Carol panted against the wall as Thor turned his attention to Bruce. Both Black Panthers crouched between Thor and the shipping containers where Tony hid with Tessa and Morgan.
"This is taking too long. They could be dead by now." Morgan cried out over the sound of yelling between Thor and Sam. Tony looked around the crate, seeing Thor hurl Banner toward the stair case, then throw Stormbreaker up to bring lightning down onto him. Bruce jumped out of the way just in time, staring at his friend in disbelief.
Suddenly, without warning, Thor stopped fighting and looked around in confusion. Banner paused, watching him cautiously as he looked around at the Avengers, "Banner? Where am I?"
"You've been kicking our ass for the past hour." Sam barked as he landed in front of the demi-god. "You tell us what you're doing here."
"The last thing I remember is the Enchantress's trial!" Thor boomed, realizing what happened, "She cast a spell on me."
Tony quickly stood, realizing the battle was done. He helped Morgan to her feet, then waved Bucky over to get his wife. When Bucky reached Tessa, she shifted to get up and hissed. "You have to go. I'll only slow you down."
"I'm not going to leave you, this is my fault." Bucky argued, kneeling down to be at her level, "Baby, I'm not going anywhere. You are the most important person in my life. You came here to save me and I'm not leaving you behind."
Bucky carefully helped Tessa to her feet as she groaned, holding her stomach as the pain continued, "Seriously, you need to go help Steve. The others are already starting to leave..."
"Not without you." Bucky said, carefully scooping Tessa up and carrying her toward the stairs. He paused to listen as Thor spoke candidly with Tony and Bruce about the Enchantress.
"If her spell over me is broken, she's very likely dead. I'm sure our Captain was able to vanquish her." Thor said boldly, looking from Tony to Banner, but Tony cleared his throat.
"Steve lost his super-soldier serum. I doubt he could vanquish a goat, let alone an Asgardian."
Thor shrugged and looked upward, "Either way, Amora is dead. Let us pray she is the only one."
The moment Sarah cracked through the ice that trapped James, he burst out of it, shaking from head to toe from the cold. His mind ran a thousand miles a minute, walking him through the moments before he was frozen. Moments after being freed, James realized what had happened and sprinted past Sarah towards his parents, sliding to a stop when he saw his mom's hand fall from his father's cheek to the ground.
No. No no no, please no.
James fell to his knees next to his father, finally getting a good look at his mother's pale, still body. "No, no, no." James sobbed as he collapsed onto his forearms, bawling onto the floor as Steve cried softly into the crook of Kayla's neck. James pushed himself up when Sarah sat down between him and their father and nuzzled her cheek against Steve's shoulder. The Captain America shield still clung to his left arm as he cradled Kayla, but Steve was so devastated, he couldn't even feel his own body shutting down.
Sarah suddenly looked at her father when she felt his shoulder weaken, then over to Amora, finding the Enchantress laying on her side with her lifeless green eyes wide and staring at them. "Dad!" Sarah cried, leaning away to get a better look at him, seeing him begin to thin, his hundred and twenty years finally catching up with him.
Steve looked down, seeing his hands begin to wrinkle as he rapidly began to age. James jumped to his feet in terror, shoving the syringe into Sarah's hand and she faltered for a moment, almost dropping the glass vial until Steve grabbed her hand weakly. She watched in horror as Steve's face began to sag and she shrieked, shaking him gently, "Dad! Daddy you have to take the serum!"
Steve looked at the vial that his daughter tried to shove toward him, and then back to Kayla's body across his lap. He could vaguely hear James yelling at him from behind Sarah but his mind was slowing down. Steve began to feel confused, unsure of what was happening, but when he looked at his little girl, he saw how she panted, trying so hard to catch her breath. She wanted him to be okay.
He wanted her to be okay.
Steve ripped off the syringe cap and swiftly plunged it into Sarah's neck, stunning the girl as she stumbled backward. Sarah gasped, pulling the needle out to find the vial empty, "What have you done?" James caught Sarah as she doubled over in pain, feeling the serum invade her bloodstream. It felt like her insides were being torn apart, her bones shifting and her muscles stretching and her lungs opening up as she gasped.
Steve smiled weakly as he withered away, knowing he made the right choice. He felt his heart slow, and eventually give out, collapsing on top of Kayla as Sarah sobbed. After over a hundred years and too many battles, Steve faded away, little more than dust.
James was thankful Sarah's eyes were closed when their father died, because she'd never forgive herself for being the cause of his death. He just held her tightly as she cried, her wails echoing throughout the building.
From the stairwell, Bucky's eyes grew wide and he set Tessa down at her urging, sprinting up the stairs as fast as his legs could take him to save his niece. Morgan watched him in horror, suddenly finding herself sprinting past the Avengers to keep up with Bucky in his chase.
Sarah finally broke away from James and fell to her knees, letting out a final pained scream as the power within her shot outward. The golden wave flew through the room and across the globe, finally releasing every soul the Red Skull stole over the past eighteen years.
Steve's shield hit the ground with a clang, the hero finally laid to rest after a century of fighting. The air hung heavy as Sarah wept, leaning over and holding her stomach as she tried to catch her breath. With every easy gasp she took, she sobbed that much harder, knowing this serum was meant for her dad. James stared down at her in shock, trying to think of something to say. "Sarah, I-" She shook her head as the tears continued to fall, and James closed his mouth and bowed his head sadly.
Bucky burst through the doors and continued to charge toward James and Sarah. He didn't slow down until he realized she was sobbing. When he reached James, Bucky looked over Sarah's shoulder, seeing Kayla's body and the shield beside it. Bucky studied Sarah, realizing she was taller. She had more meat on her bones and as she leaned against the concrete floor, her arm muscles flexed.
James sniffled loudly, finally turning to look at his uncle. When Bucky met his gaze, James lowered his head again, unable to look the man in the eye, "Dad- he gave Sarah the serum... that was meant for him. Mom wanted him to have it, but he-"
Bucky nodded, swallowing hard as he pulled James into a rough hug. The young man reciprocated it, and Bucky felt him tremble in his arms, "It's okay. You guys are gonna be okay."
The others finally reached them, and Tessa gasped when she saw Kayla, lifeless and bleeding next to Captain America's shield. James pulled away and Bucky gently tugged Tessa into his arms, allowing her to sob against his vest as he stroked her back. James looked past Bucky to see Morgan standing there, mouth agape as she looked around at the carnage left by the Enchantress and Red Skull.
"James?"
James grabbed Morgan's wrist and pulled her into a passionate kiss, thankful she was okay. After a moment she pulled away, looking up at him with watery eyes, "I'm so sorry." James broke down, holding Morgan and bawling into her hair as she rubbed his back. "You're gonna be okay."
Peter Parker sprinted forward from across the room, finding Tony in the crowd of Avengers and running over to him, "Mr. Stark! Mr. Stark what happened?..." When he saw Kayla, he looked to Tony and the older man pulled Peter into a tight hug.
"I'm just so thankful you're okay." Tony pulled away to look at James and Morgan. He grabbed the boy's arm and squeezed it supportively, "I'm glad you're all okay." James nodded, never releasing his hold on Morgan as she rocked back and forth in his arms. Tony nodded and smiled weakly at James, and he mouthed 'thank you' before kissing Morgan's head lovingly.
The world moved around Sarah, but despite all the talking and the crying and the gasping and the staring, she felt like she wasn't in the same plane of existence as everyone else. It wasn't until Sarah saw two women standing over her mother's body did she look up.
The two women from her visions, Natasha and Tiffany, stood over her patiently with sad, unsurprised eyes. Sarah's breath caught in her throat, "You guys knew didn't you? You knew what would happen." Natasha reached down and offered her hand to Sarah. A weak, knowing smile was plastered across the Black Widow's beautiful face as she gently pulled Sarah to her feet.
"All these years I knew she'd die. I didn't realize it would be like this." Tiffany whimpered in response, kneeling down beside her best friend. She smoothed back Kayla's hair, grimacing as she swept small pieces of dust from her hair. Sarah looked to Natasha, but the other woman just stared blankly at the ground, her expression unreadable.
She's going to miss her partner, and her friend.
Sarah looked up to see Wanda approaching, but the Scarlet Witch stopped by Peter and Tony, seemingly wanting to stay as far away from the body as possible. Sarah looked around, feeling a gaping hole in her side that her father would have filled. James quickly crossed to his sister, pulling her to his chest to hold her tightly. He could see what she was thinking, he knew how his dad and sister worked, and James knew he had to work hard to be there for his baby sister now.
"Tiffany?" Sam gasped, seeing his long-dead girlfriend. He stumbled forward, landing on his knees next to her, "This isn't possible." He reached out and grabbed her cheeks and she nodded, beaming at him.
"I'm here. I'm back." Tiffany whispered, studying Sam before throwing her arms around his shoulders, "I'm finally home."
Sam smiled down at Tiffany as she took his hand, her eyes down at the ground, "I'm sure you've moved on."
"I haven't actually. I've been busy." Sam said and Tiffany looked up. Sam leaned down and kissed her sweetly, "But I'm not young anymore."
"It doesn't bother me. It's pretty much standard for the group- ya know, dating older men." Tiffany lulled her head to look over at Tessa, "Unless you're in your seventies, in which case, you look fabulous." Tessa chuckled, patting Bucky's stomach as she gazed up at him lovingly, but her expression fell as Bucky kept his eyes trained on his niece and nephew.
"I think I'm gonna throw up." Sarah leaned into James's arms, burying her face into his collarbone as he rubbed her back and shushed her. Tessa broke away from her husband and took Sarah's hand, grabbing the girl's attention. She finally let go of her brother when she saw how terrible Tessa looked, "What happened to you?"
"It doesn't matter. I'll be okay." Tessa promised, squeezing Sarah's hands. "All that matters is you and your brother."
"And we're gonna take care of you. Whatever you need." Bucky added quickly, but Sarah looked to her brother and they both enveloped Bucky in a hug. They felt the large man sob and Sarah closed her eyes, focusing on bringing him comfort as she felt the sorrow and loss pouring from his very soul. Sarah pulled away and Bucky grabbed her cheeks, sniffling as he stared at her, "My God you're beautiful."
"You look like your mom." Tiffany said softly as Sam helped her to her feet.
"Get used to that." James mumbled and Sarah snorted, blushing as she pushed her hair behind her ear. James pressed a kiss to Sarah's head, not even having to bend over. "You're so tall now. My gosh, you're like a giant."
"Shut up." Sarah smacked her brother and he actually shook his arm, feeling a sting from her swat for the first time in his life.
Sam looked to his left, seeing Thor on his knee, honoring his fallen comrade. Bruce rubbed his face sadly, and Tony fidgeted with his hands as he looked from the shield to Romanoff, then to Bruce, then Thor, then back to the shield on the ground. Sam looked to Carol and T'Challa, and the latter nodded. "Avengers." Everyone looked up at Sam, including Tiffany who stayed glued to his side, "Team meeting."
"About what?" Kate Bishop asked softly, looking to Cassie Lang curiously.
"We have to figure out what to do about this." Sam looked down at the shield, then back up to Bucky, "I'm retired."
"Congratulations." Bucky deadpanned, looking to Tiffany, then Stark, "Howard made it, you decide what to do with it."
"No, I'm not making that mistake again." Tony said, stepping forward as Natasha scooped up the shield, holding it against her chest for a moment as a tear slid down the vibranium. She handed it to Tony, who looked from Sam to Bucky, then toward his daughter and Steve's kids. "Although, if my dad did have a say, I think he'd want it to stay in the family. Honestly, I'd like that too. With Sam retiring, somebody has to keep these kids in line, and protect my daughter. You know, seeing as she's the new Iron Man."
Morgan's jaw dropped and she beamed, "What? Really?" Sarah grabbed her arm excitedly, but James stood behind them both with a stunned look on his face. Morgan and Sarah finally turned to him, seeing how terrified he looked. Morgan grabbed his hand and squeezed it, feeling how cold he still was. "James, are you okay?"
Tony took a step towards the boy, holding out the shield for him to take, "You can be whoever you want to be. That's what your Mom wanted, but, I think your Dad would want you to have it."
James nodded, taking the shield and sliding it onto his arm, "I won't let them down."
"You couldn't if you tried." Bucky's voice cracked and Tessa hugged him tighter.
Morgan took James's right hand and Sarah stood to his left, gazing at the shield lovingly. Her eyes glowed orange for a moment and she grinned up at her brother, opening her mouth to say something, but when she saw how lovingly James looked at Morgan, she decided against it.
Morgan beamed up at James as he lifted the shield in the air, showing off a perfect million-dollar smile, "Avengers... Assemble." He looked to Morgan expectantly and she just shrugged as he blushed, but she just kissed his cheek as Sarah smacked his back, knocking him forward a step.
Bucky nodded to himself, unable to shake how much James looked like his father when they were young. At least Bucky had gotten another lifetime with his best friend, until the end of the line.