The Other Rogers

Chapter 14

Darkness descended over the Avengers Tower. Everyone felt the death of Anya Rogers. Even those who never had a chance to meet the wonderful woman. The outside world had no idea of the devastation that had befallen the heroes but anyone close to them could feel the harming depression that had taken over the normally cheerful group.

Sam camped out in the hallway of Steve and Bucky's floor waiting for one of the soldiers to leave the saddened haven. He had never met the woman but knew what she had meant to three members of his new family. Therefore, their pain was now his. He never thought that when he decided to help Steve and Natasha with the collapse of both S.H.I.E.L.D and Hydra; that he would find a family. He had lost all hopes of a family united by a common goal when he lost Riley. Now he had found a second family, one that was presently broken by the death of a woman he wished he had met.

Natasha may as well have slept in the gym. She never left. During the time she had known Anya, she would have been joyful over her death; now she wished she could rewind the clock of life and prevent the unnecessary death. She wished that she could have gone back to the RR and been nice to the blonde woman who had survived being chewed up and spat out of hell.

Hell, even Clint was affected. He elected to stay on his farm with his family, but he knew that life would never be the same. The woman had died saving his life. His wife had given birth to their son Nathaniel. They gave their son two middle names as remembrance to those who made sure Clint came home. Nathaniel Pietro-Rogers Barton. Steve and the young Speedster were honoured.

Steve was brought to tears at the thought of the forever mention in honour of his sister. The soldier struggled to get up in the morning, the only reason he left his bed was to race into Bucky's room and hold his best friend as the darker haired man struggled through his inner demons and despair of losing Anya.

Bucky's demons didn't allow him to sleep. Nightmares of killing his beloved; losing her to Hydra and finally watching as several bullets ripped her body tortured his mind. He was afraid to sleep; he curled up on his bed, hugging a blanket that he remembered was hers; one that she had knitted back before the war. What he couldn't remember was how he came to own it. He tried to remember everything he could of her; countless of journals filled with entries all about her littered his room. Pages were ripped out and taped to the walls and ceiling, whole journals covered his desk and bedside tables. the ache in his chest never dissipated no matter how many times he tried to push away the memories.

Wanda and Pietro Maximoff felt guilt. It is all they felt. Pietro knew the woman had died saving Clint. He had been running to do the same thing. He had wanted to sacrifice his life for something good in hopes of fixing the damage he had made by siding with Strucker in the first place. But the blonde woman most of Hydra knew as 'Целитель зимы' was just as pure and kind-hearted as an angel would be described so.

While she was grateful for Anya saving them, Wanda couldn't help but ponder if it was the right thing to do. Yes, she had wanted to die, she got her wish, but was her death and peace worth the pain and agony left to be inflicted upon the rest of them. Wanda knew that the woman had downgraded her self-worth, didn't know how much she meant to others; but in the aftermath of the recent battle, it was so obvious that a blind man could see it.

Tony drowned his sorrows in alcohol and unhealthy amounts of time in his workshop. He never left; preferring to be buried under metal and paperwork. He had even designed a suit for one, one that would never be worn. He for a while had entertained the idea that she could still be alive and had reached out with all his intellect to find her. But the memory of Ultron made him wary, and he stopped that line of thought.

He blamed himself. It was him and Bruce who built the murderous bot; yes, they may have built it with good intentions, but it was still their creation that had laid waste to a country and had caused the death of a woman who without argument didn't deserve more suffering.