"Avengers Assemble .... Again." 

The place hasn’t changed that much since it’s been redesigned. One of the suggestions they had taken from Pepper when the team was together again after defeating the Mad Titan. It’s bigger. There’s a line of floor-length windows that overlook the field in the northern quadrant of the facility. They had gotten rid of the ugly wooden panel and instead painted the walls white. The room feels more open with different colored furniture. Each piece is picked out by a member. There’s Clint drum kit that sits in the corner. Barnes coffee table that is made out of the finest wood, that he had been so proud of. On top of it sits Wilson’s records and Lang’s cassette tapes. There’s Fury’s espresso maker that sits in the kitchenette off to the side, along with Romonoff’s dozens of mugs she’s collected from around the world. Different painted pieces hang around the room courtesy of Rogers.

The room has a different feel to it now.

At first, it’s the original five heroes seated in the room. There's a light chatter that creates a soft hum in the room. A few “Hey”, “Has it been this long” and “Wow I can’t believe they’ve gotten that big.” Their dialogue is completely different from what they would usually say. “I told you to watch your six.” Or “We have an enemy in Ukraine causing a major scene.” There’s less talk of missions and more talk about family. There are jokes and light banter. Time has truly changed them. 

About thirty minutes in, the other heroes filter into the room. With them, the volume in the room goes up. More jokes are being shared and somehow, Phil Coulson bought a box of donuts with Nick Fury right behind him with a box of coffee. Helen Cho brings up the rear and with her is T’Challa who laughs at one of her clever jokes.

The lights from the ceiling create a warm glow. There’s Bucky and Sam jammed in a chair together because nothing says we’re best friends quite like sitting on top of each other. After everyone has settled in, they fix their seat and their faces change. They’re more alert now, listening to each other and wondering if maybe they're in over their heads. The room is divided, equally, it’s understandable as to why they’re against their own children giving their lives. But, they themselves are getting old. Bones aren’t healing like they use to and memory is becoming a little foggy. Things come naturally but at a slower process, Wanda had joked when the team had worried over her sprained ankle. One clumsy step and her ankle gave away fighting a petty thief in the suburbs of Texas. Fury and Coulson are playing moderators along with Natasha who seems like she knows what to say to every sarcastic remark Tony has.

“Maybe we should just ask them.” Scott says “Instead of deciding for them.”

The room is quiet for a while. They hadn’t thought about it like that. They had only thought of protecting their child.

“I think short stuff has a point,” Tony says slouching further in his seat. 

He won’t say it but his back still hurts from the fall he took a few nights ago. And, frankly, at this point, he much rather have a conversation with his child than the others in the room. It’s not an insult but he’s ready to be back at his own home where he would rather be working on a new project.

Steve shakes his and leans on the wall near the window. He’s not disagreeing or agreeing with them. But, he knows that half of them are okay with this and others are not. This is asking a lot from their kids.

“So, we all agree that we ask them and not just assume they're okay with this.” Natasha says

She stands in front of the other adults, staring at them and watching for any signs of uneasiness or a shift of uncertainty. The idea plays in her mind, many possibilities bounce back and forth through her head. Natasha doesn’t say it but she knows in order for this to work, they have to be on the same page. No more secrets or discord … time hasn’t been kind to them.

author's note

This was not supposed to be my original idea for the prologue. It was completely different but I could never get it to the way where I was satisfied. So I completely changed it. Here I wanted to write something about the heroes and how things are changing. The room I’m referring to is the room in Endgame where they just got Tony back and they kind of have that argument. All I could think of while I was watching was that the wood paneling was so ugly. 

If you guys want to chat about the MCU movies and tv shows, then I would be happy to chat about them. Anyways, I know y'all have seen Endgame, and oh man, what a journey we were taken on. While I like it, I do have some problems with it and uuhhh tell the Russo Brothers I wanna meet them in Denny's parking lot to chat. Lol. I want to know what you guys think. Because, this story follows the MCU loosely ... now. Anyways, writing this story and watching Endgame has left me like: (✖) 

Also, If you haven't gotten the chance, take a look at the heroes page. (✖) 

By the way, I just want to say thank you soo much for those who waited for me. That means a lot to me. I did have chapters written out for this on my very old hard drive but it got corrupted when I was downloading some coursework for Uni. Haha, so yeah, we're starting from scratch. Anyways, I hope you guys are doing well and staying safe and healthy.