Earth-66, Avengers tower
Morning
The Benatar touched down on the landing zone before the ramp lowered and The Guardians, plus Tony, walked down.
"Man is it good to be home," Tony said with a content sigh.
"Sure," Quill muttered with a disgruntled look on his face.
"I am Groot?" Groot asked not looking up from his game.
"Yeah, where's the welcoming committee?" Rocket wondered.
Inside, Steve, Caitlin and Natasha stood on the top floor as a Breach opened up. Barry, Wanda, Cisco, and the Bartons stepped out before the Breach closed behind them.
"Auntie Nat!" Lila squealed, rushing towards Natasha.
Natasha knelt down and hugged Lila before she found herself surrounded by Lila, Cooper and Nate. Everyone smiled at the scene before Cisco approached Caitlin.
"How you doin'?" Cisco asked jokingly and she rolled her eyes good-naturedly.
"What, are you Joey now?" Caitlin laughed as she hugged her best friend.
"Don't encourage him," Barry laughed as he walked over. "It's good to see you Cait."
"You to. I'm glad you both came," Caitlin said, moved beyond words.
"It's your wedding, we wouldn't miss this for the world," Barry promised.
He would have said more, but at that moment, Tony and the Guardians entered the room.
"So they get a welcoming committee?" Tony joked.
"Hey Tony. Glad you could make it," Steve greeted his old friend.
"Wouldn't be anywhere else Cap. We the last ones here?" Tony asked.
"Yeah, everyone else got her a little while ago," Caitlin said.
A few floors below, everyone else was having a good time. Harry was having a conversation with Bruce Banner, his girlfriend Betty Ross and Hope Van Dyne about something no one else could understand. Logan was laughing with T'Challa, Bucky and Sam over a few drinks. Roy was talking with Martin Stein and Jax about their travels as Thea sat by his side, Scott chiming in occasionally. And Oliver and Sara sat across from Thor and Lady Sif, talking about their different experiences.
"And then I said 'anyone else?'" Thor said and the four of them laughed.
"So Dark Elves, Frost Giants, magic hammers. Makes Mirakuru Soldiers and Damien Darhk look like low level thugs," Oliver said wistfully.
"From what we have heard from Lady Snow, you are a noble warrior Oliver Queen, to have fought for your home the way you have," Sif said and Oliver nodded in thanks.
"I do the best I can. But thank you," Oliver said gratefully.
"All we can do buddy," Barry said as he and Wanda made their way over.
"Allen, Little Witch, good to see you," Thor said.
"You to Thor. We should really hang out more when the multiverse isn't coming to an end," Barry noted as he sat next to Oliver and Wanda next to Sara.
"In our line of work, not likely," Sara noted dryly.
"Well, hopefully, this time will be different. And be better than your bachelor party," Oliver noted as he looked at Barry, who grimaced.
"WE swore we'd never bring that up again," Barry muttered as Tony walked over.
"Oh this is a story I gotta hear," Tony said as he sat down next to Thor. "What happened at Barry's bachelor party?"
"It was nothing," Oliver and Barry said together immediately.
"That's not what Caitlin said," Sam said as he approached with Bucky and Scott.
"Cait talks too much," Barry said with a sigh.
"I'm curious, what happened on your ill-fated bachelor party?" Sif inquired and Barry sighed.
"It was Oliver's fault," Barry finally said.
"How was I supposed to know Constantine spelled the scotch?" Oliver protested.
"Because you know him," Barry shot back.
"So what happened?" Scott asked eagerly and the two sighed.
"The plan was to meet up at Cisco's apartment, have a few drinks, then head out for a night on the town. I brought over some scotch that had been a gift from my friend, John Constantine. He's our version of Strange, I guess you could say," Oliver explained.
"Oliver, Cisco, Wally, Clint and I took one drink of that scotch and we don't remember anything else from that night. When we came to the next morning, Wally and I were in jail for disturbing the peace, Cisco had stolen a tiger from the zoo and locked it in his apartment, Clint ended up in someone's backyard pool and, somehow, Oliver ended up hanging from a skyscraper by the back of his shirt," Barry said sheepishly and everyone laughed as Oliver and Barry looked humiliated.
"I hate all of you," Oliver muttered with a scowl, only making them laugh harder.
On a balcony, Steve looked down on everyone, taken back to four years ago, when a similar party had been thrown after the raid on Sokovia. He hoped this one ended better than that one had.
"So, your last day as a single guy," Clint noted as he walked up beside Steve. "How you feeling Cap? Nervous?"
"Not even a little bit," Steve said as he looked down at Caitlin chatting with Hope, smiling slightly. "I guess when you meet the right person…"
"I know what you mean," Clint said as he saw Laura talking to Natasha as his kids ran around, asking questions at Harry and Bruce. "You're a lucky man Cap."
"So are you. How are things on Earth-1?" Steve asked as he looked over at Clint, who shrugged.
"Aside from the Meta attacks, it's not so bad. Barry's pretty focused on being prepared for the Apocalypse; he's pushing Cisco and Wally pretty hard lately. I think some time away from Central City could do some good for him," Clint said as he eyed Barry talking to the others.
"Hard to imagine the same guy we met four years ago being the one trying to be ready for the worst," Steve noted and Clint nodded silently.
"We all do what we have to protect those we love," Clint said grimly.
Caitlin had just gotten done talking to Hope when she was approached by Cisco.
"Mind if I hang with you? Barry let slip about the bachelor party and I'd rather not have to deal with any tiger jokes," Cisco said awkwardly and she laughed.
"Sure. I probably shouldn't have told Sam about that," Caitlin said apologetically.
"Dude, we swore a pact to never mention it!" Cisco said mock seriously and she laughed.
"Sorry," Caitlin said and it was quiet for a moment.
"So, you're getting married tomorrow…for the second time," Cisco said wistfully. "Never thought this day would come."
"I know what you mean. After Ronnie, then Hunter, my heart just…stopped. Until Steve," Caitlin said with a smile. "I'm glad you and Barry are here. It wouldn't be the same without you two."
"Only way we'd miss this is if we were dead," Cisco said as he placed a hand on her shoulder.
Immediately, he gasped as he got a Vibe.
Cisco's Vibe
Cisco saw a man in a Captain America suit, wielding Steve's shield. Yet, somehow, Cisco knew it wasn't Steve. The suit was a darker shade of blue, almost black with red and white highlights and the 'A' for America on his helmet. And he had a coldness in his eyes that was somehow familiar.
Standing next to him was Freya, adult Freya, dressed in her mom's jacket with a red shirt with the lightning emblem underneath and regular jeans. Standing beside her was man in a Green Arrow suit, bow at the ready, next to a blond haired girl, late teens to early twenties, dressed in a dark suit with yellow highlights. They seemed like they were preparing for battle, Cisco noticed.
"Avengers, Assemble!" Captain America cried.
End Vibe
Cisco let her go, trying to process what he had seen as Caitlin looked at him in concern.
"You had a Vibe, didn't you?" Caitlin asked and took his silence as an answer. "What did you see?"
"I don't know," Cisco said honestly. "I really don't know Cait."