Epilogue: Five Years Later
Nine weeks after the battle with the Cabal, in the crater at the farm, the first Avengers Satellite Facility was built. Once SHIELD and the US government cleaned out the Hydra corpses, that is. Inessa apologized to Steve for months when he found out about those. The farmhouse was rebuilt on top of it, but now with hundreds of security features hidden in the walls. Clint wanted the place to still feel like his home.
Not long after Bucky's departure, Tony's scans finally rooted out Loki's scepter from his invasion of New York. Recovering the staff (and the subsequent battle with Tony's new friend Ultron) brought in two new Avengers- the android Vision and an enhanced psychic, Wanda. It also pushed Steve over the edge. Years of fighting, losing people he cared about, feeling trapped- when Peggy Carter died one summer night of old age he broke. He began taking dangerous risks, fought recklessly with both enemies and friends- Tony stepped up to challenge him and a full on civil war erupted between the two. It ended with Steve dead on the steps of the supreme court, gunned down by the villain Crossbones- Bucky's old Hydra taskmaster.
Steve's death was mourned around the globe. Half the Avengers vanished in its wake. For a time, his shield was carried by the Falcon- Sam Wilson. When Steve reappeared to battle the titan Thanos after the obliteration of Avengers Tower in the Infinity War, rumors swirled that an unknown Avenger- the mysterious Shadow- was responsible for his survival- and that Tony Stark himself orchestrated the memorials to further spread the belief in the Captain's demise. A conspiracy to give the hero the break he desperately needed.
The Steve Rogers who returned with seven new Avengers was a changed man. He smiled, joked, teased, enjoyed life and never again lived battle to battle.
As more superheroes, enhanced or otherwise, came out of the woodwork the Avengers divided into five units: Technology, Disaster Relief, Espionage, Apprehension, and Warfare.
The Technology Unit faced any foe human or android who used exceptional technological advancements to harm others. Tony Stark led one team, Bruce Banner the other. Scarlet Witch and Vision shared leadership of their team and were responsible for Disaster Relief- getting people out of war zones before the fighting began or after a natural disaster occurred. This task they shared with Sam Wilson and his team of Avengers. Espionage, naturally, was the realm of Natasha and Clint- Black Widow and Hawkeye. The Apprehension Unit- the police wing of the Avengers- was led by Steve and Thor's teams.
The purpose of the Units was to give the Avengers a break- Tony Stark's condition in the treaty ending the civil war. Only one team worked at a time- passing the baton with each new threat. Only the Warfare Unit never rotated. Steve, Tony, Wanda, Vision, Banner, Thor, Clint, Natasha, Sam and the Shadow- the leaders of the Avengers Army- were the only members. The greatest threats alone were handled by this central counsel.
Whenever Avengers presence was ill advised, or for delicate missions, a special Unit was sent, comprised of only one team: Avengers Black Ops. The Unit was a myth, a rumor for years, until the Infinity War. Like all Avengers teams this one was small- only three new Avengers and led by the creature known only as "The Shadow". No one knew if it was human, who it was or where it even came from. Some believed it was responsible for ending the Second Battle of New York, some conspiracy theorists claimed it was created from the souls of the two million killed in Thanos' attack- a beast of vengeance tamed by the heroes. Whatever it was, the popular nickname for the mysterious Unit was forever after 'Avengers Shadow Ops'.
Avengers Tower was rebuilt in record time. Memorial statues to the nine Avengers who died in the Infinity War acted as pillars on the street level. Three more satellite facilities appeared around North America, bases for the other Units. Amongst all the changes, the upheaval and the resettlement of the original team, Steve kept his promise. There was one rule in Avengers Tower everyone obeyed- no one looked for Bucky Barnes.
Six years after the Second Battle of New York, people could rest assured that whatever rose to challenge the human race, the Avengers would match it in kind.
That confidence ended the night the Avengers only rule was broken.
The night the leaders died.
The night Avengers Tower exploded.
For story notes visit ProjectEchoFanfic dot tumblr dot com
Thank you all, once again, for your interest in this series! Pt 2 was all about setting the stage for Pt 3, and now it has FINALLY arrived (and you know why I said it would be explosive)!
It will take longer to get Pt 3 up than it did Pt 2 for reasons that will become clear after the first couple of chapters, so please allow a few weeks there. Like with Pt 2, I'm going to be building the teaser for Pt 3 within the hour so that you can follow it to receive notifications once the story starts.
Anticipate epic-ness, a return of Bucky (and much more of him than previous parts), a whole new, grown up Inessa, a rather silly Steve, and much more in the explosive finale to the "Project Echo" trilogy!
Once again, thank you for so many wonderful reviews- each one was a joy to read (especially the angry ones about the April Fools chapter!).
Oh, and if anyone was thinking the wording at the beginning of chapters was a wee bit funky, here's why-
Take the first letter of each chapter from the Prologue through this Epilogue and what do you get?
Never gonna give you up Never gonna let you down
Only the Americans may get that joke, I'm not sure how big Rick-rolling is in other countries ;-)