Each step felt as if she were walking a mile. A fire burned into Elysia's side as she kept a hand pressed against her ribcage, willing herself to keep moving, to make it across the floor to the elevator while she still had the nerve, before deciding to give up and just head back to her bedroom. By the time she finally pressed the button to take her down to the training center, she breathed a sigh of relief, the elevator doors opening as if welcoming her home.

"Good evening, Miss Sparks." the disembodied voice of F.R.I.D.A.Y. greeted Elysia as she stepped into the elevator. "Going down to the training center? The team is just getting started."

"Thank you, F.R.I.D.A.Y.," Elysia said, out of breath and nodding as she leaned back against the cool glass of the elevator, resting for a moment as the elevator began to move, lower and lower towards the underground sector.

As the elevator doors opened to reveal the training center beyond, the room was in full swing, the Avengers already having split off into partners to begin their sparring sessions. However, as the doors slid open with the ringing sound of a bell, the room came to a standstill, all eyes in the room moving to where the pink haired woman began to slowly move out of the elevator and to meet the rest of the team.

In the days since the HYDRA attack on the compound, Elysia had gotten more and more used to being up and around from her bed in the infirmary, however she hadn't dared make the trip down to the training center yet, her longest strides since that fateful night at the party. In fact, she'd hardly gone much more than just down the hall from her room without needing to turn back and take a break. As she walked into the training center, she tried her best to look around at the friends and teammates staring back at her, but instead her eyes went straight to the sparring circle in the center of the room.

"My greatest strength and my greatest weakness," Bucky's voice echoed in her head, an image of his smirk flashing through her mind and the feeling of his hands resting against her hips as he kissed her in the center of the room. "You,"

Elysia stared silently at the space ahead of her as the rest of the team watched her, full of curious expressions and worried glances. It hadn't been hard for the team to see how difficult Elysia had processed the events of the past few days, even Steve had responded in a similar fashion, but she had yet to say more than a few words about it to anyone since the first night in the infirmary, leaving them all to only guess everything happening inside the young woman's head. Instead, they'd turned their focus to rebuilding, and beginning their next steps to start tracking HYDRA's movements.

"Hey, Sparky," Tony greeted finally, stepping away from where he stood across from Natasha and standing in front of her, trying to pull her attention away from the center of the room. "Welcome back. You're a long way from the infirmary."

"H-hi," she stammered, forcing her eyes away from the circle, currently occupied by Sam and Vision as she moved her gaze back up to Tony. "Sorry, I just needed some fresh air and thought I'd go for a walk. I knew you guys were training tonight, thought I'd come watch."

"Well, go have a seat and make yourself comfortable," Tony said, gesturing to the bleachers lining the back wall, and Elysia nodded, making her way over and taking a seat on the bench. "Romanoff, you partner up with Rogers. I'm taking five," Tony announced before following after Elysia and taking a seat next to his former protege.

"You don't have to stop," Elysia assured him as he sat down next to her.

"Nonsense," Tony scoffed. "You can talk to me, you know, Sparky. About how you are. You don't have to lie, not to me."

"I'm fine," she attempted, though the look in Tony's eyes told her he knew she was anything but fine. "Helen says my ribs are healing nicely, and that I should keep moving around."

"We both know that's not what I'm talking about," he pressed. "I mean, about everything that happened with Barnes."

Elysia looked back at the training circle in the center of the room, her gaze unwavering as Sam and Vision circled each other on the mat, even if she hardly registered the two of them standing there amidst the visions still circling in her head of her and her super soldier. "It's my fault he's gone." she said. "If I could've just broken the damn code, they wouldn't have taken him back. Why couldn't I save him?"

"You did your best." Tony assured her. "But we didn't get time to test it, see if it worked. If we had, then we would've pivoted, and started working on the next step. It's not your fault they got to us before we could test it. You are not the one to blame."

A silence settled between the two of them as Elysia forced her eyes away from the spot on the training room floor as she looked back at Tony, her bottom lip between her teeth as she fought to keep it from quivering. He looked back at her, a reassuring look in his eyes as she finally nodded in his direction in agreement.

"Somewhere, deep down, Tin Man will remember you." Tony assured her. "He remembered Cap, after years of being with HYDRA. We won't let him be gone that long."

"That's different," Elysia pointed out. "He'd known Steve for years. I only knew him for a few weeks."

"I think you'll find that, to him, you probably meant just as much." Tony assured her.

Elysia smiled softly, blinking away the tears that threatened to cloud her vision. "Thanks, Tony."

"So what's the plan for you next, then?" Tony asked, changing the subject. "Back on the first plane to Arizona once you're all healed up? That Masters isn't going to finish itself, you know."

"Not likely," Elysia scoffed, looking back at him incredulously. "Who else is going to keep the rest of you in line while I'm gone? It's a miracle you got as far as you did without me. Loki, sure, but Ultron had to be just a fluke."

"Team could really use you, you know," he reminded her. "If you did choose to stay, that is."

"Besides, what good does computer science do against HYDRA?" Elysia added.

"I guess I'll have to make you a new suit, since you trashed all your old ones," he reminded her.

"Just make sure there's no stars and stripes," she said, sparing a glance at Steve as Tony began to chuckle.

"I'm glad you came back." he said, his tone becoming serious once again. "I know it was hard for you, after what happened with Jacob. But that wasn't your fault, you know."

Elysia nodded, Bucky and Steve's words both echoing in her brain. "Running away felt like the best option at the time." she admitted. "I was happy with my life down there, I really was. Still am, I guess. I had good friends, was on track to get a good job. But a part of me will always wonder what things would be like if I'd just insisted on taking the long way home that night."

"I liked that kid," Tony agreed. "You guys made a stupid mistake taking that alley, sure. But you were just trying to protect him. It was an accident, and it's important to me that you know that. You're not a killer."

"Thank you," she said. "For everything. Taking me in, getting me out when I wanted out. I know I didn't make things easy for you when you wanted me to come back, but believe it or not I'm glad you made me stay."

"This is your home just as much as it is mine." Tony assured her. "It always has been. You're stuck with me, kid."

Tony nudged her shoulder with his as she smirked, shaking her head. It felt good to just sit with Tony, reminisce on days that, a month ago, she would have pretended had never passed. If Tony or any of the Avengers had shown up on the news, she would have simply changed the channel and gone on with the rest of her day. Now, looking up at the only parental figure she'd ever truly had, she felt as if she had finally come home, back where she was always meant to be.

"You know, you never told me," Tony pointed out suddenly, changing the subject. "You never told me why you insisted on keeping your hair colored. What is it that makes it so special?"

Elysia glanced down at one of the bubblegum-pink strands with an almost quizzical look. "It all started after my parents died." she admitted. "The night they got in their accident, it was dark out, and they weren't found until it was too late. By keeping it bright, if anyone needs to find me, they can. I'm visible. I know, I know, it's stupid in our line of work where we're supposed to blend in, but it's important to me, I guess."

"It's not stupid," Tony assured her. "Although with covert missions, we might have to invest in a wig or two. Deal?"

Elysia nodded. "Deal."

"I've missed you," he admitted, wrapping an arm around her shoulders as he pulled her in for a side hug. "Welcome home, kid."

Elysia smiled, already feeling as if a weight had been lifted from her chest. "It's good to be home."