Epilogue

Caroline finds herself in Mystic Falls, sitting across from Elena in a booth away from the other patrons as they wait for their ordered lunch at Mystic Grill. The two girls had just come back from the cemetery, the both of them leaving flowers for Liz as the anniversary of her passing came upon them once more.

"I can't believe it's been another year," Elena mutters, absentmindedly twirling her straw in her glass of Coke. "Whenever I see one of the police cruisers pass by, I always expect your mom to wave."

Caroline smiles fondly, nodding along. "I know what you mean. Sometimes I forget what my life actually is now, and that I live at the tower, and I catch myself wondering what time I need to be home to make mom dinner."

Elena smiles sadly but before she can say anything, their burgers and baskets of fries are being placed in front of them. Their sodas are taken for a refill and when they're brought back nearly filled to the rim, both vampires have already dug into their food.

"So," Elena finally drawls, popping a french fry into her mouth. "-how's Steve and everyone else doing?"

"Steve's fine," Caroline answers. She sheepishly smiles at the thought of him and Elena can't help but laugh at how in love her friend is. "They're off hunting.. HYDRA facilities," she murmurs briefly. "-and looking for leads on something. As far as I know, they're having fun demolishing said facilities so nothing is salvageable."

"Well, I wouldn't say that, sweetheart." A figure plops down next to Caroline, making her squeak, and Elena chuckles only to choke on her fry. "You okay there, Elena?" Steve asks. "I didn't mean to startle you."

"Steve!" Caroline beams, throwing her arms around her boyfriend even as he keeps his amused gaze on her friend.

"M'fine," the brunette vampire finally manages to say. "Hi, Steve," she then greets.

Steve bows his head in acknowledgement, grinning, and finally relaxes before sliding his arms around Caroline in a brief welcoming embrace. "What are you doing here?" the blonde wonders. "I thought you were working?"

"We were," he shrugs as they pull apart. "Finished up early yesterday evening." Caroline frowns as Elena continues listen while quietly eating her lunch, wondering why he didn't come sooner, and Steve chuckles before answering Caroline's obvious unasked question. "Nat made us sleep for more than a few hours before we came out here. We were dirty.. and bloody."

"Bloody..?"

"Few scrapes and bruises. Everything healed up within a few hours."

"Uh huh," Caroline hums. "And who's this we business you were talking about? Who all came?"

"Heya, doll." Bucky appears, plopping down in the only available spot next to Elena and across from Steve. He's smirking at Caroline, hair tied back in a small bun and reaches across the table to steal a few of her fries before cramming them in his mouth. When Caroline quirks an eyebrow in his direction, his head turns to Elena and his smirk drops. "Friend of Caroline."

"James," Elena greets just as tersely.

Caroline rolls her eyes, Steve snorts, and Bucky's back to reaching across the table for a few more fries and smirking once more. For the life of her, Caroline doesn't know why Bucky never took to Elena but she's not going to force a friendship. If they could both act civil to one another then there was no need for intervention.

"What brings you to Mystic Falls, Buck? Making sure Steve stays out of trouble?" she grins, taking one last bite of her burger before setting it back on her plate and pushing it towards him.

Steadying stealing fries, Bucky huffs in amusement when he sees the plate of half a burger being pushed towards him and accepts it. "Heard Stevie mention visiting your Ma and figured I'd tag along." Bucky takes a bite of burger, scowling at Steve who decided to take fries from the plate Caroline gave him. "Wanted.. wanted to meet the woman who birthed the girl that can bring Captain America down to his knees with just a few whispered words."

Elena snorts now, giggling, and Steve blushes.

Bucky finishes the burger with two more bites, chewing and swallowing before finishing off the fries since Caroline had given up on her lunch and started in on Elena's who was happily sharing. He allows himself to wink at his blushing best friend and waggle his eyebrows at the blonde vampire, he then actually asking if he can have a drink of her soda.

Allowing him, Caroline watches as Bucky takes a drink from her glass before his teasing grin settles into something more fond and serious. "Really wished I was there to meet your Ma, you know? Heard she raised one spectacular dame."

Caroline smiles and fondly shakes her head at her friend, she then waving down their waiter to order more food for the four of them.

xXx

Caroline, Elena, Steve, and Bucky are laughing- the girls listening as the boys tell them about the not-so-classified tidbits of their past couple of missions.

For starters, Natasha and Clint are no longer allowed to be Team ANYTHING because it always ended up with some type of competition that led to a shootout with the enemy- the numbers always being in favor of said enemy. Seriously, they were lucky they had a Hulk.

But then again, the same could be said for Clint and Bucky, or Bucky and Steve. Oh well, at least they came out on top.

Tony is no longer allowed to commandeer the radios. If they had to hear The Boys Are Back In Town one more time, Natasha was going to strangle someone with her thighs.

And Clint- Clint and Sam are no longer able to be alone together as well because they always tried to prove who the more superior bird was, and Barton's Caw Caw Motherfucker was grating on Bucky's every nerve.

Steve has just finished off Caroline's leftover hamburger and fries, chuckling and sipping his Coke when a familiar face pops up by their table. Caroline and Steve keep their friendly expressions on, Elena's giggles die down, and Bucky tenses.

"Director," both Caroline and Steve greet.

"Miss Forbes. Captain," Coulson smiles, a dossier tucked under his right arm. "Sergeant Barnes. Miss Gilbert."

Elena shifts uncomfortably at the man knowing her name, her gaze darting from Caroline to Steve before zeroing in on Bucky's hand that's now hovering over a butter knife. She elbows him gently, catching his startled gaze before he sneers down at her and places his hands in his lap. Director Coulson was not the enemy but he greatly despised it when there were surprise visits such as this.

"What can we do for you, Sir?" Steve asks.

"I was hoping to speak to Miss Forbes, actually."

"Oh." Caroline perks up and Steve starts shifting in his seat as if trying to make room for Coulson to sit. But seeing as the booth only sits four, it's impossible.

"I'll, um, go order us a round of drinks from the bar," Elena says. "You can have my seat, Sir."

Turning to Elena, Coulson smiles kindly. "I was actually hoping to speak with you as well, Miss Gilbert."

Elena's jaw drops, wide eyes darting to Caroline who still looks too perky given the fact this Coulson man knows Elena's name and wants to speak with her as well. So taking this opportunity, Steve clears his throat and starts stacking their empty plates and empty baskets from where their fries were in.

"Come on, Buck," Steve attempts an easy going grin. "Lets save the staff here some work, and go get the Director and girls a drink from the bar."

Bucky grunts but starts to gather some of their dishes anyway, leaving their glasses of ice on the table and following Steve to the bar where one of the waiters takes the dishes from them. And back at the table, Coulson takes the seat vacated by Sergeant Barnes so he can look at Caroline from across the table since this discussion mostly involved the blonde vampire.

"Ladies," he greets once more, this time placing the dossier face down on the table space in front of him. "To make this talk go as quickly as possible, I'm going to get straight to the point."

"Okay..?" both vampires drawl. And now- now Caroline seems hesitant to be meeting with the Director.

"I want to start up another group- like the Avengers- but this group is going to be made up of super-powered or enhanced beings."

"W-what?" Caroline squeaks the same times Elena scoffs an, "Excuse me?"

"You heard me," Phil smiles. Turning over the dossier now, Elena and Caroline are faced with the SHIELD logo as well as the stamped Project Valkyries in black block letters, and Phil pushes the dossier towards Caroline. "If you open it up, Miss Forbes, you'll find a few files on a few female candidates we've selected to be looked over. And if you choose to accept, I'll leave the judgement to you on who to bring onto the team."

"You're joking, right?" Elena murmurs. "What does this have to do with me?"

And now, the brunette vampire is back on edge. Surely Caroline didn't tell the agency about her. She's well aware that the Avengers got the lowdown on who was who in Mystic Falls, but this man- this man that she has no idea who he really is? No. Just.. no.

Phil's smile broadens and crap.. he knows. "Give me some credit, Miss Gilbert. As Director of SHIELD, it's my job to know who's who and who's what if they're in contact with any SHIELD personnel. Especially the Avengers."

Elena gulps and frowns, her gaze darting to Caroline who still appears to be in shock as she now skims through the pictures inside the dossier. And sure enough, Elena catches her picture inside along with a brunette she has no idea who it is. Bonnie's picture can be seen as well as- wait, was that Rebekah Mikaelson?!

"Natasha's not in here," Caroline finally mutters. "Why?"

"Because Natasha's already settled in quite nicely with the Avengers," Phil answers. Turning back to the blonde, he settles his hands atop the table and clasps his fingers together. "The Avengers will be taking on the threats that normal US military can't handle on their own to keep the Earth safe. But even then, there are some enemies that the Avengers are not suited for as you've seen with Loki and his alien army."

"And that's where these.. Valkyries come in?" Caroline guesses.

"Yes. The Valkyries would step in only when the threat is of the supernatural and magical kind."

Elena's smart to remain quiet as the Director of SHIELD and Caroline have their stare down, the only sign of Caroline caving showing when her bottom lip worms it's way between her teeth.

Nervously chewing on it, the blonde groans and slams the dossier shut. "When I made myself known to the Avengers and Fury, I made it perfectly clear that I didn't want to be a superhero."

"But..?" Phil easily picks up her unfinished explanation.

"But I've seen the way Clint sometimes still becomes uneasy when witnessing his best friend perform magic. I've seen Natasha eye Bruce warily when he's not paying attention, and I've heard Tony babble about aliens and space, and how we've no chance against them." Slumping in her seat, Caroline sighs in defeat and pinches the bridge of her nose.

"So does this mean I have a captain for Project Valkyrie?"

"It means you've got a vampire who will give this project some serious thought. I'll contact you within the week. 'Cause after all, I take my duties very seriously at Stark Industries and I'm pretty sure Miss Potts will be severely pissed off with you for taking me away."

"I call it recruiting."

"So. Pissed," Caroline huffs.

Steve and Bucky show up with a round of drinks, and Coulson immediately stands. Both soldiers eye the dossier with slightly narrowed eyes, and Elena reaches for her dark drink and downs it one go. Grimacing, she misses the way Steve raises a brow in surprise at her and the way Bucky glares at Coulson.

"Gentlemen," Coulson nods his head politely. "I apologize for making you waste your money on me but it appears I must be going now."

Coulson then strides out of Mystic Grill with a bounce in his step and Elena's already reaching for the drink Coulson left behind. "Gimme."

Steve hands it over, his worried gaze then shooting to Caroline- his girlfriend who's eyeing her friend with amusement dancing in her eyes. "Elena? You okay?"

"Hmm? What? No," the brunette shakes her head when she realizes what Caroline said. "I'm not- I didn't want this life, Care, so what makes you think I want to live a life that's pretty much going to be constant war?"

"Someone mind telling me what the hell's going on?" Bucky growls. He might not like the brunette but if the vampire is freaked out, something must be up.

"Not here," Caroline tells him immediately. And then turning to face Elena once more, she smiles sadly. "It's okay to say no, you know? If you want to give me your decision now, I'll gladly burn your file once I get to a fireplace."

Elena shakily agrees, nodding along. "Yeah, okay. I'm sorry but my answer's no."

"Okay."

"What the hell's going on?" Steve finally asks. "And what's Project Valkyrie?"

"Something that shouldn't be discussed out in the open," Caroline says. "Coulson took a risk, and since we've been here a while, I think it's best if we leave and discuss this in private."

Steve's already slipping out his wallet without any encouragement, he dropping more than enough money on the table to cover their bill. And not wanting her drink to go to waste, Caroline downs her alcoholic beverage without even batting an eye, and Bucky and Steve do the same.

Once outside the Grill, Elena parts ways with the trio and Caroline wishes her friend a safe trip home while also reminding her to not speak about anything that was spoken of with Director Coulson. Since Elena already gave her answer about becoming a superhero, there was no need the brunette vampire to be discussing the little project with anyone else.

"Now will you tell us what's going on?" Bucky impatiently asks.

And Caroline grins impishly. "Sorry, Buck, but this is top secret stuff. Let's head over to Steve's vacation home and I'll tell you all about it."

Bucky huffs but follows nonetheless.

xXx

The vacation home ends up being Caroline's childhood home that's now under Steve, Natasha, and Clint's name, and Bucky can't help but grin when he's filled in on Caroline's connection to the home and why she had to sign it away.

Once they're settled down in the living room, Caroline curls into Steve's side on the sofa while Bucky relaxes into the armchair. She takes a deep breath and then tells the two soldiers just what Coulson was doing in Mystic Falls and what Project Valkyrie is all about.

Silence falls when Caroline finishes telling them, and it's Steve who breaks it with a dejected sigh. "You're doing it, aren't you?"

Caroline's bottom lip once again finds itself sucked between her teeth and Bucky yawns dramatically, and stretches. "Woo. You know what, I think I'm gonna go check the backyard before heading up to bed." He stands to his feet, smirking lightly at his two friends. "You two don't have too much fun now."

Caroline waits until she hears the back door shut behind Bucky, she then shifting so she's looking up at Steve. "Would it really be so bad?"

"You tell me," Steve shrugs. "I remember you said you didn't want this when we found out that vampires existed."

"Yeah but that feels so long ago," she sighs. "Things change."

Steve takes a moment to mull over everything that Caroline told them about Project Valkyrie, he knowing deep down that it was better to have a second line of defense that could deal with things the Avengers weren't equipped to. So letting reason sway his decision, he offers Caroline a fond smile. "Whatever you decide, sweetheart, I'll support."

And breathing out a heavy sigh of relief, Caroline chastely places a kiss on his lips. "Thank you."

Caroline, Steve, and Bucky spend a few more days in Mystic Falls- Bucky falling into Matt's good graces and vice versa whenever they pick up lunch and dinner at the Grill. And while Bucky and Steve familiarize themselves with the small town being incognito and all, Caroline plops herself down at the kitchen table with a beer not too far from her hand and Project Valkyrie files spread before her.

Bonnie is her first call what with the witch being her best friend, but it's Bonnie's words of wisdom and ability to think things through for the long run that has Caroline calling her first. There's no beating around the bush and Caroline drops the proposition as soon as Bonnie mutters out a hello. And surprisingly, Bonnie actually thinks it's a good idea for the Avengers to have a second line of defense.

Caroline had figured the witch would be on the fence about it all what with EarthBound doing quite well nowadays, but when Bonnie admits she misses the busy days of Mystic Falls, Caroline can't help but laugh. 'Cause while she loves working for Stark Industries, she, too, has missed the adrenaline filled days of her hometown. So while Bonnie starts muttering about which employee of hers is the most trusted, Caroline lets her go to call Skye. And Skye- Skye jumps at the chance right away. 'Cause while being an Avenger was pretty sweet, being a Valkyrie sounded even cooler.

With two down and one to go, it's actually Bucky who pushes Caroline to place the call to Rebekah. Having been hesitant because of their rocky past, Bucky assures Caroline that the blonde Original is just misunderstood. Always being in her family's shadow or being overly protected by her brothers had led the blonde astray. And since she didn't have sisters or true friends because of her brothers, Rebekah didn't know how to act half the time or even know how to put herself out there to make friends.

So waiting another day, Caroline makes the call to the Original. Of course, Rebekah had greeted her by being snobby and saying that if she wanted to speak with Klaus then she had the wrong number, but Caroline remembers Bucky's words and pushes her annoyance to the side.

After asking Rebekah if she has a moment- and privacy- the Original seems to take things more seriously. The first thing she asks is if James is okay, and after Caroline assures her that he is, Rebekah will forever deny the sudden breath of relief that whooshed out of her. And once Caroline informs her about Project Valkyrie, Rebekah hums and asks more about it.

Rebekah likes the idea after realizing that she can help keep the more human side of the Avengers, coughBUCKY!cough, safe from magic and agrees. But only if they have some way to keep their identities hidden because the last thing she needs was people in New Orleans recognizing her.

Caroline agrees with that also because she's not going to give up her duties with Pepper, but also tells Rebekah that they'd be reporting somewhat to Coulson so she'd have to ask him.

xXx

Caroline has been given a couple months off of work from SI since Pepper was set to travel the world to put in a good word for SI, and also because Tony's making major changes to the top of the tower to add in an Avenger's lair, and Bonnie leaves her shop in the hands of a trusted employee but only because Clint and Stefan check-in everyday to make sure things are running smoothly.

And a week later, Coulson's very excited to see agent Morse and Hunter walking Caroline, Bonnie, Skye, and Rebekah into HQ after having been picked up from New York and New Orleans.

Skye's excited to see her friends again, she happily introducing everyone to her new family and Rebekah though she couldn't tell just anyone why exactly they were there. Only the higher ups and a few select agents who were recruited to help train the girls knew about Project Valkyrie.

So for months, the girls give their all in training- each of them needing to pass tests for weapons and hand-to-hand- while also giving input to what they want their own personal suit to look like.

Skye excels in training since she'd been doing exactly that before coming into her powers, Caroline comes in at close second because she had Liz who took her shooting when she was younger and learned fighting techniques from the Avengers, and it was surprisingly Rebekah who picked everything up third. Bonnie, however, struggled since she relies on magic but with some practice and tips from her friends, all four women pass their needed tests. Though with weapons training, Coulson lets them try out a variety of weapons so they can have something other than a gun strapped to their thighs if things get sticky and their powers failed them.

Skye is most comfortable with two guns and her quakes. Bonnie favors throwing daggers, her issued gun, and her magic. Rebekah shows great technique with a sword so along with her issued gun, she has a sword holstered and sheathed along the spine of her back plus her vampire abilities. And Caroline, Caroline falls in love with agent Morse's baton sticks and gets her very own from said agent although Caroline's are shock batons. So along with her issued gun and vampire abilities, shock batons are sheathed in Caroline's sleeves so they're easy to slip into her hands when needed.

Deemed mission ready should the need now arise, the four Valkyries are packing up their bags to be flown back to the shiny new Avenger lair.

"How long are you staying with us in New York before heading back to New Orleans?" Skye asks Rebekah, tossing the Original a pair of shorts that had borrowed from said Original.

Over their months at SHIELD HQ, the girls were forced to bond and air out any grudges they had against each other for the sake of their team dynamic actually working. Rebekah, Bonnie, and Caroline were the only ones who butted heads, and Skye sometimes got a kick out of the digs they took at each other. But it wasn't until a month later when agent May gave them all a mental shakedown did the girls start bonding, and actually trusting each other.

Turns out, with Rebekah away from her brothers and Klaus' devious plans, the only female Original was actually pretty decent and had some great stories from when she wasn't kept daggered.

"I'll be there for three days before heading back home."

"Got to check in with the devil in disguise?" Bonnie smirks. Pausing briefly in her packing, she stands straighter and frowns. "What does your brother think you're doing, by the way? Did you tell him about being a part-time superhero?"

"No," Rebekah scoffs, a light grin flashing in Bonnie's direction. "'lijah, on the other hand, knows what I'm doing. He's the one who helped me with a cover story of travelling Europe so Nik wouldn't attempt to send his little minions after me or have a witch track my whereabouts."

"I can help with that, you know," Bonnie tells her. "I can spell you something to wear so other witches can't track you."

"Yeah. I'd like that," the Original smiles sweetly after giving it a moment to think about it.

The girls go back to packing their bags- their lockers almost empty- when agent Morse strides into the locker room, a tablet in hand. "Ladies," she greets. "-hate to be the bearer of bad news but.. suit up."

"W-what?!" Caroline squeaks, whirling on the blonde agent.

"You heard me," agent Morse laughs. Turning the tablet around, the four Valkyries are faced with a screen and a red banner flashing across it. They don't second guess again, all four of them dumping out their bags and suiting up as agent Morse continues to explain. "When an Avenger sounds the alarm, Coulson gets an alert, too, so we know what's going on and where in case backup is needed. And going through the report, it seems that HYDRA finally made a mistake while they were transporting something they shouldn't have, and Dr. Banner picked up signatures eerily similar to that of the tesserect. We're not taking chances with the scepter again and we're definitely not taking chances with whatever cloaking device they might be using."

Rebekah and Caroline are the first to finish dressing, agent Morse directing her attention to them as they holster their guns, sword, and shock batons. "You ladies finish up. The quinjet leaves in five."

"Understood," both Caroline and Rebekah nod once in understanding.

Agent Morse takes her leave just as Skye's zipping up her old agent uniform complete with a cowl-like scarf, and Bonnie's pulling on her long sleeve top with net sleeves and cutouts on her shoulders. Caroline had adopted the outfit she once wore when she helped Captain America take down SHIELD, and Rebekah felt most at ease in a long sleeve leather top to go with her skinny leather pants.

Boots laced up, and guns and daggers holstered, Rebekah hands out their black eye masks to don before all four are striding out of the locker room. Baby agents and Scientists scramble out of the four-some's way, the four Valkyries finding the quinjet with a minute to spare.

And once up in the air, Bonnie knocks her knee into Caroline's. "So," she drawls. "-this isn't the life you expected when you left for New York and started working for Stark Industries."

"Nope," Caroline pops the 'p', agreeing.

"Regret it?"

Allowing herself a moment to think on it, Caroline's lips curve into a self-satisfied smirk. "Not for a second."

xXx

Clint's the last to show up in the newly appointed War Room, fiddling with his quiver of arrows before joining everyone already suited up around the holo-table.

"Okay, Brucey, show us what you got," Tony claps his hands together excitedly.

Fiddling with his glasses, Bruce sighs at Tony's obvious excitement before settling the lenses on the bridge of his nose once more. "As you all know, the hunt for Loki's scepter has been futile. Until today, that is." Bruce taps away at the glass table where a touch keyboard sits, a hologram of Eastern Europe popping up before everyone. "It seems that whoever holds the scepter, they finally made a mistake during transport. Approximately ten minutes ago, signatures that are similar to that of the tesserect started pouring in, and were on the move only to stop and then disappear in Sokovia."

"Sokovia," Clint huffs. "Talk about random."

"So off to Europe we go," Tony assumes. "Cap," he then turns to Steve who's staring intently at the hologram map. "-what's the call on this?"

"We do what needs to be done," he tells them. "That scepter is only safe when it's locked up tight."

"Mhmm," Tony hums. "We got that. But I just wanna hear you say it. You got to say it."

Natasha rolls her eyes, powering up her Widow Bites as Clint chuckles and Bruce shakes his head in annoyance though the small tilt of his lips shows his amusement. Thor and Bucky are standing against the back wall, both grinning at the Captain and waiting to hear the words as well.

With a huff, Steve sighs. "Avengers, as-"

DING!

Tony groans at the missed opportunity, he wanting to hear the Avengers, assemble! command ever since the toy company made little action figure Captain America speak it. So turning to scowl at the elevator and occupants that dare interrupt his moment, his scowl turns into a gape as their friends step off one by one. "Look at all that leather," he mutters in awe.

Steve smirks as Caroline leads the group, she smiling sweetly and shrugging very innocently. "What? Did you really think we'd sit this one out? The scepter of doom needs to be handled very delicately and there's no telling who or what's guarding it."

"Question," Clint pipes up and Bonnie's gaze turns into a glare. Clint opening his mouth at this specific moment can not be good. "Can the girls join us every mission? I'm really, really liking these outfits." And yep. She expected that.

"Agreed," Bucky rumbles, eyes roaming over a laughing Skye.

"If you're done ogling, we've a got a weapon to pick up," Rebekah reminds them.

Natasha snorts as Steve startles, Captain America then tearing his gaze away from his girlfriend as a blush colors the tip of his ears. "Right.. right," he clears his throat. And then getting himself under control, he stares everyone in the eye..

"Valkyries, Avengers.. assem-"

Cue Avenger theme song.

If Joss Whedon can do it, SO CAN I! Lol. Seriously, when I saw AOU and the ending cut off where it did, I was like, "WHAT?! FUCKING SERIOUSLY?!". I didn't take it too well. And then I got to thinking that, "hmmm, I'm gonna end a fic like that someday", and here it is.

So sadly, this is the end. If, and only if, I come up with an idea for Steve/Caroline then it will be included with this series. Or if I come up with one of the Valkyries taking on Wanda and/or Pietro. But as far as I'm concerned, this is the end so thanks for sticking around this long.

Also, if you've read my fic "Fix You" with the mutant!OC and ENJOYED IT, be on the lookout for something with that mutant!OC again coming in a couple days ;)