Epilogue

        Life had been going pretty well since everything had happened: Uncle Bucky and Uncle Sam got their own places, Buck's apartment even being in Brooklyn and somewhat close to our house. Peter and I had been getting to know each other really well, and I had even been introduced to Ned and MJ, who were both great to hang out with, as well as a few of Peter's other classmates. Including the notorious asshole that is Flash Thompson. It was great that our cities were only a thirty-minute drive away. Uncle Sam visited when he could, but he had decided to continue serving with the government as the Falcon and didn't have too much extra time on his hands. I got to see Morgan every once in a while, babysitting or just having dinner with her, Dad and Aunt Pepper. Uncle Bucky had been pardoned on the conditions that he sees his therapist during every scheduled appointment as well as spends time with me. According to Dr Rayner, I'm a good influence on him. Dad and I spent a lot of time together. Not being able to see his daughter for five years really got to Dad, but it made me happy to spend time with him. Being with Dad and everyone else left little room in my thoughts for the pain and sadness I still felt. But at the end of the day, when I was alone, it would hurt the most. Not to mention that I occasionally still had nightmares. They had gotten worse after everything went down with the Sokovia accords and now the Blip. But other than that, as I said, life had been going pretty well. (For me, at least...)

MARCH 2024

After my school work, Dad and I spent most of Wednesday outside training until we had to move to the basement because of the rain. We practised a bunch of different moves, and I was able to kick his ass over twenty times. Uncle Bucky came over around 5 pm to join us for dinner and a movie. Dinner wasn't ready yet, so Buck joined us in our training. I ended up kicking his ass, too. Dad eventually took a break to go check on the food, leaving Bucky and me to continue our fun sparring. I threw a punch in his direction, but he caught it with his metal arm very gently. As I dodged one of his attempted blows, Dad called out to us from upstairs, saying that dinner was ready. Bucky and I went up to eat with Dad before later sitting down to watch a movie. While eating popcorn and sitting on the long couch, my head was laid on Dad's thigh as my legs were draped over Uncle Bucky's. Once the movie was over, I stood up and stretched, my brown-haired ponytail brushing against my shoulders through the long sleeves of my light blue PJ shirt that I had paired with loose-fitting, black shorts. I yawned and then heard Dad chuckle,

"I think you should head to bed, Missy. You had an early morning."

"What time is it?" I asked with a tired smile, and Uncle Bucky answered,

"Ten thirty."

"Do we still have to get up at five tomorrow morning, Daddy?" I pleaded with my sweetest tone.

"No, we don't have to get up at five," Dad replied with a cheeky smile. "But seven is the latest that we'll be getting up."

"Alrighty, then I'm going to bed. Goodnight, Dad. Goodnight, Uncle Buck."

"Night, Kiddo," Buck said, and I waved as I walked up the stairs to . Pulling my ponytail down, I brushed my hair and then brushed my teeth. I hopped into bed and drifted off to sleep.

The hall was dark, and I couldn't see more than two feet in front of me. I continued to walk, not knowing where I was going, when suddenly, a light appeared in the room at the end of the hall. Intrigued, I moved faster toward it, only to find that the room was empty. There was nothing around me except for the strange light.

"You lost us, Katie," a voice suddenly whispered, but there was still nothing in the room that could have caused the sound.

"You fail," another voice spoke, still in a whisper. "You always fail."

"Hello? Is anyone there?" I asked aloud, hoping to find the source and make the cruel whispers stop. But then more came,

"You will never live up to your name. You always fail."

Different voices kept coming as loud whispers, surrounding me and making me feel like I was suffocating,

"WEAK!"

"Failure!"

"Can't even keep the people you love safe!"

"How can you be a hero?"

"WEAK! Failure!"

"Please stop," I begged as tears were threatening to spill.

"YOU ALWAYS FAIL!"

"Please!" I started balling and fell to my knees as I tried to cover my ears, but the voices continued,

"WEAK!"

Immediately, I opened my eyes and gasped as I sat straight up in bed with my hair falling around my face. Taking deep breaths, I used one hand to wipe the tears off my face while the other pushed my hair out of my face. I knew I wouldn't be able to fall back asleep, so I changed into a and pulled my hair up into a quick, before tip-toeing to the basement. Wanting to relieve the stress on my mind, I wrapped my hands up as I prepared to punch all my feelings into the poor punching bag hanging from the ceiling. All my fears and insecurities replayed in my head as I continued to punch the pain away. After fifteen minutes of punching, I knocked the bag off its hook with my strength. For a moment, I caught my breath before moving to grab another bag from the pile Dad had set aside. As I was tucking some baby hairs out of my face, my phone started buzzing in my pocket. I saw that it was Peter and answered as I went to go sit on the floor against the wall.

"Hey, Parker," I greeted with a small smile, loving the fact that Peter knew I'd probably be awake, trying to punch my pain away.

"Ms Carter-Rogers," Peter jokingly greeted as he was sitting on his bed. "How many did you get through this time?"

"Just one. You called before I could start on the second."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Feeling better from just talking to Peter, I lightly shook my head while keeping my small smile,

"I'm ok. Why are you up so late?"

"One in the morning is not that late."

I playfully rolled my eyes, causing Peter to chuckle before answering my question, "I was finishing up my physics project while watching Star Wars."

"Yay! Which one?"

"Our favourite: Return of the Jedi."

"We watch those movies way too often."

"Maybe, but that marathon we had was fun, and I do not regret it."

"Me either. Are you and Ned doing anything after school on Friday?"

"Just the usual. You can meet Ned and me after school, then we can go to Delmar's and get sandwiches before going to my place."

"That sounds great!" I excitedly agreed, giggling at Peter's excitement.

"Great! You can even sleep over, so your dad doesn't have to drive to come and get you."

"Sure, I'll double-check with him, but he should be ok with it. You should get to bed, you know."

"In a bit, don't worry. But don't act as though your dad isn't going to have you up early, too."

"Yeah, you're right," I slightly giggled before a yawn forced its way out of my mouth. Peter gave me the 'I told you so' look, causing me to roll my eyes before sighing in defeat, "Alright, I'm going to go shower and go back to bed."

"Good. I'll text you tomorrow."

"Ok. Goodnight, Peter."

"Goodnight, Katie."

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TO BE CONTINUED IN The Avengers' Shield: New Beginnings IN CHAPTER 1 - TFTWSATS (Episode 1)