Music is "Hero Memories" by Epic Soul Factory.

Picture is my edit of Pietro and Glory (because who doesn't love the SuperFiances?)

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"Courage isn't just a matter of not being afraid, you know. It's being afraid and doing what you have to do anyway."

- The Third Doctor, Doctor Who

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Hey guys!

I have some awesome news! This chapter is going to be part one of the cameo chapters! I'm not exactly sure how many there will be, but this is the first :) And since WattPad has recently made it so you can post multiple pictures as you go, I have posted pics of the cameos below with their descriptions. Hopefully they show up. If not, comment below and I'll post a collage of the pictures another way :) This feature is going to make it a lot easier for pictorial story telling. Just a heads up!

As an example, this picture pretty much sums up my Marvel related life right now. Thanks, Chris.

I also wanted to announce that I have finally created a schedule for posting my writing! I have been so sporadic lately, I know, but now I have finally settled down into routine again and have made a simple schedule so you know when to pop onto my page for updates.

On Mondays, I will be posting a new Age of Darkness.
On Fridays, I will be posting a new chapter of Rumors of War (my Bucky Barnes novel, check it out if you haven't already!)
Every other Wednesday, starting NEXT Wednesday, I will be posting a new chapter of Different Call (my Clint Barton novel, again, check it out!)

I might change this up in the future, but so far, this is what the schedule is. What do you think? Any suggestions?

Just in case you wanna take a screenshot to remember, here is it again:

MONDAY: Age of Darkness
EVERY OTHER WEDNESDAY: Different Call
FRIDAY: Rumors of War

One last thing: I am going to be doing recommendations at the beginning of every chapter. I am going to be taking requests from my readers to read one of their stories every week from either the comments or PMs. Send in your book that you'd like me to try a couple chapters of, and if I like it, I'll recommend it to my audience :) It will be one book per week, but if I have too many to decide, I might include more.

And you'll see four cameos in this chapter. That isn't a mistake. I promised a friend a cameo before the competition started, so this is me making good on that promise :)

That is all! Sorry for all the updates.

Your friendly neighborhood author,
- Save_Kylo_Ren

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CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

It took us a few hours to get back on our feet. Steve leaving us left the Avengers and X-Men frazzled. We wandered around the Mansion for hours, just trying to regain focus. I spent time recovering and seeing my children again. The little blue eyes of Ksenia and little green eyes of Steven made me think of the future and what world I'm helping build for them.

The rest of the Avengers have laid out a plan, a crazy x very Steve-like plan to take the Negative Zone. We've been under the impression that the prison where they're being kept is in another dimension, and who would you call when you need a portal to another dimension? A magician, perhaps?

"You can't be serious," I say, trying to recline on the sofa of the X-Mansion. "You can't be effing serious, Bucky. This is insane."

"More so than what you just tried?" Logan asks, raising an eyebrow.

"He has a point," Pietro mumbles.

I turn to the both of them, glaring them down. "You're my closest friends. You're supposed to be on my side."

"Side of reason always wins out," Vision comments, sitting beside Wanda. "You should listen to the plan a bit further, Ms. Northern."

I huff, laying back against the couch cushions. "You said you had some extra hands to help us do this... crazy plan. Where are they?"

Logan turns to the Professor. Xavier nods and waves his hand, opening the door. Outside, along the wall, stand four new people I've never seen before. Three women and a man. "Come in," Charles says.

They come inside, and I'm surprised at how young they all are. One of the girls couldn't be legal yet. I try not to show my surprise on my face. They all nod to the Professor. "May I introduce your four new recruits to aid in this mission." He points to the youngest girl first. "This is Agent Rhonda Hill of S.H.I.E.L.D. She is the niece of Maria Hill, and is one of the most successful Agents under the age of 18."

Agent Hill smiles and nods politely to us. "Call me Ronnie, or Hummingbird in the field." She has light strawberry blonde hair, blue eyes, and a cascade of freckles on her face. She stands even shorter than I, which is saying something. (Xoxo_Sadie21)

The next is a boy, not much older than Ronnie. He has short, light brown hair that puffs up in the front, killer green eyes, and a smirk that seems natural on his face. If I wasn't looking closely enough, I wouldn't have noticed the slight flame that dances across his hands and arms. It's barely noticeable. "This is Clarke Yamzon, otherwise known as Overheat. He has the ability to control a white flame that he was given in a laboratory accident. Ever since, he's been helping people as a vigilante. He doesn't belong to S.H.I.E.L.D., the X-Men, or any other group."

"I'm also taken by a really hot guy," Clarke puts in, smirking. "Or cold, I should say." (erxmthwsxn)

Xavier laughs, pointing to the next young lady. "This is Riley Emily McCoy, who is also a Marine Biologist. Her powers let her control marine life and ocean creatures, which will come in extremely handy with this mission. Ever since her mutant powers surfaced, she's been a member of the X-Men, going by the alias Gillgirl."

Riley doesn't smile or even nod. She merely glances over all of us, tilting her head to get a good look at each of us. Her red hair and tinted green skin give her an alien look, and her mismatched eyes, one green and one caramel, make her gaze unnerving. (DarkWolf15)

The last girl is one with long blonde hair and hazel eyes, standing taller than the rest. She seems distracted by the amount of Avengers in the room. "This is Amy Grey. Amy received her powers from the fish oil outbreak that occurred one year ago. Since realizing her awakening as an Inhuman, she has followed in her aunt Crystal's footsteps and trained to master her powers of the elements, focusing on the fire and water balance in nature. She serves as Agent Grey on the Secret Warriors, lead by Daisy Johnson."

"I'm sorry if I seem distracted," Amy laughs, speaking in a New Zealand accent. "I've admired you all from afar for so long. Thanks for saving the world... again." (4everfangirlingx)

I nod and smile at all of them. "What now? We just go in and knock on the front door?"

"It's what Steve would do," Bucky says. "Hell, it's what Steve has done. He did the same for me."

"That was 70 years ago," Logan says. "Things were very different then. I know. I was there."

"Trust my plan," Bucky says, taking the shield from his back. "Trust me and I'll get everyone out, and we will take that place out." He slams his fist on the table, making me up slightly. "No one else is going to the Negative Zone."

There's a knock on the door. My head perks up. "That must be him," Natasha says.

When the door opens, standing outside is none other than the Sorcerer Supreme himself: Doctor Stephen Strange. He smiles at the group of us, floating in on the wind, cape flowing behind him. "Hello, everyone. It's wonderful to see you all again."

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Walking towards the hanger that holds the Blackbird was slowed down in slow motion. I could've lived in that moment forever for all I knew. The worries, the last couple days, the problems ahead keep playing through my mind. Today will turn the war. For us or them, that is the part unknown.

"Glory!" Wanda says, rushing up behind me as I walk alone down the hallway. "Where is my brother?"

"He's making sure Kitty takes good care of our twins," I chuckle. "He'll be along soon."

She looks me up and down. "Why are you not suited up?"

Looking down at my jeans and a T-shirt, I reply, "When Tony took me, he took my suit. He never did give it back."

She smiles and waves me to follow her. "Come, come. I have a gift for you, Sister."

I follow her towards the room just outside the hanger. I peak inside to see Logan, Ororo, Charles, Jean, and Scott talking to Bucky and Natasha, no doubt discussing the mission parameters. Beside them, I see the rest of the Avengers packing the Blackbird, the Next Gen. Mutants are suiting up, and the group of Rogues - as they're calling their temporary team - are showing off their powers to the rest of the heroes.

Wanda pulls me by my arm into the room beside the hanger and closes the door. It's some sort of uniform room. Several hang on the walls and tons are on the tables in front of us, no doubt about to be picked up by their rightful owners.

One particular uniform catches my eye, a gold and black one. It looks very similar to my old one, but this is a redesign of it. This one has more of an armored look about it, whereas my old one was a simple material like that of the rest of the Avengers.

I run my fingers along the material, feeling the thin armour under them. I'm in awe of the aesthetics that create an amazing pattern of golden lines along the black canvas. "It was meant for space travel, as well as other worlds and underwater," Wanda says, excitedly. "It comes with a helmet that appears around you when you press the button on your neck collar." She presses the button and a helmet appears out of nowhere, wrapping around where my head would be. "It was meant to be similar to Captain Marvel's, since you have similar powers that involve capturing cosmic energy."

"I-I don't know what to say," I reply, looking to her. "Who had this made?"

Her smile falters. "Steve."

Nodding, I turn back to the suit, gripping it in my fingers. "Would you mind stepping out for a moment? I have to change."

She nods and turns to leave. "Wanda," I say, catching her arm. "Thank you."

She nods and leaves with the door closed.

Putting on the suit is like trying to put on a hundred pound weight. The mention of Steve, how he had this made for me, makes me want to punch holes in the sky, as Carol would have put it. Punch holes in the sky... hmm. That sounds like something I need.

Once suited up, I take a brief look in the mirror, and I'm happily surprised at what I see. Or rather, what I don't. I don't see a girl who's lost a best friend, a girl who's lost a sister, or a girl who's been betrayed. I don't see a girl who had a horrible father and a distant mother. I don't see a girl who's losing this world to a man who would rather see people like me in chains.

I see a woman. I see a mother. I see a fiance. I see a warrior who is ready and willing to fight for the greater good. I see a woman who is ready to punch holes in the sky for Steve, or Pietro, or my twins, or any of my fellow heroes. I see a badass superhero who hasn't looked more fierce in her entire life.

"Let's go punch some holes in the sky," I mumble to myself. "Make Steve and Aspen proud."

Without taking another moment to dwell in the past, I take a deep breath and step outside, instantly bumping into Bucky along the way. He eyes my new uniform, smiling. "You look good."

I return the expression. "Thanks, Bucky. Your turn to get suited up. When are we heading out?"

"Soon," he says, looking at his phone. "Ten minutes until we ship out. Be in the hanger by then."

I nod, turning towards the hanger door.

"Glory?"

I pause at the handle to the door. "Yeah, Buck?"

I hear a sigh from a heavy heart. "Am I doing the right thing? Are we doing the right thing? Is this really the right battlefield to go after?" I turn to look at the worried soldier. "I mean, we have Magneto and Ultron out there-"

"-We're doing this because it's what Steve would do," I reply. "Right now, Tony and his stupid Superhuman Registration Act is the clear and present for everyone. We can't fight Magneto and Ultron without our leader. Is it risky? Well, yes. Is it dangerous? Of course. It is what Steve would do."

Bucky chuckles and glances down at his hands. "Are you sure he would want us to do this? We've had better plans in the past. We've had safer, more thought out plans."

I hear the door open, and see Pietro walking with his sister down the hallway towards me. "It's better to jump on a chance when it's ripe for the taking," I tell Bucky. "If we don't take down the Negative Zone, then whatever we do from now on is risking more supers. Take out the Negative Zone, then maybe we can reunite the Avengers and go against Magneto and Ultron as one."

"Tony will never go for that. You have to know that."

I shrug. "We'll have to change his mind. Something tells me he might be more open to a comprise than we think, with the right persuasion. It happened in the comics. It can happen here." Another pause. "Only this time, Steve isn't going to die."

Bucky nods and heads into the uniform room just as the Maximoff twins come up to me. I turn to Pietro, taking a deep breath. "Ready?"

He and his sister nod, a look of determination coming onto their faces. "Lets go kick some ass."

I can't help but chuckle as we head into the hanger room, waiting for Bucky to come back out. The room as settled down, everyone coming to the realization that this isn't a trial. This isn't a test. This isn't a simulation in the Danger Room. You can't hit retry or pause when you are losing. This is a life or death mission for more people than us. The lives of everyone wrongly imprisoned in the Negative Zone hang in the balance, as well as our own.

When Bucky comes back in, we look to him for some sort of inspiration, some sort of words of advice. He doesn't say anything, looking uncomfortable in Steve's place. "Well," he says, "this is it. This is what we've been waiting for ever since than damn law was passed saying that we aren't people. That law said that we don't have our rights to live here among everyone else, and I don't know about you, but I find that offensive.

"This isn't a rebellion, but it is the job of the people to say 'No, we won't' when the government takes more than it's fair share. We are to stand for what is right, even when it endangers us or our families.

"Doesn't matter what the press says. Doesn't matter what the politicians or the mobs say. Doesn't matter if the whole country decides that something wrong is something right. This nation was founded upon one principle above all else: the requirement that we stand up for what we believe, no matter the odds or the consequences.

"When the mob and the press and whole world tell you to move, your job is to plant yourself like a tree beside the river of truth, and tell the whole world - 'No, you move.'"

Bucky pulls Steve's shield from his back. He looks at it in his hands as they shake slightly. Natasha comes over and places her hand on his over the shield. "Steve would be proud as hell, James," she whispers to him.

Bucky then raises the shield, shouting his next words as an anthem, a call for arms, a battle cry. "Today, we make Steve Rogers proud. Today, we make Tony Stark regret ever making us the enemy. Today, we take back what is ours and shout to the whole damn world, 'No, you move!'"

END CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE.