Fade: Evolved

Chapter 11 - What Now?

"Peter!" I scream while uncontrollable tears rush down my face.

I look left, right, up, and down. But there's no sign of him. I pace the entirety of the bridge as more and more of the bots fall to the water below. My panic builds with each passing second of him not being here right in front of me. The image of him fading to dust fills my mind and tears blur my vision. Through my distress multiple purple sparks being to form around me as there is still no sign of Peter. 

Stopping in the middle of the bridge, I take a deep breath and corral all the sparks into one tiny space. Then I drop my hands as they disappear and I get ahold of myself. I'll find him myself if I have to. I quickly turn around only to see a very wounded Peter limping towards me. I sigh in relief and rush over to him before pulling him into a bone-crushing hug. 

"I told you not to scare me like that again," I whisper softly as I feel Peter's arms wrap around me. 

"I'm the one with the super strength in this relationship," Peter says. "It will take a lot to make me leave you." 

I pull away softly to assess all of his injuries. A split lip, a beat-up leg, and a few lacerations all over his body. But when I look into his eyes, I snap out of it and everything feels like it's normal. No MJ, no cheating, just me and him again. 

"I told you you couldn't trust Beck," I say with a smirk, awkwardly stepping back. 

"No need to rub it in, Stark." Peter chuckles as he leans against a car. 

"This was the first mission we did without a major Avenger," I state.

"Well if you haven't noticed we both are Avengers."

"You know what I mean, Peter." I remind.

"But we did it, Erin. We can do it. These are our lives now and we need to accept that while making the best of it."

"I guess it's kinda nice to be the first person people call."

"Not when we're in the middle of something," Peter says with a smirk and I blush immediately. 

"Parker!" I chastise teasingly while giving him a tiny shove but that's when I remember what he did, making me frown instantly. Gently, I pull out the box Happy gave me and hand it to him. 

"Happy gave you this didn't he?" Peter asks.

"Yeah..." I admit. "You should go give it to MJ."

"What do you mean?"

"I heard you guys on the bridge."

Peter chuckles softly. 

"I didn't mean to say I had fallen in love with her. I-I meant that the more we talked about you, the more I fell in love with you." 

Well, now I feel like an idiot. But a sense of relief washed over me that he is still mine and that it wasn't over for us. Without a second thought, I gently lay my hand on his cheeks and my lips on his. With his uninjured hand, he pulls me close by the small of my back and his lip move with a small smile. Slowly, we both break the kiss, my lips a bit sore from the action. 

"So are you going to open it?" Peter asks while gently placing the tin in my hand. 

With a smirk, I pull away from him a little and open it. A silver band with purple stones embedded into it gleams back at me. Tears of happiness fill my eyes, and Peter quickly panics.  

"I didn't mean to make you cry. It can mean anything you want it to mean, Erin. All it is for me is a promise that no matter what we'll be together. Like a pr-"

"Promise ring," I whisper. "I read about them in one of the books Dad gave me."  

A moment of silence settles between us as Peter slowly takes my hand. I look at him a little confused as an anxious feeling fills me but a good version of it. 

"I'll promise to stay with you until I can replace with this a wedding ring as long as you promise to do the same for me," Peter says softly while holding up the ring gently. 

"I promise, Peter," I say with a small smile. 

He tries to get the ring out of the box gently since it was jammed into the cushioning but can't so I end up helping him. Once we both get it off, Peter slips the ring onto my left ring finger and lays a gentle kiss on my cheek. My blush spreads towards my ears as I look up at him. 

"I love you, Erin Stark." he whispers.

"And I love you, Peter Parker." I whisper back. 

Just as we lean in for another kiss, MJ screams at us from the other end of the bridge. 

"Did she take it or not?!"

Peter sighs causing me to laugh softly. He then lifts a simple thumbs up in the air before pulling my close with confidence and kissing me tenderly. 

---

"And what the hell is this, Parker?" Dad says while holding up my left hand, causing me to stifle a laugh. 

"I-its just a promise ring, Mr. Stark! I swear!" 

My laughs escape from me now as I gently pull my hand away from Dad. The look on Peter's face is priceless as he puts on another nervous smile. As the two continue to talk about the ring, I walk to the edge of the stage and open the curtain just a touch to see a room full of reporters eagerly waiting for us. It takes me back to the first conference I went to revealing who I was. 

So much has changed. I'm no longer the scared girl, an assassin out of her realm. I'm an Avenger, a hero, a girlfriend, a daughter. And now I'll be the newest face of Stark Industries in place of my dad. 

"You ready, Bitsy?" I hear Dad say from behind me. I smooth out my skirt and nod, giving him a soft smile before walking out. 

As always, Dad talks about the history of the business and how it has been handed down from Stark to Stark. But now he talks about his retirement, instantly making the reporters stand up with their demanding questions. However, Dad speaks over them. 

"My retirement doesn't mean the world will be without heroes. Quite the opposite actually. It will mean the addition of more. Including my daughter, Erin. Or as the world knows her, Fade. Effective immediately, Erin Stark will become the new head of Stark Industries as well as the Avengers alongside New York's Spiderman." 

The reporters jump up, their questions all mixed together as I walk up to the podium. With a deep breath, I put on my brightest smile. 

"I'll answer any questions you have for me."

"Ms. Stark! Who else is left of the Avengers after the blip?" 

"I won't be giving out names, however, there is a balance between our old team and a new team. Whether they be on Earth on another one, they will be here to keep us safe when needed."

Question after question rolls in, all of them generic. What people want to know about this new change. But the last question particularly catches my attention. 

"You've gone from HYDRA agent to well-known hero and now the new owner of Stark Industries. No one could've made such a change on their own. What makes you different?"

"That's the thing, I'm not different." I take a deep breath. "For a long time, I hid in the shadows. I didn't want the world to know who I was or what I did. But then I found my family."

I turn to see Mom, Dad, and Peter watching intently. 

 "My Dad, mom, friends, and boyfriend," I say while turning back around. "They helped me rebuild myself, find who I was again. Through them, I went from the brainwashed assassin I was to the person I am today. What I guess I'm trying to say is..."

The room suddenly goes quiet, even the clicking from the cameras ceases to fill the room. 

"I am Fade. I have made mistakes like my father and his father. But just like the great Tony Stark, I will spend the rest of my life to make up for those mistakes. I will protect Earth until my very last breath. And that's a promise."