𝐁𝐄𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐄 𝐈 𝐆𝐎 (epilogue 1)
(Don't read unless you've read the chapter before!)
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AMBER MAXIMOFF'S one wish was to be normal- yet, here she was, surrounded by an army from outer space and heroes from near and far. The girl had experienced her fair share of battles from Sokovia to the airport in Germany, but this one? This one was different.
All humanity and all living life forces were now counting on them to win the battle.
Amber kicked an alien into the stomach, sending it tumbling backwards before pinning it down and letting Dr. Strange kill the beast. She couldn't see Thanos, all she could see was the rubble of her home and a constant flow of creatures from beyond their world.
The girl huffed, before sprinting off to try locate the purple giant, she arrived at the scene just in time to see Thor arrive with Stormbreaker and attempt to pin Thanos' arm down, with assistance from Steve. Amber rushed forward, using her powers to push the giant back. A drop of sweat trickled down her forehead as she pushed harder. She felt like her veins were on fire, she let out a small yell of anger and kept pushing but she wasn't strong enough, Thanos pushed back and easily overpowered the three, sending them flying back into a pile of rocks.
Ambers vision spotted black. She coughed loudly, failing to breathe due to the impact of her body on the debris. She couldn't move- not yet. She lay still, trying to get her vision to clear. Between consciousness, she could see Carol fighting one on one with Thanos, she then spotted Tony, who was shooting at Tony. The girl forced herself into a sitting position despite her body's many complaints, only to see Thanos wielding the gauntlet.
Thanos smirked widely, "I am– inevitable." He boomed, raising the gauntlet and snapping his fingers, but- to Ambers surprise nothing happened except a small, metallic 'clink'. She stood up slowly, using a large piece of concrete for support, her eyes widened at the sight now laid out in front of her.
This had to be a dream, this can't be happening.
Tony now held the gauntlet, all of the infinity stones glistening on the knuckles of the glove. The old man winced in pain but kept a relatively stoic front, Amber tried to muster up any energy she had left but it wouldn't work, why wasn't it working?!
"And I– am– Iron Man." Tony replied calmly snapping his fingers with a loud bang as a blinding flash of white shot out, sending the girl stumbling back once more. Amber blinked slowly from the ground, her gaze landing on Steve's who looked around in exhaustion, knowing that they had won. Thanos gazed around in horror, to see his entire army disintegrate into dust particles. He looked to Steve, who merely stared at him in disgust. Thanos sat down quietly before slowly being erased from existence himself.
Steve rushed to Ambers aid, helping her stand, only for the girl to let out a heart aching cry, as she kept her gaze on Tony. The power of the gauntlets raw energy had left his entire right side fatally injured. Amber, with help from Steve, stumbled forwards as Rhodey landed beside the man, only to see Tony, his long time colleague and friend fading away.
He bowed his head, knowing the damage was done. Amber watched silently as Peter Parker soon swooped in only to spot Tony collapsed on the ground.
She could hear the boy call out to his mentor before falling to his knees in despair, "Hey– Mr. Stark? Can you hear me? It's Peter" the boy cried, "Hey. We won, Mr. Stark– We won, Mr. Stark. We won. You did it, sir. You did it."
Tony was unresponsive, as Peter broke down clinging to the man.
Amber broke free of Steve and walked towards the man she called her father. She knelt silently, her tears dripping down her face as Peter was gently led aside to grieve. "It shouldn't have been you..." she sobbed quietly, "I promise I'll look after them. I'll make sure Morgan will remember everything. I'll look after them, I pr- I promise, Tony."
Amber was helped off the ground by Steve who now clutched her tightly as Pepper sat beside her dying husband, she whispered to him, Amber couldn't hear what she was saying- nor did she wish to.
She watched as Tony's arc reactor flickered off for good as Pepper, who could no longer contain her grief began to weep into his shoulder. Slowly, She noticed Clint lowering himself onto one knee, and soon enough, everyone had followed in pursuit, their bodies facing their limp leader's.
Tony Stark, Iron Man, Earth's Best Defender, was dead.
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"EVERYBODY WANTS A happy ending, right? But it doesn't always roll that way. Maybe this time. I'm hoping if you play this back, it's in celebration. I hope families are reunited, I hope we get it back, and something like a normal version of the planet has been restored. If there ever was such a thing. God, what a world. Universe, now. If you told me ten years ago that we weren't alone, let alone, you know, to this extent, I mean, I wouldn't have been surprised. But come on, you know? The epic forces of darkness and light that have come into play. And, for better or worse, that's the reality Morgan's gonna have to find a way to grow up in."
Amber Maximoff stood at the back of the living room in the Stark household with bleary eyes as Pepper, Morgan, Happy Hogan, Rhodey and her, all watched Tony's holographic message being projected from his Iron Man helmet.
"So I thought I'd probably better record a little greeting... In the case of an untimely death on my part. I mean, not that, death at any time isn't untimely. This time travel thing that we're gonna try and pull off tomorrow, it's– it's got me scratching my head about the survivability of it all. That's the thing. Then again, that's the hero gig. Part of the journey is the end."
The hologram of the man, suddenly got up and walked towards the camera, "What am I even trippin' for? Everything's gonna work out exactly the way it's supposed to." Tony leaned down and smiled, looking straight at Morgan, who let a tear fall, "I love you 3,000."
The message ended and the hologram cut out, leaving the Stark family to linger in silence. Amber quickly dried her puffy eyes before exiting the home, followed by Rhodey and Happy, before Pepper emerged carrying a wreath out of the house to an audience who waited outside for the intimate funeral.
Amber assumed her position beside Steve, who stared mournfully at Pepper who laid the wreath on the lake. The wreath was small, but it made the girl conceal a rising sob. Tony's arc reactor lay on top of the wreath as it was pushed down the lake.
It was the end no one saw coming, nor anyone suspected.
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"I MEAN I'M just a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, sir." Peter Parker spoke up, his voice echoing through the sewers of Venice.
"Bitch, please. You've been to space." Fury remarked, rolling his eyes as he slouched in his chair.
"I know, but that was an accident." Peter groaned, "Sir, come on. There's gotta be someone else you can use. What about Thor?"
"Off-world." Nick replied bluntly, as the boy pondered other heroes.
"Okay, umm...Doctor Strange?"
"Unavailable."
"Captain Marvel!"
"Don't invoke her name."
"What about Amber? Surely she can step-"
"She is taking a very long, extended break from work" Amber interrupted, emerging from the shadows.
Peter looked to her in confusion, "Oh..." he sighed, "Why are you here then", crossing his arms awkwardly.
Amber sighed, "To check up on you and ol' Patchy here." She answered, making Nick Fury let out an exasperated huff and a pointed look, "Lizzie wanted gelato, so me Levi, Luke and her flew in just for the gelato. We're leaving in a few hours."
"Sir, I really wanna help. I do. But if my aunt finds out I left my class trip, she's gonna kill me." Peter continued, And if I'm seen like this in Europe, after the Washington Monument, my whole class will figure out who I am, and then... And then the whole world will figure
out who I am. And then, I'm done."
"Okay. I understand." Nick said blandly.
Peter looked taken aback by his answer, "I'm sorry, what?" he asked in confusion.
"Why don't you get back before your teachers miss you and become suspicious." Nick advised sarcastically, "Dimitri. Take him back
to the hotel, please."
Peter looked around, obviously flustered, "Thank you, Mr. Fury." He grimaced, "And, uh... Good luck."
"See you, kid."
"Yeah, see ya- bye Amber!"
The girl waited until Peter was led out of the darkness by Dimitri, before turning to Nick. "He can't handle it Nick- he just lost his mentor. Stuff like that doesn't fade away easily. He needs to recuperate." She scowled,
"So do you... now get the hell out of my sewer." Nick smirked, before turning back to the screens. Amber chuckled, turned on her heel and walked right out of the undergroud, leaving the world of heroes behind her.
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THE PHONE BUZZED FROM beside her bed, Amber Maximoff turned over to face her alarm clock whose screen showed the time of 2:17 am. The girl groaned before picking up the phone. "Hello?" She answered groggily, running a hand through her hair.
"A-Am-Amber?" A familiar voice croaked through the phone, "I'm sorry for calling you but I- I really messed up."
Amber sat up straight in bed, slinging her legs over the side and tugging on a pair of jeans, "Where are you?" She demanded, standing up using her shoulder to press her phone against her ear.
It was only a matter of minutes before she was on a jet flying across the Atlantic Ocean with Happy. The girl had hung up and now paced quickly across the jet floor.
"Stop pacing," Happy told the anxiety- ridden girl, as she stopped in her tracks, "We're landing in half an hour."
"I can't help it, when I'm nervous, I pace." Amber huffed, throwing herself into a recliner. She sat there until they landed right in the center of a tulip field, where she jumped to her feet and quickly exited the plane.
In the distance she could see the figure of Peter Parker stumbling towards them. Amber had to resist the urge to gasp at the sight of the wounded boy.
"Peter what happened?" She called out, stepping closer to the boy, who held his hands up in defence.
"Stop- don't get any closer to me. How do I know it's really you?" Peter called out, his voice cracking slightly.
Amber closed her eyes and searched her brain for any memory that only those two would know. She eventually smile before opening her eyes.
"In Germany, you told me you were a big fan, I shot at you with my powers and in return you hit me with a sign. You also like apple juice caprisuns instead of coffee." Amber replied, as the boy walked closer.
He collapsed into her arms from tiredness as Happy joined the two. Both Amber and Happy held Peter under the arms and escorted him back inside the plane. Once they'd manage to bring Peter onto the jet, Happy immediately as down with a needle and thread and began to stitch up the boys wounds.
"Okay. Hold still. Here we go." Happy muttered, piercing the needle through Peters skin making the boy cry out in pain, "I thought you had super-strength?" Parker ignored the statement as Happy continued to stitch up his wounds. Peter let out another yelp and jumped to his feet.
"Relax!" Happy instructed as the boy fell into another seat.
"Don't tell me to relax, Happy. How can I relax when I messed up so bad?" I trusted Beck. Right? I thought he was my friend, so I gave him the only thing Mr. Stark left behind for me
and now he's gonna kill my friends and half of Europe, so please, do not tell me to relax." Peter yelled, before completely deflating. "I'm sorry, Happy. I'm sorry. I shouldn't shout. I just really miss him.
"We miss him, too." Amber spoke up, from the recliner, her hands fidgeting on her lap as her heart ached.
"Everywhere I go...I see his face. And... the whole world is asking who is gonna be the next Iron Man? I don't know if that's me, Happy." Peter whispered, "I'm not Iron Man."
"You're not Iron Man." Happy replied, "You're never gonna be Iron Man. Nobody could live up to Tony."
"Not even Tony." Amber murmured, warning a nod from the older man.
"Tony was my best friend. And he was a mess.
He second-guessed everything he did. He was all over the place. The one thing that he did that he didn't second-guess was picking you." The man told the boy, "I don't think Tony would've done what he did... if he didn't know that you were gonna be here after he was gone."
"Your friends are in trouble. You're all alone. The tech is missing. What are you gonna do about it?" Amber asked, now seeing a spark of motivation light within the younger boy.
"I'm gonna kick his ass." Peter spoke, standing up, full of courage.
"No, right now. Specifically, what are we gonna do?" Happy butted in, "Because we've been hovering over a tulip field for the last fifteen minutes."
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FOUR YEARS HAD PASSED since the death of Tony Stark. Amber Maximoff sat in the garden of the wooden cottage, with Morgan in her lap as the two wove flowers together to form a crown. Lizzie and Luke were down by the Lake with Levi, skipping stones. The two kids had grown up- they were no longer the little kids Amber had met nine years ago.
Levi and Luke's Mother and father had been located soon after the final battle, however Lizzies parents were no where to be found. There was no trace of them- nor were there any clues. Knowing this, Amber adopted the nine year old into the Maximoff family, effective immediately.
It's been like this for the passed four years. The, now, thirteen year Lizzie, ran towards Morgan and Amber on the grass and sat beside the older girl, leaning against her.
"I'm hungry." Lizzie complained, clutching her stomach as it rumbled loudly, making both Amber and Morgan laugh.
"Good!" Pepper called out from the doorframe, "Lunch is ready! Peter is running late and Harley and Happy can't make it today, do go get the others and come in!"
Amber rose to her feet, holding Morgan's hand as walked towards the lake, where Levi and Luke were crouched beside each other. "Guys, C'mon Pepper made lunch!" She called out making both of the boys turn.
"Okay, okay, we're coming." Levi laughed, walking towards Amber, pressing a quick kiss to her forehead, which resulted in the girl scoffing and hitting the boys shoulder lightly.
Levi snickered and chased after Luke and Lizzie who bolted inside the house.
Amber trailed after them, scooping up Morgan into her arms, "Oof- you're getting bigger Peanut!" The older girl chuckled as the younger girl laughed.
"Maybe you're getting smaller." Morgan smirked, her eyes twinkling.
"Oh you're in for it now." Amber grinned, tickling the younger girl causing her to squirm in her arms.
"Hey! Sorry I'm late!" Peter yelled, jumping out of his car and walking towards the two girls.
"Pete! Pete! Pete!" Morgan chanted, leaping out of Amber's arms and straight into Peters, who laughed as she bounced.
"You're not late- in fact you're just in time." Amber smiled, gesturing for the both of them to go inside.
The three entered the house to see Luke and Lizzie sitting at the table patiently while Levi helped Pepper in the kitchen. "Look who showed up, you guys!" Amber exclaimed, as Peter walked into the room.
Everyone cheered and Pepper emerged from the kitchen, giving the boy a quick greeting kiss on the cheek. She ushered everyone to sit down, Amber took her seat beside Levi and Lizzie as Pepper brought in plates upon plates of food, before sitting down.
"Okay everyone, dig in!" Pepper grinned, making everyone reach out for food and put it onto their plates. As Amber looked around she realised something- destiny is funny. It has a funny way of messing with your life.
But this was her destiny-
to be surrounded by her family and friends.
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Bye my little babies <3
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