Home - Phillip Phillips.
"Show me a family of readers, I will show you the people who move the world." - Napoleon Bonaparte.
It was a new year. A fresh start. A do-over almost. A chance to reinvent yourself.
That's what Katie kept telling herself anyways.
And to be fair, they were already a week into the new year and things were going pretty good. Great even. After Steve, Natasha, and Sam had filled her in on everything, everyone seemed closer somehow. Like that giant elephant that was in the room was now gone. The team seemed even more tight knit than before.
Katie was doing great too. With every day, she could feel herself relaxing a little more. A few times, she even went the full day without having to calm herself down. Sam had even told her that in another week or so, she could start training and working out again if she so desired (umm, yes please!).
However, Katie's life at the tower was still quiet and simple. Way more so than it had been this time a year ago. She mostly stayed in the tower, only leaving once or twice with her father to go visit her mother. And she didn't mind that. She'd leave when she was completely ready. Besides, quiet and simple was nice for a change. Hell, even the holidays were relaxing, which was saying something for the Avengers.
When Christmas had been a few weeks away, everyone had just spent the time chilling and hanging out in the living area while they watched old Christmas movies. They hadn't done much at all, which was nice. And what was even better, was that Katie had finally moved out of that old hospital room she'd been staying in.
Tony and the team had surprised her by showing her to her own floor. Katie knew everyone had their own living space, Tony told her a few weeks ago when he told her everything about the tower. But it was still a surprise.
That was a few weeks ago, and Katie still found it hard to believe she was out of the room and into her own floor. Four months ago, Katie couldn't see herself having a full conversation with someone, let alone living on her own. Well, kinda.
"Katie. Can you check on the chicken?"
"Sure Pepper." Katie placed down the knife and walked away from the vegetables she was cutting with Bruce to head over to the oven.
Like Katie said, Christmas had been quiet. And so was New Years. Clint was off on some mission or other over Christmas and New Years, only getting back a few days ago. Thor had spent the holidays with Jane and had just got back yesterday. So, everyone had decided to take it easy for the holidays and have a big dinner once everyone was back together again. Which happened to be today.
Katie, Pepper, Bruce, and Natasha had been cooking and working all morning, while Tony, Steve, Thor, Sam, and Clint all hanged out in front of the TV with beers. Clint had started off helping in the kitchen at first, but once he almost burnt the place down, Pepper had kicked him out.
It was times like these that Katie almost felt like everything was back to normal again. Like the whole HYDRA S.H.I.E.L.D. thing didn't even happen.
Then again, Katie didn't really want things to go back to normal.
As bad as it sounded, Katie wouldn't change anything that had happened in the past year. Because in the end, it brought out the real Katie. She was closer to everyone. She actually felt like her father was her father. She wasn't the frosty and distant daughter anymore. And yes, she could have definitely done without Strucker, Wanda, and all the pain. But she was getting better. Slowly but surely. The team as a whole felt closer and more as a team than ever before. It was nice.
Big, fluffy pieces of snow slowly fell from the sky outside as everyone laughed and kept cozy. Dinner was soon served and everyone sat down around the table. It was the same as any other dinner. So much laughter, smiles, light. An outsider would never say that everyone sitting around that table had been through as much pain as they had.
Dinner was devoured and dessert was soon brought out as the chatter and jokes continued on. Soon, the plates were all loaded into the dishwasher and everyone had already made their way into the living room, sitting down with drinks in their hands as the conversations continued on. The mood was light as they all talked about everything and nothing, laughing at pointless jokes Tony and Clint made towards each other.
Then, around 2:30pm, Katie noticed her father was starting to act a bit odd.
He went quiet. Not completely silent, but he wasn't as involved in conversion as he was about an hour ago. Katie also noticed that he kept glancing up at the clock every few minutes.
"Dad," Katie leaned forward, eyes narrowed slightly. Tony was making a jab at Clint in the background. "You okay?"
"What?" Steve's head shaped from the clock towards his daughter. A small smile quickly appeared on his face. "Oh, yeah. Yes, I'm fine."
Katie wasn't buying it. But nevertheless, she nodded her head before leaning back against the chair she was in. She tried to get involved in the conversation again. But out of the corner of her eye, she could see her father shift whenever he looked up at the clock.
"You actually made a New Year's resolution, Stark?" Natasha raised an eyebrow at Tony as Clint suddenly let out an over the top laugh.
"Do people even still make resolutions?"
"I did," Tony nodded as if he was proud of himself.
"And what exactly is your resolution, Stark?" A smirked started to grace Clint's lips as he crossed his arms.
"Eat healthier, exercise more, you know. The basic stuff really."
Katie smiled into her drink as Clint rolled his eyes.
"You think you're so funny."
Tony shrugged, smirking as he leaned back in his chair. "Jury's out."
"Mr. Stark. Your guests are here."
Katie's head snapped up. What guests? A confused look graced her features as she looked around at everyone else. But not one other person was fazed by this. Steve even looked slightly relieved as he took a sip of his drink, back straight.
"Send them up JAR." Tony ordered.
"Right away, sir."
"What guests?" Katie questioned, glancing around the room. But no one seemed in the mood to answer her. Everyone remained silent as they all seemed very interested in their drinks suddenly.
Katie glanced from her father, to Natasha, Tony, Clint, Sam, she looked at everyone. But no one would even look at her, causing Katie to narrow her eyes even more. She was just about to open her month again when the elevator suddenly dinged and Katie could hear the doors open.
"Welcome," Tony stood up in a flash, a giant smile on his face. "Come on in. Some of us don't bite."
Katie rolled her eyes at Tony before she turned around in her chair to get a look at the 'guests'.
That's when her heart stopped.
Katie's heart fell and hit to pit of her stomach like rock. Her face fell as her eyes widen and she couldn't help but let her mouth hang open. She could already feel tears starting to prick her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. Her mind went blank and it took all her willpower just to remember to breathe.
It had been forty-seven years, but Katie knew without a doubt, that it were her brother and sister standing in front of her right now.
Robert and Lydia Thompson where just a few feet in front of her. Katie felt like she was about to faint.
"Thank you for coming." Tony stepped forward, walking toward the siblings. He held out his hand for them to shake.
"Thanks for calling us." Robert shook Tony's hand. Both him and Lydia had a bit of star struck looks on their faces. But then again, could you blame them. They were in the same room as all the Avengers.
"Well, I'd love to take all the credit. But this was Wilson's and Old Man Cap's idea really," Tony joked. It was only then that Robert and Lydia looked up and around the rest of the room, taking in all the Avengers.
Then, both their eyes landed on Katie. She was speechless. She couldn't even move as she met the eyes of her brother and sister. The last time she'd seen them, Robert was just ten and Lydia was only seven. Now, they had to be fifty-six and fifty-three.
Katie honestly thought she'd never see this day. The day when she'd get to see her brother and sister again.
Katie closed her eyes for a few moments. She took a deep breath to try and clear her head. Then, as she opened her eyes, she slowly pushed herself up off the chair
She slowly made her way towards her brother and sister before stopping a few feet away, the three siblings staring at each other.
"Katie." Lydia breathed as she took in her older sister.
"Hi monkey." Katie tried to smile, but it didn't work.
"It's really you." Robert had a look of disbelief of his face as Katie gave a small nod.
"Yeah. It's me."
Tears started to pool in her eyes, but she didn't let them fall. She wouldn't let them fall. At least, that's what she told herself until Lydia suddenly pulled her into a bone crushing hug. A hug that Katie returned within a second. The tears started to run down her cheeks as Robert joined in on the hug, wrapping his arms around his two sisters for the first time in almost fifty years.
Katie didn't know how long they stayed like that, and she didn't care. She was seeing her brother and sister again, for god sakes. It was only when Natasha spoke up that they pulled apart.
"Well," Katie looked over her shoulder and found Natasha standing up. "We better get going."
"Right," Clint agreed, also standing up. "We have things to do."
Everyone else seemed to nodded in agreement as they all stood up and headed towards the elevator, nodding hello to Robert and Lydia as they walked passed them.
Katie suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder, and when she looked up, she found her father looking down at her. There was a small smile on his face as he gave her shoulder a little squeeze before he followed after the rest of the team towards the elevator, giving Robert and Lydia a small nod as he walked pass them, like the others did.
The elevator door closed and the room went silent.
Katie didn't know what to say, what to do. But luckily, Robert did. Just like he always had when he was younger.
"How about we sit down and talk?"
The two sisters nodded before Katie lead them over to the couches. Katie sat back down in her chair while Lydia took the chair on Katie's left and Robert sat on the couch on her right, silence coming over them again. But Katie didn't mind. She used this time to really take in her brother and sister.
Lydia and Robert both aged very well. Lydia still had her dirty blonde hair, though it looked more brown now. It still hung in curls down to her shoulder. Her eyes still shined and she had a few laugh lines on her face. Robert now sported grey hair and had a number of lines and wrinkles on his face. But they still looked like the Robert and Lydia that Katie remembered growing up with. They both still had the same love and sparkle in their eyes that was always there.
"I can't believe this." Lydia breathed, breaking the silence before her eyes shifted to Katie. "You look…"
"That same as when you left." Robert finished after Lydia trailed off.
Katie picked at her nails, glancing up at Lydia and Robert through her eyelashes. "Perks of the super solider serum, I guess."
Silence fell around them once more. But really, who could blame them. This was the first time all three siblings were in the same room together in years. Plus, Katie thought for sure they'd never be in the same room together every again.
She didn't know what to say. There was so much she'd love to say to her little brother and sister, but everything escaped her in that moment. Her mind went blank and she had no idea what to say anymore.
"Why didn't you tell us?"
Katie looked up and found Lydia watching her with watery eyes. There was so much hurt and love behind her eyes that it killed Katie, and all she could picture was a little five year old running around the house begging for someone to talk with her.
"Why didn't you tell us about… this?" Lydia asked again, looking around the room before turning back to Katie.
Katie's eyes locked with Lydia's for a few long moment before she blinked and looked down. She took a long deep breath before she looked up again.
"When you both were young, the only thing I knew was that Captain America was my father." Katie's voice was dry and hurt her throat when she spoke. "And you both were too young to fully understand that. I didn't know all the… perks that came with carrying the super solider serum."
"What about this?" Roster gestured to Katie. "How come you still look the same as when you left us?"
Katie had to stop herself from filching. When you left us just sounded so harsh and stabbed Katie's heart like a knife.
"Like I said, perk of the super solider serum." Katie send him a tight, small smile before sighing. "I only found out I didn't age just before I… left."
"You don't age?" Lydia's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Not like you," Katie explained. "I do age, just at a much slower rate than everyone else. That's why I look twenty-five instead of late sixty's."
"Wow." Was all Lydia seemed to be able to say as she leaned back against the chair.
"Why did you stay away from us?" Robert jumped in, causing Lydia and Katie to snap their heads towards him. "Why didn't you come back after you left, fill us in on everything. Why… why did you stay away?"
Tears started pool in Katie's eyes as she looked over to Robert. Her heart was pounding and her breathing was shaky.
"I- I guess I couldn't handle it," Katie explained in a dry voice. "Everyone I know… Everyone leaves, okay? I guess I just couldn't handle the thought of someday losing my little brother and little sister."
"Katie," Lydia reached forward and grabbed Katie's hand in hers. "You're our sister. We aren't going anywhere."
Katie wanted to argue back. She wanted to say 'not yet', but she couldn't. This were her brother and sister and she was finally talking with them and seeing them again. She wasn't going to ruin this moment. Instead, she put on the best smile she could manage before letting out a sigh.
"We didn't know where you were." Roster chimed in, his voice just above a whisper. "We didn't know what happened to you. Especially once mum was diagnosed with Alzheimer's."
Katie gave a small nod. "And then you got a call from Captain America."
"Actually, we found out about you before the call." Robert explained. "You were all over the internet, all over the news. Captain America's Secret Love Child. Then we saw your picture."
"I couldn't believe it at first," Lydia added. "I thought it was just someone who looked just like you. But then, all the details about your life started to come out. When you were born, your family, your name. It was all hard to accept."
"I'm sorry." Katie looked between the two. It was all she could think of to say. It was the only thing that came to her mind. And she meant it.
"Hey," Lydia sent her a small smile. "None of this is your fault. We understand. Well, kind of."
Katie let out a light and airy laugh as she blinked back some tears.
"Enough about me," Katie sighed as she sat up straighter. She left out the part about all she'd been doing these past few months. "Nothing interesting happened in my life."
"Oh really?" Roster raised an eyebrow. "Did you not fight aliens in New York a few years back?"
Katie gave Robert a look before rolling her eyes and letting out a laugh.
"I'm serious." Katie looked between Lydia and Robert. "I've kept myself distant from your lives. But now I want to know everything."
For the next few hours, the three siblings belted down and just talked. Robert filled Katie in on his life, his job and how he was planning on retiring in a few years. His wife, Alison, who was a teacher. He also told Katie about his daughters. Thirty-two year old Natalie who was a police officer and twenty-six year old Lexie who was a nurse. Lydia then told Katie how she went on to become a professor and married a mechanic called Simon Blake and had a son, Liam, who was in school and studying Biochemistry.
Katie listened on with a smile on her face. She loved the feel of talking to her brother and sister again. She loved listening to them as they told her about their lives. She even answered any questions they had. Through she kept everyone about her past with S.H.I.E.L.D. and HYDRA out of the conversation.
"You know," Lydia smiled. "You're different than I thought you'd be, Katie. In a good way."
The smile on Katie's face suddenly became more forced. She just really hoped Lydia and Robert didn't notice. "You change when you live the life I have."
"I'd say." Robert laughed before he stretched and stood up. "But we really should get going. It's late."
Katie nodded as she and Lydia both stood up.
"We need to do this again," Lydia pulled Katie in for a hug. "Maybe you can meet the kids soon."
"I'd like that," Katie smiled as she pulled out of the hug and moved the Robert.
"Bye Katie," Robert hugged her tightly. "It was amazing to see you again."
"You too. Both of you."
Katie stood in the living area and watched as Lydia and Robert made their way towards the elevator. Lydia gave a wave as Robert smiled. Katie returned both the wave and smile before the elevator doors closed.
Katie sighed. She couldn't believe it. Even after talking to them for hours. She still couldn't believe that was she finally able to see her brother and sister again. She could finally take to them again. This was all unbelievable.
"How'd it go?"
Katie glanced up and found her father, Natasha, Clint, Tony, and Bruce walking back into the room. JARVIS must have informed them that Robert and Lydia were gone home.
"Thank you," Katie looked at them all, smile on her face. "So much. Thank you."
"No problem," Tony spoke up. "But it really was your old man's and Wilson's idea."
Katie turned to her father with a giant smile on her face. "Thank you."
"We figured you needed a good surprise after everything." Steve smiled back as he pulled her into a hug.
"Thank you, so much." Katie pulled back, returning the smile as she looked around. "Where's Sam? And Thor?"
"Sam had a meeting to get to." Clint informed her. "And Thor had to get back to Jane, apparently."
"I still can't believe it," Katie shook her head lightly. "This was the best surprise I've gotten in a long time."
"Well, the surprises aren't over yet." Tony announced.
"What are you talking about now, Stark?" Natasha raised an eyebrow before sharing a look with Bruce, who just shrugged. But you could tell by the sparkle in his eye, he knew what was going on too.
"Everyone," Tony stood up from his spot, clapping his hands together. "If you'd all form a single-file line and follow me."
Clint could be heard letting out a snort, but nevertheless, everyone followed Tony's orders. They followed him over to the elevator. It was quiet as they all piled in, each one of them wondering what the hell was going on as the elevator went down.
A ding filled the air around them as the doors slowly slide open to reveal Tony's lab. The all stepped out and took a moment to look around. Then, Katie's eyes landed on a table towards the wall in front of them. Her eyes shifted from the table to up at Tony, but he just had a knowing smirk on his face before gracefully making his way over to the table.
At this point, everyone noticed the table and the contents laid out on it, but no one could still quite make out what was going on.
"What is all this?" Katie questioned as everyone slowly made their way towards the table.
"They weren't ready for Christmas," Tony explained. He walked around the table so he was staying on the opposite side as everyone else. "But Bruce and I have been working on them for some time now. Our old stuff is kinda out-dated I think."
Everyone seemed to be just as frozen in place as Katie. Her eyes moved over all the contents on the table, taking everything in.
There was a new set of bow and arrows on the table. In fact, there were a number of arrows, and no doubt each one could do something different. Next to that was a set of batons and what looked like an updated version of Natasha's Widow Bites. (Katie could practically see her itching to get her hands on them). Then, there was a completely new uniform for Captain America, and the newest feature seemed to be some electromagnetic panels on each of the gloves, no doubt so Steve could get his shield back easier.
"Sweet!" Clint reached forward and grabbed the bow and arrow off the table, examining it in his hand before pulling back the string, getting a feel of the bow.
Everyone else soon followed Clint's lead and reached forward to grab the different weapons and gadgets off the table, looking them over as Tony explained to them what he did and had made for them.
Katie, however, still didn't move. Her eyes froze on an all black uniform. It was heavily padded and had elbow and knees pads. It zipped up in the front and had a pair of heavy duty gloves and knee-high boots. There was a thigh-holster for what looked like her left leg (no doubt to hold a gun) and a utility belt. A faded golden star was printed on the suit, right above the heart. But what caught Katie's attention was the weapon that was lying next to the uniform. It was like a sword, a longer and bigger version of the batons really.
Slowly, Katie reached forward a gripped the weapon in her hand. She had the handle gripped tightly in her hand, looking it over, when she saw a little button right above her thumb. Carefully, she pushed it and the longer, top half go the weapon lit up in a golden glow. Katie could basically feel and hear the energy now buzzing through the weapon.
"Careful."
Katie glanced up from the weapon and found Tony standing in front of her, watching as she examined the weapon.
"It delivers a powerful electrical shocks to your targets," Tony explained. "Very similar to Romanoff's batons."
"Their… I—" Katie paused to take a breath. She clicked the button again to turn off the sword like weapon before looking back up at Tony. "I don't know what to say."
"I saw the way you worked with the Chitauri weapons," Tony told her with a smile.
"Thank you, Tony." Katie returned his smile. "For all this."
"Hey, if we're gonna be a team, we may as well look good too." Tony sent Katie a wink before going over to the others again. "HYDRA won't know what's coming."
The smile feel off Katie's face when she knew no one was looking. A knot suddenly formed in her stomach as she bit her lip.
Getting better, moving out on her own, working out again, those were things that Katie had thought about and felt good about. Going back out there and fighting again, that was something Katie hadn't thought about. At all.
Did she want to go back to being part of the Avengers? Did she want to fight against HYDRA and all the bad guys out there? Was that something she could even do anymore? Part of her felt like this new Katie, wasn't one to get dragged into fights. She didn't know if she wanted this. The uniforms, the weapons, the codenames. It was something she'd really wanted back when the Avengers were just getting off the ground.
But now, after everything she'd been through, Katie honestly didn't know if she could do it anymore. She didn't know if she could put back on the suit and go out there fighting.
And maybe it was childish or selfish, but part of Katie felt like, no matter what good stuff she did, pain would always find her. Why would she keep fighting when she'd always be put through pain in the end.
Katie carefully placed the weapon back down next to the suit. She peaked over at everyone else through her eyelashes. They all looked like they belonged there. Like they were born to fight, born to wear the suits and hold the weapons. This is what they were born to do, this was who they were. But Katie, she didn't know who she was. Especially this new Katie.
Was this the new and fresh start she wanted?
Hope you guys enjoyed it! Kinda helped set up Age of Ultron a bit :)
We are just 11 reviews away from 500 and next week I'll be posting the prologue for Part 3! Exciting times!
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