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𝙽𝚎𝚠 𝚈𝚘𝚛𝚔, 𝙵𝙸𝚅𝙴𝚈𝙴𝙰𝚁𝚂𝙻𝙰𝚃𝙴𝚁

"Iron Girl, I need you to scope out the area. My thermals read suspicious movement behind that tree. Over."

"Rogers!"

"Psst--It's just Roger," Alex whisper-yelled.

"Roger!"

Alex crouched behind a bush while the small girl stomped toward the tree, not-so subtly checking behind it.

"Monster!" The girl screeched.

Alex came out from her hiding place, shooting small blasts of energy at the tree. She knew she was shooting at nothing, but she knew the girl would appreciate her dedication to the "mission."

"Iron girl, your country thanks you for your service!" Alex picked up the giggling child, swinging her around.

She set her down, grabbing her hand as they walked back up to the house. The leaves had begun to green as summer set in. The forest looked absolutely beautiful this time of year, although summer was just another reminder of the events five years prior.

"Maguna, I trust you completed today's mission?" They heard once they entered the house.

"Of course she did. She's the best agent we've ever seen." Alex replied, grinning at the girl.

"Thanks for looking after her today. I'll get her cleaned up," Pepper swooped in.

Alex watched as Pepper toted the girl away for her bath, and knew it wouldn't be long before Tony's presence was requested. Morgan Stark was a certified daddy's girl, and couldn't last five minutes without her father. Alex was just amazed at how good of a father Tony was, despite his immature and playful ways.

"Thinking anymore about that call?" Tony spoke up.

Alex simply shrugged.

Steve called her at least once a week, requesting she come work with he and Natasha at the compound. Alex always made up an excuse or simply didn't answer.

"It's a lot to handle. I'm not sure I want to return."

"And that's completely fine. We've got a system here with Morgan, and you work P.R. at Stark Industries. We've been fine for five years now. No need to rattle things up by going backwards."

"I know, and I'm content with where I'm at, it's just..."

"That nagging feeling?" Tony finished. "That feeling that you could've done something different, or that there's still something you can do? Alex, listen to me. You'll never move on if you keep dwelling. What happened, happened. You can't change the past. Hell, I wouldn't even want to. I've got that little blessing in there--who I wouldn't trade for anything."

Alex smiled. "You're right."

"Always am."

"Tony!"

"There's my cue." Tony swiftly turned around and headed for the master bathroom.

Alex opened the screen door, sitting out on the porch. She could always be found out there, journaling or just sitting in a rocking chair. Something about the scenery calmed her. However, she most frequently sat out there at night. Fireflies often flew about in the quiet hours of the night, and that view was the most serene of all.

Why was she up at night so often? Well, she had the nightmares to thank for that.

For the first year, she woke up every night with the same dream that haunted her. It featured the whole team, even the ones that didn't vanish. They all slowly turned to ash in front of her, whilst screaming, "You could've saved us, Alex!"

She woke up in a cold sweat nightly. The thought that she could've done more plagued her mind daily. She saw a therapist for a while, but that was a flop. Alex was convinced no one could understand what she was going through. Some nights, however, Alex lied awake aching to talk to one person.

But, he was gone.

Well, she didn't know for sure. She did know that for five years, all he gave her was radio silence. He might as well have vanished with everyone else.

Alex liked her life. She was fine. Living with Tony, being a part of their family, it provided her the comfort and safety she needed. She hadn't talked to anyone in five whole years. Little chats here and there, but no conversation with substance. It was like she was on autopilot, once again.

"Alex, can you get that?"

"Of course."

Alex picked up the small work phone, clicking the small green icon in the corner. It was more technologically advanced than an iPhone, something Tony created to use for his company calls.

"Stark Industries,"

"Yes, this is Gordon with the Times, I--"

"Any statement you're looking for can be recorded at the press conference on Wednesday. Is that all?" She examined her nails nonchalantly as she waited for the call to be over.

"I wanted to speak to Stark personally--"

"You must be mistaken. Mr. Stark is a very busy man, and does not take time out of his day to speak to press. Have a good night, sir."

Alex hung up the phone.

She had become the spokesperson of Stark Industries about six months after the world went to shit. She needed a job, and Tony's company was threatening to fall apart. She was his second in command, and worked very closely with him. It provided therapy for both as they needed a distraction from their feelings.

"Press?" Tony called as he grabbed glass cups out of the cabinet,

"Always."

"Tomorrow you need to run by the office to prepare the material for my presentation--and make sure we're on track for the press conference. It's the first one since the attack, so it's going to be a big one. I want you prepared."

"I'll be fine, Tony."

"Of course you will be. I have my full faith in you."

She smiled at him, grabbing silverware to assist in setting the table. Morgan was fully dressed by Pepper after her bath, which was a whole workout. After Pep finished cooking dinner, they all ate together. Alex never grew up eating family dinners, so she was grateful for their routine.

The next morning, Tony's driver brought Alex to the office.

She was dressed elegantly but fashionably in a fitted blush colored pantsuit, along with a pair of nude heels. She always dressed to impress when visiting the office, as she became the face of Stark Industries.

"Miss Clark, welcome," The front doorman took her bag for her.

"Morning!" She chirped happily.

She loved being at the office. It took over the remainder of Stark Tower, or what used to be. She now walked in as the boss, whereas she once walked in as the experiment.

Feeling useful is what kept her sane. She had found what she was good at, besides putting people to sleep. Representing a company--being the strong face of a huge corporation.

"There she is, the boss lady." She heard.

"Tom," She said behind a toothy grin.

She turned to see the goofy, lanky brunette dressed in a wrinkled button down. He always had shaggy hair, as if he didn't know how to style it properly. From first glance, you'd think he didn't really know how to style himself at all. His shoes never matched his belt, and his shirts were never neatly pressed. Alex thought it gave him character.

"Rough morning?" She nodded to his hair, making the same joke as she always did.

"You've been seeing this hair for four years now, you should be used to it."

She chuckled. "Got those reports for me?"

"Of course."

She followed him to his desk, where a neat manila envelope sat atop. He handed it to her, their fingers gently grazing each other.

"Chris will have the rest of the projected inquiries by 3 o' clock."

"How are we doing on the revamped press room?"

"Finished two days ago."

"Perfect." Alex spoke.

After finishing up business, she had found her way back to her own office. It was a modern, monochrome square with a superb view of Manhattan. She sat in her chair, leaning back. Sometimes, she caught herself thinking back.

She thought back to when the building was full of the Avengers. Training, attacks, all took place in this tower. It was their headquarters, but more importantly, their home. She had gotten pep talks from Tony here. Made dad jokes with Steve. Made breakthroughs with Bruce.

But, she reminded herself, those days were over.

Best to forget.

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𝚕𝚒𝚕 𝚏𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚛 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚢'𝚊𝚕𝚕 !!

𝚒'𝚖 𝚜𝚘 𝚐𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚏𝚞𝚕 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚠𝚑𝚘'𝚜 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚋𝚘𝚘𝚔, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚗𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚒'𝚍 𝚐𝚎𝚝 𝟾𝟶𝚔 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚜 𝚠𝚘𝚠 𝚞 𝚐𝚞𝚢𝚜 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚘𝚘 𝚐𝚘𝚘𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚖𝚎