Epilogue:

It had been a year since that day. There were good days and bad days. Happy days and sad days. Days when getting out of bed in the morning really did seem impossible. But every time I fought through it. When it all seemed to be too much there was always someone there.

Bruce with his calm presence and helpful words. He never seemed to get tired of me, even when I was sick of myself. He could always make this crazy new world sound simple and less scary than it seemed. I could never thank him enough for the help he had given me that night. He had literally saved my life.

Thor was always ready to spar when I just needed something to physically fight. It was nice having someone I didn't have to worry about hurting, but once I got it all out of my system we could talk about life together. He came across as just the muscle of the group, but he had lived a long life and he was very wise.

Natasha was like Peggy in a lot of ways. She was head-strong and blunt. She wouldn't dance around the issues. When I would get too wrapped up in myself, she could always snap me out of it.

Clint was the most easy-going man I had ever met. He could always make a situation lighter without making it seem less important. He was fiercely loyal to his friends, they all were, but Clint was always watching, making sure everything was okay. He was always the first to step forward to defend us, consequences be dammed.

Tony. Well Tony was Tony. He could talk for hours without any help from my side of the conversation, yet always ready to listen. It didn't matter that I usually didn't understand half of what he was talking. It was nice to be able to just be with someone. No pressure.

They all eventually told me their stories.

Clint and Natasha met first. Clint was working for S.H.I.E.L.D. and Natasha was his target. He said that he had expected to find a cold blooded killer in Natasha, but instead found someone lost and alone. There was no malice in her eyes. He instead brought her back to S.H.I.E.L.D. They became a team. Natasha was reluctant to work for S.H.I.E.L.D, worried she was just trading one tyrant for another.

They were sent by S.H.I.E.L.D. to try and recruit Tony after he first created Ironman. This backfired when Tony decided to recruit them instead. Tony wanted to do good. He wanted to fix what what people around him had used him to tear apart. Natasha agreed wanting freedom from orders and the politics of it all. Leaving S.H.I.E.L.D. was a much harder decision for Clint. All he ever knew was military, S.H.I.E.L.D, and following orders. But he was lost, no longer able to trust S.H.I.E.L.D's assignments after Natasha.

After a few months together they heard about Bruce. He had an accident in his lab, causing his mutation. He almost killed his girlfriend, tore apart his lab, and left a path of destruction behind him. He had half the U.S. government after him. By then Tony, Natasha, and Clint had taken down several terrorist and drug smuggling rings, and had built a bit of a reputation. S.H.I.E.L.D. asked them to work with them in finding Banner. It took over a year to track him down. The 'other guy' was tearing apart a small Eskimo village. There was nothing they could do to stop it. They just stayed close and protected what they could until he eventually turned back into Bruce. They later found out that Bruce had tried to kill himself, accidentally unleash the other guy. Bruce was taken into S.H.I.E.L.D. custody and his life was looking pretty bleak until Tony convinced S.H.I.E.L.D. that he could be an asset. They let Tony take Bruce to the tower. Tony saved him. Protected him.

I could relate a bit to Thor's story. He was cast from his home planet, striped of his powers and sentenced to live a mortal on Earth. Even after he saved Earth from his brother and earned his powers back he was not aloud to return home. The sentence was final. He could never go home. Having proven themselves with Bruce, S.H.I.E.L.D. sent him here.

We had all lost so much, but we all managed to gain some back. Somehow we had become a family. I still missed Peggy, Bucky, The Howling Commandos, the life I once lived, but Bruce was right. I was able to find a place for them in my heart. With these people I was able to build a new life. A happy life.

I was able to find a home.