The Valiant (The Seventh Avenger)

Epilogue

It rained the day we buried her.

The day was silent as it can be. There was no thunder only tears. There was no speaking only sobs. None of us could believe my sister was gone. She was so alive and filled with light that it was nearly impossible for us to comprehend what happened. We were all waiting to see if this was just another one of the tricks up her sleeve but something told us it wasn't.

I lean my head back against the cold stone and close my eyes, tears streak their way down my cheeks and trail down to my neck. I can't stop crying, I can't stop thinking about her, I can't stop being reminded of her everywhere I go. The stars in the sky twinkle down at me prompting me of her last words.

Look up at the stars. I'll be with our ancestors, watching and waiting for your destiny to arrive.

I can't, I can't, I can't. There is only so much I can take at once. I bang my head against the headstone trying to move the pain in my chest somewhere else.

"You know that isn't good for you right?" I open my eyes and look up to find a man I saw at the battlefield standing there with a flashlight in hand. I look him up and down before nodding my head at him.

"Well, it was something I was trying out but it isn't really working out for me," I mumble and he chuckles. I kind of like the sound of it, it's nice to hear something besides crying again.

"Well maybe we should try something else," he says and offers his hand, I take it and he pulls me up. He sighs as I rub the dirt off my shoes, "Stark wanted to talk to you."

"About what?" I question and wrap my jacket around my body as we make our way to the dock where our canoes are.

"He didn't really say much but he said it was important," he shrugs his shoulders and climbs into his boat, I put my life jacket on and I hear chuckling behind me.

"You have the power to manipulate water, yet you put on a life jacket?" Pietro laughs and shakes his head. "Evan, you're a nerd." He mumbled and I twist around, flicking my wrist up to splash water in his face. "Hey!"

"Hey," I wave my hand and climb into my own canoe and paddle my way across the lake and away from the island. I tie my boat to the dock and turn around to find Pietro standing there, leaning against one of the pillars.

"What took you so long?" He questions and I just shake my head before walking up to the house. He follows me inside and everyone freezes to look at me. Well, not everyone. Thor and the guardians already left and so did Clint and Scott to go back with their families. Carol went off-worlds to help other planets readjust to the un-snap, or blip as they call it, T'Challa returned to Wakanda and Peter went back to school. It seems everyone had gone back to normal and I kinda wish I could.

"Hey, kid," Mr. Stark lifts the coffee cup in his slung arm as a greeting and I present a smile that doesn't quite reach my eyes. My gaze moves down at the island in the kitchen and finds Bucky, Banner, Cap, and Mr. Wilson connecting notes with dates and places. Bucky offers a soft smile to me before focusing his attention back on the inscriptions. Cap leaves tomorrow to return the stones and they want to make sure that everything goes smoothly. "Let's have a chat." Mr. Stark gestures to the next room and I follow him.

"Is everything okay?" I sit down on the couch and tap my fingers against each other as I try to calm my racing heart. He only sighs before pulling out an envelope from his back pocket.

"Tomorrow we plan on releasing Grace's passing to the public," his hands shake as he hands me the envelope, "and I think it would be best if you proofread the statement."

I nod my head, open it, and begin reading. It all felt like gibberish to me, how one second me and her were fighting side by side and the next she turned cold in my hands. My hands clasp onto the sheet and I wipe them against my jeans.

"It sounds good," I croak, I couldn't continue to read it, it became too much for me. Mr. Stark nods his head in understanding and switches his cup to his slung hand before taking the envelope. He plays with it and lets it crumple in his hand before he puts it in his back pocket. He stands there and looks down at the table. "Is there something else you wanted to talk about?"

His gaze flicks to me and he nods his head.

"Yeah, yeah there is," his fingers drum against the cup as if he's trying to come up with the wording. His eyebrow flicks up before he sits down next to me. "I know this might be too soon but we really don't have much time to come up with a plan b for all this..." he freezes and stares off into the distance again.

"Whatever it is, I'm sure it's okay," I put my hand over his and he jumps back to life. He takes a deep breath before continuing.

"We, as in the team, were thinking it was time to bring a new hero to the team," he licks his lips and puts to cup down on the table so he could show more emphasis. "Now we... I understand if you don't want to but we thought you would be a perfect fit for the next generation of heroes."

"So you want me to replace The Valiant?" I ask, my chest squeezes in on itself and Mr. Stark frantically throws his hands up.

"What? No, no one could replace The Valiant," he takes a shaky breath. "No one could ever replace her... The world needs a new hero, but not a new Valiant; it needs to have this comfort that someone like her is here."

"And you think I could do that?" I question and Tony nods his head.

"I think you're the only one who could."

The thoughts slide in and out of my head of what I should and shouldn't do, but I know what I must do and who I have to do it for Grace. I begin to nod my head and muster a smile. The lump in my throat travels up but I swallow it down, I have to remain strong... for her.

"It would be an honor, Mr. Stark." He smiles and claps me on the back.

"Well, then," he stands up and offers his hand, I jump up and take it. "Welcome to the team, The Elementalist."