Carissa and Scott had been the first ones back. Riss still sat on the platform, hugging her knees to her chest. Choked out sobs left her throat as she rocked herself back and forth. Snot ran down her face and she could no longer even see. Everything was a watered-down blur. Scott panicked, not sure of what to do. His daughter had never broken down like this in front of him, considering he had missed the teenage years. He felt guilty for not knowing how to comfort her, which made her feel even worse. Everyone began to filter in one by one, all noticing Carissa's state. None of them had realized what they were sending her into. Their guilt laced with concern only made the girl cry harder as she rocked herself back and forth.
"Did we get them all?" Bruce asks when Carissa calms down enough. They all understood her whole world had gotten rocked again, but they had priorities. She understood.
"Are you telling me this actually worked?" Rhodey wonders out loud in an amused tone.
Riss hears someone else hit the floor of the platform. Clint had sunk to his knees, she'd noticed. The feeling of regret and grief filled her. She began to hyperventilate.
"No." She whispers. She knew Vormir was bad. Why did Riss let her go? Why hadn't it been Clint? Oh, she was going to hell just for that. Just for that.
"Clint, where's Nat?" Bruce asks.
The scene of Nat fighting him played in his head. Carissa stared off into space, her face growing neutral. Her tears stopped flowing as she watched Nat launch herself off the side of the cliff. Carissa let out an involuntary bloodcurdling scream. Her tears were like waterfalls as her continuous screams ripped her throat apart.
She shakes her head, wanting the images to leave. She stopped screaming, looking around the room. It felt smaller. It felt like the walls were crashing down on her. Finally, it dawns on everyone else in the room. She had to get out of there. She stood, her legs like jelly as she zipped down the stairs of the platform and right outside. She stood there, trying to catch her breath. Her hands were shaking as they flew to her hair, pulling at the blonde roots. She was drowning again. She was drowning, but this time there was no Natasha to talk to. The door opens and closes again, Tony and Steve appearing in front of her. Tony rubbed her back as Steve barely managed to catch her as her knees buckled from under her. He whispers in her ear, telling her it was okay. A choked sob erupted from her throat. Tony linked his arm through her left arm as Steve did the same on her right. She felt like she was drowning still. The three of them slowly made their way to the dock. Steve sat on a bench, tears rolling down his cheeks as the rest gathered.
"Do we know if she had family?" Tony asks.
"Yeah." Steve answers. "Us."
She'd been holding her breath to stop the crying, but that sentence broke her heart all over again. She took in a sharp gasp of air as their emotions shifted.
"What?" Thor asks.
"Huh?" Tony replies.
"What are you doing?" Thor asks. Denial.
"Just asked him a question." Tony replies. Acceptance.
"Yeah, no, you're acting like she's dead."
"Thor..." Riss chokes out. She couldn't handle this. Not the hope.
"Why are we asking like she's dead?" He continues. "We have the stones, right? As long as we have the stones, Cap, we can bring her back. Isn't that right? Carissa? So, stop this shit. We're the Avengers. Get it together."
Thor was breaking their hearts more, all of theirs with his false hope. Carissa could feel them all fall apart a bit more, losing a piece of themselves.
"Can't get her back." Clint replies.
"What?" Thor asks.
"It can't be undone." Clint tells him. "It can't."
Thor laughs. "I'm sorry, no offense but you're a very Earthly being, okay? And we're talking about space magic. And can't seems very definitive."
"Yeah, look, I know I'm way outside my pay grade here. But she still isn't here, is she?" Clint asks.
"No, that's my point." Thor says.
"It can't be undone. Or that's at least what the red, floating guy had to say. Maybe you wanna go talk to him, okay? Go grab your hammer and you go fly and you talk to him." Clint was starting to get pissed off. Now wasn't the time. Not when he was the one who shouldn't be here. That's awful to say. Think.
"Clint, breathe." Riss intervenes.
"It was supposed to be me." He admits. Bargaining. "She sacrificed her life for that goddamn stone. She bet her life on it."
It should've been him.
Bruce rips the bench out of the dock, throwing it across the water. It lands in the trees, scaring away birds. Anger.
"She's not coming back." He says, turning to face us. "We have to make it worth it. We have to."
Steve finally stands. Depression. "We will." He promises.
"See you in a minute." Riss chokes out. She'd promised Steve. Thor looks over at Riss before placing a hand on her small shoulder. Her eyes find a spot to focus on, disassociating herself with her surroundings. They'd each taken an emotion from the five stages of grief, leaving her to take a piece of them all. They all walk back to the compound to put the new gauntlet back together. Carissa can't bring herself to move.
"You coming?" Steve asks Riss.
"In a few minutes." She replies. She sits, her feet dangling into the water. Her eyes still focused on the same spot, her hands still shaking.
Steve nods before walking away. He understands. Tony understands. They get it. They get that it's different. They were all hurting, but she was a mother figure to Riss after she'd lost her mom. Like Tony became a father figure when Steve shut down after her death and more recently when their relationship crumbled before their eyes. There was no mother figure here no to pick her up again. Today, she'd lost them both. She'd missed the opportunity to save her mom as well as Nat.
She picks up a rock sitting next to her and throws it at the refection, creating a perfect ripple. She stands, walking away before the water can stop.
"We haven't decided who's gonna put that on yet." She hears Steve telling Thor about the gauntlet. She'd missed something, but she didn't give a shit at the moment.
"I'm sorry, what, we're all just sitting around waiting for the right opportunity?" Thor asks.
"I'll do it." The girl squeaks from the door frame. They all look at her.
"Absolutely not." Steve replies. Tony just laughs.
"That's cute. Any other volunteers?" He asks when he stops laughing.
"I'm the strongest Avenger." Thor says. "This responsibility falls upon me."
"Normally, you're right." Tony says.
"I was serious, Tony." She softly argues, but she's drowned out by Thor.
Tony and Thor bicker back and forth.
"What do you think is coursing through my veins right now?" Thor asks.
"Cheez whiz." Rhodey replies.
"Cheap beer." She adds. Her voice is soft with a raspy undertone. She didn't like it but there wasn't shit she could do about that now.
"Lighting." Thor says.
"Is it cooking the cheez whiz?" She asks in her raspy voice.
"It's gotta be me." Bruce says. "You saw what the stones did to Thanos. Almost killed him. None of you could survive, especially not the 117-pound girl."
"How you you know?" She squeaks.
"Five of those pounds is your hair." Tony says. She flips him off.
"How do we know you will?" Steve asks Bruce.
"We don't." He replies.
"But he's got the best chances." She says. Tony slides a glass across the table at me. Steve eyes the glass but doesn't say anything. The amber liquid in the glass brings back a memory she didn't want. The tears start again as she let the amber liquid burn the back of her throat like it did all those years ago when Riss and Peter swiped a hotel sized mini-bottle of their own.
"The radiation's mostly gamma." Bruce says. "It's like I was made for this."
"He's right." She agrees. "The rest of us don't stand a damn chance." She slid the glass back to Tony, not looking up from the table as he grabs it. He snaps, getting her attention. She wipes her face with the back of her hand. He smiles at the broken girl. She attempts to smile back, but she fails. It hurts Tony to see her hurting.
Tony gets the gauntlet all ready before Bruce slips it on.
"Okay, remember, everyone Thanos snapped away five years ago you're just bringing them back to now, today. Don't change anything from the last five year." Tony tells Bruce.
"Maguna." Riss whispers. "My little sunflower."
"Got it." Bruce says.
Steve stands behind him, suited up. Tony points to him, motioning Riss away. She stands behind the shield, behind her dad.
"Friday, do me a favor and activate Barn Door Protocol, will ya?" Tony asks his AI.
The doors get covered by metal sheeting, leaving them with the artificial light of the compound bulbs. It was an eerie light, something to be afraid of. It felt like an apocalypse.
"Feels like doomsday all over again." Riss mumbles.
"Everybody comes home." Bruce says.
The stones light up when the gauntlet is fully on, ready for use. Bruce groans as he sinks to the floor, groaning in pain. On instinct, Riss moves closer to him but Steve pushes her back, holding her in place.
"Take it off! Take it off!" Thor yells.
"No, wait." Steve says. "Bruce, are you okay?"
"Talk to me, Banner." Tony steps in.
"I'm okay." He says.
Bruce shouts in pain as he raises his hand up, snapping. A bright light flashes through before his eyes roll back, sending him towards the floor.
"Bruce!" Steve yells.
"He's burnt. Tony, he's burnt bad." Riss cries.
"Don't move him." Tony says. He opens his hand, putting the burns out. Bruce grabs onto Steve's wrist.
"Did it work?" Bruce asked.
"We're not sure. It's okay." Thor says.
The doors open again. Sunlight shines back through the compound. Clint's phone rings from the table top. Birds sing. Just like that, no more apocalypse. If the Walking Dead met the Avengers it wouldn't have taken so many years to get this far.
"Scott?" Riss asks. He's standing in front of the window, smiling.
"I think it worked." Scott says. Hope, Scott. You hope it worked.
A blast was heard, throwing them all back. More were fired. Everything was in flames as the compound came crashing down on top of them.
Carissa groaned. She fucking hated falling as it was but when a piece of a building came crashing down with her it makes it less bearable. She pulls herself off the debris, groaning accordingly.
"Shit." She harshly mumbles.
"You okay, Peach?" She hears Tony ask.
"I'm good. You good?" She asks. She was out of breath.
He nodded. She assumes he was also out of breath. The landing knocked the wind out of both of them. It happened so quickly she didn't stand a chance at webbing.
"When was the last time you went down?" He asked.
"I can't even remember anymore." She answers. "I don't miss it, that's for sure."
Tony spots Steve and walks over. "Come on, buddy. Wake up."
Steve's eyes open as he gasps for air.
"That's my man. You lose this again, I'm keeping it. Peach, get the building off your dad."
She shot webs, hoping she could just pull it off, but that didn't work.
"Today, Carissa." Tony says.
The girl sighs, pushing the energy through her body, lighting the pieces up with the red glow of her psionics. She hadn't used them since they'd lost Wanda.
"What happened?" Steve asks them.
"You mess with time; it tends to mess back." Tony replies. "You'll see." He pulls Steve off the ground.
They walk out of the broken-down compound to see Thor watching Thanos. This is gonna be great, a part two of a not-so royal beheading.
"What's he been doing?" Tony asks.
"Absolutely nothing." Thor replies.
"Where are the stones?" Steve asks.
"Somewhere under all this." Tony replies.
"Shit." Riss mumbles.
"All I know is he doesn't have them." Tony finishes.
"So, we keep it that way." Steve says.
"You know it's a trap, right?" Thor asks.
"Yeah." Tony says. "I don't much care."
"Typical Tony." She replied. "Let's do this."
"Good." Thor says. "Just as long as we're all in agreement."
The thunder cracks as Thor lights up. Riss's feet are no longer touching the ground as she's engulfed in red.
"Let's kill him properly this time." He says.
Her eyes glow red as the power surges through her, lighting up her wrists to her fingertips, along her stomach and down her legs. She's covered, neck down.
The three men walk down, Riss hovering close behind.
"You could not live with your own failure." Thanos says. "Where did that bring you? Back to me. I thought by eliminating half of life the other half would thrive. But you've shown me that's impossible. And as long as there are those that remember what was there will always be those that are unable to accept what can be. They will resist."
"Yep, we're all kinds of stubborn." Tony replies.
"Some of us more than others." Riss adds.
"I'm thankful." Thanos says. "Because now I know what I must do. I will shred this universe down to its last atom. And then with the stones you've collected for me, create a new one teeming with life that knows not what it has lost but only what it has been given. A grateful universe."
"Born out of blood." Steve responds.
"They'll never know it." Thanos replies.
Riss laughs in his face. "You sure about that?" She taunts cockily, tilting her head to the left slightly.
"Because you won't be alive to tell them." He finishes.
"Oh? Because last I checked, you were the one who didn't walk away." Riss replies. "Nice monologue. Way too long, though."
Thor yells, advancing towards Thanos with the axe.
"Guess we're done talking." Riss comments, smiling. Shell enjoy this more than any other fight she's ever been involved in. She'd been waiting for this moment to end properly for five years. She had been satisfied with his death the first time, she guesses, but she really wanted to be more involved. He'd taken so much from her and he didn't even remember her name.
The rest of them take a running start. Steve got thrown, Tony flew up to take shots from the top. Thanos threw Thor. Riss blasted him with the psionic energy. Grabbing one of his hands, rendering it useless. She was surprised at just how strong they were, considering they sat dormant for five years. She hadn't even known that was possible. He swung his other hand at her, holding a long sword looking weapon. She ducked, not wanting to be beheaded like he had been. Time was an odd thing.
She raises her hands back up, but he kicked her into the debris. She cut her hand on a rock all while getting debris in her hair and all over her face. When she made it back, Thor was seconds away from having his own axe driven through his chest.
The red glow took too long, so she shot a web, attempting to pull against him. Her feet dragged through the ground. Thor's hammer comes through, knocking Thanos off. It turned back around, being caught Steve. Riss half smiles at her dad, but if she was honest, she knew he could pick it up. Same with Peter.
"I knew it!" Thor exclaims. Thanos kicked Thor into the rocks before turning back on Steve.
Taking a running start, Steve swung the hammer around, hitting Thanos. Thanos landed hard on his back. Steve threw the shield, followed by the hammer, making it hit harder and send Thanos down further into the ground. Riss used the psionics to give Steve a slight boost, making his next hit hurt even more and cause more damage.
It was easier to help Steve that way than it was to stop Thanos. Hammer up, blue lighting makes its way down. Steve directed it towards Thanos.
Another boost, sending him up before back down to make any hit hurt more. But the purple grape saw it coming, rolling over and grabbing Steve, throwing him down into the ground.
He picks up his weapons, heading towards Steve. He cut Steve's leg and hit the hammer out of his hand in Riss's direction.
"If dad can pick it up..." Maybe. She took a step closer to the hammer. Steve was on his own for a second.
She grabs it, pulling slightly. She pulls harder, but nothing. Finally, it let up. She fell on her ass with the hammer in her hand. Thanos went on another fucking rant as she sat there having her own little parade. Finally standing, she made her way over to Steve. She raises the hammer up, pulling the blue lightning to it as she lifts herself off the ground. The blue and red emitting from her was a hell of a sight. Steve looked at his daughter in awe as his face bled.
"Holy shit." She says to the army they now had in front of them. "Holy fucking shit." No matter how intimidating she was now, they had her beat.
Steve peeled himself off the ground, broken shield and all.
"Hey, Cap, you read me?" Sam's voice asks through the ear piece. The sound makes Riss's jaw drop. She holds onto the hammer, anticipating an attack. She glowed brighter than she'd ever thought she could.
"Dad?" She asks. "You heard that, too, right?"
"Cap, it's Sam. Can you hear me?"
"Please, tell me you can hear that." She whispers.
"On your left." Sam says.
Behind them, a portal opened.
"Dad..."
"I can see it." He sasys.
T'Challa walks through the portal. Sam flies in above him as more opened.
"Oh, my God." The girl whispers.
Strange flies through one to the right of her. Then the web.
"Peter?" She asks. She drops the hammer in front of her dad. He landed on a rock, removing the mask.
"Carissa!" He yells, making eye contact with her.
She drops from her levitating state, running to the boy, almost throwing him off the rock. He wraps his arms around her tightly. He lifted her off the ground slightly as he pulls her in even tighter.
"You're back." She whispers. "You're real, you're here." Her voice wavered.
"I'm back." He says.
"Carissa." Another familiar voice calls.
Peter set the girl down, barely even releasing her waist as she spins around. There stood Bucky, gun and all. He looks the same as he had when she'd lost him.
Her hands covered her mouth as small gasps left it. "Bucky." She whispers. He set the gun down gently, walking towards her. He cupped her face, tilting her head back. It was almost like she'd imagined it'd be. She never pictured the alien army around them, but she guessed she should've. His slightly chapped lips met her soft ones, both of them sighing into the kiss. Long overdue.
Steve cleared his throat from behind Carissa. What a way to ruin the moment, old man.
"Carissa." Steve calls.
She looks at Bucky. "I have a duty to fulfill." She tells him. He kisses her forehead before she turns, walking back to Steve.
"Do the thing." He tells her. He looks past her to Bucky, motioning for him to watch. Riss takes a deep breath.
Red power surges through her veins, lighting from her wrists to her fingertips. Her eyes glow a bright red color, and for the first time her hair had a red tint to it. The bottom of her shoes lit red, setting her slightly off the floor without her having to face her palms to the floor. This was new. Her whole body had a red outline.
"Woah." She whispers. "Cool."
Bucky stares at her in utter awe. She had changed so much from the last time he'd seen her. She was more powerful now, more sure of herself. She seemed better now than she had when they first met. He couldn't help but smile at the girl, despite the inappropriate timing.
Lookin' good, Mini-me.
"Wanda?" She asked. Wanda smiled from her place behind her. Riss smiled and waved.
Thanks. Riss replied. Good to have you back.
"Avengers..." Steve yells, holding his hand out for the hammer. "Assemble." He whispers.
Thor yells, causing everyone to yell and rush out. Wanda caught up with Riss as they hover out. Peter swung on the other side of her.
Psionic blasts left her hands in every direction she could manage. She turns, seeing Bucky. He smiles at her. She notices he'd stopped at some point to pin his hair back. She turns around the other way to see Tony hugging Peter. Everything was right again. Now, all we have to do is win an alien war. Sounds about right.
Welcome to the Avengers life, man. You don't get used to it.
She hears Sam yelling and see Clint running.
"Cap, what do you want me to do with this damn thing?" Clint asks through the earpieces.
The sloshing sound of Steve slicing the shield into our enemies carried through the earpiece. It was pretty gross. "Get those stones as far away as possible!" He replies to Clint.
"Where the fuck is that?" Riss asks into the earpiece.
Riss continues on with what she was doing, which is keeping the aliens off of Bucky. Lighting them up and throwing them seemed to be something she was pretty damn good at. She remembered a time where all she had to do was open her palm to them and they'd explode. She wondered if maybe...
She opens her palm to one, lifting it and then making a fist. The cracking of the bones told her she'd just discovered something new. Pretty damn cool.
"Carissa." Steve calls through the earpiece. "Get the stones.
"On it." Riss replies. Once she found them, she sped off in their direction. She could see the power Wanda was putting out and it amazed her. She still had it. Riss's powers were stronger than hers, which was odd to her. They were actually hers.
"I got it!" She hears Peter yell. He had beaten her to the stones. "Activate instant kill." He tells the suit.
"Finally." She mumbles to herself. He had this handled. She'd always wanted to see Peter with instant kill, but now wasn't the time.
She turns back to see Wanda struggling against Thanos. She offers Wan a little help, sending the psionics in her direction. She finally knocked the weapon out of his hand before rendering him immobile.
Help me? She asked.
Of course.
Riss lifts her hands up, adding to the amount of pressure he was feeling. He groans in response. She thought for a second about closing her fist, wondering if it'd do the same thing to something larger.
"Rain fire!" He ordered before she could find out. Wanda and Riss shared a secret smile. He'd been threatened by the two.
Blue blasts came hurdling towards them, taking out Wanda. Riss made her way over to Wan, making sure she was okay.
"Riss?" Peter calls. She turns, seeing him getting piled on top of.
"Shit. I'm coming!" She lit the space dogs up in red, throwing them off the same way she had Bucky. she didn't have time to crush them all.
Steve looked up. "Hey, Queens, heads up." He said before throwing the hammer. Peter webbed onto it as she continues to throw them back.
"You got this, Parker." She tells him. She was right. He could grab the hammer.
"Peach, watch it!" Tony warns. When she turns around, one of those bastards was right behind her, waiting to pounce. It jumped on her, throwing her onto the ground.
She pushed against it slightly before picking it up. She pulled her hands apart, ripping it in half. The blood splattered onto her face. "Gross." She muttered. She didn't even know she could do that.
Neither did I. Wanda tells her. Turn around.
Riss did what Wan had told her to, seeing the girls gang up. She thought about Nat and how she was missing. It made Riss miss her more. She wanted to cry, but the battlefield wasn't the place for that.
Take her place. Wanda tells her. She practically groomed you for it.
Nat would want her there. Wanda was right, she had been groomed for it. she took a deep breath before walking over. Bucky watched her hips sway as she made her way to the girls. She stood next to Wanda, which is where she was sure Nat would've been. She was front and center.
That's my girl. Bucky thought. Carissa shot him a small smile.
Wanda threw a ball of power towards the opposing army. Riss follows her lead. She stops suddenly, raising her hand up.
"There you go, Riss." Steve said, mesmerized by his daughter.
The hammer flew towards her hand, sending her back slightly when she had caught it. Her hand flew to the earpiece.
She raises the hammer up, pulling the blue lightning back down. Her eyes lit up blue with the lightning, making them purple when the psionics joined the party. With the leverage she had from levitating, she pulls the hammer down, sending out a purple wave.
"What the hell was that?" Sam asks. Everyone stops, facing Riss. "She gets more impressive as time goes on."
Bucky smiles. "That she does."
She wiped out everything she could, making the job easier for everyone around them. She felt powerful. Useful. It was a feeling she'd been craving for as long as she could remember. She just wanted to be good enough for the Avengers.
All of that was ripped away from her as another blue blast sent us all tumbling back. The hammer kept rolling even after she'd stopped. Her hands and face were all cut up and dirty.
"Come on, mini-me." She hears Wanda say. "Get up. Your dad needs you." Her face wasn't as cut up as Riss's, wasn't as dirty either. She probably stopped herself sooner than she had. Oops.
So, she got up. She saw dad and Thor against Thanos. Thor pushed the axe into Thanos's neck as Steve pulls it from the back. But Riss doesn't act fast enough.
"Dad!" She yells after he's already been knocked unconscious. It happened in a matter of seconds. She can't be everywhere at once.
She watches Thanos go for the iron gauntlet but he doesn't quite react it. She lights up his hand, pushing it away. Carol steps in, fighting him away from it. He holds the gauntlet, slipping it on. She comes back after he's thrown her, attempting to remove it.
A growling sound behind Riss distracts her momentarily. She turns around, once again being pinned down. Like Peter had been, she's piled on. There are multiple on her. She desperately attempts to crawl away, or even concentrate enough to send energy through to her palms.
"I am inevitable." She hears Thanos say.
"No!" She yells. Finally, a power surge runs through her whole body, shocking the space dogs off of her. She scrambles to get up. The new cuts were making it hard to move.
Tony has the stones. They set into place on his hand as he looks into the eyes of Thanos.
"No, Tony." Riss calls. She kept walking, she kept trying to get to him.
"And I Am Iron Man." He says before snapping.
"Tony!" Carissa screams.
White light, just as it had been before, and everything dusts away like Bucky had. Like Peter had. Wanda, Sam. Riss looks around, watching everything practically disintegrate in front of her.
"Oh, Tony." She whispers. "Tony, Tony."
She hears the iron clang and she rushes in the direction. Well, rushes as best as she can. Tony coughs.
"Tony." She whispers when she reaches him.
"Hey, Peach." He whispers back.
"Hi." She replies. She smiles. "You did it." She whispers to him. "You're gonna be okay. We're gonna go home and we'll have our Sunday dinner a few days early." She tells him. He smiles weakly. "I'll stay with you a few days. Maybe weeks, as long as you want."
She hears Rhodey land behind her.
"You did it, Tony." She repeats. Her eyes tear up as she looks at him. Her voice grows shakey.
Rhodey rests his hand on Tony's left cheek.
"Rhodey?" She asks. He runs a hand down her hair as he stands back up.
Peter lands from swinging. "Mr. Stark?" He asks. "Hey!" He lets out a shaky breath. The sound of Peter's broken voice is what makes her tears begin to run. It's what makes it real. She's not the only one seeing this, she's not imagining it. This is real, in front of her. Tony's not okay. Tony wasn't okay at all.
"Mr. Stark. Can you hear me?" Peter asks. "It's Peter. Hey. We won, Mr. Stark. We won, Mr. Stark. We won! You did it, sir, you did it. I'm sorry." Pepper grabs Peter's shoulders, pulling him away. "Tony."
Pepper gets him up and Peter breaks down. It takes everything in Riss to stand, she was barely even containing herself. Peter's covering his mouth with the back of his hand as he cries.
Riss wraps her arms around Peter's waist, burying her face into his chest as his arms wrap around her shoulders. He cries into her hair. She can feel his body shaking as she sobs into his chest.
"Hey." Pepper whispers.
"Hey, Pep." Tony replies.
"He could hear us." She tells Peter. "He heard you, babe. He could hear us both."
Peter's body shakes more violently as he holds onto her tighter.
Life functions critical. Friday told Pepper.
Tony smiles at her weakly.
"Tony. Look at me." She says. "We're gonna be okay. You can rest now." Pepper tells him.
Those words. Those were the last words Tony ever heard. Riss smiles at his last thought.
The wheezing sound of Tony's breathing stopped. Riss yelps slightly into Peter's chest as the image of her, Morgan and Pepper fades away. He held onto her tighter, rubbing her back softly as he still cried. Her mentor, her first friend, her smart ass, pain in the ass. He was like another dad to the girl.
She felt another hand on my back. Peter let her go, kissing my forehead. He placed a hand on her back, steadying her. When she turned around, it was Bucky.
"Hi, baby." He whispers to her.
Another strangled sob ripped its way from her throat. He pulled her into his chest, rubbing her back softly. Peter's hand lingered, laying on her hair for a second more. Bucky thanked him as he removed his hand. Her back was colder there from the lack of his warmth. Bucky's hand replaced his. It was time to go, but she couldn't move. She couldn't move from where she was. Bucky let her go for a second, kneeling before Tony with everyone else. That was her shattering point. Her knees gave from under her, sending her tumbling into Bucky. She doesn't remember what happened after and she hopes she never has to. Bucky hopes he never has to see her in that much pain again. If only he knew what she had been through today.
The day of the funeral came way too quickly. Carissa had an old black sweater of Tony's that she had stolen a few years back. When she'd first moved in, she spent a lot of time shopping in his closet. He had a great T-shirt collection. The petite girl slipped it on, noticing how it still reached her knees. Tony was a small man, but she also had a small frame. All of his clothes were big on her. It was thick knit, too open to wear alone. With a long-sleeved dress under it, it could've passed as a dress itself. So that's what she did. A pair of black strappy heels and perfectly painted black toe nails. Her hair was lightly curled around her. Tony liked when she looked half-put together. He told me it made her look like a child again, not so grown up. Right now, she wished she were still a child, not all grown up. Children don't see this side of reality the way grown people do. A child would've seen Tony's death as him being the hero, the grown-ups wish it had been themselves to take his place so he could go home to his baby. On her way out, Riss ran to buy little Maguna a cheeseburger. She knew her better than anyone, other than her amazing dad. Her sweet little sunflower deserved the world, but her Auntie Rissy could only afford to get her a cheeseburger. Riss broke down at the drive through, so the poor register guy gave it to her for free. It made her feel even more pathetic and helpless than she already had.
She stands next to Peter as Pep set the flowers in the water. Peter squeezes her hand as Pepper stood back up.
Proof that Tony Stark has a heart.
Riss took a deep breath. Fuck. No way was she not gonna cry.
Morgan stood in front. Poor little sunflower. Steve wraps his arm around Riss's shoulder, kissing her hair.
"He loves you." He whispers. "He loves you more than you realize."
"I know, dad. He meant the world to me, too. So, do you." She whispers back. The tears were flowing but she maintained as much composure as she could. She wasn't about to break down with Morgan standing right there. So, she sniffles, wipes her nose and takes a deep breath. If Morgan or Pepper need a shoulder to cry on, she was okay. Okay enough to be there.
"I love you, kid." Steve tells her.
"I love you, dad." She replies.
Her heart ached. She could only imagine what Pepper was going through. When it was time to send Tony's ARC rector off, they walked off the dock. Riss noticed a guy with deep blonde hair in the back.
"Harley?" She asks, walking over to him.
"I assume you're Carissa." He replies.
She nods. Bucky comes up behind her, placing a hand on her lower back.
"Tony told me a lot about you." He says.
"You, too. Phenomenal kid." Riss replies.
"He told me you hung the stars." Harley tells her. Her heart lurches again.
"Excuse me." She whispers, turning and running towards her car. She sat in the driver's seat for a minute, attempting to collect herself. She sees Morgan sitting on the porch with Happy. That was enough to get her to collect herself, making her way out of the car.
She heads back up the porch, bag in hand.
Happy sat with Mo on the bench. She takes a deep breath.
"How you doing, squirt?" He asks her.
"Good." She replies.
"You good?" He confirms.
She nods. Carissa sniffles softly as her lips contort into a frown.
"Good. You hungry?" He asks.
"Mhm." She replies.
"What do you want?" Happy asks.
"Cheeseburgers." She answers.
"You know, your dad liked cheeseburgers." Happy says.
"Okay." She replies. Riss sniffles lightly again.
"I'm gonna get you all the cheeseburgers you want." Happy says. Riss smiles at the words she was hearing.
She looks down at the bag. "Hey, Happy?" She asks. "Can you come here for a second?"
"Sure, Miss Rogers." He replies.
He walks over and Riss leads him out of sight from Morgan.
"Here." She hands him the bag. "Tell her you already got her one. You're her hero now, Happy. And she couldn't pick a better one."
Happy smiles. "Thanks, Carissa." He says. He turns, walking back to the porch.
"Oh, Happy?" She calls. He turns around. "Call me Peach."
He nods. "Peach."
Riss smiles at the man. She turns back to where Harley was standing. She walks back down the steps, standing in front of him.
"Would it be weird if we kept in contact?" She asks.
"No, I don't think so." He replies.
"I think Tony would've wanted us to." She clarifies.
Harley nods. He puts his number into her phone. She thanks him before walking off again.
"Auntie Peach?" A little voice asks.
"Yeah, baby?" She replies to the girl, sinking to her level.
"Thank you." She whispered.
"For what?" Riss asked.
"For keeping daddy happy." Morgan answers. She wraps her small arms around Carissa. That was Riss's breaking point. She sobbed into the kid's shoulder.
"Thank you." Riss replies when she composes herself.
"For what?" Morgan asks.
"For making him happy in the first place." Riss answers. She looks over Morgan's shoulder, seeing Pep. Tears slid down her face silently. Morgan backed away from Riss, walking off with Pepper. The second they were far enough; Carissa broke down all over again.
She spotted Bucky, Sam, Bruce and Steve standing off alone. She walks over to them, tears still streaking her cheeks.
Steve was taking the stones back. Bucky looked at Rissa, smiling.
"You okay?" He asks. Carissa shook her head.
"Morgan thanked me for keeping her daddy happy." Riss answers. Steve walked over to them, standing in front of him.
"You did." Steve agreed with Morgan. "Don't do anything stupid till I get back." He says to Bucky.
Bucky smiles. "How can I? You're taking all the stupid with you." They hug before Bucky continues. "Gonna miss you, buddy."
"It's gonna be okay, Buck. Take care of her." Steve replies. He turns to me, kissing my forehead. "I love you, kid. Thank you for keeping all of us happy."
"I love you, too, dad. You're coming right back." She replies. Why was he acting weird?
Bucky grabs her hand as they watch Steve.
He looks at Riss one more time. "You were always the soul of this team, Riss."
He flashes and disappears. Carissa furrows her eyebrows. She had talked to Tony about that when he'd laced the stones. She got it now. She was the same thing they were to her. They needed her the same way she needed them. Bruce does the return countdown, but Steve doesn't show.
Bucky looks at Riss and takes a few steps away from Sam and Bruce. He tugs on her hand lightly for her to follow.
"Sam." He says, facing the water.
Sam walks over to the pair. There's a man, sitting on the bench. They walk towards him, stopping after few steps.
"Go ahead." Bucky tells Sam.
She looks at Bucky then looks back at the man. It takes her a moment to realize that Steve really left her. Left them. She looks down at her hands. Steve had been wrong all those years ago. She hadn't been erased from existence. Sam walked toward the bench and Bucky just looked at Riss.
She's still here. He thought.
She frowns slightly. Changing the past doesn't change the future.
"You're not getting rid of me that easily, Bucky." She replies to his thought.
"Doll, I'd never dare to even try."
She turns back to Steve as Bucky does. Sam picks the shield up, holding it.
"Captain America." She whispers.
Bucky nods. He turns to face her, leaning into her. His hands get tangled in her hair, deepening the kiss. No distraction could make this go away, but he made it better. The pain subsided slightly but when he pulled away, it all came back. My emotions, his, Sam's and Steve's all mixed. She could even feel Bruce's, despite how far he was from them.
Pain and abandonment are the most prominent emotions she feels right now and she didn't see that changing anytime soon. Bucky also felt abandoned but he was also content with Steve's ending. He was also happy about his own, which made a bit of a balance for her. She couldn't help but think about everything she'd lost.
Natasha was like a mom to her. Tony was like a fun uncle. And Steve, well, he was her dad. She had lost the three most important adults in her life, as well as the only chance she had to save her mom. But she was an adult now. She wasn't an orphan. She wasn't dependent on anyone. And she wasn't alone. The feeling of Bucky's chapped lips against hers proved that.
She loved them all and she had lost them all. She thought of what her life would be like without them.
Then the idea came to her. She thought about Pepper. She wondered if she would happen to know where Nat's suit from 2012 would be.
Suddenly, 'suit up' just got a whole new meaning to the blonde.
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