A/N: So this is the epilogue. The next story in the series is called 'Upon the Edge of Glory'. I'll post the first chapter in the next few minutes, so you should be able to find it fairly easily, if you want to. Thanks for reading!

Epilogue:

The first thing I felt was the rain, falling fast onto my cheek, while the other was pressed against the ground. What was that? Mud? Yeah, that seemed about right. But where did the mud come from? I was in a concrete building a moment ago.

My body felt like it had been used as a punching bag, each limb aching with a ferocity I hadn't felt for a long time.

I heard people rushing around me, heard shouting voices, heard the sound of heavy boots on wet mud. I ignored it all.

That woman - what was her name? Mariana? Agent Silva, was it? - was a strange one. When she entered my room, she seemed unsurprised to find me there. She was calm when she put her guns in her belt and walked towards me, moving her hands to pull the silver necklace I'd seen her wearing at the dance from around her neck. She then placed it over my head and tucked the orange charm under my clothes, before rearranging my hair to hide the chain.

"This necklace will keep you alive," she had said, her voice suddenly sounding different. It was like the accent wasn't quite as crisp as usual. "You know of the Infinity Stones, right? This is one of them. It was given to me a while ago by a stranger, to keep me safe. Now it's my turn to do the same. One day you'll work out who I am. One day, it'll be your turn to pass this necklace on. But until that day, keep hold of it, and don't ever lose it."

Upon reflection, I probably should have immediately been suspicious of her, because no one in their right mind would ever willingly admit to holding an Infinity Stone, and then just give it to someone else. But I wasn't in my right mind back then. So I'd asked which Stone it was.

The Agent had smiled. "It's the Time Stone. While it is around your neck, it will keep your body in a state of freeze. You won't age. Unlike the other Stones, this one forces you to keep living. I'm sure you'll come to despise it one day, but you have to promise me you'll never get rid of it."

I had promised. And then she'd turned around and hollered for James. And then everything spiralled out of control.

I felt myself being pushed onto my back, and then someone was wiping mud from my face. I opened my eyes a crack, but all I could see was a blur of green and a bit of grey and blue and purple. Green leaves above my head. The green clothes of the man with the fuzzy face hovering above me. And the sky, a dark blue-purple. The thick clouds dropping large droplets of water all over my body.

Arms settled themselves under my legs and my back, and as I was lifted from the ground I let the events of the last day or so catch up with me and gave into my body's demands. I fell asleep in the arms of a stranger, uncaring that it was probably one of the worst decisions of my life. I was just too exhausted - emotionally, mentally and physically - to care.