AN: I don't own the Avengers.
The Avengers settled onto their seats on the floor as the movie (well, not a movie, but thinking of it that way was less depressing) began to play again.
Jo's eyes suddenly looked watery. She tightened her grip on the paper. "Jo?" Lou asked, setting her hand gently on her friend's arm. "Jo, what is it?" She looked over Jo's shoulder, and blinked hard. Jules took the paper away from them, tossing it into a trash bin. "Let's go."
"The world is over." Jo whispered. "This proves it."
"She's definitely cheerful." Tony mumbled.
Jules pressed a hand to his mouth, sucking in a deep breath. Lou bit her lip. "Please, Jo." Lou said, taking one of the youngest Stark's hands. "So maybe things have changed. We have all lost people we care about deeply today. Things will never be the same again." She led her friends into an alley, away from the people on the street. "But that doesn't change who we are. It doesn't, Jo. We are still the people we were yesterday, just living in a different world. Everyone faces a crucible in their lives, that makes or breaks them. This is ours. But if we work together, if we don't give up, if we remember who we are and honor them for who they were, then the world isn't over. It's just starting again, differently."
"Your kid makes speeches just as good as yours, capsicle." Tony snorted. "I'm tearing up."
Steve rolled his eyes.
Jo nodded onscreen, and Jules gulped. Lou looked determined and dangerous, like nothing could hurt her. She was clearly their leader, and for the first time the past Avengers could see the true resemblance between her and the cap. She was scared and hurting just as much as them-but she was still holding them up.
"And we have to hold it together for the others, as well." She added. "We're the oldest. It's our job to keep everyone together."
"Agreed." Jules nodded. "We'll survive."
"Are you two done with the touchy-feely shit?" Jo grumbled. "Of course we'll survive. Let's go get the stupid money already." She spun around and started to stomp out of the alley, rubbing her cheek with her sleeve. Jules and Lou exchanged a knowing look and followed her.
"That is all you need to know from this point in time." Heimdall stated, the screen freezing again. "You know the state of the world is when we return to one and a half years into the future." He inclined his head slightly to the screen, and the image changed to show the warehouse and the Avenger's children, standing the way they had been before Heimdall showed them H-day.
"Dude, you built a flying metal suit in our basement and I didn't know about it?" Abby spluttered. She shook her head dejectedly. "I gotta work on my observation skills."
"What you gotta work on is your kickboxing." Alex frowned, examining her bruised eye. "What was it this time?"
"They were beating up a younger kid for the usual no good reason." Abby grumbled. "I'll be okay."
"I like her." Clint smiled. "Good kid."
"I think you're just saying that because she likes the stupid boomerang arrow as much as you do." Natasha muttered too quietly for him to hear.
"Next time, come get us for backup." Finn said, pushing his crooked metal helmet out of his eyes. "We can help." Abby grinned.
"To take us back to the suit-" Lou said. "I vote we keep it in case of emergency, but don't repair it. Anyone?"
"I think we should fix it." Jules argued. "With Jo's help, I could do it, and we might have a chance against HYDRA."
"No we wouldn't." Jo mumbled.
"I want to fix it, too!" Abby nodded. "Irongirl smash!"
"I'm with lady Barton!" Finn smirked.
"Why does he talk like that if his mom is from Midgard?" Tony wondered.
"I think he's just trying to bug the rest of them." Steve guessed.
"I think…" Alex hesitated. "I think we should… I don't know. We decided to go into hiding almost two years ago because we thought we didn't have a chance of winning. What's changed?"
"We're older now." Jules said. "We're stronger now. If we just do a little training, get some more weapons, and fix the suit, we have a shot. We would probably need a lot more intel on HYDRA, of course, but we need the suit for any of this."
"How would we get the HYDRA intel?" Alex argued.
"You're the master spy here, kemosabe." Abby said, smirking. "You tell us."
Alex thought about it for a moment, gears turning quickly in his mind. "Alright." He conceded. "I think we should fix the suit."
"We can't!" Jo protested. "I never want to wear that damned thing again."
"Why do you hate it so much?" Lou asked sadly. "You used to love it."
"It couldn't save them. So what's the freaking point of it?" Jo snapped.
"Maybe it couldn't help your dad on H-day." Lou said cautiously. "But if I remember correctly, there were other people it helped. And there are people it can help, now. HYDRA is the bad guy. We can't let them win."
"We shall not back down." Finn said. He stuck out his hand. "Who is with me?"
Jules put his hand on Finn's. Abby followed, then Alex. Lou hesitated and muttered, "Oh, fudge this," under her breath and put her hand on as well. Jo glared at them all.
"C'mon, Jo-you can't say no to a group hand-thingy." Abby pleaded.
"It's the right thing to do." Lou said, watching Jo almost hopefully, almost sadly. "You know it's what he would want. It's what Ironman would do."
Jo stepped forward and joined them. "Alright." She sighed. "I give in. If we're gonna get ourselves killed, might as well be trying to save the world. Let's do this damned thing."
"You go girl!" Tony cheered. "Kick some HYDRA ass!"
"I think they might actually have a chance." Bruce said, twisting his hands nervously. "I think they can do this."
"Of course they can." Clint grinned. "They're Avengers. We always win."
"Somebody knock on wood!"
AN: thanks for reading, sorry this chapter was shorter then the others. Please leave a review or follow
