I Am Iron-Man

Chapter 78: EPILOGUE( PART TWO)

Third Person POV

As everything was looking up for the New Avengers, everything was not going that well for the former Avengers. And by the former Avengers, that means Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanov, and Wanda Maximoff.

Wanda still had the collar on her until Vision came by the RAFT and used the Mind Stone to take her powers away from her permanently. Wanda pleaded with him not to do this to her and asked me to remember everything that they had been through, but Vision just stated that he doesn't have any loyalty to her anymore and doesn't love her anymore. Around the same time, Wanda's VISA was revoked, meaning that she had to return back to Sokovia, and she will have another trial for her crimes, more specifically her involvement with HYDRA and ULTRON, and she will most likely be placed on death row.

Steve received three life sentences with no chance of parole while Natasha received two life sentences. She would've had the chance of parole if it weren't for the charges that STARK Industries, specifically Pepper and Tony, added against her, which was contributed to the sentences.

Steve and Natasha were forced to watch from a distance how much Tony moved on from them. The guards in the RAFT always had on the news stations, all of whom broadcasted the events of the second Battle Of New York. Both of them assumed that Tony would lose the battle because they weren't there to help him. To their surprise, they saw that he won the battle, which almost caused him his life because of the newfound powers that the both of them were surprised and never knew that he had.

Clint and Laura's wedding was recorded and broadcasted, so Natasha watched her best friend has gotten married without her even being invited to attend the wedding and Steve watched as Tony was made the best man, which he felt that he should have been made the best man and not Tony.

They watched as the rest of the world moved on and forgotten them. The Captain America Museum was shut down and replaced with the New Avengers Museum, which all of the team members have donated their older suits to be placed into the museum.

They watched as Tony revealed his relationship with Yelena to the entire world, which shocked Natasha because she never thought that her sister would be in a relationship with anyone, especially with someone like Tony. Steve assumed that the relationship wouldn't last that long because Tony would not have been able to handle a serious relationship. To him, Tony proved that was the case when Pepper and him broke up.

They watched as Ethan would have been rewarded to be the new Captain America because Tony always complemented him on his tactical intelligence and secondhand leadership, but he turned it down as he started that he didn't want to be a part of the broken legacy and propaganda that revolves around Captain America and just wanted to be his own person. Besides, he felt that the role of Captain America should belong to someone in the military; someone who was a true hero.

No-one in the military wanted to be the new Captain America, so the legacy of Captain America was officially dead and forgotten.

Natasha saw that she was easily replaceable as well since Yelena officially took over the role of 'Black Widow' and she even stated in an interview that there were so many trained 'Black Widows' in Petersburg, Russia that would love to take on the role of 'Black Widow' in the future, so it was highly unlikely that Natasha would ever be needed. In her own words, Black Widow: Yes, Natasha Romanov: Not recommended.

Steve couldn't believe it when he saw the press conference that Tony set up for Barnes where he explained how brainwashed he was because of HYDRA, but clarified that it didn't excuse his actions or take away the reminders of all of his victims, including the Starks. He apologized to all of the families of his victims, including Tony, and he promised that he received, and will continue receiving, therapy sessions with a licensed therapist and the BARF technology to fully heal. He stated that he will an emergency-based New Avenger, so he would still help out the team that did so much to help him, but also have some time to figure himself out and make sense of the new century he had been placed in.

Steve always thought that Tony would not understand that Bucky was a victim. He proved to him that much when he attacked him in the Siberian bunker. He thought that he would have Bucky thrown into jail or killed, but he didn't expect that he would give him the help that he needed. He just didn't want to believe that Bucky's rescue mission was just for nothing.

Steve has tried to be in contact with Tony or Barnes with his one free phone call per day, but none of them ever picked up.

Tony was set for an interview one of the news stations where he would discuss any updates with the New Avengers, mostly about his current relationship with Yelena, and any current updates with the Rogue Avengers.

"Mr. Stark. What are your plans with your new girlfriend?"

"Well, at first, we are just going to take things one step at a time, then we will see how we move on from there"

"Any plans to marry her? What about your relationship with Ms. Potts?"

"We will see about that in the future. As for Pepper, we just decided to remain friends. She is married to my head of security, Happy Hogan, and they are expecting their first child"

"What about the Rogue Avengers? How you talked to them since they have been arrested?"

"No, I haven't talked to them. Rogers tried to contact me and James Barnes, but we never picked up his calls"

"Any updates on Wanda Maximoff? Last time we heard about her, she was currently on trial in Sokovia for her involvement with HYDRA and ULTRON"

"Actually, Sokovia recently came into contact with me about that, she is set to be killed by lethal injection tomorrow. She is too much of a dangerous threat to be kept alive, powers or not"

"Would you ever talk with the Rogue Avengers?"

"I doubt that I ever will"

"If you would ever talk to them, what would you say to them?"

"I would just simply say this: I may not know when it is time to cut the wire and let the other guy crawl over me, but at least I know when it is time to cut the wire and not let myself be dragged down by people who want to manipulate me and use me for their own personal agendas. And Steve, like I said before, you are nothing more than a lab rat. Everything that was special about you came out of a bottle". Referencing the argument that he had with Steve when all of the Avengers were brought together for the first time.

"One more question, Mr. Stark. What are your plans for the future?"

"Continue being Iron-Man, protect Earth, and enjoy the rest of my life without anyone trying to hold me down"

"Thank you for your time, Mr. Stark. Ok, everyone. That is all the time that we have for today, but let's congratulate the New Avengers for their victorious battle against that recent threat, and tune in next time where we will be showing a behind the scenes tour of the newly rebuilt New Avengers compound and exclusive interviews with some of the members of each of the teams". Steve just couldn't believe it; he didn't want to believe it, but he just had to accept that Tony moved on from him and from the rest of the team. And he made it clear that he didn't need them; that he didn't need him.

Tony was just out there being the hero that Steve always claimed that he would while Steve was in a prison cell for the rest of his life. Tony was out there living his life and Steve just wasn't involved in it anymore.

He thought that Tony would have just came back to the team after he sent that letter to him, but he started realizing that the letter probably wasn't the best apology that he could have sent to him, but he still believed that Tony went too far in his pettiness. After all, Tony proved it when Steve came back to the compound to find out that Tony set up not just one team but multiple teams with his approval.

But he knew that for now, there was nothing that he could do now. What else could he possibly do? All he could was just sit there in the prison cell waiting for the day that the world would need him again; that Tony would need him again. Despite the fact that he knew that it was near impossible that the world or Tony would ever need him, he still had confidence that he will be needed again and that he will always prevail in the end. Because he still thought that he was a real hero, and that the real heroes will always win the battle in the end.