Star Labs
Afternoon
"So what was that thing?" Tony asked after he and Barry had explained what had happened on the roof top.
"I think it was Zoom," Barry said and Team Flash started.
"That speedster from Earth-2 that…" Sam trailed off as Barry nodded.
"Someone want to fill me in?" Tony asked, the only one who didn't know the story.
"When we first discovered the multiverse was real, Zoom was a speedster who came from Earth-2 to steal my speed. He spent months terrorizing us, kidnapped Wally and Caitlin…and killed my dad," Barry said lowly as Wanda took his hand.
"I'm sorry Barry," Tony said quietly and Barry nodded.
"Me to. Anyway, Zoom kidnapped Joe and forced me to race home in a machine that would destroy the multiverse. I created a time remnant to save Joe and stop Zoom. Time Wraiths, creatures that exist in the Speed Force to come after speedsters who mess with the timeline, then took Zoom away. We all thought he was dead until today," Barry explained.
"But why did Zoom kill Savitar?" Steve wondered.
"Isn't it obvious? The Speed Force turned Zoom into a living Time Wraith," Cisco said and they all looked over at him.
"What?" Barry asked.
"Zoom was a speedster with no morality who traveled back and forth through time with no regard for the consequences. The Speed Force decided to dish out some poetic justice by turning Zoom into a mindless zombie who goes after speedsters who abuse their powers by messing with the timeline," Cisco explained.
"Well, it's certainly poetic," Caitlin muttered grimly.
"So, Savitar's gone. Now what?" Roy asked.
"Nothing left to do…except say goodbye," Barry said.
Central City Cemetery, a few days later
Afternoon
Everyone stood in the graveyard, attending this small funeral. All members of Team Flash and The Avengers were there, plus Roy and Clint's family. Even Joe and Singh had showed up. Barry looked over at the grave stone.
Pietro Maximoff
June 6 1996-March 15 2017
"Bet you didn't see that coming."
Barry held Wanda's hand, trying to comfort her as Clint walked up to the front of the headstone.
"I'll be honest; I didn't know Pietro that well. Not a lot of us really did. But he certainly left an impression, wherever he went. He was kind, brave, and passionate. I'm reminded of something a friend of mine told me once.
"A man can accomplish anything once he realizes he is a part of something greater."
"Nick Fury said that to me when I graduated the SHIELD academy. And Pietro, he proved that. He became the best version of himself, a hero. An Avenger. Like so many people in this line of work, he died too soon. Because that's what we do, we sign up to lose each other. It's a tough job…but someone has to do it. There will always be evil, on this earth and any other. But there will always be good to. People like Pietro, people like us, who will fight back against evil. Some people move on…but not us. Not us."
"You don't have to move on, but you do have to move forward," Barry said, wrapping his arms around the distraught Wanda.
No one else said a word as the casket containing Pietro's broken body was lowered into the ground. As it was, Wanda felt a strange sense of…she wouldn't call it peace, but acceptance wash over her. She would always love and miss her brother and she was hardly over this, it would take time for her to move on from his death. But she knew Pietro would want her to live her life. So she would. She would live her life. And then, one day…she would see her brother again.
Star Labs
Afternoon
"Looks like this is goodbye," Steve said as The Avengers and Team Flash stood in the breach room. "Roy, are you sure?"
"I appreciate the offer…but I've bene thinking about what you said," Roy said as he looked over at Sam. "How sometimes, they need guys like us to keep their head on straight. I've got someone here who I think needs me to keep his head on straight, to have his back."
"Well, if you change your mind, the offer is always open," Steve said as he held a hand out to Roy, who shook it.
"It was an honor to fight with you guys," Roy said and Steve smiled.
"No Roy, the honor was ours," Steve said as they dropped hands.
"Take care of yourself Clint," Natasha said as she hugged her partner.
"You to Nat. And a bit of advice," Clint looked towards Bucky before pulling her in close and whispering in her ear. "It's okay to let your guard down. To let someone, anyone in."
Natasha stiffened, knowing what he was talking about. Clint was the only one she had told about her past with Bucky, although she had a feeling Steve had figured out a little bit. And because he knew her so well, Clint knew she still had feelings for Bucky but was afraid to act on them.
"Well, I guess this is goodbye," Steve said awkwardly as he walked over to Caitlin.
"I guess it is. We both knew this was coming, right?" Caitlin said with a weak smile.
"Doesn't make it any easier though, does it?" Steve noted.
"No, it doesn't," Caitlin agreed, putting a hand on the side of his face. "I will always love you."
"I will always love you," Steve echoed as she pulled him in for a brief kiss.
Stepping back from Caitlin, Steve saw Barry and Wanda saying goodbye to Sam.
"Take care of yourself Sam," Barry said and Sam smirked.
"You to Speedy. And you keep this one in line," Sam said as he looked over at Wanda, who shared his smirk.
"I will," Wanda said and Barry rolled his eyes good naturedly.
"You two keep each other in line," Steve said as he walked over.
"We try Steve," Wanda said as they turned around to face him.
"Looks like this is goodbye Cap," Barry said and Steve shook his head.
"Not goodbye. Simply a…until then. If you guys ever need anything, if you need me…I'll be there," Steve promised.
"That goes both ways Steve," Barry said, holding out a hand to the other man, who took it in a handshake. "Thanks Cap, for everything."
"I was about to say the same thing to you," Steve said as they dropped hands.
"Okay, you all ready? Then let's get this show on the road," Cisco said as he walked forward, opening a breach.
One by one, Tony, Vision, and Bucky walked through without a glance backwards. Natasha flashed a sad smile at Clint before she followed after them, Sam following behind her after taking a moment to wave goodbye. Steve lingered just a moment longer, taking a moment to memorize everyone's faces, his eyes lingering on Caitlin for just a moment longer before he turned and followed his teammates through the breach.
Avengers Compound, Earth-66
Steve stepped out of the breach, which closed behind him, and took a look around.
"The Compound. Makes sense," Sam muttered.
"Glad you guys are back," Rhodey said as he walked in.
"Hey. How are things with Ross?" Tony asked, knowing it couldn't be anything good.
"Well, you'll have to do a lot of damage control. I put him off, told him I didn't know where you and Vision were, but somehow, I don't think he believed me," Rhodey said and Tony sighed.
"Well, I have damage control to do," Tony said tiredly as he turned around to face the others. "I know I messed up, like way bigger than with Ultron. But I'm gonna make things right, I promise."
"Tony, I know you mean well, but even you don't have the power to amend The Accords," Steve pointed out.
"Won't know unless I try, right?" Tony shrugged.
"Well, good luck with that. We should get out of here before Ross or someone shows up and throws us back in The Raft," Sam said as he turned to Steve, Natasha, and Bucky.
"So Buck, what do you say? Wanna show us how to disappear?" Steve asked with a grin.
"You don't have to stay with us after if you don't want to," Sam said, seeing Bucky's hesitance.
"Is there a reason for me to?" Bucky asked as he shot a look at Natasha, silently asking her.
Because as much as he loved Steve, he couldn't stick around just for him. He had to live his own life, now that he finally had control of it once more.
"There might be. If you're patient," Natasha said softly.
And Bucky understood. Like him, it wasn't easy for Natasha to let people in. But she was willing to try.
"Okay. Then let's get out of here," Bucky said, causing Steve's smile to widen.
And just like that, The Avengers had a new member.
West House, Earth-1
Late afternoon
"So, how long do you plan to stick around kid?" Clint asked Roy as they all sat around the living room, the children playing as Laura sat with Nate in her arms.
"I'm gonna head to Star City in the morning. You've seen the news, Oliver needs help," Roy pointed out and Clint nodded.
"Is Oliver the only reason you didn't accept the offer?" Clint asked curiously.
"He's the main reason…but not the only one," Roy admitted. "For the past two years, I've been running. Form my problems, from my guilt, from who I really am. But I can't run anymore. I have to go back, face my past. Like you said Barry, I have to move forward, not backwards."
"Speaking of moving forward, Cisco, I've got something for you," Barry said as he let go of Wanda's hand.
Barry reached inside his coat and pulled out some papers. He handed them to Cisco, who looked at them curiously. Everyone watched as Cisco's eyes widened in shock and his jaw dropped.
"You're signing Star Labs over to me?" Cisco asked stunned and Barry nodded.
"It's something I've been thinking about for a while, especially since Wanda and I were discussing where we would raise our daughter," Barry said, looking over at his fiancée briefly before turning back to Cisco. "Star Labs, it's more than a place for us to use to figure how to stop the bad guys. At least it should be. When I created flashpoint, you had a multimillion dollar company. I want you to do that here, in Star Labs. The people in this city, they used to look at Star Labs and see hope. After the last few years, they deserve to do that again."
"You-you sure about this man?" Cisco asked in shock.
"You're the best man for the job," Barry said confidently.
"Well, then where are we gotta operate from? I mean, I don't think we can use Star Labs as our base if Cisco is putting Star Labs back on the map," Wally pointed out.
"I might have a solution to that," Clint said as he got to his feet. "Allen, take a drive with me. There's something I want to show you."
Clint walked to the door and opened it up, clearly waiting for Barry. Barry looked at the others and shrugged in an 'I don't know' way before following after Clint.
Central City
Later in the afternoon
Clint led Barry inside an old office building and Barry looked around, confused.
"Okay Clint, what is this?" Barry asked.
"This is our office," Clint said and Barry looked at him as though Clint had gone crazy.
"Come again?"
Clint smirked and pulled out a business card, handing it to Barry. Barry took it and looked at it, his eyes widening in surprise.
"Barton and Allen, private detectives?" Barry said surprised.
"This way, if a Meta attacks, you can interview the victim without posing as a CSI, plus it'll get us a decent amount of income when we get this place off the ground. And you haven't even seen the best part kid," Clint said gleefully.
Clint walked over to a wall and pressed on it. To Barry's surprise, part of the wall slid open, revealing a hidden elevator. Clint gestured Barry inside and Barry cautiously entered it and Clint followed him inside, pressed a button. The door slid closed and the elevator started moving down. When it opened, Barry walked outside and Clint pressed a button. Lights came on and Barry looked around in awe.
There were several monitors in the room, which was more twice the size of the cortex. It reminded Barry a lot of Argus.
"What is this Clint?" Barry asked as he looked around.
"This used to be an old Argus base a few decades ago. I figured you and Cisco could fix this place up, make it your base once Cisco gets Star Labs back up and running. Meanwhile, upstairs we can run a business, get some decent income for our families. What do you say kid?" Clint said as he held a hand out to Barry. "Partners?"
Barry thought it over for a moment. Then, with a grin, Barry grabbed Clint's hand in a firm handshake.
"Partners."
West House
Later
Roy walked back into the living room after taking a restroom break and stopped, staring at the scene in shock. Everyone, even the kids, were all unconscious, a dart sticking out of their necks. The only one still conscious was Nate, who was crying in his mother's arm. Roy's danger sense went off and he rolled to the floor, barely avoiding getting hit by a dart, which stuck to the wall instead.
Roy jumped up as two people in black uniforms jumped down.
"So, you two some League of Assassin wannabes or something?" Roy asked.
They did not respond, simply pulled out their weapons, swords, and rushed Roy. Roy ducked, evading the strikes, and kicked one in the stomach, sending them stumbling back. Roy then grabbed the sword arm of the other and kicked them, sending them flying back while Roy kept the sword.
"You're out of your league kids. Don't get me wrong, you're good. But I was trained by the best," Roy said confidently as he whirled the sword a little.
The other assailant rushed Roy and Roy whirled around, blocking their sword with his own while catching the other's flechette with his free hand. Roy pushed back, stabbing the assailant with the flechette and then striking them, hard, with the hilt of the sword before following up with punch. The assailant went down, out cold, and Roy whirling on the other assailant.
"You wanna do this? Fine," Roy snarled before rushing the assailant.
The sword was knocked to the floor as they began exchanging blows. The assailant managed a kick to Roy's chest, which sent him stumbling back. Roy dodged the flechette that was sent his way and delivered a spinning kick to the assailant's head. This knocked him down but he grabbed the sword on the floor and Roy dodged the sword as the assailant attempted to strike him. Roy grabbed him and slammed him down into a chair. The chair was broken and, while the assailant was dazed from the blow, Roy punched him in the face hard enough to knock him out.
As Roy breathed heavily, attempting to catch his breath, Barry sped inside, having arrived with Clint moments earlier. A stunned Barry took in the scene as Clint burst through the door, looking around in shock.
"What the hell happened kid?" Clint asked as he rushed over, picking up his wailing son as Barry checked over the others.
"I came out here and everyone was knocked out. These two tried to do the same to me but it didn't turn out so well for them," Roy said breathlessly.
"Whatever they dosed them with, it's strong," Barry said as he knelt down next to Wally, who was coming around. "Hey Wally."
"Wh-what happened?" Wally asked groggily as Barry pulled the tranq dart out of his neck.
"You were dosed with something strong enough to knock you out, at least for a little bit," Barry told him.
"Had to be strong to knock out a speedster, even for a few seconds," Roy said as Barry walked over to one of the assailants.
"League of Assassins?" Barry questioned as he got a look at the gear.
"No. The style, the clothes, its similar, but not the same. Besides, the League was disbanded over a year ago," Roy pointed out.
"Well, whoever they are, they have a lot of questions to answer when they wake up," Clint said grimly.