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ADVENTURES IN BABYSITTING
xii. O CAPTAIN! MY CAPTAIN!

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  ALL HER LIFE, RILEY was taught to anticipate death.

  No one can merely escape it, and if you do, your chances of doing it again are slim. But somehow, she managed to suppress dealing with the notion, never quite ready to depart. She had seen death touch the lives of many, including those close to her. She was one of the lucky ones who had managed to escape death time and time again. Always for her would be tomorrow and the day after.

   She always liked to think she was a little special. Maybe that was her ego getting the best of her, but she never actually thought she would die young. How could she? She'd been escaping near-death again and again since she was two. She thought she was unique, one of the angels living amongst us in the world who didn't understand her mission yet. It was like she couldn't die until her purpose was completed.

   But now she was sure of it. Time was no longer Riley's casual acquaintance, leading her steadily onward whether she wished to follow or not. In simple words, Riley Stark was finally dead.

   At least, she was pretty sure she was.

   They say a man who lives fully is not afraid of death, yet Riley had lived somewhat fully and was purely terrified of death, even after dying. She had lived so long anticipating when the end would come that she almost didn't see it coming, even if it was right in front of her for six days straight.

   Riley wondered what would happen to her now. Where would she go? Would she become a ghost—a real one, at least, and not the kind that Peter Parker used to refer to her as? Would she simply sleep forever? Would she go to Heaven or Hell? Maybe Valhalla? Would she be reincarnated? Would she become one with the stars? Maybe she'd become a Guardian Angel of some sort? She wasn't sure.

   Death was surprisingly peaceful. It held Riley with a cold caress. Death, a face Riley was taught to despise, had somehow managed to bring upon comfort. Death merely carried Riley, easing her burning soul to a cool rest where she would lay benumbed of the living world's harshness. Now, Riley could be at peace... or something like that, at least.

   Riley wasn't sure how long it would take for her to become accustomed to the afterlife. It wasn't anything like what she had once prognosticated. Her surroundings seemed to soothe her mind. The world was dark, but gradually, light smeared the atmosphere until what developed to become a white room opened up before Riley. It took Riley a moment to readjust to the luster of the room, but once she did, she discerned that the room was actually a laboratory. Standing a few feet away was a woman diligently toiling over something Riley couldn't heed.

   "Uh... Hello?" beckoned Riley. She walked ahead once she realized she was being ignored. "Hellooo?" The woman before her froze. "Do you know where we are?"

   Moderately, the woman turned around, inducing Riley to stiffen. The woman's rich, coffee-colored hair hung over her shoulder, framing her aged face. Her olive-toned skin wore wrinkles from years of stress, yet she possessed a youthful glow to her that Riley recognized in herself from time-to-time. Her eyes twinkled with warmth despite holding a somewhat startled gaze in them. "So it's true," the unnamed woman vaguely mumbled. Her lips drooped into a frown.

   Riley gawked at her with augmented eyes. It took her less than a second to figure out who this woman was. "Athena?" Riley claimed, hesitant. "That's your name, right? Athena O'Dair?" Riley swallowed the knot in her throat. "I'm your—"

   "I know who you are," interrupted Athena. She puffed her cheeks out, running a hand through her hair nervously. "You're my daughter. Riley Juniper O'Dair."

   Sheepishly rubbing the back of her head, she said, "It's—"

   "It's Stark now," Athena interjected again. Her face was like stone, lips pressed into a line. "Right, sorry. I forget sometimes."

   Riley stared at the woman for a moment. She narrowed her eyes before it hit her. There was only one way it was feasible for Riley to be speaking to Athena in this very moment in time. "Oh my God," Riley whispered, chiefly to herself. "I'm dead. I'm dead, aren't I?"

   Athena sighed, pinching her nose. It seemed like she didn't possess the patience to explain their circumstances to Riley. "It's... complicated," summarized Athena firstly. "Basically, I'm here to help you make a decision.

   You'd have to be stupid to not know what that meant.

   "A decision," she repeated. "So... death is really like the movies?"

   A very quiet, hardly noticeable laugh slipped through Athena's paper lips, sending chills down Riley's spine. Somehow, the sound was familiar, which was strange because Riley didn't have any memories of her laugh. How could she? The last time she saw Athena, she was two-years-old. "I suppose," admitted Athena. "You're... You're not necessarily dead, Mija, at least, not yet. Instead, you're in a place between life and death."

   "I know what purgatory is," Riley sharply cut, feeling a bit defensive suddenly after hearing the word "Mija." It just reminded her too much of Rob O'Dair. She cleared her throat. "So I have to choose between life and death, right?"

   Athena nodded, turning back to her work. "I'm technically supposed to guide you through this process. But really, it's up to you."

   "And you're doing this by... playing with chemicals?" Riley softly interrogated.

   Athena shrugged. "It's unwise to turn your back on your work. I learned that the hard way," she told. Riley nearly questioned this before remembering how Athena died. She opened her mouth to speak, but Athena was one step ahead of her. "Don't apologize, Mija." Athena walked over to Riley's side, tossing something into a bin near the teenager. "I never hated you for what you did. I could never."

   Surprise overtook Riley. "Why not?"

   "You were a child," said Athena. "Besides, Rob," Riley noticed the shortlived look of hatred on her face, "and I were reckless."

   The dismissive nature of her answer made Riley believe that Athena had come to this conclusion long ago. It was like she didn't even care about being dead anymore, whereas Riley had beaten herself up over what she had done for her entire life.

   "Oh..." Riley followed her with her eyes as she continued to maneuver throughout the laboratory. "So what exactly happens in these "conferences"?" She made air quotes with her fingers.

   Athena shook her head. "Oh, we don't need to have a conference, Mija. Your heart's already decided. Besides, you don't really have a choice. Do you hear that?"

   Riley didn't understand what she was talking about at first until she strained her ears to hear it. It was distant, faint. Beep... beep... beep...

   "See? Your heart has already decided," continued Athena, making her way toward her biological daughter. "I wanted to meet you personally and show you around, but... now I see. This isn't your fate." She paused, a glimpse of sorrow flashing through her eyes. "Until you've lived fully and done everything you need to do, I'm afraid I'm not going to let you stay here." Athena offered Riley a rather bittersweet smile. "You understand. I know you do. You're a very intelligent young woman.

  It was making more sense to Riley now. Athena didn't want her to choose death. She was pushing her to live. 

   Athena reached out and placed a warm hand on the side of Riley's face as a light spilled around the corners of the teenager's vision. "I'm sorry about what Rob did," apologized Athena. "You deserve to be happy. Do something right in the world for us, Riley. For the three of us."

   Riley nodded, just barely able to pull the words out of herself. "I-I will," she assured. "I promise."

  Light flooded the room. The world became so blinding, at that moment, that all Riley could see was nothing.

  That would be the last she saw Athena for a long, long time.

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   Death was a fickle thing. It was simple, yet complex. It was quick and painless, yet lengthy and unpleasant. After experiencing what should have been her death, Riley Stark thought she had it figured out to an extent. Well, that wasn't necessarily true, but she could at least tell people she came back from the dead next time they wanted to piss her off, right?

   Although now that Riley was thinking about it, she was basically a zombie at this point, wasn't she? Maybe, maybe not. Whatever she was, if there was one thing Riley wasn't expecting after the storm that had become her life, it was that coming back from the "dead" was incredibly painful.

  Riley sharply inhaled, a stabbing pain inflating her lungs. The sudden rush of oxygen caused her to burst out with coughs, aridity invading her esophagus. More air dispelled from her lungs with each cough. Tears welled up in her eyes, stinging them. Her irises burned at the sensation, forcing the tears to drip down her face.

   Her heart punched at her chest with irregular beats. Trembling hands fisted the flimsy sheets beneath her, sweat drenching her body. For a second there, Riley thought she was dying all over again. She was like a fish out of water.

   Gradually, she managed to calm down. Tears dried rapidly due to the heat of her reddened face. She took deep breaths as she stared up at the ceiling. Riley paused, thinking it over. She wasn't sure where she was, and that caused her nerves to inflame all over again.

   Grunts slipped out between clenched teeth as Riley pushed herself to sit up. She glanced around, easily recognizing her surroundings. She was in a hospital room. Her body had been penetrated with various needles and IVs, each one performing a different task. Without an ounce of hesitation, Riley stretched her fingers and proceeded to rip out each and every one.

   The same thought seemed to continue to roll throughout her brain. I can't be trapped again, I can't be trapped again, I can't be trapped again.

  She winced as an obnoxious beeping sound blared in her ears. It ripped her eardrums apart, a headache igniting. She didn't know what it meant, but she didn't want to stick around and find out who was running things around here. For all she knew, she might've not been safe still. What if she was on another planet that wasn't Earth or Titan II? The thought horrified her. 

   Unsteady, her feet stamped the cold tile floor beneath her. Her body ached as she tried to move, but her adrenaline was telling her to go, go, go.

   She made a break for the glass door, stumbling pathetically. She turned invisible to slip past the nurses and workers she didn't recognize. They flooded the room, each growing panicked when they realized Riley was missing.

   Riley didn't spare a second to glance back at what the people were doing. She needed to find out where she was and who had taken her this time. The last time she was kidnapped, the person had healed her wounds before starving her for four days straight. Now that she awakened with some healed wounds, she was a bit worried.

   Heavy breaths slipped in and out of Riley's mouth. It was clear she had been asleep for some time because she was experiencing discomfort and pain from moving around so much. She just barely had a grip on her powers, but the more she was maintaining her invisibility, the more she realized it was like riding a bike.

   She slid behind a wall, leaning against it to catch her breath. She placed her hands on her knees and shifted into visibility once more. Swallowing her spit, Riley straightened her posture again and went to turn the corner, only to gasp when a being stood directly in front of her.

   Riley spared no time shrouding her fists with ultraviolet energy. She shot a ray out at the person and tried to duck past them, but the person just grabbed her with ease. Riley couldn't see their face due to her desperate attempts at fighting back. Based off of the person's battle cry, she assumed the person was a woman.

   Riley tried pushing the woman off of her, but she was too weak to fight. Forcefields and punches weren't working as well as they normally did. Her attacker grabbed her and threw her onto the ground like she was a toddler.

   From the corner of her eye, the woman wearing a blue suit approached her. Riley swung her leg out at the woman, kicking her down. Then, Riley staggered onto her feet and tried to make a run for it again; however, she was stopped by the woman grabbing her legs and bringing her down again. Before Riley could move a muscle, the woman hovered on top of her and pinned Riley down by her wrists.

   "Please, please, stop," was all Riley could get out. "Let me go, let me go!"

   She wiggled and moved every which way, but it seemed that the woman had an iron grip. Riley blinked her tears away in order to focus on the woman on top of her. She quickly stopped moving once her eyes locked on the woman's face. Pixie-cut, blonde hair cast a shadow over her face. Stern hazel eyes stared into Riley's brown eyes. Then, Riley realized it.

   "Oh... Oh my God. You're Carol Danvers."

   The woman narrowed her eyes at her. She released one of Riley's wrists to press a button on her cuff. This could've been a perfect opportunity to overthrow her and run, but she was just so shocked. 

   Speaking into it, the blonde announced, "I have eyes on Valor in the West Wing, section B4. I repeat, I have eyes on Valor in the West Wing, section B4."

   "You're Carol Danvers."

   Ignoring her, the woman asked, "Looks like she's in shock. She's definitely alright on her feet though. What do you want me to do with her?"

   Riley ignored whatever words were spoken out of the comm in the blonde's cuff. "You're Captain Marvel," continued to repeat Riley. "You're Carol Danvers." It seemed that Riley wasn't trying to state this, but rather ask for confirmation; however, Riley was so startled that she forgot how to speak actual words.

   "Indeed," Carol finally confirmed. "If I let you go, are you gonna try to attack me?"

   Riley faltered. It didn't click that Carol Danvers just asked her a question. "Um... No...?" she finally answered after a moment. "You're Carol—"

   "I'm Carol Danvers," interrupted the blonde. She flashed a smile at her, rising to her feet. "Come on. You've got some fans that wanna see you."

  Riley stared at Carol's extended hand, puzzled. "I... I do?" she tiredly asked. 

   Carol shrugged. "More or less."

   At this point, she was totally swooning at the sight of her childhood hero. Once she was pulled onto her feet, she just mumbled under her breath, "O Captain! My Captain!"

  She struggled to really wrap her head around the fact that she was alive, but it wasn't as difficult as it was to process that she was standing next to Carol Danvers. They walked side-by-side, except Riley couldn't focus on the path before her. She was too starstruck as she stole glances at Carol.

   "So... what planet is this?" Riley queried after a moment. "This isn't Titan II, is it?" She paused, lowering her voice into a whisper. "Is... Is he here?"

   Carol shook her head, keeping her eyes straight ahead. "No, Thanos isn't here. We got rid of him a long time ago," she nonchalantly explained. "You're on Earth."

   "Earth? Earth... Like Earth Earth?"

   "The only one there is."

   "Huh..." trailed off Riley, feeling rather light-headed after the theatrics of her awakening. "You said you got rid of... Thanos." Saying his name felt wrong. Riley had gotten so used to not speaking his name on Titan II because she thought he could sense it. But Carol said he was gone, so that meant it was okay, right? "Does that mean you guys reversed the snap?"

   Carol paused. She had a mighty good poker face, but Riley noticed the hesitation before her response. "No," finally revealed Carol. "Maybe you should let the others explain it better. I've just been a visitor for the past five years."

   Riley stopped in her tracks altogether. "Five years? Did you say five years?"

   Carol, who had similarly stopped once Riley did, turned around with an uncertain leer. "Let's... Let's just get you to the others. I promise they'll tell you everything you want to know."

   Riley nodded somewhat slowly. "O...Okay," she mumbled, joining her side again. She wanted to trust Carol. She wanted to trust whoever was waiting for her. She was on Earth again. They wouldn't hurt her.

   Silence descended between them. So much was shooting through Riley's mind. She didn't know what to do with herself other than ramble unnecessarily. It wasn't something she habitually did, but when you're standing next to Carol Danvers, all aspects of logic get thrown out the door.

   The rest of their conversation seemed to follow the same pattern as they walked across what Riley quickly recognized was the Avengers Headquarters in Upstate New York. It was a little different, give or take, but the walls still stood and the floor shined as it always did (though not with a few old scuff marks that scarred the tiles).

   "So you're really Captain Marvel?"

   "Mhm."

   "Cool. Did your cat really take Fury's eye?"

   "It's actually a Flerken, but yeah."

   "I don't know what that means, but... cool. I met your friend, Maria Rambeau once."

   "Yeah? Me too."

   "Cool."

  They soon reached a conference room, bringing their conversation to a lull. Worry and fear battled within Riley. Who was waiting for her? What did she miss? What the hell was going on? 

   Carol took a step back to allow Riley to enter before her. "I come bearing gifts," called Carol in a serious tone. Fury wasn't kidding when he said Carol had a very dry sense of humor. Riley loved it.

  Riley couldn't bring herself to laugh or smile at the introduction though. Her face was desolate, her gaze settling on a few faces. The room was nearly barren, yet tension congested it.

   "Oh my God," were the three words that shattered the silence.

   Riley's eyes darted to a familiar redhead. Natasha Romanoff wasted no time heading toward the teenager. Riley stared in awe. She had assumed she'd never see Natasha or anyone she cared about again subsequent to her kidnapping, but... there Natasha was. This was some kind of miracle.

   Once Natasha stood before Riley, they took a moment to look each other over. It was a short-lived moment, but Riley didn't need to look for very long. Natasha looked completely drained. Dark bags weighed down her spiritless eyes. Her pallid skin wore wrinkles that had accumulated from prolonged stress. Her red hair had grown out, but her ends were still that same blonde color Riley remembered. Clearly, Natasha wasn't taking care of herself. It made Riley wonder if she looked just as horrible as her old friend.

   Natasha wasted no time in grabbing onto the short girl, wrapping her arms around Riley. Riley was still momentarily before desperately clinging onto Natasha's wildly shaking body. When Riley pulled away, she was shocked to see that Natasha was crying. She never saw Natasha cry ever. This might've been the first time in her entire life she had seen Natasha cry, and of all people, she was crying over Riley Stark. Then again, it made sense if what Carol had said was true... if it really had been five years...

   "I'm home," Riley meekly addressed with a wavering voice.

   Natasha faintly smiled, her hands pressed against the sides of Riley's face. She blinked through her tears. "I don't understand. We thought you were dead."

   "I think I was for a minute there," she admitted. The others didn't realize she wasn't joking. Her gaze snapped to the other two people in the room.

   Steve and Rhodey looked just as awful as Natasha did. Riley wasted no time in greeting them. Each hug was emotional and quite literally breathtaking. Mumbles of "You're alive" and "I missed you" were intermingled amongst the tears that were shed.

   Once that was over, Riley looked around at them all with a glint of determination in her eyes.

   "Will someone please tell me what happened?" Riley demanded with a soft voice. "Because Carol Danvers, here, says that it's been five years since the snap and I can't comprehend what that means."

   Carol, who stood behind Riley, mentioned, "You can just call me Carol, Smalls." Riley nodded quickly, ready to do just about anything for her childhood hero.

  There was a drop of silence. No one knew where to begin.

   "Alright, let's start with this," Steve said. "What do you remember?" 

  "Um... I remember everything, really. It might've been five years for you guys, but it feels like it's only been a few days for me. Maybe a week or two at most." 

  "And you know what happened to 50% of the universe?" Natasha asked.

   "Yeah, I remember the snap," Riley assured.

   "We thought you disappeared with the 50% at first," proclaimed Steve.

   "Right, but I didn't." Riley pinched the bridge of her nose, disliking having to revisit such fresh memories. "Let me think, alright? Thor tried to kill Thanos, but Thanos survived and snapped his fingers. 50% of all life turned to dust. Thanos escaped by using the stones to transport himself off of Earth. Shortly after, he did the same with me. He took me to this planet called Titan II. Long story short, he wanted me to destroy the Infinity Stones. He said he was afraid of abusing their powers or someone trying to reverse what he did. I was his hostage for... um, I think a week. But Thanos ended up tricking me into destroying them. I don't remember what happened after that very clearly though. It all went black."

   Riley shifted her weight, her throat crying for a bead of water the more she spoke. She glimpsed around, seeing how everyone appeared unfazed. "Why do you all look like you know this already...?" she slowly asked.

   They all exchanged knowing glances. "Well," began Rhodey, "we saw your message."

   "Everyone did," added Steve.

  "My... my message...?" she repeated. A pang of confusion struck her. She reached for her cuffs, remembering she only had one. 

   Natasha explained, "After you destroyed the stones, about two weeks later, a team got together and managed to track down when the stones were last activated. Nebula pointed us in the right direction."

   "Nebula?" recurred Riley. When the others explained she was an acquaintance of a group known as the Guardians of the Galaxy, she nodded. "I know them. We met in space. How did you find her?"

   "I saved her and Tony when they were drifting in space. I found them and brought them here," Carol revealed.

   Riley paused. She had to repeat the words that were spoken to herself before they finally clicked. "Tony... You saved Nebula and Tony... You saved Tony..." mirrored Riley with a confused face. She broke out into a cold sweat, her hands visibly shaking at the idea. Tony Stark was supposed to be dead. "I thought he was...?"

   "Dead? He's not."

   "But how did Thanos get the Time Stone...?"

   "Doctor Strange sacrificed the stone in exchange for Tony's life," explained Rhodey with a clenched jaw.

   Riley felt like her head was about to explode. She stared at the floor, grimacing. How was this possible? Then, she looked back up at them. "Tell me more." 

   Riley listened sparingly as they explained what happened. As it turned out, Tony wasn't killed, but he almost was. Strange sacrificed the Time Stone to Thanos in exchange for Tony's life. But after Thanos snapped, Tony and Nebula were stranded in space. Carol was the one to find and rescue them. 

   Following their rescue, Nebula disclosed that Thanos had what Rhodey called a "retirement plan" for after he succeeded in his plan. He wished to inhabit a world he'd later call Titan II, the planet Riley had been taken to as a prisoner. Rocket, a space raccoon, used his technology to furthermore track down recent unusual activity that only the Infinity Stones could have initiated. This knowledge led the Avengers to discover that the last activation of the stones occurred just two weeks prior to that moment.

   It also just so happened that two weeks prior to that exact moment, Riley had destroyed them, leaving Thanos trapped on Titan II alone and powerless. So, in a twisted way, the Avengers couldn't have tracked down Thanos without her help. At least there was one thing she managed to do right.

   A team assembled, ventured out to the planet, and located Thanos. From there, Thanos revealed to them (surprisingly without a fight) that he had Riley destroy the stones. He said that he wasn't sure where she was and that she was probably dead. He added that all she left behind was a lone silver cuff.

   Inside the cuff contained the technology that stored footage from fights over the course of the past year, give or take, and a video of Riley's last goodbyes to the universe. The cuff acted as an indicator to everyone that Riley Stark was dead, presumably materialized into absolute nothingness by the destruction of the stones.

   "But my question is how are you here?" Steve queried once this was all spoken. "Thanos... He made it seem like... like you had died." Something about saying those words was difficult for him.

   Agreeing, Natasha added, "I just remember being told you appeared in Wakanda in a green cloud of smoke last week. Okoye said you were unconscious. You've been asleep ever since."

   Riley's eyebrows furrowed together. She had appeared in a green cloud of smoke. This had to have occurred after destroying the Infinity Stones. Riley's brain worked intensely to complete the puzzle. Green cloud... Infinity Stones... Green... Stones... Time Stone... Time stone!

   "Time stone," Riley realized. Her eyes widened upon making the connection, attaining attention once more. "After I destroyed the stones, I remember going up to them and thinking that maybe I could... you know, restart them or make them work again. I wanted to bring back everyone who, um, who died. But when I touched the stones, they opened up this... this wormhole. Like a chemical reaction just occurred with their last dying "breath", you know? I think the Time Stone must've reacted with the energy I release naturally and sent me here... five years into the future."

   The adults seemed to look at each other like that was and wasn't the craziest thing they had heard.

   "Is it possible?"

   "It could be."

   "But it makes no sense."

   "Are you seriously saying that right now, space cadet?" Rhodey queried.

   "Point taken," Carol replied.

   "I mean, no one knows how the stones actually work, and no one really understands Riley's powers either. I don't see why it wouldn't make sense," he added.

   "I don't see why we're questioning it," Natasha opinionated. "If anything, it's a miracle that she's back, albeit five years later. Let's just take the theory and run with it. We'll sure as hell need one after Stark announced Riley's identity to the world before declaring that Valor was dead. They're gonna have questions when they find out she's alive."

   Hearing this caused Riley to finally speak up after being silent. "I'm sorry," ignited Riley. "My dumbass dad did what?" It was then when another explanation was born.

   Upon delivering the silver cuff to Tony and Pepper not much longer after confronting Thanos, the couple took it upon themselves to expose their daughter's identity to the world. They knew that if there was a way to somehow bring back the snapped victims, Riley wouldn't be included in that mix since she had died through means separate from the Decimation (Riley quickly learned that was the new name for the fatalistic snap). Tony and Pepper wanted to honor Riley and her sacrifices, so they furthermore told the world Valor's true identity and her life story. After this, they stepped out of the spotlight to mourn and peacefully move on with their lives.

  She didn't know what to say, so she didn't say anything at all. Her eyes were stuck on the floor, mind racing to try and connect all the pieces. 

   At this point, she was exhausted. She was so tired of the fighting and the confusion. She had been through so much in such a short lifetime. Traveling five years into the future and barely escaping death (despite everyone thinking she was dead for half a decade) seemed to solidify what her life had become. How had things become so... unbelievably insane?

   Riley soundlessly peered up at the others as they quietly chatted about... well, to be honest, she wasn't paying attention. Her body ached from her adrenaline rush, her head was pounding, and her hands hadn't stopped shaking. A frown tugged on her youthful face. She should have been about 21-years-old, but instead, she was stuck in her 16, almost 17-year-old body.

   Five years... Five years had been taken from Riley right under her nose... Five years of cold depression due to preventable loss had unfolded with the blink of an eye...

   And it was all Riley Stark's fault.

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KINDA IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE PLS READ ILY IM SORRY IM TRYING TO BE A GOOD AUTHOR:

LORD writing this gave me a headache lmao. i feel like this plotline in particular is really hard to follow, but i can't find any way to simplify it further because i really like it. i hope this chapter served as an explanation for what's happening, but if not, here's an even MORE SIMPLIFIED version of what's going on:

the events of infinity war ↠
riley gets kidnapped by thanos to destroy the stones ↠
destroying the stones fucks with all of the rules of the universe (naturally) ↠
when riley goes to mess with them again (bad idea), a wormhole swallows riley ↠
the wormhole ends up being a portal created by the time stone ↠
riley is sent five years into the future and is dropped on the place where she had previously disappeared in wakanda ↠
okoye sends riley's unconscious body to new york ↠
riley's asleep for one week battling between life and death ↠
riley wakes up

riley destroying the stones happened two weeks before the avengers kill thanos in endgame the first time. all they find of riley's on Titan II is one of the silver cuffs that broke off of her wrist during her fight with thanos (IF YOU CAUGHT THAT IN THE LAST CHAPTER AND FIGURED THAT'D BE RELEVANT, IM PROUD OF YOU!). this is how they had access to riley's final goodbye.

I REALLY, REALLY hope this isn't too complicated. if it is, let me know and i can explain it to you again and answer questions. i wanted to use this chapter as an explanation chapter. i really hope it all makes sense!!!

ANYWAYS...so much has happened.

riley lost five years of her life....riley knows that tony's alive......tony and pepper exposed riley's identity (to honor her, of course)......riley sorta met her biological mother.....AND RILEY MET CAROL DANVERS FINALLY

riley has really, really grown as a person and i want to continue to portray that throughout this book, as i like to think riley's story is a "coming of age" tale. she's such an interesting character to me and i love analyzing every little thing about her. i feel like i've never given a character This Much Depth, you know? and i hope you guys or at least ONE PERSON is enjoying seeing all of that unfold too!!

SO we still have the rest of endgame! at this very moment, this novel is ONE MONTH BEFORE scott lang comes out of the quantum realm. as soon as he gets out, boy oh boy everything's going downhill lmao.

please, please, PLEASE leave comments about how you're feeling, what you think of the plot, what you think is gonna happen, ANYTHING really! your comments give me a LOT more inspiration than you think!! i've changed entire plotlines because of comments giving me even better ideas than before, so DONT BE SHY!! i accept criticism as well (just don't be a dick lmao)!

okay okay that's all!! i luv u guys!!! thank u so much for the support!!! it means the world!!! <3333