The flight back to the facility was in complete silence.

Nobody dared to talk, not knowing what to say.

They truly did fail.

They lost.

Everyone is gone, and they're never coming home.

The one who was hurt the most was Natasha.

Getting to know and care for people, trust people, used to be hard for her.

But then Peter came along. He somehow warmed his way to her heart.

Maybe it was the smile he always gave her as a baby. Maybe it was because he was probably the closest thing Natasha would get to be a mother.

Whatever the reason, she thought the world of Peter.

She returns to her room in the facility and sees a photo on her nightstand of her and Peter when he was younger.

-

Ten years earlier

Natasha was watching over a five year old Peter for Coulson while he was on a mission for Fury.

"Am I dangerous?" Peter asked out of the blue as they were sitting on the couch.

"What? Of course not!" Natasha responded immediately. "Why would you ever think that?"

"Because I'm different." Peter says and looks to his hands.

He just recently discovered he has abilities and was informed on everything that happened. How he got his powers, his parents, why he was treated differently from normal kids.

"Pete, you are not dangerous." Natasha promised him and walked over to him and curled him up in her arms where he held onto her. "You just...can do things that other people can't. And there are people who are always going to be afraid about things they can't understand. But we're going to keep you safe, you're going to have to keep your powers secret from other people when the time comes. It'll be alright as long as you make sure no one sees you...which should actually be pretty easy. Your powers are incredible. And you've only scratched the surface of them. Imagine your powers years from now. One day, you'll be the greatest agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., like me and your uncle Clint. You will be the best of us. The greatest hero ever. You will be humanity's shield."

Natasha pecks his head and holds him, knowing one day all of those things will come true.

-

Present day

Natasha was sitting on her bed now, looking at the photo like if she lets it go, it would vanish almost as quickly as he did.

There was a knock at her door and she looks up to see Carol there.

"Hey. I'm heading out to see if I can keep the rest of the universe under control with what's happened. Thought I'd see how you were doing." Carol explains and walks over to her and sees the photo. "Who's that?"

"Peter Parker-Coulson. My nephew." Natasha says and Carol sees why she's upset.

"The same Peter who was supposed to be on the ship with Stark?" Carol guesses and sits down next to her.

"He lost his parents when he was barely a year old. Had a target on his head because he was a prototype super soldier. His body was the answer for dozens of soldiers. But we kept him a secret so he wouldn't be dissected and everything. He became our best agent at just the age of 14." Natasha says and Carol smiles.

"Kid accomplished a lot in a short amount of time." Carol jokes.

"Even Fury cared about him. Nobody thought the guy was capable of love." Natasha joked.

"Definitely not the saw Fury I met." Carol says.

Natasha laughs, now thinking of when she met Fury and how he must've acted around her.

"I had a niece. Thought her and her mother survived, but...they didn't." Carol tells her.

"I don't know what to do now. I spent years protecting him, protecting the world. Now it's all gone." Natasha says and wipes a tear away.

"I guess the only thing we can do now is keep living for them. Would he want you to put your life on hold for him?" Carol asks her.

"No." Natasha says. "Thanks for that. It just...it's gonna take time."

"Yeah, we all need time." Carol agrees and pulls out a device and hands it to Natasha. "In case you guys ever need me again. Or if you just wanna talk." She offers and gets up, knowing she needs to get back out there.

"Thanks." Natasha says as she leaves the room.

She wishes she could go back in time, and hold Peter one last time.