrocortisone which is supposed to help with my PoTS. The crutches, I presume, are to be used when I have a really bad dizzy day. I get them every now and then: days when I simply just can't walk.

I leave the lab and head up to the main house. My dad, Bailey and Reagan seem to not be in at the moment which means that the house is quiet. I go to my room where I see the box waiting for me from Tony.

A part of me doesn't want to open it, but I need to.

The box has a letter inside on top of a layer of tissue paper that stops me from seeing the rest of the contents.  I take the letter out and the envelope has my name written on in Tony's messy handwriting. I open the envelope and pull out all of the paper that is inside it. There are 6 pieces of paper, one for each of the Avengers.

I open the letter from Tony first.

Hey Feisty,

You're a good kid. I hope you know that. Without you, we wouldn't be able to get home. There'd have been no chance of it.

You and your family allowed us to come in when it would have been considered a bad idea to let strangers in because of the pandemic. For that, I'll be eternally grateful.

I know that you don't want us to go - we don't want to go either. And more specifically, I don't want to go to a world that doesn't have you in. You've become like a little sister to me. Someone who puts up with my bullshit and doesn't complain too much (unlike Captain Righteous).

I wanted to tell you something that I couldn't say out loud. I don't even know how to write it in truth, so I'm just going to come out and say it. I love you kid, I love you so much. You're now part of my highly dysfunctional and fucked up family and I wouldn't ever want to change that.

I'm so proud of you. I'm proud of the person that you've become with us, even if it has been for only 10 months.

Keep in contact no matter what.

Love Tony.

P.S. You're going to be an awesome engineer. There won't be anyone who won't want to hire you.

I wipe my eyes, tears forming in them. Tony called me Midget yesterday, which was weird considering that it's my nickname for him, but he didn't notice. I found it a little funny, but I don't know why he called me it. I laugh a little at the memory before moving onto the shorter letter from Thor.

Dear Lady Arty,

You are a legend.

When we get back to my home, I wish for my father to make you a goddess, or at least something awesome in my realm because it would be an outrage for you to not be a goddess when one is as powerful as you in both mind and heart.

Save me some pop tarts for when I next come to visit.

Thor.

I laugh at Thor's letter. His humour never fails to make me laugh. I put his letter to the side and I open up Bruce's.