Epilogue

Violet groaned softly as she came back to consciousness, a weight on her chest and a sharp pounding in her head taking up most of her thoughts. She heard labored breathing besides her own and she remembered the explosion and who was with her when it happened.

"Pietro! Pietro wake up!" Using her golden dust like a light, she spread it out quickly and found Pietro lying on top of her. His eyes were closed and he seemed to be bleeding from a head wound. Groaning with the effort, Violet flipped them over so that she was hovering on top of him. While moving, she realized that something was very wrong. Looking down the woman began crying as she saw that a piece of metal had pierced through the both of them, essentially holding them together. It was the type of wound that only one of them could survive. If she removed the metal from both of them, they would bleed out within minutes and faster than Violet could hope to heal. Her head was spinning, the pain getting worse and she realized what she had to do.

Pressing her hand against his hip closest to where to metal was, Violet slowly pulled herself and the metal away from Pietro's body. He was still unconscious but his body writhed and twitched away from this new pain. Once it was fully out, Violet roughly yanked the metal out of her own torso while searching her mind for her box. She had kept most of her powers locked away, not having any real need for them until now. Releasing it all at once, golden dust seemed to spill from every pore of Violet's body then began seeping into Pietro. While most of it focused on the boy, the rest of the dust made a bubble of sorts and pushed at the rubble around them while expanding. Violet was going to get Pietro out of this mess.

Tony was pacing at the end of the hallway while Natasha, Clint, and Steve continued staring at the workers that were slowly trying to move the rubble. Most of the scientists that been freed and were getting medical treatment but it was discovered that Violet and Pietro were still in this mess somewhere. Nobody knew if they were alive but the crews were being extra careful anyway. If they moved one piece wrong, the whole thing could collapse further and definitely kill anyone that was still in. Suddenly, the men ran away from the area while screaming. Tony sprinted down the hallway, followed closely by the other three to investigate what was happening.

The pile was moving and sliding all around, as if something from the inside was pushing all of the debris away. Hearing the noise and realizing that something was changing, Wanda joined them moments later. She hadn't been able to stand around doing nothing while she didn't know if her brother was dead or not. The group collectively gasped as the mass began shifting even faster, sending dust everywhere. Suddenly, what looked like a large dome appeared from inside the debris. It was made completely out of gold dust and Tony realized what was happening.

"Violet's alive! She's using her enhancement to get them out! They're going to be okay!" Natasha stepped forward, worry covering her face.

"Wait, Tony. Something's wrong." The dust was gradually getting darker and darker in color until it reached a deep, pitch black color. It sparkled like someone had thrown glitter into it but it continued moving. All of a sudden, two bodies emerged from the hole. They were being carried by the dust and were roughly dropped onto the floor. The dust began retracting from the hole, allowing the debris to return to its previous state slowly. Then it swirled around the two bodies like it didn't understand what was supposed to happen next.

Wanda shot forward, sliding past Clint's grasping hands, with Natasha right behind her. The dust moved out of the way, not even touching the women. Lying on the floor was Violet, her eyes glassy and wide open, staring at nothing but with a smile on her face. Pietro who was conscious, had her upper body cradled against him as he rocked back and forth. He was calling her name softly while petting her hair, begging for her to come back to him. Wanda stopped a few feet away from them, sobbing into her hands as she realized what was happening. Natasha continued forward, pushed Pietro out of the way and shook Violet roughly.

"NO! Don't you dare do it Violet! You are NOT allowed to die! Come back! No!" To everyone's astonishment, Natasha had tears running down her face and her voice was cracking in strange places. The team stood around Violet and Natasha, some staring in horror and others looking away. They could all see the gaping wound in her chest, one that had probably collapsed one if not both of her lungs. She had sacrificed herself to save Pietro, but at the cost of her own life.

"She loved me. She told me she loved me. We were kissing and then the explosion happened." Pietro's voice was steady, but full of sadness. He looked up, right into Tony's eyes. "I was going to marry her one day. She was the light of my life. What am I supposed to do without her?" Tony's face fell and the next thing anyone knew, the two men were on the floor holding each other with tears streaming uncontrollably. Minutes passed, nobody said a word, and the black dust was still swirling around eerily.

Then, in the sudden silence of the moment, a soft heartbeat made itself known. Followed immediately by a low, struggling, breath.

A.N. That's it! That's the end! I hope you've enjoyed reading this story! Please review and let me know what you think! Until next time, my dear readers.