//------------------------------// // Chapter 192 – Only Family // Story: Infinity Era // by JDPrime22 //------------------------------// 192 New York, USA 3:53 p.m. Rain and thunder ripped apart the skies, drowning the cemetery in a lonesome downpour. For there were not many present that dreary day. The funeral service—organized and funded by the Avengers—had long since ended. Friends and allies stayed long enough to pay their respects, to give a final goodbye to one of their own who had fallen in battle. The only ones who stayed, who lingered on even when everyone else had gone, were Matthew Murdock, Elektra Natchios, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Danny Rand. Robbie Reyes also stayed, also watched as his partner was lowered one last time. Six feet below earth, where Frank Castle’s casket was laid to rest. Curtis Hoyle orchestrated an appropriate farewell with several other U.S. Army veterans. Given Castle’s distorted and fractured history with law enforcement, the state, and both his heroic actions and crimes, a small funeral was allowed with no attendance. The necessary sendoffs for his military service was also granted. Only close friends and family were allowed, with a rifle volley and the American flag folded and handed off to Murdock. He was the only one willing to accept it. Avengers and other allies moved on, gave a goodbye to those who decided to stay and left the cemetery with heavy spirits and wilted hearts. Curiously enough, those Defenders stayed even when all else left. When everything ended, they stood together in the rain, with only a few umbrellas to keep them dry. In his suit and tie, gripping his cane in one hand and the flag in the other, Murdock stared heavily to the fiery tombstone. Elektra held his arm and leaned against him lovingly, Matt easing into her embrace and resting his cheek against her head. Matthew’s mother stood with them, with her son, as they saw off another hero who had given his life for a greater end. Maggie was almost disturbed by the fact that the state would not allow a greater attendance to see off Castle, but none of them seemed to mind. It seemed right, even better for Frank to be surrounded by those he knew. Especially Reyes. For the five years they had worked together, Robbie came to appreciate and respect Frank’s similar line of work. They had grown close in their years of purging, killing, and ending the crime syndicates across the States. They all may have lost an Avenger that day, but Reyes lost a brother. What he had lost, he also gained, knowing that Frank’s sacrifice helped to ensure that all of their friends and loved ones came home. Castle—even if he would have never admitted it—helped save the universe and trillions of lives. Maybe it was better to keep the funeral service small. Laying his hand on Frank’s tombstone, Reyes bid his partner and friend a final farewell before he moved on. He left the Defenders to linger around, to rest their eyes and stand as one united team amongst the ashes of the aftermath. Taking in a deep and painful breath of air, Robbie kept his composure as strong as he could, slipping on a pair of sunglasses and moving further and further off to an open area within the graveyard. By the time he was completely and utterly alone, he reached for his Hellfire Chain and whipped it out in front of him, spinning it accordingly so a large portal appeared in the orange sparks. Within it, another location awaited him, someplace else where Reyes needed to make one last stop. Where he had one last sin to make right. Pausing in front of the portal, Robbie gazed back to the group, stared onto the backs of Murdock, Rand, Jones, Cage, and Natchios. Between their bodies he saw the tombstone once more, that burning pain in Reyes’s chest only growing more and more agonizing when his eyes drifted to the other tombstones beside it. Maybe there was no perfect sendoff. What they had given Frank felt right enough as it was. Laid to rest beside Maria Elizabeth Castle and their two children just felt right. Reyes wanted to believe that. He stepped into his portal and closed it. Oakland Rural Cemetery Lake Ontario, USA 3:59 p.m. The sun beat down and encompassed the agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. under a warming embrace that none of them could feel. With the Lighthouse currently in reconstruction with aid and support from Fury, his friends in the industry, and the remnants of the Avengers, S.H.I.E.L.D. would soon have a place to call home once again. Near that same lake where their base of operations would remain, the funeral services were kind enough to give the agents a free burial for one of their own. It was the least they could do. With records cleaned, an unknown future set before them, the agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. sought to give Daisy Johnson the goodbye she deserved. With a mother dead, a father who wouldn’t know his daughter had died, her real family came together to see their sister, their daughter, and their fellow agent one last time. It had been a long and tiresome week for the Avengers. They gave their goodbyes, honored and mourned for Daisy, and moved on to continue the process with the remaining fallen. S.H.I.E.L.D. stayed longer. Alphonso Mackenzie, Elena Rodriguez, Lance Hunter, and Bobbie Morse stood with their respective spouses. Jemma Simmons, Leopold Fitz, and Deke Shaw were clustered together, the dysfunctional family holding strong and mourning the loss of their own. Michael Peterson, Melinda May, and Glenn Talbot were scattered further about, all of them having known Daisy in personal ways. May, most of all, seemed to cry the hardest of anyone there. Maria Hill and Nick Fury stood in the background of the funeral service, Maria gripping the handles of Gabriel Reyes’ wheelchair. Gabe sat stunned into silence, his tears mirroring that of the many before him. But perhaps none took it as hard as Phil Coulson. He stood alone under a dark and lonesome tree, hands in his pockets, hardened eyes glistening with that of fresh pain. Pure, unbridled pain. Not only had he carried the loss of his heroes, but now he was burdened with the weight of the daughter he lost, the girl called Skye who they picked up one fateful day, changed her life, and ultimately changed his. It was simpler times, back when they had allies they could trust, a team that was whole, and a family that was together. Coulson was left with very little of that. Daisy was always the piece that kept them all together. She was the heart, the soul, and the shield that made their team work. Like the daughter he never had, she was his family. The words he offered her burial were minimal but powerful, came from the dying heart to assure his fellow agents that her sacrifice was not in vain. She, like the many, was a hero, and one who had given more than enough. With the service practically over, all that was left was their future. For Phil, it was a limited set of circumstances for him. It was a future that would not last long because of his dying heart, of his twisted deal, and of the fate he dealt only to himself. Leaning against the tree, with tears in his eyes and weight in his spirit, Phil Coulson slowly dropped his head. As far away from the pain as he could. The flurry of orange sparks behind him quickly earned his attention. Spinning to it, Phil watched as a portal was opened to him. Robbie Reyes emerged from it, drenched in rain and sunglasses shielding his eyes from the bright sun overhead. The portal died as he stepped into the shade, but still kept on his sunglasses. Still hid his true expression behind a wall of black glass. Confronting him, Phil faced Robbie head-on, giving the Spirit of Vengeance a once-over before gazing back up to his shades. “You’re late,” Phil told him. Reyes pursed his lips at that. “A lot of us were today. Can’t be two places at once, you know.” Phil nodded at that. “Your Hell Charger is almost finished. Should be returned to you by the end of the day. I’m sure you and Gabe can’t wait to get home.” Tightening the Hellfire Chain around his body, Robbie kind of nodded in return to that confirmation. He gratefully smirked, meeting the man square in the eyes. He meant it when he said, “Thank you.” “Don’t mention it. Least we can do for your services.” Robbie stared off onto the cluster of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents comforting one another around Daisy’s tombstone. “What about you?” Reyes asked, turning back. Phil seemed to be temporarily lost in his own head for a bit, gazing off onto the afternoon sun and the shreds of light breaking through the branches above them. Finally, he shook his head, sighing with a shrug, “I don’t know.” Robbie felt a pang of guilt strike him at that, dropping his head away from Coulson. Phil didn’t seem to notice Reyes’ change in posture and demeanor, breathing in the world around him as softly and freely as he could manage. With what fate he was given, he knew he had to enjoy what was left of his life. Even if it was little, it was something. It mattered more than ever. “Might just sit back and enjoy what little time I have—” “You know, I’ve been coming to terms with him,” Robbie interrupted, earning Phil’s full attention. He lifted his eyes, bit his lower lip and nodded slowly. “With the Spirit… what he demanded of you. I think… I want to help change that.” Taking a step back, losing his breath like he was physically punched, Phil Coulson asked, “What are you talking about?” Robbie Reyes took off his glasses. His eyes held that fiery intensity fueled by the passion and guilt for all he had lost. Just knowing he stood idly by while another one of his allies fell without an action of protest from his end was not something Reyes would let go of. Especially not for all Phil had done for him and Gabe. For what Phil had lost—for who they had all lost—Robbie would ensure that no realm of heaven or hell would stop him from finding that cure for Coulson’s deal with the Rider. It was the most he could do. For an ally, for a friend, and for Daisy. “Let me help save your life,” he told him. “It’s what she would have wanted.” Phil breathed in that offer, one that was given by the same wielder of that same Spirit that had doomed him. Only that time, it was an offer to life, to another chance to become whole again and rebuild what he had lost. At the very least, to honor her final wish. In the end, he nodded to that offer. He ignored his stubborn past because he needed to. Because he had a promise to keep.