One week later
Tony's funeral was currently taking place at his cabin.
All of The Avengers and guests were in attendance.
Lila was currently on the couch in the living room, watching a holographic of him sitting on a chair in the corner.
She was in a black dress with tears in her eyes, sitting next to Morgan who was clutching her mom tightly.
She was joined by Happy, Rhodey, Steve and Thor.
There wasn't a single dry eye in the room as Tony addressed them.
"So I thought I'd probably better record a little greeting... In the case of an untimely death on my part. I mean, not that, death at any time isn't untimely. This time travel thing that we're gonna try and pull off tomorrow, it's, it's got me scratching my head about the survivability of it all. That's the thing. Then again, that's the hero gig. Part of the journey is the end." he said before getting up and walking forwards toward the camera.
"What am I even trippin' for? Everything's gonna work out exactly the way it's supposed to." he said and leaned down to smile right at Morgan.
"I love you 3,000."
Pepper led them out to the porch while holding Morgan's hand with one and carrying a wreath towards the large audience in the front yard.
Lila walked towards her family in the back and settled between her parents.
They gave her a sad smile as she wiped her eyes.
Clint wrapped his arm around her as she watched Pepper place the wreath which contained Tony's first chest piece in the center of it.
Pepper knelt down to hold Morgan followed by Happy Hogan, Rhodey,
All being joined by Steve Rogers, Peter Parker, Aunt May, Thor, Bruce Banner, Strange, Wong, Scott, Hope, Janet Van Dyne, Hank Pym, Quill, Nebula, Rocket, Groot, Drax, Mantis, T'Challa, Okoye, Shuri, The Barton's, Wanda, Bucky, Sam, Harley Secretary Ross, Maria, Carol on the stairs and lastly Fury on the porch who all watched the wreath float away.
After the funeral, everyone began mingling with each other out in the yard.
Lila separated from her family who were talking to Pepper where she saw Rocket and Nebula with the rest of the Guardians by the house and walked between everyone towards.
"How's your ship?" she asked him.
"Still in one piece luckily." he replied.
"Your ship? It's still my ship." she heard Quill counter which Rocket rolled his eyes at.
"I'm sorry, and you are?" she asked kindly.
"Quill."
"Lila…" the two shook hands.
"I see you got your family back." she told Rocket.
"I see you got yours." he nodded towards them in the distance.
"Not all of them." she said sadly and looked down to the ground.
"Oh yeah, sorry about Widow." he muttered quietly.
She took a deep breath at the still fresh wound.
"It's okay. There was no other way. So where are you off to now?" she asked curiously.
"Not sure yet. It's a big galaxy." he offered a handshake.
"It sure is." she reached down to shake it.
"And you?" he asked back.
"Missouri." she said, to Quill's surprise.
"You're from Missouri! No way! I'm from Missouri!" he grinned.
She smiled.
"Yeah, its home." she said before shaking Nebula's hand
"Nebula." she nodded.
"Barton." she nodded back.
She turned around to see Morgan and Happy sitting on the bench on the porch behind her.
Walking up the stairs she saw Happy got up.
"Happy." she nodded.
"Lila, thank you for coming." he greeted.
"Of course. It's nice to meet you." she said and swapped seats with Happy so she could sit down next to Morgan.
"Hi, Lila." she said softly while hugging her.
"Oh Morgan… I'm so sorry…" she said while hugging her as tightly as she could.
Not wanting to let go.
"If you ever need to talk to someone. I'm here. Day and night. Just let your mom know okay. I know what you're going through…" she said and stopped hugging her.
"The red haired lady?" she asked and Lila smiled faintly.
"Yes, her. But I lost my dad for five years. I went through what you're going through now. So please anytime, day or night." she said seriously.
"Okay." Morgan said and leaned on her. Lila kissed her on top of the head, never wanting to move.
But Pepper took Morgan inside after saying her thanks and goodbyes to everyone.
She made her way across the yard where she saw Thor talking to Valkyrie and made her way towards them.
Thor spotted her.
"Lady Lila." he greeted.
"Thor." she nodded.
He walked away, sensing they wanted to be alone.
"Are you alright? That was quite the fall." Valkyrie asked her.
"Yeah, luckily I was caught. I guess I saw a proper battle." she said.
"You did. You fought bravely." the Asgardian complimented.
She smiled.
"Thanks. So I guess this is it."
"I suppose it is" the two shook hands.
"Heading back to New Asgard?" she asked.
"Yeah, my people still need me. We have a lot of Asgardians to resettle." Valkyrie answered.
"Well, good luck." she said.
She began to make her way back to her parents through the crowd but walked in front of Peter.
"Oh hey, hi." he greeted.
"Hi, uh thank you for back there." she thanked him about her fall during the battle.
"Uh, you're welcome. I just saw you with the stones so it was instinct I guess." he said humbly.
She smiled.
"Well I'm Lila Barton by the way."
"Peter Parker. Clint was scanning the crowd for Lila with his family but spotted her exchanging numbers with a teenaged boy he didn't know
. Looking over to Laura with an eyebrow raised who just smiled with amusement.
"She's not thirteen anymore." she said while grabbing his hand.
"Yes she is." he muttered and they walked towards her.
"Ready to go sweetheart?" Laura asked her.
"Yeah mom but I do have one more Avenger related thing I have to do with Steve and the others by the compound first if that's okay." she asked.
"Oh, what's that?" Laura asked.
"Steve, and Bruce are going to return the stones. I just wanna make sure the job is done." she explained.
"Oh." Laura said quietly.
"And afterwards I wanna visit her, if that's okay. I can use the jet." she asked her parents.
"Of course, sweetie. I'm sure she'll appreciate it." Laura said with a hug who hugged her bag.
"Who's the kid?" Clint asked and she smiled.
"That was Peter and we kinda met during the battle…" she said awkwardly.
Silencing her dad.
"I still say no boyfriends." he muttered.
"He's not my boyfriend. We barely know each other." she said with a smile but saw her dad look behind her.
Turning around she saw Fury walking towards them with his hands clasped behind his back.
Clint grabbed her and got her behind him protectively.
"Don't you dare get near her!" he shouted angrily.
"Dad…?" she frowned, trying to look around him
. "Barton, I'm not here for…" he began but Laura stood next to Clint.
"She's been through enough Nick." she agreed but Lila got between them.
"It's alright mom and dad." she reassured them while walking up to him.
"Director Fury right?" she asked while extending her hand.
"Ms. Barton." he shook it.
"We recovered some things from the compound that I thought you might want." he said while giving her, her dad's bow.
"Thank you but I have my old bow and if this is about trying to get me to join SHIELD I'm not interested. I'm retried, actually." the teenager said, her parents shared a look of surprise behind her.
"Agent Romanoff was the best of us." he said and she swallowed with unease.
"Not just as an agent but as a person. What all of us aspire to be. Natasha's choices were her own. She wouldn't want you to give up." he complimented and she sighed. "I know but she isn't here to convince me otherwise. Her being the best still wasn't enough. I'll never shoot a bow again. I'll never use my sword. I'll never put someone in a situation where they have to sacrifice themselves to save me. I don't want to be an Avenger anymore. Once we put the stones away. I'm done." she said firmly to his disappointment.
Emphasizing never each time.
Her parents glancing to each other behind her with mixed emotions.
"Well I respect your decision but my offer still stands if you change your mind Ms. Barton." he offered again.
"It won't, but thank you." she said kindly before the Barton's began to walk away.
"Lila…" Clint began but she interrupted him.
"It's okay dad. I'm fine with my decision. Being an Avenger isn't all that its cracked up to be."
Before Lila joined her family back home she joined Steve, Bruce, Sam, and Bucky by the ruins of the compound.
Having changed out of her dress into a pair of jeans and plaid shirt.
Helping Bruce set up a console and Quantum tunnel for Steve to return the stones since he had a severely burnt arm in a sling when he snapped the gauntlet.
Helicopters were heard in the background lifting up large piles of debris away from the crater.
Steve carrying a suitcase which contained the stones securely inserted inside.
Him closing it.
"Now, remember, You have to return the stones to the exact moment you got them. Or you're gonna open up a bunch of nasty alternative realities." Bruce warned him.
"Don't worry, Bruce. Clip all the branches." he reassured him.
"You know Lila…" he began, getting her attention.
"I tried. When I had the gauntlet, the stones, I really tried to bring her back… I miss her…" he said sadly but she clenched his wrist.
"It's okay Bruce. There was no other way." she repeated sadly.
"Are you going to be okay Steve?" she asked while hugging him.
Him in a time travel suit with his shield strapped to him.
"I will be Lila. Thank you." he said while hugging her back.
"You know, if you want, I can come with you." Sam offered while shaking his hand.
"You're a good man, Sam. This one's on me, though." he replied before moving over towards Bucky.
Lila stepped back towards the setup by Bruce.
"Don't do anything stupid 'till I get back." Steve joked.
"How can I? You're taking all the stupid with you." Bucky joked back and the friends hugged each other.
"Gonne muss you, buddy." Bucky told him.
"It's gonna be okay, Buck." Steve picked up Mjolnir and stepped up onto the platform and Lila turned it on
. He put on his helmet.
"How long is this gonna take?" Sam asked her.
"For us five seconds. For him, as long as he needs." she answered.
"Ready, Cap? Alright. We'll meet you back here, okay?" Bruce asked him.
"You bet." he nodded.
"Going quantum. Three, two, one…" Lila said and he shrunk down into the portal.
"And returning in, five, four, three, two, one…" Bruce said but Steve didn't appear on the platform.
Lila frowned and looked down to the monitor at the readings.
"Bruce…" she said confused.
"Where is he?" Sam demanded.
"I don't know. He should be here." she said confused.
"Well, get him back." he asked.
"I'm trying." Bruce said as he and Lila desperately tried to figure out what was wrong.
"Get him the hell back!" Sam said angrily but Bucky spotted someone sitting on a bench along the Hudson.
Facing away from them.
"Sam…" he got their attention.
Lila seeing it was a greying, older Steve.
She stood back with Steve, letting Sam and Bucky walk up to their friend.
Seeing him pass his shield to Sam.
And the ring on his finger when they reunited.
After the Stones had been returned, Lila had one more thing to do.
Taking a Quinjet to… Ohio.
And of course, she knew her Aunt's past.
It was the place where her dad told her he had a tombstone made for her.
She rode a bike from the airport, through the leafy suburbs to the end of a cul-de-sac .
Passing by kids playing outside at the end of it before turning down a small dirt road between two houses.
Riding in the woods before stopping at the end where the grasses began to overgrow.
Kicking the stand down and taking off her helmet.
Shaking her long hair lose and tucking the helmet in her arm.
Walking forwards she saw the tombstone in the small cemetery.
NATASHA ROMANOFF engraved on it with a Black Widow logo underneath it.
At the base of it were flowers.
Hitching her breath she knelt down to the side of it.
Clenching it.
"Hi, Auntie Nat. I know we have a memorial at the farm for you but dad had this made for you. We did it. We won. Thanos is gone and we returned the stones. But I just feel like its all my fault." she choked out.
"You did everything for me and I just…" she said but began to cry.
She heard a dog bark and got up quickly
. Reaching for her sword that wasn't strapped to her back.
Cursing herself she stood on edge as she saw the dog run towards her but stopped.
It was barking at her but she saw a shorter blonde woman approaching her.
"You are Lila Barton, yes?" she asked in a thick Russian accent.
"I am. You must be Yelina." Lila asked knowingly.
Still not moving just to be safe.
"She told you about me?' she asked surprised.
Lila nodded.
"She told me everything…" she said sadly.
"It's okay Fanny." Yelina told her dog who ran off into the woods.
Yelina walked up to the grave and Lila stepped aside for her.
"She never told me about you. Only your father." she stated.
"Well, I was off the books officially while I was growing up then the snap happened…" she said with unease.
"You were close to her, yes?" Yelina asked, staring directly up at her.
She closed her eyes and nodded sadly.
"I loved her as if she was my own mom. She was my aunt all my life. Then she adopted me after I lost my family five years ago. So for five years she was my mom." she explained.
She heard Yelina inhale a breath.
"You had what was taken from me. A relationship with my sister. Then I disappeared only to come back five years later to find out my sister died." she said regretfully.
"I'm sorry. I did everything I could to stop it." Lila said with tears in her eyes.
"What happened?" Yelina asked.
Lila hearing that she didn't have a choice other than to tell her.
"You won't believe me." she stated.
"Just. Tell me. Then I'll choose if I believe you, Barton." Yelina asked forcefully.
Clenching her fist angrily.
She sighed.
"Well, there are these things called Infinity Stones…"
It took over an hour for Lila to tell the story.
By the time she was nearing the end the two were sitting down on the ground, leaning up against the side of the tombstone.
Fanny laying between them.
Lila sniffed as she finished telling Yelina what happened.
"And then Thanos returned and the battle that I'm sure you've heard about by now. We just returned the stones but we couldn't get her back…" she said while wiping a tear for her eye.
She looked over to Yelina who was looking down at her lap.
Looking deep in thought.
"I still blame myself for putting her in that position on Vormir. I don't even know if you believe me but…" she began but Yelina interrupted her.
"I do believe you but it's not your fault." she said, surprising Lila who looked at her confused.
"You couldn't have stopped my sister." she clarified.
"No. But I still shouldn't have been there." she argued.
"There are girls who've been forced to do far worse when they were your age. My sister's death isn't your fault. And I believe you. At least my sister didn't die in vain since you brought everyone back." Yelina said sadly.
"The Red Room you mean?" Lila asked to her surprise.
"She told me everything, remember?" she clarified.
"Yes. The Red Room. We took it down." Yelina said proudly.
Lila smiled back.
"Well, good. Auntie Nat was everything to me. She was all I had before I got the rest of my family back. I want you to know that." she told Yelina seriously.
"I know." she said and got up.
Lila got up as well.
"She would have been glad we met." Lila told her.
"She would have been. I'm glad she had someone she thought of as a daughter the past five years and wasn't alone." she agreed.
Lila felt honored by the compliment.
"If you ever need a place to stay. Just let me know. I know mom and dad wouldn't hesitate to help." she offered.
"Well I've never been to an American farm in the mid-west. Maybe I will." she joked.
"It's honestly pretty boring but I've had enough excitement in one life."