So, as the title says, the time skip will be three months rather than five years. It made the most sense narratively, short enough that the main characters haven't completely given up but long enough that some things that happen don't seem out of the blue.
Ellie Bishop: Tell me about it on Carol. Wanda had to split her focus on destroying Vision in IW and in Endgame the only thing that saved Thanos was attacking his own army. If he hadn't done that, Wanda would have killed him. Oh tell me about it, destroying the stones never made much sense. Glad to hear it.
Guest: Not a big horror movie fan so can't say.
New York
Afternoon
In a rather modest building, several people sat around in a circle. Outside the room was a poster that read 'Post Snap Support Group'.
"I see we have a new member today," the leader noted. "Although I'm sure you need no introduction, we like to start each session with a new member with our new addition introducing themselves."
"Hi, I'm Bruce," Bruce said, feeling awkward at the staring.
"I think Bruce would appreciate it if you all didn't stare at him. He's just like all of us, here for support and help," the leader said pointedly and the other members turned their gaze away from him, seeming embarrassed.
"Its fine, I'm used to it," Bruce lied, not wanting to make them feel bad.
"So what brings you here Bruce?" the leader inquired.
"Well, I guess it's what brought us all here. I lost a lot of friends to Thanos, but…I guess guilt is what brought me here more than anything else," Bruce admitted.
"Guilt about what?" another member of the group asked him.
"Not stopping him. I can't get Hulk to come out," Bruce admitted ashamed. "Not since I got back to earth. And I think it's because of me, because Hulk got tired of me making him fight my battles. And I can't help but feel if I had been able to make Hulk come out…we may have been able to stop Thanos."
"If you torture yourself with 'what ifs', all you'll do is make it harder for yourself," the leader said patiently. "You did all you could. You have to learn to accept that or you'll never be able to move forward."
The leader's words made a lot of sense. But did Bruce even want to move forward? He really didn't have an answer to that question.
In her new house, Pepper was on her tablet, doing some work for the company when she heard a groan down the hall. Putting the tablet down, she pulled herself out of her chair and walked down the hall, to a room on the right.
"Everything okay?" Pepper asked as she entered the room.
"Fine, just finishing up," Bucky assured her as he used a hammer to push a nail in. "And done."
"I appreciate this Bucky, I can't thank you enough," Pepper said gratefully as he put his tools away.
"It's no problem, really," Bucky said as he looked at his work. "Kind of makes me wish I'd gotten the chance to do this for my sister."
"Steve never mentioned that you had a sister," Pepper said surprised and he shrugged.
"Probably a painful subject for him. My 'death' was still fresh for him and she died a few days before he came out of the ice," Bucky said and it was silent between them.
"Thank you for this. I'd have asked Happy but ever since Tony…" Poppet trailed off.
Happy hadn't taken Tony or Rhodey's deaths well. Neither had Pepper but, about a week after she heard about Tony, she'd managed to pull herself together. Happy, on the other hand, had found his solace in booze and women. About a month ago, Pepper had been forced to put him on leave, he had sixty days to pull himself together or she'd be forced to fire him.
"We all have to deal with happened in our way," Bucky said after a few moments. "Sam has to remind me of that all time."
"And how are you dealing with it?" Pepper inquired.
"Stuff like this. My therapist suggested that helping the people I wronged might help me move forward," Bucky explained.
"You never did anything to me though," Pepper said confused.
"But I did to Tony," Bucky said quietly.
So that's what this was about, Pepper thought, looking at the crib Bucky had put together before looking down at her swollen stomach.
"I loved Tony, I probably always will…but I'm not blind to the fact that he could be unreasonable, especially where his parents were concerned," Pepper noted as she looked back up at Bucky. "I don't know everything that happened between you and Tony, but I know what you did…and I know why. You can't punish yourself for what Hydra made you do."
"I still did those things. I have to make that right, somehow," Bucky insisted and it was silent for a long moment.
"I'm actually glad you stopped by today," Pepper said and Bucky raised an eyebrow. "There's something I wanted to give you."
A few minutes later, the two stood in what was Pepper's office Bucky guessed. It was a rather simple room, with a desk that had a computer on it and a cabinet in the corner.
"About a week ago, Tony's last will and testament was read," Pepper explained to Bucky. "As you can imagine, since most the recipients of his will were lost in The Snap, it's fallen to me to figure out what to do with Tony's belongings. But I managed to do it…with one exception."
"Okay," Bucky said wearily, not sure why she was telling him this."
"Until now," Pepper said, walking over to the cabinet.
Pepper gestured for him to follow her and, after a moment of hesitation that Bucky really couldn't explain, Bucky followed her. He walked over until he stood directly behind her, in front of the cabinet. Pepper then opened it and Bucky stared in shock at what was inside.
"Tony left it to Steve in his will," Pepper said gently. "I didn't get to know Steve as well as I would have liked, but from what little I knew him and what I've heard from Natasha, Tony and Rhodey…I think he would have wanted you to have it."
Bucky didn't respond; too busy staring at the shield, which looked like it had been repaired following the battle in Siberia.
San Francisco
Same time
"Refill," a man said, his words slurred slightly as he laced an empty glass on a bar.
"You'd had enough. I'm cutting you off," the bartender said gently. "Go home Scott."
"Give him one more glass, on me."
The two looked up to see Hank Pym walking over.
"I'll make sure he leaves and gets home afterwards," Hank promised the bartender who, after a moment, picked up the glass.
"What are you doing here Hank?" Scott asked, pretty buzzed.
"Believe it or not, looking for you," Hank said as he sat down next to Scott. "Hope is worried about you."
"You can tell Hope I'm a big boy, I don't need her looking after me," Scott muttered sluggishly.
"She cares because she loves you Scott," Hank said before pausing. "Believe it or not, I know what you're going through. I lost the person I love most to, remember?"
"How did you go on Hank?" Scott finally asked after a moment. "How did you go on after you lost your world?"
"I became obsessed with the Quantum Realm, hoping I could bring Janet back and sent Hope to boarding school, not realizing how much she needed me," Hank said bluntly. "I'm sorry that Cassie is gone Scott, I really am. But don't make my mistakes. You still have people in your life that love you. Don't push them away."
The bartender then returned, placing the refilled glass in front of Scott. But Scott made no move to drink it and he and Hank sat in silence.
England
Same time
A demon screeched before Faith stabbed it threw the chest with a sword.
"Another dead end," Faith grumbled as she yanked her sword out.
As the demon fell to the floor, behind Faith, Willow stood in a circle of dead demons, looking as dismayed as her Slayer counterpart.
"I guess it's a good thing Spike and Dawnie didn't come. I don't think she can handle another disappointment," Willow noted after a moment.
"Where are they anyway?" Faith asked.
In a cemetery, Dawn was walking with a stake in hand. Hearing a noise behind her, she paused, listening. Suddenly, she whirled around and tried to strike the person behind her with the stake. However, before the stake could make contact, her opponent grabbed her wrist, disarmed her and tossed her to the ground. Dawn attempted to swipe at their legs but her opponent jumped back. Taking advantage of this, Dawn dove for her stake, managing to grab it. As her opponent lunged for her, Dawn jumped to her feet and whirled around with the stake. However, her opponent dodged her strike and managed to get behind her, grabbing her and placing his lips close to her neck.
"Were I trying to kill you, you would be dead," Spike told her. "You're holding back."
"Of course I am, I don't wanna hurt you," Dawn protested.
"You can't hold back Dawn, ever, not even against me," Spike said as he released her. "If you're gonna come with us on missions, there is no hesitation or you could end up killed. You wanted Buffy to treat you like an adult? Well, we are treating you like one. Start acting like one."
Spike then turned and walked off, leaving Dawn staring after him.
Los Angelus
Same time
In a bar, Lorne was sitting down, listening as a bartender sang a song.
"She's gonna say no, isn't she? I should've gotten a bigger ring," the bartender scolded himself once he finished and saw the look on Lorne's face.
"June wedding. There's rain, so get a tent," Lorne told him.
"I'm getting hitched?" the bartender said excitedly.
"Aint love grand?" Lorne said sarcastically before pushing his glass forward. "More sea, less breeze."
"From now on, your money's no good here," the bartender said as he refilled Lorne's glass.
"All right."
"I was wondering about the possibility of a Carlos Junior. What do you think?" Carlos asked.
"You wanna know what I think? I think I'm tired," Lorne said grimly. "I think I'm sick and tired of wearing bells on my toes and making like everything's okay. I think it's pathetic that lately, I'm too scared and sad to tell people the truth, so I just tell them what they want to hear instead. Most of all, I think the term 'happy hour' should be banned from the English language. There's nothing happy about this hour or any other."
"Oh," Carlos said lamely.
"What I know is that I started drinking the moment I found out a girl I loved died, followed by seeing three of my friends die. And every time I get to the bottom of a glass, I hope that last drop will take me the distance," Lorne said before taking a drink.
"Okay," Carlos said awkwardly.
"A simple plan that failed utterly. Which is why I'm gonna heave my tokus off this stool, strap the bells on, and with a smile and a quip, go back into the belly of a very ugly beast and pretend that I can help. Because that's what the green guy does."
Taking one drink, Lorne put it down and got out of his seat, walking towards the door.
In his office, Angel was staring out the window, deep in thought. Lorne was MIA and Fred had called in sick, although Angel thought privately that she just didn't have the energy to come into work. Not that Angel could blame her. It was getting harder and harder to pull himself out of bed and come to work. It just seemed pointless now. Everything he was fighting for…it was all gone now. So what was he still doing here?
"Heavy is the head that wears the crown."
At the sound of the voice, Angel whirls around, stunned to see who else was in his office.
"Lilah," Angel said in shock.
"Hey big guy. Look, as much as I'm sure we'd love to catch up, I don't have a lot of time before the Senior Partners realize I'm here," Lilah said as she walked over to Angel. "Snap out of it."
"What?" Angel asked in confusion.
"Get over yourself. You're giving up, but you can't. Wesley and Gunn and everyone else need you to keep going on," Lilah said firmly.
"No they aren't. They're all gone. I've looked at every inch of Wolfram and Hart. No one has any idea on how to undo what Thanos did," Angel almost growled.
"Or maybe you're just not looking in the right place," Lilah said and Angel stared at her, processing her words for a moment.
"Where is the right place?" Angel asked.
"Right at the top," Lilah said and it took only a moment for Angel to understand.
"You're saying the Senior Partners have a way to undo this. How?" Angel demanded.
"Can't say. I signed a non-disclosure agreement when I joined," Lilah said, to Angel's frustration. "But there's someone else who might. If she's still alive that is."
"Eve," Angel realized and she nodded.
"I'd find her, and fast, you don't have a lot of time," Lilah warned him before she vanished, almost as though she'd never been there at all.
England
Night
"So nothing then," Spike said as he, Dawn, Willow and Faith stood in what was now Willow's office.
"No, it was another dead end. I'm sorry," Willow said with a frustrated sigh.
"It's not your fault," Dawn said although she looked just as dismayed as the redhead. "What other leads are there?"
There was silence between them. Spike, Faith and Willow had talked earlier that morning. This had been there last lead. They'd spent the last three months, going through Spike's old contacts, the connections Willow had made while with the Devon Coven, even some of Faith's contacts from back when she was working for the Mayor. None of it had turned up anything. And this was their last lead.
They were saved from answering when Spike's phone went off. Spike pulled it out, knowing only a few people outside this group had his number and only one of them would be calling him.
"Angel," Spike said as he answered.
"I might have a lead," Angel said. "But I need a witch, one I can trust. How soon can Willow get to LA?"
"How soon can you charter a jet?" Spike asked.
Avengers Compound
Same time
"So where are you?" Sam asked as he stood in what was once Steve's office, having a meeting with Fury, who was there via hologram.
"Russia. Was here on business when I got word," Fury said simple.
"What happened?" Sam asked, bracing himself for the worst.
"A bomb was supposed to be set off, but it was contained by what was described as 'red, mystical energy'. No one could explain what happened, but witnesses described a clocked woman with red hair at the scene. So your girl is still out there," Fury said as Sam let out a breath.
"Just…keep me posted," Sam said and Fury nodded.
"Will do," Fury said before his image fizzled out.
Sam leaned back in his chair, sighing heavily.
"You look like you could use a break," Sam looked up to see Bucky holding a bag.
"Hey, expected you back hours ago," Sam greeted.
"Had to do some thinking. You alright?" Bucky asked as he noticed the look on Sam's face.
"There's been a sighting on Wanda, a possible one anyway. She saved lives, she might not be completely gone," Sam said.
"Well, you remember what happened last time we saw her, right?" Bucky said pointedly and Sam looked at him stonily.
"Did Steve give up on you?" Sam asked pointedly and Bucky flinched.
"Okay, fair point," Bucky acknowledged.
"What's in the bag?" Sam asked a moment.
"Something Pepper gave me," Bucky said simply.
Unzipping the bag, Bucky reached inside and, to Sam's shock, pulled out Steve's shield.
"She thought Steve would want me to have it," Bucky said, offering it to Sam.
"You don't sound so sure," Sam noted as he accepted it, examining the repaired edges from when he had last seen it.
"Did Steve tell you about Dr. Erskine?" Bucky asked.
"A little. He was the guy who developed the Super Soldier serum, right?" Sam asked and Bucky nodded.
"Steve told me all about him after he rescued me and the rest of my unit from Zola. The night before Steve was injected; Erskine came to see him in his bunk. He told Steve something that Steve told me, something I never forgot, one of the first things that came back to me when I was remembering my past," Bucky said as Sam listened. "'A strong man who has known power all his life may lose respect for that power. But a weak man knows the value of strength and knows compassion. Whatever happens tomorrow, you must promise me one thing. That you will stay who you are: not a perfect soldier, but a good man.'"
"Sounds like Erskine knew what he was doing," Sam noted after a few moments.
"He did. Which is why I can't take the shield," Bucky said, taking Sam back.
"What?" Sam asked in confusion.
"I'm a perfect solider, but I'm not a good man. I'm okay, I'm working on it, but I'm not there yet. But you are," Bucky said to Sam's shock. "You're a good man Sam. And Steve would want you to have that shield. He'd want you to be the next Captain America."
Austria
Same time
In one of the nicer parts of Austria, a man was sitting down to dinner with his family, a son and a daughter. His wife had, unfortunately, been lost in The Snap. Suddenly, there was the sound of thunder. Glass shattered as the son was knocked on his back, gagging as blood poured out of him. As the father and daughter looked in shock, the sound of thunder came again and the daughter was thrown from her chair, eyes glassy as the father saw a bullet wound in her head.
In the comics, Bucky actually does have a sister named Rebecca.
I consider Lilah coming to help Angel in this to be in character. While she doesn't care about the innocent lives lost or right or wrong, she does care about Wesley. So she'd help Angel in bringing him back IMO.
Yes, Sam will become Captain America in this story, although it will take time for him to be ready to accept the mantle.